Workin at the Orphanage

EMI hasn’t been all engineering and traveling.  Every week, Alfonso and I work at Hogar de Vida, an orphanage here in Atenas.  The day starts with a Bible study (in Spanish, of course) and then we are off to our various tasks.  One day I helped a team from the States mix cement so they could build a new septic system.  Another day, Alfonso and I helped clear logs that had been cut from fallen trees.  We have also cut the grass a few times, which has given me a new appreciation for self-propelled lawnmowers and gloves.  One week, we helped plant banana trees.  The orphanage wants to be more sustainable, so they are hoping to grow more of their own food.  We got to do our small part to help by digging holes in the side of a steep, muddy hill through grey, cement-like clay and planting 5 to 8 foot tall banana trees.  We have also helped cut weeds and small trees using machetes, and we still have all of our fingers.

It has been neat to think about the orphans while doing all of these things.  To remember we are cutting grass so orphans have a safe place to play or planting trees to the orphans can have food to eat.  

Intern Vacation! - Part 2: Boca del Torros

Once we got off the boat in Boca del Torros, we were greeted by many locals who wanted to show up to our hotel and to offer us boat tours the next morning.  We got to the hotel, and were a little bit surprised by the quality of the accommodations.  It turns out there were no private bathrooms, there was no water one day, and while we were trying to fix our key into the lock (they had given us the wrong key), we listened to a lady yelling about how there had been 5 attempted murders and that we should cleanse the hotel and forgive him… What a great welcome to the city!

After most of us had gotten over the initial shock of our living arrangements, we decided to explore the town.  We talked with several boat tour companies and arranged to have someone pick us up at the hotel the following morning to go island hopping.  That night we went to a restaurant called The Pirate and Bethanny, Matt and I split a 3.5 pound Red Snapper.  We got so many looks from the other people at the restaurant (customers and waitors), but the fish was great!

The next day we set out on our boat tour.  We began by going to a bay where there are a lot of dolphins.  We learned that dolphins like to play in the boat’s wake, so our captain would drive quickly in tight circles so we could watch the dolphins jump behind us.  Other times, he would turn off the engine so we could get closer to the dolphins.

After that, we went snorkeling.  We got to see some very colorful coral and a lot of small, colorful fish.  I also saw a jellyfish…boo.  We got out of the water as it started to rain.  To escape the rain, we retreated to a cabana on a near-bye island.  We weren’t the only ones who decided to wait out the storm; soon the cabana and dock were full of locals and tourists.  The owners turned up the music and we had a little party.  It was fun to relax and hang out with the other interns and see how Panamanians party.

Once the rain died down, we went to yet another island where we got to relax on a beautiful beach.  Trees on one side, rocks on the other, and beautiful sand in the middle.  A little boy who lived on the island showed us a small red frog that the island is named after (Red Frog Island).  We had expected to get to hike on the island, so we talked to the captain about it.  He said there was no hiking on the island, but for a small fee we could go to another island where his friend lives. J

On to the next island.  This part of the adventure began by taking the boat up a fairly narrow river.  We saw some toucans and other birds on our way to the friend’s house.  We eventually got to a small dock, got off the boat, and walked next to a banana orchard to get to a thatched-roof hut.  There was a family playing horse-shoes with some bottle caps, and a dog and several chickens running around.  A man came out of the house and the captain explained that we would like a tour of his property.  Apparently this leg of the tour wasn’t very common.  The friend agreed, and we began exploring.  First, he invited he to see a huge rat/ant-eater thing he had just caught that was living in a cage in his house.  Just behind his house he pointed out a three-toed sloth that was just above head-level.  It was fun to watch the sloth try to escape as he slowly looked from side to side and climbed up the tree.  After trekking through a muddy forest, the friend found a huge centipede, and later an orange and then a red frog.  Finally, we came to a cave.  We stepped inside, took some pictures, and were about to leave when he asked if we wanted to explore it farther.  Of course we said yes, so on we went.  The cave was full of bats that flew all around the entire time we were in the cave.  We also saw some nasty spiders, some beautiful stalactites, and we even drank some mineral water from a stalactite.  After leaving the cave, we made our way back to the friend’s house.  He cut down some sugarcane, peeled it, and cut it into small pieces for us before we left.  Back in the boat as we were leaving the island, we saw monkeys!  The captain turned off the boat and we watched the monkeys run around in the branches and jump from tree to tree.

