Just another day.
“Be of good courage, He will strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” Psalm 31: 24
Amen.
So much to say… where do I begin…
My Tico niece Rachel is a little love bug and, despite the fact I can’t really talk to her, she loves being around me. I have realized, once again, that love truly is a universal language. You don’t have to speak the same language to know someone loves you. This week has been hard for me mainly because I can’t speak Spanish very well. Sometimes I just have to look at the kids and smile my biggest smile and hope they forgive me for having absolutely no idea what they are saying. I think they do, for the most part ☺ They are precious and love me anyway.
Saturday:
Oh, what a relaxing but busy day. We started off the day pretty lazy and in our reading mode. We ate breakfast, read, ate lunch, read some more, went to the project to check internet, came home, and read some more ☺ A little later we walked to the mall with our Tico sister, Rebecca. I think it was about 2 miles there and back, and it was a good experience to walk there and see the sights. The mall was really really nice. Like nicer than our mall in Little Rock, haha. (I bet Rachel will tell the milkshake story so go to her blog to look for it!) We walked around there and got a fantastic strawberry milkshakes! We then made our way back home, before 6:00 of course because we didn’t want to get mugged or anything, and made one last stop at the butcher shop. Rach and I were pretty tired at this point, we think it’s because of the altitude, so we sat down and watched a little TV with… I don’t remember. But boy do they watch a lot of TV… the other night we watched The Invisible with Doña Nuria and we’ve seen bits and pieces of several other movies with Rebecca. It’s kinda funny actually.
Anyway, little did we know that it was family dinner that night… which meant everyone - David, their son, his wife Natalia and their beautiful newborn baby Sofia, plus one of the men who works at the project, Orocu and his two children. And, like always, there was Rachel, myself, Don Herberth, Doña Nuria, Rebecca, Andres, and Richard, Melissa, and Rachel (their other son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter who live next door). It was a big group. David cooked carne asada for us on the grill and we sat outside under the stars in the perfect weather! When we were done, Richard brought out a surprise for Rachel which turned out to be some fireworks!! Woohoo. Fireworks on January 9th! We shot them off in their small backyard and it was great. No accidents, although Richard tried to push Rebecca toward them in true brotherly fashion (I think he’s probably in his early 30s), ha. During the fireworks, while I was holding Rachel (the younger), their bird, Coco had gotten out of his cage and apparently didn’t like the fireworks… well, Rebecca lit one and right when it went off Coco flew right past me, hit me in the neck and flew into the house! It was absolutely hilarious and we were all laughing so hard for a while. It was seriously the most random thing that could have happened at that moment. I think it could have only happened to me ☺ I wish I would have gotten some pictures, but I got caught up in the night and forgot. I’ll try to catch those moments next time and share them with you. We finally went to bed after a long, fun day with our Tico family. Our first week in Costa Rica was almost done.
Sunday:
Church day! I had been looking forward to this all week because I seriously had no idea what it was going to be like. All said and done it wasn’t too different than a service in the states, besides the whole language thing. I didn’t understand a darn thing. Well, I did understand a word here and there, but other than that I was totally lost. I think the reason I was so lost was because I was tired and just didn’t want to try to figure out what everyone was saying. But it so good to see other believers worship Jesus in a different country! What an awesome experience.
In terms of weather, the whole morning it looked like it was going to rain and when we left church it started to drizzle. We jumped into Richard’s car, Melissa and Rachel picked us up because they don’t go to the same church, and we drove the 30 seconds back to our house ☺
Rebecca asked us later in the day if we wanted to go with her and Don Herberth to the hardware store, and we definitely wanted to go and experience a Costa Rican hardware store. We hopped into Richard’s car, the only car in the fam, and we were off – Rachel, Rachel (the younger), Rebecca, Don Herberth, and myself. We went about 15 minutes and pulled into a big parking lot of equivalent to Lowe’s or Home Depot. I think everyone in the city was there but it’s was fun to experience something new. We then went to some other place and I have no idea what it was because Rachel, Rachel and I stayed in the car and listened to Reggae Tone, haha. We then made our way home, well, after a quick stop at a bakery and pharmacy. I’ll tell you one thing, I could never drive in Costa Rica. They are crazy, don’t follow signs, and give mean looks. The end.
Rachel and I listened to a Tim Keller sermon this afternoon. It was nice to hear a sermon in English since I didn’t get much out of the one this morning.
We then talked for a bit and are now on our computers doing random things. It’s pretty cloudy still, so we have been pretty sleep all day. I’m really wondering if it’s the altitude or just the adjustment of living here.
Tomorrow:
We have a team of high school students coming to work for the day tomorrow at the project. I’m not really sure why they are coming for just one day… I think it’s some program where they go out of the country for a week and pick a place to work for part of the time and travel the rest. I’m not really sure... Anyway, they are coming tomorrow and we have another team flying in tomorrow from the states so we’ll be very busy. The week will be filled with lots of construction, meeting new faces, and playing with precious children ☺
Amen.
So much to say… where do I begin…
My Tico niece Rachel is a little love bug and, despite the fact I can’t really talk to her, she loves being around me. I have realized, once again, that love truly is a universal language. You don’t have to speak the same language to know someone loves you. This week has been hard for me mainly because I can’t speak Spanish very well. Sometimes I just have to look at the kids and smile my biggest smile and hope they forgive me for having absolutely no idea what they are saying. I think they do, for the most part ☺ They are precious and love me anyway.
