Hidden Treasures

Published!

2013-07-03T10:13:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends, Family, and Readers: Olivia Rogers and I are now officially published authors! Ripples, a collection of poems, is now available on Amazon! To see it, go here: ripples! (ripples may not show up for the next few days in a google search, because it is so recent.) For best search results, search: ripple - a collection of poems.

If you are interested in buying a copy, here are some points to help you.

The list price for our book is $9.99. You can search and find it on Amazon. There, shipping will most likely be added. The book will be shipped to you as always.

However, there is another route that is better for you and us as well. For one, our profit is significantly less when a book is ordered through Amazon, as the above process. Our price can be lower for you, as well, if you choose this second option!

We have a special discount for anyone who orders through us! Get the book for $8.99, a 10% discount! This deal is for all orders through us, and currently does not have a time limit.

To order through us - simply comment on this blog post, email us, or somehow contact us. When we accumulate a certain amount of orders, we will order the copies ourselves through our author membership account. This takes shipping and 10% off for you, and also boosts our end!

We will deliver the books to you once they come in, and then you can pay us.

So if you would like a copy, just tell us! We would also love feedback on our Amazon page! Any questions, just email or contact us. :)

Here is an email at which we can both be reached.

02dreamcatchers@gmail.com

More sites:

See our new poem and writing blog, Two Friends. Two Pens.!!

2friends2pens.blogspot.com . This has extra info, fun bits of stuff about us, some back ground story, and a bit of a preview of our other work!
Also, Caroline's blog: carolinemeek.blogspot.com

We hope you enjoy our book!

~Caroline and Olivia, co-authors :)

Saving the BEST for last...Manuel Antonio Beach

2013-04-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

If you have been to Costa Rica, then hopefully you have experienced Manuel Antonio National Park and beach. What a beautiful beach to visit! It is full of wild life such as sloths, white-faced monkeys, iguanas and even annoying, little, fearless raccoon families that love to dig through your backpacks while you are standing only feet away from them throwing flip flops in their general direction. Don't ask me how I know that. It was especially exciting for Lucy since it was her visit trip to a beach. Our family had a blast and it was the perfect way to close out our time here in Costa Rica. We are just a few days away from heading home and are busy packing up now. We will return to KC this coming Monday. But for those of you back home in the cold and rain, enjoy these pictures and remember the hot days of summer fun are coming soon!

Can you see the teeth on this guy??

This is a sloth up in the trees that we caught moving along the branch.

an iguana

a lizzard

What a bunch of rascals these raccoons were! The moment I turned my back, they were into our bags.

Eating at El Avion restaurant with its spectacular view.

Enjoying some real seafood at Marlin's

WE MISS YOU AND SEE YOU SOON!

Lucy Rose and Her Days at Sojourn Academy in Costa Rica

2013-04-27T12:40:00.002-07:00

You may not know it, but Lucy has been attending a Spanish kindergarten and preschool class at the Institute while I am in my Spanish classes. She was originally going to homeschool with teacher Jarrett with the other kids, but when we arrived, we learned that she could join the Spanish-speaking preschool and kindergarten classes. So she begins her day at 7:30 in teacher Monica's preschool class, the same Monica that taught Annie when she was only two ten years ago in 2002. At 10:30, she heads over to teacher Victoria's kindergarten class to finish off her day at 1:00. She loves her teachers and her classmates and especially loves learning Spanish. In fact, she is convinced she speaks Spanish better than anyone else in our family. :) That may be questionable, but we have been very impressed with how much she understands and can speak.

Lucy and her teachers, Hannah, Monica, Caroline and Victoria. Her sweet smile tells you how much she loves them!

Lucy loves doing her activities at school!

Lucy and some of her buddies at recess.

Each devotional time, some of the children pray for the class and their families. On this day, Jacob, Nathan and Lucy each had a turn praying. It is precious to hear your child pray to God in another language.

Lucy loves singing in Spanish with her friends Felipe, Jacob and Lily.

Singing fun songs.

Snack time with her buddy, Lily.

On Lucy's last day, the class prayed for her and her family.

Teacher Monica's class

Lucy prepared a presentation on baby chickens and shared it in Spanish with her class.

This is teacher Ulda who was Caroline's preschool teacher 10 years ago. How special it was to return to the Institute and find these precious, faithful teachers still loving on kids.

