This past week...

So life in Costa Rica is going awesome. I am just winding down after a busy week here at the base in San Jose. Our speaker this week was awesome, he talked a lot about leadership, living in community and how we should react towards one another. I've been O.D.ing on ice cream, as it has been really hot out for most of the week. For our local outreach this week we put on a children's program at a church nearby with music and games. It was a lot of fun and some of the little kids were on there way home from school and had their adorable uniforms on. The kids had fun, we had fun, it was a good day for everyone.

This Saturday I went to downtown San Jose with some friends and we just did touristy things, walked around, went to markets, took pictures... it was a nice relaxed day. We found a Canadian cafe, which was a nice taste of home (coffee and donuts). It was a great day with really fun people and to top it off we had burritos for dinner!

This week we also had our first official meeting with our outreach teams and it was great to see us all together, praying about what we can do while on our outreach. My team is made up of people from the states, canada, switzerland, el salvador, norway and costa rica! Its a really sweet diverse group, all of us with a huge heart for Haiti :)

Thank you guys at home for all of your support and prayers, I miss you all!

Anyways thats all for now from Costa Rica, lots of love!

Life at the YWAM base in San Jose

This video was not staged, i just knew he would tell me to get to work (as he does everyday haha)

Okay so I realize this isn't much of a post but this is normal life at the base right now. Usually this place is close to bursting, full of visiting teachers, mission builders, and teams here doing outreach. Right now its just the base staff, the DTS and CAR (Children at Risk) students and a few others, in short its very quiet. Our speaker this week is talking about leadership and discipleship, we had a great class this morning so I am sure its going to be a good week! Everyone is a buzz about outreach and where everyone is going... I also put up some pictures on facebook of some things going on lately if you are interested. But thats all for now, lots of love from Costa Rica!

This past weekend

So this weekend was crazy, but so so fun. We visited the nearby YWAM base in Heredia which is a little over an hour from the base in San Jose. They have a big country property with a bunch of animals and a huge garden, very different atmosphere from our base in the city. We then went on a long walk to the National Park to do some sight seeing and get a good workout hiking.

Reggie petting a goat thingy, on the base in Heredia

Elena smelling the flowers that they planted in her DTS

Johnny & Morgan at the Heredia Base

people taking a break on the way

DTS people in front of the cross! wooo we made it

the beautiful view

Lito and the waterfall

So it was a great day filled with beautiful Costa Rica, walking and good chats. Also i walked over a log bridge over a very shallow stream, it was terrifying! So fun! :)

Since then I've just been hanging out around the base, going to class, having sweet times of worship, and learning a lot! We are deciding right now about outreach locations and I will possibly be going to Haiti for part of my outreach, which is both exciting and scary. Its been a great week so far and thats all I have for now. Talk to you guys soon!

Abrazos Gratis!

So it has been a crazy fun week here in San Jose, a very full week of classes, work duties and homework! Thursday for our local outreach we went to downtown San Jose, and were on a free hugs campaign. Which for those of you who don't know is just a time were you go out with a bunch on signs and hug people on the street (only those who want it that is haha) It was such a fun time of getting out and interacting with people, and we had some very great reactions, people felt the love :) (as well as some very shocked, dirty looks, but oh well!) It was such a great day.

Rossela and I in downtown SanJose

Rayme and Maruco

Some of the Abrazos Gratis DTS crew!

Lauryn and I, Free Hugs team AWESOME

Morgan and Tawneke, part of our free hugs team

I finally named my bunny, his name is Gozo! (spanish for JOY)

Last Night we had a talent night and the staff did a wonderful interpretive dance, so instead of telling you guys about my amazing DTS staff, I hope you enjoy this video! Its really long but just a little bit of it gives you the idea. I am so thankful for these guys!

Just incase you guys thought I forgot about you, this is the ceiling of my bunk :)

Thats all for now from San Jose, talk to you guys soon!

Things I LOVE about Costa Rica

I am actually overwhelmed by how much I love it here, I knew I wanted to go to Costa Rica even though I didn't really know anything about it here and I had never been before. I hope you enjoy my list of probably fairly random things that I love about here (the YWAM base in San Jose, Costa Rica)
-THE PEOPLE! They are amazing, the staff here is awesome, I showed up with nothing (quite literally) and within minutes I had food, clean clothing to wear and prayers.
-The COFFEE, always delish and there when I need it
-Clean dry clothes off a clothes line in January
-The frosted flakes! They are easily a jillion times better than Canadian frosted flakes (maybe i just never was allowed sugar-y cereal but they are grrrrrreat!)
-Community Environment, I like living somewhere that people respect the space and are all part of taking care of it, we all have our work duties (trabajitos) and are responsible for maintianing some part of the base.
-CLASSES! we are able to learn, share and ask questions (SUCH a different environment from university)
-SPANISH! I came here knowing literally NO Spanish what so ever, but now I am able to understand a lot (all of the classes and main events are bilingual so you hear it a lot) And I am learning how to sing in Spanish to hopefully help out with the music on the base soon!!
-IT IS BEAUTIFUL HERE!!! Everything, all the green plants and pretty flowers, the mountains all around (I am in the Central Valley) and there are very few bugs to my surprise
-There are no screens on the windows, no need! its nice out and the bugs are so minimal! :)

Also some funny weird things about it here:
- the chairs in my classroom are the same chairs as the first 2 rows at DCC (just a different colour)
- my work duty is like the same thing i did at starbucks (seperating out garbage and recycling and tossing it into the proper bins)
- there are more but i just can't think of them right now...

Anyways in short I am really enjoying my time here! :) and I hope to have more pictures up soon!

Pura Vida

Church the first Sunday

"Family Night" on Wednesday

Thursday Jan. 14 update

Planting :)


Community Outreach

So I've settled in FINALLY

So I've had quite the crazy start! But I love it here! So heres what happened, as my plane was about the land in San Jose on Thursday night, we took back off without touching down because of wind gusts. So I spent the night in Managua, Nicaragua with some fun American girls I met on the plane, in a nice hotel for free! So I made it to San Jose on Friday morning, but because of my flight mix up, I had no luggage and there was no one to pick me up, so after some minor panic and a quick phone call home, I hopped in a taxi and made it to the base safe and sound (my cab driver taught me some basic spanish, he was sooo nice)

travel day

Nicaragua Airport

I got my luggage yesterday afternoon, and before that everyone was really nice and let me borrow clothes and shampoo and such. And nothing was broken or anything :) Here is my nice bed all unpacked and settled...

But thats all for now I've got to go for dinner.

Check out my video of the base, the building is so cool!

A quick tour of the base in San Jose