After braving the hotel another night, Alfonso and I went kayaking before it was time to leave.  Then we took the boat to the van to the boarder to the next van to the bus and arrived back in Atenas in one piece.

What a great vacation!

Intern Vacation! - Part 1: Puerto Viejo

Last week there was an EMI conference in the States, so you know what that means: Intern Party!  All of the interns, along with our friend from language school, Katie, and Bethany’s boyfriend, Matt, took a few days off of work and went to some of the most amazing beaches I have ever seen.

The trip began with a long bus ride from Atenas to San Jose to Puerto Viejo in southern Costa Rica.  We spent the rest of the day exploring the town, eating seafood, and relaxing on the beach.  I spent that night sleeping outside in a hammock just because I could (I was under a mosquito net, of course…not that it helped.  I had 5 mosquitos trapped in with me all night). 

The next day, we went to an amazing place called Bread and Chocolate.  I ordered a mocha and they brought out a cup of homemade chocolate, a cup of milk, and a coffee press.  I made the mocha “wrong,” and put all of the chocolate in the first cup, along with a little milk and a little coffee.  So good!

After recovering from our food comas, we hiked through the woods on our way to the most beautiful beach I have ever seen.  It was completely undeveloped, and the forest went all the way up to the beautiful white sand beaches that gently flowed into the crystal-clear perfect temperature Caribbean Sea.  Its off-season right now, so there were very few people at the beach, locals mostly.  We spent the day taking pictures, playing in the water, taking naps, and building faces and hearts in the sand.

That afternoon, we explored a beach on the other side of Puerto Viejo called Playa Negra.  The sand on this beach is all black because it is made of volcanic rock.  The sand is very fine and very soft.  The water at this beach was also perfectly clear, and the perfect temperature to play around in while enjoying the unique sand.  That night, we explored the town a little more and got to listen to some live Reggae music.

The next morning began with an attempt at catching sunrise at Playa Negra (it wound up being too cloudy to get any great pics).  After that, took a van to the boarder, made our way through customs (which seemed optional for many people), and made our way across a former railroad bridge with wood (sometimes) nailed across the railroad ties to keep people from falling through.  After going through customs and paying our $1 tourism fee in Panama, we got in the van and drove to a dock.  At the dock, we hopped in a boat and made our way to Boca del Torros.

Part of the Family

So not to interrupt my post before it even gets started, but there was just an earthquake here!  According to USGS it was a 5.9 on the Richter scale.  Everything seems fine here, but wow!  At first it just felt like the ground was shaking because a big car was driving by.  It got stronger until it felt like trying to stand in the back of a pickup truck on a bumpy road.  All the birds and the dogs were going crazy outside, and every time a car drives by, I think its an aftershock.

Back to your regularly scheduled blog post: My host family has done a great job making me feel like part of the family.  They speak slowly to help me understand Spanish, they hug me when I come back from work, and my little tico brother and sister have learned the art of sitting on my feet while I walk around.

Henry made a picture of his family in kindergarten.  He drew me in the top left

 Last week my little tico brother and sister were playing house.  Of course I got to be their little kid.  They had a fort set up in the dining room (chairs with blankets over them and all the stuffed animals they had piled underneath).  They have a little plastic kitchen thing, and both of my little "parents" wanted to cook me all sorts of made up food.  They would bring me an empty plate and tell me about their amazing creations, and they would bring me an empty cup and tell me about how good their coffee is.  One time, Amy brought me a special cup of coffee and told me to drink it quickly.  At first I was just sipping it, so she kept yelling "Rapido, rapido!"  To make her happy, I made a motion as if to chug the entire cup of make-believe drink.  As it turns out, the little cup was actually full of real juice, which I had just poured all over myself and the floor....The kids laughed, I laughed (although was just a little embarrassed) and my real tico mom taught Amy a lesson about mixing real things and imaginary things.

