LasAdventurasVivas

Back in the States

2008-07-29T15:43:00.001-07:00

I am now back home in the States. It was a pretty strange transition at first. While Josh, Ali, and I were waiting in the Houston airport, we felt bombarded by all the televisions, filled with useless ads and political news. After coming from a time in my life where my eyes have been more opened to the bigger issues in the world other than the American dream, the emptiness of a lot of the non-worthy things that people chase after seem so blatant. We were also amazed by all the variety of food places available the airport. Our first meal in the States was Panda Express, and we were excited to have Chinese food!

Anyhow, its been great seeing family and friends these couple of weeks. I just moved back to Boulder, Colorado, and am currently seeking what I should do next. I am in hopes of finding a job at an Architectural Engineering firm. I feel like I should pursue a career in this direction for now to see if it is right and to get more experience under my belt. However, I want to dare to live fearlessly and to be open to any new opportunities that Lord puts in my path.

Once again, I would like to thank all of you for all of your support both financially and prayerfully! I wouldn’t have been able to go on this opportunity without your help! I am so grateful for all that the Lord has taught me and for all that I have been able to experience. THANK YOU!!!

What is the true meaning of love?

2008-07-29T15:42:00.001-07:00

“If you asked twenty good men today what they thought the highest of virtues, nineteen of them would reply unselfishness. But if you had asked almost any of the greatest Christians of old, he would have replied love. You see what has happened? A negative term has been substituted for a positive, and this is of more than philological importance. The negative idea of unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing good things for others, but of going without them ourselves as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point. I do not think this is the Christian virtue of love. The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial but not about self-denial as an end in itself. We are told to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses in order that we follow Christ.” From the “Weight of Glory” by C.S. Lewis

“Relationships are never about power, and one way to avoid the will to power is to choose to limit oneself- to serve for the benefit of another person.” From “The Shack”

Don’t waste your life!

2008-07-29T15:27:00.000-07:00

“In life we have two plans we can follow- the culture’s plan or God’s plan. Culture’s plan says to find your groove, settle and establish, earn and save, consolidate and maintain speed, and die- or you can choose to run towards God’s plan…’follow me with abandon at every age with eager expectation that I will use your life for my purposes in the world. Risk always. Never completely settle. Always look toward Heaven for answers. Be mine. Be different. Die gloriously. Quote from Louie Giglio

During my time in Costa Rica, we did a bible study on the book, “Don’t Waste your Life,” by John Piper. I recommend this book to anyone who knows there is more to life than what society tells us. This book is changeling and you won’t be the same after reading it!!

Goodbye party and a farewell to our church

2008-07-29T15:18:00.000-07:00

The last Saturday I was in Costa Rica, we had a goodbye lunch with our host families to get together and celebrate the times that we have spent together these past months. It was a great time of cross cultural fellowship; as we shared lunch together at Tom’s house and really enjoyed each other.

Then that next day at church, all of us interns and Tom went up in front of everyone to acknowledge and thank the church and all of the host families. In order for be to be able to speak in front of a crowd of Spanish speakers, I had to write all that I wanted to say in Spanish on a card to take up with me. It was a real testimony to myself about how far and how much Spanish I’ve learned since I first arrived in Costa Rica. We then presented them beautiful tropical flowers. This was the least we could have done for them!

Celebrating the 4th of July in Costa Rica….sadly no fireworks here.

2008-07-08T11:04:00.001-07:00

Celebrating the 4th of July in another country can be very interesting. There sadly weren’t any fireworks for us to watch, but luckily we did have each other (Tom and his family and us interns) as fellow Americans. After a full day of work at the office, we headed over to Tom’s house for some games and festivities. Tom’s three kids and his wife, Debbie, planned some really fun games for us to do together. We started out with a couple of obstacle course games indoors (it was pouring outside ☺), then to a leapfrog competition, American history trivia, and then a flag-making contest. We then shared a wonderful American type meal with hotdogs, a big salad, baked beans, and a potato salad. After dinner, we watched a very American football movie called, “Facing the Giants.” Then to top off the night we had an excellent chocolate cake decorated as the American flag!

Trip to Bocas del Toro, Panama

2008-07-08T10:29:00.000-07:00

Ali, Josh, and I got to take a trip down to the islands off of Panama for a weekend. It took us about 6 hours on 2 different buses and then a 1 hour ride on a speed boat to the island, Bocas del Toro. On the way to Panama, there were tons and tons of banana plantations; I was in shock of how many there were. Seriously Chiquita and Dole know what they are doing.

Anyhow we rode in a speedboat through rivers that had some random houses (wooden shacks) constructed in this very marshy area, it really blew my mind to think that people live there in such primitive conditions. The river then opened up to the ocean and then many islands came into view. It was fascinating to see how people lived on these tiny islands, with only boats to construct all that they had. And there was surprisingly a lot of development in the main part of the island. Our speedboat then docked up to the “boat stop,” where there were over 10 water taxis and a trash boat.

The next day we got to go on a mini snorkel trip, where a boat took us out to a spot in the ocean, and we hopped out and went snorkeling. The water was pretty crystal clear even though the sky was overcast. Under the water, it was a whole new world; with so many varying types of coral and creatures. Ali and I actually spotted a stingray! After getting over the shock of seeing a stingray, we followed behind cautiously in complete awe. The stingray was dark brownish and polka dotted, actually very beautiful. Then a little bit later that day, we were swimming along, and then bam!, we saw a barracuda just resting right in front of us!! After that initial shock, we stared at it multiple times. The barracuda could have easily been as long as 2 and half feet. What an awe-inspiring experience!!

Here are some pictures of our experience in Bocas del Toro:

Cute as a fish (Yes fish are cute :)

2008-06-17T16:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the swimming time at the orphanage. These kids are so cute and fun! I had to share their adorable faces!

