First Letter from Costa Rica

Okay so time to write like a manic to try and fit all of this in during my time frame.  I love the Bridge and I love the clock that's so awesome! Also I love just all the pictures from you guys. Its so nice to see yalls face! And how fun having Stefan there. Is Stuart there with you for the rest of the time? That's fun if he is. I can't believe its already SUMMER time!! How fun. Love love love it. I miss summer in Georgia.... So get tan and have a blast and just all that jazz. If you write me any letters through the mail if you send them within the week I'll get them when I have to go back to San Jose in  four weeks! Okay so now all the deets. I am still sick and my head was killer on the plane but Its fine I'm fine and I'm sure I'll get over it soon. There computers here don't recognize English so there's a little red line under everything so I will probably have lots of spelling mistakes.. oh well..

Tuesday- So on the plane to costa rica it was me by the window, my companion, and then a 30-40 yr old man. So I just start chit chatting with him and okay lets just get this straight its 3 hr and like 40 min flight.. and I started at the very beginning before takeoff. I looked so gross because my eye was all exploded and and my face all red and my nose running.. but whatever. We started talking and he's from Washington and I'm thinking oh great he's gonna hate anything religious .. those liberals. But we talked for the like the whole time minus like 20 minutes when he took a nap. He's super religious catholic. and He's a FANTASTIC man. He is so family oriented and he just was so good everything he said was so Christ like. And so by the end I had written my testimony on a postcard with Joseph Smith in the garden we got free at the mtc and I put my email address and gave him it and a book of Mormon. He said he'd read it and email me about how he feels and about any questions he may have. He had such a great spirit I hope he actually reads it. So we get there and Oh yeah on the plane when we were getting on, this man Brother Robins from Arkansas said he'd help us and get us through customs and baggage claim and all.. so we got off and I was following everyone and him and I get to customs and I was talking in Spanish and they wouldn't let me pass... they kept saying my visa was for 30 days not 18 months and so I just kept explaining I was doing the residency stuff here but that was after I got in the country. So finally he let me pass and we met our president and Whoaaa they're so nice! I love them. so we all pile into buses and they say they're taking us to somewhere special. so we drive and its super dark even though its only like 8:45. They take us to the temple. They give this great pep talk and tell us their phrase "Always Happy, Never Satisfied." Then The president talks about exact obedience and stuff like that. It was awesome. And sister Wilkinson gave us all native cookies called chickies. So that was awesome too. Okay, so then we (ten of us) go and stay at this trios house. I slept on the floor and took a freezing cold shower, which means I didn't really shower I just kinda dipped in and dipped out. It was awesome. (I was still in my starry-eyed missions are always amazing mode..) Then they told us we had to get up at 3 and leave at 4 so we could wait in line to get our fingerprints taken for residency. keep in mind we got up at 3 that morning to leave for costa rica so we're running on like no sleep and then we were about to only get 4 hrs of sleep again.. but we were all happy as clams.


Wednesday- we get up I throw on clothes and we head to the finger print place. The 10 of us meet up with 3 elders from the Guatemalan ccm. And all of us were so dead that we said hi and that was all. I stayed by Hnas Starke and Boer. So the night before at like 10 we had to take pictures for this finger printing process and I had mine in plain sight and they look ROUGH, but anyway the elders start cracking up and pulling all sorts of jokes about it in Spanish. So I decided I could make friends at 4:30 in the morning.. so me and Hna Starke start chatting with them all in espanol. how awesome! they were so patient and so slow and we could actually understand them. they helped keep us occupied for a good 2 hrs while we waited in line for the place to open. It was really nice thinking I could speak spanish.. So continuing on with the day we're starving its like 9 oclock and we feel like its like 5pm in the evening and we go back to the mission office, president tells us he's going to the temple and to rest up, so we all die. literally no one moved or made a sound for about 2 or 3 hrs. we all tried to stay awake at first writing in our journals and reading our scriptures but now that wasn't happening. Anyways so then after that we got lunch... finally.. all i can think about is food. And its just sandwiches.. not super yummy but then I was given a Banana .. oh my the best thing I've ever tasted.. ever. okay then I had a meeting with the president and it was great I just told him I'm ready to work and that I like to sing and about you familia. And then that was it. After that around 5 oclock we went to go contacting... okay... this was amazing. I spoke spanish and had the spirit with me and I just felt so good about life. We were with our companions and so I was with Hna Boer. we got 5 peoples numbers and one wanted to know what our number was and where our church was and was really receptive and then one time we were about to leave when I just knew I should talk to this one guy and so we went over and it seems he used to have missionaries but that they stopped coming and he just want to set up an appointment and have us teach his whole family now. so that was cool.

