the last team... the last weeks... until next time...

I love that even the bugs here wear bright intense colors... especially this lime green one I found on the clothesline:

When the last team came while we were here, we joined them.  We ministered to these smiling faces in Puntarenas...

in a small metal church building, with a dirt floor, covered by white plastic...

The team leaders were from In Motion Ministries: Seth Dunn and Karin Caroll.  To see more pictures of what we did with them, go to In Motion Ministries web page.

Clint Wisdom, Carol and Jerry Chilcote, working on lunch behind the church building...

We also fed them a hotdog lunch...

Russell Wisdom, Erin Wisdom and Dianne and the team, dancing

We did our puppets and line dancing and sharing...  I don't have pictures but we ministered with them in the slum area of LaCarpio on two different occasions also; once to the adults, and once to the children where we again did puppets, dancing, sharing,  a pinata, and fed them a hotdog lunch. Dale and I really enjoyed just jumping in with another team and doing the things we had already been trained to do by In Motion Ministries on various other trips.

As our time to be here in Costa Rica draws to a close, we are so sad to leave this Wisdom family we love so dearly, and our dear friends, Carol and Jerry Chilcote, and this country we have grown to love over the years of coming down to visit and minister.  But our children and grandchildren and family members await us back home.  So it's time to head home, where the Autumn season will be arriving and the holidays just around the corner.  Hope you had a great time traveling with us here!  We love you and can't wait to travel and take you with us again...  Until next time... Adios and Dios te bendiga (may God bless you!)    love, Shari

a side trip to Panama...

We finally got to go into Panama.  We had been wanting to do that for years.

from the border it was an hour's ride in a land taxi, then a half-hour ride in a river taxi...

til  we came to a place of rest: The Terrazzza...

which had this little dock on which to hang out, watching the boats come and go, and the birds dive and fish, and the fish jump, and the sun set itself down in livid colors...

this little town, this lively village, where the buildings wore coats of many colors...

and walking down the street was like browsing through an art gallery of sorts...

and even the fences came popping from someone's imagination....

and the railings needed hearts, swirls, and cool Caribbean colors...

where most restaurants were mostly outdoors and wearing happy colors...

and we tried Lili's "You're killing me man" sauce... (HOT!!)

and every wall was a canvas for an art piece...

and even the oldest buildings showed their sense of style...

Yes, we finally made it to Panama.  And we enjoyed every minute of our time there,

.in the tiny town of Bocas del Torro, on a little island off of the coast of Panama.

and yes, there was a beach trip, thank you!

down the road not far from that beautiful house, was a beach...

It started out sunny but by the time I got out my camera, the clouds had rolled in...

The waves were wild so I did not go in bobbing, although Dale did, and our friends and fellow bobbers, Jerry and Carol, as well as Lukas went in bobbing also.  But before the rain came, there was time...

...time for some beach collaging...

...with treasures collected from up and down the beach...

including a coral heart!

There was also this lovely palm tree trunk pattern...

 

and yes, I WAS there! here's the picture to prove it! (I hardly ever get into the pictures, as I am usually the picture taker!!)

Wishing you a day full of treasures and blessings... love, Shari

visiting a little slice of heaven on earth...

it was a lovely little visit. to a place i could have only dreamed about.  where the indoor living was actually open to the out-of-doors.  a beautiful place of  warm hospitality...

these built-on benches go all around the living space...

there were purple tropical flowers floating on the ponds...

it was a gorgeous place of wood and thatch, nestled into the edge of the jungle...

it was a place of  wonderful art and luscious colors...  i dreamt cozy dreams under gauzy mosquito netting, in a beautiful lime green room with a mysterious intricate wooden window panel...

the thatch itself was a work of art by people who have been doing this art for generations...

yes, it was such a lovely visit. hosted by some of the warmest, most loving people one could be blessed to meet.  Thank you so much, Yolande and Lukas, Annebelle, Alaster, and Lein Lein...

Dale, enjoying the great outdoors from the comfort of indoors.

a beach trip was also involved but that's another story for another day...    love, Shari

it was an art thing...

First... there was gelato...  coffee plus coconut.

Shari and Carol... VERY happy!

Then, there were the flowers...  beautiful, intricate, colorful flowers...

And then, there was this public building. They had dressed it up with some gorgeous mosaic! I can't imagine the time it took to do this!

The leaves were children's handprints...

Some of the mosaic bits were mirrors, so that the whole thing sparkled in the sunlight!

Another building with mosaic just at the roofline.  Fabulous. Gorgeous.  I was lost in wonderment.

And then. There was one last look at the ocean as we began our journey inland. 

Imagination is an incredible thing!  Decorate a little piece of YOUR life today, okay?  Flowers. Bits of broken china. Bits of broken mirrors. It might all turn out to be very very wonderful.  love, Shari

Farewell to Potrero... I hope I get to come back sometime...

Back to jungle nights full of bird-song, howler monkeys' roaring, geckos' chirps...

sunset at Potrero Apartmentos...

Back to the little pool that refreshed us, rain or shine...

Dale soaking in the rain...

Back to this tiny oasis of serenity and quiet...

Where the rainstorms were beautiful to watch...

And the yard was full of beautiful flowers and butterflys...

And coffee on the front porch was a soothing ritual...

Carol and Jerry

Yes, someday, I would like to return here.  But for now it is a treasure of a memory, tucked away to make me smile on some less beautiful day....   Wishing you a lovely little oasis of your own today...  love, Shari

they went to the coast...

We have spent the last week at the ocean at Playa Potrero. This is the place that Jerry and Carol took their intensive Spanish classes for10 weeks.  It's absolutely gorgeous here.

Vulcan Arenal, on our way here...

We are staying in a small apartment in Potrero. It has been a little haven for our souls.

It's a lovely little 8-apartment complex with a pool.  We didn't realize how we would come to love this little pool, a refreshing hideout from the heat...

Jerry and Dale in the pool

Of course, there WAS a burn factor...  This is the "before" picture. Color them in with red, to see what happened later...

Carol, in front of "our" apartment...

I really love the color of this little building... and swinging in the hammock I could hear the parrots screeching in the trees and the thunder from the purple clouds rushing past, and the rushing water sound from the pool's waterfall.

The grounds were kept groomed by a young man named Alvero, who we came to really like... he was always smiling.

going in...

And then there was our beach time.  It was partly cloudy/partly sunny on our beach days, and during the week we pretty much had the beach to ourselves.

The water was like bath water and so relaxing! Well, except for the wave that slapped me upside the head and knocked my sunglasses from my face.  Jerry found them a  few minutes later, which was a miracle!

ocean bobbing... one of our favorite things to do!

And so there were hours of bobbing, talking, bobbing, talking... then the rain would come, and back we would go to the apartment. *Washingtonians.... the rain here does NOT cool anything off!!  It is so not like at home.

the view from the beach...

view from the ocean

Mother's Day fell on a Thursday here, so that day the beach was more occupied than usual. But it was still wonderful to just bob....   Wishing you plenty of time to just relax and refresh yourself wherever you may find yourself today...  and ocean breezes. and calypso music. and palm trees swaying.  imagination is a wonderful thing!!   love, Shari