Elf Cookies!

(You are going to have to ignore the apostrophies once more. Freaking Spanish keyboard is all jacked up again!) Carrying on...

There are two things that describe my life perfectly right now. Catch Phrase. and. Charades. Yes, the mix of these two games are pretty much my life here in Costa Rica. You might be confused, but here is why. Given the whole "language barrier" a lot of hand motions and gestures are used when describing things or certain situations. Thats the whole Charades part of my life. Or when my host family, or other tico/ticas for that matter, are trying to figure out a word in English they will try to use other words that they know to describe it, hense the Catch Phrase part of my life. For example, I was at Kates house the other day and we were talking to her host dad, William, about the beach that we are going to next weekend. He was telling us that people are sometimes naked, but that they wear these masks. He then got a confused look on his face, and you could tell he was trying to figure out the word for these types of masks. Then, with out anyone having to say go, we started playing Charades. He was doing hand gestures while Kate and I were trying to figure out what masks he was thinking of. I was thinking in my head, very positive actually, masquerade masks! Right, isnt that the kind of mask people would wear when they are naked on the beach? Nope, he was actually talking about snorkeling masks. Yeah yeah, makes sense... beach, snorkeling masks...whatever. Im just glad I didnt yell out masquerade masks. That was a close call!

This weekend though, I wasnt so lucky, and shouted out the wrong answer. Here is what happened. We had a Young Life/Wyld Life leader retreat. On Saturday night it was decided that we were all going to play Catch Phrase! Awesome. Who dosent like Chatch Phrase? :) I was so excited, and thought for sure that my two weeks of intense practice whould surly set me up to absolutley destroy the other team. Well...somethings dont always go according to plan. It was Jessies turn, and we (everyone on her team) were all trying to guess the word she had to describe. (As Catch Phrase rules go, the person describing the word can not say any part of the actual word. They have to use other words to describe it. Make Sense?)
Heres the play-by-play...
Jessie said "Santas helpers!" Naturally, we all replied "Elfs!" She nodded her head to indicate that we were right, and proceeded to the other part of the description. She continued on with "oh...oh...cookies!" At that point everyone was kind of quiet, thinking of what the word could possibly be. What do the two words elf and cookies describe? I, so sure and and confident in my answer yell out "Elf cookies!" Seriously Lis, Elf cookies? What the crap. No. Plus, she said cookies in her description, so clearly the word cookies couldnt have been apart of the word she was ultimately trying to describe. Turns out the answer was Keebler. I mean...I was kinda close...kinda! :) Keebler E.L.Fudge Cookies. So that is why my life is so perfectly described by Chatch Phrase and Charades. Sadly though, as you can see, I am not very good at either of these two games :)

The retreat though... It.was.Awesome! Seriously, so great. It was such a great time to spend with all the other Young Life and Wyld Life leaders (there are 11 of us total! holler) We were at a camp in the mountains called Lecumbre. By the way, Costa Rica is seriously unreal. There are insanely green awesome mountains and breath taking beaches. Little random fact, Costa Rica is the same size as Virginia. Who knew! Anyways, we planned out clubs for this semester, prayed, laughed, and got to hear a really sweet message from Doug Burns, who is on committee for YL here. Man, I so needed to hear what he had to say. I felt as though Jesus was talking directly to me. Doug talked about the role Young Life played in his own life as a high schooler, his time leading YL back in Texas, and now what its like to have two kids involved in Wyld Life. I so badly needed to be reminded that what we are doing, what I am doing here in Costa Rica, matters! Its easy for me to get discouraged and to think that I wont make a difference here, but thats just Satan trying to convince me of lies. Doug reminded us leaders that we have the ability to make an eternial significance in kids lives. Dang. That so matters! Like I said, the retreat...It.was.Awesome!

