Mother's Day

Thursday night we had church service here at "Agape" (Agape is the name of the main church that Dimas preaches), and it was another awesome service.

Many of the church people here work with a goodwill type of clothes store. Friday Cesar needed us to help him transport and unload clothes at the different stores. There is also a Bodega (warehouse) where they work which contains bundles of clothes. The main Bodega and store is here in Alajuela, and there are 4 other stores all over Costa Rica. It is kind of like a Goodwill that Dimas and a friend of his started. The clothes are shipped here to the main Bodega, workers separate, iron, bag-up, and ship out the clothes to all the Bodegas. This provides employment for many of the members of the church.

So back to what we did Friday, we rode with Cesar in this big truck (not an 18 wheeler, but close), hauling the clothes that needed to be shipped out to the other stores across Costa Rica. We stopped at each one, asked them what the needed, gave it to them and moved on down the road. The farthest one from here is about 3 hours away in a city called Guanacaste. This took us just about all day to do.

Saturday was Mother's Day here in Costa Rica. Dimas and his family went out to eat lunch together, so Aaron and I got another chance to ride our bikes. We decided bold and brave was the answer, so we went on about a 12-15 mile ride to the center of Alajuela. The ride there was all up-hill, which is the way we like it. No bike ride here is flat, so we would rather bike up-hill somewhere and coast on the way back. Once we got to Alajuela, we found a Pizza Hut, which was a no brainer for me. It was across from a local Costa Rican restaurant so Aaron had hesitations, but with a little enticement, it didn't take long for Aaron to come back to his American senses. For the record, this was a great decision. With some unplanned detours we made it back home safe and sound. (video below is from the center of Alajuela in the park)

That night Aaron went out serenading with the youth here at Agape to the mother's of the church for Mother's Day, while I was invited to play soccer with Diego (Diego is an awesome guy we met that is going through a tough time with his marriage; please pray for him), Carli (Carlos a.k.a. Papaya, a friend of Dimas' family), and other Ticos that I had never met at an outdoor soccer field. Although Aaron seemed more tired than I did afterwards, both the match and the caroling were enjoyable.

Yesterday we had church in the morning from 9 to 12. We had a great service. Afterwards, Aaron and I cooked lunch for Enny and Dimas. I cooked a stir-fry with Zucchini, Carrots, and Broccoli, while Aaron arranged some sort of tasty steak and good-ole American Easy Mac. Surprisingly, Dimas loved the veggies and steak, but didn't care too much for the Easy Mac. After the lunch he asked me and Aaron if we could cook this same meal (I'm guessing without the Easy Mac) for a group from Agape of about 15 to 20 people. This can also go on the prayer list:). After eating with Dimas and Enny for lunch, we raced down the road to Palmares for the service at the other church that Dimas pastors. It was another awesome experience in which we worshipped and celebrated mother's day as well.

Last night we had another soccer match in which the Gringos (Aaron and I) lost. Our feet just don't quite work like theirs yet, but we're getting there.