Teacher Monica and the girls.

Sabbatical Reflections from Costa Rica

2013-04-14T17:54:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends,

I've posted some reflections from our time here on The Adelante Express blog. If you're interested in some of what's been going on in our hearts during this blessed time I'd love for you to read the post: Sabbatical Reflections from Costa Rica.

May God bless you richly!
Jarrett

A Trip to Volcano Arenal

2013-04-13T19:41:00.002-07:00

During the Easter break, we went with Seth and Andrea Sears and their three kiddos to stay at a hotel located at the base of an active volcano. It was a beautiful trip and we had a blast hanging out with the Sears family. The hotel has many hot springs pools of varying temperatures heated by the volcano, so we had fun hopping from pool to pool. One of the best parts was the water slides...they were fast. In addition to the fun pools, the hotel also has a nature park with a butterfly garden, crocodiles (we even pet them), poison dart frogs and leaf cutter ants. I think we would all agree that it was one of our biggest highlights of our time in Costa Rica.

Check out the active volcano in the background!!

Lucy was so brave!

The boys are standing on a suspension bridge that is SUPER high up in the air.

My two favorite boys!

This slide was FAST!

I think Jarrett may be scaring Lucy here.

The girls are hanging out in the mildly hot springs. Actually, this one is a cool spring pool :)

Lucy and I had fun one morning playing our favorite games. She beats me a lot at mancala.

These three boys had some great wrestling matches in these hot springs.

Game time after a long day swimming.

It has been so great for the best buddies to be reunited again here in Costa Rica.

We stopped at a great little road side restaurant for lunch on the way home.

Lucy, the butterfly girl.

Spending some time in the butterfly/crocodile/poison dart frog nature park.

The Sears' kids call this the "blue jeans frog" since it looks like he is wearing blue jeans.

On Our Way to Volcano Arenal

2013-04-09T12:05:00.002-07:00

A week ago I had the whole week off from Spanish classes, so we took our first official "vacation within a vacation" and headed to the town of La Fortuna to see the popular active volcano Arenal. But before we arrived, we had some fun stops along the way. Our first stop was in the town of Zarcero, where they have a garden of sculpted plants. It was a great place to find some ice cream and homemade bread. Second and super cool was the restaurant Las Iguanas just outside of La Fortuna. I bet you can guess why it is called Las Iguanas? There are iguanas ALL over the place. It was amazing to seeing these prehistoric-looking creatures all over the place. We all got to pet them and watch them for a long time while we ate lunch. I was fascinated! Next post will include pictures from our three-day stay at the base of an active volcano.

Chicken Spiedini and Good Friends...doesn't get much better than this!

2013-03-25T16:34:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, along with the Sears clan, we headed out to spend a beautiful Sunday afternoon at the house of our good friends, Eduardo and Paola and their two boys, Andres and Jacob. We had a great time sharing and laughing and enjoyed a delicious meal of grilled chicken spiedini with alfredo and spaghetti sauces and noodles, not to mention some classic homemade chocolate chip and M&M cookies. It was a perfect day! Sure felt like a spring day in KC.

Jarrett takes on the job of hammering the chicken. yay, since i don't like this part.

it's grilling time....feels like home

Charlie and Jude climbing in a cool mango tree. Our boy ended up with a allergic reaction on his body from the mango sap that needed a heavy dose of medication to get rid of, but I think it was worth it. :) Same thing happened to Jarrett in Bolivia.

gotta love sidewalk chalk art

a great place for hide and seek!

happy bellies = happy husbands

Snow Day in Costa Rica?!

2013-03-24T14:04:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, a few weeks ago I posted about a unusual change in weather here in San Jose and getting a snow day right here in the city. A few of you actually thought it had snowed here. Sorry to fool you. :) But we were all so jealous of the mountains of snow you were getting in KC back then and just had to have a snow day of our own. So we called off our homeschool while I played hookie from my school, so we could go "sledding", Costa Rican style, which we'll just call "cardboarding". It was a great day for us to laugh and have fun as a family. Since you are all getting snow, AGAIN, I thought I would finally post these pictures to share our snow day with you. Hang in there!

When Clouds Hide the Sun (A Bright Promise Undiscovered) By Caroline Meek, age 14

2013-03-05T16:58:00.001-08:00

When Clouds Hide the Sun (A Bright Promise Undiscovered)
by Caroline Meek - 3/3/13

A shade of color, undetected,
before the light shines through.
A certain ray of light unseen
lurks in front of you.

