Happy One Month-aversary!

I just wanted to give you a quick update, pictures included, of the happenings of life in Costa Rica.  I have had quite the adventure already and I haven't even left the city yet.  It started out a few weeks ago at my first international schools Wyld Life club.  The pictures below might actually be from the two clubs that I've been to but it's always a good time and I feel right at home in the Wyld & crazy world of middle school kids. :) 

At our first Wyld Life club! 

A classic YL game where if you lose, you hold onto onto  the winner's shoulders after crawling through their legs...lines get long! 

A spin off from Rock/Paper/Scissors, Hobbit edition. 

I have also been to a few Young Life clubs/hang outs in my time here but I haven't brought my camera with me.

 I also helped out at a 5K for one of the main schools where we do Young Life and Wyld Life in Costa Rica.  It was a fundraiser through their new property where they plan to build a new campus in the near future.  Notice how I didn't say I ran the 5k but took it upon myself, with my friend Tiffany, to cheer on the crowd!  It was absolutely adorable because they had mini races for each age group starting at 2 years old!  Somehow, parents weren't allowed to help their kids because that would be "cheating" but I think overall everyone had a good time and only the redhead got sunburned.

 This is a picture of the girls in my class celebrating International Women's Day!  Who knew there was such a thing but we celebrated (and had already these made plans) with some fresh juice at our favorite local joint called Fresas.  You'll probably hear of that place a lot since it's so close to the house and oh so delicious.  (They also serve chicken nuggets & french fries, what more could you ask for?)

Pia, Emily, Ella & me 

 Last weekend I was invited on an amazing hike.  It was a challenging hike up to the "Tres Cruces" or three crosses that overlook San José.  It was beautiful but definitely not a walk in the park.

Tiffany, Sarah, Jessie & Me at the first cross

Second cross 

Tiffany & her leader from the US Jenni at the 3rd cross 

The cows are laying down and the clouds are rolling in, a sure sign of rain! (But it didn't, thankfully!) 

 The best part of the hike was when Tiffany was baptized by her YL leader who was visiting for the week.  It was a beautiful, intimate setting and it meant so much that I got to be a part of her day.

From death... 

To life & freezing cold water! 

 As you can see, this month has been jammed packed with a lot of fun adventures.  This past weekend was one of my favorites by far but it will get another blog post later this week because I want to fill in the details.  I am so thankful for this time in Costa Rica to get to build great new relationships and be in the part of the world that my heart was created for even if my skin hasn't quite caught on to that just yet.  Costa Rica is a beautiful country with great people and a special way of doing life that just makes you sigh sometimes, "Oh Costa Rica." But even as I let out that sigh, I find myself full of joy that this is my life and the Lord has placed me here specifically.

La Vida Tica

So when I wake up tomorrow, I will have been here for 7 days.  It's hard to believe it's already been 7 days yet has only been 7 days.  My ability to keep up with time has escaped me which might be a good thing to live in Central America but I know tomorrow is Friday which means WYLD LIFE night!  I'm sure there will be stories and possibly pictures from the Hobbit themed club but we'll have to wait and see.  Until then, let's recap this week. 

My host family has been great.  I haven't taken any pictures with them yet but I promise there will be stories and pictures to come about them.  I have a host brother named Luis who is 10 and might be one of my favorite people ever.  We like to play games - I taught him War and Slap Jack - and watch tv together.  He likes to explain everything to me and keeps me very entertained.  Since I was the youngest in my family I never had the experience of a younger sibling but so far I like this kid.  I also have two Tica sisters (Tica means Costa Rican).  One is in college and the other is my age.  So far communication with them has been a bit of a challenge but things are starting to settle in.  I also have a host mom named Doña Ana who has taken great care of me and cooks really well!  

Saturday night Ella and I went to the 32nd Anniversary party for Vida Joven in Costa Rica.  It was, of course, a neon party.  The picture below is of the Costa Rican Young Life team plus Ella and me.  There are three interns, Tiffany, Sarah and Elena that have been here since August and will leave in June.  Jessie (the other pelirroja) and Alex are on staff here in San Jose.  They work with the middle school and high school kids of the international schools here in San Jose and have invited Ella and I to be a part of their team while we are in language school.  

On Tuesday, we were sent out on "Mission San José" which was like a scavenger hunt without a map or clues to get around...So really we just wandered the city until we happened upon a few of the major landmarks in the city.  

First stop, frapuccinos. 

Isn't your manger scene still up in the middle of your city too? 

My beautiful teammate in front of the National Museum (that we didn't go in). 

