Date night, Christmas trees, and Tico friends :)

I feel like I haven't blogged in forever...but we've been so busy with everything...work and fun :). Here are some highlights: this weekend we had a three day weekend and we were able to do some fun things. We went downtown to go Christmas shopping and got lots of presents for people at home. We also got all dressed up and went out to eat and I ate lasagna (my favorite)!! We had girls' date night (obviously, since there is no man in our lives). We then went to the San Jose ballet at the Teatro Nacional. It was so fun! The ballet isn't my favorite thing to do, but it is cheap here and it was fun to get dressed up and go to the theater...which is a beautiful old building right in the middle of San Jose. On Sunday, we went to church and then played volleyball with some people from church. It was great because we spoke Spanish the whole time. We're finally making Tico friends! Another super exciting thing is that we put up a Christmas tree. We found it in the teacher resource room and we brought it to our house. It's wonderful :) My first "on my own" Christmas tree...exciting. And the wonderful things go on...Kate and I both recieved packages today. I received peppermints...and Kate received Candy Corn. It was great. So we've been feasting on seasonal candy and putting up our Christmas tree...it can't get better than that ;). For an update...I have a praise and two prayer requests. My praise is that my students are doing well...they are finally starting to speak and understand English. Thank you Jesus! My prayer requests are first, for Kate...she has bronchitis. Secondly, we've decided to move in with Costa Rican families to help us work on our Spanish. It was a hard decision, but it is necessary. So please pray that we find good families that we mesh well with. That would be much appreciated! Thanks so much!!!

Some encouragement...

It's so easy in hard or busy times to forget to pause and remember we are held in the Everlasting Arms. We forget to pause and take a breath, resting in the refuge that we have. I love those times when you are running crazy and things just stop you in your tracks and put all of this in perspective. This week, two things that children have said have stopped me short. Just little things, but so encouraging. I have truly been running around crazy. Between teaching kindergarten and special ed, and then setting up the basketball program and coaching, I've been so busy. One day I was really struggling with thinking that I was not doing well with what God had asked me to do and out of nowhere, little Kendyl in my class says, "Teacher, you are such a good teacher." I just stopped and thanked Jesus because that's what I needed to hear. Whether its true or not, I don't know...but it was just a little thing. Then later, I was just overwhelmed with the thought that I need to teach half of my class English. A little girl who is learning English in my class came to me and said in English, "Teacher (pause), I so excited (pause) because (pause) I (pause) learning the English!" It was precious and I was reminded what I'm doing here. In Psalms 46:1-2, 7, 10-11, the Psalmist writes:

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea...The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold...'Cease striving (BE STILL) and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.' The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold."

Futbol!

So this weekend, we went to a professional futbol (soccer) game. Soccer is a big deal here, so we went all out and got the jerseys and everything. It was so fun! It was a special day because girls could get in free if they wore purple (team colors). Well we went to get our tickets and the guy told us that we needed to have a guy buy a ticket and then we could get in free. lol so here we are wondering where we could find 4 hombres. God was smiling upon us because right next to us was 4 guys that said they could take us in. We were pretty excited. So we got in and we are just cracking up at how all this is working out. Then these guys asked us where we were sitting and we had no idea, so they invited us to sit with them. At first, I was thinking that we were going to get hit on the whole time...but they ended up being really cool. They were from Costa Rica, so they didn't speak any English, so we were able to practice our Spanish a lot. The one I ended up talking to the most was actually sort of a youth pastor/leader at a Christian church. It was so neat! So we all just talked and they invited us to their church sometime and it was just fun. The game was great. It was freezing...the coldest I've been in CR. It was probably 55 degrees, but it was so cold. I know that sounds dumb...but comparatively speaking. So our team won and we were cheering and dancing and getting all into it. I loved it. The boys bought us some empanadas, which vendors sell up and down the stands like beer at baseball games! Good cultural experience :). Although I'd still rather go to a baseball game, I really had fun and we made Tico friends...exciting!