Not all rainbows have bright colors,
and clouds can hide the sun.
But swift can come the realization
once the happening has begun.

Before the reflection can be seen,
the waters must be found.
And often you can only find them
when you look up from this ground.

You have to look past this storm
to the faint outline of a star.
A gleaming beam of light that shows you
where to go and who you are.

................................................

What does this poem mean to you?? Are there any parallels that stick out?

Costa Rican Mountain March

2013-03-02T12:30:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago, we had opportunity to go hiking up in the mountains at the house of a friend of Edwin and Zeidy's. What we thought was going to be a 1 1/2 hour hike, turned out to be a 4 hour hike up and down steep mountains. I thought I wouldn't make it and was amazed at how incredibly positive five-year old Lucy remained the whole time. It certainly was a character-building experience for all of us. Lucy especially taught me a lot that day. We had a blast laughing and encouraging one another to keep pressing on and stopping along the way to enjoy God's incredible creation (and catch our breath). We have been so very thankful for times like these that we have been able to share new memories with our dear friends while at the same time building new friendships. Eduardo, Edith and their three girls, took great care of us and fed us a delicious feast of grilled meats, chimichuri salsa and tortillas at the end of the hike. We rewarded ourselves by topping off the day with a platter of brownies!

Before the hike begins...fresh and full of energy.

No, the girls aren't sunburned, just had the camera set on a funky exposure.

The big hike begins!

Annie always seems to find a baby to care for, wherever she is. This is a baby iguana.

Jarrett, Eduardo (our wonderful host and fearless leader), Seth and Edwin

The halfway point and popsicle break at a small grocery store along the way.

Our KU fan club! ROCK CHALK, JAYHAWKS!

Two buddies and some beautiful flowers. They are still smiling!

A view down into the San Jose valley.

A view along the way, up and down and up and down.

The final pass through...this was the rockiest part. The rest of the road was a smooth path, just not a flat, smooth path.

We did it...almost...

Yay, three cheers for crossing the rocky pass through.

Three BFFs...they did AWESOME! and they are still smiling!!

We had an incredible feast to reward ourselves...grilled beef, chicken and sausage and the most delicious chimichuri salsa I have ever had (of course I got the recipe!), AND some yummy brownies. It was all worth it.

These girls were tuckered out!

Seth and sweet Michelle

All the kids chilled out and watched a movie after lunch.

These are our wonderful hosts, Eduardo and Edith, and their three daughters.
They took such good care of us.

Some sweet and silly girls.

The whole gang.

Baseball and Basketball Loving Boys

2013-03-01T17:39:00.000-08:00

This sabbatical has been a wonderful bonding time for Jarrett and Charlie. Four days a week, while the girls practice piano at the institute, the boys head to the park for an hour to play baseball and basketball. Both of them have loved this time together as Daddy (coach) and son, and Charlie has improved a lot in his athletic ability. He has especially been practicing his pitching, throwing and catching to get ready for the upcoming season with the Phillies and the KCK RBI baseball league. What a gift this break has been for them to have so much extended time together. Charlie has an awesome Daddy!

Papaya- The Toucan Can! A Trip to La Paz Waterfalls by Caroline Meek, age 14

2013-02-27T05:52:00.000-08:00

What can the Toucan do? The Toucan can.....eat a bucket load of papaya. The Toucan can......dump that same papaya (in digested form) on the head of some poor person who only entered that cage to observe the Toucan, not to be immersed in it. In short, the Toucan can ruin a good hoodie. Or at least get it pretty nasty.

You may be wondering why I sound like an expert of the amazing abilities on the Toucan. Could it possibly be that I have some experience in this field? Maybe. Last Saturday, we went to LaPaz - a beautiful waterfall park, with a butterfly garden and much, much, more........

