Arrival in Costa Rica

After a 12 hour drive starting at 5 am arrived in Costa Rica yesterday and will be here for the next two days to complete the 72 hour requirement to obtain a new visa. While it was a requirement to leave the country, it is a good opportunity to relax and refocus before going back to La Finca and starting with school.
This past week I was very busy with working in the library, and my faithful helper even stayed up till late hours to help finish it up before leaving for Costa Rica. In a week teacher in service starts, and then a week later school starts, so soon I'll be busy acting as a teacher.

the Library- La Biblioteca

Well, I've been keeping busy working in the library the past week and a half, and I'm excited about the progress that is taking place. This week one of the older girls has been so willingly helping me to work at setting up a sign-out card system to create a little more accountability for the kids. The first picture is of us working on the cards, the second one is of me excited about how the books are turning out, and the third one is a glimpse of my work table, in the middle of making the signout cards.
Have a great day everyone!

A Picture!

Here is a picture of some of the girls and I. I had a request that I put more pictures on my blog, so I'll try to remember to take pictures so I have more to put on. :)

School is Quickly approaching

The primary school starts on February 9. I am going to be teaching EFL (English as a foreign language) part-time and acting as school/Finca librarian part-time. So, that means that this past week, and the next 1-2 weeks (depends on when we go to Costa Rica for new visas) I am very busy organizing and doing inventory in the library, and preparing lessons for the EFL classes. I thought that after Christmas things would calm down a bit, but I thought wrong, as I feel like I am even busier than before. For those of you who read my last update about a week ago, "normal" days are not so normal anymore as I'm focusing more on preparing for school, as well as some other new responsibilities.
Dwain and Audrey arrived from the States last week, and will be staying here for the next year. If you look at my links at the bottom of my blog you can check out their blog as well.
Peace. Have a great day.
I'll try and write more soon.

Merry Christmas!

"For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
Isaiah 9:6
"Porque nos ha nacido un niño,
se nos ha concedido un hijo;
la soberanía reposará sobre sus hombros,
y se le darán estos nombres:
Consejero admirable, Dios fuerte,
Padre eterno, Príncipe de paz."
Isaias 9:6

I wish you all a merry Christmas. May the peace of God be with you during this season and throughout the year. God is faithful. God is good.

Happenings...

Well, i haven't blogged for awhile, my apologies. It seems to continually be pushed lower on the priority list of things to do, until today. You may ask, what has Andrea been up to? That my dear readers is a wonderful question- one I wonder myself sometimes. So, I shall give a few "snapshots" of whats new with me here at La Finca.
I am continuing to teach ESL classes and am starting to think about preparing to be the newest ESL teacher in Escuela Betel, which is the primary school half here at La Finca. It is a bit hard to grasp the thought that I'm going to be a "real" teacher, and having the opportunity to impact these kids' lives educationally, and I pray beyond that as well.
My house here has become multicultural as two weeks ago a lady from Spain arrived and one week ago a lady from Mexico arrived and we are all living in the same house- speaking our own accented Spanish, trying each other's ethnic food, having many moments of laughter and powerful times of prayer. There are also adjustments to make, which are adjustments.
The other day was my "free day" so I went into Teguc with one of the girls, then I spent five hours in the kitchen with Angelica and Ally (two girls from my church whose family is also serving here) baking up a ton of cookies. Well, I guess it wasn't a literal ton, but it was 20 dozen. I tried to keep up the family tradition of baking alot of cookies, while also planning to use them as my Christmas gifts.
Last night we had a Christmas party at my house for the young adults here at La Finca, and that is what the pictures are from. Thanks be to God it was a great evening full of fun.
There is so much more I could write, but I fear if I wrote much more you would see all these words and just not bother to read it. :) I imagine we all have busy lives. Thanks for reading. I'll try to blog more often. Thanks for the prayers. Please continue to pray for me, and the people I'm working with here. God bless you all. Merry Christmas. Feliz Navidad. Peace.

Thanksgiving and giving thanks

The first picture is a small glimpse of La Finca. The second picture is a few of the kids with me on my porch. (Seems to be a popular hang out spot)

I believe I should say Happy Thanksgiving to all. I wasn´t expecting to do much of anything special for Thanksgiving, but then I got a call from the Horsts, the STEP directors in Teguc (not to be confused with the Horsts who are at La Finca) and they invited me to their house for a Thanksgiving dinner. I enjoyed turkey and mashed potatoes, and a lot of other food with other missionaries and Hondurans (and a Canadians and...I´ll just say it was multinational). It was great to celebrate with them, eating turkey in the warm tropical weather, and sharing with others what we are thankful to God for.

I had the privilege of celebrating the Thanksgiving meal again today, this time with the Horsts and 2 girls at La Finca.

Today things are changing a bit at my house. A lady from Spain is due to arrive and live at my house, and another lady will be coming to visit in two weeks.

Please continue to pray for me as I am keeping busy with different things, and especially as I am preparing and teaching English classes.

Praise God for He is also faithful and loving.