And the work begins!

After almost 3 weeks since my last post a lot has happened. Meanwhile the director of MIVIDA Costa Rica has returned and we had our team meeting during which we split up our responsibilities for this upcoming year. I was made responsible and man in charge of the Experimentas, which is the practical part that happens after the conference. This is a very important part of the conference. The vision is that the participants of the conference wouldn't just hear and learn theoretical parts but also would apply what they just learned. For this we offer a short missions trip. My job now together with my team to get in touch with different Pastors and Organisations who are willing to host a group of young people to experience God's hand on work. For this upcoming Conference which is an international one we are looking to offer trips to India, Senegal, Brazil, Albania, Costa Rica and the surrounding countries. Well you might think now that this is a lot of work and a huge responsibility. Well I can't and will not deny this. It is a lot of work and a huge responsibility. The goal is it to have as many participants to do such a trip. In MOVIDA's experience so far they figured that about 30% of the conference participants join a missions trip.   So I'm really thankful if you could keep this in your prayers. Thank you.
Beside this work I also am working on the website for this conference. Sadly I can't post the link yet because the website is not quit done yet but you'll be one of the first to know when the site is ready.
So now a few words to my privat life. During easter break the city of San Jose was totally abandoned. There was no one here, the streets where empty and most people where somewhere on the beach or in the mountains. On Good Friday I had the chance to join a few missionaries to go to one of the volcanos and to go to the hot springs, which are heated by the volcano. That day the volcano was covered by clouds but the springs where so nice. They had pools with hot water (so hot you couldn't go in) to the cold water pools. We had the opportunity to spend a really nice and relaxing day there. On our way home we stopped by a place that is known for their tree art (the way they cut trees). The garden of the catholics Church was very beautiful and with good reason the town is known for their trees but at the same time the catholic Church was having something like a parade. What I didn't noticed right away was that this parade was like a funeral. And surely enough they were bringing Jesus in a cuffing down the street. This whole picture of the parade was so messed up that I wasn't sure if I should

take this picture below and now even I wasn't sure if I should post it. But eventually I figured that to understand what is going on here I would have to post it. We are not used to such things in Europe or North America.

Ok, so now you're updated again. This upcoming Saturday I'll have a meeting with my Team in which we will plan and set our goals for this upcoming year.
Thank you so much for support, it means a lot to me.

God's blessing upon you!

First Insight

It has been almost three weeks since I landed in Costa Rica. Each day I learn something new about the Culture, Language and the Country. Costa Rica is very much influenced by the US. I can find here a Walmart like in the US or in Canada and the shelfs are full of stuff imported from the US. I would say that up to 90% of the products come from North America. So that's why I had the chance to enjoy the other day a Canada Dry, which I didn't know belongs to the Coca Cola Coop. Also when you walk down the streets it reminds me a lot of Canada. The Semi-trucks are imported and many cars just look like they come from North America as well. So as you can see Costa Rica has besides the landscape and the economy a lot of similarities with North America, this is true at least for San Jose. Now Costa Rica is also a very touristy country and that's why you find a lot of tourists, especially from North America and Germany in the streets of San Jose. This I think might also explain why San Jose is so US oriented. Well so much to the country, or more like to San Jose because I haven't seen yet a lot of the country. The Culture is not a lot different than other cultures in South America, so not much new things for me. Also the food isn't much different the Brazilian food. A lot of Rice and Beans and Meat (in my last post I wrote that I eat rice and beans every day for breakfast and that’s so far true except for one day). What was really surprising for me is that Costa Rica has filtered water coming out of the tap, not like other countries of South America such as Brazil. This is probably the only major difference between Costa Rica and Brazil. The language is coming along more or less. The fact that I speak Portuguese is a pro as well as a con. Many times I used Portuguese words in my Spanish and because some words are so similar the Costa Ricans don't correct me, so I think that I'm speaking Spanish but where in reality I'm actually still using a lot of Portuguese.

Marcus and Guiselle

I also noticed that when I call people in Brazil that I start using Spanish words in our conversations, so it isn't as easy as I thought but it's coming. It reminds me of the first few months in Canada when I started learning more and more English.
Ok, now a few words to my host family. I live here with a family that has two adult kids. Both of them are married and have their own family now. One of them is actually the neighbor and the other just lives a block away. This couple has an easy life style and not a lot but what they have they are sharing with me. This again teaches me once more to have a humble attitude in my life.

Ok, enough for now. Thanks again for your interest and your support. If you have any questions or would like to know how you can support me, then send me an Email. (contact information you'll find under contact)

God bless you