Our trip started with a 2 hour ride up the mountains in 2 vans full of most of the 1st trimester students from ILE (the Spanish school). In a car full of talking and lots of fun, Annie and I worked on friendship bracelets, talked to our neighbors, and I even tried to read a bit of the Hunger Games in Spanish. Didn't get very far. About an hour into it, we all stopped at a little restaurant that had a bathroom and a beautiful garden across the road. We were served some great bread and an incredible strawberry shake!! We got about 15 minutes to explore the little area and stretch our legs. A part of the trail went down out of the garden into the trees that were right there and went in a little arc till it came back into the open - the trees were amazing!! There was this huge plant......with giant leaves that stretched way over my head - probably like 15 feet tall?! Back in the garden, after going up the very steep (not to mention slightly wet) and narrow trail, we were all a little cold, because the air was significantly different - colder and cleaner - up so high. Luckily I had brought along my hoodie. :) We found this huge plant with leaves that were almost 4 feet long! Then we got back on the bus for another 45 minutes.

First stop was the bird cages - bright little birds that flitted around almost too fast to be seen, to big turkey-like ones that perch on the railing or right on the walkway. You were in the cage with them - among them - it was awesome! At first it was a bit misty, and even rained a bit, but eventually it all cleared up. There was this one small turquoise bird that I saw a ways away that was just beautiful. After walking around for a bit, we went through the gate and chains that hung down to the ground to keep the birds in. A little section right off the open area was the toucan cage. I just love toucans! They are so bright, and their big beaks are amazing! Anyway, the trainer there would call them and they would come down and sit right on our arm! Or head. :)

I know that you might be thinking that you know what I'm about to say happened next. Nope. Wrong. Next, we safely left the toucan cage without any mishap, except a few times we got a scare by realizing we were standing directly under a branch on which a toucan or two perched heavily over our heads. We walked a while on the beautiful path, till we came to the Butterfly house. We had come here once 10 years ago when we were here before (most of the rest is new), and it is incredible.

You are surrounded by butterflies of all different colors and sizes. They soar above you, and sometimes even land on your head or arm!! There are little feeding bowls all around that they all come to......it was amazing.

Next - probably my favorites. The Hummingbirds. It literally felt like they were almost touching you as they zoomed right past your ear! I could hear them making little chirping sounds, and even felt the wind a few times as they rushed by. My instinct was to duck every time one went past - for fear of getting poked! But they of course never collided with anything.

I could stand two feet away from the feeders, and within seconds hummingbirds would be fluttering by the feeder, darting in and out, or just sitting on the edge. Here are some more pictures, along with some interesting facts on those amazing birds!!!!

We also got to see some oxen, and the little kids go to ride in the cart for a bit! Then we entered the woods on a trail that went to the waterfalls - a lot of stairs. The waterfalls were amazing too. Have you ever stared at a waterfall for at least 15 seconds, then looked at the surrounding cliffs? If you ever do, you experience the optical illusion that the cliffs is shifting upwards!! It is so weird! We walked over trails that soaked our shoes, and on bridges than went over the rivers that came from the falls. At one point, there was a place where the river ran straight off the cliff into another waterfall, and we saw it from the top! I love waterfalls.

After catching the van back to the front of the 'park', everyone split up to wander around and look at various things - we revisited the Toucan cage.

Sadly, I was the last one out of the cage after we had watched them for a few minutes - the moment I had shut the gate behind me one of those beautiful birds dropped its lunch on me. :P Yuck.

Anyway, La Paz was amazing! I loved all the different animals, and especially the beautiful waterfalls. It is incredible all the differences each part and place of the Earth has, and how it can vary so much!! Here are some more pictures.

beautiful flowers!!!!!!!!!!

hello parrot!

an albino squirrel!

there was a frog cage - with poisonous frogs. Also some frog eggs just sitting on a leaf!

macaws

the oxen

..............................................

Missing everyone!

~Caroline Meek

Summer Bible Camp Fun at Berea

2013-02-14T03:57:00.000-08:00

When we were here 10 years ago, we attended a church nearby called Berea. The members reached out to us in a very special way and always made us feel at home. Two particular families went out of their way to meet our needs as foreigners in a strange land. Eduardo and Paola and Edwin and Zeidy took care of us, helped us with our spanish, explored Costa Rica with us and in essence became like family to us. In fact, it was the love and friendship that these two families showed us that gave Jarrett the desire and vision to return home after our time in Bolivia to begin a ministry that reached out to the foreigners in our own country.

Recently Berea had their summer bible camp for all the children and our kids were excited to participate. It won't surprise you that Caroline and Annie jumped right in as volunteers, helping with some dramas, songs and small group discussion times. The kids traveled around the world in 5 days learning about the different cultures in Egypt, Peru, France, China and Australia. Here are some photos from their week.

