…I also apologize for not having updated since my arrival…2 weeks ago!!! My flight down was quite laid back, for the most part relaxed aside from the excitement – i think i mentioned before that i was on the brink of tears at one point. Anywhooo, leaving Guatemala was a cinch I had no issues. I even ended up making a friend on my flight. It was her first flight ever and she was
freaking out a bit (we did not have the smoothest take off); so I offered her my hand at which she pounced , i mean the Lord blessed me with some pretty soft ones so who could blame her! Unfortunately, the flight was not completely issue free, when we got to Costa Rica we learned the airport was closed and were not allowed to land, so we flew out to the beach did a lap and by the time we came back (about 20ish minutes later) we were able to touch down. Everything arrived safely including myself and aside from my firm and intimidating guard I had no issues.
I was scooped up from the airport by two members of our Central America Team (Lukas and William) and we spent 2-ish lovely hours (It should have only taken 40 minutes tops) enjoying rush hour traffic! William and his family have been kind enough to let me stay with them. Oddly enough, I've been here 2 weeks and while i have enjoyed quite a few tamales (*drool aaaaah i love them!) I have yet to consume some authentic gallo pinto (which really isn’t a big deal as i make my own at home haha but it’s not the same!) as William is Colombian and his wife, Nadia, is Swiss. So I've been learning a lot about their cultures as 
well! In fact the first Friday i was here was their daughter, Kenya’s birthday! She turned 6 and it was a so fun! We had a piñata, cake, presents, and a fiesta wouldn’t be complete without ….
…Colombian hotdogs!!! What are Colombian hotdogs you say??? WELL let me tell you…they are your generic hotdog smothered in BBQ sauce, mayonnaise, ketchup, repollo (cabbage), pineapple and topped off with crushed potato chips! I had 2 and a half…or maybe 3…now i can’t remember.
well! In fact the first Friday i was here was their daughter, Kenya’s birthday! She turned 6 and it was a so fun! We had a piñata, cake, presents, and a fiesta wouldn’t be complete without ….…Colombian hotdogs!!! What are Colombian hotdogs you say??? WELL let me tell you…they are your generic hotdog smothered in BBQ sauce, mayonnaise, ketchup, repollo (cabbage), pineapple and topped off with crushed potato chips! I had 2 and a half…or maybe 3…now i can’t remember.
Okay so where does that put us…travel- check….food and home- check, ah work! The reason for the season! Yes I am excited about my new role (Short Term Coordinator) I have my very first Strider (short term missionary) coming in next week on the 19th – Ruth! She will be my guinea pig and she will be mine…and she will be my guinea pig – sorry i watched Finding Nemo the other night :) such a fun movie. Focus Kayla! Okay so she’s coming and hopefully I will not scare her! Maybe set aside some time to pray for her too!
There has been a lot of writing let’s take a break for some pictures:
I have been able to see a lot of my friends from Carpio quite a few times already…what we have here is some evidence of attempted sweater stealing, an unconventional “ladder” and the reality that I've got some pretty delightful friends (it should be noted i haven’t snagged too many pictures …too busy having fun and getting all my hugs in!)….
I have no photographic proof BUT the other day i was walking through San Jose and someone grabbed me from behind…..I KNOW!!!! … i froze (I’ve always hoped/expected that I'd go all kung foo kayla on an attacker and they would seriously regret trying to take me on, i was kind of disappointed in myself just freezing, like some sort of pansy) and then out of nowhere popped two girls from my soccer team (the one i coached when i was here in 2011), one of whom has moved to the most southern part of Costa Rica and I wasn’t even sure I would be able to see her for sometime! I was excited but also let them know, i carry pepper spray and they could have died if i had unleashed kung foo kayla on them! But i didn’t attack because i subconsciously knew it was them…haha, yeah, they didn’t buy that either…heehee either way it was a wonderful, yet almost-pee-my-pants scary, moment!
I think i better start to wrap up here as you probably stopped reading like 6 paragraphs ago…oH but wait – i also went to an orchid conservatory! Here are some pictures of what i spotted!
As well, because people are always asking, I downloaded a weather app so i can answer your weather questions if/when you have them!
Okay lets finish up here, you’re a busy lady or man with things to do!
Praise- reunited with many friends - God’s amazing faithfulness and love for me, for serious, He’s got a real thing for me, it’s awesome!
- LL team
- trip to Lankester Gardens (the orchid place)
- living situation
- I got to skype with GrandmaChan the other night…aaaand it was awesome. I made her jello salad for William and the fam – #success!
Prayer requests- For my Spanish, that i will wake up fluent! Or at least for me to pick up idioms really quick and have exceptional grammar and be understood by all!
- I’ve got some culture shock going on so pray that my transitions will be smooth and that i will be able to see people and situations through God’s eyes and be able to show more patience and grace to those around me.
- That i will be awesome in my new role and will not scare Ruth, but instead give her the tools she needs to succeed and get the best out of this experience!
- Physical and Spiritual health, pray that i would have an overwhelming sense of The Lord being with me in each moment
- Living situation- that everything will work out and this will be a great learning experience and I will walk away with a better understanding of how i work on my own. As well, for a delightful, safe place to turn up (ideally 2 bedroom and under budget!) before i become homeless again in the new year!
I feel like i could go on for quite sometime, but do not worry! I will not :) Instead i will say thank you for taking the time to see what I've been up to, If you have made it this far, Congratulations!!! I’m so proud of you! If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them or shoot me an email! Do not be nervous, i promise i
