Slideshow

This is a video the youth group in Monteverde (specifically, Isaac) made for me right before I left Costa Rica. They played it in church and I cried the whole time. Leaving all my friends, students, and adopted families was one of the hardest things I've ever done.
If you have been wanting to see a highlight of my year, take a look. =]

Everything

I can't tell you how many times I've shared this with the world, but I think it's sharing again. I just can't get over how powerful this is.

Letters

I love letters. I really do. I've sent so many while I've been here. It's major progress for me. My mom used to bribe me and/or take away privileges to get me to write thank-you notes. I enjoy writing them now. I think the key is good stationary. Here, I have a great excuse to use postcards. I love using postcards. I may make my own postcards when I get back. There's just something about them that feels so familiar...It's like you're right there with the person. You get to see what they see.

But there's also this other kind of letter. It's called a fundraising letter. I plan to send out around 150 letters. Maybe more. I have 40 ready to go into the mail right now. Fundraising letters are tricky. You never want to sound desperate, even if you are. You want to capture the attention, give reasons for supporting, leave a way out if the person doesn't want to contribute, and this must be accomplished in one page. No more, otherwise you will bore your reader. No less, or the reader will assume it's not worth their time. Psychology, folks.

I hope my letter is good. I plan on spamming the world with it. In fact, yours may be in the mail within the week.

If I don't send one to you, it's probably because I don't have your address. I'm not kidding when I say I'm sending it to everyone. Spammmmm!!!!! But the good kind. It's to support a good cause.

Actually, I'm going to put my letter right here. Just in case you don't get a letter and you feel moved to contribute.

Here goes!

Dear (Handwritten name goes here)

I have been given an exciting opportunity to be a servant and a minister this year. Through the Student Missions program at Walla Walla University, I have spent the last 7 months (and will spend the following months until June) as a volunteer teacher at Centro Educativo Adventista de Monteverde in Costa Rica.

My last 7 months have been a great adventure and there is more to come. I arrived in the middle of the school year and a new one is underway. We have a new principal and I am the only remaining volunteer from the last school year. The school requests the aid of volunteers not only to help teach English but also because the Adventist community is very small. There are few Adventist teachers but despite the small community, we have been presented with a unique and wonderful opportunity.

Our Adventist school is the only Christian school in the area of Monteverde. This makes it very appealing not only because of the good education we offer, but also because of our beautiful values. More than 80% of our students are not Adventists. This is an amazing opportunity to develop relationships and spread the love of God to our students and to their families as well. 

I would like to ask you for prayer support. First, I need prayer for myself: my continued safety in my new home. Also, that God will continue to prepare the hearts of the students, their families, and the community. I know that God will use me to be His ambassador while I am here. God has given me this opportunity to share the gospel both by example and through relationships. Secondly, I need prayer that I can raise money to help the school and its students. I aim to raise $10,000 dollars. Please consider being on my prayer team for these needs.

I want you to know that the school did not ask me to send out these letters, but because I am part of the teaching team, I know the school’s needs and am acting accordingly. The money raised will be used for 2 main causes. First, a roofing project that was started last year but was never finished. The second, and in my opinion, the most important cause, is to give financial aid to students. There are many families, whom I know personally, that desperately wish to send their children to our school. Because of the high cost-of-living due to tourism, they struggle to make ends meet and paying for a private education is not an option. We never want to turn children away from our school, but without payment, we have no choice. Tuition is roughly $1300 for a year ($110/month for 11 months). It breaks my heart that these children do not have the means to receive a Christian education and it is something I want to help change.

I appreciate your willingness to invest in this ministry. I hope to raise the money by June 2012, before I leave, but a gift at any time would be great. If you decide to make a donation, your gift will be tax-deductible. Please write any checks to the Chico SDA Church and label it Monteverde Adventist School. 

Thank you for your prayer support and possible financial support as well.

Many blessings,

(My beautiful signature goes here)

The actual letter is not in italics and I included an addressed envelope to the Chico SDA Church. Being out of the country, I couldn't get US postage so I figured an already addressed envelope was the least I could do. A little nudge, so to speak.

Chico SDA Church

1877 Hooker Oak Ave. 

Chico, CA 95926

Latesgiving

Thanksgiving did not go at all as planned this year. If you recall, I was incredibly gung-ho about preparing the perfect feast and cooking everything myself from scratch. I scoured the internet for recipes that don't require ovens (since nobody has one and those that do are afraid to use them). I found a reliable recipe for stuffing and of course, mashed taters, but pie was going to be the trickiest.

