Everyone made it home just fine. Thanks to Bill and Johnny for driving to Atlanta to pick us up. Bill, you did a great job on that sign too!
It was an awesome trip and we met some of the kindest people! It was more than a blessing for us as well as to them. Now.. I have about a year to work on my Spanish... :-)
Pura Vida!
Showing posts with label Costa Rica. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Costa Rica. Show all posts
Monday, July 12, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Sunday
We are getting everything packed and then its off to breakfast. Then it on to church and then back to the center in Alajuela. Tomorrow we head home bright and early..early, not too sure the sun will be up when we head to the airport. Will post more later if wi-fi/Internet is available.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
An original poem for the Mulder Team!
Marion just handed me this very special poem that he had just written for me, Rudy and Pam.
Yes the three of you came
and pitched right in.
Many kinds of work you did
making this place shine again, and again.
We are going to miss you all
as you each go back to your home.
Make a difference there every day,
Be happy in Jesus 'till Kingdom come.
We will remember you often
As we look at the shelves,
And all the rest you have done.
Come again soon our "three little elves".
Blessings, joy and
contentment in Him always.
Maria & Mario
Marion F. Woods
July 10, 2010
Yes the three of you came
and pitched right in.
Many kinds of work you did
making this place shine again, and again.
We are going to miss you all
as you each go back to your home.
Make a difference there every day,
Be happy in Jesus 'till Kingdom come.
We will remember you often
As we look at the shelves,
And all the rest you have done.
Come again soon our "three little elves".
Blessings, joy and
contentment in Him always.
Maria & Mario
Marion F. Woods
July 10, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
Friday - All Sunshine...almost
Busy day for the most part. Started off with a breakfast of fresh fruit and french toast. It doesn't gett much better than that! :-)
After finishing breakfast and dishes we set out to start a new project. Rudy (aka Lobo here in CR) started painting on Pedro y Juanita's home which is just across the road and Peggi worked on typing up some of Marion's poems. Before we even got started a little problem poked it's little head out..make that a lot of little heads. Seems there was about three wasp nests on the far end of the house. One..the size of a frisby! We tracked down one of the helpers here and told him our situation, and he assisted us with a large sprayer and some diesel. The wasps weren't happy, but they were able to knock down the nests so we wouldn't get stung.
And for anyone wondering Lobo stayed firmly on the ground while I did all the climbing. I began to think twice after noticing the ladder we were using was held together at the bottom with duct tape. None the less we pressed on and finished two coats on the side we were working on.
After finishing our tasks for the day we got changed and went to visit with Elizabeth (the Doll Lady). She enjoys visitors to her home where they can sit and chat with her for a bit. She also has a little shop set up in her home where she sells dolls that she makes herself. They are kind of like ragdolls but much more colorful. In her shop she also displays and sells other crafts from people that she knows. Most are selling their crafts to supplement their imcome and as some are going through any number of finanical or medical situations.
Later after our visit we walked up to the top of the hill behind her house and had a breathtaking view of the volcano and the valley below. 
Thursday, July 8, 2010
1st Project Completed - another started.
Rudy and Pam completed installation of the shelves today, and they look great! The staff seemed really pleased that they would be ready for the youth campers this weekend.
While Rudy and Pam completed the shelf project Peggi typed copy of Marion's poems so that he can edit them (and hopefully get them published). The poems are such an inspiration to read, it's hard to call this a task! If you'd like to purchase a copy of the book of poems Marion already has published let us know and we'll get a signed copy for you ($25 hard cover, $20 soft cover).
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
The Winfield KS Team
This is the team that built the shelving we are finishing.They also did a lot of improvement work at a local school.
Another Day at the Farm
Yesterday by mid afternoon we had finished sanding and glossing the shelves - just in time for a big soaker. We spent the rest of the afternoon mopping up water from the tile floor of the bathhouse that had been mysteriously appearing every morning, and then trying to find the source of the leak. Turned out that it wasn't from the rain after all. Rudy found leaks around the pipes into the big sink, temporarily fixed them and showed Mary and the foreman, Steve, what needed fixing.
