Angels Unawares

My first week in Costa Rica, I headed to Walmart to buy a few things no other stores had. The store is officially called "Hipermás" here, but they can't fool me! I was dragging my heels to shop there but later I found out that before Walmart was allowed to enter Costa Rica, they had to agree to a list of things so they couldn't take advantage of the situation or the people here. Employees at Hipermás have it good. I think mom and pop shops are probably still suffering because of the mega-store, but now I feel better for buying a fan there!

That day, I found the things I was looking for, well, most of them, and took a pit stop while my friend watched our cart. In the bathroom, out of nowhere, my nose started bleeding--hardcore. I've never had a nosebleed before and didn't know what to do. I had wads of TP holding the gusher in and had my nose in the air (for all the right reasons). A lady stopped me at the sink. "Are you okay? Here, you need a cold compress, let me get some toilet paper." She wadded up a bunch and splashed some water on it.

As she held it up to my forehead, she said "And now we need to ask Jesus to heal you," all matter-of-fact. Before I could respond (and she was not concerned about whether or not I agreed!) she started to pray, "Jesus, we know you can reach down and touch your daughter here and heal her immediately. Please do that for your glory." I was smiling and praying with her and she seemed encouraged when she looked up at me, so she continued, "Holy Spirit, heal and protect your daughter, that you love, so she can continue to live for you."

The nosebleed stopped immediately. She patted me on the back, told me I would be fine and that Jesus would take care of me, and told me again that He was good. I agreed and she went out the swinging bathroom door. I threw away the toilet paper compress and followed her out. I kind of had a suspicion that she wouldn't be anywhere in sight and sure enough, in the big, open, empty hallway, there was no one. My friend was the only person coming toward me. "Are you okay?" she called out. "Yes, but did you see anyone out here?" "No," she replied, and that confirmed it for me. Angels can look like well-dressed Costa Rican grandmas, right?

Food, Glorious Food!

No one can convince me that I suffer much as a missionary, because I really enjoy a lot about Latin American life and culture! As you move into another culture, one of the first things you might notice is the food, so I'll start there! I feel I need to point out that I believe I have successfully executed my duty as Nathan's auntie to introduce him to classic foods by bring Cheetos into his life! You can't get those in Peru, so there were several bags of Cheetos at my goodbye party at the airport. You can tell that Nathan enjoys them as much as I do if you check out his orange-y, cheesy fingers and smile!


My travel from Portland to Peru took 24 hours, and part of that was a 5-hour layover in San Jose, Costa Rica. Yes, I was heading to Costa Rica the subsequent week to start language shchool, but my cheaptickets.com itinerary just happened to take me through San Jose on the way to Peru! I landed in the international airport in Costa Rica at 5am, bleary-eyed from the all-night flight. I dragged my bags into the tiny food court where I found...Burger King! I'm not a fan of fast food, but this was a fun introduction to Costa Rican food. If you want breakfast at Burger King in Costa Rica you get: gallo pinto (rice & beans), egg, and coffee. It can also come with tortillas for a little extra. Yummy!


Once in Lima, Peru (for 4 full days), I managed to indulge in a few Peruvian classics. Those are "chifles" on the left: thin, crispy, salty banana chips, and that's "cancha" on the right, which is toasted corn (think really natural corn nuts).


As a special treat, my friend Deborah and I met at Mangos, which has a lot of my favorite Peruvian dishes, and is perched inside a cliff overlooking the Pacific ocean. God does a good job of taking care of His loved ones, doesn't He?