Well now I have really come to the end :( I am sad but also happy. My group I love but they are starting to get on my nerves. I miss my family but desire to continue working on my Spanish. I am at Punta Leona resort right now :) UH-MAZING! White sand beaches ginormos heated pools...oh and the buffet is PACKED with GREAT Food. :) I am getting so fat :D but I love it :) haha
there is airconditioning and we're in the rainforest so there are monkeys and iguanas and all kinds of cool things :) I have been busy as possible using up my last days here. I am STILL seeing Christ work! Jut today my leader asked me for the second time about my religious beliefs and stuff. Just before that I met a missionary family who have living here for a year in oder to learn Spanish and they are leaving for Mexico soon. It was so nice to talk to them too! And to top it all off they were baptist :) best! Lol they said that there is a girl here who majored in linguistics at Moody Bible Inst.
anybody want to get together?! I am coming home Monday and doing stuff Tuesday thru Friday :) I want American food American games, tv, people, jokes, any thing you can possibly think of...I MISS IT!!! Mommy: I don't care if we eat out Monday or if you cook chicken pie but I would love both. :) also I don't know if you know this but my plane leaves Miami around 4 so I will need picking up around 6 :)
to anyone who wants to contact me I would love to talk to all of you! My plane lands @ 12:30 so text me than and I will get it.
Wow this has been an awesome trip! I have changed so much and grown to trust God so well :) he is my stronghold! I have alot to do when I return so please pray for good and rest and an easy transition. I might have another chance to update my blog but if I don't: thank you for all your prayers and all that you have given me :) I am so blessed to have people like you that care enouh about me to follow my adventure. This, however is not the end...for me it's only the begining of the rest of my life full of exploration and learning.
'ta lluego!
MB

WOW!

i dont know at what point i become fluent but if you think disscussing religion in a different language is easy..try it someday. my host brothers friend and i talked about the difference between baptists and catholics and what is whacky about catholicism..i was so excited when the conversation was over!! i am understanding sooo much now!! its so exciting! my family can ramble on and on and i will get most of it..of course sometimes i dont get it but.. i am so happy! haha i can go home now (not really).
as i wrote on FB today IS my first day of homesickness. i keep spacing out and stuff but tomorrow i will discuss it with my leader and im sure i can survive seven more days :)
the city i am in now, Grecia, is the cleanest city in central america this year! it is gorgeous! clean does NOT mean safe though! there is so much alcohol here! just tonight my 22 yr old host brother came into my room severely drunk and talked to me about his mom and how he was mad because she didnt like his lifestyle i (of course) supported her and told him that he can make the rules when he doesnt still live with his mother. of course here this is not an insult..everyone lives with their moter! its crazy! i did not convince HIM to change his ways, however, my 19 yr old host brother was going to go drinking with him and after i discouraged it alot, he decided against it :) i am so proud of him!
on a funnier note..here there are karaokes everywhere!!! i yes indeed I sang karaoke tonight :) it was so fun! they insisted i do it in English even though i wanted to in Spanish. :)
for all that follow my blog: keep an ear out because when i return i am planning on having one big gathering where i will show my photos and tell my story so that i dont tire of telling it..i am hoping to have it at my church one afternoon after i get back (depends on whats going on) so keep a sharp eye and ear because i would LOVE to be able to share this trip with everyone!! and i would love to answer questions to anyone who might persue a similar trip!
well i return in seven days!! i cant wait to see everyone! i miss you all!!!! i start painting again tomorrow so prayer for good sleep and hard work! LOVE YOU GUYS!
MB

Grecia the end of it all.... :(

WOW! i have returned from HAITIES! the bosque de lluvia (rainforest) almost killed me..the spiders werent bad but there was: no electricity, foam on slats for beds, no AC, LOTS of bugs, and no reliably running water, we had to fetch drinking water and everything, it was terrible! we spoke english the whole week and i was so afraid i was going to lose spanish but when i got here i caught my self rambling off spanish to my host neice and realized how much i had improved! :) soooo happy!
i now need serious prayer! i only have 9 more days left and am slowly losing my gusto! haha i am exhausted to the bone! honestly i wish i could just be home for a few days and then come back but i know this is not possible.
i am eating SO much!! i have gained a little weight..but no biggy..i can handle it when i get home. my group is driving me crzy..i am trying to be patient with them but it is so hard! please pray for my patience and all because i had a rough day today.
this host home is very interesting...because there are 4 guys in the house!!! 18, 20 and 22 years old! its sooo awkward.. but i think i can handle it ;) i gotta go now.. i will hopefully gicve more later!
luego!
MB

How do you say: i threw up.. in Spanish?