A little later I was playing with the stuffed animals and a few hot wheels cars when Henry decided to call his grandmother.  Henry and Amy always take my cell phone to play with, and they call all sorts of people, from my "cousins" to people from other countries, so I thought very little of Henry's conversation.  He told me the phone was for me, so I answered in little-kid language, "Halo?  Como esta?" expecting to be carrying on a conversation with a conversation with an imaginary person as usual.  Imagine my surprise when I heard the voice of Henry's grandmother on the other end! I had a nice conversation with her, but what an experience.

 Amy, being too cool

There was a toucan in the back yard

Regular Life in Costa

Now that I am done with my project trip, it is time to get used to normal life.  I have been working in the office most days during the last 2 weeks.  I have been creating new autoCAD drawings for the hospital and updating drawings for a boy’s home in Guatemala that were created before I got to Costa Rica.  I also had the opportunity to help out at an orphanage.  There was a team here building a new septic system, so I helped them a little bit.  I also wound up helping them with some yard work, and I came back to the house super muddy (that makes it a good day).  I went to the orphanage later in the week to help someone move her furniture (refrigerator, stove, washer, dryer, and 2 beds) to her new house.  We also had a Bible study with the orphans.  It was neat getting to meet some of them and to see God’s hand on the hospital.

In Costa Rica, I am living with a pastor.  That means I have lots of Bible studies (in Spanish, of course).  At one of these Bible studies, I learned a game that is much harder in Spanish.  It’s called fishbowl.  In this game, everyone writes down names of famous people, musicians, athletes, movies, etc.  All the words are put in a bowl, and people draw one and have to get other people to guess the word.  The first time around, you can use any words except the words on the paper to describe it.  The second time around, you can only use one word, and the third time around you can’t use any words.  I learned that I don’t know many famous Costa Rican musicians or athletes, and my vocabulary is still very limited, but my team still wound up winning (other ppl on the team were really good at the game).

On another note, God is good.  I didn’t get much of a break last weekend, and all the Spanish and Bible studies and work in general were wearing on me.  Yesterday during my quiet time, God reminded me of Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”  What a great reminder!  Today, I was able to sleep in a little and work on some stuff for my wedding and play with my tico brother and sister a little.  It has been good to relax a little bit.  Please pray that I will have time to relax during all work and various activities that go along with living with a pastor.  I have been a lot busier than I expected, and it is starting to catch up with me.  !Gracias por las oraciones!

Guatemala!

What a great trip! I just spent the last 8 days in Chichicastenango, Guatemala working on the Good Samaritan Hospital. Our team consisted of a structural engineer, a hospital architect, a mechanical engineer, and an electrical engineer, as well as an architect, construction manager, and another intern from the Costa Rica eMi office. After examining the hospital, it became apparent that adding an eye clinic was more of a temporary fix to the hospital’s problems, so in addition to designing the eye clinic, our team compiled a list of immediate fixes, a 2-5 year plan for a hospital remodel, and a 10-20 year goal for the hospital.

Final Presentation (What a beautiful CAD drawing!)



Me and Rosco working in Chichi



Preliminary Presentation

I spent the next few days working with the hospital architect (Rosco), the structural engineer (Richal), and the other intern (Erika). Rosco reconfigured much of the existing layout to work much more efficiently, Richal made sure the building wouldn’t fall down because of the changes, and us interns created and updated the CAD drawings. I also worked with Rosco to create charts showing the planned expansion in the 2-5 and 10-20 year plans. I also got the chance to act as a translator as Richal and I went to material supply stores to determine the quality of the concrete, steel, and cinder blocks in Chichi.  I spent a few hours at the hospital with the construction manager (Josh) as we took all the measurements necessary to create a new as-built of the entire hospital. We measured all of the windows, doors, wall heights, and location of important features, and I will be creating a new as-built in the coming weeks. During the week, we also had two presentations to hospital administrators, doctors, and other people who were interested in the proposed changes.

The week wasn’t all work. We began every morning with a devotion and worship with the volunteers. We also shared testimonies throughout the week. What a great way to get to know the people you are working with! On a more somber note, one of the volunteers had to leave early to be with her mom who was not doing well after heart surgery. It was amazing to see her faithfulness as she went on the trip while her mom was in the hospital. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

I bought a painting and met the artist at the market!

