Halfway there, living on a lot of prayers

I'm half way through my time here in Costa Rica! Friday was my last day working with the elementary students, and Monday I'll start with the 9th and 10th graders. I'll be with the high school for 5 weeks, then my amazing family comes to Costa Rica! My time here has gone by so fast. It's hard to believe that I've lived in a foreign country for a month and a half. I've become so accustomed to the way of living here, so I anticipate adjusting back to my life in the states will be a little challenging. I still haven't had any serious homesickness yet, but I think about friends and family everyday and miss them all so much.

So the swimming unit with the elementary students went really well. I thoroughly enjoyed being by the pool every day, and the students were all so excited to be swimming that it made my job easier to teach them a new stroke, breaststroke. We worked on breaststroke all 3 weeks. It was a new stroke for most of the students, so they needed a lot of repetition and practice to really learn it. Thankfully it was my favorite (and maybe even best) stroke from when I was on neighborhood and year-round swim teams, so it was fun for me to get to pass those skills on to the students. I talked to the high school PE teacher some on Friday and got the low down on what was going to happen the next 5 weeks. It got me really excited to start with them on Monday.

Now to fill you in on my trip to Panama! So the 5 of us left after school last Thursday (the 16th) for Bocas del Toro, Panama because the other 4 student teachers had to leave the country for 72 hours. You cannot be in Costa Rica for more than 90 days without a visa, and they are all going to be here longer than 90 days, so I jumped on board for the trip (wouldn't you?!). Bocas del Toro is a province comprised of the mainland and several large islands. Our hostel was on Bastimentos island. To give you a quick summary of the location (to not make you too jealous), there was clear water, cream colored sand, tropical fish, starfish, neon coral, delicious food, diverse culture, fire dancing, beautiful sunsets, warm and sunny weather, and sloths! We all had such an amazing experience, and if it wasn't such a pain to cross the border, we would probably go again. Speaking of crossing the border, to cross the border on the Caribbean side, you have to walk across a bridge. This bridge was just wide enough to fit an 18-wheeler, it was made out of rail ties and lose planks of wood, and it crossed over a wide river a looooooong ways down. Cool, right? Thankfully I'm not afraid of heights :) God really did keep us under his wing this trip though. We had no problems crossing the border, with the exception of buying an unnecessary $14 bus ticket. We had beautiful weather, no sicknesses, safe travels both ways, and we got to see even more of His beautiful creation.

Here's part 1 of our crossing

And part 2 (a little boring, but you see what I mean with the bridge...)

A few weeks ago Lauren, Erica and I joined a Bible study on Heaven. The study book we're using is by Randy Alcorn, and so far I'm really into it. We missed the meeting last Monday because we were still on our way back from Panama, so I'm a little behind on the days right now, but I'm starting to get a better idea of what Heaven will be like. To be completely honest, I have never really thought about what Heaven will look like. I've read many verses talking about it, but the only images in my head that I've had are streets made of gold, seeing loved one who have passed away, living with no pain or sickness, and most importantly just being with my Father and Jesus Christ. So from the book I've gathered that the two sides of what people picture Heaven as are that it is either a physical place or completely spiritual (where we don't have bodies and we're just spirits floating around). I believe it will be a physical place, and from the little reading in the book I've done so far, I'm starting to see it as a New Heaven and a New Earth. Now my thinking might be a little off, but basically I'm picturing Heaven as a perfect earth, where there are buildings, gardens, kingdoms, feasts, people, and where everything is living! And this is just the beginning. It looks like this book covers a lot from what Heaven will look like, what we will do, and getting deeper into redemption and Christ's resurrection.

Today Jessica, Kelly and I went on a hike up a mountain about 15 minutes away from our house. It was one of if not THE most challenging hikes I've done. On the way up though, there are 3 giant crosses you pass, each one different from the other. When we started our hike, it was cold, overcast, and very windy, which actually made the hike better than if it had been sunny and hot. At first we weren't exactly sure which trail/dirt road to follow, but once we made it to the first cross, we were straight :) This mountain overlooked Escazu, San Jose, and probably one or two other towns. It was so cool looking out over the cities we've been in for the last 6 weeks! It was so beautiful too because there were still other mountains and fields on the outskirts of the cities, buildings, and homes. On the way back down, the clouds cleared up, so we were able to see from even farther up. I think the pictures will explain it best...

This is the first cross, but the pic was taken on the way down when the sun was out :)

The second cross

The third cross

But anyways, like the title of this blog says, I'm living on a lot of prayers. I know that so many of you who are reading this have been praying for me while I've been here, and even before I left for CR. Let me tell you, they are strongly felt. I've felt God's love for me so much the last 6 weeks, and I know it is ONLY because of Him why this trip has been so amazing. He's opening my eyes even more to the hurting people of this world, and He's continuing to grow a desire in my heart to love on them no matter their background, attitude, values or beliefs. Thank you again for your prayers and support!! I can't wait to get back and tell everyone more about my time here.