Exciting Stuff

The other day we went to a grocery store here in San Jose that has a lot of imported goods from the U.S. John needed to pick up some groceries, so Kate and I just tagged along. Long story short, I spent close to 7 bucks on 3 things. A can of Arizona green tea, a Milky Way, and a pack of wild berry Skittles. That's right, s.e.v.e.n. d-o-l-l-a-r-s! WHAT! That typically would cost maybe $2.50 in the U.S., but since they are imported goods they are way more expensive here...apparently. Seven dollars! I still can't get over it. I'll be honest though, I think that was best 7 dollars spent in my whole life! After two weeks of rice and beans, Skittles and a Milky Way, followed by a cold Arizona green tea never tasted so good! Mmmm!

Other happenings...

-I got my Costa Rica drivers licenses the other day. Now this is something to write home about! But believe me, this sucker is strictly for identification purposes only. Heck no am I driving here. People here are loco when it comes driving. The day we actually got our license was one heck of a victorious day. It took us four attempts and many hours at the DMV, but finally we were successful! We even had to get our blood drawn (sorry mom, I forgot to tell you about this), and a medical exam done. Quite the process if you ask me, but I'm still rather shocked that we have a drivers license for Costa Rica. Woahh.

-Young Life...we have our leader retreat this weekend. So excited! And so ready for club to get started! We've been up to the school during lunch a couple times, and have been able to meet a handful of kids already. Pray that I would be able to remember names. Seriously, I can hardly pronounce some of them, and a lot of them are very similar. Mary Gloria, Mary Luisa, Mary Glory, Mary Soul, Mary Jose... I feel like every girls name is Mary_____.

-Basketball practice has been great! The team is...well, how do I say it...not good. But the three of us coaches, Anna, Kate, and myself have a huge opprotunity to love on these girls, and hopefully teach them some basketball skills while we're at it. One girl on the team, Sam, is new to Lincoln, and just moved from China. She was in China with her family for 2 years, and before that was in South Africa, and born in Holland. I can't imagine how hard of a transition that would be. She dosen't know Spanish, and as you all know neither do I! That was a bonding moment for us for sure. I'm excited to get to know Sam. Kate and I take the Lincoln activity bus home after practice with students and teachers, and Sam is on our same bus. I'm hoping to have some cool conversations with her throughout the year. Oh, and our first basketball game is in two weeks. This should be interesting. Goooooo Lincoln!

-I flushed toilet paper down the toilet again yesterday at my host families house, and then once at the Young Life office. Some habbits are just hard to break.

-I finally told my host mom that I don't like papaya. Every morning for breakfast she gives me a bowl of fruit. It's so wonderful, really. But the last couple days there has been this nasty orange fruit that I could hardly handle. I didn't know what it was at first until Kate said one morning "I had papaya this morning, and it tasted like rotten carrots." Then I realized the nasty orange fruite I didn't like was in fact papaya. You aren't supposed to leave food on your plate here because then the food is consisered dirty, and it can't be saved. So, each day when my host mom would serve papaya to me, I would eat it with my pinapple hoping the pinapple would drown out the awful taste. (p.s. sorry if papaya is your favorite fruit and I'm just straight up bashing you.) The other day though, I just couldn't handle it anymore. I didn't finish all my papaya, which lead Lisa to asking me if I liked it, and I said as nicely as possible "Uhhh...well..umm..No." Ever since then...no more papaya! Holler!

Ok, this is all for now. Thanks for reading guys, and thanks for all your prayers!
Much love.

Knowing Spanish Would Be Rather Helpful! For Instance...

If I said I felt clueless 50% of the time here that would be a lie. It's more like 75%...thanks to dance class! We had our second dance class two nights ago, and again it was quite the experience. After leaving the first class last week part of me never wanted to return to the dance studio..ever, but the other part of me was dying to get back and do the shimmying warm up exercises! The warm up remains my favorite part of dance class for sure, hands down! This time we had to do the shimmying exercise while laying down. I mean, I really don't know how our instructor thinks it's possible to shimmy and use your hips while lying on the ground. I felt like a beached whale, trying to waddle back into the water. I think the warm up is my favorite because it's so rediculous, and no one is good at shimmying on the ground (I don't care who you are), therefore I don't feel that horrible at it. The dancing part though, that's a differnt story!

