el primer mes

Lol. So it’s taken me an entire month to put up another blog… lol that should let you know just how busy it has been here. From the moment I arrived at Port to right about now every second has been filled with things to do, people to see and places to go. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. This semester there were also a lot of changes to the school schedule, which has definitely taken some getting used too… Worship is now on Monday mornings, this was a change I really thought was weird but I’m actually really enjoying it. With worship on Monday mornings ALL of the staff (literally ALL) have been able to attend. This is something I really appreciate. :) Also in the first month we now have two Bible classes in addition to leadership. This is also a change that I feel has been very good. In the first month last semester I felt it was hard to connect with the second semesters because we had such different schedules. Having two Bible classes together in the first month has really helped me to feel more connected with the new students and I also think it has helped make us feel like one big group instead of two separate ones. But I’m sure schedule changes are not exactly something that all of you are interested in (unless you are a former student… then you would actually understand.) ;)
In other news we had a very adventurous trip to Manuel Antonio the first weekend… We rented an extra bus, which was nice because then we were not all crammed into the microbus. (And no creepy bus driver this time!) However, we forgot to take into account that there was a surfing competition going on in Jaco…. This rather unfortunately turned what should have been a four-hour drive into a NINE-hour drive… We only spent about an hour or so on the beach Saturday, but came back Sunday morning for a while which was really nice. I am however, hoping to make another trip to Manuel Antonio at some point this semester. Maybe when Mike visits? :)
Last weekend the leadership class and some of the new students traveled to the mission trip site to meet with the pastor of the church and hear about some of the available projects. On the way there Emily and I had some trouble with our sinuses in the mountains and we arrived very, very sleepy to our destination. Lol. I know what the city is called but I can’t spell it… lol. So I will just let you know that it is very close to the border of Panama and is about six hours from Port… For the mission trip we will hopefully be helping repair a school in the area and also two houses. We will also be working on several different ministries to all the local schools. I think this includes two high schools and several elementary schools, but I’m not positive. For this trip we will be staying with different families who are members of the church we are working with. Emily and I stayed with a family for the weekend we were there and I really enjoyed. The family was very nice and welcoming and I’m hoping to stay with them again when we are there for the mission trip.

FUTBAL NEWS!!!!!
In the first week at school, I untalented and terribly uncoordinated Morgan Sutter scored my first real soccer goal!!!! It was of course after several (and I mean several) failed attempts… However, it was still very exciting for me! :) As I’m sure any of you who have seen me play soccer can imagine… In other futbal news Costa Rica lost very terribly to Honduras a few weeks back in a World Cup qualifying match… It was terribly depressing… Although I’m sure Marvin and Claudia (our Honduran students) enjoyed the match… lol. Costa Rica does have the opportunity to redeem themselves next week in their game against Mexico! (A game I will be watching at Port as the tickets are ridiculously costly) So cross your fingers and get excited! :)
Classes this semester have been going pretty well for me thus far. I have really enjoyed my spiritual discipline’s class with Marquito and I am really hoping to put in to practice what I have learned. The class was very interesting to me because prior to it I had never really heard of the spiritual disciplines. Through this class I learned not only about the spiritual disciplines but also the purpose of them. Practicing the disciplines puts you into a place, environment and/or mindset where God can work in your heart to mold you, shape you, and fill you with His Spirit and righteousness. The disciplines themselves don’t give you these things or add to these things, they simply bring your heart, body and mind into a place where God can work. I also learned about how the practicing of the different spiritual discipline’s can lead directly into bearing the fruits of the Spirit in your life. That’s really they end goal, the goal is not that you would be someone who consistently fasts and prays and serves. Then end goal is that your life would bear fruit and that you would grow.
So this about sums up some of the biggest things in the first month… I really hope to blog more often from now on… Of course, lol our schedule is about to change again as we move into the rest Bible classes. Lol. So… It might take sometime before I’m able to sit down and blog again… We’ll just have to wait

