as the summer comes to an end...

Soo we are in the middle of the HUGE work group right now. They had 78 people last week and have 77 people this week. Having that huge of a group where about 66 of them are high school youth has definitely been a new and interesting experience. There is never a dull moment!

As this week comes to an end, though, my internship is coming to an end also. This is the last group we will have this summer and then its time to say goodbyes to everybody. We will be taking a intern trip to the beach Sunday through Tuesday so that will be fun but then on Thursday of next week we will have to say goodbye to each other too. I think that’s the part I’m most sad about. Saying goodbye to the interns. I know I will see the Ticans frequently while I’m here. But this will be the last time I see a bunch of the interns for a really long time. I’m so thankful for each and every one of them and am amazed at how quickly we became like a family.

So, as of now, I actually did find an apartment where I am going to be living once the internship is over. It’s close to Los Guido also which will be handy. I don’t know exactly what kind of work I will be doing though because I have not gotten a chance to sit down and talk with the boss man. Right now I’m just learning to trust in God and trust that I will find and choose the best thing for me.

As soon as the time with the interns is over, I head off to a camp for 3 days and then Nicaragua for a week! I’m pretty excited about those things…

I also wanted to share with you guys a little story about some things that are going in Los Guido, my “home” here in Costa Rica. So as most of you know, Daniel’s hand-made cross business is part of his ministry to the people in Los Guido. It is his way of helping some of the youth in the community who have spent their entire lives in gangs, doing drugs, hurting people, etc but who have now found Jesus and decided they want to come to the church and change their lives around. It’s a way to give them an honest way of making some money, keep them off the streets, provide for their families, and for Daniel to get the chance to minister to them and witness to them and help them in their journeys with God.

The problem as the summer months come to a close, though, is that the missions groups stop coming. They might possibly get a group every month or something but that is usually it. Because all of the funding for hiring the young men and such comes from mission trips coming and visiting los guido and buying the crosses that they have made, they are worried about the coming months and being able to keep working with everybody. Daniel is thinking he is going to have to let go the most recent person he hired go because he simply wont have the funds to keep him hired. This guys name in Jose (Chepe is his nickname) and he has been going to the church for not very long now. Hes a guy that has spent his whole life on the streets doing really horrible things, but is slowly and surely changing his life around for the better. He also has a few kids and is trying his best to raise them to be good people. At this point in his journey, I just cant imagine what it would be like for him to lose this job and be back on the streets so often. The temptation is everywhere on the streets of Los Guido and I know that working with Daniel and the Ponce’s is something he really needs right now to continue on her journey with God.
SO, heres the part where I ask ya’lls help. I was thinking maybe there might be some of you guys out there reading this blog that might wanna help. What he pays Chepe right now is $50 a week ($200 a month). If any of you guys would be interested in helping this man out and helping him be able to keep his job and continue on this straight path with God, that would be incredible. I don’t know exactly what that might look like for different people but really any donations that you guys can make would be more than a blessing. Maybe just a few dollars? Maybe you would like to sponsor him for a few months? Anything really would be amazing.

Email me if you would like to help: emma.s.hall@gmail.com

Or for you church people if you want you can give money to my parents and tell them what it is for and they will make sure it gets to me.

I love you all so much and I know that with prayer and with trust in God that something will happen and we will be able to keep working with Chepe and helping him change his life forever! (below is a picture of a few of the guys that are working int he work shop with Daniel. on the left is Spanky, a guy who is 17 year old and started in the gangs when he was 5 years old. The one in the middle is Brian, also 17started young and has a 3 year old daughter names Eypril. And then the one on the end is Chepe. This picture was taken during the all night prayer vigil that the church in Los Guido had back in May).

dont lick the frogs...

... i suggest just using the traditional ways.

hahaha apparently some people find the red posinous frogs and then lick them to get high. the tour guide on one of the things i went on with a group gave us that advice. "stick to the traditional ways... dont lick frogs!" haha such good advice.

soooo i know im a slacker. and i know that aunt sue wants me to update the blog :-) so here i go! (at least i didnt go OVER a month without updating, right?)

things have been pretty good here. we've had groups in and out every single week and, for the most part, the groups have been awesome.

we had one really rough group thrown in the mix filled with people who didnt wanna listen and who liked to have control of everything, but i can definitely say it was a good learning experience.

i got to spend one week at the other worksite in coronado, working on the children's home they are building there. it was a fun week and DEFINITELY amazing weather (nice and cool) but i missed all the people i work with here in puerto viejo.

then my first week back to puerto viejo was amazing because we had all my favorite ticos with us! abraham, javier, johan, roberto... and then a new guy who is really cool named felix!

