Beautiful Cuervito

My students in Cuervito 

The Dance

Teaching

Jaqie

Freddy & Michael

Freddy was never without machete 

Enjoying Pipa 

She has the sweetest spirit 

Cuervito is the place where we stayed for the past month, population 100.  Cuervito has the most breathtaking views of all southern costa rica.  Our hearts left so full of gratitude, love, and anticipation as we walk towards the call to what is next in the Lord.  Our hearts had grown to love the caretaker and his family (they watch over the rentals) so it was a sad goodbye, especially because we could not fully communicate the love we had developed for them.  I (Jen) had the opportunity to choreograph 6 beautifully excited yet unsure Tico kids a hip hop/reggatone dance (they chose this)! It was awesome.  I felt like I got to bond with the kids and be apart of the community a little bit more.  It reminded me of how much I love dance and teaching dance to children.  Our last day in Cuervito the caregiver and his daughter Jaqie (above) took us on a horse back ride around the finca (farm).  We again were astonished by the beauty of the land as we ate coconuts, star fruit, oranges, and sweet peppers along the way.  We saw a sloth sleeping in the tree and captured the beautiful coastline! Cuervito will forever be imprinted in our minds for all it represented to us: Gods glory, the holy spirit, seeking the kingdom in our lives, patience and waiting, our marriage deepening in love, Freddy and his family, and rest in our sweet Savior.   Praise His name for He is living and active in and around us and throughout the world.  

Sounds

Rolling thunder, the constant pelting of our tin roof by gravity driven pellets of rain, , a choir of multitudes upon multitude of crickets, and every unthinkable six and eight legged creature you could imagine adding it’s piece the symphony, the bullfrogs filling in the tuba section, , the chainsaw felling another tree in the nearby farm, the macaws calling their lifelong partners at dusk , the squirrel monkeys squeaking at each other telling of danger or of the tree with the best fruit, dirtbikes motoring up and down the dirt roads carving down the slopes to the coast.  These are the sounds we hear in this peaceful place.  They are much different than, the phones ringing , freeways, ipods, t.v.’s, requests of bosses or clients, kids crying, dryer buzzing, school bells, or weird noises from our cars, but still there is a different sound.  It is much easier to quiet the “louder” sounds while in this jungle paradise, but there still are the sounds of my spirit, the questions, the fears, the doubts, the wonderings, the hopes, the dreams, the memories.  These quieter sounds aren’t drowned out by the “louder” sounds here,  in fact they’re multiplied, and it is in this state that I’m convinced of the need to listen to the sound of the Spirit of Christ, less I go insane.  Though I’ve proven deaf times over, I know His promises are true, to lead me into all Truth, to be counseled by Him, and for Him to pour the love of Christ over me.  The Psalmist seems to grasp this when he says, I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child is my soul within me.  The hunger and need for food is still there, but it is no longer the anxious cry for the milk of the mother, but the solid food of the calm expectation and hope of YHWH’s provision and answer.   Much of my reading here has been about men and women of the last 150yrs and the book of Acts that have fought through the sounds without and from within to find incredible transformation in the presence and power of the Counselor.  May we too be deaf to the world, and keen to the voice of the Spirit.

Michael's second blog entry 

Monos

squirrel monkeys 

Squirrel Monkeys are our latest neighbors.  In front of the house we have these tall trees with some sort of fruit that is about the size of a walnut.  Apparently the monkeys really enjoy this treat so they come and monkey around for a bit; jumping from tree to tree, gliding up the tallest branches, hanging from the limbs to taste this juicy treat.  It has been a lot of fun capturing the wild life here! Michael is usually the first to spot them as he is eager to capture every living thing in this jungle around us.  

We come home in a week, crazy how time fly's.  WE could not be more thankful for this month retreat the Lord has given us here.  It has been perfect in so many ways.  Our prayer is the work the Lord has started in us, he would continue as we come back to reality.  And our devotion to Abba would not dwindle because of earthly responsibilities.  I think of what Jesus said to Martha, "Why do you work for food that perishes, but for the food that does not perish but has eternal life?"  I have been asking myself this, how will things be different next time around? 