Saturday:
Oh, what a relaxing but busy day. We started off the day pretty lazy and in our reading mode. We ate breakfast, read, ate lunch, read some more, went to the project to check internet, came home, and read some more ☺ A little later we walked to the mall with our Tico sister, Rebecca. I think it was about 2 miles there and back, and it was a good experience to walk there and see the sights. The mall was really really nice. Like nicer than our mall in Little Rock, haha. (I bet Rachel will tell the milkshake story so go to her blog to look for it!) We walked around there and got a fantastic strawberry milkshakes! We then made our way back home, before 6:00 of course because we didn’t want to get mugged or anything, and made one last stop at the butcher shop. Rach and I were pretty tired at this point, we think it’s because of the altitude, so we sat down and watched a little TV with… I don’t remember. But boy do they watch a lot of TV… the other night we watched The Invisible with Doña Nuria and we’ve seen bits and pieces of several other movies with Rebecca. It’s kinda funny actually.
Anyway, little did we know that it was family dinner that night… which meant everyone - David, their son, his wife Natalia and their beautiful newborn baby Sofia, plus one of the men who works at the project, Orocu and his two children. And, like always, there was Rachel, myself, Don Herberth, Doña Nuria, Rebecca, Andres, and Richard, Melissa, and Rachel (their other son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter who live next door). It was a big group. David cooked carne asada for us on the grill and we sat outside under the stars in the perfect weather! When we were done, Richard brought out a surprise for Rachel which turned out to be some fireworks!! Woohoo. Fireworks on January 9th! We shot them off in their small backyard and it was great. No accidents, although Richard tried to push Rebecca toward them in true brotherly fashion (I think he’s probably in his early 30s), ha. During the fireworks, while I was holding Rachel (the younger), their bird, Coco had gotten out of his cage and apparently didn’t like the fireworks… well, Rebecca lit one and right when it went off Coco flew right past me, hit me in the neck and flew into the house! It was absolutely hilarious and we were all laughing so hard for a while. It was seriously the most random thing that could have happened at that moment. I think it could have only happened to me ☺ I wish I would have gotten some pictures, but I got caught up in the night and forgot. I’ll try to catch those moments next time and share them with you. We finally went to bed after a long, fun day with our Tico family. Our first week in Costa Rica was almost done.
Sunday:
Church day! I had been looking forward to this all week because I seriously had no idea what it was going to be like. All said and done it wasn’t too different than a service in the states, besides the whole language thing. I didn’t understand a darn thing. Well, I did understand a word here and there, but other than that I was totally lost. I think the reason I was so lost was because I was tired and just didn’t want to try to figure out what everyone was saying. But it so good to see other believers worship Jesus in a different country! What an awesome experience.
In terms of weather, the whole morning it looked like it was going to rain and when we left church it started to drizzle. We jumped into Richard’s car, Melissa and Rachel picked us up because they don’t go to the same church, and we drove the 30 seconds back to our house ☺
Rebecca asked us later in the day if we wanted to go with her and Don Herberth to the hardware store, and we definitely wanted to go and experience a Costa Rican hardware store. We hopped into Richard’s car, the only car in the fam, and we were off – Rachel, Rachel (the younger), Rebecca, Don Herberth, and myself. We went about 15 minutes and pulled into a big parking lot of equivalent to Lowe’s or Home Depot. I think everyone in the city was there but it’s was fun to experience something new. We then went to some other place and I have no idea what it was because Rachel, Rachel and I stayed in the car and listened to Reggae Tone, haha. We then made our way home, well, after a quick stop at a bakery and pharmacy. I’ll tell you one thing, I could never drive in Costa Rica. They are crazy, don’t follow signs, and give mean looks. The end.
Rachel and I listened to a Tim Keller sermon this afternoon. It was nice to hear a sermon in English since I didn’t get much out of the one this morning.
We then talked for a bit and are now on our computers doing random things. It’s pretty cloudy still, so we have been pretty sleep all day. I’m really wondering if it’s the altitude or just the adjustment of living here.
Tomorrow:
We have a team of high school students coming to work for the day tomorrow at the project. I’m not really sure why they are coming for just one day… I think it’s some program where they go out of the country for a week and pick a place to work for part of the time and travel the rest. I’m not really sure... Anyway, they are coming tomorrow and we have another team flying in tomorrow from the states so we’ll be very busy. The week will be filled with lots of construction, meeting new faces, and playing with precious children ☺
I like your verse. :) I've been praying for you both! may I quote you for a moment, "I didn't understand a darn thing." yeah, I laughed out loud... :) hang in there! remember that God's got you there for His purpose for YOU, Abby Dietrich. love you.
ReplyDeleteAbby! You are amazing! You have always made me laugh and you still do! I am proud of you! I am sure you are blessing so many. That little girl is blessed to have you. Stay strong remember what Melody said. I ditto her. His ways are higher than ours. Praise God. I am praying for you. Love you so much.
ReplyDeleteHey Abby,
ReplyDeleteI know exactly how you feel about the language barrier. I always felt so lost on the Mexico mission trips! The kids would try so hard to tell me something, but all I could do was smile and shrug my shoulders. Praise God that there are so many ways to demonstrate how you care other than mere words. Hang in there, you will learn the language. I'll be praying for it all to start clicking. We missed you and Rachel Sunday night at youth. Of course, we prayed for you, as do Jim and I everyday.
Miss you,
Terry
Abby dear, I'm praying for your Spanish to improve. I think I should practice mine so I don't lose what I've learned in case I need it someday. Whenever you say "ha" or "haha" I can hear your laugh. I miss it. Yay for family dinners and Tim Keller.
ReplyDeleteAbby, it sounds like you're having alot of fun and definitely keeping busy! I'm excited to hear what you're doing with the teams from America. You are wonderful and I miss you lots! Praying for you.
ReplyDeleteKatie