Call me crazy but I love artistic graffiti - not to be confused with vandalism. 

We had had our fill of Tica food lately so we treated ourselves to a little Pizza Hut. 

 Finished the day of being a tourist with a picture at the bus stop. 

 The parents of one of the interns, Elena, were visiting this past week so we were invited to eat dinner with them on Tuesday night.  Elena's mom used to be a chef for people in California so it was definitely a good home cooked meal.  This was the view from their hotel which may have been one of the best I've seen of the city this week.

All in all, I would say my first week in CR has been great and I am looking forward to settling in more. I have felt so cared for by the team here, my host family and the few friends and family I've been able to chat with.  Next Monday language school starts and the adventures continue. 

Abrazos de la Casa Amarilla. 

I MADE IT!

I made it to Costa Rica and I wanted everyone in the airport to know what I was doing...but no one asked...BUT YOU KNOW!  Let me just remind you, I'm in Costa Rica for language school through August (even though my Tica - Costa Rican - host mom just told me my Spanish is already good!) so don't be confused as to why this blog is called the redhead in Nicaragua because it's all part of the journey.

I want to be insightful and reflect on the process of getting fully funded and moving to Costa Rica within a month but I'm tired.  The things I want you to know right now is that my host family (one of many at this point) is great.  My host brother Luis has taken it upon himself to entertain me with YouTube videos & tv in Spanish - he's in 5th grade.  My host sister Brenda made me dinner and showed me around the house.  And my host mom Doña Ana is already taking care of my cough that I brought with me.  It's going to be a great time in the Casa Amarilla.

Language school doesn't start until the 25th so I'll be getting to know the neighborhood with my host family and the YL staff here in San Jose.  Tomorrow is the anniversary of Vida Joven in Costa Rica so they're having a neon dance party with 200 barrio (neighborhood) kids & staff/volunteer leaders. - That just solidifies what some of the Raleigh crew was saying at my going away party last week that YL folks always wear neon.  I didn't believe it until right now.

Thank you for your prayers.  It's the only explanation of the smooth start to this big adventure.  I am so thankful for each and everyone of you who have helped me in every and any way to get to this point.  If I think about it too much + I'm running little sleep = I might cry.  Just know, you rock more than you will ever really understand.

Con mucho amor desde la Casa Amarilla.

8x10 for gifts of $50+ a month

I decided to combine a few of my loves (fundraising and photography) to keep things rolling.  Are you looking for a Christmas present for someone? Look no further.

If you make a donation of $50 a month or more by December 1, 2012 I will send you an 8x10 photo from the slideshow below of your choosing.  Just email me (jaboulos5@gmail.com) the number and title of the picture you like along with your pledge/start date (please no later than January) and your address.

As you can see on the side, we have made it to about 68% and only need 32% more!  That means only 21 people need to pledge $50 a month and one at $25 a month AND THEN I CAN LEAVE! (That's $1,076 a month that I still need to raise.  Look how much we've already done! WE can do this if YOU help.)

People, listen.  I need your help to get me out of this country in 2013.  I'm trying to have all of my pledges by December 15th so we've got some work to do.  Language school starts January 3rd and I WANT TO BE THERE!  As we all know, the original date was September so let's make this one happen.

Spread the word!  GET JEN OUT OF THIS COUNTRY ASAP!


Fundraiser Slideshow - Online Slideshow Maker

To start your gift, click the "Online Giving" button to the right.  It's easy-peesy so tell everyone. Seriously.

*Please note* Gifts of less than $50/a month are MORE THAN APPRECIATED but I had to draw the line somewhere since I'm not able to send everyone 8x10s because the cost adds up quickly.

Staff Retreat at the Beach!

It was due time for a return trip to my future home and last week I got just that...five whole days in Nicaragua with my team!  We were joined by a team from Costa Rica, a team leader from the DR, the newest member of the International Schools Recruiting team under the amazing guidance of the Latin American YL trainers and two former missionaries in Nigeria!  It was an international schools staff retreat so it was all Americans and one student staffer from Nicaragua coming together for fellowship, fun and relaxation.  We played plenty of games, enjoyed some beach time in between torrential downpours and marveled at the work the Lord is doing in all of these countries.  Ella and I are still fundraising but it was a great time for our (almost) whole team to come together for the first time ever and learn more about each other.

Did I mention, we stayed in a BEAUTIFUL house overlooking the water?  This was a view for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  How could you not love this place and rest in His beauty?

Plenty of games were played in this space between meals. 

Being on the west coast has it's perks. 

