80* F. Warmth. Palm trees. So long, Pennsylvania. Hello Tropical Paradise!!!
I left PA on Tuesday. I'd gotten less than 3 hours of sleep, so I was basically unable to stay awake all day. I had been thinking I'd be able to read and get all this stuff done while I traveled to Miami. NOT so!! Kiki (my cuban mom and the Mobilization Coordinator of the LAM) was very weirded out by me not acting like me. I had no energy. She did all the talking. It was pretty weird. Can you believe it? I actually can get that tired.
Tuesday night we went out for dinner with Donna, another lady that works in the MSO (LAM headquarters) and another LAM missionary that works in El Salvador (with the same ministry that my roomie from orientation will be working with). I had the best pork sandwich I have ever had. Seriously, this was melt in our mouth deliciousness.
(ok, this is going to be a long one. If you don't have much time I recommend skipping down to Friday).
Wednesday I spent at the MSO meeting with different people getting my paperwork straightened out and making sure I was all set to go. I got to meet the new president and his wife and see their gorgeous condo that overlooks the turquoise ocean. Pause-this makes them sound like they are filthy rich. They're not. They are paying out the nose for this tiny 1 bedroom place. And, they live on the 34th floor. While I was there some alarm started going off and we had to evacuate the building (not using the elevator of course). Well, going down 34 flights is no problem for young, spry me. But, for the aging, more heavy, not as healthy people, it was a big deal. We only made it to the 15th floor by the time they decided there was no emergency and told us we could go back. So, we took the elevator back up. I should have taken the stairs, but lunch was ready and I was hungry.
Anyway, it was really nice to meet them and touch base again with other people I met during orientation. I was very sad to not be able to see Jack and Mary Anne (the interim prez and his wife), but they are not living in Miami anymore. Oh well.
Wednesday afternoon Kiki took me to the beach. Oh it was so wonderful to run in the sand and stick my feet in the lovely turquoise water! There was a pretty lighthouse there too. I could have stayed there forever. (I would have gotten kicked out after sunset though). unfortunately there wasn't a sunset because it was so cloudy. That's ok though, because from there we went to a fun Nicaraguan restaurant.
Oh that reminds me, the new president, Steve, told me a funny joke that I will explain to you. He told me he went to a Costa Rican restaurant-and it was so Costa Rican they even had a Nicaraguan guard! Jajajajajajaja!!! Costa Rica has Nicaraguan immigrants like the US gets Mexican ones. Maybe no quite on the same scale, but that's just to give you a general idea. Many many places have guards, there is oten an armed guard in front of a big bank, parking lots for most places have guards to make sure cars don't get stolen, residential areas (like a group of condos or something) have guards, etc. And, being a guard is not that hard. The guards might not have as much useful training as I would hope or expect, but to at least have a body there is better than nothing. And you can be a guard and get paid under the table-ie not have legal papers. Cha-ching-lots of Nicaraguan guards (lots of Nicaraguan women are house maids. Having a maid here is very common. It is not really a sign of wealth.) So, there is the long explanation to the joke that isn't funny anymore. But, you do have a rgeat understanding of Costa Rican culture. YAAY!!
So, the Nicaraguan restaurant was good and I had the biggest bowl of soup I have ever seen in my life. It fed Kiki and me-and we had a ton leftover.
Thursday - I flew to COSTA RICA!!!!!!! WAHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had a very smooth 3 hour flight from Miami to Costa Rica. Yolanda (Yoli-my Pastor Rolando's wife) and Ana Victoria (a really sweet lady from church) picked me up. We stopped by church so I could say hi to Rolando. He told me I could do as I pleased until Tuesday. Then I will go in to church and we will get started! Tuesday afternoon was nice a relaxing. I'm currently staying with Tito and Joanna, a really sweet couple from church. Joanna is Canadian, so it's nice to have someone else who is in a situation similar to mine. They have a 2 year old son named Sebi (Sebastian) that is adorable. He is a bit of a terrible two, but he's not too bad. Because he hears Spanish everywhere outside home, his parents only speak English to him. HOORAY for bilingual children!!
Friday, was the best day here thus far. I met up with my friend Ana Luisa and went to her house. We made pineapple empanadas and hung out and sang along with CDs. We both love to sing and I had a blast making the empanadas and just being with Ana Luisa. We'd never hung out like that before and I had a wonderful time. We had some really good conversation. She is so sweet. She'd told me to call her as soon as I got here. Well, I didn't call her right away, but I did call her Thursday night and she invited me over to make empanadas and then go with her to Pastor Ricardo's birthday party. (I got to go to his party last year too. It was really fun to be able to be there again for him. He is a great man). WOW! If you've been following my Chronicles for a long time you know how much I appreciate people taking initiative and inviting me along. So, it was a HUGE blessing to me to be invited to the party. So, Ana Luisa and I went together to the birthday party (I forgot how fast I walk and how slow Costa Ricans walk-I almost had the poor girl breathless).
Not only was I glad to be at the party for the birthday part, but I was also glad to be there because I got to see a lot of other people I know from church. Julio and Rocio (a couple that I got to know a little bit last year when I came to visit for Semana Santa -Easter Week) were there. I was talking with Rocio and she said I had to come over to her house for dinner sometime. Twist my arm!!! They have two adorable kids. I algo got to meet some new people and learn the names of people I had seen but not met before.
AND-shortly before I left -THE VIERA KIDS CAME!!!!!! YAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!! :-) Excitement! Joy! Happiness! Emotion!! (Read the post on my Honduran family to learn about these dear people). I went to greet Ana and she said "My sister! It's so good to see you!" I love to be loved and welcomed! You can't ask for a better way than that! I spoke with Claudia earlier in the evening to see if she and any of her siblings were coming and she told me that is was so good to hear my voice. Yaay! How sweet! I saw Samuel and he gave me a big smile. Claudia and her fiance Rolando (not the pastor) came by too-I am so excited for them! They are a wonderful couple! And finally, Eduardo Josue came. I was very happy to see him too. He is one of the people I have best kept in touch with from the States, so it was really good to see him in person again.
I know I'm in that "honeymoon" phase of culture chock right now. I am still settling in and everything is novel again (or I'm really happy to see the familiar things again-except for the bad driving). I know I'm not on vacation and life won't always be this exciting. But, I am really enjoying what I have and thanking God for all He has given me and praising Him not only for what He had done, but Who He is.
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