Feeling Inspired!

First things first! Thanks to all who sponsored and supported me on this year’s Walkathon for the school. The day started out slow but ended on a high-note. Why is it that every time when you absolutely need a solid 8 hours of sleep, you never get it. It never fails, right? Something happens during the night that just blows that theory out of the water. Welcome to my Friday night. After spending 8 hours at school Friday, setting up for the Walkathon, all I wanted at 8:00 that night was a decent night’s sleep. After the first whine from John, and the initial glimpse of his face and neck, I knew it ain’t happening. Hives on his neck and face and itching, itching, itching. After the tenth time up and the 2nd teaspoon of Benadryl, we finally fell asleep about 3 a.m. My mind was spinning as knew I had to be at school early to coordinate the influx of eager runners and walkers and that the sun would rise in less than 3 hours.

I rose to the occasion and bounded out of bed and off to school I went to meet all the folks that would be in charge of manning a refreshment station. All went off without a hitch and I left the school about 9:30, running at a slow pace, as I knew after the first kilometer, it was all up-hill.

God blessed us with a beautiful day, sunny and warm and I was assured a view of the Volcano at the end of the route. I struggled up the hill by the Cloud Forest School, but was encouraged by tiny voices “go Mom, you can do it”, as I made it to the top, I saw Mike and the boys handing out cookies/brownies and water from our trusty Gallopher. A site for sore eyes (and legs)! I was happy to see that the kids had not yet eaten the entire trunk full of homemade cookies and brownies and that there were indeed some to handout to hungry and tired walkers. How the Schaefer boys ended up with cookies at their station, I’ll never know – why couldn’t they have the station with the pineapple or melon? Next year for sure!

The run was spectacular, I felt energized and had forgotten about how tired I was as I climbed every hill, Raul’s words echoing in my mind (quick, short strides on the uphill)…thanks buddy!

About 10 kilometers in, this awesome vista opened up and there was Volcan Arenal in all her glory – it was something else. I arrived at the Mirador in 1 hour, 25 minutes only 10 minutes behind a group of five high-school boys, so I felt like I put in a good showing for all our 'over-forty' gals. One of the boys asked if I was a marathon runner, and I quickly said NO, but that it was on my ‘bucket list’. The day was filled with laughter, photos of each runner in front of the volcano and eating the left over treats from all the stations.

I am eager to find out how much the school raised – so if you are still inclined to sponsor, please do, as you have until May 15th and it is for such a great cause! I can’t wait until next year’s race.

I awoke Sunday without a muscle pain but decided to take the day off from running and focus on puzzles with the boys as the weather turned cold and rainy - winter is just around the corner and they say the rain will come early this year.

Last week, for the first time since we’ve had the boys home with us, I Skyped with the Foster Family in Guatemala. Anabella (or mama Anna) as we call her, sounded like she was just across the pasture from us. The connection was clear and crisp and my ability to communicate with her in Spanish was not at issue this time – I remember my broken Spanish years ago and hoped that she noticed the difference ☺. We chatted for about 45 minutes and caught up on everything. Next time, we’ll chat during the day so she can talk with the boys. What a blessing and a gift to continue to have this family in our lives. I told her that we include her and Papa Rudo and their entire family in our prayers with the boys each night – I could hear the smile in her voice as she thanked me for that.

Mike left early this morning for the 7/8th grade school trip to Rincon de la Vieja. Two days ago, Mike approached me, “Sally, how would you like to take one of my Thursday classes while I’m away?” I responded….”UGH, oh, oh, OKAY, please tell me you’ll be showing a video?” Big sigh, yes, he had planned a video and all I had to do was a warm-up exercise with the kids and then turn on the movie….Simple enough…right, Please Bill Nye the Science Guy...do not dissapoint! Check back to see how I fared.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of sharing about 90 minutes with other women in the community in prayer, song and fellowship When I picked my kids up from Elieth’s last Sunday after their Sunday School lesson, Elieth and I got to talking. Wouldn’t it be great for women in the zone to have a place to gather and share. YES, this would be perfect….”Are you ready, Sally”, Elieth asked…”You bet”, I responded in my best Spanish and we were off to the races. Six of us gathered yesterday afternoon from 4 p.m. to 5:30 in a shed just up from her house on her property. Her teenage son had helped her clean up the shed last week and it is now the perfect place for Sunday school and our Wednesday afternoon bible study group. It is simple and there is absolutely nothing fancy about it – the walls were insulated with cardboard and there was one lone, naked light bulb hanging from the ceiling. Her husband had made a makeshift bench out of trunks of wood and an old wood plank, a couple of pillows and blankets on the floor and we were set. The time together was great and Elieth did a fantastic job of leading the group. We opened with prayer, sang a couple songs and read several passages from the bible. We focused on a passage from Mark 12 V. 41, the story of the widow who gave everything she had (which was like two coins) to the temple and we asked ourselves, what could we offer God? It was a very special time – we finished in prayer and then adjourned to her kitchen table where we sipped coffee and snacked on the pineapple bread I had hastily baked earlier that day. We chatted about ideas for the program and how everyone could contribute in some way. Looking forward to next Wednesday.