Adventures to the fish market! This is a sea snake that we were told it's "very popular in the US, Canada & Spain" can anyone vouch for that?  And did they not realize we were Americans when telling us this statistic? 

So excited for dinner! (I had chicken. :) ) 

 My beautiful teammates, Ella & Ashley.  Gotta love them! 

This is the house dog that followed everyone everywhere. 

Gang's all here!  

Ella, Zava (Student staff), me, Ashley & Pratt.  

There was one minor threat of a temper tantrum while thinking how my heart aches to be in Nicaragua already but I let the grown up in me take over and kept it inside.  I am praying to finish fundraising by December 15th so I can enjoy the holidays with my family with the peace of having finished.  

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10 

Life in...Raleigh

So, someone told me they were confused by a blog post about where I am currently so to clear that up you should know I'm still in Raleigh. And it's great.

I had it hyped up in my head that if I didn't get to Costa Rica September 1st that I might burst and although it's been a bit of a challenge, I'm still here and I haven't exploded.  There are days of disappointment and a lack of direction, or so it feels, but that's when I know I have to lean in a little deeper to the promises of our faithful Father and know I am right where I'm supposed to be.  That doesn't mean you shouldn't pray for continued peace because like I said I have my days but I think we can praise for the peace that I have since felt and not exploded.

You may have noticed we were so close to 60% and then all of a sudden we fell back to 56% so I wanted to explain.  A few weeks ago some of my donors had to cancel or reduce their gifts for their own financial reasons and I have to say I am thankful it happened now and not once I've already deployed.  It showed me that I had been relying too much on the numbers and not as much on the movement of the Lord.  It showed me that I still tend to rely on the things of this world more than I should so I am thankful it happened and those donors are still great friends of mine.

The plan for the fall you ask?  Well, through no doing of my own, I have a great place to stay through December for free.  It's a young married couple in Raleigh with a beautiful house and a cute little shitzu named Stella.  They love the Lord, Young Life and the Wolfpack - what more could you ask for!?  OH! And Ryan has worked on the coffee farm attached to the YL camp in Nicaragua when he was in high school so he has a firsthand idea of what I'll be doing/where I'll be! AMAZING.

I am still fundraising and I don't have a deployment date picked out anymore but I would love nothing more to get to leave this fall still, if not this fall than the new trimester of language school starts in January.  UNTIL THEN I get to visit Nicaragua in OCTOBER and I couldn't be more excited.  It's an International Schools YL Staff retreat at the beach.  My teammates Pratt & Ashley who are currently in Nicaragua will be there, my teammate Ella (from SC) will make the trip along with staff from Costa Rica and the support staff from the US.  What a great gift it will be to spend time with these people.  It was also a great gift that a friend donated his frequent flier miles to help me get my round trip ticket!

To say the Lord has not showed up would be a bold face lie.  He has provided for me in ways I didn't even know I needed and given me great gifts like new friends/roommates and a ticket to Nicaragua.  He is faithful.

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19

And because this is my favorite picture...

What! not help you?

I will soon write a post about life still in Raleigh and how the Lord has shown up in every part of it.  I will soon fill you in on the plan for what's to come with my work in the ministry.  I will even explain to you why we went from so close to 60% back to 56% if you want to know.  But today I just want you to read, reread and own this prayer by Charles Spurgeon that was a part of the sermon at my church on Sunday.

Let us hear the Lord Jesus speak to each one of us: “I will help you.  It is but a small thing for me, your God, to help you.  Consider what I have done already.  What! not help you? Why, I bought you with my blood.  What! not help you?  I have died for you; and if I have done the greater, will I not do the less?  Help you!  It is the least thing I will ever do for you; I have done more, and will do more.  Before the world began I chose you.  I made the covenant for you.  I laid aside my glory and became a man for you; I gave up my life for you; and if I did all this, I will surely help you now.  In helping you, I am giving you what I have bought for you already.  If you had need of a thousand times as much help, I would give it to you; you require little compared with what I am ready to give.  ‘Tis much for you to need, but it is nothing for me to bestow.  Help you? Fear not!... O my soul, is not this enough?  Do you need more strength than the omnipotence of the United Trinity?  Do you want more wisdom than exists in the Father, more love than displays itself in the Son, or more power than is manifest in the influences of the Spirit?  Bring here your empty pitcher!  Surely this well will fill it.  Haste, gather up your needs, and bring them here – your emptiness, your woes, your needs.  Behold, this river of God is full for your supply; what can you desire beside?  Go forth, my soul, in this your might.  The Eternal God is your helper! …. Spurgeon

Amen.