The Lord is definitely blessing our times at the orphanage. Ali and I get to spend half the day there every Thursday, and it has become my favorite day of the week. It truly is so rewarding to work with the kids, something I haven't quite experienced before. So now, I'm brainstorming ways that I can continue to volunteer with kids when I return back to Colorado. My friend Sarah in Boulder volunteered last year with an after school type program at a family-assisted living neighborhood in Boulder. This community also spoke mostly Spanish, so that would be a great place to practice my Spanish too. Anyhow lets hope that I'll have time to volunteer and not get sucked into a crazy working schedule.
Also at the orphanage, Josh and Brad were able to help with the storm draining problems at the orphanage. Josh and Brad were able to do a mini survey of their land and scout out the best solution for the drainage. I know, its cool stuff! :)

Well here are the pictures:

I ate cow tongue- the things a person will do to stay culturally sensitive…and a visit to a finca (farm)…

2008-06-17T15:26:00.000-07:00

Since being here in Costa Rica, I have been stretched in many ways. Not in real dramatic ways, but stretching nonetheless. One of those ways being eating meat in general. Before coming down to Costa Rica, I virtually became a vegetarian. This is because I simply don’t like eating meat in general, and I’ve found that my body isn’t too fond of meat. However, just like in many other countries, meat is a main meal item. Here in Costa Rica, a ‘typical meal’ is one with rice, beans, plantains, and of course some sort of meat. So as you can imagine being a vegetarian can become a difficult task, especially when you aren’t able to cook for yourself. My host family loves eating meat, and of course thought it strange that I didn’t. But with my desire to be culturally sensitive, I have learned this means to open my mind and stretch myself in ways I wouldn’t naturally do.

So on Sunday, my host family and I went to my host mom sister’s house located in a very beautiful part of Costa Rica. Their house is gorgeously on top of a big hill surrounded by many green hills/mountains. They also have a pretty spacious farm with many chickens, geese, parrots, corn fields, and many fruit trees. So cool, I loved it. I took tons of pictures and got to hold both of the mini parrots on my hand. They were so beautifully and creatively colored- bright green, orange, blue, and red. They were suprisingly gentle and the two parrotkets were the best of friends. It was so cute to see how attached they were to each other. Anyhow, for lunch the main menu item was cow tongue. At first I thought they were joking, but then realized this was for real. So, since I was already served a plate and everyone else began eating, I decided I had to do it. So there I went from hardly ever eating any meat to eating cow tongue. Something I had never really imagined doing.

There has been several other instances that I have been challenged with making the choice to step down from myself and be culturally sensitive. Another instance was when I was asked to take out the nose ring that I have had for almost four years now. I was asked this because the Christian church here in Atenas that we go to is really conservative in general. And since I live with the pastor and family, they brought it my attention that many people sometimes think that people with piercings and tattoos are assumed to be involved with drugs or have problems with authority. My host family of course knew who I was and knew better than to think this about me, but they wanted to bring it to my attention. So since I am down here to be a servant to the people here, I decided to stay culturally sensitive and take it out. It took a lot for me to not go against the grain of what they were saying and to not attempt to try to change their way of thinking. Through this I am slowly learning to be patient and willing to give up my “rights” as a person for the sake of not causing another brother/sister in Christ to stumble. Also, I’ve realized that we are just so lucky in the US, with so much diversity and acceptance that saving face isn’t completely necessary in light of knowing the truth.

Anyhow, here are some fun pictures from the finca (p.s. I survived from eating the cow tongue ☺)…(As you can tell I love birds!)

While in Costa Rica do as the Ticos do?

2008-06-16T16:18:00.000-07:00

These are all peculiar things that I have noticed and pondered since living in Costa Rica.

- Saying “pura vida,” which means “pure life” can be used in response to several situations. When asked how you are doing, “pura vida” is definitely the choice response. When doing something challenging, yelling out “pura vida” seems to create new motivation. This phrase can definitely pass as Costa Rica’s motto.

- The smell of burning sugarcane is a daily scent in the air. There are tons of sugarcane fields here, where the technique of gathering the sugarcane is to burn the field to get rid of all the unwanted greenery and snakes, and when all that is gone, the sugarcane stalk remains. It’s a mystery to me of how the stalk doesn’t burn. As a result of the burning, there are often brunt flakes floating through the air like snowflakes. Oh it’s Christmas in Costa Rica. ☺

- I know this sounds kinda ridiculous, but dang do I miss carpet!! There is just absolutely no carpet to speak of here in Costa Rica. All the floors in houses are laid with ceramic tile or concrete. I haven’t seen carpet in like 5 months, and I never knew I had an appreciation for carpet until now. So now I long to just have the freedom of laying down on nice comfy carpet…

- The typical Costa Rican dish is called a “casado,” which consists of rice, beans, plantains, some sort of “salad” (usually shredded cabbage with carrots drenched in lime juice, there is no such thing as salad dressing here), and either meat, chicken, or fish. It all sounds good until you have it everyday. I really don’t know how much more rice and beans I can handle, but once again this makes me appreciation how lucky I am in the States to have so much variety of food from so many different cultures.

- Another dish that Costa Ricans can’t live without is called “gallo pinto,” which is a mixture of rice and beans stir-fried together. Gallo pinto is the choice food for breakfast. Also never underestimate the versatility of ham, otherwise know as “jamón.” Jamón comes in pizza, with your hamburger, the choice meat for sandwiches, and sometimes comes with a piece of bread for breakfast. Mmmm…but not for a person like me who doesn’t like meat.

- One method of advertising here is to attach a huge speaker system to the top of a truck and drive around town. Multiple times a day, you can hear loud radio advertisements blasting at full volume from a driving car. Must be an effective way of advertising!

- Costa Ricans are called “Ticos” because they often add the verse “tico” to the end of words. For example the word for “a little” in Spanish is “poco,” but in Costa Rica it is “pocotico.” Its actually pretty cute to hear.

- This one was hard to wrap my head around, but there are no street names or building numbers to speak of. Even in the capital city, San Jose. It truly is a wonder how people find their way. Directions are only given by landmarks and distances. So incredibly confusing. However, the two main highways are labeled luckily.

- Lastly I would like to debut the best cookies in Costa Rica, called “Chicky Blak.” Now Chicky Blak is a chocolate cookie similar to Oreos, but is only one-sided and has chocolate frosting. This cookie is great with milk, but is great general. Here is a picture of the wonder.

Project Update

2008-06-10T09:08:00.000-07:00

There is now about one month left of my internship with eMi. I have been down here in Central America for about 5 months now. Its funny how much one can learn from being away from home, even from being gone for almost half a year.