Love to you all, God bless, and pura vida

"Normal" Life

I am almost half way through my fourth week of teaching, and let me tell you, the time has flown by! I am more than halfway through my time teaching the elementary students, and I am finishing my last 3 weeks with them in their swimming unit! Yesterday (Monday) was the first day of swimming. I have just been observing the students so I can see what level they are all at and to make notes of some students who will need more assistance than others. I am excited to begin teaching solo again tomorrow, but I am a bit nervous about the new “classroom” management techniques I’ll have to use in the pool. The students are so much more distracted being in the water than they are in the gym, so I know it will take a lot of patience, organization, and clear instruction. Even though I have not had as much experience teaching swimming as I have other physical activities, I feel comfortable teaching swimming because of a history of being on my neighborhood summer swim team for countless years, being certified as a lifeguard 3 years ago, and just loving swimming myself J. I am starting off with the breaststroke kick tomorrow (my favorite stroke!), so I think that will help ease me into this new setting. It has been very fun walking down the hall and hearing “hi Miss Meadows!” from many students, and I am gradually learning all of their names (there are about 250 students in the 2^nd-5^th grade).

This past Saturday, all four of us girls (Kelly stayed home to rest) went back to Jaco for the day. Once again it was an interesting bus experience for us (but no worries, nothing was stolen this trip…score!). We got our tickets for our bus trip to Jaco Saturday morning, but our baby-Spanish-comprehending ears didn’t catch the “de pie” part that the ticket-seller was telling us right before we bought them. If you are like us, and still lack some basic Spanish terminology, “de pie” means “standing.” So…we reluctantly were able to sit on the floor of the bus for the 2-hour trip to Jaco. Thankfully though we arrived safe and sound, and just a little carsick for some of us. But once again, the beach was absolutely beautiful! We went to one end of the cove where there were less people and less trash in the sand. We explored more around the rocks where waves were crashing in (check out my FB pics coming soon) and had a delicious lunch at The Taco Bar.

On Sunday, Erica, Lauren and I went to church again, and had a great time in the Sunday School class again and got to be in the service for the first time. After church, some people from our Sunday School class invited us to lunch. It was so nice meeting new people and having fellowship like that that we don’t get to experience as much while we’ve been here. Later that day, Kelly, Jessica and I went to the Multi Plaza (humongous mall) and went to Holligans to watch the Super Bowl...go Giants! Again, I don’t get a lot of chances to watch anything on TV, including sports, so that was a very fun time for all of us, and we appreciated getting to go out for the night. In case you didn’t see my FB status on Sunday, I realized just how Spanish-minded I’m becoming. I saw Jacobs on the back of a player’s jersey during the Super Bowl, and I promise you, in my mind I read it, ‘ha-kobes.’ Yea, I’ve only been here 3.5 weeks…can’t wait to see how I’ll be thinking in two more months!

I have been realizing more and more just how much God has had favor on me during this trip. I have been so protected, felt so secure, had no major sickness that has kept me from what I’ve needed to do, and I have felt so much peace and joy here. Now I don’t think I’ve ever been away from my family for more than 4 weeks, and I’ve only been gone 3.5 weeks, but I haven’t had any feelings of homesickness, and I know that that can only be because of God’s protection over my heart. (Side note: please be praying for me that I don’t have homesickness during this next week, as it will be the “1 month” mark on the 13^th) But seriously though, and not to brag, I just feel that my life is so blessed. Many things have fallen into place recently, and without sharing too much, I’ll just say that God has been changing my heart about possibilities for my future. Before I left for Costa Rica, I didn't really have any worries about anything regarding the trip. For example, I was suppose to have my federal background check (FBC) with me to take to CR, and as of 2 days before I left I still didn't have it. My attitude was something like, "it will be fine, if it comes in the mail by tomorrow then great, if not then I'm sure it will be ok and we'll get it worked out. My mom's attitude was something like, "why aren't you more worried about this?? What if you get there and they don't let you teach??" Well, my FBC came in the mail the day before I left...but to my Athens address, so I ended up driving all the way to Athens to pick it up less than 24 hours before I would be on my flight. Around this time is when my mom said that I have a "miracle life." I hardly ever stress or worry about things, and some how everything always works out on time (or eventually:) (Side note: I took the final exam for my online class the day before I left for CR too....the last class I needed to be able to start my student teaching and to graduate. no big deal)

In Sunday School, we went through Colossians 3:15-16…¹⁵ And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. The bold words are the ones that we were meditating on in class. This is my desire: that God’s peace would just dominate my life, and that Scripture would live in me, where my life is an example of God’s Word. It’s a journey to get to that perfect point, but I’m completely confident that God is taking me down that path to reach that destination. I want my "miracle life" to be a "normal" life though. Meaning living minute by minute with God leading every decision, praying constantly, being at peace, and letting the word of Christ dwell in me richly, and doing all of that like it's second nature. Obviously I'm not there yet, but I know God can grow me into a woman of that nature.