Hello everyone! Sorry that it has been three weeks since posting, but we haven't really had internet, and if we did we had to hike 40 minutes to use it! So the past three weeks we have been working in the jungle region of Sarapiqui. The first 11 days we spent up river in a town called Arbolitos. You may be wondering what classifies as up river, so I will explain. Essentially we took about a two hour drive to the port and then loaded in a boat and rode up a river for 1.5 hours. The ride was beautiful and it helped to have the wind blowing through the hair on such a hot day. When we arrived at Ruth's house, we were greeted by her mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and two precious 3 year olds. Our living conditions consisted of a guest house where we each had a mattress to sleep on (which is the most important). Overall, the house was wonderful, and we definitely couldn't have asked for anything better. We were able to work with several schools in the area that Ruth works with on a regular basis, as well as get the library in order so it was more accessible to the Tico. Our time with Ruth provided for some great team bonding and card games. Overall we greatly enjoyed our time there, and it was great to see how Ruth is moving in that community.
After these eleven days, we loaded the boat back up and came down the river to the Sarapiqui Learning Center. The learning center had set up home stays for us, so we were split into 3 (Meg, Sara, and Ronnie) and 4 (Stephen, Levi, Meredith, and myself). My house mom's name was Olga and we also had 13 year old sister named Yeiling. The house was absolutely beautiful. The husband Barney was a construction worker and had built this house on his own. We had an outdoor shower, large patios (complete with hammock and comfortable chairs), and beds! Here, we worked on a farm carrying several 50 lbs wooden blocks from the back of the farm to the front (Thursday and Friday). This task was rather challenging and definitely required a lot of strength. On Saturday, we were able to meet up with the rest of the group and swim in the river for a day of relaxation. On Monday- Friday, we were scheduled to work at the school in Linda Vista. The first day we painted the sidewalk green. Day 2 we washed trees to paint them the next day. Day 3 was raining so we organized the school's warehouse, cleaned up around some plants, and cleaned up down palms. Day 4 school was closed, so we were sent to a farm instead. At the farm we planted close to 3,000 yucca trees. To plant Yucca, you simply cut off a piece of the limb and plant that, therefore, it appeared that we were simply planting sticks. Day 5 we were able to take as a break day. In all the afternoons, we were able to log several hours of spade games along with at least one hour of Spanish and English lessons.
To sum up the time spent in the jungle, I am very thankful for that time. It was great to be able to get away from the internet, cell phone service, and everything else from the world. I was able to spend several hours simply thinking about my life in Christ and where he sees me going within the next few years. I also have a completely different view of Ticos raised in the jungle. My heart goes out to them for their lack of worldly things, but they are so content and happy it is unbelievable. I couldn't help but think of ways I can simplify my life in the future. Well that's all I have for now! I hope you are all doing well and I will see you soon!