Agros Foundation Project
Anyhow, the projects that we started this February in Guatemala have really been coming along. The design work for the project located in Nebaj, Guatemala with the Agros Foundation is just about completed! The development center will be called, “Center Ixll- Agros Foundation.” Our design package includes the master site plan for the overall layout of the buildings on site, the water distribution system, the storm and wastewater design, grading and road design, electrical distribution design for the entire site, and lastly the architectural and structural plans for the carpentry shop. We are also including a design report with everything translated to Spanish.

I have been working on helping with the structural drawings for the buildings. We currently have 5 drawings for the structural plans and 19 drawings total. I have learned a lot about how structural and architectural drawings are put together and what are needed within them. I have also had the opportunity to work on part of the truss design and design of the structural connections within the buildings. Ali has worked countless hours on translating the entire design report and all of the drawings into Spanish. Her Spanish expertise has really helped. Brad and Josh have been working on helping with the grading, road, and electrical designs.

This project should be completed by next week. Since materials have already been ordered, construction is going to start as soon as possible. I am very excited to see the outcome of this center and how it is going to impact and help the local community to come together and learn practical skills.

Casa Bernabe Orphanage
We are also currently working on the design project for the orphanage located in Guatemala City. For this project, we are completing the architectural and structural design for a new school, and a new water distribution system for the orphanage. We are hoping to finish this project as well.

Haiti Orphanage
Besides these two projects, there are also a couple of projects from previous trips that haven’t been completed. One project is for an orphanage located in Haiti. This project is a design for an entire orphanage campus with boy and girl houses, a school, recreation area, a dining hall, and administration buildings. Most of the overall design is completed, but we are working on finishing up the structural and architectural drawings.

Spring of Hope Ministries
Another project has just started near Atitlan Lake in Guatemala, called the Spring of Hope. This ministry is run by Promised Land Ministries, where they work with the locals to provide financial aid for children to get education, to counsel children and parents, to encourage physical, intellectual, and spiritual development in a child, and to train children into a trade. They have started a child sponsorship program called “Plan Padrino,” check out their website at: http://www.plmmissions.org. This ministry has contacted eMi to help them design and build a feeding center (in which they feed one meal/day, five days a week to hundreds of children), a school, a counseling center, and a multipurpose building equipped for medical and dental care. So for this project eMi is going do the overall site layout, water systems, grading, roads, and design for the buildings.

Seriously cheers for eMi!!

(Us interns with two staff members John and Sharon at their going away dinner)
(This is the view from the hill above our office...our office is on the second floor of that blue building in the middle of the picture.)

My parents and lovely sister come for a visit

2008-06-09T10:11:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago my parents and my sister came down to Costa Rica to visit me. It was great time to reunite and get a break from working in the office. It was also a wonderful time for our family to come together and spend “quality time” together, which is unfortunately so rare and few. Family togetherness is so important in Latin culture that my time here has really opened my eyes to how independent the American culture really is. For the most part, most Americans have lost sight of how rich and rewarding it is to spend quality time learning and growing together as a family. Living in Latin America where the culture is so “family-centered,” it has almost caused me to go into culture shock, which that in its self proves how personal independence is so deeply ingrained to my way of thinking and living.

Anyhow, I was so excited to see my family and get to travel around Costa Rica a bit. Ali’s parents also came to visit. The first stop was to the town La Fortuna, which is located right next to the famous Volcan Arenal. This volcano has been active for many years now and lava can seen spewing out at times. That first day everyone was pretty tired since they had caught a red eye flight that previous night. So after some resting at the hotel, we all headed to the hot springs. Now these hot springs were incredible, something I’ve never seen, first of all, none of the pools smelled like sulfur, and there were something like 20 different varying temperature pools there. Now that place was the ideal vacation-relaxing place.

The next day we were all able to go on a canopy zip line tour in the rainforest near the volcano. There were a total of 10 zip lines, in which each person had a harness much like the ones used for rock climbing with 3 carabineers. You get attached to the rope by these 3 carabineers and you have a leather glove that you use to slow down on the rope. After getting attached, you are off and ready to fly down the line. It was such an incredible experience! One of the zip lines was 900 meters long and went over two waterfalls. Also, at the top of one of the zip lines, there was an amazing view. To make things even more exciting there was a toucan sitting on top of a tree, and after a few minutes the toucan flew overhead. Which that sight in its self is so amazing to see, since you would think they would have a difficult time flying with such large beaks, but oh they can. Man, is God’s creation breathtaking! I recommend this experience to anyone coming to Costa Rica. Ali even said that it was more fun than skydiving.

After we finished with the zip lines we were able to go horseback riding. Then we got to take a look at their butterfly sanctuary, where there were beautiful blue iridescent butterflies. And to not go on and brag, but there also were poisonous dart frogs next to the sanctuary. It was pretty much an all-inclusive tour of Costa Rica’s finest.

The next day we took off to a beach town called Tamarindo, located in the north-western peninsula of Guanacaste. This was the most “developed’ beach town in the area, but I was surprised at how undeveloped most of Costa Rica really is. In Tamarindo, there were mostly dirt roads expect for one, and it had much of a surf beach town feel, which feels like home to me for some odd reason even though I’ve lived in the land-locked state of Colorado for so long. So, the next day of course Ali, Jen, and I went surfing. Tamarindo has very nice waves with a sand bar bottom, and the beach is very long and wide. During the time we were there the waves were considered “small to medium,” but they were perfect for us.

The next day we were able to go snorkeling at a nearby beach. There were many incredible fishes all around. I loved exploring and just seeing such intricate and colorful fishes that I know God had fun creating. I saw a blowfish that was in a shape of a ball with a blackish color and white poke-a-dots all over. Another fish was like a blowfish but was covered in sharp pointy spikes. He was a funny little creature to swim next to. From just the fishes of the sea and the incredible sunset we got to see that night, I just know that the Lord is a very passionate creative artist. It brings me so much joy to experience his creations.

After leaving Tamarindo, the family and I headed to Atenas, the town I have been living in. That night we had dinner with my host family. It was interesting to see the cross-cultural communication that went down between my parents and my host family. They really seemed to enjoy each other, and by the end my host family dad asked my dad to explain how presidential elections are organized in the US. Thank goodness my host family sister is a great translator. The next morning we attended the church that I have been going to, the service was entirely in Spanish, but my parents were patient and seemed to have enjoyed the experience. It was great to be able to connect part of my world back home to my life here in Costa Rica. I had a wonderful time with my parents and my sister, and I do have to say it was hard to say good-bye.

