Take A Hike

TAKE A HIKE

I knew it was coming. There are experiences that patiently lurk, waiting to jump on you and demand your attention. So there it was, the fateful email from Don Bryan (DB) wondering if I’d be willing to occasionally write a pastor’s message. Writing anything is so painful for me that the thought of typing a few meaningful messages over the next few months pushed me back to high school and college writing classes. Having known DB for a while I could just hear his voice in the pleasant email he was sending-how can you say no to this sincere guy who opens up easily and kindly to you when he makes a request. After saying yes, I decided to share thoughts on why writing is such a painful experience for me. There are many reasons, but you can be encouraged that this message will only mention one.

I’m always worried that my writing will never be good enough. You’ll see my mistakes. You’ll think I’m dumb. You’ll wonder if I really went to college. You’ll wonder how I received a teaching certificate. You might not like me. Don’t smile. I’m not exaggerating. (How can “exaggerating” have gg right there in the middle it?)

I understood from my high school teachers that someone had failed me when it came to teaching spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and composition. My first paper in College Writing was an F. At the end of the first quarter I had earned a D. Writing these last two paragraphs brings emotion that is painful.

Life is often about “not being good enough!” Here comes the predictable life lesson: Walking with God is not about being “good enough.” Walking with God is about, “I’m really glad we’re together, as long as you want me I’ll always be willing to hike with you.”

Is going to church that simple for me? Am I going to church to be reminded that friendship with God is “enough?” I once received a letter from Jana, a former student. “It took me six years Pastor Worley but I’m finally a college graduate! I just wanted you to know that I made it!” I want my students to know that they can make it in school and in life. More than that, I want them to know that God doesn’t give Fs in our walk with Him. You and I have already MADE IT. Today, take a hike, go at a comfortable speed; you already have an “A.”

TRF

Simply Denver

I love A terminal. B sucks, C is Ok. A rocks: Food, long walkways, Ben & Jerry's for dinner... Life is great.

One hour and we are on the plane home!! I'm so excited to see my dad, a hot shower, my bed, my cats etc... No stray dogs, cats, cows, or horses would be good to.

I'm going to miss Costa Rica, but I know I love the US more, and I know I want to live on Orcas and defiantly NOT San Jose.

- Mara

Why I'm exctied about going home

Wow! Where have the past two weeks ago gone??? Just two weeks ago we were leaving SEA/TAC and flying to Costa Rica. Now two weeks later I'm sitting with the rest of the group in Denver International Airport waiting for our 5:35 boarding call to SEA/TAC. A few days ago I had this feeling that I really did not want to leave sunny, warm Costa Rica and head back home to cold, windy, snowy Orcas Island. Now I am 110% ready to get back home. Why am I ready? Because I can not wait to: sleep in my own bed, take a HOT shower, see my dog, hang out of with friends that I have not seen in two weeks, talk to my dad, get ready for a Crew regatta this coming Sunday, get up for Crew practice in the mornings and row on Cascade Lake.
Seeing and being in all different situations over the past two weeks has made me really realize how lucky we are in the United States to have all the things we have. Having clean water and good food available are almost things that we do not even think about, it is just a given almost in the USA. Also having all the electronics and technology that we have in the USA is another blessing we take for granite. I am also very excited to be able to listen to my ipod and play Modern Warfare 3 after two weeks that I did not even think about them.
Liam

I'm sick.

I guess I picked a good time of the trip to get sick, rather than one of the days we hiked or worked at the school. We had to leave the hotel at 3:30 this morning, so that probably doesn't help. We have been in an airport or airplane for 14 hours already, and I am so ready to get home. I tried to call my parents this afternoon, but nobody answered their cell phones or home phone. This has been a lame blog post, but wish us luck on our 2.5 hour flight to Seattle!!

--Brynna

...And We're Waiting!

