loco for JACO!

wow! i just spent 4 wonderful days in the hot sun on a beautiful beach!!
Man was it ever amazing! The C&MA missionaries here in Costa Rica (my directors, the Fanbergs, Harmons, Baldwins, and myself) got treated to a weekend away.
We went to the closest beach to San Jose, it's called Jaco (pronounced Hako)...
It was so great to see the ocean, and spend time with these great people. We pretty much just hung out all weekend. We hit some shops, spent much time on the beach, and also some time by the pool! God blessed us with fabulous weather. Well... the first day was a bit rainy, but we sure made the most of it, and the second day sure made up for it! We had sun all day, which provided some great tan lines!

One entrance to Jaco Beach! I went to the beach a couple of the mornings, ran a little, read a little, people watched a little and watched people surf a lot! I would love to come back here and learn how to surf, but we'll see if that happens! There was a surfing competition when we were here, so a few of us walked over to see it. Pretty sweet to watch!

This is Brittany and me at Playa Herradura. For our day at the beach we went to a more secluded and calm beach. When we went out and swam in the ocean, we saw so many sting rays! They were so cool, came so close, and showed off their bright blue color! Luckily no one got stung, but the locals were laughing at us at how interested (and maybe just a little freaked out) we were in them! But they assured us they were harmless!

Playa Herradura

On the way home we crossed this bridge that had 10 alligators just lounging under it. So cool, but boy are we ever grateful for bridges!

I loved getting time to hang out with these missionary families. Their hearts for the Lord amaze me, and inspire me. One of my favorite parts of this weekend was the times I would go out in the morning and walk and sit on the beach. The sound of the waves crashing was so soothing. I loved watching the surfers show off their tricks... but more I just loved enjoying God's creation. I am simply humbled by his faithfulness and love.
The three kids that were with this weekend and I went for a walk to the beach and were talking about how God knows all things, and even down to every grain of sand on that beach. Then we were talking about how He knows them all by name, and they started to give some grains names...hehe, it was so cute! And I fell in love with their hearts for God!
God's meticulous detail on every little thing in this world just mystifies me.
I can't even imagine what heaven will be like!