Ok, so the actual dancing part of class...I don't know which class was worse, the first or the second. I am probably going to have to go with the second, because...we...had...to...do...spins! I thought I had the Salsa down, but then our instructor had to throw in turns. Dannng it! I'm convinced though that if I could understand the instructors directions I would have simply mastered and straight up dominated the turns, but since I didn't understand her I unfortunatly looked like a stumbling fool. Woops, my bad!

While we were learning the turns I was partnered up with a gentleman named Phillip. He was an older guy, and a very sweaty mess. Seriously, he was very sweaty. Kate was his partner for a little bit last class, BUT I was the lucky one who got to be his dancing partner this time! I sometimes ask myself how I get to be so lucky! :) He asked me if I was a Tica (a girl from Costa Rica). I was so surprised, and thrown off that he even asked me that. I was also somewhat flattered, as if I was doing a decent job fooling people that I was from Costa Rica and knew what I was doing. Being the honest person I am I replied "No!" He continued to speak to me in spanish, and I gave him the confused, Phillip I have no idea what you're saying to me look. Then a little light bulb went off in his head and he asked "You from the United States?" I said "Si, Colorado! And he just raised his eyebrows. I'm not sure what that meant.
Anyways, the salsa turns....no bueno. To put it simply, it was bad, real bad. And by "it" I obviously mean I. I was bad, real bad.

After dance class I went back to Kate's house because we were going to watch her host dad play soccer at 9. We had dinner at her house, watched some tv, and then it was time to leave for the game. I got back to my house around 10:15, and went to go say hi to my host mom. She asked me how the soccer game was, and then I thought she asked me if I ate, so... I said, "Si!" After that I said "buenas noche (goodnight)," and then proceeded to do the side of the cheeck kissy thing. Luchi gave me the most confused look I have ever seen. It was probably very similar to the look I gave Phillip at dance class when he was speaking to me in Spanish. I started heading to my room, but then Luchi said "no, no" and walked into the kitchen. I followed her, confused out of my mind. She then put a plate in the microwave, poured me some juice, and insisted that I sit down. Oh gosh, it was at this point I realized what had happened! When she initially asked me if I had eaten and I said yes, she really asked me if I was hungry...and I said yes. Crap! I coudn't say no, she had it all waiting for me, and I would have felt terrible. So, I had my second dinner-chicken, rice, beans, potatoes, and salad at 10:20 PM. Luchi sat by my side at the table, and we watched the end of 27 dresses (with Spanish subtitles.) Luchi is so sweet, and such a servent. But for reals, I need to learn Spanish... stat!

Playa Hermosa

The whole clan (John, Jessie, Kate and myself) got the chance to go to the beach this past weekend! We made the two hour trek down to Playa Hermosa on Saturday and got to stay until Monday. Let me tell you, it.was.awesome! We stayed at a hostel which was quite the bargin if you ask me. $15 bucks a night for a sweet pad is a friggin' steal. We had the upstairs third floor of the hostel all to ourselves, which included a roof hammock! What's up! Uncle John (which is Johns new nickname. It's a term of endearment, and he secretly loves it) was so great and tried to teach us how to surf. I was hoping that it would be in some way similar to snowboarding, but I got completley owned by the waves, and soon realized the two have nothing in common. And I mean nothing! Shucks! I'm determined to learn though by the time I leave this country. I have 10 months, so I hope to one day make Uncle John proud with my surfing improvments. Other than surfing, the weekend was filled with lots of reading, playing cards, and just haning out. It was nice and relaxing, minus the getting dominated by huge waves part.

Here are some pics!

Our sweet hostel! Our room was on the very top.

The view from our room. Seriously? The beach is right there. Awesome!

Roof Hammock? Don't mind if I do!

The spiral stair case up to our room! Carrying surf boards up it was rather difficult. Think skinny thoughts!

One thing about Costa Rica is that there are always random dogs...everywhere...even under John's car!

THE Galloper! John's car, and only the coolest car in the Rica.

Loving life...and the roof hammock!

God, you weren't messin' around when you made the earth! For realz!

Somethings in Costa Rica are cheaper then they are in the US. Beach towles are not one of those things. Here our our $12 beach towels.

