Christmas Break

Home for Christmas. Melissa has special music the Sunday she came home and sang in both English then Spanish. It was a very happy occasion.

Decorating for Christmas

Decorating the Villa for Christmas. So Much fun.

The beach: a day off

Had a day to relax before Final at the beach. So much fun! This is Brittney.

Caroling!

We sang Christmas songs at Church our last Sunday there.

Thanksgiving

cooking for thanksgiving. just under 50 people. Everyone made something.

Shop and practice spanish

Traveling downtown to Christmas shop and practice our Spanish just me and my roomies.

Just baking some Chocolate Chip cookies for the group there. Helps it feel more like home. Be home soon though. :)

Strong man contest.

Strong man or should i say women contest. lol
No this was also at the museum and she got in trouble for this pic. I guess they thought maybe should would really pic it up.

Museum Field Trip

These are only a few of the pics but it was a nice trip. This was a Fort so the square holes were latrines.

pics

Singing special Music for the Talent competition.
Ron Bishop had Hoodies made for us at Gap.


Chilling on the porch at The Score Villa.


Always up for pics.

Old orientation pic

random pics

Some of the local houses

The weekend

Missy had a busy but great weekend. She went Home for the weekend with her mentor Hevelen (not sure of the sp sorry) and stayed with her and her family. They went to a carnival and went on some rides. Her family doesn't speak any English and Hevelen speaks very broken English and so Missy was forced to use her spanish alot which is great practice but can be frustrating also.
Sunday at Church she sang special music. Mighty to save from Hillsong in English which went well. There is a talent show coming this weekend where she will be singing the same song but this time in Spanish. The Youth pastor is helping her in learning the rythm of the words and how to pronounce them properly while Melissa has been helping him with some English. He is also teaching her some of the Spanish slang. lol. I was able to talk to her last night for a bit and she is looking well. As far as the pics on this blog Some are taken by other students in this same program but I am sharing them with you so you can feel some parts of what Melissa and the students are going through. She says to say hi to everyone, she covets your prayers and can't wait to share what God is showing her. One more month and she will be home.

@ church

Waiting for service to start.

Fishing in Costa Rica

This is Jose catching
catching fish. No pole just a line and hook.

A buddy at the Volcano

It is the rainy season so you might as well have fun with it. lol
This is for you Beth

The Gap Students

Ministry

This was at the nursing home where we went to minister to the people there.

I got to talk to Missy on Friday. She said that she will be helping in the kitchen a couple days a week so she can learn to cook some of the dishes they eat in Costa Rica. In exchange Melissa is going to teach them some baking like desserts that we eat here. I can't wait to eat her cooking when she gets home. Love you Miss

We are learning a lot of Spanish. We have a 3-4 hour class Tues thru Friday then Bible classes after that everyday. I have had to write a few essays on my favorite person and my favorite family member in Spanish. I have memorized scripture in Spanish for class. We are split up into 6-7 groups for the weekend and each group serves at different churches. So far we travel there each day but soon we will be staying at host families a few times a month. I like to take trips to the bakery and to the shops not so much to buy things but to talk to people and practice speaking. Each time I pick up a little more. I have even had a few dreams in Spanish which is kind of neat.
Trying to keep Friends and Family posted. I'll Write more soon.
God Bless
Missy

If you see the sweatshirt it "was" Aaron's lol.

The leaves are huge.

There are several active volcanoes in Costa Rica. In order to go check them out you have to sign a waiver of responsibility. The smell is like rotten eggs. The bus ride through the mountains is beautiful on a clear day and scary on a cloudy day.

Her escorts

My 18th Birthday

Her roomates made her feel special with breakfast and
Then the note in the shower.
They all went out to dinner at the had
birthday cake or should i say Missy did. lol