To the ends of the earth.

First off, to all the people out there reading this, THANK YOU. I always feel weird blogging... It's like I'm talking to myself... Anyways, it's been encouraging to hear that my friends are reading about my life in the CR. (:

Ohhhh and on another side note, MY SISTER HANNAH IS COMING TO VISIT ME IN COSTA RICA! I am SO STOKED! The ticket price wasn't that bad, but I did spend money I probably should not have... If you feel so inclined to give me a $10 birthday present towards the purchase of that ticket and give it to Hannah, I can't say i'd be opposed! (:

Well. As you will see from the slideshow, I spent the weekend in Talamanca. Talamanca is a town (not really a town... more like a small village in the middle of nowhere) that is located in the Limón province of Costa Rica. It's about a 5 hour drive from where I am living in Sabanilla. Talamanca is home to many indigenous people. Aka, it's home to a lot of people that live on or near a reservation and live off the land with no running water or electricity. So, how did I end up there? I posted this the other day to my facebook. I feel like it puts it quite nicely.

     "Sometimes the flight attendant won't let you board your plane so you have to take one the next day. Sometimes you get the short end of the straw and end up sitting alone on an airplane. Sometimes you sit next to someone on that airplane who just so happens to be a missionary in Costa Rica, who just so happens to work with an organization located in the same part of the country you're going to be living in, which happens to have weekend trips that conveniently work out for your schedule and a family that is willing to take you under their wing. Sometimes you get invited to spend the weekend hanging out with and indigenous group and love them to Jesus! I'm so stoked for this weekend!! I SERVE A MIGHTY GOD!!"

 Basically, God decided he wanted me to get connected with a ministry here in the CR. Therefore, by a string of very unlikely events, he hooked me up with this incredible experience. Here's how it went. 

Friday.

Friday morning I get a phone call from the family telling me they are in front of my neighborhood waiting to pick me up. Soooo I hopped in the car with them and we hit the road! Theoretically, it takes 5 hours to get to Talamanca, however when you go with ticos, you can almost guarantee it will take twice as long. It did. Because we weren't going to make it to Talamanca until 10pm, we decided it would be best to spend the night in a town nearby. We bunked at a church and set up our sleeping bags on the floor. I slept horribly, but was loving every minute of it. 

Saturday.

Saturday was a very long and wonderful day. We woke up at 5:15 and headed towards Talamanca. In order to get to the church we were staying at, we had to cross a lake by canoe, cross a beautiful wooden bridge, wade through a few rivers up to my knees, and take a 25ish minute hike with all of our belongings. With me, came the gringo missionary family I was with, (Beth, Bryan and their 16 year old triplets, Drew, Jesse, and Kirsten) as well as about 15 other Costa Ricans and Columbians who were doctors, dentists, and teachers of the Word. We got to the church and I wasn't quite sure what I was supposed to be doing. So, I helped the pastor's wife make Arepas for us for breakfast. I spent the day playing with kids, reading them Bible stories, and loving them to Jesus. Our team gave out clothes, shoes, and free medicines and free medical care. There were also discipleship classes for the 50+ church members. 

Saturday night was my favorite. We spent it worshiping our mighty God. MY FAVORITE THING EVER is seeing/listening to people worship the same God I do in a different language. Only now-I understand a good majority of this other language. 

Many people that attend this church have to walk for three hours to get there. They come on Sunday night for the service at 6. Afterwards, it is too dark and dangerous for them to go home, so they sleep on the floor of the church. The next morning the pastor's wife makes them breakfast and they walk home. Incredible right? Would we do that for our church service?

Sunday.

Sunday consisted of doctors appointments, Bible stories, jump ropes, trampolines, s'mores, and sad goodbyes. At about noon we packed everything up and headed back through the mountains, rivers, across a lake, and onward to our only 6ish hour car ride home.

Talamanca reminded me of my first and favorite mission trip to Honduras. I loved it. It was just such a reminder that I'm exactly where God wants me to be and I am doing his will for my life. I am so thankful that God provided me with an opportunity to get out of my "study abroad/4 month vacation" mode and do the one thing my heart loves most in the way my heart loves doing it most. Love God, love others, serve others. I am so blessed.

Prayer request: 

My tican brother Fernando needs Jesus. He is seeking-very obviously, but he isn't quite there yet. Please pray for God to rock his world.

Also, I'm really worn out and not feeling so wonderful. I've been laying in bed all day and didn't go to class. Part of it's physical, and it's a lot mental as well. I think it's just my body realizing that I'm living here and not just here on a short vacation. There's also been a virus going around at school that I was definitely feeling yesterday. So prayers are appreciated! (: Thanks!