Hola amigos!

Sorry that I have not had a chance to blog yet, but we have not had internet in the house because the family I am living with moved like 2 days before I arrived. I am actually at a mall right now posting this because getting internet at the house soon isnt looking promising.

So I flew in on Wednesday the 30th and that was a long day. I started out having to get to RDU around 630 in the morning, and flew to Houston. Nothing exciting on that flight, but my next flight that took me to san josé, was great. I sat next to this little boy and his dad, and the rest of their family was in the row behind us (2 brothers and a mom that was about 8 months preggers). But we made small talk because I knew I would pretty much be distracted by this littler boy the whol

e flight that was asking me to watch baseball or soccer. I dont speak littler kid that well, so the dad kept repeating things for me...but small talk: where you from, what are you doing in costa rica...and I told

him about the organization and said I was basically doing mission work. And he loved hearing that. So excited for me and everything. So I asked the same to him and he said his family was actually on their flight to move to costa rica for the next 3 years as missionaries. I just thought tha

t it was the coolest thing to sit next to this family that was so encouraging and loved the lord so much. I want to look them up and some how contact them when I get back to the states :)

Anywho, I made it to CR and was greeted by Jherson (the director of the organization), Tiffany and Jonathan (who are interns like me). We hopped in the car and headed towards the house which took about an hour or so. And let me tell you, I had to bite my tongue so much to not say things while Jherson was driving….yall know I am a backseat driver. Sister, dont ever plan on coming here, since I know how you are.

The house I am living in is so great, but very small. We have a total of 14 people here right now and its quite tight. There is mamá y papí, jherson and his wife yolanda, jhosen (jherson’s brother), me, tiff and jon, and 6 girls who are on a project for the next week or so. The 6 girls are actually from UNC and I already knew one of them, which was so exciting. Evan Bell: your big is here - so fun! We eat every meal together, and the 3 of us interns are always on dishes duty. So far we have had a lot of rice and

beans, the best fruit in the world, random American meals mixed in (and mom: they DO eat chinese food here! haha) My stomach is adjusting well to the different food and I havent hated anything yet, which is really wonderful.

My first full day we went to a camp area and hosted around 85 6th graders. We split up into a few groups and played games that were all about team building. We had team leaders who could speak Spanish and the rest of us “gringos” (or white people) paired up. Lets be honest, we are useless in explaining games, because we may know Spanish, but not near enough to help out. After the games we had a talk from one of the local pastors in the area. And then we were done for the day...except in Costa Rican time that took form 7 in the morning until 4.

So one of the real reasons I am here is because I need to learn me some Spanish. Yall, I am awful at it. To be completely honest the language barrier is super hard and its been encouraging to try and learn but discouraging at the same time because I really thought I knew I a lot more than I do. Like for instance...today we started our first day of the VBS. We are doing 2 day programs at all 5 churches that conexión is involved in. And I could not understand little kids simple Spanish. So with that being said, first prayer request of the trip...i need patience! I know it will take me a very long time to learn this language and be able to communicate with the locals, but its so hard because this is what I want to do with my life, but I really cant. On the bright side, the family I am living with wants to help me so much. They have had a lot of patience and I love them already. Máma is my favorite. She knows that my passion is to eventually teach spanish so she is starting with simple questions and things to keep me going and speaking in Spanish. Today was the sweetest conversation with her: she asked me what her name was so I responded with mamá and she had the biggest smile on her face, so I explained to her that she was my mom for the next 7 weeks, and she said, “¡no, soy tú mamá por siempre!” (im am your mom always). And that just made my heart happy.

We had church the other night and it was incredible. Pastor Allen spoke and to me its just amazing how the Lord can speak to you even in another language and not understanding things really. All of our worship songs were English songs, only in Spanish...which was helpful to learn some new vocabulary. And I am in love with the people that come. It was

a small group of couples and their children who all knew each other really. It reminded me of my parents Sunday school classes, with close friends who love each other and love the lord, laughing but hearing a good message. I ju

st loved the closeness of the community and how much respect for each other they had. I couldnt stop smiling even though understanding it was the hardest thing ever.

For the 4th of July ya girl had some USA pride. I wore red white and blue all day and waved those flags high. We worked with the kids and then had a pretty chill afternoon. That night we went to Jhonny’s apartment and had some pizza and poker. And his neighbor shot off two fireworks!! I was so excited to see at least one for the holiday, because this was a day I missed my family a lot. It was my first time not being at the lake with all the fam and out there late at night watching fireworks from Saunder’s Marina. I had a lot of fun with the other two interns on Jhonny and his girlfriend Dayana. And we had pizza :)

and sorry this is so long, but i will update more later :)

Love.