Simplicity and Hilarity...Me gusta!

I've gotten really good at taking quick showers, because typically they are very cold. BUT...today I had a warm shower, which was so so great! I've only been in Costa Rica for a week, but I feel like I'm learning to live more simply. I love that! I think this is the way Jesus intended us to live...simply.

Yesterday, John, Kate and I went to a coaches meeting at Lincoln. I'm super stoked to help coach basketball, and get to form relationships with girls on the team, and hopefully get them to come to YL club! And I'm blown away at the fact that Young Life is so welcomed at Lincoln. A lot of the administrators really support the ministry, which is awesome, and they love when Young Life leaders are around the school. This is pretty different from when I lead in college, and we were hardly allowed on the high schools campus.

Anyways...coaches meeting yesterday, hilarious! The meeting was all in Spanish. John was translating for me, but only the important stuff. I stopped paying attention for a while, which is easy to do when you have no idea what people are talking about. All of a sudden the football coach, who happened to be sitting right next to me, yelled "BLUE 42!" I jumped! Literally, I jumped. Dude needs to give me some notice next time he decides to randomly yell! Here's the funny thing though. No one else jumped, because they all knew what he was talking about previously before yelling, therefore the yelling wasn't random. But little ol' gringa me had no idea what was being said, and all of a sudden just heard a really loud man right next to me yell, and it scared the crap out of me! So I jumped..naturally! All the staff was laughing. And yes, they were laughing at me! Whatever! :)

Si Si!

Everyday when I wake up my host mom hugs me, does the side of the cheek kissie thing, and then says something to me in Spanish. I never know what she is saying, but I assume she's asking me if I slept well, or something like that, so I just say "Si!" And then she smiles. I hope that's what she's asking me. She could be asking me if I've been to the moon for all I know, and I would be saying "Yes!"

Here are some pictures of life down here!

Mi host family (minus my brother) -Tacho (dad), Lisa (sister), Luchi (mom) They're awesome!

Mothers day brunch...And Bruce Willis!

The Young Life Office-where we spend a lot of time!

My room...and cookie monster :)

I have an address...kinda!

Another weird thing about Costa Rica is that there are no address or street names. It's crazy! In the States addresses are easy (as we know.) There's a number, street name, town, and zip code. Here, it's not like that..at all
For example, the other day we got a magazine sent to us at the Young Life office and this is what it said in the address area.

[San Pedro Montes de Oca Del Banco Nacional 300 sur 200 Este Casa Amarilla Esquinera de dos Plantas con Casetilla de Guarda Asoc Vida Joven de CR.]

CRAZY! It pretty much gives directions from the national bank and says it's a Yellow house with two plants, a guard at the corner, and a Young Life of Costa Rica sign.

BUT, YL does have a mailing box (in the outlet mall, which is funny) that you can send letters to! I know some of you have asked for my address, so here it is...

Lisa Ordway
Apartado 858-2050
San Pedro Montes de Oca
San Jose, Costa Rica

If you send a package, it will most likely get lost. Just sayin. So I would stick to the letters. AND... I would love some pictures. My room is bare, and some pics would for sure do the thing to spruce it up!

¡Mucho Gusto! =)

Probably the funniest hour and a half of my life!

There are two things I'm horrible at. Spanish. and. Dancing. And...don't worry, last night I took an hour and a half dancing class in SPANISH. Yes, that's right! John told Kate and I that he had a surprise for us... and then we showed up at the freaking dance studio. I just laughed, and thought to myself that this is going to be hilarious. And that it was my friends...HILARIOUS! For the warm up we had to sit cross legged on the floor and do these shimmying type of exercises with our shoulders and hips. There were several times I literally thought I could have peed my pants. That's just me being honest with you! I had no idea what the teacher was saying the whole entire class, and I couldn't stop laughing thinking about the fact that I was in this dance class. To make matters worse (or more hilarious) I was wearing a neon orange shirt, so I stuck out BIG time! Needless to say, every second of the hour and a half was momentous, and we are going back next week. I'll let you know how that class goes!



