Sunday/ June 22, 2003 ~
I awaked to sounds as if I were sleeping in an aviary. There must be 20 different birds chirping.
The grounds are lush - there is clipped ground cover instead of grass. There are trees and bushes everywhere and my favorite, bougainvillea, growing almost wild against the walls. The terrain is hilly, from the balcony of the dorm you can see houses of various sizes and conditions scrunched together. The traffic sounds are incessant and fast. The air is still and moist.
Bandy made an anonymous friend at their pool . . . and it stung her quite proficiently. They had seen a centipede earlier - so assume it left his mark - you will have to ask where!
The coffee is great and breakfast smells AWESOME! There are mango trees, banana trees, huge bamboo groves, wild orchid bushes - I've never seen so many shades of green.
Breakfast was wonderful! Fresh fruit, fresh mango juice, scrambled eggs with bacon, black beans and rice and homemade biscuits! WOW! Fruit just does not taste like this at home.
Bandy and Aurelia brought our devotion ~ focused on fear and the antidote to fear - faith. We are to focus on our personal fears and share with each other this evening.
We load up on a huge bus, what comfort, and prepare to leave Alajuela.
As we leave the city the property looks more poverty stricken - yet clean. Many people we pass are mopping, sweeping or working in their yards. Lots of laundry hung on outdoor lines, but how will it ever dry?!
The winding roads make passing other busses a real challenge! We have left rolling hills and are steadily climbing toward the mountains.
We stop to shop in Sarchi. No bartering, thank goodness. Most of us ate a wonderful meal in a little outdoor café. The service was laid back and the food delicious.
Our next stop was at the topiary garden in Zarcero. What a sight! A century old Catholic Church was located at the rear of the garden; the paintings and stain glass were breathtaking!
Most of us dozed as we continued on to the "farm". We pass many families sitting and rocking on their porch. Numerous youth playing soccer - to us in an unorganized, unstructured way - they seem happy and "stress free" - such contrast to America where our children and their play are overly structured and the demands to exceed is ever present. I know that my personal "biggest" task will be to stop living on "fast forward" - to relax and be content in the present moment.
Traveling down a very rough road we finally reached the "farm". A large mission group was leaving, as well as a doctor and dentist missionary team. Another group from Tennessee has been here one week and will be sharing the camp with us.
We are staying at the "Hilton". The groups that had been in previous years were amazed at the transformation of this cottage. Other mission teams had redone the bathroom and put tile on the floor. A new coat of paint makes everything look so clean. The bath is co-ed - one huge room with numerous individual stalls and shower. Interesting enough - the walls do not go all the way up and only one shower has warm (tepid) water. One other has a showerhead - the others just a pipe . . . the electrical circuit needs to be re-done, where's an electrician? Our first challenge will be to work out a bathroom plan.
The beds are homemade bunk beds with ultra thin mattresses; we will probably be very appreciative of our box-springs and mattresses at home.
After unloading (Eric is our first walking wounded) we re-board and travel to Quesada for supper. Robin, a summer missionary volunteer, travels with us. She talks about how busy they have been with groups this summer; yet there is still so much to be done. Tomorrow Marion will be visiting with prison officials, trying to secure permission to start a Kairos ministry in the local prison. The connections between us and "them" seem to be so much stronger than I anticipated. Brothers and sisters in Christ are taking on a whole new meaning.
We have reservations at Restaurant Christal at 5:30 PM - no one, except Mary Claire J, seems concerned at all about making it close to time.
Dinner is an interesting experience. Robin helps organize our chaos by ordering for us. Several order fruit with either leché (milk) or water (yes, they say the water here is safe to drink!). Blackberry (Mora) seems to be the most popular choice, with milk. However, I would recommend pinã (pineapple) with leché.
After dinner we stroll around the square - the local emergency personnel have a lights and siren parade around the square - the locals say it is for the gringos and ask aren't we gringos?! A little boy attaches to Ginny - it is so sweet to see them walk hand-in-hand and visit, communicating with touch and love.
Most of us indulge in ice cream at POPS - yum! Short rides back to the farm - we all are anticipating what tomorrow will bring.
You would be amazed at how close the groups is becoming. Our share time was very open and meaningful. We all shared some of our fears and I doubt any of us will leave here the same. I get a picture of how "church" is suppose to be and am hungry for First Church Canyon to experience that. As we become flexible and "shareful" (Kayla's word) we lose the emphasis on the god "me".
There is a scream in the bathroom - not panic - maybe excitement - Bandy has discovered a small tree frog in the stall. It is an interesting creature - small, with suction cup feet.
There is no furniture in our "living room", but before you sit on the floor, scope out the area for scorpions, etc.
Finally, we retire - there is a nice breeze and it is amazing that with all the moisture in the air, it is not "Dallas/Ft. Worth sticky". (Shawna's term)
I know I am exhausted - I hardly notice that when I lay down, my back feels the paneling boards through the foam mattress. This helps to remind me that there is some sacrifice involved in mission trips.
