Getting to know you...

So it's been almost a month here in Costa Rica and yes, I still love it. Don't get me wrong, there have been hiccups. The church that I wrote about last post supposedly started at 1pm, right...Wrong! Either the neighbor gave us the wrong information or we just didn't understand what he was saying but we were just shy of 3 hours late. Ha!
On a positive note, we absolutely adore this little Pentecostal church called "Eglesia de Guatuso". The beginning of every service (4 days a week) consists of 45 min of prayer. Yes, I said it, 45 minutes of non-stop, get on your feet or stay on your knees, kneeled at the altar or in your seat prayer! Yes!

Everyone and I mean everyone comes over and kisses you on the cheek with a "Dios Vendiga" (God bless) after service. They are very friendly, so if you are not the touchy type.... stay clear! Two nights ago we had the Pastors over for coffee and I actually got the kids to come out and sing for them in Spanish. Ok, so I paid them 100 colones each, but it was worth it. (smile)

 What a blessing it is to know that the family and fellowship of Christians can be found no matter where you set your feet... Amen!

Water is shut off here every once in a while for various reasons. We didn't know this until we turned on the faucet to have some tea and realized... oh, just like that huh? I thought, no problem. Landlord said that we have a reserve tank, that should get us through. Tony went out back to check it and yes, you guessed it, empty. Water must have been out for a while and we used up all of the reserve.
"No prob" said our friendly neighbor the next morning. He told Tony to follow him to his house and he can use all the water he wanted from his faucet out back.
"Gracias Senor! You are so kind." and hence came our water for the next 2 days.

If anyone is wondering, we do not have a washing machine as of yet. I can't really blame anyone but myself since I would never buy one brand new and used ones on craigslist seem to go pretty quickly. So, I have learned the art of handwashing. Thank goodness for a lovely, bright laundry room with a built in washing bin and a covered area for the clothes to hang. Honestly, a little bit of music in my ear and willing kids to hang the clothes makes the chore... not so bad.

There is no doubt that things are different here. Portions are much smaller at the grocery stores. I have seen just one gallon of milk since I've been here. All the rest are sold in quarts. No huge tubs of butter or half gallons of creamer. Neither are there huge boxes of laundry detergent or gallons of fabric softener.
The first time I purchased bananas at the farm stand I asked for 12. The young man behind the counter opened his eyes wide and said "doce banana?!?" I felt odd, so I explained to him that we have 8 children. He then smiled and shook his head ok. Now, they are happy to see us coming down the hill with our shopping bags.

As we become more and more familiar with the merchants here, they are eager to help us learn the language while learning a bit of English themselves. My spanish is still pretty rough, but at least now I can go out alone and not feel totally lost in translation.

Homeschooling is up and going. Kids are back into the swing of things and hating it! Ha! I try to tell them that they have it easy. I only require Bible study, journaling, math, literature, writing, science, history and a generous amount of Costa Rica study which can all be done in their pajamas. Younger kids spend a lot of time outdoors discovering new bugs, plants and birds. The worst has been a big black hairy spider that I dare call a tarantula. Yuck!

I'm ready to be settled so we can begin some missions work. I know that the Lord has the timing in his control and when we begin, it will be amazing!

More to come...