Yes, tis true. One horryifying night i was awakened by sickness and had to wake up my host mom to tell her that i was sick..but all i know is my head stomach back neck, etc hurt. i have no clue how to say i am throwing up and i need medicine. it was an interesting few minutes of gesturing and trying to understand the medical questions being asked of me. just think, if someone comes to you and tells them theyre sick, what are you going to ask?? yeah some really really detailed questions right?? well imagine trying to comprehend and answer these questions in the middle of the night in another language...NOT EASY!! I am fine now though, my mother gave me some tea that worked an instant miracle on my terrorized stomach. it was however a good thing because i had been gaining weight from trying all of the new foods, so after this fiasco, i have been watching more closely how much i eat and have actually maintained a swimsuit figure! haha

but on to the important stuff..like apologizing for my grammar, NOTICE: keyboards in other countrys are way FREAKING different, i am too confused to worry about that so just do your best :D

My spanish is improving!! I am SLOWLy but surely becoming fluent! it is so fun so sit and hear the people talk and be able to answer (in short sentences) and participate! :) i am leaving Saturday for Limon for the protection of tortugas (or turtles) i will sleeping during the day and patroling the beaches at night for turtles and egg looters. I will be in the middle of nowhere with cockroaches the size of my palm and spiders even bigger...I KID YOU NOT! i am handling it well and have already managed to sleep with big ones but next week...they get bigger....i will be in a rainforest so there will be alot of dangers, please pray for mine and my groups safety as we are there for seven days!!

Lastly but definitely not least, i have managed to plant a seed or two in the hearts of my group members. Please especially pray for my friend Sasha as i believe her heart is seeking someone reliable and He is most definitely reliable :)

one more thing! one night i complemented my host mom on her little bracelet which she was wearing and she told me how much she liked jewelry, asked again if i liked it. (to which i of course replied it was beautiful) she then proceeded to remove it from her wrist and clasp it to mine!!! what a generous gesture! these people dont have that much!!! thank you Lord for your blessings!

PURA VIDA!

Its paint time!!

well here i am in Paraiso and I am having a grand time! I am (of course) struggling through my Spanish but luckily i have friends to struggle through it with me :) I had a good July 4th and am being fed WWAAYY too much! aha Beans and rice are very very filling! here are some photos of us painting the first day! still needing prayer :) siempre..

I have arrived!

I am now at my host family they are so very very nice! Last night was our first night and they took me to McDonalds and to see Toy Story 3 in Espanol. I cannot write much because I dont want to be rude. Please pray for my understanding and speaking of the language. I ended yesterday with an awful language headache. Lastly, i realized Thursday that I am not here for the Ticos. My spanish is to bad for that. My group of teens from the US that I am traveling with is so lost. They have already been very very rude to me about wanting to become a missionary. they believe in toleration. oh geez. i am so scared. I need everyones prayers more for my group than anything.

Anyways, i have just come from La Finca de la flor. where everything was in harmony with nature. We ate NO MEAT for 7 days! I was so happy when my host family served me chicken! The work was hard but it helped that the farm had cabras (goats) and caballos (horses) this soothed my worn out soul :) the man tending to the animals loved me and let me move the horses by myself. but AFS would not let me ride without a waiver from my parents (too much work).

I must go now. I miss all of you very much and will be meeting with my group to celebrate the fourth of july. haha Happy Independence Day from Costa Rica!

PS: mom please send my dads itenerary on facebook, i want to know where he is :) and my family loved their gifts!

San Jose baby!

HOLA! from Costa Rica! thats right i'm here now!
We are staying tonight in a hostel. Its very cool. Well the flight was normal, you know the usuall. It was cool that we left at 10 and arrived @10! haha :) I was so excited when we got to the airport. Of course i wasn't suprised by how small it was but it was small! We were stopped in the airport at the Cambio (exchange) because you cannot exchange money unless you are over 18yr. So our leader had to exchange ALL of our money! We're talking like 40 or so students! the final amount was like 2000 US dollars! Anyways, from there we were directed to our Charter like bus and driven to lunch. Guess where we ate for lunch!? MCDONALDS! My first meal in CR was @ Mcdonalds! UGH. Well anyways we're here at the Hostel and I have a top bunk.
I have gained a small infection in my knee which our CR AFS leader is a nurse and squeezed out for me..oww. Everyone was like wow! how does that not hurt??! haha but he is a nurse and he got it all out so I'm good!:)
Everyone is complaining about me typing a really long message so I will let you go. Mckenzie, if you are following I hope to email you soon, but dont have time now, SO SORRY! Daddy and Mommy:thank you so much for letting me come, I'm loving it :) I will get 10 free minutes to call you soon :) Everyone else: keep me in your prayers and all the people mentioned yesterday too. The girl's grandmother is better but still in the hospital. I need and appreciate your parayers!
p.s. played a card game in Spanish today and can't wait to teach it to my Spanish teacher Mrs.Nik :)
More complaining so ADIOS! oh, and guess what, its raining :D
MB