Tomorrow, I meet with Hugh, he is the leader of the other prayer and share I attend in Santa Elena Thursday evenings. He and his wife are hoping to offer an Easter sunrise service at their home. I agreed to meet with him tomorrow to help outline the program. Exciting stuff and there is such a need here in the community.

Today, the boys had fun with a classmate who came to play for several hours after school. All went well and we hope he'll return.

Well, I will close this post for now as it is all mom tomorrow morning - breakfast, brush teeth, make snack, shuttle two boys to Kinder, 8:15 meeting to talk Fundraising and then off to meet Hugh for Easter Service planning - and oh, ya - would like to get a run in too!

Peace,
Signed: S

Walk the Walk....and....Talk the Talk!

What a Saturday, just getting to the school by 11 a.m. with the boys, a backpack full of snacks, 2 change of clothes, shoes (they actually wore their boots due to rain), three cartons of juice, banana bread, laptop, DVD's and I think that about covers it....was a success in and of itself. Oh yes, the rain....I hear that rainy season officially started on 4/15, so the wet stuff is right on schedule. Very welcome as the foliage was covered with months of dust. I must say however, I am missing my flannel sheets tonight, they hang on the clothes line under the overhang, still as wet as they were when I hung them out at 9:00 a.m.

The School conducted a Workshop today; Phase II of the Listening Circles that were held back in January regarding the School's mission, vision and values. I helped to facilitate; it was a fun activity, with lots of participation from the Gringos and the locals. Mike and Gaudy provided childcare for the little ones while about 40 of us participated in individual and group activities. A full day, just returning home in time for a quick dinner and off to bed.

The Caminata (Walkathon) was held last Saturday; it was a success and I am grateful to everyone that sponsored me. We had a nice, sunny day and although I was up at the crack of dawn and at the school by 7 a.m. to prepare for Registration; I ran the entire 13K (hoping to make my sponsors proud). My run was very peaceful, up huge hills with lots of twists and turns, finally finishing at the Mirador Hotel which provided a spectacular view of Volcan Arenal. Some walked, others ran, some rode horses, others biked, Benito walked on stilts as he has for over a decade now. The clouds rolled in at the Mirador later in the afternoon, but they didn't dampen our spirits, we gathered to sing songs, listen to music and Carmen even offered massages...now how can you beat that. The founding family played a huge role (Wolfe, worked a rest-station handing out chocolates and water from the back of his truck), while Lucky, his wife, walked the entire way (I think she may have been the oldest female walker, at the young age of upper 70's..GIRLS ROCK!)

With these two big projects behind me (for the most part), I look forward to focusing my energy on getting ready to head state-side for my brother's wedding. I am very excited and look with anticipation to reconnecting with family and friends. Not to mention, having my brother married-off ---Thanks Amy!

Mike is heading to the beach this coming week (Tuesday through Thursday) for a field trip with the fifth and six graders. So, just me and the boys for a couple of days...Hey, no problem for this 'seasoned' stay at home mom now. I guess fair is fair, since Mike will have the boys while I'm enjoying the wedding festivities in a couple of weeks.

What I've noticed of late....more critters in the house, flying, crawling, jumping (on my pillow too...I might add). Just deal with it Sally!

Tomorrow, we head to the Quaker meeting at the school as I'll be helping to lead the Children's meeting - we are talking to the kids about treating animals nicely as we ready for the Pet Festival on May 2nd. Mike and I are also working with another gal to offer some more structured activities for the pre-school children who are not quite 'ready' for the children's meeting. Yes, Michael and John would fall into that category. More to come on that for sure.

Hoping to run in the El MoonRun (Carrera de la Luna ) or should it be "Luna-tics" this coming Saturday with another MFS father. 11K, mountains, happening at sunset...sounds fun!

Well, it is late and I am beat -- a few pics from the Caminata.
Peace,
Signed: S