We did get one day out on the town. Chichi is known for its huge, crazy street market, and we got to experience it first hand on Thursday. I again acted as translator as Rosco, Mike (the mechanical engineer) and I attempted to negotiate for the best prices on all sorts of souvenirs. We also got the chance to go out into the country to see a school and meet some of the locals. It was amazing to see the Mayan influence in Guatemala. The culture is nothing like Costa Rica or Mexico, and it was really neat to experience.

Thank for the prayers and support! Now that all of the crazy traveling is done(ish…), it’s time to adjust to “normal” life as I begin working in the office!



Little kids in a parade on Independence Day



In front of the hotel in the back of a truck

hmmm...

Should I be an architect?

Guatemala - Day 1

I made it to Guatemala! (The sign says "Estoy Aqui")

At our planning meeting this morning, the director (Tim) said that if we hear any explosions in the night that we shouldn’t worry…it is just the local witch doctors shooting off mortars. What a different place!

Today we looked at a hospital in Antigua to learn about local building practices and to look at the typical needs of a larger hospital in Guatemala. Then we checked on the progress of a previous eMi project, a school. After that, we braved the mudslide-covered roads and arrived safely at Chichicastenango. We will be looking at ways to add an eye clinic to the existing hospital, so we took a tour and met with someone who has worked with the hospital for a long time to find out what needs improvement. Tonight, we met with the hospital administrator and with the matriarch of the hospital to learn about their plans and goals, and learn how God has used this hospital to minister to people during civil wars and water shortages. This hospital (The Good Samaritan Hospital) is a great ministry for the town. Here are a few pictures from today’s adventures:

Antigua, Check out the cool colors and the cobble stone road!

Mudslide (There is road under there, I promise)

Panamoramic View from the top of the Hospital

Brief Update

I graduated from language school!  Thanks for all of the prayers and support; I have learned a lot and feel a lot more comfortable with Spanish.  I am far from being fluent, but I am able to communicate with my tico family (they are very patient with me).

The last week has been filled with many small adventures as I continue to explore Atenas.  With language school, all the interns went to a coffee processing plant where they produce from of the coffee used at Starbucks!  I also got to sample lots of coffee (black, no sugar) and I think I am becoming a connoisseur.

On the walk home from language school one day, some kids were looking up at a tree and called us over.  It turns out there was a sloth in the tree, just hanging out in front of someone's house.  What a cool place!

Last night my tico parents were running around all excited.  There was a caterpillar/butterfly trying to come out of its cocoon.  He didn't make it out last night, and is still there this morning, but it was neat to see its head sticking out and the cocoon shaking in the avacado tree in the back yard.

This thursday was dia de los ninos (kid's day).  My hermanito, Henry, went to school dressed up in clothes from the movie Cars (his favorite movie).  During the day, I also saw superman, a magician, and some princesses.  It was kind of like Halloween meets Christmas.  The kids get presents (I got Cars stuff for Henry and Disney princess stuff for Amy), and they can pretty much go wild all day.  So much fun!

I am about to leave for Guatemala for 8 days.  Please keep the team in your prayers as we work with local contractors and hospital staff in Chichicastenango.  We will be working on a master plan, structural, electrical, mechanical, and architectural drawings for the addition of an eye clinic to an existing hospital.  Please pray that I Spanish will come easily and that I will remember what I learned in school.  Thanks for the prayers and support as I head out of the country!

!Bienvenido a Costa Rica!

Mamon Chinos - A Sweet Sea Urchin/Eyeball-looking Yummy Fruit

Welcome to Costa Rica! I have been here for 2 weeks now, and it already feels like my home away from home. I am living here with an amazing Costa Rican host family. My tico (Costa Rican) dad is the pastor of the church I attend here, so there are Bible studies at the house or at church at least 5 days a week. They have been great opportunities to meet other ticos and to learn more about the culture. My tico mom is very involved in the church as well, leading Bible studies for the kids and helping run things smoothly. I also have a little brother, Henry (age 5), and a little sister, Amy (age 3). The first week, they ran away from me every morning. Since then, Amy has fallen asleep in my lap in the car, we have played tag, they have paraded around in my size 13 shoes, and continually begged me to throw them in the air and swing them around (I guess swing dancing does have its uses cross-culturally). My family loves to host others. Last night there was a party for the married couples in the church, so they had 30 people over while I helped babysit with Bethanny (another one of the eMi interns) and her tico family. Every Saturday and Sunday, we host a Uruguayan missionary couple that is studying at a Costa Rican seminary. We have also had meals with the other interns and with other members of the church. You never know who will show up (and it isn’t always announced or planned beforehand), so our family of four eats at a table set for six and the door is always open.

