Quick Update (no pics)

Where to begin? We have been soooo busy! We have been to Arkansas and are now back in Texas. We had a really good time visiting with friends and family in Arkansas. It seems like we were going nonstop every day that we were there. It was fun though. We have been back at my moms since last Wednesday. We have been busy buying things for Ecuador and trying to pack. Looks like we are going to have 20 pieces of luggage this time. (Not looking forward to taking all of it to the airport and checking it in) This will be the most that we have taken so far. But keep in mind that we are moving to Ecuador and needed to bring some house stuff with us. We are still in the process of getting everything packed. We will also be taking our dog Molly. We are very excited about having her with us but a little nervous about getting her through customs. Actually, I'm a little nervous about getting it all through customs. Please pray that it goes smoothly.

We will be flying out Wednesday afternoon and will arrive in Ecuador around 11:00 p.m. The kids will start school the next day. I know that they will be tired but they are looking forward to seeing the school and meeting new friends. Please pray for safety as we travel and that we can get our apartment set up soon.

I hope this post made sense because my mind is a little overwhelmed at the moment. I just wanted to do a quick update so you would all know where we are and when we leave.

Leaving for the home

We are up early this morning getting ready to head to the airport. The excitement is building. These are the things that we are going to do 'first' when we arrive in the states. (If Chik-fil-a was open today we would go there)

Shannon- going to Wal-Mart and Sonic and having a cherry Dr. Pepper.

Susan- You guessed it, going to Starbucks. There is a Starbucks as soon as you come out of the airport in Houston. I think the Lord put it there for me.

Ethan- He is buying Madden 11 and having a Mt. Dew.

Megan- She wants to go to the mall but I don't think that will happen. So she will settle for Wal-Mart and a Dr. Pepper.

In reality, we will probably won't be going to Wal-Mart but we can do the drinks.

Thanks for your love, prayers, and support for the Pruitt family. We could not have made it through language school without it. We looking forward to seeing many of you.

We are packed and ready to go!

The graduates and a few friends at our 'last supper' at Tin Jo.

Praise the Lord! We got our visas here in Costa Rica about 3 weeks ago. We are so thankful that we didn't not have to do that during our trip to the states. Now we get to spend more time with friends and family.

Grauduation

We graduated yesterday! I have been so busy packing that I haven't had time to post any pictures. We are very excited about heading back to the states tomorrow. We will fly out at 12:50 and arrive in Houston around 5:30. We have 13 suitcases, 4 backpacks, 1 guitar, and 3 carry-ons. That is less then when we came here. Please remember us tomorrow as we go to the airport. It is always stressful with that much stuff. Please pray that our trip goes smoothly. We will be going to Arkansas on Monday to spend a few days with friends and family. We will be at Dover First on Wednesday night, Scottsville Assembly on Sunday morning, and Hector First on Sunday night. I'm not sure how much internet access we will have, so my next post may be 2-3 weeks from now. On September 1st we fly to Ecuador. We are very excited!

The graduating class.

Me and Shannon, John and Tammy Ogden, Stuart and Wendy Brown, Lorin and Rebecca Harris, and Jenal Reed.

Girls being silly.

Shannon speaking on behalf of the graduates.

Oh happy Day!

CINCEL Field Trip

Our school went on a field trip today and we had a great time. We went to a volcano, then to a historic catholic church, and then to a coffee plantation for lunch. The name of the volcano is Irazu and it is at about 11000 feet. And it was cold up there. Probably 50-60 degrees. Cold enough to see your breath.

Here are a few pics from the day. Ok, a lot of pictures from today. I couldn't decide which ones to post so I posted a lot.

This is the volcano crater

Us with the Ogden's

The bottom of the crater

Farming on the mountain

These are clouds

Random cows on the side of the road

The ruins in Cartago

The Basilica in Cartago. This is the church that all the people walked to last weekend. Remember the 'black Mary'?

They don't walk to the front, they crawl.

This is where they get their 'holy water'.

At the restaurant

This is called sock coffee.

CINCEL students

Friends

Only 10 more days until we fly back to the US. Wow! I can't believe that it is so close to being over. We arrived in CR on August 27, 2009, so we have almost been here a year. When we go home to Arkansas we will lack 10 days from it being a year since we left. Wow, again. It will be a year since we have been to an English church service. We are very excited about that. Not that church isn't good here but going to church in English requires less work on my part. It wears me out to listen to a sermon in Spanish!

This past year has been a very hard yet rewarding year. We have struggled with sickness, lots of homework, loneliness, and culture shock. It has been the hardest thing that I have ever done in my life. Sometimes I would find myself asking God, "why would you ever think that I could do this?" There were many days that I wanted to quit. But, I am so glad that I didn't.

I believe that God places people in our lives to help us. Through all the hard times God blessed us with so many friends. Friends that we could laugh with and cry with. It use to be the joke that we had to laugh to keep from crying. I believe that God put us all here at the same time because He knew that we were going to need each other to make it through. I am so thankful that God put these people in my life. Not only here in CR but I'm thankful for all the friends that God has placed in my life.

Holiday in Costa Rica

Tomorrow is a holiday in CR. Thousands of people will be walking to Cartago, a little town right outside San Jose. It's about a 15 mile walk. People have flooded the streets. It's a little crazy to me, ok, well a lot crazy. These people walk to worship a black Mary. Some of them crawl, walk barefoot, and sleep in the streets. Some of these people have been walking for 2 weeks!

Here is a little history behind this holiday:

La Negrita -- Legend has it that Juana Pereira stumbled upon the statue of La Negrita sitting atop a rock, while gathering wood. Juana took it home, but the next morning it was gone. She went back to the rock, and there it was again. This was repeated three times, until Juana took her find to a local priest. The priest took the statue to his church for safekeeping, but the next morning it was gone, only to be found sitting upon the same rock later that day. The priest eventually decided that the strange occurrences were a sign that the Virgin wanted a temple or shrine built to her upon the spot. And so work was begun on what would eventually become today's impressive basilica.

Miraculous healing powers have been attributed to La Negrita, and, over the years, a parade of pilgrims have come to the shrine seeking cures for their illnesses and difficulties. August 2 is her patron saint's day. Each year, on this date, tens of thousands of Costa Ricans and foreign pilgrims walk to Cartago from San José and elsewhere in the country in devotion to this powerful statue.

Shannon loves the fact that parrots are everywhere here. He loves them so much that he wants to buy one when we get to Ecuador, but it's not going to happen.

El dia de cultura

Culture day at CINCEL.

Steve and Jill danced.

The little kids dressed up.

No words to describe this.

Typical Tico food.

Rice and Milk. (I didn't try this, I just couldn't do it. Shannon did)