P.S. this photo does not do my neon orange shirt justice. It was BRIGHT!

Afterwards we went to The Burn's house for dinner. Brooke and Doug are on committee here for YL Costa Rica and they.are.wonderful. Seriously, so wonderful! They have a son, Austin, who is in 8th grade, and a daughter, MaryBeth, who is in 6th. Both of them go to Lincoln, and are super involved in Wyld Life. It was such a sweet sweet time to be over there with them. Brooke was on YL staff in Texas for a while, so it was so fun getting to talk to her about Young Life stuff. I left that time feeling so supported and loved on.

So, to sum up the night...it was all around AWESOME! :)

Gotta go. We are off to go get our Costa Rica license. Boom! Snap!

Adios!

I'm sitting at the Young Life office right now, it's pouring rain, I'm drinking coffee, and Kate and John are on computers next to me. I love everything about this moment! We just got back from Lincoln (the International school we are going to be leading at) and dang, I'm so excited! John introduced us to some kids, some teachers, and showed us the campus. We will be going to up to campus to see kids at lunch every Tuesday and Thursday. Young Life club is every Wednesday night, and Wyld Life club is every other Friday. It blows my mind when I think about the fact that God dosen't need us to further His kingdom because He is totally capable of do that on His own, but rather He chooses to use us, and I find so much joy in that!

Here are some random things and happenings in my life down here.
-I found out to use apostrophys on the Español keyboard. ' ' ' ' ' !!!!!! :)
-I helped make a pie for mothers day on Saturday with Lisa and Tacho (my host sister & host dad) and we listend to Jack Johnson and U2 in la cocina (the kitchen). It made me smile.
-There is an International Baptist Church here that we went to yesterday, and the service is in ENGLISH!!!! Mmmm! I was stoked to be able to worship our God, and sing Him praises in a language I understood. We went to a Spanish speaking church the previous night, it was awesome, it's just that I was lost the WHOLE time. It was really sweet though to be able to see people worship in a different language.
-I stayed up late last night talking with my host sister and her best friend, Mey Mey. It was a true delight. I love thier best friend relationship, and have found so much joy here in simple conversations!
-I'm so thankful for Kate and the fact that she is here. She's a baller!
-I get to help coach the middle school/high school girls basketball team! The head coach, Anna, is 25, from Alabama, and plays basketball at the University of Costa Rica. She used to lead Wyld Life at Lincoln, and is now working for another Christian ministry here called Boy with a Ball. I'm excited to get to know her.
-I have three keys to get into my house. One for the first gate, one for the second gate, and then one for the door. I don't even own a house key for my house back home in Colorado!
-Here in Costa Rica it's customary to do this side of the cheek kissing thing everytime you greet someone. I love the fact that they do this, I'm just not totally used to it yet. I'm getting better because no exageration, I've done it at least 200 times since I've been here. Again, somethings are going to take some getting used to.
- Whenever I'm at mi casa with mi familia and I don't know what to do or what to say, I just pet the dogs. I love dogs, I really do, but my host family probably thinks I really really really love them, because I pet them a lot! :) aka I don't know what to do or say A LOT!
-We went to Subway today. I was excited...until I had no freaking idea how to order. Thank goodness for my spanish speaking sidekicks John, Jessie, and Kate!
-Last night around 6 ish I was laying in bed reading, and outside my window I heard the Shania Twain song "Man, I feel like a Woman" blasting. It made me giggle...a lot!
-The hospitality here is stupid (stupid in a crazy, good, oh my gosh way) I just realized a couple days ago that my host mom and sister share a room, and I have a room to my self. My host dad lives at the beach a couple hours away, because that's where he works. Lisa has a twin bed, and then Luchi has a queen. All crammed into a room. And then I have a room all to myself, with a queen bed. The hospitality...it's unreal.

Ok, this was a lot, but there's a lot going on in my life right now. Everything feels new. I feel out of my comfort zone...a lot! But I have totally felt the Lord's comfort, and am so so greatful for that. My prayer going into this was that I would see the Lord in new ways, and I definitely have. I'm stoked beyond belief for this school year with Lincoln Young Life and Wyld Life. I really can't believe I'm here. God is good, and that's quite the understatment of the century.

