Bekah and Marlise come to visit!

After a CRAZYYYYY two days of traveling (including spending the night in Atlanta AND San Jose), Bekah and Marlise made it to Samara on Friday night. After school I ran to the Tico Adventure Lodge to wait for them and they showed up 20 minutes later! We had a crazy fun weekend and packed it with the most fun things to do in Costa Rica that we could. Friday night we went to Ranchos for dinner where they both had their first authentic Costa Rican meal, Casado.

On Saturday we hit the ground running early and rented a car to drive up north. We went to the Rincon de la Vega Volcano north of Liberia and went on a 3 hour hike there. It was stunning. We saw monkeys, butterflies, boiling mud pits, steaming rock fields and ginormous jungle trees. It was a blast and we loved it. After the hike we headed to the Rio Negro hot springs where we got a deal! They were out of towels and time so we only had to pay for 2 people and had 45 minutes to soak. After walking down the trail a ways, we made it the tubs and had hot, volcanic mud spread all over us by a Tico man. Very fun! After we showered off (an were freezing!) we gladly jumped into the hot hot hotspring tubs. There we experienced hot, hotter, and mild water in the tubs. Extremely relaxing after the long hike.

On Sunday, we slept in a little then headed out for the day. We went to the German Bakery (my usual spot) for lunch and had amazing sandwiches from Carolla. After lunch, we started on the 30 minute trek to Playa Esquerda. It included a walk through the jungle and breathtaking views of the ocean...so worth every minute of hiking. The tide was in and I mean IN, so we spent most of our time jumping in the waves and once in awhile being knocked over by them. Such a great time. Bek and Marlise have the pics from this so I will have to post later.

Monday, the girls made the most of the day while I was in class and went kayaking to the island and learned how to surf. When I got out of class I joined them on the beach and we were able to surf until the sun set. My favorite thing to do by far in Costa. Such fun memories! To end it all we went to Thai food were we oooed and awwwed at the amazing healthy shakes (banana, cocoa, and kombucha) and curry food they served us. So good!

We had such a fun time and I can't tell you how great it was to have these girls here. They were a bright light to my world for a weekend and I LOVED every minute of it. Such beautiful people who inspire me and that I am so thankful to know. Here's a few pics...

Rincon de la Vega hike

Boiling water pits

Boiling Mud Pits

Hot Volcanic Mud at the Hotsprings

Rio Negro Hotsprings

Go here! Go here! Go here!

My current instructor, Dr. Shannon Weeks, is a naturopathic doctor from Portland. He basically is brilliant and has some great insights on nutrition and health. He also recommends a cookbook called "Eternal Bliss." One of the recipes includes a "pancake" made from squash, eggs, avocados, and cinnamon. YUM! He says they are amazing and full of protein and fiber. The perfect start to any day!

http://drshannonweeks.com/category/nutrition/

Encouragement

Thought I'd share the podcasts and message links I've been listening to along the way during my time here. These have been inspiring, challenging and encouraging so wanted to give them all a shout out!

Paul Washer - Heartcry Missionary Society

(www.heartcrymissionary.com)

-The Depth of the Gospel

-Centrality of Christ

-Clothed in Christ Pt 1, 2******

-The Glory of God (in ministering)*******

-Pray and Be Alone With God *******

-Missions

-Weeping for Souls

-Faith Pt 2 (God is a Rewarder or those who seek Him)*****

-Faith Pt 3 (Faith Obeys)******

Ravi Zacharias - RZIM

(www.rzim.org)

Podcast: Let My People Think

-The Distinctiveness of Christ Part 1, Part 2

-Connecting the Heart and Mind Part 1, Part 2

-The Problem of Pleasure Part 1, Part 2 (My favorite)******

John Piper - Bethlehem Baptist Church

(www.desiringgod.org )

Podcast: Desiring God Sermons

-I and the Father are One

James McDonald - Harvest Bible Chapel

(www.harvestbiblechapel.org)

Podcast: Walk in the Word

-I Choose to Trust

-Will I Get Through This?

Jason Miller - Granger Community Church

(www.gccwired.com)

-A great message on singleness that I can't seem to find the name of anymore; really good though.

and of course, of course...

Relevant Magazine

(www.relevantmagazine.com)

-Active Child

-Gungor***** (LOVE the band, Gungor)

-All the Bright Lights

Monteverde and Family

Cloud Forest

Zip lining!

(13 lines, Tarzan swing dropping us 20 ft straight down!, rappelling, and a Superman line taking us over the valley of the cloud forest 300 ft in the air? and hanging us by our backs on the line...amazing!!)

The Course

The Common Cup, Latte Art

The Serpienta Museum

(love Audrey's face)

Trio's Restaurant

The Best Mornings

This morning I woke up to cool, fresh mountain air in Monteverde. We ate a breakfast of pancakes and fruit and cafe. Mom and I just finished having devotions with my 8 yr old niece. Best morning in CR so far! :)

We read Romans 1 about Gods invisible qualities all over creation. The point we talked about is how easy it is to worship created things...rocks, water, sun, creatures, and flowers. All of these things are GORGEOUS and created for our enjoyment. Somewhere along the way mankind started worshiping created things rather than the Divine Creator of these things. I wonder if it's because it's easier? There's no authority to submit to or accountability for our lives when we choose this route. We are in charge which is our natural inclination anyway.

For example, some rely on the power of precious rocks to heal. What i wonder is, is it easier to look to a rock because I don't have to follow what that rock asks of me? It helps me but doesnt ask anything of me...a life transformed and lived out of love in response. Just some bouncing thoughts in my head today.

Zip lining at 11am...it's gonna be a good one!

So Long Anatomy in Clay

We finished this class as of yesterday and we all passed! Every muscle we need to know was built on the manican. Afterwards we took pictures and started disassembling our masterpieces. Such a creative, kinesthetic experience.

ATTENTION ALL WOMEN!!!

Guess what I learned in class today????

We were MADE to have a "pooch" in our abdominal region. Our abdominals are made up of four different muscles. (Rectus Abdominis, External and Internal Obliques and Transverse Abdominals) The Internal and External Obliques run on each side of our abdomen while the Rectus Abdominis runs down the middle, and finally the Transverse runs across.

So everyone is doing crunch, crunch, crunch...flutter kick after flutter kick to get this to go away (especially after a baby...but if you're like me...BEFORE) :) But guess why it's so hard??

The RA (front muscle) comes down our Abs and then actually travels BEHIND the Transverse Ab muscle (that travels across), therefore "pooching" us out...SO WE CAN HAVE BABIES!

So when we're down and out about our "pooches" just remember we were made that way. It will be hard to get it to go away anyway and it doesn't necessarily mean we're eating too much fried food/sugar. We all have things we don't like about our bodies no matter our shape, size, or color. Insecurities insesmurities. I'm learning to look myself in the mirror and say, "God, thank you for my eyes that don't match each other." What's your least favorite body part that you can thank God for today?

Hooray for loving ourselves just the way we are! :)