Wedding, Maracuya, & Good Friends

As many of you know, I served as a volunteer with Youth For Christ in La Paz, Bolivia about two years ago. It was an unbelievable, live-changing experience! Randy, the missionary that I worked alongside in La Paz, proposed to his Bolivian girlfriend while he was home in Colorado for the holidays! Randy made it into quite a production and I, along with many other friends, had the opportunity to be involved in the proposal. Anyways, he and his fiance, Dani, planned their wedding to take place in La Paz, at the end of April. I didn't really even consider going since I am down here in Costa Rica serving with Engineering Ministries International. BUT, sometimes God works in mysterious ways. Randy kept dropping little hints about me coming to the wedding, but I didn't pay much attention to them, since I figured that flying down to La Paz would be out of the question. The interns and I were scheduled to leave the country the same weekend of the wedding to renew our visas, so it turned out to be perfect timing, and due to many fortunate circumstances, I was able to make it down to Bolivia! I've been dreaming about getting back to Bolivia ever since I left, and I feel so blessed to have gotten the opportunity to return!

I flew out of Costa Rica last Monday afternoon and arrived in Bolivia around 1am. I was graciously and enthusiastically greeted by Pedro and his kids as well as a good friend Ramiro. It was so good to see them!!! I stayed at Pedro's house (Youth for Christ director) in his daughters' room. It really did feel like home!

The week consisted of a bunch of pre-wedding activities, but also some great time to catch up with old friends! It was especially cool because almost all of the gringos that I worked with down in Bolivia came down for the wedding, so we got to have a bit of a reunion! I won't go through all of the specifics, but some of the highlights include: playing soccer with the shoeshiner guys, eating my favorite mayacuya (passion fruit) ice cream (several times!), riding around the city in public transport minibuses, dancing the night away at the wedding reception, eating anticucho (grilled up cow's heart) from a street vendor, visiting with Bolivian pastors, volunteers, and shoe shiners, late nights of chatting with Pedro's daughters (definately like the little sisters I've never had!), seeing many of the shoe shiner guys wearing suits for the first time in their lives, falling in love with Bolivia all over again!!!!

Upon leaving, one of Randy's friends (Keith) who works for Youth for Christ in the States had a little talk with me. He said that he would really be praying for my future and the decisions that I will be making for my life over the next several months. He told me that the Lord can definately use me as an engineer in a typical job in the States, but that he can really see a fire inside of me and a passion for Bolivia. That I really look comfortable and like I belong in Boilvia. The conversation kind of took me by surprise... but made me think a lot too. I always think about Bolivia, but haven't really seriously considered moving back there long term. I guess you never know what the Lord might have for my future. Please pray with me as I seek the Lord's will for my life!

I feel so blessed to have been in Bolivia and shared in the amazing union of two incredible people! Please enjoy the pics!

My Bolivian sisters, Deborah and Priscila

Getting my nails done with the girls!

I got the hot wax treatment!

The end result! Kinda cute, eh?

Eating anticucho with Jon and the happy couple!

A breath taking view of Mt. Illimani and the city from the soccer court!

Ross and Freddy, an old shoeshiner friend

David, Ramiro, and Ross chilling at Randy's place

Dani trying to identify her man by only being able to feel his calf at the bridal shower! And she did it!

Eating a ginormous ice cream cone at Brosso's!

Most of Randy's groomsmen at the rehearsal dinner

Me and Ramiro at the rehearsal dinner

The church just before the wedding ceremony

Half of the wedding party during the ceremony

The shoe shiner gang after the ceremony!

Randy and Dani - their first dance as a married couple!

Hanging with the Fam

Last week I was really frustrated with my host family because I had yet to spend a weekend with them. They usually just relax at the house and watch tv on the weekends... so I usually make my own plans with my friends. So, last weekend I made plans with my friends to go to the zoo and the pool and have breakfast with a neighbor, but very late the night before, my family informed me that they were going to the beach! I didn't want to cancel my plans, so I just hung out with my friends and missed out on the beach. This has happened a few times...where my host family doesn't tell me about their plans until the very last minute after they know that I have made my own plans. So, I was beginning to think that they didn't like me, and didn't want me to hang out with them! But... after informing the rest of the gringos of my family woes, my boss told me that it was simply the latin culture, and that next time, if I really wanted to spend time with my family, I would just have to commit to canceling whatever plans I may have already made to be with them!

So... low and behold... my friends and I made plans to travel to Montezuma (a sweet tourist spot on the Nicoya penninsula) over the weekend, but my host mom invited me to go to this new zoo nearby! Even though it was tough to do... and Steph was really pulling for me to go with them to the beach... I decided to stick with the game plan and cancel my plans!

Saturday, I headed to the zoo with Lucy, Flor, and Walnercito. It's this new zoo that they just opened called PANACA (Parque Nacional de Agro-something). They only have farm-type animals and really promote the importance of agriculture. Their slogan is, 'Sin campo, no hay ciudad', which means 'without country (farming/agriculture), there is no city'. It was a really fun day, especially with the little one, because there is so much to do and see! Walnercito feed a bunch of different animals, took rides on a buffalo and a pony, and got a huge hug from the park mascot! It was a very long day... but so fun to be with the family!

Then on Sunday the family decided to take a trip to the beach! Of course we had planned to leave right after church, but we didn't get out of the house for several hours! Right when the clouds rolled in and the lightning started, we piled in the car and headed to the closest beach. Unfortunately, there wasn't any sun at the beach either, but it was still plenty warm to enjoy a nice dip in the sea! The beach we went to was in Puntarenas... not a very pretty beach (lots of trash and dirty sand), but it was fun none the less! We enjoyed our time swimming in the water, building sand castles, and burying each other in the sand! As the sun was setting, we packed up our things and stopped for some ice cream. Yum!

Steph, Brad, and Josh had a great weekend in Montezuma and it was slightly painful to listen to their fun stories! But I am so glad that I finally got some time to be with the family! Especially since I recently found out that they are planning on moving to San Jose in the very near future! It sounds like they may be moving away in less than a month! ....leaving me homeless! So, you can be praying for good quality time with my family before they move and a new host family for me to stay with for the remainder of my time in Atenas.

Zoo Ave

Last weekend, Steph and I took a trip to the local Zoo with her Costa Rican sister. It was a fun day and really cool to see all the cute and colorful animals! Our favorite attraction was the toucans! They are so cool, especially how they hop around and turn their heads to see past their enormous beaks. Enjoy the photos!