Today we made templates for mounting the shelves, hauled all 40 of them down to the new bunk house, then started installing. We got about a third of them up - well mostly Rudy and Pam did - Peggi was mostly on clean-up detail getting up the cement dust. In addition to hosting/coordinating short term mission teams that go all over Costa Rica, this place, the Centro Rural Metodista, accommodates all kinds of functions in support of local ministries. This past weekend they hosted a local youth retreat and we're trying to get the shelves up before another group comes in for a retreat this weekend.
Pictured above is the new "youth cabana" where we are installing the new shelves. The cabin is divided with girls on one side and boys on the other; showers, toilets and a conference center are in between. It is really nice and will be even nicer when we're done :-)
Pictured above is Victor - he had just finished cutting the grass before I took the picture of the youth cabana above.
Some of the Winfield Team members are in this photo from earlier in the week.
Meal time has been really interesting. Some of the staff usually eat with us and there is always interesting conversation.
Today Marion talked about the trip he would be taking to Los Chilies up near the Nicaraguan border to visit with the team from Winter Park FL that came in this past Saturday.
Today we made templates for mounting the shelves, hauled all 40 of them down to the new bunk house, then started installing. We got about a third of them up - well mostly Rudy and Pam did - Peggi was mostly on clean-up detail getting up the cement dust. In addition to hosting/coordinating short term mission teams that go all over Costa Rica, this place, the Centro Rural Metodista, accommodates all kinds of functions in support of local ministries. This past weekend they hosted a local youth retreat and we're trying to get the shelves up before another group comes in for a retreat this weekend.
Pictured above is the new "youth cabana" where we are installing the new shelves. The cabin is divided with girls on one side and boys on the other; showers, toilets and a conference center are in between. It is really nice and will be even nicer when we're done :-)
Pictured above is Victor - he had just finished cutting the grass before I took the picture of the youth cabana above.
Some of the Winfield Team members are in this photo from earlier in the week.
Meal time has been really interesting. Some of the staff usually eat with us and there is always interesting conversation.
Today Marion talked about the trip he would be taking to Los Chilies up near the Nicaraguan border to visit with the team from Winter Park FL that came in this past Saturday.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Colorful Lunch!
Just a little rain
Just a little rain today. We finished sanding the shelves around 11am and now taking a break before lunch. The rain lasted about an hour, now its sunny and getting warm again. After lunch we hope to get the second coat of sealer on before dinner time. Hopefully they dry over night and we can get ready to hang them. More later! --Pam
Monday, July 5, 2010
Day 3 Project #1
Today we started our first project - finish 40 shelves to be mounted in the new bunk house. The Winfield team did a great job of designing and building the shelves but ran short of time due to problems with getting the right materials locally,(and they had other projects too)so they asked if we could finish them and mount them. Rudy did the sanding while Pam and I did the first coat of gloss/sealer. Tomorrow we'll do the smoothing with steel wool, then a second coat of gloss. Due to the high humidity we'll probably do a third coat on Wednesday then mount them in the bunk house on Thursday.
We're sad to see our new Winfield friends leave tomorrow; they are really a nice bunch of folks. Looks like we will now have the entire old bunk house to ourselves!
More delicious food today - I'm hoping we don't come back with "extra personal baggage".
Oh yeah, weather was beautiful today - no rain - all sunny but with a nice temp and enough cool breezes to keep us from getting too hot. I can honestly say I'm getting accustomed to "open air" and I don't really miss the air conditioning.
A Special Thanks to those of you who sent us cards. We opened the first ones tonight after our devotional - those were very meaningful to each of us and we are very appreciative.
Hope all is going well back at Mulder. Mario and Maria asked after several of you today and they send their love and much thanks to you all.
That's all for now.
p.s.
Craig, No blood yet! Lobo
We're sad to see our new Winfield friends leave tomorrow; they are really a nice bunch of folks. Looks like we will now have the entire old bunk house to ourselves!
More delicious food today - I'm hoping we don't come back with "extra personal baggage".
Oh yeah, weather was beautiful today - no rain - all sunny but with a nice temp and enough cool breezes to keep us from getting too hot. I can honestly say I'm getting accustomed to "open air" and I don't really miss the air conditioning.
