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

Half way through June already!!

Half way through June already!!

Hi Family and Friends;

We are still finding places to explore and enjoy on our days off here in Costa Rica.  For such a small country it certainly has it's share of interesting sites.  I'm not sure what we'll do the second half of our mission, but we sure are enjoying the first.  Of course, the temple service is the greatest and we can see more and more members coming each month.  Ted has done a great job in calling the Bishops each Saturday so they can remind their members to mark their calendars for a certain day of the week for their temple attendance.  Between that and our weekly visits each Sunday I really think it is making a difference.  Last week the temple missionaries explored a small town called Sarchí.  They are known for their hand made carts (of all sizes) and household decorations. 

This church is in Sarchi and was constructed in the late 1800's.  It is made of metal panels make in Belguim.  The story goes that someone had ordered hundreds of metal panels and never picked them up at the dock.  Finally, it was decided to ship them to Sarchi where they built this beautiful church.  The panels were shipped by train to San Jose (about 30 miles away from Sarchi) and then arrived by a ox carts.  

Ted is standing just to the side of the entrance next to one of the soldered panels. It was an amazing fete. 

At the entrance of the city in the town square is a giant replica of the carts made here.  They are hand painted with beautiful colors and designs.  I bought a small napkin holder that looks almost exactly like the cart above plus a small serving tray.  I told myself I wasn't going to buy any souvenirs during this mission but couldn't resist.  

This is our group of missionaries.  The first counselor and his wife couldn't make it that day.  We will be losing the couples in the middle and on the left as their missions will be over in December.  We will really be hurting if we can't find people to replace them, plus we will miss them a lot.

The carts are hand made from start to finish.  

This is a waterwheel that runs all the machinery that is used in making and constructing the carts.  Everything is as it was many, many years ago when the company was established.

After leaving Sarachi we stopped at this unique garden.  They sculpt the garden with different animals, designs and arches such as the ones above.

Luckily, we brought our rain ponchos.  It started to rain, lightening and thunder as it does most every day around 3:00 p.m.  

The end of May the Haws,Ted and I went to Arenal.   This beautiful peacock was really strutting his stuff and showing off his beautiful feathers at our hotel  

I felt totally anxious about zip lining.  I figured if everyone else could do it so could I.

I'm putting on a great act.  I really didn't feel this happy.

For those of you who doubted this is really me, having the time of my life.  It really is fun and a thrill cruising above the lush jungle.

At one of the platforms between lines we saw this beautiful yellow snake in a tree close by.  We were told it was one of the most venomous in Costa Rica. 

Orchids grow wild here, all types and colors.

This ingenious shed was at our small hotel.  They do their own laundry.  Not having a dryer they used this to dry their sheets and towels.  There are two seasons in Costa Rica, wet and dry.  Right now it is the rainy season and thus the indoor clothes line.   

This is Arenal.  It is still classified as an active volcano.  The last activity was in 2013.

In Arenal there is a huge hot springs resort.  We enjoyed the afternoon in one or two of the 25 pools.  They range in different temperatures and sizes.  There are big water slides and a pool for kids as well.

Ted enjoying a hot water shower.  

The resort includes a hotel and a beautiful buffet restaurant.  We didn't stay here ($200 a night)
but we sure enjoyed the pools and a delicious meal to end our little vacation.

In each city in the country there is always a church with a park close by.  We enjoyed our last few hours walking the town and checking out the souvenir shops.  We have decided that each town has the same things in each store.

We may have to change from once a month blog to every other month as we are running out of places to see and do.  Have a wonderful month of June.  We love and miss you all.

Mom & Dad, Ted & Sharon