I'm an impatient person. I don't like waiting. That's a bummer, because that's all we've been doing today. Waiting for the plane to leave Costa Rica, then waiting for the plane to land in Denver, then waiting for the plane to leave Denver, and then on top of that we get to wait some more! But don't get me wrong, I don't mind the waiting this time. I'm just so excited to be going home! I'm looking forward to getting hugs from my family. And that's so worth all this waiting! :)
-Marissa

P.S.
Remember my last post, folks? About the baby sea turtles? Unfortunately, my dream didn't come to pass. We didn't even see an adult one. Oh well. Guess we'll have to go back!

Party Van Jokes

Throughout this trip we had driving a crazy amount of time. I can't tell you guys how many hours we spent driving but we got to know each other pretty well. We had two vans, one appropriately named the "Party Van", and the other one remains nameless. I was among Kellen Comrie, Thomas Thompson, Clara Smith, Staci Lindgren, Graye "Scrappy" Parnell, and Gabi as the founding fathers of this wonderful van.
Among the many hours of driving in the car we had told so many jokes that by the last day we had told most of the same jokes at least three times. Here are some of the most popular "Party Van" jokes...

Knock Knock
Who's there?
To
To who?
To whom

A polar bear walks into a bar and the bartender asks "Hey Mr. Polar Bear! What can I get for you?"
The polar bear responds, "ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, a root beer please"
The bartender then says "coming right up but why the long paws?"

We also had some actions where we would we just whisper Lion King characters names into each others ears and somehow it would turn out funny. Such as, Mufasa, Pumba, and Rafinki.

We also immatured ourselves into the classic, "guess what." "What?" "Chicken butt"

The majority of the cars rides were spent in tears of laughter from these jokes and many more but know that the party van is in another country we have to get new material for the upcoming trips.

Thanks,
Roo Smith

The last legs of the trip

The last day of the trip was pretty much all driving. We drove from Manwell Antonio back to San José. We stayed at a hotel right next to the airport and Thomas Liam and I spent the last few hours in Costa Rica watching tv. Well, trying to. Because there were very few English chanals available. After that we ate some dinner and went back to watch Americas best Dance Crew. ...interesting. Despite the fact that we had to haul ourselves out of bed at three in the morning to go to the airport, I slept rather well. The beds were the most comfortable beds on the entire trip. Besides the singles in Manzanillo.

Lat that morning, we flew out. It was about 5 or 6 when we left the ground. I sat next some ladies in the plain and we chatted for a good portion of the flight.

I did not get nautiouse this time! Despite my lack of sleep.

And now I'm sitting in my favorite airport in Denver waiting for the six our lay-over to be over. But, I"m enjoying myself none the less.

Sweet Home Alabama...Er Orcas

Everybody says it is easy to wake up in the morning, but they did not specify when. Me; not a morning person, likes to sleep in, night owl, enjoys her sleep. Now, mornings are great because that means its a new day. But...when you are not at home it doesn't work so well; you get cranky, yell at people, and cry for your mom...well at least some do. The first flight was a sizzling 5 1/2 hours. Arriving at the Denver airport was a relief to all except my stomach; when you eat at McDonald's after a two year diet from the fast food it does not agree with a body who is spoiled at home with her mom's cooking and her dad's gourmet yumminess. After a delightful Ben & Jerry's ice cream run, I got into contact with my father who just got back from a couple hours in the doctor's office and a red eye boat. I am now enjoying a comfortable carpet in the airport and playing Lucky with Mr. Claus and Staci.
Bonvoyage Costa Rica, Aloha Orcas Island.

-Sierra

Knee deep in the ocean (journal entry 3/8/12)

The tide rushed in ans out and the waves crashed against the sandy shore, making a strong yet peaceful ocean. All peace was long forgotten in the water as a soccer ball broke through the tide and more than one pair of legs pursued it. The air was full of shouts and laughter as the players continued to kick at the ball and each other, ignoring the salty water that pulsed around their toes, occasionally retreating into the sea then rushing forward again begging for the athletes attention. The Costa Rican sand was kicked up and a million footprints from the same people littered the large span of beach. The 4 tall sticks used as goal posts never faltered as they were stuck deep in the sand. The natives and orcas locals worked together to defeat peers, the Costa Ricans the Washingtonians never meet called their friends and everyone jumpped in. Spanish and English mixed and flowed together in harmony.

By: Kelly Rose Ptero

Almost home!

