Christmas

I spent Christmas with friends that live about15 minutes away from Quepos. They prepared a whole bunch of food...most of which were desserts. It was a long day because after this we headed to backpackers to eat again. I was stuffed and felt like I had to eat. I typically never turn away food, but this time I wanted to. I ate anyways and had a good time. We took the leftovers to the homeless that hang around in the park. The program men enjoy giving to the less fortunate. I am glad that they get the opportunity to do so. Church yesterday on the beach was a blast. The weather here is absolutely perfect. High season has just hit and the beach is packed with tourists and locals who are on vacation. From what I have been told, just about everything shuts down for the last 2 weeks of the year. Stores are still open from what I have seen, but there is a ton more traffic and people walking the streets. For New Years we are going down to the water to watch the fireworks and bands walk the streets performing there routines they have been practicing. I am super tanned right now. Even when I wear spf 30 or 5o I get dark. I spent the majority of Saturday and Sunday on the beach reading, church, and trying to surf. I want to be able to surf, but I haven´t had much luck yet. Hopefully in time I will get better.

Update

We currently have 4 men in the program. Two men left today, one yesterday, and one the day before. I guess it is not unusual this time of the year. There are Christmas parties and a lot more work available. 4 men is fine, it will make it a bit easier on everyone for the meantime. I think being in a new place was stressful for the guys, whom I believe need some stability and change seems to bring some fear, worry, and discomfort that is tough for them to deal with. On another note. I am riding a bike and running to and from the program. It is about a 4k run with a couple beasty hills. I am enjoying it a ton. It is not so bad looking at palm trees and mountains while running. Jared and Eileen, my best friends down here are back in the states for Christmas. I will be spending the holidays with a couple other families and also with a group of people from New Zealand who run a Backpackers, which is a really nice hostel. They are going to serve our program men dinner and entertain us. It should be a great week. Please pray for our 4 men that are still in the program and also for my friend Jimmy who's daughter has chronic kidney infections and will need to have surgery on a hernia when she turns 4...she is not even 2 yet.

Moving the Program

We are currently moving the program to another location. I think that it is going to work-out better than our last location. It is a challenging move for us. We only have a small pick-up truck available to us to move our things, so it has taken awhile and is going to continue to a "process", as are many things down here in Costa Rica. We currently have 8 men in the program and I think that this move is going to give us more room to allow another man or two to come into the program. I just met one of our new neighbors who is a fisherman from Rhode Island. He brings back fresh fish almost daily and is going to be hooking us up...and me:) as well. It is nice to have a connection like this. Fresh mahi mahi, red snapper, yellowfin tuna....oh oh oh. I was pretty excited to develop this connection. The program currently survives on donations, so it is a blessing anytime anyone offers us food. Thanks God.

Wood Mizer

The Wood Mizer just showed up a few days ago. It cuts lumber into boards. It was donated to us by Wood Mizer. This is going to create the opportunity for us to be self-sufficient and also for guys in the program to learn a trade. Teak wood is plentiful, durable, and good looking, so there is plenty that can be done down here. There is a lot of exotic wood that gets pretty expensive. As long as the wood is on your land you can cut it, if not you have to go through quite the process. Jared and I went out on his motorcycle today to level the ground and assemble the rest that needed to be put together. Jared is gifted when it comes to these sorts of things and myself on the other hand not so gifted. Able, but not gifted. So I did most of the lifting and grunt work. It looks great. It is on a gentlemen's property named Larry who is letting us use his property. He is being quite generous by letting us use his land and store out things there. I will be going to Jaco to buy a bus ticket either this week or the next. I have to leave every three months for my passport. I will have to be gone for 3 days, then I will be able to return for 90 more. I am still trying to decide on whether I should go to Panama or Nicaragua.