A taste of home, and the view from here!

Hey everybody!

Here are some pictures from the last couple weeks! The top one is at the Independence Day parade a couple weeks ago and the bottom three I took Friday night when we went out to eat.

This morning we went to church and then went to a mall to eat lunch. I had a Wendy's double cheeseburger and it was FANTASTIC!!! I think we're ordering pizza tonight for supper so that should be good too!

God has continued to speak to me in awesome ways! Not being able to get online as much has allowed me to spend more time in the Word in the mornings before class. I've had some great devotion times early in the morning! Keep praying!

I love and miss y'all!

Evan

Saturday, September 27

Hey!

I hope all is well back home in the land of the free!

It's just a lazy Saturday morning here in Guadelupe. I can't believe how fast this week has gone by! Classes really make the days go by alot faster! I hope they continue to move quickly!

This morning a few other team members left to go to spend the day at a nursing home. The rest of us are going to another youth service at a church this afternoon.

Yesterday afternoon it was raining really, really hard so after class was over me and four other guys went running! We were running through runoff from the road that was up to our knees! We got soaked!

Last night we all went out to eat for one of the girl's birthdays. We all got dressed up and as we were walking to the restaurant it started pouring the rain again! Thankfully most of us had umbrellas! It was alot of fun!

I love you guys and thanks for the prayers! See ya in a few weeks!

Evan

Day 14

Hey everybody!

I hope all is well back home!

Today we started our second week of class. More Spanish! Yay! haha It's getting a little easier but most of it is still over my head.

Yesterday was our day off so a few of us went into San Jose again. We shopped at some of the markets and found a couple really neat shops.

They told us tonight that we wont be able to get online as much as we have been the last couple of weeks. I've been using my computer to call home so it's gonna be very tough not being able to call as much. I've been pretty homesick these last couple days and finding that out certainly didn't help. I miss home pretty bad but 2 Corinthians 12 says that when we are weak, He makes us STRONG!

God has continued to reveal Himself to me in so many new ways and I can't wait to see what else He is gonna show me!

Thanks for all your prayers! I couldnt do it without them!

Evan

1 down, 11 to go!

Well I made it! I survived my first week of class! I'm starting to get just a little bit of a grasp on Spanish. We've been learning about verb tenses and articles and proper nouns and all that stuff. Half that stuff I don't even know in English so its been a tough week. Now only 11 more weeks to go! haha It has made the days go by very fast though.

Its been very rainy here the last couple of days. Not much sunshine. I'm still getting used to the food (either its getting worse or I'm just missing Mama's cooking more and more) haha

Tomorrow we are going back to church for a youth service so I'm excited about leaving the Villa. I've only been out one time since monday and that was just for an hour.

I hope everything is going great back home! I love and miss everyone of you!

Evan

First Day of School

Hey everybody!

We just finished our first full day of school! We had four hours of Spanish this morning and two hours of Bible after lunch. I have never, ever been so confused! haha I think I heard more Spanish in those four hours then I had in my whole life! I've got a long ways to go before I'm able to speak it but almost everybody else is in the same boat with me. I've got quite a bit of homework to do before class tomorrow too. I'm very glad that we started classes though. All the down time was starting to get to me. Today has gone by much, much faster than any other day so far.

I hope everything is going great back home! I miss it!

Evan

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Hey everybody!

Its about 7:25 your time on Sunday. We have all just been hanging out here at the Villa this afternoon and I just got done watching the Patriots - Jets game.

This morning we went to church and it was quite an experience! We sang a couple hymns and then Ron Bishop (the head honcho of SCORE Intl.) preached a really good message. After that we had a little break and then the pastor of the church preached for another hour. It ended up being about a 2 1/2 hour service! It was really neat to see how other cultures worship though!

Before we left I got to watch part of the 9:00 am service online! It was really great to get to see everybody back home!

After church we got to go out to eat! The food down here is pretty good but it definitely ain't mama's cookin! Lots of beans and rice and there sure ain't sweet tea :-/ Tonight we're eating pizza for supper so I'm pretty excited about that!

Our classes don't start till this Tuesday so we've had ALOT of free time this week, and that means ALOT of time to sit around and think about home. It seems like we've been here for two weeks already but I'm sure after we start classes it will go by alot faster. I'm starting to get more settled in now and getting to know everybody better. They all seem really great!

God is continuing to show me new things in His Word every time I open it! He has already taught me lessons that I wouldnt have learned at home! The more I get settled in, the more I get excited about what I'm going to learn these next few months.

I love and miss all y'all!

Evan

Mi Casa!

Hey guys! Evan sent us a few pics of the place he's staying.

We thought we would share with you. It's quite a change of scenery! Enjoy!

Whitney & Tracey

First Spanish Class

Hi all!

It's 12:00 pm here right now on Friday and we just finished our first Spanish class. Wow! I'm in way over my head! haha We had to partner up with other people on the team and introduce them to the teachers in Spanish! It wasn't too easy :-/ but I'm sure we'll all pick it up real quick. It got me wanting to learn Spanish though!

Yesterday we rode the city bus into downtown San Jose to look around at some of the shops. After we got back to the Villa we ate supper and then had a really great time of worship! It's amazing to watch God show up at a worship service in another part of the world!

The sun comes up really early here so I have been getting up around 5:30 every morning. It's been great to be up early and spend a lot of time in the Word and not have to hurry to be anywhere.

Yesterday another guy on the team bought a guitar so, if he'll let me play it, I'll have something to pick!

I hope all is well back home and I miss all of you! Thanks for your prayers!

Evan

Howdy from Costa Rica!

Hey everybody! I hope everything is going great back in NC! I already miss all of you like you wouldn't believe! It's our second full day here at the "Villa" so everybody is still getting settled in. There are 24 other students on the team and they all seem to be really nice people (even though most of them are from up north) haha. There are still a lot of things to get used to: I've got three other guys in my room, they don't have wash cloths down here, and we can't flush the toilet paper! Gross! But after a while I'm sure we will all adjust. Yesterday we had a lot of free time so I was able to read for several hours (a first for me) and God showed me some awesome things! He has already been revealing new things in His word and showing me that He is my ultimate comfort, not home! Even though it's very, very tough being so far away from home and knowing that I'm not leaving any time soon, I know I can rest in Jesus and He will provide the strength for me to get through it! Thanks for all of your prayers! I love y'all!

Evan