Dinner Date!

Wednesday, January 16

Jaden had us up bright and early this morning.  He woke up around 5:30 and wouldn’t go back to sleep.  Doesn’t he know that we can wake up at 7:00 and still make it to class on time?  Well, it is not the end of the world…  Eddie just fed him breakfast early and let me sleep some more.  Did I mention that I had the best husband in the entire world?

Four hours of class went by in the blink of an eye once again today.  We studied the difference between “por” and “para” again today, and I finally feel like I am starting to understand it.  It took long enough, but when Patricia gave us a chance to practice asking each other questions again, it started to come naturally.  I still struggle with using the wrong verb tense, but I know it will come with time.  The more we practice, the more we will remember how to speak properly.

We ate another delicious lunch made by Gatica, and then took Jaden outside to play.  His friends came over to play and he loved all the attention.  They played Frisbee and ball and they asked Eddie to play with them about 10 times.  He kept saying no, because he had homework to do.  They were so disappointed, so eventually, he headed outside and played with the kids. 

Jaden took a very long nap, and even slept through door slams, hammering, dogs barking, and loud music outside.  It was not such a quiet afternoon, but he was tired from his early morning.  I got some studying in, and then had playtime outside with Jaden.  He is just loving the freedom he has in our big yard.  After a quiet night “in”, we all headed to bed early.

Thursday, January 17

It is Culture Class Day once again… and today, I did not feel prepared.  We planned a drama in our class yesterday; but with 4 people, it was difficult to find a time to rehearse it.  So, we pretty much threw the finishing touches on it this morning as we practiced it in class a few times. 

Our topic was “Las Vacaciones” and “El Cuesto de Enero” and we had to use the words we learned in class: “por” and “para.”  We basically talked about what the Costa Ricans do during their time off, which is in December and January. We also talked about how the first two weeks of January are difficult because they spent all their money on an extravagant Christmas, and they usually have to do very inexpensive things for their vacation.  Our drama depicted a family who planned a weekend trip to the beach, but their kids wanted to go to Disney World instead.  It was meant to be humorous, and we all felt like it was a success! 

Eddie and Amanda did a skit to teach about what “El Cuesto de Enero” is.  Their skit depicted two friends: one bought expensive gifts for Christmas for the other and then had to sell all his belongings at a pawn shop in January because he had no money left.  They did a great job, too.  Of course: drama comes easy to the Berrios family!

Ryan and Kirsten’s presentation was about the food they eat during this time of year and what they do during “Las Vacaciones”.  They have only been here 2 weeks, and they are doing awesome!  I am proud of them!  Stevenson had his “graduation” today, and he said goodbye to his teacher, Patricia.

Karin, Anna and Patricia.
Anna is Eddie and Amanda's new teacher.

We had our regular Zumba class this afternoon, and Eddie got to play a few hours of basketball.  This is the life, right!!!

We invited Freddy and Samia and the kids over for dinner.  It was a good feeling to be able to serve them after they served us as our host family for the past three months.  Eddie made chicken cutlet, Amanda made cheese dip and a pretty salad, and I made banana bread for dessert.   We had a blast over dinner and loved the chance to spend time with our “family.”  We shared lots of laughs, and Jaden just loved all the attention.  He broke their hearts as he cried and reached for them when it was time for them to leave.  He really loves that family!!!  And so do we!  We are thankful to God for bringing them into our lives! 

And Jaden, enjoying feeding himself like a big boy.  This booster seat (and a few books to boost it higher) and the Tommie Tippie bowl and mat have been life-savers.  They make it possible for Jaden to stuff his own mouth full of food (just like Daddy). Thank you Anna and Bonnie!

 “Take a human bite!” – In memory of: Tata (Eddie’s grandpa; he always said that when Eddie would take HUGE bites of food)

Estudia la Biblia #1

BIBLE STUDY UPDATE: Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Last night, we had 12 people show up for Bible study.  Not only that, but there were kids, too.  Amanda was gracious enough to volunteer to take care of the kids.  All 5 boys and Amanda huddled up in Jaden’s room with all of the toys Jaden owns and played for an hour and a half while the adults opened God’s word and discussed Ephesians 2:1-10 in Spanish.