this week we have a group from highland park, texas with 78 people in it. i counted the night they got here and there were introductions and there are about 12 adults and then 66 youth. needless to say, its going to be a CRAZY 2 weeks. this week im working with the group who is going into the schools and doing VBS all day. because of that, we end up coming back to the hotel around 4:00 (when most get back around 6:00) which is why i have time to do this little update right now.

plan for after the 2 weeks with this group... i think we're taking an intern trip either to the beach or to a volcano and a last horrah before a bunch of them have to go back to the US to start school again. then, im going on a 3 day retreat thats being held by the methodist conference in san jose. they formed a band with people from around san jose (daniel is the lead singer) and i went the other night to listen to them perform and they are AMAZING! im definitelt excited about that.

after the retreat im going to be heading to nicaragua for about 5 or 6 days since i have to leave the country. should be fun! (although ive heard its really hot!)

just a little example about how amazing God is sometimes (and speaking of the retreat), a few weeks ago this group decided they wanted to give us interns a little extra something for our time with them and ended up giving us each $40. later that night, daniel came and talked to me about the fact that a few of the boys that work for him really wanted to go to the retreat but just couldnt afford to go (since it costs around $52). so in the end, that money came at exactly the right time because i used it to pay for one of the guys to go to the retreat (and daniel is paying for the other). yay God. :-)

as far as what my work is going to be once this internship is over and all, i have to say im still not positive. there are a few things in the works and so im just praying about them and trusting that i will find the thing that i am supposed to be doing.

i love you guys so much and thank you so much for all your prayers and support!

"es un cheese steak..."

Hey guys. Sorry that it has taken me so long to update this thing. I’m a slacker, I know.

I’ve now just finished my second week of having groups and it has been amazing and tiring and challenging!

The first week we had a group of 11 from Chattanooga, TN, and they were amazing!!! I honestly don’t think I could have asked for a better group to begin the summer with. We worked at the church in Sarapiqui doing things like grouting, laying tiles, painting, laying blocks, putting ceiling up, etc. I have LOVED getting to hang out with the Ticans. Abraham is the man that is in charge of all of the work projects for Ray. I have spent a lot of time getting to know him and his son Johan and they are just tooooo funny. Not to mention they help me with my Spanish a lot. We were also lucky to have Javier as our bus driver that first week. He is just hilarious and so much fun to be around. He even sang the Sapo song with the kids two of our VBS days!!

I’m not sure how I feel yet about doing VBS at a different place every day. While one part of me agrees it’s a good idea to get to know a whole bunch of different churches and a whole bunch of different people, I mostly think it would be a lot better to be at the same place all week. That way, the group can build relationships with the kids rather than seeing them once and then never seeing them again. I have loved getting to lead the VBS and such though. It is a lot of fun.

Thursday of that first week I had to translate for a church service for the very first time. I was scared out of my MIND. I hate speaking in front of people, I hate microphones, and its so nerve-wracking thinking about the fact that the preacher could very well preach on something I know absolutely nothing about. Luckily, it turned out really well though. Andrea was there to help me if I needed it, but I ended up not using her too much. At the end of the service, although I know I of course could always improve, I felt pretty proud of myself.

Friday I headed to San Jose to get my second bag and bring it back to Sarapiqui with me. It was a long time on the public bus but I actually really enjoyed. It was hard saying bye to the first group on Saturday, but it wasn’t very long until the next group arrived.

The second group was HUGE compared to the first one. They had 26 people in all and were from Fleming Island, FL. I have to admit that I was a little nervous at the beginning since it was such a big group and I have never been in charge of such a big group. In the end, though, I absolutely fell in love with the group. They are so much fun to be around and so sweet and loving. We did a lot of the same work this week, but also a lot of the group spent time outside digging ditches for the clinic. It was a lot of fun working alongside these people and also really beginning to get to use my Spanish a lot. Since Chris wasn’t here this week, I was really the only one who spoke Spanish. It was kinda funny (and tiring) because I would try and work on a specific thing but there was just no way because every time I did, somebody would call me to translate something or ask Abraham something. Although it was tiring, I loved it. I can really tell that my Spanish is getting better and better and I LOVE that.

I translated for the church service on Thursday again and, although I was so nervous, things again turned out well. I am working right now on trying to remind myself that God will give me the words I need in order to get the points across that I need to. I still feel like every time I have to translate though I’m going to freak out.

Friday I was planning on sleeping all day but in the end one of the girls in the group was sick so she and her mom stayed back at the hotel which opened up 2 spots for people to go on the excursion. We did a boat ride, horseback riding, and then zip lining. It was pretty fun doing all that stuff and hanging out with the group some more, but I passed out and slept for 3 hours when I got back because I was so tired.