!Celebramos mi cumpleaños!

The focus of my first week was eMi orientation in Costa Rica. We had a daily Bible study with the eMi staff. We went through the book of Romans, and I was particularly challenged by Romans 10:14-15, which says:

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?

I was also encouraged (while struggling with a new culture and language) by Romans 8:28, which says:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

We also learned some do’s and don’ts (such as: Always greet everyone individually when you enter a room. This can take a while when entering a crowded room, but the Costa Ricans make it look natural. Never call others to yourself with your palm up; that’s how you call animals, and is very rude for people) We learned about the besito, which is a little kiss on the right cheek when greeting a woman (don’t get the side wrong, and don’t greet other guys like this!). During the week, the interns split up to do a photo scavenger hunt in the town to learn our way around. Some of the objectives included: ugliest street dog, shoddiest construction, and most unique fruit. We also had to go to the weekly street fair to buy food for lunch. That was an adventure because the vendors all speak Spanish, the fruits all look different and aren’t labeled, and the prices are different. (500 Colones = 1 Dollar, so fruit can cost hundreds of monies, and still be super cheap!)

My Oitside Classroom

The second week has been full of language school. School is located behind a house in gazebo-like huts with ten roofs and surrounded by all sorts of trees, including banana trees (and the bananas make great snacks, for students and birds!). The classes are pretty much private lessons; Bethany and I have a teacher to ourselves. During class, we have role-played, drawn pictures of stories read to us, danced and wrestled with the teacher, and talked about Diane a lot :) During school, I have seen some big birds, dogs, huge spiders, and fairly large lizards. The teacher laughs are how easily I am distracted by the wildlife, but it sure is cool!

It has rained every day so far…I live in a tropical rain forest.

Speaking of rain forest, yesterday we got to go to the beach and on a canopy tour! The beach was rocky, but the water was the perfect temperature. The canopy tour was amazing! I am scared (I say scared because I don’t know a better word) of heights, but this was a blast. There were 6 zip lines and a tarzan swing through a tropical rain forest. The platforms looked like the Ewok cities from Star Wars!

This week I had my first weekly mentoring time with Micah, one of the full time eMi staff members here. We met at a coffee shop and tried to figure out what we wanted to study. If you have any suggestions of good books to study, or books of the Bible, or books about marriage, please let me know.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support as I attempt to fit in to a new culture, build relationships with locals, and learn me some Spanish.

Orientation Week

So I finished Orientation! It was been a very busy week, full of meeting other interns, challenging myself, cultural training, and introspection. I have spent the last week in Colorado Springs with 26 other interns. It has been neat to get to learn about how God has been working in each of their lives as we shared our testimonies and talked in small groups. I was able to challenge myself by voluntarily trying out a high ropes course one day and rock climbing another day. Heights and I don’t get along so well, so climbing the ropes and the rocks were both big victories for me. It turns out both wound up being pretty fun too.

(That's me rock climbing!!)

Cultural training has been great. I have been learning about different construction practices and methods in different countries. During the week there were skits that showed some common mistakes when traveling and living cross-culturally. All the interns also had a scenario where half of the interns were the East and half were the West. We were given different traits representing our side and we had to figure out how to deal with the other side. It was pretty challenging trying to figure out how to not offend the other side, but it was fun to see how creative all the interns were as they really took on their roles.

One of the big focuses of the week was on self-discovery. Before coming to Colorado, I took spiritual gifts and strengths tests. Once I got here, I also took a personality test. We spent a lot of time talking about the results and seeing how our unique strengths can be used in the body of Christ. It was particularly neat as I got to know the other Costa Rica interns. I think their strengths go very well with mine, and I am excited to see how we work together over the next few months. My results are posted in the tab on the right, under “More About Me.”