Trophies and a blast from the past :)

I am loving life in Costa Rica this week :). I feel like I have finally switched over to this place being home for now (Don't worry mom). We are just getting into the groove of life and actually having more fun. Something that has been especially awesome for me is being the basketball coach. I think it brings a little sense of normalcy to my life and the lives of the guys on my team. I played bball my whole life, so this is just normal. Given, bball here is so different, but still. So on Wednesday, we finished our tournament. We played awesome! We only lost by 3, but it was an amazing game. And we received a 2nd place trophy! The first trophy ever for Sojourn!!! See picture above :) How awesome is that? I was so proud of them. I love those guys. It is so fun to work with high schoolers after hanging out with 5 year olds all day. Plus they are just quality guys that love basketball. Love it. The rest of the week went well, I was on cloud 9 due to being coach of the year (lol just kidding). Friday was fun because it was a "Blast from the Past" Day. It was so funny. Kim, Kate and I got all dressed up and it was hilarious. See 2nd picture above :). Then we had to get into normal clothes for a Teacher appreciation luncheon put on by the parents. It was awesome and such a treat! Finally, we had a basketball game against the dads and men from the language school. Last year Sojourn's bball team got slammed, but this year, we actually stuck with them until the end. We ended up losing pretty badly, but my guys still did awesome. One younger guy that we let play for fun (6th grade) had the game of his life. He scored 3 three-pointers and jump-shot. It was awesome. Everyone was going crazy. That what this is all about :) So yah, all that to say that life is going well and that I am thankful that God is filling me with not just contentment here, but a passion for everything I am doing! Gracias a Jesus!

Skyline!!!!!!!!!!!

So my mom gave me two packets of Skyline mix and I made one tonight for everyone. We had Skyline for dinner!!!!!! And I finished off the meal with peanut m&m's (I have been rationing my big bag of those and Resee Cups for at least a month!). I don't think I need to say anything else in this blog. I'm sure you can imagine my excitement!

Ps. I hope someone is enjoying candy corn for us...lol we are missing that half-price Halloween candy sales :)

Jesus in my heart :)

A couple of neat things have happened the last few days :). First and coolest thing was my little Ashton in my class. He is precious and I think he has a slight crush on me. At least that's what his mom said. She also said that she told him that mom was always more beautiful than any other girls. I thought that was cute! Anyway, so recently I've been praying for more opportunities to share the gospel with my class, especially some of the Costa Ricans that I'm not sure about. I just keep thinking, "Tricia, you are a missionary, aren't you supposed to be sharing the gospel all the time?" I've been so intimidated with the language that I haven't gone for it really. I just can't figure out how to explain everything while translating and acting out and making it basic enough for 5 year olds to understand. lol it's complicated. So I've been praying that God would give me a great opportunity. Well, Ashton came in one day and his dad told me that he asked Jesus into his heart. Ash was so excited! Well, that day, I was talking about Joshua 1:9 (our memory verse) and thinking, how can I share the gospel along with this. Well, Ash raised his hand and asked if he could come say something. So he stood up in class and said that he had asked Jesus in his heart and he gave the sweetest and most simple version of the gospel to the whole class. I mean, it was awesome. A five year old explaining to other five year olds just how awesome Jesus is and what He did for us. What an answer to prayer. I loved it :) I could not have said it any better! Another cool thing this weekend (not even half as awesome) was that we went to our neighbor's house and learned how to cook some traditional Tico foods. They are an older couple and we just cooked and spoke Spanish together. It was so fun. It was like having my grandma here. And now, I can come home and make some good food for everyone!! Hooray :)

A Taste of Home....

Lots of fun things are going on here in Costa Rica :). On Friday, me and the guys headed over to another school for a basketball tournament. We won our first game by almost 20! It was so awesome! The best part is that my team was working together to get everyone to score. And everyone did score! Everyone was so excited. I loved it. We have the 2nd game next week. When I got home I pretty much ate dinner and went to bed at 9. lol and 12 hours later at 9 am I rolled out of bed. All of us slept so late. We were exhausted...but it was great to sleep in. We then went to the ferria to get all our fruits and vegetables for the week and then downtown to do some Christmas shopping. It was so great because all the navidad (Christmas) decorations are already up here. There is no Thanksgiving here, so Christmas is the next holiday. It was so great. While we were downtown we also got a McFlurry at McDonald's. Kate and I took a bite at the same time and both said "Oh it's like a taste of home." It was funny. It's the little things. Living overseas definitely makes you appreciate those things. Then we came back and went to the mall to do our grocery shopping and we ate some comida china (Chinese food). It was the first time we have had it in 2 1/2 months, so it was a feast! We loved it! When we got home, we put up Christmas lights and decorations while listening to Christmas music! It was great! Between the Christmas stuff, the McFlurry and chinese food, we were all feeling like we had a little bit of that home familiarity feeling. It's hard to explain, but when you feel it...it's like the warm, fuzzy feeling. lol sorry to get all emotional on you. lol we're just really excited too about Christmas! I don't think I was even this excited when I was little and excited about the presents. We are all just looking so forward to seeing our families. Plus, we need to decorate because the weather here definitely doesn't make it feel like Christmas!! I like that part though. So all in all, it's been a great day and I was thankful to the Lord for that little taste of home!!