Christmas Party!

This year we celebrated Christmas by holding an all-day party the last day of school.. we had a great time making ornaments, decorating Christmas cookies, racing in relays, and singing Christmas songs. The kids had a blast!... and even though there was no snow, I think everyone got into the Christmas sprit...

Vielka eating cake- to celebrate Jesus' birthday!

Crash!
opps... pictures out of order...
here's the pyramid still standing

RELAYS!!!

in oversized christmas-colored clothes

and Santa hats!

Go Go Go!

Look how great those shorts fit...

Hold them up!

Cam in the shorts, Emily in the shirt, Gabi in the Hat- team Green Santa is ready to go...

Lexi get that shirt on and the red team will be ready too!

Making Christmas Cards!

La Escuela en Cerros

Today, we went out with the class to visit a school in Cerros, a small community back in the Palm Plantations. The school is referred to as the "chicken coop school". The kids at the school, knowing the tourist industry of next-door-Quepos/Manuel Antonio, want to learn english, but schools with less then thirty students don't receive the funding to hire an English teacher. This multi-age class only has 13 students, from 1st to 6th grade. The teacher was explaining to us that they learn English off of a daily radio broadcast, but since there is not electricity at the school, they need to use a battery operated radio. The radio uses a lot of battery power, so they have only been able to have about three English classes. We are hoping to build a relationship with the teacher and students by coming out on a regular basis and having a shared English class with the students there. Education is valued in Costa Rica, and the teacher displays this commitment, but it was an eye opening experience of the wide range of schools and resources even in our neighborhood.

Elliot playing soccer with some of the kids

Aleasha sharing "Larry, el chico sucio" with the students in Cerros

The Teacher with students from our school and theirs

Making a book...

As a literary exercise, the class re-wrote the story "Harry, el perro sucio" (Harry, the dirty dog), writing about "Larry, the dirty boy". The kids wrote out the story, Elliot illustrated, and everyone helped color!

Elliot's Art Classes!

As many of you know, Elliot has decided to come and hang out with me in Costa Rica for the next six weeks. I am thrilled to have him! He will be volunteering at the school, teaching art and gym, until Christmas Break.

Elliot has only been in the classroom three days, but the kids LOVE him! Not only to they play "don't let the ball touch you when you are jumping on the tramp", they have already finished a few art projects!

Project number 1.... MONKEYS! Below, Cam shows off the Kindergarten work...

Flamingos!

Sentinel Article

I got a call on my Costa Rican cell phone from a Holland Sentinel writer :)

Click on the link to read the article...

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/homepage/x593069657/ZCS-reaching-out-to-Costa-Rica

Quality Car Wash Fundraiser!

Saturday, September 26!

Thanks to everyone who showed up to the fundraiser! We had JQ broadcasting, a dunk tank, and Many of you came and filled up and bought coffee and jewelry... and with the help of a matching donor we raised a little over $8000 for the school!! Praise God!

A special thanks to the Essenburg family for hosting and promoting, to Elliot and the soccer team for pumping gas and promoting sales, to Bill and those who braved the dunk tank, and to Julie who held a sign for a good three hours! Love you all and appreciate your willingness to help!

Here on the Costa Rican side of things, we are moving forward, and think we may have found a great site for the school... updates to come!

Costa Rican coffee, jewelry and homemade salsa for sale!

Nikki checking out the signs and pictures that we sent from Costa Rica





Bill in the dunk tank...



Diego handing out the balls...

And...



He's dunked.



WJQ broadcasting live!

Class picture

Our class with the signs and flags we made to send with the Essenburgs for the fundraiser on the 26th! And, praise God, we have one more student and three prospective students coming to check out the classroom tomorrow!

Singing! Those who know me know how far I have come if I am leading ANYONE, let alone five year olds, in singing. But they love it! It is a fun way to learn language as well! The tico students' favorite song is "I've got the Joy!". They ask to sing it every day.

Looking for gas pumpers, salsa makers, and fuel purchasers!

Family and Friends!

As things with the school here in Costa Rica have been moving forward! After a quick month in the states, I am back in Quepos, one week into the new school year. God has given us three new students and we are looking to put up a building and getting the accreditation process rolling.

We have been blessed by the Essenburg family, who has fallen in love with Costa Rica and has decided to help us throw a fundraiser for the school.

The fundraiser will be on Sept. 26, at Quality Car Wash. Half of all fuel sales will go towards the school. There will also be smaller things like bracelets, jewelry, and other items from Costa Rica for sale.

So, I have been asked to gather the troops! We are looking for volunteers to...

1. Work the fundraiser. This includes people to help set up, hold signs, or pump gas.
2. Some volunteers who will are willing to make some homemade salsa for the event.

And if you can’t help with either of these things, please help us spread the word and come to fill up your tank! Mark your calendars! (And don’t worry, I won’t let you forget :) I’ll send out a reminder email as well as the date approaches).

If you are interested in volunteering, please let me know as soon as possible and I will pass on your name to Kathy.

In more detail:

With a new school year in full swing, I have had the chance to get my feet wet as a full time teacher. You can see pictures of the classroom on my blog... Outside of regular planning, I spent hours cutting out circles for a number line, but it was all worth it in the end. The kids really love the room, and are proud of it. They have taken ownership already and are excited about what we are learning.

As we train someone to take over the teaching position, I will start working more on the administrative side of things, trying to sort through the requirements and figure out how all the curriculum pieces need to be presented to the Ministry of Education in Costa Rica for their approval.

Our classroom is growing and we have twice as many kids as last year. However, there are many interested parents and people watching what we are doing. Many do not want to commit until we have all our papers in hand. We are trying to finalize building plans, and have made some valuable connections with people who can help us with the legal and bureaucratic processes involving permits and approval. Praise God!

As we commit this school project to the Lord, we pray that we may give him glory and honor in all that we do, being His hands and His feet here in Costa Rica.

Continue to pray for God’s hand over everything we do, for wisdom and discernment, and for the opportunity to be a bridge, showing Christ’s love to the kids, the families, and the community of Quepos.

I am continually reminded that we have a God who can do immeasurably more that all that we ask and imagine.

A New School Year

After a month in Michigan gathering material and trying to piece together curriculum, we are up and rolling again! Before classes started this week, I spent a lot of time getting the classroom ready! My friend Memo and I spent a good two hours sitting, tracing, and cutting out numbers and circles... it is good to have friends! But the room it up and running! We have seven students this semester and are excited to see where God works! More school updates to come...