I would really appreciate your prayers as I head to Costa Rica. I will be spending the next 2 weeks in language training and living with a host family in San Jose. I am still nervous about my Spanish abilities, but I know God has called me there for a reason and He will take care of everything. Thanks for the prayers!

Preparation Update

"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." - James 5:16

Your prayers for my preparation have been both powerful and effective.  I recently went to the library and found some Spanish CDs that have been very helpful.  I am finding that I understand more than I can speak, so I may have a lot of one-sided conversations in Costa Rica, but hopefully I won’t be completely lost and confused.  Last weekend I went to help my dad work at the cabin, and on the drive up there I had a lot of time to practice Spanish with these CDs.  After about an hour, I decided I needed a break so I turned on the radio.  The first station that came on (keep in mind, I was in north Georgia) was a Spanish station!  My car antenna is broken so I don’t pick up many stations, but this Spanish station was perfect.  It had slower songs with a good beat, and I even heard some songs that I knew from my high school Spanish classes (namely, La Camisa Negra by Juanes).  What a great way to keep practicing Spanish!

Soon after I got back from the cabin I saw a message from James McGowan, a friend from high school.  He said he may be able to get me a copy of Rosetta Stone!

The next exciting thing is that yesterday I had an interview for an internship with Hargrove Engineers + Constructors.  Because I am taking summer classes, I am only available to work in Atlanta until the end of June.  Because of my weird schedule, I offered to work for free, just trying to get some experience and networking.  I wound up getting the internship!  I will be working part time, which is great so I can get experience and still have plenty of time to get my school work done.  This will be a great chance to get some experience with structural engineering and refresh my autoCAD skills before I go to Costa Rica.  My boss is also trying to get me some funding, so I won’t be losing money during my hour-long commute to and from the office and any extra money can go towards the EMI trip!

Thank you so much for your prayers and support!

Behind the Scenes

Engineering Ministries International (eMi) first caught my eye when its website asked this question: “Have you spent minutes or even hours sitting in your theory of architecture or thermodynamics class wondering how this all applies to your life as a Christian?” In my life, the answer to this question is a resounding YES. As I went to school at Furman University, I sought to combine my skills and my faith by going on mission trips with Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCM) and by working with Habitat for Humanity. At Clemson University, I continued working with Habitat and began working with a group called Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries (CEDC). CEDC gave me my first real opportunity to use civil engineering knowledge to help design a new water system for the people of Cange, Haiti. It gave me the chance to visit Haiti to meet with the Haitian engineers. It also opened the door for me to share my faith with anyone from curious media reporters to fellow students to active supporters. While this has all been a great first step, the question still remains. After graduation, how do I relate my engineering education to my life as a Christian?

I prayed about it and looked all over the place for jobs and ministries after graduation, and eMi kept popping into my head. God kept showing me verses like Romans 12:6-8 which says,

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”

I believe God has given me engineering skills and I want to use those skills to serve others. eMi offers me the chance to do just that.

Beginning in August, I will be going to Atenas, Costa Rica for four months to provide free engineering services to ministries in the developing world that are helping the poor and spreading the good news of Christ. In the past, eMi has designed churches, orphanages, water systems, schools, and hospitals all over the world. I will keep you updated as I learn more about the specific projects I will be working on.

The adventure will officially begin with a trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado where I will meet other interns for a week of orientation. After that, I will (thankfully) receive two weeks of language training and then move in with my host family in Costa Rica. That’s right – I will be living with a Costa Rican family. While this will be a great chance to really get immersed in the culture, it means all Spanish, all the time. Languages have never been my strong suit, but I know God can overcome that. After all, in Exodus 4:10 we read that Moses wasn’t a particularly good speaker, and God did some pretty cool stuff through him.

Between now and August, I will be finishing up school (I finish classes on August 4), studying Spanish, continuing my work with CEDC, and raising support for the upcoming trip. I need to raise approximately $7,600, so if you have any creative ideas please let me know. I am also looking for good ways to learn some Spanish, so let me know what you think. If you would like to financially support me, you can go to https://emisecure.org/donate.html and just put my name in the “Designation” box.

I can’t believe I will be in Costa Rica in just a few months! I am so excited about this opportunity, and can’t wait to share this journey with you!