Thursday- so okay we were having a traditional breakfast at presidents house. it was awesome and so fun I really enjoyed it. And the food was way good. and then we left and got to meet our companions and find out where we were going.... drum roll pleaseeeeeeee.... My companion is AMAZING literally the best. Her name is Hna Ogletree she's from Texas and is a gringa. She was trained and then she trained and then she trained and now she has me and the other sister she started training 6 weeks ago. The sister is Hna Bojorque. She's from Argentina.. Shes' so awesome too.. I'm picking up her accent at little bit. And then I found out we were going to Santa Cruz... no idea where that was any way so then they said we were staying in San Jose one more night because the bus ride 5 hr long and we had a meeting at pres. tomorrow morning. So that night we did divisions. This was the hardest night for me.. It was me. Hna Bojorque and Hns Quroz.. It was so hard because neither of them spoke English and I didn't speak Spanish  we went to a lot of house, and most of them SUPER pooor and super sad and just it was hard thinking that I have so much and they have so little. We taught I prayed a lot they always wanted me to say the prayer because I'm new. Everyone kisses your cheeks here.. we only let the women. any ways  I felt so alone I couldn't communicate or anything and then I started picking up stuff here and there and I felt a little better. We went to our last house and the guy asked me to say the prayer but in English  It was a tender mercy and I just let my feelings out and could really express what i wanted to. Then we went and that ended this night.


Friday- So we go to this 6 week party check up meeting, because one of my comps was only 6 weeks old and I got reunited with my trainer. The meeting was great all in Spanish and I could understand like 85% of it. Then we went and had a lunch at presidents house. Oh my delicious food and my comp from the mtc was there with her trio! It was awesome . just a great little party . I'll get one in 4-6 weeks too :) okay so now continuing on.. we took a 5 hr bus to our area on the west coast by the pacific in the tail in the province Guanacaste. its the hottest area in costa rica... so that's great and in our branch we have like 40 active members and 500 in-actives..We got back and slept.


Saturday- So we had studies and planning til 4. We had lunch at our normal spot we have a cook that always makes us lunch and that was good rice and beans and meat and because I was soooo hungry I finished a whole portion with only a little sickness feeling. Then we went out and we taught. I don't remember names or places but we taught like 5 lessons. and I was able to testify and to teach a little bit and to pray and to understand most of what they were saying... IT was truly the gift of tongues and interpretations of tongues. I can't even believe it. I had a great experience And I wish I could write more but just know I know I'm in Santa Cruz because I can best understand it all here. The house are fairly nice compared to the houses I went to in San Jose and I decided I'll only wear probs the same 8 outfits every time because I only wanna wear t-shirts and light shirts because its like 100 degrees here and humid.


Sunday- our ward is awesome. most speak some english the second councilor is a gringo and him and his family are awesome they gave us starburst. and they ward is just so nice and again I said a prayer in Sunday school and rs. They love the newbies to pray. Everyone says I have good spanish, but I know I'm just good at using a few key words to kinda get the gist of what they're saying and to then respond as simply as possible. I have so much to learn. I am going to just continue to get better and better and work harder and harder. So today lunch was CRAZY. I can definitley understand what Trent means it was one mean and I couldn't do it. I couldn't eat half of it and so i had to force it down my throat. I felt so sick but it was okay becasue then we started  our fast. I ate an avacado... I hate them but it was fine. Then that night after studies we went to teach. One house I didn't understand like most of it... it was really hard. he just kept rambling and then soccer was on and I just couldn't so that was a bust. and then the next house a drunk guy came and like harassed us.. just kept grabbing our arms and telling us to teach him and about what he thought and all this jazz.. it was crazy they said Sundays are normally pretty weird. Okay


Monday- so today we cleaned and we were fasting and I don't know how they do it here. Its soooooo hot and I'm just thirsty all the time so that was pretty hard but oh well. The lord bless those that sacrifice. WE cleaned our apartment and a rat ate into one of my bras! Its crazy.. but I packed it up and like I said I only have like half of my clothes out because I'll literally be wearing the same-ish stuff --light and cheap and easy. So just before this I broke my fast with the MOST AMAZING smooooothie ever. and for only roughly 2 american dollars. :) I love the fruit here

So my area is pretty and really just middle class. There are dogs everywhere but the lord has helped me to calm that fear I know because I just walk past them. I have had a blast so far and I love my companions. I love you and I've loved talking to you and I hope yall have a greattt weeek!! :)


LOve love love love con mucho amor
hna coburn