All good things.....

Costa Rica Temple Mission coming to a close in two weeks!

It really does seem like a dream as our time here has flown by.  Many of you may think from our past blogs and this one that we were on a long extended vacation.  You are probably right.  Serving in the temple was such a blessing and we felt the Spirit each day. We met new friends, both Latins and North Americans, and helped hundreds of people progress in the Lord's kingdom.  Can't get better than that!  

We will be coming home on the 2nd of April and for those interested, we will be speaking in Sacrament Meeting on April 19th at 11:00 a.m. at the Highland 9th Ward.  Hope to see you there!

Since I haven't sent out a blog for many months, I wanted to include a couple of pictures from Christmas.  Our temple is small and our budget is small as well, so we don't put up lights but we do have this beautiful nativity and the grounds are covered with Poinsettias  We also have a choir concert each year inviting each stake to bring a choir.  We have a temple choir which performed for the last two years with yours truly as the director.  I must have director printed on my forehead because I was also the director at the Cochabamba temple choir.  We also have a big dinner and devotional for all the workers with about 200 people in attendance. That number includes spouses. 

This is our Presidency.  President and Sr. Craig are in the middle with the Riveras on the right and you know who on the left.  The Craigs will have been here almost four years when they finish their calling in November.  He was serving as the second counselor when he received his call as president.  The Rivera's are Costa Ricans and also serve in the presidency.  They are not actually on a mission.  They will have been here for four years as well when they are released in November. We have all become dear friends.

Each Sunday we are assigned to visit a different ward where we speak in Sacrament Meeting and sometimes they invite Ted to take time with the youth or the adults.  This last week we went to the El Jardin Barrio.  We took another missionary couple with us, the Maughan's from Lindon, Utah. Ted spoke about "Following the Savior" and 'being good boys and girls'.  They were so attentive and had their scriptures ready to follow along.  The young lady in black in the front gave the opening prayer in Sacrament Meeting and you would have thought she was an adult in a young girl's body. She gave a beautiful prayer.  Actually, most of the youth give impressive prayers and talks.  

A few of the missionaries took an over night trip to Cano Negro.  We took a cruise down a river with lots of wildlife. 

This is a small reptile (not really an alligator) that is called a Cayman.  The banks were covered with them.  I was grateful that we had a study boat.

This is just one of dozens of Iguanas that we saw lounging in the sun.

This is another specie of Iguana.

During the last six months, we had several friends and family members come to visit us.  Above are Bishop and LaRee Ottley from Escondido, CA.  We had a wonderful time with them visiting some of the beautiful areas of the country  Above is a plant called "the Poor Man's Umbrella".  

We were visiting a place called "LaPaz Waterfall Gardens".  It is in the rain forest of Costa Rica.  The park has a extensive bird aviary, butterfly enclosure, and a small zoo with most of the native animals from Costa Rica.  We had a great buffet as well.

Here we are, the intrepid zip liners.  In the background is the volcano "Arenal".  This is a very well known tourist town and during the high season, December-March, it's difficult to find an available hotel.

In December, our daughter, Carolyn and her husband, Scott came for a week.  It had been almost a year since we had family visit us. Needless to say, we were very anxious to see and visit with them. We took a day trip on this catamaran to Tortuga Island.  We enjoyed the beautiful blue ocean, white beach and a delicious meal.  The price included rides on a yellow banana boat, snorkeling and pampering by the staff.  

Next on the agenda was Manuel Antonio Beach.  Ted and Scott are seated in an old airplane shell. This is a site of one of the best restaurants in the beach resort city.  The views are incredible especially at sunset.

Zip lining is very popular here.  We, unfortunately, didn't pick the best day as it was raining. But it was exciting anyway.  This was the only opportunity they had to experience canopying so we bought these raincoats and away we flew.  The low clouds made it impossible to see the lake or the volcano.  The zip lines really move you along and with the rain, our faces got pelted not only with the rain but also the oil coming off the lines.    We had a memorable time.

Our dear friends, Al and Ann Kessler, came in January.  We met them in Peru when Ted served as mission president.  They were the Humanitarian missionaries.  We have stayed close as they live in Murray, Utah.  The other young man lives in Costa Rica and is in our ward here in CR.  He told us of this great restaurant and we invited him to join us.  The entertainment and food were awesome.  A night to remember.

A partial view from of the city lights from the restaurant.  

       

A beautiful sunset to finish off our week and pretty much the end of our travels in CR.  I recommend all to visit this gorgeous country.  

Thank you for your love and support.  We are grateful to be a part of your lives.  See you soon!!

The Jackmans

October - Rainey Season

To Our Wonderful Family and Friends;

It's been a couple of months since my last blog but only because we really haven't traveled much or seen anything different.  Since the closure of the temple for cleaning, our time has pretty much been spent around the house and in the temple.  We've been blessed with great health, well except for a few dental problems.  We are so blessed to be here and meet so many wonderful people and extend our friendship circle.  We look forward to the Ottley's visit in a couple of weeks.  They are friends from Escondido.  Hopefully we will have a week without too much rain so we can enjoy taking them to the sights of Costa Rica.  Our daughter, Carolyn and husband Scott, will be here on the 6th of December for a week also.  We can't wait to see family again.  Then the Kessler's (friends from Utah) will be here in January.  I'm sure the months will fly bye.  

