My Joyful Hallelujah!: Getting There...

Well... we made it back from Costa Rica. It was the BEST week ever. It was absolutely amazing. I have a hard time putting into words what we experienced and all God did... but I'm going to try to on my lil' bloggie here! I have to split it up of course... it's just too much. Basically this passage sums the week up:

Many, Lord my God,

are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us.None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.

Psalm 40:5

Here's our amazing team ready to hit the road Jack... for ATL to board the plane!

(WARNING - picture overload may begin over the next few posts... prepare yourself)

After a 3 hour drive to ATL and waiting in the airport for our plane that left at 6:00pm, we arrived in Costa Rica at 9:00pm their time! We boarded a bus and headed to Quepos to spend the night at a church there. WE WERE POOPED once we arrived and didn't have enough energy to fret about the sleeping arrangements. 11 girls in one small Sunday School classroom and 6 bigger boys in another... on the concrete floor. GO HARD OR GO HOME! ...Jusy sayin'

We were able to go to church where we slept that next morning. This church was a TOTALLY different sight than what would be our surroundings for the remainder of the week. This church was like the Brook Hills of Costa Rica - complete with a sound system, worship band, A/C, and fanciness!!!

After church we ate at a
yummy yummy restaurant and then kept driving to a church in Paso Canoas where we stayed the night. Check out our bedding!!!! Hammocks and sleeping bags! Woot woot!!! I have to say this was a first for me... sleeping in a hammock hanging from the rafters. LOVED IT!

We had a really sweet worship service that night... talked about each of our stories of even being on the trip, what God was already teaching us, and our fears for the week. We sang to Jesus and spent time together.

The next morning... we knew what awaited us... THE HIKE UP THE MOUNTAIN.

We had NO CLUE what it was going to be like... but we suited up with our packs on and headed to the start of the trail!

Here's our team before the hike... HARD CORE I tell you. Most teams would take a group photo all clumped together with the beautiful ocean being showcased... not us! We found weird looking poles in the ground and decided that was the perfect place for our portrait!!! It looks great too... duh!

So... we hiked... and hiked... and hiked!

It was a 2 hour hike! We were nasty and tired... and realized how out of shape we were. NOTE TO SELF: next year... training hikes will be required! haha!

At least we had BEAUTIFUL views to go along with our aching hamstrings.

Pretty much the hike consisted of crazy climbs like this!

BUT.... WE MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!! We are looking fresh here, huh????

We finally made it to our destination... the village of Alta Mira... the home of the Guamyi people.

We couldn't wait to get our hands dirty in ministry and I can't wait to tell you some of what God did!

But first... I want to introduce you to a few VERY important people and locations for the trip...

This is Laura and Amanda... 2 of our leaders. Tracy isn't in this picture but she was a leader too! They were AMAZING!!!!! The led us well, loved us well, and were just awesome in general! Laura was our leader from Praying Pelican when we went to Belize in the summer as well! It was great just being with her again and ministering with her and this team last week!

This is Pastor Marvin - the pastor at the church we stayed at in Paso Canoas (the church where we slept in hammocks). He is an amazing man of God. This trip was his vision. After Praying Pelican brought a team to his church a while back, he told Laura that he would prefer that a team be sent to GO OUT... to help the community... and to minister specifically to the village of Alta Mira!

This is Paster Manuel and his family. This is the pastor in Alta Mira! We felt so honored to minister to and with them in their home. The girls also stayed in their house, which served as the church, each night. So amazing that they let us in their house... strangers... and were so hospitable. So awesome how because of Jesus... the language didn't even matter! His little kiddos were so precious!!! Pastor Manuel and his wife are also one of 2 or 3 couples that are married in the village.

NOW INTRODUCING PASTOR ANABELLI!!! Our trip would DEFINITELY not be the same without this woman! She was amazing and a one-of-a-kind!!! She is a Praying Pelican staffer in Costa Rica! I'm convinced that she is on SPEED DIAL with Jesus!! This woman LOVES the Lord and doesn't take a single moment for granted when sharing His story! I learned so much about loving the Lord, loving the people, and living in FREEDOM from this lady!!! She also prayed, while touching my womb area, that I would get pregnant!!! I'M FREAKING OUT! I told her to take it back... she looks at me and says, "Umm... I do not think I can do that..." AHHH!!! So... if I get pregnant (along with getting TWO boys) it's all Anabelli's fault!!!!!!! I love this woman and her spunk!

This was our waterhole hole for the week. Each time our water bottles ran dry... we trotted down to this water source, filled them up, and then ZAPPED them with this handy dandy UV thing! They said it cleaned the water... so we believed them! No one got sick so I guess it was the truth!

And this was the el bano! AKA the bathroom!! The one of the left (with the palm leaves) was one the people built for us when we got there! :) We got to stink it up all ourselves! The one of the right was a little more experienced and had a nice tang to it already! BUT... I can now say I have used the bathroom in a village in the rain forest... pretty cool in my books!