Ok, I'm really done now. Sorry. My name is Lisa Ordway, and I sometimes have a tendency to write short novels. Woops!

¡Pura Vida!

I flushed the toilet paper...twice!

One wierd thing about Costa Rica is that you arent supposed to flush the toilet paper. (Again ignore the apostrophys because I still havent figured this keyboard out) Carrying on... Yeah, so people dont flush the toilet paper. Weird, I know, but the pipe system cant handle it, or so I hear. There is a little trash can in each bathroom next to the toilet that you put the toilet paper in once youre finished with your business. This my friend takes a lot of concious effort. I seriously have to think about not putting the toilet paper in the toilet. The first time I peed at my host families house I put the toilet paper in the toilet, naturally, and then freaked out! I had just been at my host families house for about 10 minutes, and the last thing I wanted to do was have to somehow tell my host mom I clogged the toilet. Lets be honest, that would be rather difficult given the fact that I dont speak spanish, and Ive never really been good at charades. Thankfully, part of the toilet paper was still sticking out of the water, so I very cautiously grabbed it, wrapped it in some dry toilet paper, and then put it in the trash can. It was a success! Feww, I was worried!

So last night John, Jessie, Kate and I went to go see a movie. We went to the movie theater in the mall which is very similar to any theater back home in the States. Kate and I went to the bathroom before the movie, and I didnt even realize I had flushed the toilet paper until I was walking out of the stall. It felt no differnt from a theater back home, so I didnt even think twice about throwing the used toilet paper in the trash, cause that would be silly, right? =) And...dont worry we went to the restroom again after the movie, and I flushed the toilet paper down the toilet AGAIN! Im pretty sure I didnt completley screw up the whole piping system in Costa Rica, and that the toilets in the movie theater still work (fingers crossed), but this my friends is going to take some getting used to!

¡Hasta Luego!

Feliz dia de Madre...in Costa Rica

Yep, thats right its mothers day in Costa Rica! I will have to blog about it later to tell you all about it! (Oh, and please ignor my lack of apostrophys, Im using my host families computer, and believe it or not, the buttons are different...and I cant for the life of me figure out to do an apostrophy.)
In other news....
I finally found out the names of my two dogs. The labs name is Bruce, which is funny because for the first 24 hours I was calling him Ruz, because thats what it sounded like when mi familia would call his name. I didnt find out his name was Bruce until last night when Kate was over at my house, and mi mama said to Kate, "His name is Ruz..like Ruz Willis." AND then I giggled inside, because I finally realized the dogs freaking name was Bruce, not Ruz. Duh, like BRUCE Willas! Which is also hilarious that my Costa Rican families dog is named after Bruce Willas. And then there is the precious dalmation, whom I love! His name is Pecas, which means freckles, which is also hilarious, and mi host mama opened up his mouth to spow me the spots in his mouth. Who knew, dalmations have spots in their mouths! Me gusta!

Ruz Willis (Bruce)



Freckles (Pecas)



Alright, adios for now!

We're here!!

Yes, Kate and I are in Costa Rica!!! We were picked up from the airport yesterday by John and Jessie (the two American's on staff here), as well as some other Costa Ricans, including our host mothers. We went out to lunch to a place called...I forget the name...but it served a lot of chicken. It was really good! Afterwards we went to the Young Life office, and then headed to our new homes! My host familia is wonderful. My host mom Luchi dosen't speak english, but she can understand a little. We just smile a lot at eachother :) My host Dad is awesome. He speaks more english then I expected, and then I have two host siblings, Tacho and Lisa. Tacho is 30 and is a big giddy guy, and Lisa is 21 and so great! They both speak english too! In addition to mi familia, tengo dos perros! Un dalmation y un lab, and I'm obsessed with them both!