"Doctor" Paola and Eduardo the pilot with Caroline the Peruvian

"Doctor" Paola helps with one of the dramas.

Annie helps stamp passports as the kids board the plane.

Charlie boards the plane.

The Peruvian Crew

Of course, Annie finds a baby to love on...Paola's youngest son, Jacob.

Charlie made some new friends.

Singing fun songs

Costa Rica: 10 Years Ago

2013-01-27T13:44:00.000-08:00

Here are some precious pictures that brings back many memories of our days here in Costa Rica 10 years ago. Caroline was 4 and Annie was 2 then and our days adjusting here with little ones were much more challenging. In the second picture, it is Ms. Monica holding Annie, who is now Lucy's teacher, pictured in a previous post about Lucy's school day. It is so neat to return here and still get to be with some of the teachers the girls had. Caroline's kinder teacher, Ulda, is still here also. Annie and Lucy are very similar in looks and personality, so it is even more fun for Monica since she remembers Annie well.

A Day at the Feria

2013-01-27T13:39:00.001-08:00

Every Saturday, Jarrett takes the kids to the "feria" which is a farmers' market full of fresh fruits and vegetables. They have a great time there and usually get a chance to see some of their friends. The feria is located right beside the soccer fields and track where Jarrett also takes the kids regularly for their daily PE class. These kids have been running almost every day of the school week, except this past week when they were participating in the summer bible camp at our church. More on that later. :) We took a picture of all the kids on the metal playground because we have a picture of the girls playing on that from 10 years ago when we would regularly visit the feria also. They sure have grown!

A Day in the Life of Lucy Meek, age 5

2013-01-20T18:13:00.002-08:00

While Jarrett homeschools Caroline, Annie and Charlie during the day, Lucy has the opportunity to attend school with me at the Institute where she is enrolled in a Spanish speaking preschool and kindergarten class. Each morning we walk to school together to arrive at our classes by 7:20. The sun comes up early in Costa Rica, usually by 5:45. Lucy starts her day in Ms. Monica's class, the preschool teacher. Coincidentally, Monica was Annie's teacher 10 years ago when little Annie was only 2 years old. It is such a treat for Monica to have Lucy in her class. Although she is a bit older than the other students, it is a great chance for her to be immersed in Spanish. She loves it!

At 10:00 she moves next door to Ms. Victoria's kindergarten class when they move to all-Spanish speaking instruction. There she learns what she would normally be learning in kindergarten but instead in Spanish. When I asked Lucy what her 3 favorites things are about going to Sojourn Academy, she replied: 1. Getting to share her day with Ms. Monica and Ms. Victoria. 2. Having her daily snack time with Ms. Monica and 3. Getting 3 recess each day. :) Some things never change. She enjoys making new friends, with her fellow students being both from Costa Rica and the states.

My classes end by 12:15 and I wait for Lucy's to end at 1:00 and we walk home together. It is a wonderful time for us to spend just she and I.

Just What's In Our Costa Rican Freezer??

2013-01-13T17:37:00.000-08:00

In case you were wondering what the Meeks currently have in their freezer, I thought I would give you a sneak peak. A Costco-size bag of chocolate chips that we brought with us, 5 mint Girl Scout cookies and a few leftover Christmas mint M&Ms. Are you glad to know that we have our nutritional priorities right?

First Week: Colones, Sore Feet, Old and New Friends, and More Memories Resurfacing! Also Ink and Paper. A lot of it. By: Caroline Meek, age 14

2013-01-10T14:27:00.000-08:00

Hi again! The first week here in Costa Rica has gone by super quickly. A blur of many different things. Many times, when I walk past a store, or see a certain room at the Spanish School, my mind still gropes around, and for an instance there is a flashback from 10 years ago that I can't place. We've seen some of our old amigos lately, and made some new ones. :) Our dad has us running two miles every day at the nearby track, except for weekends, so we are getting back into shape. It doesn't come quickly though!! That, added to the fact that we walk everywhere (I've only been in a vehicle once in the last week, and that was a bus!) has made for a week of very sore legs that protest at even small exertion. I love the routine here. Here's what a typical school day looks like for the Meek kids and their Principal. :)

6:30 - Wake up, and make breakfast
7:45 - School begins
10:00 - Snack time - usually bread from the bakery :) Mmmm.
12:00 - Work out!! 2 miles at the Track
12:45 - Lunch Time

