I don't feel like sharing...

Oh dear. I've been in Costa Rica a week now and I haven't blogged. You see, I've been having such a blast that I don't feel like sharing it with others. But I know I can't go a month without blogging, so I'll tell you about some things, and whatever I fail to tell you can be found at RJ's blog, Costa Rica Mission. He is here for two months and likes to give the details.
I arrived here late Wednesday night after cancelled and delayed flights and slept like a rock. Not just any rock, but like a fossil that has been buried in the desert for centuries and finally uncovered on Thursday morning. That's what I felt like when I woke up. But then I looked at the clock, noticed that it was only 6 am, and went outside to look at the beautiful view. Here it was:

I am staying at Iglesia Sol de Justicia, a Wesleyan Church in Grecia, Alajuela, Costa Rica. You all have no idea how great it feels to be in a tropical climate when 90% of my friends and acquaintences are freezing their butts off in the winter. It's the same kind of smug satisfaction I felt when I was down here this summer and I was the only one of 22 people in our group who properly used sunscreen, and therefore didn't get sunburnt. I will now take a moment to explain the rules of sunscreen, as I will not visit any of you in the hospital when you're dying of melanoma:
Generously apply sunscreen at least 20 minutes before exposing yourself to sun. You MUST reapply every 2 hours. If you are swimming, you must completely dry off, reapply, and then wait another 20 minutes before getting back in the water. If you are getting sweaty, you must also dry off after 2 hours, reapply, and then wait 20 minutes before getting sweaty again. Even if you have the waterproof and sweatproof sunscreen, you STILL have to reapply every 2 hours because it still wears off during that time.
I realize that most of my readers are not actually going to use these tips for a few months, but just remember them when summer rolls around. Like I said, I'm not visiting you in the hospital.
Okay, now we'll fast forward to Sunday. For any of you who have been to Costa Rica and gone to church, you'd know that worship here is unimaginably breathtaking. Literally. These people dedicate entire mornings to church service, and they worship, sing, and dance until they pass out. There's no worrying about football games or Sunday dinners, even when it's Super Bowl Sunday. These people are so spiritually healthy that I often question the reason for my being here. But I'm not here to help this church. Pastor Luis, the co-pastor of this church, is very involved in planting churches throughout Costa Rica. This is where I come in.
There is a little town in Guanacaste called La Palma. Besides the soaring temperatures, it has an overabundance of unemployed people living in poverty and cows. A church was planted there last year in a woman's living room, and it has been growing ever since. They are currently renting a house that is 600 square feet, and this poor house is no longer able to hold the congregation. We went to La Palma to hold a Vacation Bible School for the children, but I quickly realized that God had much more in store for me there. Basically, they need a new building for the church. And I'm going to build one. Well, not alone, but I'm in charge of getting a group together for the first week of January, 2012 to come down here and build a new place for this church. So, my friends, if you like construction and want to come to Costa Rica, let me know. 
The rest of my visit here will consist of more visits to small, new churches, visiting the Indian Zone, going to Panama, teaching English, learning Spanish, and doing some manual labor.
Okay, I'm tired of typing now. So, I'm going to post a bunch of pictures with captions, and hopefully my next blog will be a bit more informative!

This is Marty. He's from Rutherfordton, NC. He's been down here a few times before. Marty is here until Sunday.

Yipy. It's almost as good as a Chiky.

Creating Cheese-heads for the Super Bowl. It worked :)

Crafts at VBS.

One of the groups receiving the salvation message.

The church in La Palma.

The church's back yard.

The group at Lake Arenal. From left to right: Emanuel, Pastora Zulay, Jazmine, RJ, me, Raquel, and Marty. Pastor Luis was taking the picture.

Raquel and I.

Jazmine and I.

Oh yeah, the monkeys. Normally, I hate animals. But these ones were right on the side of the road, so I took a few pictures.

I swear I heard that bridge crack.

Arenal, the volcano. There's not too much to say about that.