After unpacking John picked Kate and I up and we met up with some people to play NERTZ. I felt like I was right back in Lawrence! We played outside in this patio area at Boo's house (another leader) where Kate noticed a tree that had green things growing from it and said "are those limes???" Kate and I were so excited to see a lime tree. I know that's not a huge deal, but we for sure don't have those in Colorado! Also, a funny thing last night that happened was when Jessie was telling Kate and I about what we were going to be doing the following day. She mentioned something about how she said she talked to our moms about it, and I said "You called our moms??" I was very confused as to how she had our mom's phone numbers back in the States. Come to find out she was talking about our host moms! Got it!

Afterwards, I went back home to find my host siblings and a couple of their friends around the kitchen table. We all ate tres leche, which was so delicious! They all spoke in Spanish, and I had no idea what was going on. My host brother, Tacho, would stop every five minutes or so and give me the play by play of what they had been talking about. Oh wait, I did understand one thing they were all talking about during our time eating tres leche. I heard them say Facebook, but that's all I could understand! :)

I've definitley felt overwhelmed by not knowing Spanish and having no idea what people were talking about, but at the same time I have totally felt the Lord's comfort in my ALL confusion. I'm so eager and excited to learn Spanish, and have learned a little more already!
Today, Kate, John, and I all met at the office to pray, and then Kate and I were sent on a mission. Mission San Jose is what it was called. We had to catch the bus, which is a mission in it self, and ride downtown to do a scavenger hunt. It was a success! Now we are back at the office about to take care of some business...aka talk about some logistics.

Hasta Luego!

I love you more. NO, you hang up first!

First things first, this blog title is a shout out to Anna. Holler atchya' girl :) Second things second, I need to wake up for the airport in three and a half hours. Third, I've just faced the fact that I will be getting very little sleep tonight, so I decided to blog!
The last two days have been so great prepairing to leave. They have been totally enjoyable, and for the most part no stess or overwhelming feelings have taking over. So, altogether it's been a great time of packing and saying goodbyes. Which might I add, goodbyes just straight up aren't cool.
Last night my family had a goodbye dinner for me. Have I mentioned how much I freaking love them? They're so so wonderful! All my sisters were there, my brother in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins, and two of my closest friends, Randi and Cori. There was a ton of laughing, which usually happens when my whole fam gets together, and we even snapped a new family pic so that I can show my host family in the Rica :)
After everyone had left, I headed to Wash Park to say bye to all "the girls." They wanted to get together one last time and be able to pray for me. I know I've said this before, but I'm so thankful for this group of chica's. They are a reminder of the Lord's consant provision and goodness. They challenge me, love me, and are just a ton of fun! They all layed hands on me and prayed for my heart, my relationship with Jesus, and my time over in Costa Rica. Susan, Kristin, Laura, Al, Anna, J. Heller, Bailes, Kate, and Jess Cunningham. They were all there, and it was such a sweet time. I left feeling so encouraged, reminded and affirmed that this is what the Lord has planned for me and that He has choosen Kate and I for this very opprotunity. Dang!
This morning Al came over to help me pack. Let's just say I have a mild case of ADHD (I'm self diagnosing) and it would have taken me wayyyy longer to get done what we got done if she hadn't been there to help. Thanks Al! OHHH, and we went to Chick-fila! One word for you...delicious! It was pretty much a must before I left the country, so glad I got to check that off the "To Do" list for the day!
Alright, it's bed time for me. Fun to think that next time I blog I will be in COSTA RICA! I really can't believe it. Can't wait to keep you all posted. Thanks for reading, and thanks your prayers!

Oh Heavenly Day!

This past Saturday could have possible been one of my favorite days...ever. Everything about it was just SO good! I picked my best friend, my person, up at the airport bright and early. Seriously, I've never been so excited to pick anyone up from the airport. I was waiting for her at the top of escalator, and we ran to each other, and then hugged for a solid minute. Pretty sure people thought we were lesbians, but then again I'm pretty sure that wasn't the first time. We walked over to the baggage claim all giddy, and I kept saying "This Is My BEST FRIEND!" People gave us funny looks, and Jess just laughed.