Some of my loves

God loves his children so much! And he delights in giving us the desires of our heart.  I am sitting on the porch watching a fresh rain come down from the infinite sky full of cumulus clouds floating across the great blue expanse.  The Oso Pennisula is to the left of me which is a dark silhoutted  land mass across the sea, popularly known as a national reserve where surfers and divers conjugate. Directly in front me is the gulf of Zancudo that is shaped like a crescent moon, this is probably one of the most popular areas for deep sea fishing.  The town is a mix of shanty beach shacks and million dollar vacation homes.  Below me, the caretaker and his family are cooling off in the pool after a sticky day of humidity and daily chores.  Michael sped off down the road to a little fishing town called Pilon where he will retrieve the fresh catch of the day for our dinner the next few nights.  I thought now would be an opportune time to reflect on a few of my loves or passions whatever you may call them, the Lord has lovingly let me indulge in while I have been in Costa Rica.

Cooking

i love using everything in its rawest form and here I get to do that! There is no trader joes where everything is pre-packaged.  Which I realize when you don't work or have anywhere to be it is not a problem at all! Beans can take up to 2 1/2 hours to cook and a fresh stew usually can take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours.  But it doesn't matter because you have all the time in the world.  I love the aroma of garlic and onion sautee'd in some olive oil with a pinch of oregono.  Some of my homemade happenings have been...

+hummus: garlic, tahini, garbonzo beans, olive oil, broth, garlic, and lemon

+tomato sauce: tomatoes, carrot, celerary, garlic, onion

+lentil & vegetable stew: lentils, carrots, onion, cilantro, potatoes, homemade broth, garlic, and curry powder

+salsa: tomato, radish, green & yellow onion, lemon, garlic & cilantro

+ceviche: char, lemon, tomato, onion, cilantro

+tortillas: super easy maize & water

reading

atleast 5 hours a day. For those of you that know me I love the idea of reading, growing in knowledge, hearing the stories of others lives, and being inspired, but I would rather be with people.  Here what a joy to actually finish an entire book.

 Some of my happenings...

+Enrique's Journey by Sonia Narizo

+Feel by Matthew Elliot

+The Son by E.L Towns

+Compilation of sermon & journals from John G. Lake

+The Bible: Ezra, Nehemiah, 2 Corthinians,  John, Acts, & Psalms 

Photography

The landscape here is breathtaking.  Everything from the mountains to the sea to the sunsets.  I have yet to really capture Tico culture as I am trying to not look as such an intruder, but soon enough this too shall come. 

His Glory

Psalm 104

Blessed the Lord oh my soul, Oh Lord my God you are very great!

You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment,

Stretching out the heavens as with a tent.

He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds as the chariots; He rides on the wings of the wind.  

He makes his messengers winds his ministers of flaming fire. 

May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works, who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke! 

I will sing praise to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.  May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.  

