Church, the River, and a Cow

Another day has come and gone, and we have learned this: we have much to learn.  We attended church today at the school/mission “Voz Que Clama.”  Although it was 100% in Spanish, Eddie and I (with the help of our Spanish/English Bibles) were able to understand about 10% of what was said.  Many of the songs were familiar tunes and the message was about “fe se ve…” or “Faith is…”  It was a good reminder that even though I feel overwhelmed with learning this language and I see it as impossible, nothing is impossible with God.  I was reminded to have faith that God will help me.

To the left is the room that Jaden will be staying in at the school while Eddie and I have our Spanish lessons.  His babysitter’s name is Diana (pronounced just like my name) and she seems to love him already.  Is God at work, or what?

One more thing about that room: it did not exist just one year ago.  They have not had families with babies attend the school in years, but God knew we were coming.  Just last year, April (one of the other directors) got tired of chasing her son (who is close to Jaden’s age) around during church and requested a Nursery.  They put it together for her and now it is available to children who attend church with their families and students who have small children. 

On our walk home, we could not resist admiring the beauty around us.  And we could not resist dipping our toes in “El Rio de Tuis.”  We walk near it everyday and we can hear it from the driveway of our home.  It was cold but not freezing.  I just kept thinking over and over in shock… “We live here!”

As we walked toward our home, we could hear music coming from the neighbor’s house.   Upon our arrival, we were greeted by Samia’s sister and niece.  Jaden and Ebony had a few minutes to dance and play together before we went in for lunch and a siesta.

Yesterday, we met Gabriella.  She is 17 years old and she was in charge of showing us how to get to and from the city of Turrialba.  She understands and speaks English well, but she is too shy to speak it much.  Turrialba is about 20 min. away, but we had to take the bus and it took about 40 min.  Once we arrived, she showed us the bank, the market, the park, a pizza place, a cell phone store, and a grocery store.  I know that if we had to find them again on our own, we would get lost.  We will not try that on our own just yet, but we will learn.  Jaden made car sounds (vvvvvroom) on the bus all the way to Turrialba, and slept the whole way back to Tuis.   I was not feeling 100% that day, and the trip to the city overwhelmed me greatly.  I know I will get used to it, but it is hard for me to imagine just yet.

On Friday evening, we went to dinner at Samia’s parents’ restaurant.   We were the only ones there to eat and it was 7:00 pm.  They are only open on the weekends, but the rain keeps people away.  Jaden enjoyed the space to dance and run around.  The food was delicious, and Eddie splurged and purchased a Fanta to match his shirt (I know… cheesy, right?).

As I sit here waiting for the photos to upload on this blog, I hear the dogs next door barking like crazy.   I look out the window of our bedroom into the neighbor's yard and what do I see?  A cow.  It was walking to our back yard so I went into the kitchen and opened the back door and look who was looking at me!  He promptly ran away just after he saw me and I snapped this picture.  I guess I will be seeing new things every day, right?  Hopefully I will have my camera handy along the way!  I don't want to forget anything about our experience here.