After the airport we ran some errands trying to get myself ready for Costa Rica and for my big Quinceanera! Quince what? Yes, you heard me. My Quinceanera! My friends, and myself included, love having themed parties, so naturally we wanted to have a themed going away party. A Quinceanera is a 15th birthday party for girls in Latin American Cultures...aka it's a big deal. It's pretty much like a wedding ceremony, minus the getting married part.

And have I mentioned how freaking awesome my friends are here in Denver. Allison and Anna are incredible hosts. They would not let me do anything to help, and Allison put up quite the fight when I tried offering. Their love languages really are serving and hospitality! Straight up.

When Jess and I get over to the girls house that was so perfectly decorated I come to find out that sweet Allison made me a petticoat for my dress. I had no idea what a petticoat was, and then she showed me the magical gem, and I was clearly in amazement! It for sure was the perfect addition to the dress, not to mention the gold ribbon that she jazzed it up with!

So...we are at the party. Having an incredible time. AND THEN.... my friend Kate (who I'm going to Costa Rica with) walks in, I screamed "Kate," cause I was so excited to see her. Following Kate was my freaking friend Greg from college!!! AND THEN...following Greggers was my dear friend Ken Chang...in a sombrero! I screamed again, and started crying. I had no idea! Not even a clue. They came all the way from KANSAS for my 15th birthday party!!! People, I don't know the last time I cried from being so excited, but the tears of joy were definitely flowing that night! Two of my best guy friends from college, and Jess, there, at my Quincenaera. Boom!

And so many of the people I loved were at the party. It really was so fantastic. Everything about it! We ate, drank, mingled, danced, and busted up a parrot pinata. I couldn't have asked for a better going away party. I left the night feeling so so blessed! I really do have incredible friends! :)

8 days left

So the big departure to Costa Rica is in 8 days. Count em'. 8. I really can't believe it. I don't feel ready to go. I take that back. I feel ready... ready as I'll ever be (minus the packing part.) It just hasn't hit me that I will actually be leaving in a week.

It's already August? What? Where did the summer go? It's flown by, that's for sure, but it's been so sweet... and filled with lots of golf with Randi! I have really come to love Denver. The transition of leaving Lawrence to come back home to do my student teaching was so much greater then I could have ever expected. I was so stoked to be back with my family, but definitely nervous about leaving my community at school, the group of people I had walked life with for the last three and a half years. They knew the core of me, and they loved me well. The Lord is faithful though, and I have come really love the community He has blessed me with here in Denver. There's a group of about 10 girls who are freaking awesome, and the last six months have been so fun with them. I'm totally comfortable here in Denver now...now that I'm leaving the country :)

I'm so so excited for this adventure though. I'm blown away about how much the Lord knows me. Yeah yeah, I know, He's my creator, but dang. HE. KNOWS. ME! He knows my desires and my needs more then I know my own desires and my own needs. Can I get an amen? :) It's been so cool looking back on journal entries from last semester (yes, my life still runs on semesters!) and seeing straight up His faithfulness and goodness. It dosen't surprise me that I'll be leading Young Life. I love the ministry, and have always know I would love to be involved after college in some way, but never did I think that meant being on staff in Costa Rica. Really? Woahh! I can't wait to lead with no other agenda. Here's what gets me jazzed. I get to lead Young Life, and I won't have any homework!!! I can be so intentioal about relationships and loving on kids, and I don't have to worry about failing an anatomy test (yes, I did fail an anatomy test..or two. sorry mom!)

So, in 8 days the adventure begins. I cant wait to learn more about the Lord's character, and to be so streched spiritually. I sometimes, and by sometimes I mean constantly, am amazed that God uses broken and messy people to further His kingdom. Here we go!

Oh and for those of you wondering, I still don't know Spanish. Yep that's right, I'm moving to Costa Rica, and I don't know Spanish. I really wish I had paid more attention in high school Spanish. Woops. I had some Spanish classes this summer, and they were helpful, but to say I KNOW Spanish would be quite the strech. So...this should be good! At least everything YL based will be in English, but I'm sure I'll have plenty of funny blog posts of things I thought I was saying correctly in Spanish, but was WAY off. Guarantee it!

In the words of Ron Burgundy.... Stay classy, San Diego!