The rest of the afternoon is mainly resting, visiting, doing homework or shopping, if there is nothing else planned. :)

I feel like it's been a major change in schedule, one that has been really good for me. The weather has also been beautiful, no rain, and not too hot. One of the things that I have been doing a lot in my free time is writing. All kinds of stuff. Most of it connected with the book I'm writing, whether actually writing it, or just spending time writing out pages and pages of ideas and brainstorms. I had an dream the other night (borderline nightmare) and woke up at 6. I spent 45 minutes writing the whole dream out - it was super complex and sounded like the perfect base for a short story. It dealt with time, past, present, and future, and going between the three - it was so complicated that I look back at it now and wonder what I was writing. The concept of changing the time, interfering between two different times, and being able to see both happening at the same time is hard to grasp - it made so much more sense in my dream though!! But many things have been the subject of my writing here, and when it comes, it does so in large quantities, periods of fast scribbling to try to keep up with my line of thought. I never can seem to write fast enough. The novel I'm writing with my friend is going better than I dreamed - we're starting chapter 10, and all is going well. There is that slight problem of the large vague spot fast approaching after the next few chapters, involving the main flesh of our story, but I'm sure we'll get that thought though soon enough. It's just a matter of sitting down and conquering it. :)
The last week has been a mix of peace, fun and activity. Here are some of the highlights of the past few days:

Saturday, January 5:
Today we went to the Ferria - the market place that is held in a park every Saturday. A path through the middle of two rows of temporary stalls that hold everything from tomatoes and pineapple to ginger root and cacti. We had been given a long list of items to acquire by my mom, and Team Meek set out to track down some fresh produce. Charlie and Lucy quickly deserted ship to play up at the playground with our neighbors, but Annie and I and our Coach started to fill up our cart with food. Mangoes, potatoes, ginger, plantains, onions, pineapple, tomatoes, beans, and more. Also limes. We bought 20 of the little guys for under two dollars. Later, when we got home and cut one open, we found they weren't exactly limes: the insides were as orange as any orange. Zeidy later told us that they were like limes, but slightly sweeter. We ended up using the whole batch to make a sort of limeade drink that was so good! After a while of shopping, we rounded up the kids and headed back home. After lying everything out on the table for mom's approval, we did the math and the whole day's pickings came out at just over 20 dollars!

Our friends Edwardo and Paola came over for dinner. Their two children, Andres and Jacob are getting to be so old! They are the cutest. At ages 6 and 1 and a half, we had a fun time playing with them. It was also great to catch up with them. I am beginning to feel that my Spanish is reviving; speech is starting to come easier, and I am slowly getting more comfortable with just talking even if I'm not sure if what I'm saying is correct.

Our friends Andres and Jacob

Sunday, January 6:
Sunday, we went to church today. Visited the church we had belonged to when we were here almost 11 years ago - the church Berea. The worship time was amazing, just being there was so good. My mind again tried to recall and recognize the church without too much success. I did remember some though. Annie and I went up to a youth group for 13-15 or-something-year-olds. I met some girls there - I can't wait to get to know some of them! Monica and her family came over for lunch, and just hung out for the rest of the afternoon. We had a Blitz tournament with us girls, while the men went out for a bit. It was really fun to just hang out with them for a while. :)

Monday, January 7:
Another day at the track...and the first official day of school! I am keeping up with my classes at Brighton, (Biology, World History, and Writing) as well as the usual home subjects (Math, Reading, and Geography). Everything is going very well with that. Later in the day we went to the Central Mercado with Zeidy and Monica. We had to catch bus to get there to rendezvous with them. First time this trip, and we got a double-decker! Those are pretty rare around here, you hardly ever get one. It was amazing, driving along, almost even with the roofs of the one-story buildings. When we got off, we walked a while to meet them. There were so many people there, all so unique too. In Costa Rica, I have really loved how the people are so friendly. At least two of three times while we were on our way, someone helped us, by giving us directions, or walking with us some of the way. I really like that. The Central is a large, crowded place where there are a ton of people selling different things. Hammocks, tee-shirts, coffee, and fresh fruit, you name it! We got a few things, then went to a different market. After shopping for a while, we stopped by the ice cream store Pops, and got a treat! My favorite is the Brownie Dynamite - So. Good. We sat down at the edge of the the big square of downtown. There are a ton of pigeons here, so of course Charlie was occupied immediately after finishing his ice cream. He seemed to find it extremely amusing to make a game out of chasing them....... as for the pigeons...I don't know. I doubt they had such a fun time of it.