It was a blessing to see the interest in their eyes and to hear their willingness to participate.  Quite honestly, I could not understand everything that was said, but that is okay.  Eddie led the discussion and Hector and Daniel were there to participate.  Gatica invited her family, so her brother-in-law, her daughter, and two of her sons joined her.  We filled our living room, but there is always room for more!

We are praising God that there was a good turn-out and that he is using us in the community here in Tuis, Costa Rica.  We feel so blessed for the opportunity, and we continue to ask for your prayers.  It is our desire to follow God’s desire, and we continue to pray for guidance and opportunities to show His love to all we meet.

Sickness and Studies

Monday, January 14

“Gripe” is taking over!  Everyone seems to be sick.  Eddie stayed home from class today because he was sick.  Jaden’s nanny was sick all weekend with a sinus headache.  I had one for a few days, too.  But, praise the Lord, it did not develop into anything more. Deidre went home from class today because she was out-of-it and needed to sleep.  We practiced using more past tense irregular verbs by reading newspaper articles and telling what they were about in our own words.

Patricia is still our teacher this week and my class still consists of 4 students: Deidre, Rysen, Stevenson, and I.  I love it because Patricia has us interact with each other and then corrects us when we make mistakes.  It has helped me to understand a lot more of why what I say is wrong sometimes.

After lunch, Amanda and I went to La Suiza to go grocery shopping.  I was afraid we wouldn’t be able to carry everything we needed, but surprisingly, it wasn’t too bad.  Also, it was a much shorter bus trip than when we go all the way to Turrialba.  There is no Maxi Pali (a store similar to Walmart) in La Suiza, but there are three supermarkets that are all bigger than the ones in Tuis.  We got most of what we needed so it was a successful trip.

Praises:

-    our healthy son

-   a comfortable home to live in

-       a super “ama de casa” (housekeeper)

-       beautiful weather

-       growing relationships with the youth and other locals

-       answered prayers

-  increased fluency

Please pray for:

-       restored health for Eddie

-       greater fluency in the language for all of us

-       deeper relationships with the locals

-       God to use us through the Bible study we will be hosting at our house each week

-  direction from God for our future after March

Tuesday, January 15

Everyone seems to be feeling a bit better, but prayers are still welcome. Deidre and Eddie returned to class today, and we are enjoying our time with new teachers.

We discovered today that we are all on the same page in book 3… that means that I have caught up with Eddie… but it does not mean that I have as much vocabulary memorized as he does.  He surprises me everyday with what he knows and how he is able to speak.   He always attributes it to the “app” he bought on his iPhone back in July.  It is called Brainscape and it is a great “app” to supplement our studies here.  I use it also, but he is pretty faithful with it and it has really made a difference.  If anyone wants to learn any language, we would recommend that “app.”

When we got home to eat lunch, we discovered that Gatica had made shepherd’s pie, and that is Amanda’s favorite food!  It was delicious and we love her… but not just for her great cooking.  She is repeatedly grateful to us and to God for her job.  Her appreciation is apparent and we don’t rightfully deserve it.  Many of you reading this blog deserve the appreciation… for God used you and your support to get us here.  So, thank you!  Thank you for you financial support, your support in prayer and your encouragement.  Without it, we would not be living here.  

Your prayers are much needed today (and every day) because tonight at 7:00 pm, Eddie is leading his first Spanish Bible study for anyone from the church and local community to attend.  We are hosting it in our home and we have no idea what the turn out will be.  Hector announced it from the stage on Sunday, and opened the invitation to the whole church (approximately 40-50 people).  Please pray that the gospel reaches open ears and soft hearts in the coming days, weeks and months that we have left here.  

Pools and Horses

Saturday, January 12

Diana had a great idea back in December.  She suggested we plan some youth outings.  The first one she and Eddie planned was a trip to the local public pool for today.  Unfortunately, they had poor planning because she had prior obligations so she couldn’t join us.  We boarded the 9:00 bus to La Suiza (a 15-minute bus ride) and met several of the youth.  We all gathered together and started a 30-minute walk to the pool.  Little did we know we would be basically climbing a mountain!  Check out these stairs… and that was only part of our climb. 