A Special Thanks to those of you who sent us cards. We opened the first ones tonight after our devotional - those were very meaningful to each of us and we are very appreciative.
Hope all is going well back at Mulder. Mario and Maria asked after several of you today and they send their love and much thanks to you all.
That's all for now.
p.s.
Craig, No blood yet! Lobo
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Day 2
Sunday was off to a good start with breakfast that included fresh fruit like that you only can get in tropical climes - fresh pineapple and papaya (wish we could bring some home!).
Our new friends from Winfield KS included us in their Sunday activities which started off with worship at Iglesia Methodista - a church in Los Angeles located about an hour's drive through the mountains. Rudy, Pam and I even joined in with them in singing a couple of songs in English for the congregation of about 75 (including us). One interesting note was a request from their minister for help in hosting 150 children that are soon to receive Operation Christmas Child Shoe Boxes. They see this as an opportunity to bless the children and see their families changed too! I thought that was especially cool since Mulder participates in OCC - it was such a rare privilege to hear first hand about how those gifts are used to share God's love and His Word. On another interesting note, two years ago some from the Winfield group had begun construction of the open air kitchen where the church served us lunch after the service today.
After the service (about 2.5 hours) and lunch we went to Arenal Paraiso Resort & Spa at the foot of a volcano where "some", this one not included, did the zip line and most all visited the hot springs and pools. After a wonderful meal at the resort's restaurant we returned to the Methodist Rural Center and ended our evening with a group devotional and discussion of the day's events. Our scripture for devotional was most appropriately from Genesis since we were discussing God's awesome handiwork.
It's super quiet here now but for chirping tree frogs and the whir of an oscelating fan in our bunk room. We still have not learned exactly what we will be doing this week, but there won't be a lack of finding ways to be useful - and since that will start early thirty, we're off to sleep now, so good night. Please remember to keep us in your prayers.
Our new friends from Winfield KS included us in their Sunday activities which started off with worship at Iglesia Methodista - a church in Los Angeles located about an hour's drive through the mountains. Rudy, Pam and I even joined in with them in singing a couple of songs in English for the congregation of about 75 (including us). One interesting note was a request from their minister for help in hosting 150 children that are soon to receive Operation Christmas Child Shoe Boxes. They see this as an opportunity to bless the children and see their families changed too! I thought that was especially cool since Mulder participates in OCC - it was such a rare privilege to hear first hand about how those gifts are used to share God's love and His Word. On another interesting note, two years ago some from the Winfield group had begun construction of the open air kitchen where the church served us lunch after the service today.
After the service (about 2.5 hours) and lunch we went to Arenal Paraiso Resort & Spa at the foot of a volcano where "some", this one not included, did the zip line and most all visited the hot springs and pools. After a wonderful meal at the resort's restaurant we returned to the Methodist Rural Center and ended our evening with a group devotional and discussion of the day's events. Our scripture for devotional was most appropriately from Genesis since we were discussing God's awesome handiwork.
It's super quiet here now but for chirping tree frogs and the whir of an oscelating fan in our bunk room. We still have not learned exactly what we will be doing this week, but there won't be a lack of finding ways to be useful - and since that will start early thirty, we're off to sleep now, so good night. Please remember to keep us in your prayers.
My home away from home.
Ps..looks like rain.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
It's been a long day
A long trip but this place is as wonderful as everyone says! Sunny for most of the drive, and then the rain started again. The volcano was a site, tonight the clouds looked orange just above it, and everyone said it was smoking earlier today when the weather was clearer.
Great dinner.. rice, black beans, best salsa verde that I've ever had, tilapia was great and I don't like fish! We're all stuffed and we will be sleeping good tonight.
@ the Rural Center
We had an hour delay but still arrived around 12:30 Tico time. Busy place, curvy roads, and a white knuckle bus ride. Way better than any roller coaster I've been on. We missed our orginal bus, but they came back for us when they saw we were delayed. More later! Ps..lines on the highway are only suggested lanes. :-) --pam
@ ATL
Just made it through checkin and security with a little over an hour to spare. Thanks to Johnny for driving the car back home..We hope you get to feeling better Bill!
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