mis adventuras: equipped.

yesterday i got sunburnt, today im sweating gallons of water, and you know, im 100% okay with that. costa rica is going to be quite the adventure. i am excited that i am here and very excited to share with you all what i am learning. for starters i suppose i should tell yall about my crazy little flight:

i sat right behind the pilots, and basically watched everything they did. dad would be so proud of me. took some pictures, but one of my favorites is that i saw the landing strip, and watched the whole process or landing the plane. how cool is that?! i feel like i could do it all by myself. okay, maybe not, but you get the gest

anywho, my first two days at the school are teacher workdays, because the 11th graders are taking national exams, so basically we are just relaxing, which is kind of nice since everyday in the us was packed. and i also found out that summer break begins after the last week of november, aka the kids are out of school, well there is no school. kind of a blessing, but i have no idea what those days will look like. im hoping to learn a lot over these next few weeks of how teaching here works, so it will be interesting. i dont know what to think about getting done early, but i know i shouldnt complain :)

with it being summer time, yo would think the sun would go down later and rise later. false. let me go ahead and say how false that is. sun is up around 5am, and goes down around 530pm. so i am quite the early riser and early to bed kid here. and by early i mean, i naturally wake up around 6 and go to bed around 8 or 830. grandma status, this i know. but let me explain how mornings/nights work: first of all, neighbor is a relative term. they really live through the thin wall, meaning you hear everything, even phones ringing. the animals are quite the prowlers making all sort of noises, not because they are loud, but because what the choose to jump on is VERY loud. the roosters are the morning alarms, and then the man selling tortillas rides his bike yelling "tortillas" starting around 5 and comes by at least 5 times. i think im early, but to costa ricans, im quite the late sleeper i suppose.

fellowships is one of those things i knew i was leaving behind the second i stepped on the airplane. what a blessing it has been to live in boone since i was a freshmen, and the relationships i have built are beyond incredible. but what i sweet thing it is to know that there is no distance in prayer. none whatsoever. so although i am physically separated from them, their prayers jump all sorts of boarders bringing me such encouragement. and encouragement on skype is just a small something i needed today.

one of the things i wanted out of my experience here was to be observant with completely new eyes to see where the needs are for the people, and how they can be met. there are so many physical needs here in this country, and a lot of those need can be met at the same time as sharing who jesus is, but we have to know the needs. so today, as i sat and observed the lifestyle of the school, i noticed those simple acts of kindness were completely missing. no real love was being shared. everyone was present and knew each other, but the love was just gone.

and i know im not going to be here very long, but i know that if ive been called, then im supposed to be here. and if im called, then i am equipped to share this love. i am equipped to be a light to this community. i am equipped to just live as christ did. just as the bible says. thanks sweet friend for reminding me of simple truths. love people, and love them well.

but as for this hot afternoon, i am going to sit in the breeze and read a book i found on the shelf in karla's room. im expanding my spanish reading skills, so yall go ahead and take a guess. chapter one is "el niño que vivió."