We are getting a new couple in November and another two couples in January.  Ted is in charge of procuring for apartments for them.   The two new temple films were finally downloaded and now we are using four different films each month.  A different one each week.  We are hoping that this will increase temple attendance somewhat.   

We did visit a beautiful garden called "Only Roses".  They have over

500 varieties and the following pictures are a few that were my favorites.

At the end of the tour of the rose garden they gave each of the sisters in our

group a bouquet of roses.  We had a great day with everyone.

On the way home, the Haws and us went to get something to eat at a 

restaurant call "Tres Hermanas" or Three Sisters.  It has great food and atmosphere.

We mentioned it was Ted's birthday and they rolled in this Brahma Bull.  We had a 

hard time getting Ted off of it too.  Not too sure what's in the glass!

Each year our community of Belen celebrates their Independence Day with a 

parade.   Actually, each town has it's own parade and celebration.  They decorate their home with flags and banners.  And they love to set off fireworks for any holiday actually.    We decided to walk down to the center of town to enjoy the festivities.  I was expecting bands, horses (there are some beautiful prancing horses in Costa Rica), probably girls dressed up in costumes of yesteryear. Instead it was a parade of only small children up to high school age.  Each school was represented and most of them had a drum line like the one above.  The kids in the middle are on stilts  and had a mile or so to go before the parade came to a close.  

                                          

                                       
 

One of our workers in the temple is Bro. Wayne Richardson.  He and his wife

have lived in Costa Rica for five years.  He bought 22 acres on a hill top that overlooks a beautiful view of the city and jungle.  They invited Ted and I plus another missionary couple to spend the night at their home.  This is the guest house,   They felt like they would spend the rest of their lives here and wanted the peace and quiet of Costa Rica.  Unfortunately, it was too quiet for them and now they are trying to sell it but so far not one person in two years has come to look at it.  We had a great time getting to know them better.  

Well that's about it for now,   I hope to have more pictures next time and maybe some adventures to share.  We were supposed to go to a district conference this weekend very close to the Panama border but it was cancelled as of yesterday.  It should be rescheduled in a month or so.  We've never been that far south before and was looking forward to it.  

We hope all is well and may you receive the Lord's choicest blessings.

Love,

Mom, Dad, Sharon and Ted

Halfway Mark

Dear Family and Friends,

Is time flying for all of you?  We can hardly believe we have been here for 9 months.  We do have the best mission ever.  We have the opportunity to serve in the House of the Lord and also to be able to enjoy His creations.  During the month of June we were able to visit "The Secret Garden".  Below are some of the most beautiful and unusual plants and flowers we have ever seen.  Hope you enjoy them as well.

This beauty felt just like velvet.

President & Sr. Craig and myself in front of a fan palm.

Ever see red bananas before?

We were told there are over 200 varieties of orchids.

Women's Lips

These odd looking flowers looked just like plastic.

Just about 1/4 mile away we ran across a trout farm and restaurant.
We just had to stop as it was lunch time.

We were given the choice to catch our own lunch so here goes.
They gave us a piece of wood with a nylon line and hook.  With a
piece of fruit for bait we just threw it in and within 5 seconds we were
professional fishermen.

A delicious fresh trout lunch for about $6.00 each.

A couple of months ago I ran across this swimming facility.
They offer swimming, arobic and theraphy classes.  Another missionary and
myself have one class a week of body weight exercises and two days
of water arobic classes.  Our instructor is a slave driver, but we love it
and feel so much better.

This place was buiilt in 1939!!  It is a bit run down but the pools are
in good shape.  They don't use any chlorine or chemicals as the water
comes from a mountain spring and is 100% pure.  The only problem is
that it is only 70 degrees.  We never get used to that first plunge but it's amazing how
quickly the body acclimates.  

This waterfall is where the water originates to fill the pools and
it is constantly recirculating.  We have the option of sitting on the
steps to let the water pound on our shoulders and help the muscles
loosen up.  The cold water is great for the blood circulation.

We visited a ward not long along and I met this sweet young sister.  She
has special needs but is full of love.  She and I hit it right off and she must
have told me 10 times how much she loved me.  She is the Sacrament Mtg.
choirster.  She is very proud of that calling.

Next week we are going to visit a branch about 2 1/2 hours away.  Our little car
is really getting a workout but so far is running great.  Just to let you know, those who were
thinking of putting in your papers to come here, it's too late.  We have four new couples coming
between November and April and that's one over our compliment  We have been praying for a couple to fill the void of a couple who left last January.  We know the Lord answered our prayers in multiples.

We love all of you and pray you are all well and happy.

Love,
Mom, Dad, Ted and Sharon