Un Milagro

Although I haven't posted anything in over a week, I want to slowly update on everything thats been happening. There are some pics on facebook that show just the smallest amount of our many adventures. However, I want to thank God for actively answering our prayers for one of the Dozier kids, Nadia who now has 19 stitches, 4 in her ear and 15 in her head. While driving through a huge storm in Alajuela, we learned Nadia was on the way to the clinic over an hour away from Vara Blanca in Alajuela where we were planning on stopping for dinner. Fortunately, we made it in time for her dad and brother to be by her side while getting her stitches. The doctor said her accident could have easily been fatal. We all prayed fervently through the night. The Doziers, who are trying to live our the biblical model of development work, don't have medical insurance. However, God is good and not only did he protect Nadia and put a smile on her adorable face, but the Doziers were not charged ANYTHING for the medical service they received including service by a surgeon, CT scans, and xrays. What a blessing. The faith of this family is unbelievable. They are teaching me so much just by their example.

Casa

FINALLY! Some pictures of where I'm living. We are staying in the ADE Center in the rainforest. We take a long path to reach the bottom but it is a beautiful walk at 6000 ft elevation!

ADE Center

Coming upon the ADE center

The view at the road 

The path from the road to the ADE center

Beautiful hydrangeas line the way from the road to the center

Our school room, dining room, hangout room, etc.

Our wonderful front porch

Gorgeous vegetation on the way to the center

Our kitchen at the center

I will be living here for the next two weeks! It is definitely a place that fosters community and has brought us closer together!

Puppies!

I know I don't have any pictures posted yet of where I am living, what I am eating, the people I am with...you know, the normal stuff. But I do have pictures with ADORABLE puppies! So I am posting those until I have a little bit more developed pictures of where I am staying. I will work on that tomorrow. The Dozier's dog had puppies. They are going to be small dogs but they look like my dog, Lily, when she was a puppy. They are four weeks and adorable!

Also a random armadillo...

Vacas

I am in love with the dairy cows that live by the ADE center where we are living while taking the class. They are Jersey and adorable and several calves roam around the jungle pasture. They are beautiful. We got to watch the local farmer milk them although he uses pumps. I know I just got here and you'd probably like to see where I live, but this is much more interesting for me to tell you about. 

                                   

How can you not love them?

Here.

It feels great. The sun is still shining and I am enjoying mango juice with a view of the nearby volcano. There was a 6.0 earthquake yesterday, about an hour before I took off from Miami to San Jose. This is only .2 away on the Richter scale from the devastating earthquake two and a half years ago in this very valley. Thankfully, the earthquake was very deep, approximately 70.0 km below the earth’s surface. This means that there is not nearly as much damage (if any) although more people felt it.

I stayed at the big house last night that will be my long term residence for the internship. It is gorgeous and I will have my own bedroom. It lacks some storage but I will really enjoy it. The bathroom is huge and has a ceramic tile dolphin in it. Of course.

The rest of my class mates for the Tropical Ag and Missions course arrive throughout the day today so I will meet them later tonight. We’ll be staying at the ADE center which has bunk beds and several rooms and bathrooms. The professor is nice and awkward in a very professor sort of way. He is very knowledgeable and has a lot of experience in tropical biology. He tries to say everything in Spanish. Its endearing.

Traveling was fairly uneventful. Due to the generosity of my dad, I was able to use American Airlines frequent flyer miles. The only stipulation was that I had to sit in first class. Bummer J. I did not feel nearly cool enough in my Chacos and old Northface backpack to be sitting up front. While waiting on the tarmac for takeoff, the guy sitting next to me said, “Can you believe they haven’t even offered us any drinks yet?” Hah… He then proceeded to schedule himself an 80 minute massage. No beverages were clearly stressing him out.

The flight from Miami to San Jose was a little lower key. A drunken man in business class had to be reprimanded for swearing before we took off but he just passed out when we got airborne. I wasn’t sure if there was going to be any problem for Lindsey (the director of International Programs for ADE) getting to the airport due to the earthquake. Fortunately there wasn’t and I found her quickly in the stifling city air. The drive up the mountain was great and we cooled off significantly.

Today and tomorrow is low key and I will try to post some pictures of the center. I look forward to the time to rest and hydrate up at 6000ft and enjoy Pura Vida J

3 DAYS!

Getting ready, getting PUMPED!

I can't believe its only three days until I leave for Costa Rica. The first three weeks I am taking Tropical Agriculture and Missions through the Au Sable Institute. Not only do I get credit for this class, but it will directly relate to what I am doing the rest of the summer. 

June and July will be spent completing the internship. I hear there are two other interns and am excited to meet them :) I picked up a 3-pack of moleskins so hopefully that will get me through the whole summer! 

This last week at home hasn't been all fun and games. I am still in need of a lot of support. Unfortunately gas is $4.49/gallon which is not conducive to raising support. However, I have already learned a lot about reliance on God (some still in progress) and know he will provide. Thank you to all who have supported me through prayer already. I know I will learn so much more from the staff at ADE this summer who constantly rely on God's provision. 

ADE posts a blog as well and can be viewed/followed at: http://blog.glocalade.org/. The website for ADE (where I will taking the class and working for my internship) is http://english.glocalade.org/. They are much more articulate with what is going on than I am. 

Getting closer, getting more nervous! Continue to pray for fundraising and safe travel on Friday!