(A picture of a crazy holler monkey in a tree next to our hotel)

Pictures posted on my google account

2008-06-01T13:56:00.000-07:00

Here is the link to where I have posted more pictures : http://picasaweb.google.com/stephdodge11
(I hope you enjoy them:)

Some random purely beautiful pictures of Costa Rica

2008-05-31T13:39:00.000-07:00

My favorite bird, Toucans should be the Costa Rican animal. They can even fly perfectly with their huge beaks! So incredible!

I made it to my heart's home land!

Beautiful Volcan Arenal

Swimming like a fish

2008-05-29T16:51:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened since I last blogged, so I'm sorry for the delay, but I plan to write a lot more and post more pictures. Wohoo for the plan! So as I explained in my last blog, Ali and I get to teach swim lessons to the kids at the local orphanage every Thrusday. At this orphanage there are about a total of 40 kids, 25 of which are old enough to play in the pool. There are two groups: the “grandes” and the “mas grandes”, which means “big kids” and the “bigger kids”.

The first week, we were able to take the grandes to the pool. There were a total of 10 kids in the pool, ranging from 2 to 5. All of the kids are required to first start out wearing life jackets in the pool until they can swim on their own proficiently. It was amazing to see their enthusiasm to get in the water. Especially after I heard that a few of the kids were completely terrified of even getting into a bathtub when they first arrived at the orphanage. One boy in peculiar, named Joseph, wouldn’t even get near a bathtub a couple years ago and now he is jumping into the pool like it was his home. So incredible.

A 2-year girl named, Pricilla, was pretty scared of the water. When the water even got remotely close to her face she would start to whine. So I started with letting her hold onto me and slowly she became willing to put her face in the water for a couple of seconds to try to blow bubbles. It was so precious to see her slowly embrace her fears and overcome them. Costa Ricans seem to have a lot of fears about things in life, fears that hold no truth. That is why many Costa Rican’s don’t know how to swim. In fact, all of the Costa Rican caretakers at the orphanage don’t know how to swim, and were asking us if we would be willing to teach them also! Oh how awesome that would be, I would love to do that, we just need to figure out time in our work schedules. But anyways, it’s sad to see the fears that the parents hold in their lives get passed onto their children. So I pray that the children can be freed from these empty fears, if anything from their fear of the water. Not to mention the incredibly beautiful beaches that surrounds Costa Rica, that I hope they can one day enjoy.

The following week, we went back to the orphanage for another week of swim time with the “mas grandes”, but then we turned out to have both the groups of kids for a total of 15 kids in the pool at once! I know it sounds like chaos, and believe me it was at the brink of chaos at times, but great fun nonetheless. During our little session, we were able to show the kids how to blow bubbles, and how to kick while holding onto the wall. It was awesome to see some of the naturals swim so well on their own, something so fun to be apart of. The time that I get to spend with the kids is definitely expanding my love for them and my love for kids in general. I pray to develop the kind of love that the Lord calls me to have for these kids.

These are two lovely girls from the orphanage that I get to teach swimmming to :)

WoHoo! I get to teach swim lessons!

2008-05-01T16:10:00.000-07:00

Ever since I can remember, I've always loved the water and especially swimming around in it. So it naturally amazed me that a lot people in Costa Rica don't learn to swim! Which is an oxymoron in itself, since Costa Rica has some of the most prettiest and best beaches in the world and yet the Costa Ricans who live here don't get in and play in the water!

So in a small attempt to fix this oxymoron, Ali and I will be able to teach swim lessons to some kids at a local orphanage here in Atenas. I am so excited for this opportunity to share my passion of swimming with the kids here! I will be sure to take cute pictures of some of these lessons to post here later. :)

Faithfulness beyond this world

2008-05-01T16:06:00.000-07:00

Wow, so I would like to apologize for being such a bad blog writer. Well I hope my writing isn’t too bad or boring, but I definitely need to work on writing more frequently…

There are so many things that have been learning in the past couple of months. Its amazing how once you step out of what is familiar into a situation that is new and different, you become like a sponge soaking up new revelations that seem so clear now, but weren’t always that way…

To start out with- I’ve been learning more about the faithfulness of the Lord. He knows all of our needs even before we ask, as it says in the Bible we just need to look at how the Lord provides for the birds of the air and how He clothes the flowers of the earth so beautifully, and how the Lord cares so much more for us, His children, so we don’t need to worry. Yes, the Lord’s timing is very different from our timing, but thank goodness we have this hope in trusting that the Lord will provide!! So, a very recent example of this in my life is that I am very excited to say that I have received 97% of my total financial support in order to volunteer with eMi!! How awesome is that?! I praise the Lord for all you who have supported me both financially and prayerfully. Thank you so much!! I could not be here without your support.

Another aspect of life that the Lord has been changing in my heart about is what to do after this internship, and in turn what I truly desire to live for. Lets just say that the plans I had in my head have changed pretty drastically. When I first came down here, I was thinking that after this internship with eMi, Ali and I would try to go travel South America for while after and then return to Colorado and look for a job in Structural Engineering. I also was doubtful about what the Lord was calling me to do, I was worried that Engineering is not for me. But I’ve realized that it is so necessary to take life step by step, and to not pressure yourself to decide what you should do for the REST of your life, which it is easy to fall into that kind of thinking right after you graduate.

I've come to ask myself what do I live for? And what I desire for my answer to be is: to come to know and love the Lord and serve Him by serving others in love. So from this life objective, I've learned that all other things in this world seem so insignificant. I will not get my self worth from a grand job that I might someday have, so the pressure of figuring out what my profession will be for the REST of my life has thankfully become defused. "If I gain the whole world, but not have love, than I gain nothing." 1 Cor. 13

So since then I have felt that the Lord is calling me back to Colorado right after the internship and to see where He leads next. However, as always the Lord can continue to change whatever I think might be next…. so I’m not worried just wanna be ready for the ride. ☺

A few prayer requests...

2008-04-16T09:13:00.000-07:00

I have a few prayer requests if you would like to send up some prayers for my team and I. I greatly appreciate it!!

