Beyond Blessed: Costa Rica

So sorry I'm super late at posting another blog! Better late than never though :)

These past 3 weeks have been a complete blessing and I have learned so much about the Costa Rican culture, myself, people, and about God.

Here are a few really neat/interesting/weird things that I've noticed about Costa Rica!

Culture:

• Always wear shoes in the house
• Throw away toilet paper, don't flush it
• Public Display of Affection is everywhere, all the time... gross
• Kids are very into the emo look, lots of interesting piercings
• Men wear A LOT of hair gel and about 2 gallons of cologne
• The majority of women wear very tight clothes, very tight
• There is a very "macho", male-dominated sense of entitlement in most places

Food:

• Lots of rice and black beans are common for most meals
• Plantains are super popular here. They're usually mashed up or fried into chips
• Tres Leches cake... oh my goodness (vanilla cake with regular, evaporated, and condensed milk poured into holes in the cake)
• Snow cones have a layer of shaved ice, powdered milk, more shaved ice, syrup, and condensed milk
• They eat more bread than humanly possible
• Tons of mangos and pineapples
• Papusas are really popular here, they're this thick tortilla with refried beans, pork, and sauce cooked in the tortilla mixture... they're ok
• Mamones... look 'em up!

Experiences:

• I learned how to surf!!! I'm addicted... Cali here I come ;)
• Saw real live crocodiles in their natural habitat, way cool.
• I tutor 1-6 grade kids 5 days out of the week and I love it! I work with the staff leader Krysta and then we have teams that rotate every 2 weeks from the U.S. We tutor in all subjects and then we usually have a craft or game time at the end of their sessions!
• I was able to teach a hip hop dance to girls who have "Girl's Group" on Friday mornings. It was to "Never Say Never" by Justin Bieber... they loved it!

Prayer Requests:

• As you know, the "emo" scene is very big here in Costa Rica. With that being said, it's supposedly cool to cut yourself and A LOT of the kids in middle school have a problem with that. Please pray that kids would find an alternative outlet and that Jesus would be their hope and answer instead of self destruction.
• A lot of weird things have been going on at our sites with kids having really poor attitudes and many of them have stopped coming. The tutoring center hasn't had this problem but at all of the other places, it has been quite discouraging for us. Please pray with me that God would move and work through S.I. to reach those who don't know Him.
• Pray for all of the interns and students coming and going from the S.I. sites that we wouldn't be discouraged by any lack of spanish skills or feelings of inadequacy.

Thanks friends, I'll be sure to post again soon! I love you and miss you all oh so very much!

Hola from Costa Rica!

I made it! Praise God, I made it. I was pretty intimidated and overwhelmed the first few days. I was just made really uncomfortable by my unfamiliar surroundings and not being fluent in spanish so I was, indeed, culture shocked! We had the weekend off to do whatever and so I think that I needed that to just collect myself and let it set in that I'm going to be here until the end of July. I feel a little more at ease after hanging out with the interns this weekend.

So I am an intern for Students International and I will be working at the tutoring center ministry site. There are several different ministry sites that include photography, social services, sports, business, and some others. As an intern, I will be here for two months with the other interns and we help lead groups of students that come down to work on short-term, 2 week long mission trips. I stay with the other two girl interns, Sarah and Bre, with our host family Mita and Carlos. All of the interns and students and most of the staff live in Desamparados, which is kind of like a county or sect of San Jose, Costa Rica.

It's definitely unsettling when you arrive in a strange city where every house looks like a cage. There are literally bars on the front of every house and two sets of doors to lock. After being here for a few days, I actually feel a lot safer, surprisingly, knowing that I'm locked in behind two sets of doors :) Perhaps I'm a chicken...

I was really homesick at first and just wanted to leave but I know that's not an option. It would be so easy to just check out now and go back to comfortability but I can't let that happen. God has opened up so many doors for me to be here and has granted me with this opportunity for a reason and I will not squander this. I feel unbelievably blessed to come down here to be whatever God needs me to be. Even though I feel separated by language and culture, God can work through any circumstance and any obstacle. He is with me and I cling to that.

Costa Rica in 3, 2, 1...

Hello FRIENDS!

If you didn't already know, I am going to Costa Rica from May 25 until July 24 for a Social Work internship through a Christian organization called Students International. I will also be doing practical, hands on outreach mission work by helping lead other groups in short term mission trips.

So with that being said, I'm not there yet but I am leaving for Costa Rica in two days! I will have access to the internet and so I intend to keep this blog to update my loved ones :)

ALSO, if you have skype then we should do the whole vid chat sometime! The name is ajr_89 (Amy Jo Russell (duh))

One last thing, just in case you're old fashioned and would like to send me a hand-written letter ;) my address is :

Amy Jo Russell

Apartado 946-2400

Desamparados, Costa Rica

America Central

I love you all so much and will miss you but I know that God has blessed me with this opportunity to do something bigger than myself and that is what I intend to do with his help!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5ctO5MaFLg

This is my prayer in the desert...

I have thrived in this forsaken desert for too long. I'm so thirsty, I can hardly stand it. I've been unfaithful and ashamed. I have nothing of worth to give. There's a war in my soul that suppresses feeling. This indifference, this numbness is getting old. My soul is tired. Revive me, Oh God, because I'm suffocating.

Yet, I hold on to the hope of future triumph. God is bigger than my shortcomings and will conquer this inevitable battle within me.

This is my prayer in the desert

When all that's within me feels dry

This is my prayer in my hunger and need

My God is the God who provides

And this is my prayer in the fire

In weakness or trial or pain

There is a faith proved

Of more worth than gold

So refine me Lord through the flames

I will bring praise, I will bring praise

No weapon formed against me shall remain

I will rejoice, I will declare

God is my victory and He is here

This is my prayer in the battle

When triumph is still on it's way

I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ

So firm on his promise I'll stand

All of my life

In every season

You are still God

I have a reason to sing

I have a reason to worship

This is my prayer in the harvest

When favor and providence flow

I know I'm filled to be emptied again

The seed I've received I will sow

Nothing could say it better than this song. I absolutely love how God has used music in my life. This brings me joy and he knows it. Thank you Jesus for using this song in my life today. Thank you for blessing me with another day that I might hear it and gain hope. Please fill me.