We are all counting down the hours until the painfully early, 3am wake-up call to leave for the airport. It's amazing to think that these two weeks have already passed, but we are all so happy with what incredible experiences we have had.
Yesterday was such a wonderful day. We got to wake up at an incredible 8am and left in the vans to the ultimate tourist adventure. We took a nature walk with a guide and ended up seing a myriad of plant and animal life. We saw Jesus Christ lizards, monkeys, and my personal favorite, sloths. Our guide was so knowledgable and could spot even the tiniest creatures far, far away.
We got to spend a lot of the day on the beautiful beach there, which was so lovely. We ignored the "Peligro: Cocodriles - No Banarse" sign and dove right in the clear, warm, blue water. Most of us were not too responsible with sunscreen however, so we all resemble the long-lost human kin of Larry the Cucumber's favorite fruit friend. We are in pain, but happy to have some color other than the typically blinding, morbidly pale Washington complexion.
We are staying in a beautiful place tonight, and are about to sit down to dinner!
Hasta pronto! Thank you for your prayers, we all appreciate you.
Love love love,
Clarabeth

Staci's view of Manuel Antonio

Yesterday we got to sleep in a little bit, then we got ready to go on our Nature walk. The girls hotel was very nice and welcoming. I thought it was strange that the guys were staying at a different hotel, but truefully, it was kind of nice to have a small break from the guys. Once we got to the park we officially got to meet our guide. His name was Pablo and he was from Canada. We found out that he was born in Costa Rica but he lived in Canada. I was so excited about our nature walk, and at the very beginning we saw two frogs. One was called a Red Eyed Tree Frog and the other was a Gladiator. Pablo decided to go down a side trail to see a bird. I'm not sure about the name of the bird, but it was very beautiful. It had dark feathers on it's back and a red belly. Further down that trail was a approximately sixth month old sloth. It was so adorable! It was surprising that it was only about 4 feet away from the ground. We got to see it awake because Pablo started whistling to get it to move it's head. We were able to get so close to it. I never expected for sloths to be so cute. As we went down farther we got to see a toucan and two harons. When we got down to the beach, we got to see a huge group of 'cappachino' monkies playing on the edge of the beach. It was sad becasue one of them was in a tree and got pushed off and pulled out of the tree. We kept watching them for approximately another ten minutes, then took a small beach break. Once we got to the end of the trail, we started back to meet up with the other part of our group. For the next maube 2 and a half hours swimming at the beach. We then had church on the beach. I loved church that day because it made me realize how often God is there, even when you don't notice Him there. It was really that I never noticed Him there, but I just didn't really pay attention to much he really does for us. This trip has not only helped me to realize how much God has helped me through my life, but also how well you can get to know someone just by taking a few minutes to talk to them. I've become friends with all of these people that are here with us, and am so glad that I took the chance to talk to them. I'm so blessed to be surrounded by people who are so kind and thoughtful!

The end of the trip

We are finally in San Jose! We leave the hotel early in the morning tomorrow, around 3. A few people are bravely swimming in the frigid pool water, while others soak in American television after two weeks. Pray for us, that we'll be well rested when we have to get up!

--Brynna

Thomas lane Thompson

Welll yesterday we had a pretty sweet time on our tour we had a really funny guide he was costa Rican Canadian kellens new best friend we learned that sloths are natures druggy and got to see a younger one from two feet away it was ausome after that we walked to the beach and saw a ton of white face monkeys and went swimming I got pretty Krispy and that's about it.

A day at the beach

Yesterday was the hottest day so far on this trip. My friends and I spent just about all day swimming in the ocean and the pool. The pool was almost colder than the ocean. It was so nice. I have never felt such nice water in the ocean to swim in before. It was almost too hot.

Boogie boarding was probably the best. The waves had such power and thrill to them, it was almost impossible to get out. However, our boogie boards were pretty beat up and some of them were broken bent pointing down so they just drove your face into the sand if you weren't pulling up on it as hard as you can every moment.
But my favorite part was catching the wave just before it began to break going into it and jumping off the wave and going about 2-3 ft I. The air before crashing down back in the warm water with a tremendouse slpash.