Rain or Shine

The heavens part for us today, leaving traces of angelic clouds drifting along the Pacific Ocean.  The sun beams down on my golden sticky skin as we race to the longest left break in the world.  The 4 wheeler's rubber tires, rolling and caressing every rock and tree shrub it passes.  We know we only have a few hours of sunlight before the ceremonial washing comes so Michael gently leans to and fro with his body on every turn and uphill to move us along.  Hummus and fresh cucumber smother our palette as we enjoy the Israeli owned Café de la suerte, known for their first class vegetarian menu catered to a surfer’s appetite.  Posing as though we will paddle out shortly after our appetites are satisfied, I cling onto the rails of the quad as we head for the surf.  Michael is captivated by the sets rolling in, yet my eyes are fixated on the three palm trees bunched together swaying to the rhythm of the sea, rays penetrating through the leaves I find the perfect composition.  Click, click, click, as the shutter opens and closes my finger eagerly searching for its next victim to capture.  “Why are coconuts hairy, I ask my love?” His mind is elsewhere as the two local surfers paddle in to catch the almost too perfect waves rolling in.  “Can I try?” Seldom do I hear the voice of my other to use the camera let alone his preference for the 70-300mm lens.  He must capture every inch of that wave breaking in the next 30 seconds, hopeful the surfer will paddle hard enough to ride the generous wave, gapping across the sea.  A sigh of relief, it is accomplished for them both.  Anxious to journey forward to the unfamiliar, I soak up the sweetness of a bite of watermelon and we head off reunited with the road again.  Rickety, rusted, beach worn bikes pass us one by one.  Young, old, curious adolescents all fill our vision but the distraction of passion fruit trails behind and before us as we pass an infused pink and white flower trailing along the roadside.  With my head thrown back and a smile on my face I am filled with inspiration to write.  My moment of ecstasy was interrupted by the same voice earlier, “should we go up this.”  Of course the estrogen gets to me, we could cause a malfunction in the quad that we are borrowing, but before I could actually verbalize concern, Michaels leaning 90 degrees over on the quad leaving me a view of his black board short covered butt.  “Move forward Dove, and hold on!”  I am swept away by this mans heart that resembles a boy at times, and I think to myself this is why I married this man.  His sense of curiosity and excitement always lead us down some slippery wet road or up some steep sloping mountain!  But there is always some magnificent view.  Crossing creeks and gaping waterfalls we can see surfer’s paradise from a whole new perspective.  Inhaling the juxtaposition of the jungle and sea around us, we soon realize the heavens are closing and the once angelic clouds have transformed into a grey dark force of rain coming our way.  “Let’s go fast, so we can make it down this steep slope.”  That is reassuring; as I reach for my green rain jacket slightly disappointed we did not get our big debut as surfers today.  Rain or shine, we are running, swimming, riding a quad or motorcycle or reading a book.  The clock strikes 3pm and by 3:05pm Michael’s bright blue shirt is dripping droplets of the heavens around us.  He looks back at me with a childlike grin and I embrace him tightly as I think to myself I love life with this man.  The fresh rain brings a heightened sense of passion fruit in the air as we race back on the 4 wheeler.  We dodge potholes full of muddy water, at times unable to maneuver around them backfiring on our hands or feet if we are unlucky sometimes our face.  Clumps of dirt and streaky mud cover our shins, we are thankful for our Teva’s and Choco’s today as they have with stood the 4 wheelers inability to protect us.  Pilon is about a block long fishing town with three or four houses that sell the fresh catch from the day.  Eager to sauté the days catch in garlic, olive oil, and limejuice, Michael asks, “Senor tiene pescado.”  He replies, “solo char.”  Char is a common fish used in ceviche a traditional dish of fish, cilantro, onions, tomatoes & limejuice.  My face display’s a slight disgust but we both look at each other and shrug our shoulders, “Si, senor quieremos un kilo.”  The young man growing up catching and preparing fish, skillfully in seconds handed us a bag of char that soon would be swept away into our bellies.  The warm sun began to soak our bodies again as we road off into the breaking sun peaking through the clouds.  Hints of purple, orange, and pink engulfed our being, as our hearts were full of thanksgiving for today’s blessings.  

Adventure 4 Time

View from our balcony

The Pool from our balcony

And the kitchen

Our lil sanctuary & reading room (we each have about 5 books we are reading)

Homemade pasta sauce (ingredients: tomatoes, carrot, onion, garlic & some basil) 

Anniversary morning; I made pancakes without any rising agent, lol! They turned out to be more like crepes.  We are still working on getting some baking soda, Michael liked them though:) 

The sun rises to the east and sets to the west along the coast of Pavones, where we are currently living.  Time presses against the crashing waves and the rolling hills yet time stand stills to Michael and I here.  I am not sure if it is because we have no responsibilities or if people are just not in a hurry to get somewhere.  Or maybe the days seem longer as you wake up to the calling of tree top noises and fall asleep to the drumming of insects.  I am beginning to appreciate rest and listening to the creator of all this glory.  

Sunday was our one year anniversary and our hearts were full of thankfulness as we celebrated the gift of one another and the gift giver.  In a lot of ways our first year feels much longer when we reflect on all we have done together; backpacking through the northwest for three weeks, family vacation to Kauai, Lake Arrowhead with friends, Oceanside & Coronado with family for christmas, 'really' moving 3 times, Bass Lake in June, the Rocky Mountains & now Costa Rica.  In other ways it feels like a year because we have so much learning to do about one another.  We have grown in patience, love, understanding, grace & humility which strive to be the foundation of our marriage everyday.  We finally have settled into the home where we will be staying the rest of the month and to make it official I made homemade tomato sauce to go with our pasta and white wine tonight.  It's super easy if you want the recipe:) We'll let you know how it tastes! 

Well this is an add on from yesterday I was not able to post because a storm swept through and has been going since sun down yesterday.  There was a thunderstorm for 6 hours, at one point I woke up shaking because it literally was less than a quarter mile away so you could imagine the intensity!  Michael and I had quite the sleepless night but we took advantage of being together all locked up in the house listening to the thunder roar.  We just left the house this afternoon to get a breath of fresh air and it is still raining! Welcome to the rainy season in Costa Rica! The pasta sauce turned out a 6 out of 10 Michael said he liked it.  It was our first pasta dish since we've been here.  We had it with fussili noodles and pistachio's.