Planning was difficult, but progressing when I received notice that the youth group trip to Alajuela to return the favor of conducting the Sabbath School and Church service was moved to Thanksgiving weekend. This meant that practice was moved to Wednesday and Thursday night before leaving on Friday. This, in turn, meant that there would be no time for cooking or feasting. I was devastated, but feigning optimism, I called my parents, informed them of trouble and arranged to skype them in between school and practice: a 3 hour window. It ended up perfectly. I talked to my family and they showed me all the great food I was missing out on. Our conversations ended pleasantly, and though I was sad not to be there with them, I realized how happy I am to be where I am, doing what I'm doing.

Friday came and with it, the trip to Alajuela. I was tired to begin with, but after the long car ride and a couple hours of practicing, I was ready to sleep. So needless to say, I was a little irked by the fact that everyone in the house decided to stay up 'til 12:30. Amazingly, I was ready for the day when I woke up. I showered, breakfasted, got in costume and headed to church, which was just 6 houses down. The Sabbath School Service was a play of sorts with special music, scripture and the mission story mixed in. It was the story of the 10 virgins. I was one of the 5 that didn't bring extra oil. My part in the play was to say a few lines and...wait for it...sing special music. In Spanish!!! I sang Solo Cristo (None but Jesus). I was really nervous, but I made it through with only one noticeable squeak. The rest of the service went beautifully. After church, we had a deliciously filling potluck and then nap before evening worship, supper, and evening games.

Supper is back on track with the topic of Thanksgiving. Our group went to PriceSmart, which is the exact same as Costco. It was wonderful. We got pizza and then we roamed the halls of the store and low and behold, we came across a pumpkin pie. I was so happy that I did a little dance. Obviously, I bought it.

After supper and evening games (which I did not participate in on account of being too full), we went back to the house where I was happy to stay up and talk to my new friends from Alajuela. We stayed up 'til nearly 1 am. Next day, we went to some pools where we swam and got some much needed sun. By the end of the day, I was flushed but not burnt. It was glorious. After bidding farewell to everyone, we made the long trek up the mountain to Monteverde where it was raining, per usual. And yet, I was happy to be back in the comfort of this town I've grown to love over the last *gasp* 3 months. I still can't believe it's been that long.

Finally Monday came. This was the day Nate, Calle and I were planning to celebrate Thanksgiving. We used the packet of mashed taters that came from WWU Student Missions, the pumpkin pie I bought in Alajuela, and to this mix we added corn, homemade stuffing, sparkling grape juice and rootbeer floats. It was glorious. We laughed, we listened to music and we took pictures. Then we carefully set up the dinner table, said a prayer ("God on three, 1, 2, 3, GOD!!!") and dug in. We ate soooo much. Many smiles, laughs and burps (kind of a contest) later, we cleaned up and went into Calle's room and watched Psych. I ate so much I couldn't lay on my stomach. I was so happy.

Reflecting back on it all, I don't mind at all that Thanksgiving didn't turn out how I planned. I wasn't home, but if I had been home, I wouldn't have met so many awesome people, I wouldn't be teaching, I'd still be horrible at Spanish. As it stands, everything that happened to hinder my plans of "The Perfect Thanksgiving" just made it better. Just another reminder that God is in control and that his plans are better than mine.

Jesus and the 10 virgins

Clearing my throat before the big Spanish debut

Oh soymilk, how I miss thee

Stuffing in the makings

I dish it out real good.

Happy to the point of squinting

Salud!

Pumpkin pleasure

A visitor

New Family

I wish I could express to you all my level of thanks, relief and happiness at being placed with this new family! They are some of the nicest people I've ever met. My new mom's name is Kindria, my new dad's name is Jeison and my little sisters are Valeria (9) and Sofia (4). They live decently far from the school but the location is really pretty. There is nothing but rolling hills, covered with trees, grass and cows through the back window. It's breathtaking. The house is relatively new from what i can tell. Or else, they just keep it immaculately clean. It really is very clean. And also not mildewy which is a blessing because the mildew aggravates my allergies and asthma. I feel very blessed. There's also internet here and I will have it in my room which means I'll be able to call and skype people with more ease. Which reminds me, if you see me online on Skype or Facebook, don't be a stranger. If I don't have time to talk, I won't be online anyway. Get it, got it? Good. Kindria is very involved in her church and she listens pretty much exclusively to Christian music. I find this a huge blessing. She's even invited me to church with her. She goes on Sabbaths and Sundays. They dance in their church she says. They have streamers and everything. It's really beautiful. I think I might go, just to check it out sometime. I feel very comfortable in this home. I am safe, warm, well-fed, and cared for. It's a beautiful thing. I don't know if it will actually happen, but Kindria says she wants me to learn how to drive their motorcycle so that I can take Sofia to school. Let's all just imagine this for a minute...and laugh. =]