San Jose

Soooo, today was the first of probably many excursions to downtown san jose. Keri, Jordy, Pabs, Kevin and me took a trip to show some of the new students around downtown and how to take the busses and stuff. It was fun, we spent quite awhile looking for a bank where we could exchange money. By the time we were done most of us were starving so we split like four huge pizzas at a little pizzerria in downtown. After that we split up. most of the new students went to see the artisan market. i went swimsuit shopping with keri for our manuel antonio trip nex week. :) After shopping I enjoyed my first pops ice cream cone since being back. It was delicioso!!!!!:) While on excursion I found out Keyan (one of the new students) is a fellow mountain dew lover like me! :) soo on the way back to the bus we stopped at automercado to get some! In automercado I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that my favourite fruit mamon chinos is back in season!!!!!!!!!! :) que rico. so i bought some to have and enjoy at port. the trip back was pretty uneventful and we spent the rest of the afternoon pretty much just chillin. We all just finished our first soccer game of the semester which was pretty awesome. I am still as athletically challenged as ever but thats okay its still fun. :) And I found jsomeone to practice with! Tasha and I are pretty evenly matched soooo we decided we would practice together sometime. :) I also found at that Claudia a student from honduras is a pretty freaking amazing soccer player! she took on several of the boys. lol. it was fun to watch a girl school them even though she wasnt on my team. :) maybe next time. then she could make up for my lack of athletic ability. lol. so its been pretty fun here so far. :) more students arrive tonite and tomorrow. I definitely miss my old friends from school lots. and wish they could be here with me.... :( but Im excited to meet and get to know all of my new friends. :)

COSTA RICA!!!!!

Well, after a long couple days of travel I have finally made it to Costa Rica! I left Wednesday with high hopes of arriving that night. However, God had other plans. lol. He usually does. I flew standby to Costa Rica from O'hare it was a fascinating experience that I think everyone should try sometime... lol. okay maybe not everyone. My original plans were to go from O'hare to Dallas and Dallas to Costa Rica. Originally the Dalllas flights all looked good and I had four chances to get to Dallas. However, flying standby is a risky chance and things are always changing. I was originally about eight on the standby last, but several revenue (people with tickets) passenger desided that they wanted to try to get to Dallas early. These are what some call woodwork people... because they just come out of the woodwork. I have other names for them. I went from being about eight on the list to 50. not exactly fantastic odds for getting on your flight... lol. luckily though after missing all four of the Dallas flights there was a flight to Miami that I made it on! :) I was glad to be just a little closer to my destination, lol. and there was another flight out of Miami to San Jose later that night. I was really close to getting on. Just two more seats and I would have been on my way to Costa Rica... It was a big disappointment when they finally announced the plane was full. I have to admit at that point I was really really frustrated. I was annoyed mostly because I didn't understand why God would allow to get to Miami only to be stuck there... As I was kinda praying slash pouring out my frustration on God I was reminded of the many ways in which He was continually providing for me and caring for me. Over the summer I was blessed enough to find a job. It's a really tough job market out there especially for kids in my position who are just passing through for the summer. While at Port last spring my small group and I spent a lot of time in prayer for me to find a job this summer. And I did. I also thought about how God had blessed me with the standby tickets in the first place. Not many people are able to necessarily use standby tickets and yet God and the wonderful Smith family had blessed me with them. I also started thinking about how I was lucky enough to not have to spend the night in the Miami airport. One of my moms close friends from church had a sister who lives near the Miami airport and she was kind enough to come and pick me up so I didn't have to sleep at the airport. When I thought about all these things I realized that though things had not gone as I had planned God was still totally in control and meeting my every need. :) Thankfully I reached Costa Rica the next day in the afternoon. :) I spent most of yesterday unpacking. lol. (okay mom, maybe i did bring too much stuff, lol.) There is lots more I could share but I'm getting ready to go on a trip with some of the new students to show them around San Jose... soooooooo I will have to check back later and share how that goes. :)

9 DAYS!

So just 9 days til it's bon voyage USA and hello again Costa Rica! Life has flown by so quickly this summer and I cannot believe its been two months already! I have so enjoyed the time I was able to spend with my family and friends catching up and I can't believe it's almost over... July went by in a whirlwind with working, college apps and visits, and a short but fabulous trip to Cincinnati to see my cousins there. We had many basketball and baseball games to enjoy but mostly we just stayed up late playing Risk. lol. I guess somethings don't change. I also got to visit with my Grandpa twice! And he helped me pick out a new blackberry phone that I am loving. (but will soon be saying goodbye too.) This weekend my grandparents are coming up and I'm hoping my other cousins (the Kernaghan clan) will be joining them. We'll have to wait and see..... The rest of this week will probably be packed full between packing and finishing the last of the college applications. lol. It seems like no matter how much I finish there is still more work to be done on them... I'm also hoping to spend sometime saying goodbyes to friends. And loving on my brothers and baby sis. When you next from me I will prolly in Costa Rica!!! :) just nine more days!