 It was worth it though… check out the view:

A cool refreshing reward at the end of our climb.

We had a blast playing in the chilly water and soaking up some warm Costa Rican sunshine. 

There was even a large sun-deck in the pool for Jaden to walk around on.  

It was a perfect day.  It was sunny while we swam and cloudy while Eddie and most of the group played Frisbee on the synthetic “cancha.”  They had planned to play “futbol,” but you had to pay to rent a soccer ball.  Since Eddie brought a Frisbee, they played for free!

Later, we ate lunch and headed home.  Kirsten and I wanted to do a little farmers-market-shopping, and her son Noah wanted to join us.  We took the bus to Turrialba, and Eddie took Jaden and went back to Tuis with everybody else.

Kirsten and I filled our bags until we couldn’t carry anymore with fresh fruits and vegetables, and headed back to the main bus station.  We had to wait about 30 minutes before the next bus, so we took our time walking.  It was nice not to feel rushed.  I gave her a quick low-down on purchasing bus tickets to San José and we just relaxed until it was time to board the bus.

We heard from Amanda on our way to the pool and knew that she had arrived in Costa Rica safe and sound.  She made the trip to Tuis via 3 buses, one taxi, and a walk home from the bus stop.  She headed straight for her bed since she had been up literally all night. 

When I got home from the Farmers Market, everyone was asleep.  Shortly, Rysen showed up and wanted to wake everybody up.  He used our internet and waited patiently for about an hour… before finally going in and waking up both Jaden and Amanda.  The rest of the evening was pretty low-key.  Eddie went to band practice and Amanda and Rysen and I just caught-up on each other’s lives over a strange compilation of left-overs and cereal for dinner.

The other night, Jaden was playing with his "Bible for Babies." He turned to the page with the story of Zacchaeus, and got my attention and started pointing sternly at that page.   I realized he was remembering the song I sing to him, so I started singing "Zacchaeus was a wee little man..." and doing the motions.  He did them ALL with me and loved it!  It was a precious moment I will always cherish.  I didn't even know that he remembered that song!

Sunday, January 13

Amanda, Jaden and I headed to church together this morning.  Eddie went early to set up with Hector and the band.  Amanda feels just as joyous as we do about our short 1-minute walk to school.  Hector talked about “The Destructive Power of Envy” in church today, and we even burned the papers on which we wrote down who we envy and why.

After church, Freddy and Samia invited us over, so they took Jaden home with them and told us to just come over when we wanted.  They fed him lunch and played with him for a few hours before we walked to their house.  We hung out with the kids and Freddy because Samia was at the restaurant.  Freddy made us some empanadas and lemonade, and I played a game of Skip-Bo with José Pablo.  He won, and that puts the score at 0-3 (he claims he that he is the new King of Skip-Bo).

Eddie was outside with Jaden, and Erica’s son (Erica is a friend of Samia) was outside riding his horse on the road around the plaza.  He offered Jaden a ride on the horse, but Jaden was too scared.  I said I would love to ride it, and he let me.  He led the horse the whole time, so we gave it another try with Jaden.  

He was happy to ride with me and then with Eddie.  It was a special day:  Jaden’s first horse-back ride!

Eddie was not feeling to well all day, so when we got home he went to bed.  I spent the afternoon and most of the evening studying past tense irregular verbs.  I don’t feel like I know them yet, but I understand the groups they belong in and how to conjugate them.  Now I just need to remember what they mean and how to conjugate them in conversation.

Amanda spent the evening getting settled in her room.  After some rearranging and unpacking, her room looks very inviting: a perfect place for her to sleep and study!

Please pray for Eddie to feel better soon… I think he might have a sinus infection (or just a bad cold).

What's a the end of the Rainbow?

Monday, January 7

Today was my first day of class with a new teacher and 3 other students in my class.  My teacher’s name is Patricia, and she is covering for Sonia this week.  Sonia and her family are on vacation.  They are vacationing on a farm that has no electricity… to each their own.