The FL group had to get on the bus and leave at 3:45 this morning so that they could get passed the part of the road that was going to be close from 5-12. I went back to sleep until about 10:30 and then got up and spent some talking on the phone with Daniel and then my parents. I ended up talking to my dad for about 3 hours which was so nice. I miss my family so much so it was good to spend some time just hanging out and talking. The rest of today I’ve been working on learning how to make a new bracelet and watching the finale of Lost (finally!!)

The next group should be landing in San Jose in the next hour or so and then will make it to the hotel around 11. Its going to be a long night but I’m excited to meet the new group and see how things are going to be. This is going to be a different week cuz this group is from Ray’s home church and they are the ones who are funding the clinic. I think they are going to spend the week doing some different projects such as taking surveys and such.

Next week Matt and Chris and I get to work on the project in Coronado and I’m SO excited!

I haven’t had the chance to go to Los Guido yet since the summer started and I’m kinda bummed about that. I miss my kids sooooooo much…

Love you all!

I'm about to get my plant on...

Soo I know it has been forever since I’ve updated this thing. We have done so much stuff and I just feel like I’ve been so busy. Not to mention I’m still trying to adjust to everything… the good and the bad. But just a warning, this is going to be a long update.

Monday, we spent the day at Seminary with the other Methodist pastors around the area. Surprisingly, it was actually extremely interesting. We spent about 6 hours in the class and I got the chance to finish another one of my bracelets while listening to the American speakers talk and Ray translating into Spanish. It was fun to listen to the English, think about what I would have said in Spanish, and then hear Ray do that. ALSO, I got a surprise when I was sitting there, got tapped on my shoulder, turned around and Edgar was there! It was good to see him since I’ve been missing Los Guido and the Ponce’s and all that.

Tuesday we worked with one of Will and Ella Faircloth’s groups from Alabama for the day. We worked on the Children’s Home in Coronado and it was a TON of fun. It was definitely a different experience mixing concrete inside of a mixer rather than doing on it on the ground. It was definitely nice to have that thing but did not mean that there wasn’t a lot of lifting and manual labor going on. Javier, one of the bus drivers, was working with us too which was a lot of fun. I have to say that that’s probably the hardest I have ever working making concrete, and it made it even better to have Javi around and to get to hang out with some of the group and finally translate for my first time.

Wednesday we had to wake up REALLY early (like 4:15?) and go to the seminary to pick up the guys. We then drove about 3 hours to this place called Siquirres to pick up some people that were going to hike with us. It ended up being the six interns, Javier, Pastor Jose and his son Josue, Juan and his son David, and one more lady (who was 62 year old but kicked our butts in hiking!) We drove about 2 more hours and then made it to the part where we could no longer drive. We got out of the car and hiked for about 2 hours up and down HUGE hills. I definitely did NOT think I was going to be able to make it, but somehow I did and it wasn’t so bad! Every time we hit a huge hill, I would pray that whole way up that God would just give me the strength to keep going. And He did! Once we made it to Talamanca (the village of Cabecar Indians) we ate lunch and then set up for Bible school. Let me tell you, this was the hardest Bible Study I’ve ever done! We were told before we went that the kids were shy and stuff but I guess we didn’t really grasp just how shy they were until we were in front of them trying to get them to interact with us. Overall, though, it was a goooooood good time. I am so happy that we went there and that I got to spend some time with those precious children. (A little more difficult to communicate though since they speak a mixture of Spanish and their native Cabecar language.) God blessed us by allowing us to have somebody take us back down the mountain in a car. It was a lot of fun being with Brittany and David and Juan and little David in the back of the truck. It brought back good memories of riding in the back of the trucks in Honduras.  The other group wasn’t so lucky though since their truck broke down after about 5 minutes and then had to hike the rest of the way down. After that, it was 2 hours back to Siquirres to drop of the Ticans and then another hour or so to Guapiles to be with a group for the next day.

Thursday we went with another group from Alabama to this Boys/ Girls Ranch called Amor en la Calle (Love in the Streets). It’s a place that takes in kids from the streets and loves on them, teaches them not only school subjects but skills, and just shows them that they are worth so much more than they have been living. It was an amazing experience. I stayed for a while with a group of Alabamans to help them translate and talk to some of the Ticans. Then I went and watched some of the ladies teach some of the youth girls how to sew. THEN Alli and I went to the bakery they have there and we spent a few hours decorating cupcakes. It was a lot of fun! After lunch I spent most of my time talked to a few of the youth girls, playing games and just laughing a lot. It was so much fun just getting to hang out with those girls and practice my Spanish and all that.

Friday we headed back to San Pedro, hung out at the seminary for a while, went to the mall, hung out at Alli’s for a while and showered and just rested before going out to eat and to see a movie. We ended up seeing the Prince of Persia (in English with Spanish subtitles) and it was actually pretty good!