Prayer requests, please pray for:

• Debbie, who is the wife of our eMi leader, Tom, here in Costa Rica. Debbie recently had surgery to remove a tumor found in her urinary tract. Please pray for strength, a full recovery, and that the tumor will be completely benign. Debbie has also struggled with internal balance issues with experiencing vertigo and intense ringing in her ears.
• An eMi intern, Sam, who is serving as a volunteer on a building project in the Congo. On the project trip, Sam got malaria. Please pray for strength and that the malaria would leave him.
• John, who is the other leader here in our Costa Rica office. He has prostate cancer, but has it under control as of right now. Please pray for John to find the right treatment. John is such an inspiration to us interns here.
• Open doors for opportunities and new ways to serve the community here in Atenas. I am thinking about helping a local orphanage by teaching the kids how to swim. Josh has started to play in the worship band at the local church. Please pray for these things to work out.
• Wisdom to know how to be culturally sensitive and be an effective witness of being a servant for Christ.
• Josh and my financial support to be here volunteering with eMi. We both still lack complete support.
• The completion of the two design projects we are working on for two ministries in Guatemala. Our goal is to finish these projects by mid-May. There is still a lot of work to be done.
• The computer design software, AutoCAD, is the program we use to do all the drawings for our projects. All the eMi offices are in need of new subscriptions. The prices for the new subscriptions are very high and we are praying for some kind of discounted rate so that eMi can afford it. Please pray for favor with the AutoCAD vendors, so we can get this valuable program.
• Please pray for my team and I to be continually learning from the Lord- to be open to any of His leadings and teachings, in order for us to be changed to be more like Jesus.

Thank you so much for all your prayers!!! Dios le bendiga!!

Among the mango trees and little fighter dogs- Back to Atenas

2008-03-26T16:02:00.000-07:00

After leaving Tuis (where the language school was at), which is on the east side of Costa Rica, we headed back to the west side to the town called Atenas. Atenas is where the eMi office is located, it is a rather small town with only one traffic light, but doesn’t quite have the farm town type of feel, it feels more like a bustling city. The town has a few really nice parks, a central area for many restaurants, and has a major road that goes to the coast running through the town.

Sidenote: We had a pretty adventurous travel time back to Atenas. On our third bus of the day, heading back into Atenas, we were on a bus that only had around 10 people on it, so we didn’t think there was much to worry about. Josh had put his backpack, which had his laptop in it, in the overhead shelf thinking it would be fine there. To our horrible surprise as we were trying to get off the bus, Josh’s backpack was gone! Someone must have grabbed the bag when he wasn’t looking and went out the back door of the bus. Wow now that was not a happy moment. But the Lord is so mighty and good. Since Josh needed that computer to do his work with eMi, it seemed even more tragic, but that next day Josh had talked to the pastor of his church back home. His pastor said that he would let the church know, and they would all pray for Josh’s situation. A few days later, the pastor reported back to Josh that the church had decided to buy Josh a new computer! So now Josh has a computer to do his work with eMi on! Praise the Lord!

Since returning back to Atenas, I have moved in with my new Costa Rican host family here in Atenas. The family consists of Oldemar and Maresa, and their two young adult children: Jazmine (18 yrs) and Brandon (15 yrs). Oldemar is the pastor of the local Bible church in Atenas that all of us interns attend. Jazmine just finished 10 months of English study, and is now attending the National University in Heredia, which is north of San Jose, so she travels back and forth to school. Brandon is still in high school. The family also has a little black dog named Nina. Now when first meeting Nina, she comes off as a very mean, barking dog that wears a doggie shirt. Cute on the outside but vicious on the inside. At first, every time I would even look at her, she would growl and act like she was about to launch at me. But sure enough, time has healed our broken friendship, and now Nina usually doesn’t bark at me and will sometimes even let me touch her. Talk about a strange dog! She is the first dog I’ve met that doesn’t like to be pet.

The family is very nice and welcoming. It has been really good practice for me to live with a Spanish speaking family. I have been learning A LOT of Spanish, when looking back to when I first arrived in Costa Rica barely knowing any words- to now being about to build friendships with Spanish speaking people is so incredible.

So life here in Costa Rica has been slowing down a lot these past few weeks. Us interns have been working in the office everyday 8hrs/day like a normal office job. We have been working on the various aspects of the projects in Guatemala. I have been working a great deal on the Agros project- developing computer-generated drawings on a program called AutoCAD. The structural engineering volunteer for the project sent me over 25 structural drawings to be drafted in AutoCAD, including learning how to design a roof truss. It has been a lot of work so far, but I have been learning a lot! I know that I have so much to learn, and that school has only set the foundation of me becoming an engineer. It has also been hard for me to adjust to life in an office. Since I am a very active, love to be around people person, being in an office not exactly what I’m used to, but I am learning to adjust. Being able to work on projects that are for ministries helping the poor, gives me great motivation to do the best work I can on these projects.

Also during the week, us interns, our two eMi leaders, and one Costa Rican friend are getting together once a week to learn what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. We are learning what disciples back in the days of the bible were required to do and how being a true disciple requires commitment and desire to lay down everything for the sake of becoming like Jesus.

I am so thankful for having this opportunity to work with eMi, and to be able to serve using some skills that I have learned. Yes it has been a CRAZY couple of months, but I have definitely learned a lot through my experiences here so far. I want to be stretched for the sake of becoming a better person and learning how to love God and people better.

(Pictures: 1. a spontaneous symmetrical picture 2. area around Atenas 3. a view from our office 5. during a morning worship time)

Great times with new friends

2008-03-25T12:04:00.000-07:00

During my time at language school, I was able to stay with a Costa Rican family- Freddy and Samia, and their two kids Jamina (9yrs) and Pablo (7yrs). I instantly felt like I was apart of their family. Communicating was a little difficult at first, but then as I started going to the language school and we were able to really develop a friendship. The night before we left, Samia made some amazing pizzas from scratch for all of us interns. It was a great time of fellowship and many intense games of Uno. Needless to say it was hard to say goodbye.
(The top picture is of Jamina and Pablo, the second is of Samia and I making some pizzas :)

Before leaving Tuis, us interns snuck in a few fun excursions. We hiked up one of the rivers flowing through Tuis, climbing/jumping from rock to rock. The river was surrounded by beautiful lush trees, many huge vines hanging down (yeah kind of like Tarzan), and there were three waterfalls flowing into the river (waterfall translates to “catarata” in Spanish, it’s a really fun word to say really fast). At the last waterfall, the pool of water beneath it looked rather deep, so Ali and I (thinking that its overrated to stay dry in this situation) decided to jump in fully clothed. Sidenote: which out did the three men we were with because they were too pansy to jump in. Great times!