Our class was exhausting as Patricia had us do many new activities.  We listened to a dictation on the computer and had to write down all the words we could.  We listened to her dictate a paragraph and had to work as a team to write down the whole thing word for word.  We only completed two sentences and they were choppy at best.  We also wrote about our neighborhoods back home, and as she read them out loud we had to correct each other’s mistakes and guess who wrote it.   With 3 other students in my class, I enjoyed it very much.  Stevenson, Deidre, and Rysen are all so different, but we all have the same desire: to learn Spanish!!!

Tuesday, January 8

We had a blast in class today.  The four of us had to ask each other questions from the reading, so it gave us a lot more practice with forming questions and answers on our own.  After that, we review past tense and practiced writing a biography about someone famous.  Rysen wrote about Justin Beiber…

After that, we worked on forming sentences and asking each other questions using past tense verbs, and it was quite entertaining.  I realized that I was having so much fun, but at the same time getting some good Spanish practice at the same time.  That activity alone gave us a chance to practice forming sentences, listening to Spanish, correcting ourselves and each other’s mistakes, and practice with both vocabulary and past tense verbs.  After that, we worked on preparing for culture class for a little while.

After lunch, Eddie made his first solo trip to Turrialba to mail a bill and run a few errands.  Just the post office alone took 45 min. to an hour…  that was not a “quick” trip as intended.  Oh well… it's okay. 

I headed to Zumba class with Jaden and he just sat on the couch and watch the class for a good 20-30 min.  It was so cute how entertained he was.

We had a quiet dinner composed of left-overs and did some studying before heading to bed.

Wednesday, January 9

Class was good again today, but much more low-key.  It seemed everyone was not feeling 100%, so class was a bit less energetic today.  We ate lunch with Gatica and she was sharing some interesting stories about her past.  I cannot imagine the life she had, and hearing her talk about it is almost unbelievable.  One thing she shared is that her mother made her get married at the age of 15.  That is incomprehensible to me, but it was a reminder that not everyone is like me.  It is good to be reminded of that sometimes, because as humans, we tend to forget that not everyone’s life is the same as yours.  It also reminds me to be thankful for my mother and loving family and they way they raised me.

After lunch, Deidre and I took a quick trip into La Suiza because she needed to go to the bank, and we wanted to check out the supermarket there.  It is much closer than Turrialba, and they have many of the things we would need when we go grocery shopping.  It was nice to chat with her and hear how excited she is about her trip to the beach this coming weekend. 

This afternoon, I did homework while Eddie went to play basketball with Rysen.  Stevenson and I had to work on our presentation for culture class, too.  It is different living on our own.  I think we feel like we have a lot more time to ourselves, but that also means we have to work at socializing with the locals more to get a chance to practice our Spanish.  Also, we are getting used to life here so not much surprises us anymore, which accounts for the lack of photos in my posts recently.  We hope to have a few more adventures coming up so we will keep you posted! 

Thursday, January 10

As we all prepared for Culture Class, we took a few minutes to practice it and review it in class.  Our topic this week was Nativity Scenes (or Portales).  Each group had a topic affiliated with them and Three Kings Day, a holiday celebrated on January 6^th. 

We were all a rusty after having a few weeks off, but it was interesting to hear all about the prayers, the songs, and the food that goes a long with the customs if the Costa Rican culture.

After class, we made plans with the other students to have dinner and a movie night together.  All did not go as planned but we had fun hanging out and entertaining ourselves with music, kids, conversation and Skittles.  We thought about the movies we would watch and games we could play, but we just never got around to it. 

Stevenson and Jaden

When we got home, we hung out with Stevenson some more.  He told us more about his life over the past 5 years, and he has such an incredible story it is almost unbelievable.  His steps of faith and God’s faithful provision were inspiration to both Eddie and I as we sat and heard about the friends he made, the people God used to lead and provide for him, and even the challenges God gave him to be generous with what little he has. 

Eddie and I finished the evening off with a movie in bed called “Chronicles” after some precious snuggle time with Jaden.

Friday, January 11

Pancakes for breakfast...

A cute little Montezzy update in our email...

And a sunny rain-shower with a gorgeous rainbow to follow...

Nuestros Amigos Nuevos!