I also took this picture of a palm tree with the sun directly behind it. So beautifully bright.

Wednesday, January 9:
At the Sojourn Academy that is connected to the Spanish Institute, there are a couple of after school activities you can do, even if you don't attend the school. Annie and I got signed up to do volleyball! It is a group of boys and girls grades 7+. I have never officially played volleyball, unless you count out in the backyard with a beach ball....... It was really fun! I have wanted to play a sport for a long time, and I think I am really going to enjoy this one. Everyone there was really nice, and I met some girls too that seem really fun. :) Our team has 17 total...13 girls and 4 boys. A great day!

..................................................

One more note: Charlie found two more coins on the street in the last few days!! Lucky! He's going to get rich if he makes a habit of this!!

At Monica's house

~Caroline M.

P.S. All ye take good note of what happens when children are left to themselves un-monitored for thirty minutes with duck tape. Just for future notice.

Costa Rica: Our First Night Photos

2013-01-08T17:53:00.001-08:00

After landing New Year's Eve, we were greeted by our dear friends, Edwin, Zeidy and Monica. We drove to our place to have sandwiches and to ring in the New Year, Costa Rican style. It was a fabulous night of fireworks, friendships and fun!

Greetings From Costa Rica: By Caroline Meek, age 14

2013-01-04T19:54:00.001-08:00

January 1st, 2013

around 1 a.m.

I am writing this in Costa Rica, at the beginning of the New Year, while fireworks explode all around the apartment we are temporarily staying in. (We'll later move to a permanent house that we'll stay in for the rest of the time.) Music is playing loudly across the street, and people are dancing. A few minutes ago, we watched the firework display that surrounded us from a balcony connected to our apartment with our Costa Rican friends, Edwin, Zeidy, and Monica. It was hard to know where to look, with constant fireworks that went off in all directions, demanding your attention! It was a perfect night to arrive, and it was almost like they were putting a welcome show for us! :) Some neighbors across the narrow street were setting off some big ones, and a few went off so close to us that some of us screamed (mainly the kids:) and ducked down; we could actually feel some of it falling on us! It was amazing to be so close to them. Also, you could see near the horizon, and even nearer to us, little glowing lights that seemed to float up into the sky and disappear. These were actually floating lanterns, like in the movie 'Tangled', and it was so cool to see them; they were beautiful!! And there were a lot of them too, you could see them rising up from the horizon.

Thankfully, the trip here was possibly the smoothest one I can remember, as we seem to have a large record of mishaps associated with flying. :) Our passports were all in order (thanks goodness!!) and we had no major delays! As our flight took off from KC this morning, it was just starting to snow. In Dallas, it had recently stopped raining. Then, when we got out of the airport here, it kinda like Spring, slightly humid, warm with a beautiful breeze. That's one of the things I love about Costa Rica: the weather. I love Spring, and here it almost always feels like that! And also the smell of the air, (when it's not polluted) is the best. The fact that I'm here is still kind of sinking in - driving back from the airport, in some parts of the city, I could imagine for a moment that I was still in Kansas City, or something like that. Except for the weather, all the signs and stuff in Spanish, and the palm trees that lined almost every street. Hahaha. All the trees are different here....more on that later.

Annie and I rode with Edwin, Zeidy, and Monica while the rest of the family rode in the van that had came to pick us up. It felt kind of like being dumped into a different world, suddenly surrounded by only Spanish. (Except for Monica some, who is 16, she knows a lot of English. But we mainly spoke Spanish with her too.) I just had to listen, and force my mind into all my Spanish that had been pushed back or forgotten. I feel like in just a short time I have begun to feel more comfortable with Spanish, improving and remembering.

I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year!! Welcome 2013! Costa Rica. What a great way to start the New Year.

Here's a video of the fireworks we saw from the balcony........

Here is the view from the plane window......

and the sunset....

my two sleepy cabin mates.....

................................................................................

January 1st

around 9:30 a.m.