Saturday me, Brittany, David, and Matt got on the public bus to go to Puerto Viejo and wait for our first groups to come. Now, we have those 2 groups here. I’ll be working with Matt and Chris this week with a group from Chattanooga, Tennessee and we will be working on the church in La Guardia. Ray said it will be a lot of tiling, ceiling stuff… and I can’t remember what else.

If you guys could be praying for me that would be amazing. On Thursday Chris and Alli and Brittany are headed back to San Pedro because Chris and Brittany have to head back to the US for a wedding which means that only Matt and I will be left with our group here. Which is fine EXCEPT that means that I have to translate the church service on Thursday! I have no clue how I’m going to do it or if I’m going to be able to do it, but I just keep reminding myself that God will provide me with the words I need. The way things look, I will have to translate this Thursday, next Sunday, and next Thursday for sure. After that, we’ll see who is with me and whether I have to keep doing it.

Hopefully I’ll be able to update some more this week. I just find that when I come back from working and such, I just feel like doing nothing. Not that writing in here is too hard, but on those days where I’m all hot and sweaty and sore, typing a bunch seems like a lot of work too haha.

Love you all and miss you!

and the work begins...

sooo i started the intern stuff on wednesday and its been okay so far. we dont have any groups for another week about but we've been doing team building stuff. i really like the other interns and am looking forward to getting to know them better.

right now we're in puerto viejo which is one of the work sites we will be bringing groups to. we spent today doing some basic scheduling and then visiting some of the sites. all i can say about this place though is that its HOTTTTTTT. im praying that i get to work in coronado. i just wasnt meant to be in this hot of weather and in this intense of sun.

looks like we're doing lots of interesting things this week. going to a boys ranch to hang out for a while, hiking for 2 hours to go visit some indian tribe and do VBS with the kids, visiting the children's home... etc. should be fun stuff.

right now im just having a hard time transitioning from not being with the ponce's. its so weird to me to have a job where i like... cant visit people. where they say i have no time to do anything other than the job. im excited about these 10 weeks but im also excited about after when (hopefully) ill have a normal job and a normal routine where i can work during the days (or whenever work time is) and then spend my time hanging out with friends and such when im not.

right now im just praying for an open mind. whatever God has in plan for me these 10 weeks, i pray that i am able to be okay with it and learn something from everything i do.

love you all. hopefully ill have another chance to write soon.

la semana mia

Sorry I havent had time to update much on here. I've been trying to use every second I can to hang out with the Ponce family before I leave to start my internship.

These days have been filled with hanging out with the family, hanging out with the kids, running a lot of errands, and things of that sort.

The church had an all night prayer vigil thing on Friday night from 7pm- 5 am and it was TIRING but AMAZING. Hopefully I will have time to put up some videos and such soon to show you guys but its just amazing the energy that these people have and the love they have for God.

Yesterday we had a lot of car problems and it was probably the scariest time of my life, but after a lot of praying, a lot of standing outside in the pouring rain and things of that nature, everything turned out greatly.

Tomorrow I have a meeting with Ray and Allie, one of the interns that is working with the group too.

I'm also going to give some more information here about the feeding program that the Ponce's have for the kids of Los Guido in case anybody is interested since right now the program is in danger of being shut down:

Okay the feeding program has about 100 kids that attend the feeding program and they feed them breakfast and lunch, Monday through Friday. (so 10 meals per week per kid).

What they need is $35 per kid per month, which is $3500.

What they are still receiving from the US is $2100 per month, which leaves them down $1400. 5 months back a church donated $9100 to them and so they have enough money to cover the $1400 for 2 more months but after that, they have nothing.

So I think what they need per month is $1400. Two churches that were helping them out with money randomly stopped sending it about September of 2009 and they have not heard anything from these people.

If nothing else, I ask you all to pray for this situation. I know they run across problems all the time but God always finds a way to provide for them when they need it the most.

Love you all.

So Far, So Good

Hey guys. I'm at the mall right now with Daniel and brought my lap top so I can update you guys just a little bit.

So far everything has been really good. I've spent the last days just hanging out with the family and with the kids around Los Guido.

Yesterday I spent the whole morning and part of the afternoon playing with the kids outside. We played with water balloons (I got soaked) and, of course, I spun them all in circles and things of that nature. I was a lot of fun to just hang out with the kids and just love on them a bunch. I have met a LOT of new kids and have seen a lot of the old ones too. There are definitely more that I hope to see before I leave but considering I've only been here a few days, I'm pretty content.

You can definitely tell that the economic situation here is difficult. I've heard theres a possibility that the Kids Feeding Program might have to close down because Edgar hasnt gotten the money that he usually gets from certain churches in the Unites States. It's so sad and something that I really wish I could do something about. I guess for now though we'll all just continue to pray and trust that things will fall into place.

I love you all! :-)