Monday, December 31

After a late night, it was difficult to roll out of bed, but we had made plans for Gatica to come at 8:00 so we had to get up.  After breakfast, we made a list of things that we needed for the house and a grocery list.  Gatica (our new “ama de casa” or housekeeper) and her husband Marcos were gracious enough to drive us into the city and help us find all that we needed.  We went to more than 5 different stores to find all we needed, and ended with a bite to eat at a local Chinese restaurant.  It was a good thing we had this day to shop, because with tomorrow being a holiday, all the stores would be closed. 

Once we got home around 4:00, we put everything away and tried to get settled into our new home. Of course, I couldn't resist hanging a few pictures on the wall!  (More pictures of our house to come... I promise)

We ate some left over Chinese food for dinner and then headed into town to check out the fiesta.  They have a big party in the street here for New Year’s Eve, and we had heard so much about it.  We didn’t get very far before we ran into Freddy and Samia and the kids.  Then took Jaden and told us to meet them a home whenever we were ready.  We roamed the street a bit and chatted with friends and acquaintences that we met along the way.  We were not too interested in the band or dancing because we were already exhausted, so we headed on over to Freddy and Samia’s house.  They said that Jaden ran into our old room and just flopped on the bed like: “Ahhh… I’m home.”  We ate second dinner (because you always have to eat Samia’s yummy food) and then just spent time with our former host family.  Jaden was running in circles because he was so excited to see Ivonny (formerly spelled incorrectly in previous posts as Ebony; sorry for my mistake).  He grabbed her hands and started dancing with her.  It was the cutest thing… check out my Facebook page for a cute video!

We are party poopers and headed home around 10:30… we were so tired and so was Jaden.  We did not make it to midnight… I guess that’s cuz we are old now.  Well, we did hear and see the fireworks at midnight, but thankfully Jaden slept right through them.  Welcome 2013!!!

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Happy New Year!!!

We spent the day sleeping in and cooking our very first Costa Rican breakfast on our own.  Eddie made cooked potatoes and fried eggs and I made platanos and cut up some papaya.  It was delicious!

 We had a surprise visitor: Juan Gabriel (a.k.a: Chingy)!  He came to say goodbye because he is moving away.  It was sad to see him go, especially as we had just started to really get to know him after Eddie’s trip to Chirripo with him.  His parents work over an hour away and they are moving closer to his job.  He told us he would be back to visit, though.

We stayed home most of the day and just relaxed and prepared for a new start to our classes tomorrow.

Wednesday, January 2

Today was our first day back to class, and boy was I rusty.  I was having trouble remembering so much.  Sonia had full confidence in me, and I realized that I was still understanding much of what she was saying.  I was just having trouble speaking.  She had patience with me, and I was reminded to just try my best.  It was my first day of class with new students, too.  Deidre is now in my class, and so is Stevenson.  Stevenson is a guy from St. Martin, and his primary language is French.  He also speaks English and Hebrew and quite a bit of Spanish.  I am amazed at his ability to learn languages.  Sometimes he asks us what words mean in Spanish and in English, but overall, he does really well.  He has been here since Christmas day, but Monday was his first day of class.

After class, we went home for lunch.  That is one of the only downfalls about our new house.  We don’t eat lunch with our fellow students anymore.  We so enjoyed that time together, because we often processed things we learned and also spent time getting to know each other over lunch.  Although we are sad to eat at home, we are also equally grateful because our first meal that Gatica cooked for us was a delicious vegetable spaghetti.  We even ate the leftovers for dinner and shared with Josué, who came over for discipleship with Eddie.

Jaden wanted to play outside, and some of the neighbor kids were out.  They played with him in the yard and on our front porch for nearly 3 hours.  I just sat outside and read a book, played with Jaden and chatted with the kids for a bit.  Jaden showed off his awesome puzzle skills (he can put together a new puzzle he got for Christmas and I am one proud Mama).  It was refreshing to practice my Spanish speaking with the neighbor kids, and I look forward to more relaxing nights like this.

Thursday, January 3

Our second day of class of the New Year, and I am feeling a little better about my Spanish coming back.  We practiced writing a story in “–ing” tense and my homework is to translate the same story into past tense.  Good thing, because I really need to refresh my memory.

We came home to a delicious lunch of arroz con pollo and guacamole that Gatica made from scratch.  