So, It's Sabbath morning. I've been up since 7:30. It's sprinkling outside and is overcast. I'm in my Sabbath dress, freshly showered, freshly fed and wearing socks to keep my feet warm on the cold tile floor. Jason is at work, Aileen is watching the Emperor's New Groove on TV, Sofia and I are eating lemons (they're sweet and watery!) and Kindria is cleaning in the kitchen. She won't let me clean. Yet. It's only day two here so I know I'll be helping out more very soon. All Costa Rican women are like that. They won't let you help if you're a guest. Soon though, I will be very much integrated into this family and I'll be doing more around the house. Kindria is singing to her music and I feel like I've been living here the whole time I've been in Costa Rica. This is my home until June and I'm just thrilled beyond belief. In just a few minutes, I'll be heading to church. After that, who knows. I may come home or I may go to someone's house for lunch. I don't really know. But I'm happy and blessed. I miss my family and my friends back home (and the ones that are scattered across Pohnpei, Spain, Germany and other parts of the world) but I know I'll see them again someday so I'm content where I am. Today is a good day. Happy Sabbath world!

Hey ya'lls. I gotsted an address!

8/25 – We collected 113,000 colones in all, which is over 230 dollars. I think we did pretty well. My group consisted of the 5^th graders. There are only 2 of them. Brandon and Keidyn. We had a really good time. We ate lunch at Tere’s house. She’s a part time teacher at the school. She’s very sweet and brings us coffee when Yolanda is gone because Yolanda doesn’t allow coffee at school even though she drinks it. It’s kind of odd, but, oh well. I think I ate beef at her house or whatever hamburger meat is made of. I really know nothing about meat. It was in a tomato sauce that I ate with my rice. It tasted just like vegeburger, which means…I like it. Alright, go ahead. Gasp, freak out, whatever. I’m still not converted. It gave me a stomachache later. Haha. Being Thursday, we went to the reuñon de jovenes at Ivan and Mayi’s house. We may be starting a choir! As would be expected, it won’t be able to replace being in I Cantori, but you all know how much I love to sing, so I really hope it happens.

Monse (one of the first graders) came to the reuñon because her sister is part of the youth group. She wanted to sit on my lap on the ride up because I am her teacher and there wasn’t very much room in the bus. I tickled her and said, “Viene la araña. Te come, te come. Te comió, te comió, te comió!!!” It means, “Here comes the spider. It eats you, it eats you. It ate you, it ate you, it ate you!!!” It’s what my mommy and daddy used to do to me when I was little. She really enjoyed it. She hugged me and said, “Teacher, teacher, teacher.” I laughed and said, “Student, student, student.” It was a nice bonding moment. If my schedule stays the same, I teach almost all her classes so it’s good that we get along. She’s really great to have because she’s virtually fluent in English. She’s helpful too and translates for the other kids in her class when necessary.

8/26 – Yolanda gave us the day off to recuperate from the craziness of collecting money yesterday. It was nice because I was tiiiireed. We all agreed to meet at the school at 11am, but Calle had to help paint hotel rooms at her house and Daniel just didn’t show up, so Nate and I went to town and used internet. Yay!!! On the way back, I realized that I forgot to download Daniel’s lesson plans (I’m taking over a few of his classes) which I will need to on Sunday to get ready for next week. So we stopped at a little coffee/smoothie/wifi place. It started raining while we were there so we took shelter inside and took some more time to vegetate and watch videos and what-not. When we got back to school, Daniel was there practicing violin. He showed me the piano part so tomorrow at church, I’m accompanying him. I haven’t touched a piano (in this case, keyboard) in quite a long time. I’m just doing simple stuff, but at least I agreed to it. I almost didn’t. Now I get to have another full night of sleep. I’m happy. I’ve been tired. It’s just been tiring adjusting. This is good timing for having a long, restful weekend because on Monday, I begin teaching my own classes, rather than just assisting or subbing. A blessing straight from God. =]