I got sunburn.



Kellen

Saint Patrick's Day

This morning was a great one. I woke up to the door slamming by my roommate Kellen Comrie at around 7:00 AM. It was hard to get out of bed but I managed and walked out to meet Kellen and Thomas Thompson at the beach. It was beautiful, the small amount of people, the sun already shining so early in the morning, and the vast space all around.
It was so magical to see the beach that empty but also so pristine. After the beach stroll, we had breakfast and went off on our walk through the Manual Antonio National Park. We saw things such as baby sloths, rare frogs, bats, Jesus Lizards, tucans, and monkeys. We had a couple instances where we were only feet away from the white-faced Cappuchino monkeys. After the official tour was over we headed to the beach to play in the water.
The water was so warm and, at times, almost to hot underneath the beating rays of the sun. I ended up being effected harshly by the sun as did many other kids within the group. After playing on the beach we had a Saturday service where we talked about how God worked through us during the trip. After that we had lunch where Clara and I had an idea to tell the resturaunt that it is Mr. Fox's birthday (it's not) and we all shared a good laugh and some free ice cream. A couple of us walked back on the beach to the hotel and saw hang gliders, jet skiers and horseback riders. Then we all relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.
I had a great experience bodysurfing and boogie boarding at the beach during the sunset. That same beach that, 12 hours before, was blooming and was now wilting waiting for another day.
~Roo Smith

22 lobsters

What a wonderful beach!!!!! We went on a great 2 hour nature hike. We saw lots of animals;frogs, dragonflies, sloths, tucan, hawk, monkeys, iguanas, bats, and spiders. Just as a warning on iguanas: they are very loud on a metal roof right above your head, knocking, scratching, etc. I speak from experience. At the end of the long walk, we arrived in heaven. A beach with little waves, warm water, warm sand, and sun. You know it was good: mom and Ms. Dawn staying in for a long time. Getting out, all of us don't really notice our redness. Worship on the beach, just a little. Lunch, ahh!! We are all at least pink, and I know my skin is really red. Sean is josh....


Mara

Costa Rican Farming

3-17-2012
Everytime we drive along the countryside here in Costa Rica I am blown away by the farmers down here. The hills and fields can range from flat to more than 45 degrees uphill. I just do not understand how they are able to put in all those fence posts, put up the barb wire, walk and plant things on hills so steep and many more things. I also observed how very few ponds and streams that farmers had access to use. They have to rely on the rain to insure the plants live or have pipes and pumps that I could not see. You could also tell the difference on how much farmers were making by the fence posts. The more money making farmers had either nice cement posts or painted wood posts compared to the sticks the poorer farmers were using as fence posts.
My hat is off to the farmers down here and their farming ways.
Liam

The day of the sunburns

I usually don't get sunburnt, but today I am fairly fried, as is everyone else. As Thomas put it, "I went from moon-white to hot pink." We had a hike on the Sloth Trail with a guide, and it was fun even though it was really hot out. We saw a couple toucans, Jesus Christ lizards, capuchin monkeys, a gladiator frog, iguanas, and a lot of sloths. We even got to see a young one from a foot away! We swam at one of the beaches there, and the water was bathtub-warm and more salty than the Carribean side of the country. After lunch at a delicious Italian restaurant where I got a panini, we went back to the pool and the beach next to the boys' hotel. Several of us used the boogey boards from the hotel until the sun went down.

--Brynna

Yearning for Home

In such a beautiful place as Costa Rica, you would not think that going home would even cross your mind. Come to think of it, even the adults are aching to get back to their loved ones. But Mr. Fox told us something interesting last night; he said that while we are here in this breathtaking land, we should enjoy every minute of it instead of wanting home where we always are. That impacted me a little bit; I know that two years ago the feeling was the same, that i wanted my family to hold me again even if I was gone for two weeks. But being able to bond with friends that I have not gotten the time to get to know is a pretty awesome experience. School does not allow us to communicate deeply 24/7 like a mission trip does. That is why I came, and that is why I have the will power to stick it out till the end and finish with a warm hug from my loving father.

-Sierra