I promptly asked her how she made it so that I could replicate it.  Her secret ingredient was a bit of hot chili sauce she borrowed from the school kitchen.  I will have to add that ingredient to my grocery list.  She also put in lime, garlic, and onion with 2 avocadoes.  Eddie and Jaden took a nap before he had to go to band practice.  I went to Zumba class with Diedre and thoroughly enjoyed my work out.  I especially loved my quick walk home and a quiet night of playing with Jaden.

Friday, January 4

We decided to make a visit to our new friend’s house and bring them lunch.  We kinda cheated because we brought leftover arroz con pollo that Gatica made because there was so much.  Eddie also sautéed onions and chayote, which is a vegetable that is kind of like a squash.  We met them at their house around noon and hung out for a few hours.  Jaden loved playing with the boys’ train set and other toys.

After cleaning up, we all decided to take a trip to Turrialba.  We wanted to buy some fruits and veggies at the farmers market, and they wanted another tour of Turrialba so they could learn their way around.  We ran a few errands, got smoothies, and shopped the farmers market (where we bought a variety of things like a bag of 6 lemons that cost less than 50 cents) before catching the bus and heading home.  All in all, we had an enjoyable day. Jaden went to bed early, and we had a date night: a green smoothie for dinner and a movie.  We watched “The Odd Life of Timothy Green.”  All I can say was that it was “odd” but cute. 

Saturday, January 5

Rysen came for a visit today, and we spent some time studying.  This evening, Eddie and I headed to CISA around 7 pm for youth group.  Hector left Eddie in charge this week because he is on vacation.  Eddie used this time to discuss 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 where Paul talks about winning people for Christ and we also discussed the true meaning of freedom.  After the discussion, we all put our heads together and came up with a skit to present to the church tomorrow morning.  It was a short 5 minute drama, but we feel that it packs a powerful message.  They rehearsed it 3 times through, and I have full confidence that it will be great.  These kids have experience with being on stage, so they are good at improvisation.  The skit involves a man who is in prison but he is free in Christ, and the guard who is physically free but is a slave to his sin and to anger.  Check out my facebook page for a video of the drama.

Sunday, January 6

Today we crossed a new bridge:  Eduardo successfully lead worship, a drama, and taught the sermon for church today.  Hector had asked him to take over the Sunday service today before we left for vacation.  He was sooooooooooo nervous.  He had a lot of help from Josué and some of the youth, but I am proud to say: He pulled it off and he did a great job doing it.  Gatica, our “ama de casa” said that she and her husband had chills and they were both moved to tears by the music.  The compliments they received were so encouraging, especially because Eddie continues to feel that he is not fluent in the language yet (I beg to differ, but anyway….)

It was also a day to be proud of Josué because he sang with Eddie and it was the first time he overcame his stage fright and sang in front of people.  He has wanted to for a long time, but today was the first time he stepped up and did it.  He also did awesome.  He also stayed with Eddie up front in case Eddie needed help with translation. 

After church, Jaden got some much needed time with our Tico Familia.  He loves them so much, so it was so good to see them at church today.   José Pablo took care of Jaden in the nursery during church and Freddy couldn’t resist hanging out with them for a bit, too.

 We invited our new friends over to see our house, and they ended up staying for lunch.  We had so much fun cooking together and letting the boys play together.  Jaden loves having friends to play with.  We even discovered a bunch of bananas that had fallen from a tree and hung them on our front porch to ripen.

Ocean (3), Jaden (1) and Noah (4) 

Kirsten, Ezra (1 month old), and Ryan

After they left, we did a bit of studying and I caught up with an good friend via telephone.  I also spoke with my sister-in-law until Rysen came to visit again.  I had a craving for some more delicious guacamole, so I whipped that up as best I could.  It was almost as good as Gatica’s.

Nuestra Casa Nueva!

We love our new house, and feel all settled for the next three months.  Here is a short tour.

Our bedroom (which is kinda like two rooms in one)

 Jaden's Bedroom (he doesn't care that it is pink)

 The hallway and my studious husband.

 Amanda's room... she is arriving tomorrow

 The living room

 The kitchen

 The bathroom (much bigger than we expected)

 Another view of the kitchen

 The back porch (aka: Jaden's playroom)

 ...and also the laundry room