The day before we left, we got to go on a white water rafting tour in the huge Pachuare river. This was practically my first experience rafting, and I loved every minute of it! Our guide pretty much got us all in the raft and gave a few quick instructions, then we were off in a rapid. So lets just say some think practice is overrated. The river was so beautiful, surrounded by many trees and huge hills. There were some pretty exotic birds, some of the people saw toucans on a tree, but with my bad eye sight I definitely missed them. Ha!

Anyhow its been a fun adventure so far!

(Incredible) adventure to Chirripo

2008-03-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay in blog entries!! I am in the process of writing about everything thus far, so the blog will be caught up soon!! This entry is about our awesome adventure to Chirripo.

Starting at 6am in the morning, 24 people from the community of Tuis and us interns pack into the bed of a big truck ready for an adventure to the mountains of Chirripo. The ride took us through beautiful green mountains where we were able to see the smoke spewing out of a volcano in the distance. I was standing up for most of the ride, holding on as we drive on very bumpy dirt roads. On the way we stop by the last town before the mountains, this town has a clinic where a lot of the people from the indigenous villages walk many hours for help. From there we pick up a woman and her 3 children who are from the village we were headed to.

Shortly after, the road ends and we hop out with all our backpacks and 15 ft. planks of wood. The wood was brought for the construction of a house in the village. Each man was responsible for one plank and every two women were responsible for one. So Ali and I start carrying two planks between us (lets just say this definitely adds to the level of difficulty for this trek.) Each plank weighed about 10 lbs each. The hike was very strenuous, from the very beginning we inclined down 3,000 ft in less than two hours. The landscape is incredible- it looked like the Lord of the Rings movie meets the rainforest. I absolutely couldn’t believe my eyes.
After inclining down two mountains, we reach the valley where the path runs near a river. The path crosses the river over 15 times, and when rock jumping became to difficult I would just step right through the river. Dry feet are so overrated! Towards the end of the hike the river became very wide with some strong rapids. So, conveniently the locals constructed a zip line made of tree trunks and branches to cross the river. It was so interesting to see everyone zip across the line sitting on little woven bands. Incredible! So with us on the hike, there are a handful of indigenous people carrying things into the village with us. When we got to the river, they just crossed it like it was nothing, helping to carry all the boards across. Another incredible sight! Shortly after the zip line we arrive to the village. Wohoo! We all were very excited to have endured 6 hours of hiking, to release the boards, and that we made it to our destination!

The village was very small with a few wooden/bamboo houses, many chickens, stray dogs, and pigs running around. The majority of the people in the area speak a language called cacvec, but some also speak Spanish. The language is very interesting and not similar to Spanish at all! After we ate some food and got our things organized, we walked 15 minutes to the other part of the village. Upon arriving, we saw 3 structures- 2 houses and a gathering place- and another one being built by a handful of people from California! The people were building a church for this area, and would hold evening times of worship and show parts of the Jesus film. Every night from all over the region, people come to this event. It was incredible to see these people come and sing under the candlelight.
The next day we all were pretty sore and tired, but ready to serve in some way- most of the guys started building a house with the wood we had brought to the village, and most of us girls played with the kids. We brought some crayons with us and colored on the wooden benches. Then two girls started washing the hair of the women and girls, while Ali and I french-braided the girls’ hair. They all were very excited for something new; it was great to see their smiling faces!

After lunch, we gathered our backpacks and headed back the way we came. The hike back seemed easier for the first couple of hours until we hit the upward climb of the hike at which we hiked up the steep hills (some at over 45 degree inclines) for over 2 hours. This part of the hike was definitely challenging, but great when we finished and were back on top of the mountain.
It is very difficult to sum up this experience into writing, but I hope I explained it well. What an incredible experience! And for this I feel so blessed.

Learning me a lot of Spanish

2008-02-25T14:14:00.000-08:00

This past week and week to come, all the interns and I are in Tuis, Costa Rica for language school. Tuis is a very small town on the east side of Costa Rica, with only one store and two resturants. Its definitely been an adventure thus far!

Two saturdays ago, Tom (our leader with eMi) dropped us all off in Tuis. Then we were each taken to our new host families homes. I was dropped off first, to find out that my family knew pretty much no english and that I am definitely in need of learning TONS of Spanish! So I tried my best and exhausted all that I knew pretty quickly, but the family is so nice and tries to talk slowly to me in Spanish. ha!

Its been so great to get know all the people here in Tuis. Everyone seems to be connected to one another somehow- either by family or friends. I have never experienced such a rich community as the one here in Tuis. To make things even better, a lot of people here believe in the Lord and strive to be so welcoming!

So the language school we are at is called CISA and is run by two guys named Hector and Daniel. They both are only 31 years old and started the school including working with the indigious in the remote villages located in the mountains. In fact, they started a home located right next to the school that houses about 7 people from the indigious village that are handicapped in some way. The ministry here is so incredible. There is also a church here that Hector and Daniel started and lead every sunday. Both Hector and Daniel are examples of what having much faith can produce. Since they started the church, mission, and school only 5 years ago!

Anyhow, every month Hector and Daniel take people with them to go visit the indigious villages in the mountains. To bring supplies, medical supplies, teach the people the importance of brushing teeth, help build things, and much more. So not knowing prior to coming to language school, all of us interns decided to go on this trip with everyone. So, at 6am this past friday we were off with the group. The trek to the village included a 2 hour drive on a bed of a truck on very bumpy dirt roads with incredible scenery surrounding. Then a 6 hour hike down a 3,000 ft mountain and across many valleys, including riding a zip line across a huge river. It was unbelievable!! There were many pictures taken during the trip so I will post them soon! Also I have many more details and stories to tell about this trip to the indigenous!
So thanks for reading!
Photos: 1. Us interns 2. CISA 3. Us interns hanging out with the indigenous.

Defend the cause of orphans...