8/27 – Playing for church went rather smoothly. It was nice and well received. Daniel did pretty well. Neither one of us have played for some years so considering that fact, we did a fine job. This Sabbath was communion. It was really nice. Melissa and I washed each other’s feet. In Spanish, communion is referred to as Santa Cena. After church we had Potluck!!! It was wonderful. I ate so much. Everything was vegetarian and there was even vegemeat and habanero sauce for my rice and beans. Nashka Paroza! After we ate we had choir practice. That was…interesting…The man leading out is not very musical. He has knowledge as far as technique goes, but his hearing and pitch is just a bit off…Since they found out I can play piano, I was in charge of playing the different parts. That’s a wonderful idea. The problem is, he was trying to do all the different parts at once. He also tried to make up harmony and didn’t believe me when I played the parts. It was a bit frustrating to say the least. In the end, we had the semblance of a choir, but it’s going to be quite rough starting out. In the evening, Daniel went up to Ivan and Mayi’s and the rest of us went to Calle’s for internet and Movie Night. On the way back to my house, there was the most amazing lightning storm. It was beauuuuuutiful! 

So...If my sources are correct, this is my address:

Andrea Johnson

Centro Educativo Adventistade Monteverde

Monteverde 5655

Puntarenas, COSTA RICA

Send me things or letters! I'll write back, promise. If this changes, I shall inform you immediately. =]

Teaching, Movies, Crying, Running, Schedules and things of that nature.

8/19 – I taught Kinder all by myself today. Granted, it was only a half-day, but I did it. It was tiring but it was good. We made additions to the Noah and the Ark project we’ve been working on. So far we have the ark, Noah, the rainbow, clouds and 3 pairs of animals (tiger, elephant, horse). We were all really tired today. Around 11, I asked them if they wanted to play outside. They all screamed yes, grabbed a toy and headed out. I was helping Aniela pick out a toy so I came after them. I walked out and they were all sitting on the grass by the fence watching a repairman fix the power line. I sat down next to them and we just sat for probably a good five minutes. That’s a lot in Kinder world. Now we’re at Calle’s house watching a movie. Bring it on weekend. Bring it on.

8/21 – Yesterday was interesting to say the least. Since I can see church from my window, I didn’t go over until people started going in. There were only 3 people at 9am. Things really started around 9:30. Sabbath school was a Día de las Madres presentation by the jovenes since they were gone last week. It was really nice. We all wrote down characteristics of our moms (Amable, cariñosa, buena cantante, preciosa, lista, etc). They even read mine in front of everyone and gave me a rose even though my mommy isn’t with me. It made me miss her a lot. After church I went home and changed, grabbed some beans and rice and headed to Daniel’s. We made makeshift empanadas. Then we gathered our stuff for camping and braved the drizzle and hiked up to Ivan and Mayi’s house (about an hour walk, where we have the Thursday worship). I got really lucky. On the last, loooooonnngggg stretch of hill before their house, Esteban, their son, came by on his motorcycle. He gave me a ride up the hill. First time ever on a motorcycle and it was so fun! I may have screamed a little. Then we waited for everyone to show up. Melissa (Esteban’s twin) had the girls over for movie night. In the end, I decided to stay with them because it was pouring rain, thundering and I would be the only girl. The guys ended up having a pretty good time and it wasn’t too miserable (so they say) but I’m ok that I didn’t go. There will plenty other times to go in better weather. We watched 5 movies last night! It was crazy. I cried in 3 out of the 5. But it was kind of a good thing because it triggered my homesick emotions so I think I released some of my tension. The first movie we watched was The Last Song. *Spoiler Alert* When the Dad dies at the end, I cried a lot and it made me miss my dad and then I felt homesick and I couldn’t stop crying. I went into the bathroom and cried for a good long time. I hope nobody heard me. They probably thought I was dying. In total, we watched The Last Song, The Proposal, Anita, Wedding Crashers (only part of it because it was so raunchy), and My Sister’s Keeper. Now, I’m back at my house. We took the long walk back and it’s time for lunch. I’m gonna eat and then go over to the school and help paint the Kinder room if they need. If not, I’ll work on decorations for Yolanda’s classroom, plan Kinder and find internet. I also need to rearrange my room a bit.

…Later… So, I fell asleep. So much for helping paint. They’re done. I can’t decorate either because I don’t have the keys to Kinder of Yolanda’s room. It’ll just have to happen later. I suppose I’ll just make my plan for tomorrow and prepare in the morning. Nate came by to get the keys and we moved some stuff from the Kinder room to the library because of the mess and because it’s not finished. Pulga followed us over. She peed in one of the classrooms. Don’t worry; it got cleaned up (Thank you Nate).

