When Oceans Rise...

I've been listening to Oceans by Hillsong, and the Spanish cover, Océanos, a lot lately.  God called me out upon the waters to Costa Rica, and now he's calming me through the storms I'm facing.

 

"When oceans rise my soul will rest in your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine"

 

"Descansaré en tu poder Pues tuyo soy hasta el final"

 

This week has not been the easiest of weeks since I've been in Costa Rica.  There were many challenges at school, and it left me feeling exhausted and put down.  However, as I prayed, peace and joy filled me, and I was reminded that God has placed me here to fulfill His plan in my life.  It's not always filled with easy, pleasurable moments, but as we live in God's will, He will continue to strengthen and bless us. 

 

I have already begun to see the unexpected blessings in my life.  As I said, last Sunday, I moved.  Luckily, we only moved a few blocks from where we lived before, so we still know the area.  We are now living in a house that has been renovated into two separate two-bedroom apartments.  My roommate and I occupy one side of the house, and two male teachers from the school occupy the other side.  Everything is brand new, and I'm enjoying living here so far.  We are on a busier road now, but the noise doesn't compare to the loud talking and music of the taxis outside our old place.  I'm getting to sleep in past 5:30 am now, so that's definitely a blessing :)

 

Enjoying an iced cafecito for our last day in our house!

 

 

Mi Casa Nueva!

 

 

Still waiting on the bathroom mirror to arrive...

I was blessed to be able to make it through the work week, all the way to Friday, which happened to be Children's Day in Costa Rica!  That meant that every grade level got to go on a fun field trip!  The 2nd and 3rd graders went to the cine (movies) together.  The movie theater had cute little trays and provided popcorn and drinks for all the kids.  We even got to ride to the movies in style in a nice coach bus.  It was a very fun, but exhausting day!

 

Another blessing that has come into my life are the people the Lord has placed in my life.  At the beginning of this adventure, when I was living alone, and didn't know anyone, it was a little lonely.  As time has gone on, I have gotten a roommate, and developed some strong relationships with those in my school.  I am very thankful for my tico dad, and his family as well.  Even though we don't live with him, he has taken on the father role here for my roommate and I here in Costa Rica.  On Friday evening, he invited us to El Teatro (The Theater) with him and his wife.  The play was called "Ese Hombre" (That Man), and depicted various miracles that ese hombre performed in his life (Jesus' life).  It was such a beautiful depiction of the kind of man that Jesus was while here on Earth. 

This week, my roommate and I had begun to build relationships with the guys on the other side of our house.  Since being here, I've wanted to go and explore, but didn't necessarily have someone who was very adventurous like me to go with!  Therefore, the guys that live right next to us have been a huge blessing.  This weekend, they suggested we go whitewater rafting.  I was thrilled to hear that was what they wanted to do, because I have always wanted to go whitewater rafting, but have never gone!  It was an all-day experience, beginning at 6 am with a 2.5 hour bus ride.  They fed us an amazing breakfast, and put us on the bus again to travel 45 more minutes to the Pacuare River, where we'd be dropped off for the rafting experience.  As it is rainy season, the river didn't necessarily look as pleasant as I'd expected.  It was very brown from the mud and rain.  They said in dry season the water is a greenish blue color, which we were able to see flowing out from many waterfalls along the trip.  However, the color of the water didn't detract from the thrill of the day!  The whitewater rafting we did was classified from Level I to Level IV rapids, whereas a Level VI is the highest.  It was quite possibly the most fun I've ever had! 

 

Our group!  (Administrator and his wife, my roommate and I, and the two male teachers who live next to us) 

 

 

 

 

Navigating the rapids

 

 

Our celebration after surviving the rapids... Pura Vida!

 

The largest of the waterfalls we saw on our 18 mile trip

With all the excitement I had on Friday and Saturday, I decided a restful, relaxing Sunday was just what I needed to be prepared for the week ahead!  Next week is an eventful week as well, with a 3 day weekend.  Stay tuned to see what adventures happen next weekend!