Costa Rica 2002

Click here to go back to Sunday's report.

Monday, September 23rd, 2002

Monday morning we were up early ready to get a good start on the day. We ate a breakfast that consisted of rice and beans along with corn tortillas and french bread. Maritsa had some kind of cream that they called "crema" which was squeezed out of a tube and onto your plate. It tasted a lot like cream cheese, but the consistency was much more soft kind of like tooth paste. It was delicious. We also had liquid strawberry yogurt to drink.

We were supposed to have lunch at Alejandro and Mercedes house that day and so we decided to use our morning time to tour around the area of Tres Rios. The economic conditions in this particular area appeared very depressed. Housing quarters were very small and tight. Houses were built one right next to the other in "row" fashion. Houses were usually one story and had a living area, kitchen, and two bedrooms. Most houses had a space behind the house to do laundry and other household chores. Many residents had washing machines, but not very many had dryers. Most families hung their clothes to dry in the back of the house. If the weather was too damp, then the clothes were ironed dry. Many of the depressed areas had houses built out of materials similar to what we would use for wood pallats. Nicer dwellings would have tiled ceilings and tiled floors. However, many of the houses had no tile on either the ceiling or the floor. Most ceilings were merely made of corrugated sheet metal and floors were concrete.

We were greeted early Monday morning by ice cream seekers. Moises and Maritsa sell ice cream out of their refrigerator and several of the little children in the area come around (with their mothers) to get ice cream. We talked to a couple of them on Monday morning and I asked them to sing a song, but they did not want to sing to my video camera.

We visited a grocery store that morning while we were out and about. They had many of the same items that we would have in our grocery stores here, except that the fruits were much more abundant and fresh. We ate several different fruits while we were down there. While we were at the store that morning, we bought a fruit that looked a lot like an artichoke on the outside, but once you took the skin off of it, it looked like a pineapple, but it tasted more like a banana with the consistency of a citrus fruit (these are called Anones). I have never seen nor tasted anything else like this. We purchased a couple of these in the store so we could try them when we got back. We found out later that this was Maritsa's favorite fruit. Also, while at the grocery store, we purchased some Costa Rican coffee. Costa Rica is the third largest exporter of coffee in the world. Their coffee is very rich and strong. They usually drink coffee with every meal and once in the afternoon as well. So we did not have a shortage of coffee while there.

After the grocery store, we went to pick up Issac from his school. The schools there are mostly private with some public funding. Parents have to pay for their children to go to school at all levels, but it is partially state funded up until a certain grade level (Grade school is funded; high school is not). Because there are so many children in school, classes have to be divided into morning and afternoon sessions. This means that teachers teach in the morning to one group of students and in the afternoon to another group of students. The school rooms are very basic. They have no heating or air conditioning. The weather is fairly temperate most of the year and their elevation in the mountains keeps thing rather cool. As a result the rooms are open air and need no insulation. The classrooms have chairs and tables. However, they have no computers, televisions, VCRs, or what we would expect a classroom in the United States to have. Regardless, their literacy level is 96%. They work very hard with what they have in order to educate their children. Children also receive lunches at school. The meal that we observed some kids eating consisted of chicken, potatoes, and rice.

After visiting the school, we picked up Issac and proceded to go to Alejandro and Mercedes house to have lunch. Their house was in the city of Cartago which is about 10 kilometers from Tres Rios. We had to travel through a mountain pass to get to Cartago. Their house was a typical one except that they had three bedrooms instead of two and they had a dining room as well. We had an excellent meal there consisting of rice, beans, fried bananas, and beef. The beef was prepared in a smothered fashion and was very good. We had fresca to drink made from local fruits.

Here we are waiting for lunch to be prepared in Alejandro and Mercedes house.

Here are three of the kids playing in front of the house. Notice the security bars.

More visiting in the house.

Prayer before lunch.

Eating lunch.

After lunch, Mercedes and her two kids got in the car with us (Rusty, Kevin, Moises, Maritsa, Isaac, and Kenji) and we went for a drive around the countryside. We drove through a town called "Paradise" and then headed down into what I believe is called Orosi valley where one of the major rivers runs through the central valley. We descended about a thousand feet in altitude and ended up at the river level. Due to all of the rain that comes down every day in that area, the river was running pretty good. It was muddy looking and probably stays looking that way considering how much rain they receive every day. At the bottom of the valley, we stopped at a dam in the river. Moises said that this one Hydroelectric dam supplied power to all of Costa Rica. We saw a couple of very pretty waterfalls coming back up through the mountains and entering the town of "Paradise" from the other side. We then made our way back to Cartago and dropped off Mercedes and her children. From there we headed back to Moises and Maritsas house where we took some rest.

Picture of the Orosi Valley.

Another picture of the valley.

Here you can see the main river that drains out of the central valley.

Here we are standing on the hydroelectric dam that I mentioned above.

That evening we had planned to have two Bible studies. One at the house of Gerald and the other at the house of Mario and Rosario. At Gerald's house we studied about the authority of the scriptures. We spent about an hour or so there and then after we finished that study, we went to Mario and Rosario's house. Gerald decided to go with us. At their house, we studied about the plan of salvation. I was very impressed with the interest that each of the participants had regarding spiritual matters. There was a sincere desire to know more about God and His word. At the end of the lesson, the invitation was given to each person present. Gerald, with whom we had also studied earlier, decided that he wanted to be baptized that very evening. With this we were overjoyed! While we awaited the baptistery to be filled with water, Mario and Rosario provided the evening meal for us and it was much appreciated, but our souls were feasting on the bread that comes down from above! After eating, we bid farewell to Mario and Rosario and made our way to the building. We found the baptistery about a quarter full of water. We needed more, so we waited a little while longer. I dipped my feet into the water both to see how cold it was and to acclimate myself a little. The water was cold. Later I would tell Moises that the water may have been cold, but our hearts were a flame! We had called Porfirio and his wife to come over the rejoice with us. Prior to the baptism, Porfirio read from Romans chapter 6. When the water level reached a suitable height, Gerald and I went down into the baptistery and Gerald was baptized. The water was so cold that poor Gerald's legs were cramping up on him. Moises had to hold his leg down so that he would get all the way under. We wanted to make sure that he was completely buried! After the baptism, Moises lead us in the song, "I have been redeemed" but in Spanish of course. We dried Gerald off and got him into some warmer clothes. I also changed clothes and then we reassembled in the building to sing another song. It was a very happy time. We sang "At the Cross" and then everyone needed to go home and go to bed. It was a wonderful evening and a GREAT day! I wish every day could end that way.

Here is the first family we studied with on Monday night.

Here I am with Isaac waiting for the water to fill the baptistery.

The good confession.

A new brother in Christ!

Rejoicing with all!

Click here to go to Tuesday's report!