Costa Rica Missions Trip Day 9

June 28

After our busy day yesterday we enjoyed a more laid-back morning today.  It started with another beautiful morning run for me - I really cannot get enough of watching the ocean!

After many mornings of eggs for breakfast, Hillary asked Cecilia if she could do pancakes.  She did not disappoint!  Three large panqueques were delivered to our table with real butter and syrup.  Hillary was in heaven!  And of course I was happy with my 2 cups of Cecilia's coffee to go with my shake and that yummy fresh fruit.  I will miss the pineapple that is served almost immediately after being picked!

After breakfast we went to do a load of laundry and spent some time chatting with some of the staff. I have really enjoyed getting to know them better and finding out more about how SOH operates and the roles everyone plays.  It is an awesome organization with so much to offer.

While Janis managed the washing machine, Hillary and I went for a walk down the beach.  We went a different direction than usual and found some beautiful areas to explore.  The tide had been way up early in the morning, but by mid-morning it was down and we could see lots of fish, crabs and tons of unique seashells.

Parting the waters!

We were missing our friends Karen & Brenda who had to spend the night at the hospital in San Jose. After many ups and downs, God prevailed with many little miracles and blessings, and I was able to meet their "Uber" in Tarcoles and bring them home!  It was awesome to see Brenda up and walking, albeit a bit sore and stiff. In her words: "Somehow survived being kicked by an ox and getting stuck, dragged and rolled over by the thousand pound cart full of rocks it was pulling. After 17 hours strapped to a board and 3 hospitals, we've confirmed I only have a twisted vertebrae and quite a bit of surface wounds. Feel so lucky not be paralyzed, to have use of all my organs and to be alive! Thank you so much Seeds of Hope team for all your love and support💕 On the road to recovery now!" Karen was a rock star negotiator with the Costa Rican hospitals and doctors, and after VERY little shut eye over the course of 24 hours, they will be sleeping well tonight.  

So after delivering Brenda to her casa, we headed back to Tarcoles where the 8-12 year old kids were having their weekly gathering.  We joined Ricardo and Diana in time for Hillary to lead the craft.  She had gathered a variety of leaves, paper and crayons and taught the kids to color "leaves" on their papers.  We had a great time with these kids, and none of them had done this craft before.  It was so fun to watch their faces light up when they colored hard enough for the leaf to show through on the paper.  We made some friends and they seemed to enjoy the craft, and loved showing off their tumbling skills after we were done!

Hillary & Ricardo explaining the craft.

They gave us their pictures!

On the way back to Esterillos Oeste we stopped in Jaco to eat supper.  We found a great little restaurant where we enjoyed a nice meal, although as we were waiting for our check Karen started falling asleep :).  Good thing I was driving!

It was great to help out at the clubhouse tonight and meet some of the kids who will be using the facility that we painted. We get to go back and work with the big kids at Tarcoles on Friday!