Lori & I just graduated from language school on the 23rd of April. Though we had only been in Paso Marcos 10 days it seems we enjoyed a lifetime of new experiences in this short expanse of time. Everday brings something new, something challenging and a different view from which to see life here in Costa Rica.
Here are some of those experiences.
On the 29th of April we packed our belongings on a truck and sent it to Paso Marcos. We spent the rest of the day cleaning our house. The next morning, we got up and drove Cristen to the airport and made our way back to the house and picked up Dustin and Charlie to drive to Paso Marcos.
We are in the start of the rainy season and of course it started to rain. Little did we know there was a landslide on the eastern side of Costa Rica and the only open road to Limón was the road we use to go to Paso Marcos. Traffic was horrible and to make it worse there was a tractor trailor accident as well. What should have been a 3 hour drive lasted over 7 hours.
Did I mention it was raining. We bought groceries in Turrialba thinking the traffic was behind us. We had 5 more miles to drive before we could escape the traffic. Well, two hours later we were free.
Praise God for his traveling mercies. I have driven to PM a couple of times but never at night in the rain and fog. We took our time and made it about 3 miles from our new house when we got stuck. After a little prayer and Godly wisdom we were on our way. WHEW! It is a bit scary when you are a couple of feet away from the side of a very big cliff.
On Monday, we got most of our stuff unpacked and on Tuesday we decided to head back to Turrialba to purchase some more food, see what all is in Turrialba and get some more practice on those crazy mountain roads. We had the most excellent tour guide in Turrialba. It seems Giovanni (our neighbor & friend) knows almost everybody in town. While walking around we found some Cabecar friends from Tsimari who were in town for a meeting. They asked if they could get a ride the following day from Grano de Oro to a bus stop in Jicotea. More practice driving on those crazy roads. What a miracle to happen to be in town that day and run into the few Cabecar's we actually know.
On Saturday, Alekcey and Judith invited the other missionary families in the area for a time of good eats, prayer, and river fun. What a blessing to fellowship, play in the river and time of prayer as our friends prayed for God's blessing on our new start in Paso Marcos.
That Sunday we visited a Cabecar Church about an hour's walk from the house. After the service we met with the Pastor and youth of the church to get an idea of what they would like to see in a youth ministry. It was a great opportunity for us newbies to meet our neighbors and learn about our community. We stopped at a beautiful creek and had a strategic planning meeting on what we learned that day.
Monday, I got to earn a little money as a neighbor needed help transporting supplies to be delivered to the reservation. His family owns a "pulperia" small store and they supply grocery items to other pulpuerias in the reservation. I transported goods from their supply area to a location on the outskirts of the reservation where they will be loaded on six horses and delivered some 7 hours later into the Chiripo Valley. We thought we lived in the middle of nowhere! HA
On Tuesday we headed back to the city to attend a conference. It was neat to be back in town but was looking forward to getting back to Paso Marcos, Giovanni and his family, and our dog Charlie!
Lori hanging out by the banana grove.
This is one of the locations we may put our future house.
Bananas from our future property.
This is a portion of the property we hope to purchase.
Charlie waiting to go for another swim. Aren't you ready yet.
Great location for some strategic planning.
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