8/23 – These last two days of school have been really great! For one, I’m a little less homesick. For another, I’ve gotten a chance to bond with all the classes and I’m feeling more confident. I’ve definitely bonded a bunch with Kinder because I’ve been helping out with them the most. But this is test week and I’ve been giving tests and also teaching class. 3^rd and 4^th graders are definitely the most challenging for me. The girls are easier to deal with. I guess it’s not that they’re really terrible per se, they just have more energy than time to get it out. Teaching math was way more fun that I ever thought. Yolanda wasn’t here today and yesterday, so yesterday I taught 1^st grade Math and Spanish. In Math, I got to teach them about adding/subtracting big numbers like 123 + 46 or 245 – 34. The trick is that they don’t know how to carry over yet or how to borrow but I taught them to always check to see if it’s addition or subtraction and then to start at the right and move to the left. Calle also had me teach her math class again today. I actually had a really good time. I freak out every time she’s had me do it but in the end, I always enjoy myself. Today, we all hashed out the new schedule (starting Monday). Here it is:

Time	Mon/Wed	Tues/Thurs	Time	Fri
8-8:35	Worship/Kinder	Worship/Kinder	8-8:45	Worship
8:35-9:45	Kinder	Kinder	8:45-9	Limpio
9:45-10:15	Recreo	Recreo	9-9:30	Recreo
10:15-10:50	Biblia 1	Biblia 1	9:30-10:20	Musica 5-7
10:50-12	E.F. (PE) 1	E.S. 1	10:20-11:10	Musica 1
12-12:45	Almuerzo	Almuerzo	11:10-12	Kinder
12:45-1:50	Matematicas 5-7	Matematicas 5-7
1:50-3	Ingles 1	Ciencias 1

For those of you who don’t know Spanish:

Limpio = Clean (Clean up, clean up! Everybody everywhere…)

Recreo = Recess

Biblia = Bible (Please tell me you already figured that out :P )

Música = Music (Self-explanatory, eh?)

E.F. = Educación Fisica = PE

E.S. = Estudios Sociales = Social Studies

Almuerzo = Lunch

Matemáticas = Math (Again, I hope you got this already)

Inglés = English

I’m really looking forward to teaching my new classes! The only thing I’m apprehensive about is Music class. Resources are really limited for this class. I just need to figure out what angle to take with this. Should I concentrate on theory or maybe just teach them to sing songs or teach them to play the recorder or should I use a keyboard (we don’t have a piano L) instead? The possibilities are many though the resources are limited. Tricky business indeed.

On a completely different note, I went running with Nate and Daniel today after school. I think I’m going to be really sore tomorrow. I wanna keep it up though. This was the first time in quite awhile that it hasn’t been pouring rain in the afternoon. It was quite nice. This evening after I ate and showered, a bunch of the youth group came to the school and we had worship and then ate some snacks and played games. It was really fun! The stars were out again tonight. It’s a little disappointing that I don’t recognize the constellations, but it’s still beautiful. Now for bed. I’m zonked. Tomorrow is supposed to be an easier day. I hope that it’s so.

8/24 – Today was not as good as I hoped. It was just so lonnnnnggggg…I woke up exhausted. It probably had to do with going on that run. I’m really sore. My thighs in particular. I was so tired I had a full cup of coffee at lunch time. I barely even drink a full cup when I drink coffee, let alone every morning. I’ve resolved not to become an addict. I bet Nate and Calle a sock each that I won’t get hooked within 1 month and 1 ½ months. I spent most of my day cleaning and organizing the Kinder room. The paint was all dry by this morning so Calle and I moved everything back inside and then I put everything in it’s place and rearranged stuff. It really satisfied my CDO tendencies (CDO is like OCD, but in alphabetical order. As it should be). Yolanda was back today and we had a meeting after school. Apparently the schedule may change a bit. Kinder is only going to be 4 days a week too.
My puppy, Pulga, has a broken leg. It’s so sad! She still tries to follow me school. Poor baby. I hope she heals well.

Tomorrow, the other teachers, the 5^th-7^th graders and I are going door-to-door to collect money for ADRA. I’m really not good at all at this sort of thing. It should be interesting though. Now for Movie Night!!! We’re going to watch Top Gun. Kindra, I’m thinking of you. =]