2008-02-15T20:38:00.000-08:00

"Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.” Isaiah 1:17

My second week in Guatemala was spent at an orphanage called Casa Bernabe. It is located on the hillside just outside busy Guatemala City. We arrived on Sunday, just in time for their church service to begin. Ali and I rushed to put our bags down, to join in the church service starting on the second floor of their main building. There were kids everywhere, boys and girls ranging from a few months old to 18 years old. As the worship music began (in Spanish :), I started thinking about the situations each child at the orphanage had to face in their lives thus far. How each child somehow became motherless and fatherless, by nothing of the child’s doing most likely, but of choices made around them that affect them so deeply. Thank goodness orphanages exist and that they provide hope, shelter, and food for these kids!

Casa Bernabé provides a home for orphaned, abandoned, and handicapped children. There are over 150 children at the orphanage; they are divided up by age and gender into several houses, under the care of missionary house parents. It was so amazing to see the love and commitment of the house parents. Each set of house parents were taking care of over 10 kids each, talk about a demanding job! One of the nights, all of us were assigned to a house to watch over the kids to relieve the house parents for a few hours. I got assigned to the baby house, which housed about 15 babies ranging from 2 months to about 1 year. I could not believe the work that goes into taking care of that many babies! I am ashamed to say, but it was the first time for me to change a baby’s diaper, and I can’t imagine doing that all day!

A big issue that the orphanages in Guatemala are struggling with is that due to corruption within the system, the Guatemalan government has currently restricted adoption. Therefore, stopping the flow of orphans coming into orphanages and then getting adopted into a family. So, orphanages are being forced to turn away many orphans due to the lack of resources. This very sadly leaves many children with little hope. Prayer is definitely needed for this situation. Please also pray for more resources and volunteers for this orphanage.

So, the eMi team and I met up with several design volunteer professionals from the States to work on helping the orphanage. The orphanage requested a school expansion in order to house the large number of students on campus. Our team was able to begin the architectural and structural design for the school, as well as complete a precision survey of the site. I was able to help out with the structural and architectural designs and drawings for the school. It was so exciting to see how the things I have learned in school can be used directly to bless people. I was also motivated to learn much more so that I could be a lot more helpful.

Throughout the week, we all worked on the project and got to spend time with the kids at the orphanage. On the last day we were there, two unfortunate things happened. Three boys ran away from the orphanage, it was very sad to hear, but we pray that the boys returned safely. The other sad thing was that my camera disappeared and we all are about 99% sure it got stolen. But thankfully, there are 3 other interns with me that all have cameras and are letting me take pictures. So I’ll still be able to have pictures to share.:)

Anyways, also on the last night, all of us got to share pizza and sodas with the older teenage boys house. It was great to eat with them and hang out afterwards. There was a boy that Ali and I got to hang out who really stood out, named Raphel. He was a good basketball player, knew really good english and kept singing “I want it that way” by the Backstreet Boys. It was awesome!

I feel so incredibly blessed by this experience so far. I have been learning a lot from just seeing how people live and am very encouraged by the faithfulness of the Lord. Its funny how when you leave the environment that you are most comfortable in to an environment completely foreign, is the time when you can step back and reexamine the important things in life. It’s also a time to question what you believe and challenge your thoughts against your actions. So to say the least, life is interesting and I’m holding on for the ride.

Much to write about, where to start...

2008-02-13T20:23:00.000-08:00

Where do I start...there is just so many thoughts that have been going through my head. The past two weeks in Guatemala have caused me to question much of how I live and how the Lord calls each one of us to live. When confronted directly with poverty, many questions arise to why have I been extremely blessed with much when there are so many barely surviving each day? Why is there such a huge gap in living conditions between all peoples in this world? How can people who have been so greatly blessed turn their backs on ones who were born into horrible conditions? Oh how easy it is to stay ignorant and complacent, thinking everyone in the world is doing okay. And to think that if people aren't doing so well that you won't be able to help. This is so not true. It is going to take ALL of us to join in our own way to fight for the end of poverty.

For more reason than true reverence and respect for human life, each one of us is called to "freely give, just as you have freely received." (Matthew 10:8)

"And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Anyways, these are some things that I have been pondering and wrestling with. Our team has safely made it back to Costa Rica. We are back working in the office in Atenas. I will write really soon about how the rest of my time in Guatemala was and post pictures. Thanks for reading!

Wow I'm so far from home!- Project Trip to Nebaj, Guatemala

2008-01-31T10:12:00.000-08:00

Last friday, January 25th, my team and I flew out of San Jose, Costa Rica to Guatemala City. As soon as we landed, there was a definite temperature change, since Guatemala City is at about 6,000 ft. After we had gotten all of our luggage, I was in charge of carrying the 4ft plane surveying tripod through customs. It was pretty comical to explain (in Spanish) what was in this big cardboard box, and that it wasn't a weapon. But luckily it all went good.

We then pile into 2 taxis for 9 people, with 4 of us in the back and 3 in front of a 5 seater car! We get into Guatemala City, which is a large city with big buildings. There are hints of the western world, with some mcdonalds and pizza huts. But not for long...

The next day we all pile into two vans headed for very steep roads with hair pin curves all over. The mountains here are very steep, green and lush. In Guatemala, there are renovated school buses with crazy paints jobs that become their public transportation, everyone calls these chicken buses. These chicken buses are packed full with people and are driven by crazy madmen who pass at all costs barely miss oncoming traffic and think 2 lanes means more room for them! ha!

As we drive, we pass many people walking up these roads, some carrying very heavy loads of wood tied to their backs. Cows, sheep, horses, and goats grazed about and often pulled along. We pass many small villages spread all over these hills. Most people live in houses more like metal panel boxes. This is definitely a third world area.

So, it took us a little over 8 hours to get to Nebaj which is located on the Northwestern part of Guatemala. The village is rather small with very unstable roads and people walking everywhere. Most of the women dress very traditional with colorful textiles. Us gringos definitely stood out a ton, we were all way taller and lighter skinned that everyone! I almost got used to people just staring at us! It was very cold there at night since there was no heating and the wall were very thin with no insulation. I definitely slept with 5 blankets and wore the same sweatshirt everyday! Yeah I didn't expect it to be so cold!

Within my team, there are 4 of us interns with eMi, 2 eMi leaders, and 6 other volunteering design professionals. During our time in Nebaj, we worked with a non profit called the Agros Foundation. Agros is based in Central America and works to train and educate the indiginous people in carpentry, textiles, coffee production, agricultural practices and tons more! Agros helps and stays with a village for over 10 years, building strong relationships.

