Sunday Afternoon

Our hotel - the Country Inn and Suites - is very nice. I am actually working through wireless internet right now (it is intermittent, so hopefully it will last long enough to get pics up). The staff is very friendly and has helped us fix any problems with our rooms (like burned out light bulbs - no roaches yet!! :)

After getting settled into the hotel, the rains came down (and the floods came up...) Yes, it is the rainy season here in Costa Rica, which means rain almost every afternoon. And it rained and rained today. While in the market, it sounded like a torrent. But it couldn't dampen the students' spirits, and they still shopped for a good hour.

Before we went to the market, we drove through downtown San Jose. Compared with other Central American cities I've seen, this looked like Paris. But for many students, it was still a culture shock. The traffic is crazy; there are people everywhere and buses all over the place. Many buildings are run down, or have graffiti on the sides. People walk along the side of the street with no sidewalks. Many students felt it was very "cultural."

Then we got to the "mercado." For many, this was their first time in a central american style market - the items are very colorful, very eye-catching, and the peddlers can be a little pushy. But many students found their way around, practicing their Spanish skills (cuanta cuesta?) and buying little souvenirs.

After a full day of travel, and then shopping at the market, we are back resting at the hotel. We leave for dinner at 6:15 (very soon) and I for one am looking forward to some authentic Costa Rican food! (I ordered tacos w/ meat :) Hopefully I'll get some pictures up soon.

Stay tuned!!

We're in Costa Rica

Hi everyone!! We are safe in Costa Rica - our flights were no problem at all...they even arrived early. It took a few minutes to get through customs and get all of our luggage, but now we are at the hotel, which is very nice. It has a real tropical feel, and right now it is actually pouring down rain. It will be very humid for a while!!

We stopped for dinner at a very busy shopping mall food court where they had typical American food like McDonald's and Pizza Hut, but also some unique Costa Rican food. It was very very busy, and the students were a bit overwhelmed at first because they were in the minority for the first time in their lives. Not many people spoke English either.

Right now we are resting up and are getting ready to go out to the market in downtown San Jose for the evening. Thanks for all your prayers!! The phone card is working, but calls have to be short because we use the lobby phone. I am writing this post on the hotel computer, so I have not uploaded any pictures, but I'll be working on that tonight.

More to come.....

We're on our way!

It is 5:45 am, and we are waiting in the CMH Delta terminal. Apologies to all the parents who were hoping for a more formal farewell, but the TSA made us "move along." Normally I would have liked to have a group prayer, hugs, tears, etc. But it was probably for the best because Mrs. White was stopped at the security check because she had a "dangerous, sharp object" in her bag (aka an ice stick in her water bottle - serious threat!)

Other than that, everyone made it through the checkpoint safely, and are now getting their Starbucks fix. This is our first official post, and hopefully if we have internet (and time) in Atlanta I'll try to put up another update. If not, we're scheduled to get into San Jose around 1pm, so I should be able to get another post up tonight.

Thanks everyone for getting to the airport on time, and for your prayers. God is so good and faithful! This trip has been a long time in coming, and I can't believe we are finally leaving for Costa Rica!!!!!

Be sure to check out the rest of the pictures by clicking on the album to the right -->

We leave in 24 hours!

As I look at the time on my computer screen, it says 7:00am, which means our plane will be taking off in about 24 hours. That also means I have a lot to do in a little amount of time :)

I'm so excited for this trip, and have been seeing God's confirmation at so many stages. First of all, the great response of the seniors. 19 students going for the first time is wonderful! Second, we have been overwhelmed with items to donate to the children and families of Costa Rica. I was skeptical that we would have much to take, but we have filled every suitcase to the max - 23 bags of extra donated items! That includes baby supplies, clothing, about 30 pairs of new shoes to decorate at the orphanages, new car seats, and toys toys toys! What a blessing.

More than anything, I can tell in my heart that God has big plans for this trip. I was at a conference yesterday, and a speaker was quoting Albert Schweitzer, who said something along these lines: "At some point in everyone's life, the fire of living goes out. It takes a genuine connection with another person to spark it back into a flame." I know that our students can be a spark for kids in Costa Rica, and I know that those kids in Costa Rica are going to spark something new in our hearts.

I promise, you won't be the same after this trip. See you in less than a day :)

New Pictures

The updates have started! Above is a slideshow of pictures from our "packing party" on Wednesday afternoon. To the right you can click on a link to the Picassa web album, which will allow you to see the larger slideshow and download any pictures you want. This is the format we will use for uploading pictures in the future.

We leave in only 3 days! Please continue to pray for us, especially for the senior exams and all of the many small responsibilities and things that need to get done in the next few days. Praise God for his faithfulness to us!

Photos Test

I have posted a sample photo album to the right, and have embedded a sample photo slideshow at the top of the page. You can click on the photo "album cover" to the right to view the pictures one at a time, to download the files, or to view a larger slideshow.

On the trip, I will do my best to update photos every day. If you have trouble viewing these pictures, or have questions, leave a comment or send an email to schroeder.jesse@gmail.com

Collecting Items

We are currently collecting as many items as possible for the trip. If you would like to donate items, please bring them to GCCS before Wed. May 14th. You can go here for a list of needed items.