This morning I awoke to light from the window, then the amazing breeze and fresh air. I look out my window and the first thing I see is a large palm tree right outside! Also, a big rose bush with beautiful yellow roses. It's actually real! I'm still in Costa Rica! For a quick snack for breakfast I had some delicious mango juice, and one of my favorite CR chocolate bars called a "Yipy". Yippee!! I took these out to the walled-in patio that is our backyard, with my book, and read for a good while in the morning air. There's a palm tree out here too :) And a lot of flowers. The backyard is really only about 15 ft. by 15 ft., but it is so nice.

Later today........

Today we visited the park, which is right down the street, only like 100 feet away. :) Edwin drove us over to their house and we had breakfast and spent a lot of the day with them. We also walked up to see the house we will be staying in for the rest of the time.

Some notable events of the day......

- Charlie found 50 colones on the street, which is worth about a dime.

- Annie, Monica, and I played an exhilarating game of volleyball laying down on our beds with a green balloon, in which Monica fell off the bed twice. :)

January 2nd

We got to move into our house today! It's a pretty nice size, and once we got used to it, we love it!! I love the feeling of the open windows that let the air run through the whole house. We went to the park for a bit, but the whole day was mostly spent settling in, and unpacking. For dinner we went to a Brazilian pizza place called Paulista's. It was great! On the way home we got some groceries and bread for the next day. It was fun getting to walk everywhere!

January 3rd

Papaya for breakfast. Interesting, but not too bad. :) Also eggs and some delicious bread from the bread shop. They were like apple cinnamon rolls! My mom went to ILE (the Spanish learning Institute) for her first orientation, which lasted for the whole day. Her classes start on Monday. Us kids plus our dad went on a walk through the city, to two different parks, which were beautiful! One of the parks has a running track that goes around it, and we are planning to use that a lot. :) Around lunch time we came back home. We have two neighbors, one on each side, that both go to the Institute. One of the families has four children, two girls and two boys: Tayler, almost 13, Tori, 8, Clayton, 11, and Cody, 7. So we swapped Charlie for Tayler and Tori, and got to know them for the whole afternoon! They are really fun, and we taught them how to play Dutch Blitz :) It will be really fun to have neighbors with kids our age!

These first few days have been wonderful, so peaceful. I love the lifestyle, and can't wait to keep exploring and getting to know the neighborhood. More posts soon!

~ Caroline Meek :)

Photo Review of 2012: December

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DECEMBER: After serving with Mission Adelante for seven years, the Meek family will be entering four months of rest, renewal, and further equipping. We will spend our sabbatical in Costa Rica while I study Spanish at the Spanish Language Institute and Jarrett home schools the kids and enjoys a break from the normal routine. We are so thankful for this opportunity to share life as a family in another country again. We appreciate your prayers that this time would be a unique season of family bonding and rest for us and that we return ready and refueled for our next season of ministry with Mission Adelante.

Photo Review of 2012: November

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NOVEMBER: What an exciting time we had at the annual Passion Awards when the National Christian Foundation recognized and celebrated Mission Adelante along with 11 other ministries. The event was attended by our Latino and Bhutanese communities, and it was a beautiful time sharing in the celebration of what God in doing in Kansas City and around the world.

Photo Review of 2012: October

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OCTOBER: After a year and a half of a lot of visa paper work and dead ends, Yanelis, our friend and director of the RAICES ministry in Cuba, was finally able to come stay with us for three weeks for a training visit at Mission Adelante. Our family fell in love with her and we had such a great time laughing together and sharing our life with her. We loved having her here as a part of our family and ministry community and look forward to a return visit someday.

Photo Review of 2012: September

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SEPTEMBER: Adelante staff and volunteers hit the road for a training trip to the Christian Community Development Association’s (CCDA) annual conference in Minneapolis. We had a great time bonding as a ministry family and getting a bigger picture of urban and cross-cultural ministry here in the United State and around the world. Also this year Annie discovered she is a natural guitar player and has been growing in her abilities. As a result, she now leads our house church worship time and occasionally has been a part of the worship team when all of the house churches come together for our collective church service.

Photo Review of 2012: July

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JULY: We took a fun, family vacation to Chicago to celebrate the marriage of JJ Oslund and Michelle Morency. Michelle was an Adelante intern two summers ago (and was subsequently adopted by our family). Lucy was invited to be a part of their wedding as one of the flower girls. It was a beautiful celebration, and we had a great time sight-seeing in Chicago while we were there.