So, Agros has a vision for a large site with training centers, a school, and greenhouses for a piece of land they recently purchased. eMi's job was to do the land development, water engineering, electrical, planning, and design of one shop building. I was able to work along side a very experienced structural engineer and help in the design of the shop building. The week was filled with design work. On the last day, we presented our ideas and the work we have done so far to the Agros team. It was so satisfying to see their excitement for the work we have done for the center and seeing their vision come to fruition.

The Lord is teaching me a lot about what it means to serve and His love for ALL people in ALL countries.
"This is how we know what love is- Jesus Chris laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." 1 John 3:16 and also
"Each should use whatever gift he has recieved to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in various forms." 1 Peter 4:10

Well thank you so much for reading and please keep my team and I in your prayers. A few of us have been feeling sick so healing and energy would be a blessing!

We are currently starting another project for an orphanage wanting to build a school in Guatemala City today. So here we go into another week! (By the way, I took tons of pictures that I will try to upload to a website :)

The pictures I have posted are: 1. Aerial view of Nebaj 2. Ali and I with Nebaj 5. View from my hotel room in Nebaj

Headed to Guatemala for two weeks!

2008-01-25T10:03:00.000-08:00

My team and I are headed for Guatemala in like 5 minutes. Please pray for safe travels and that we will be able to discern the Lord's will wherever we go. More information to come as I find some more internet! :)

Dios le Bendiga!!

2008-01-23T12:38:00.001-08:00

Arriving

Ali, Brad, Josh and I arrived in Costa Rica on Saturday January 19th! After two plane rides and 6 hours we are in San Jose, Costa Rica. As we step out of the airport, we are looking for any sign of our two leaders, Tom or John, we aren't totally sure what they look like and there are a ton of people waiting outside. Tom and John both arrive and we are off headed to Atenas, Costa Rica, about 30 minutes away. The driving here is really fast and people are very aggressive.

I can see through the darkness that the scenery is beautiful!! The terrain is very extreme- many ups and downs, mountains and valleys. The vegetation is very lush and gorgeous! There are many palm trees and a lot of greenery. The roads here are very curvy and steep, its truly amazing how skinny a road can be and yet still fit two cars!

Sunday

On Sunday we head to the Iglesia Biblica de Atenas (church) located in Atenas. The first thing I hear is "Dios le Bendiga!" (but really fast, so it sounds like one word :), which means "God Bless!" I pick this up quickly and begin meeting everyone with hugs and kisses. People are very friendly and welcoming! The entire church service was in Spanish, which I tried really hard to understand but only picked up a few words. The worship was lively and great for praticing my Spanish :) The sermon was filled with many verses from the Bible. There were about 30 people there and I can't wait to get better at Spanish so I can get to know them better!

Host Families

Ali, Brad, Josh, and I are going to be staying with host families. This is such a blessing as the eMi team here just moved to Costa Rica from Guatemala a few months ago. So, all the connections with people here are new and we are all learning together how things go here. We are all also learning a ton of Spanish so far, as all of the families speak only a little English. So we are trying our best.

My family is currently moving to a different house, so I will be staying with a couple of eMi leaders, John and Sharon, until we leave for Guatemala on Friday. John, Sharon, Tom, and Debbie are the eMi leaders of Costa Rica. They are all amazing people and I look forward to working and learning from all of them. Hector, a 22 year old from Guatemala is staying with John and Sharon also. He used to be an eMi volunteer and is attending university in Guatemala for Architecture, and John and Sharon are helping sponser Hector for school. Its been great getting to know him and practicing my spanish and his english too.

eMi Latina America Office

Since the eMi team has recently moved from Guatemala, the new office in Atenas is not set up. So starting Monday we opened all the boxes, step up desks, and painted the office to make it look more like a place we can work. The office is located above a bank and has three rooms and a big main room for all of us interns. There is a lot of natural light and is very homey. We are starting to become more and more like a family
everyday. Its great!

So, I've been trying to load up some pictures onto this blog, but the network here is so slow that I need to keep trying. So stay posted for pictures and more stories to come!!

Hasta Luego!

Orientation Goodness!

2008-01-21T13:49:00.000-08:00

Orientation/training for eMi (Engineering Ministries International) started on Jan. 13th-19th in Colorado Springs, CO. There were 20 of us future interns and staff members who attended. All of us have the same passion for Jesus Christ and serving others around us. Oh and we are all some sort of engineer or architect.

The week's schedule was packed full of great teachings about culture training, learning about God's heart for missions and poverty, and great times of getting amped for what is to come in our journeys the next 6 months! I had a great time meeting and hanging out with new friends from all over the US and Canada. Its amazing how fast of a bond can be created when the commonality of Jesus Christ is in our lives!

Ali, Brad, Josh and I are all headed for the Costa Rica office. While the other interns are headed for the India, Uganda, Canada, or Colorado Springs offices. We are all ready to serve the people in third world countries using the skills we have learned in school and to reach out to the communities around us. Its all exciting stuff!!
(My team in Costa Rica- Josh, Ali, Me, Brad)

(Culture Training Greatness)

(eMi Office Ceiling)

Graduated college!! Wohoo!

2008-01-11T20:55:00.000-08:00

I made it through my undergraduate education!! In December I graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in Architectural Engineering. Now is that a relief! I definitely loved college, pretty much every social part of it, but it sure does feel good to be done. I am very excited to learn and grow outside of the school setting and start applying some of what I have learned so far. My passion to serve in third world countries is about to be put in action as I will leave for Costa Rica in one week to volunteer with EMI (Engineering Ministries International)for 6 months! Excitement is definitely in the air!!

I would like to thank all of my family and friends for supporting and encouraging me all these years!!

Hello!

2007-10-21T15:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks for joining in this exciting adventure with me! I will be posting all of my stories and pictures during my time in Costa Rica here. I will be leaving Colorado on January 19th and headed straight to Costa Rica until the middle of July. I'm so excited for this great opportunity to volunteer and serve using the engineering skills I've learned. I will be working with an organization called EMI-Engineering Ministrires International, check out their website at www.emiworld.org.

P.S. "lasadventurasvivas" means "The Alive Adventures" :) oh and "adventuras" is actually spelled "aventuras."