THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
This is SOOOO overdue! We have been meaning to write, blog, email or whatever! to say a big thank you to all of you who supported us on our Costa Rica Mission's Trip to Tuis, Costa Rica. We have been back for about 2 months now but the trip feels like it was a year ago. We had a very rich time. We were probably most blessed by seeing how instrumental the Voz Que Clama Mission has been to providing life to the Tuis people. Through the language study program many families receive wages as they are either providing homes for the students or serving in some way (driving people, cooking meals, cleaning, etc). Not only financially but spiritually as well- the mission functions as a church as well so many fellowship there & get to experience the joy of the Lord through all the amazing people that make Voz Que Clama such a hot spot in Costa Rica. Additionally, these families get to interact with so many foreigners which brings so much diversity to their lives. They have loads of stories, pictures & gifts from all over. Below is a picture of two of the kids that we stayed with. Marcos & Anthony. They were so sweet with our boys.
Below is David shopping for all the paint supplies at the local "Home Depot." He & Steve Cabezud (one of the other adults on the trip who use to run a painting business- there are no coincidences with God) did not really know how much paint it would take to do these murals so they had to come back a few times. David is holding one of the print outs of the designs that a local US print company did for us. Our idea was to use a tool to perforate the drawings & then "throw" chalk onto them so that the designs would more or less be outlined on the wall for us. We thought this would ensure that we could actually complete the mural on time. Well, this process did not exactly work so David arrived on the work scene a little earlier than the rest of the team to actually sketch out the logos. Although more work for him, it was also more rewarding & probably produced better logos.
Below is one of the more simpler mural paintings but worthy of display as it's the motto in Costa Rica- it loosely means "Take it Easy" or "It's all Good." In total there were 20 logos that spread across the entire wall. It took 5 half days of cleaning, prep'ing & painting for it to be completed. The wall can be scene from the Voz Que Clama Mission (as it sits on a hill) & was marveled by all passing by (the school is located on the main road of Tuis).
Here's Elaina painting one of the more detailed murals. All the youth did an amazing job working in the heat with like 100% humidity (okay maybe it was more like 85%). Afterwards they would frequent the beautiful river. We found a spot that was relatively safe where we could dip in & cool off.
I anticipated that I would be able to help out more with the painting & just being with the youth BUT that is not what the Lord had for me. I was able to be with my kids in another country- that was enough! We had some bumps- Nathan got double ear infections, a reaction to the first antibiotic prescribed & a fever with diarrhea (spread out across the whole trip not really leaving room in between for healthy days) & Noah had a high fever & diarrhea as well. I spent a few days traveling to & fro between towns visiting the doctor trying to communicate medical histories in Spanish! Everyone was so gracious from the people that drove me to the nurses & doctors helping. The people & the scenery were perfect for each other- just beautiful. David & I were more than blessed by the kindness, joyfulness & hospitality of everyone we met. AND the country is just incredible. It is lush, fruitful, & abounding with color. Apparently the waves aren't half bad either- David was just a few hours away from epic waves soo...I think we'll be going back. From all that we learned we'll just do some things a little differently. More toys, more medicine, more food & probably our own house. Sleeping & eating (the basics) were two of the more challenging parts of my day- with the ages of our two kids we have different nap needs so getting one to be quiet when the other was sleeping was near impossible in our little back house. Although our house Mama is an incredible chief she worked outside the home so snack time (which is essential for lil' people) was hard to come by. We are so thankful for this experience as David & I love to travel & hope that our kids will too- we are definitely praying for other opportunities as our hope is to really take advantage of David's teacher schedule (no work in summers!). So stay tuned for Summer 2010!
Below is Nate with some of the locals- he was a gift (the meaning of his name) to this town! He was literally the talk of the town- I'm not sure babies get as big as Nathan in Tuis! Everyone wanted to hold him.
So thank you for your prayers & your financial help in making this mission trip a great success. The people of Tuis would LOVE to meet you!
Of course, Mom dressed up too! So fun in my mousy costume. It was like 85 on Halloween so I didn't put the full costume on until it got dark.
Noah was one McQueen's pit crew members. I found it at the thrift shop that same day for $2! Love it! He wore it for 3 straight days. So cute.
We tried to dress David up as a piece of cheese to go with me but poor guy was super sick so all he could really pull together was an 80's skier (but really it's all the stuff he wears today). Nate was tiger & ya know he didn't really know what was going on. He liked all the commotion though.
