Well, Mike Roseberry and I have one of those Christ-bonded friendships that was birthed in our first-year small group at UVa. And the week after I had that amazing team from UVa come to work with me down here, Mike came to Costa Rica to hang out.
The two of us got to work construction for 3 days (1 at the Children’s Home in Coronado and 2 at the Children’s Community Center in Puerto Viejo), as well as hit the road to see the sights. And boy did we see. We were blessed with the chance to take an overnight rafting trip on the Pacuare River, full of 30 km of rafting and one afternoon of zip-lining. It was sweet. And the lodging we had, on an old coffee/chocolate farm over looking the rapids, was on priceless property.
But here’s the funniest part from Mike’s visit: from Puerto Viejo we took a bus to Guapiles, and then Siquirres, and then Turrialba (the base camp for our rafting trip). While at the bus station in Siquirres, we met an elderly couple from Turrialba. I started chatting it up with the lady, and Mike just sat there as we talked for a good 20 minutes or so. Then, at the end of the conversation, Mike saw me pull out my cell phone, and the lady, Flor, also pulled hers out.
“What are you doing?” asked Mike, with that half-curious half-scared tone of voice.
“We’re going to their house today, maybe for dinner, maybe just to hang out. We’ll see . . .” I answered. Mike thought I was nuts.
However, our trip to Flor and Sergio’s house in El Mora, just 3 km outside of Turrialba, was one of the highlights of our trip. We spent 3 hours at their house talking with them, their daughters and their grandkids, just chatting it up about life in Turrialba, Costa Rica, and the States.
They offered us coffee and arepas (my favorite Costa Rican food) and we sat there just talking away. One of the coolest parts of the evening: the Bible was probably quoted at least 15 times during our 3 hour stay at their house. They were a beautiful family, and they stayed strong in their belief in Jesus, even with all the unfortunate things they had seen in different churches over the years.
One of their daughters, Cynthia, who had two adorable little kids, Josua and Maria Celeste, would just not stop talking. It was hilarious. She just kept going. I’m still surprised Mike stayed awake (he has sleeping problems) for the Spanish conversation. But a funny side note about Cynthia’s husband: he works at a Rawlings baseball manufacturing plant/sweatshop in Turrialba and sews together 200 baseballs a week in only 3 days (he’s won numerous prizes as the best worker in the factory, too). So think about that next time you pick up a Rawlings baseball . . .
Mike and I probably could have stayed at their house for another 3 hours, but we had to take a bus back to Turrialba. So out the door we went, exchanging warm goodbyes that ended with Mike giving his UVa hat to Josua, the little grandkid of Flor and Sergio (so if you see a UVa hat wandering around Turrialba, you know where it came from).
We then stood on a dark street by an unlit bus stop for a good 25 minutes, being approached only once by a rather drunk man asking for money. When we got back to our hotel and mentioned to Oscar, our hotel employee and Christian buddy, where we had been, he said: “El Mora? You’re lucky. That’s an incredibly dangerous area!”
Mike and I just laughed. It’s not like we randomly met some couple at a bus stop and then went to their house for 3 hours without knowing anything about them. Or did we?
And it was awesome.
However, our trip to Flor and Sergio’s house in El Mora, just 3 km outside of Turrialba, was one of the highlights of our trip. We spent 3 hours at their house talking with them, their daughters and their grandkids, just chatting it up about life in Turrialba, Costa Rica, and the States.
They offered us coffee and arepas (my favorite Costa Rican food) and we sat there just talking away. One of the coolest parts of the evening: the Bible was probably quoted at least 15 times during our 3 hour stay at their house. They were a beautiful family, and they stayed strong in their belief in Jesus, even with all the unfortunate things they had seen in different churches over the years.
One of their daughters, Cynthia, who had two adorable little kids, Josua and Maria Celeste, would just not stop talking. It was hilarious. She just kept going. I’m still surprised Mike stayed awake (he has sleeping problems) for the Spanish conversation. But a funny side note about Cynthia’s husband: he works at a Rawlings baseball manufacturing plant/sweatshop in Turrialba and sews together 200 baseballs a week in only 3 days (he’s won numerous prizes as the best worker in the factory, too). So think about that next time you pick up a Rawlings baseball . . .
Mike and I probably could have stayed at their house for another 3 hours, but we had to take a bus back to Turrialba. So out the door we went, exchanging warm goodbyes that ended with Mike giving his UVa hat to Josua, the little grandkid of Flor and Sergio (so if you see a UVa hat wandering around Turrialba, you know where it came from).
We then stood on a dark street by an unlit bus stop for a good 25 minutes, being approached only once by a rather drunk man asking for money. When we got back to our hotel and mentioned to Oscar, our hotel employee and Christian buddy, where we had been, he said: “El Mora? You’re lucky. That’s an incredibly dangerous area!”
Mike and I just laughed. It’s not like we randomly met some couple at a bus stop and then went to their house for 3 hours without knowing anything about them. Or did we?
And it was awesome.
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