This is the opening at the branch that I mentioned!Morning at the hotel:
We started the day out this morning with a rooster waking us up at the crack of dawn. The B&B offered a wonderful complementary breakfast of eggs, rice & beans, pancakes, fresh watermelon & papaya, etc. and of course fresh Costa Rican coffee. While I was checking out, I mentioned to the owner that we were Jehovah’s Witnesses and that the local branch office had suggested her B&B as a place to stay. After a minute, a lady who had been swimming in the pool walked up and began talking to the owner and myself. The owner proceeded to say something in Spanish to the lady, who then looked at me with a big smile and said, “you are my brother?!!!“ She gave me a big hug and began to tell me all about herself. Her name is Sis. Carpenter, and she grew up in Costa Rica, married a brother from NJ who had been sent there as a missionary and they are presently living about a half mile down the road (they go to the B&B in the morning for an exercise swim). She and her husband invited us to their house, but unfortunately we had to get going to have time to tour the branch offices. They said that we could stay with them anytime and in fact said that when Sam and Jen come back into the city to pick up the other sister, Carmen, on Thursday that they were welcome to stay the night before they headed back to Quepos. They gave us their email and phone numbers to contact them later.
At the Branch Offices:
We were welcomed at the branch by Felix, one of the 38 Bethelites, and he gave us a wonderful tour of the facilities. One of the beautiful features of the branch is that in the middle of the building is a huge opening were the sun is shining in upon a large cluster of plants and flowers. The rain, as well as the birds come right into the office! The branch is located about a mile or 2 from a little area called San Antonio which is known as having the best weather year around in Costa Rica.
Our drive to Manuel Antonio:
We headed out of the San Jose area at noon and we were all starving! We decided to wait until getting out of the city before stopping for a bite to eat. The road from San Jose to Quepos (Manuel Antonio) is anything but what we Americans are used to. The roads wind back and forth and up and down the mountains, oftentimes with no guardrails to stop you from plummeting hundreds if not thousands of feet down the side of the mountain, oh, and did I mention the crazy drivers on the roads here. We stopped at a little open air restaurant just before the little town of San Mateo that was practically hanging on the side of the mountain. The food was delicious and cost the five of us $16 total for food and drinks! The countryside here is amazingly beautiful and the people are so friendly that it’s easy to see why so many people are retiring here. About a half hour from Jaco is a bridge that had many tourists gawking and looking over it’s railing. Down below were 15-20 huge crocodiles, some of which looked like they were at least 15ft long. Finally after about 3 hours of driving we saw our first glimpse of the beautiful blue waters off the coast of Jaco. There were several surfers out in the what looked like 8-10 foot swells. From Jaco to Quepos are a couple of one lane bridges made of old railroad ties that seemed sure to give way at any moment. We survived though. There are miles and miles of palm tree plantations here that the road runs through.
Destination Manuel Antonio:
We made it to Manuel Antonio at around 5pm and after stopping and asking for directions several times finally found our little bamboo house where we will be staying. The little road to the house is straight up the side of the mountain and next door is a brother and his family who are locals and attend the Spanish congregation in Quepos. Our house is really nice! Downstairs is one big room with 2 beds and a bathroom, the main floor has a living room, dining area, kitchen and another bathroom and upstairs is a loft with another bed. It even has an air conditioner! I hear those are luxuries around here. After unloading, we were off to dinner. At the end of the driveway we saw a nicely dressed, happy couple waiting for the bus and guess what, they were Witnesses on their way to the meeting. Their names were Michael and Rocky Phinney, both pioneers from Tennessee and they moved here to help the English congregation 10 months ago. He serves as the Service Overseer, Secretary & a book study overseer. There are 18 publishers in congregation.
We ate at a nice restaurant that was frequented by all the tourists here. The Manuel Antonio area is a very touristy place and much more expensive here than in the rural areas. We stopped at a grocery store on our way back to the house and before we knew it Sam was talking to a group of 5 guys in one of the aisles. Four of them were brothers from Brooklyn Bethel that Sam recognized from when he served at Bethel. They are all here on vacation for a few days! The other brother, Franklin, is a local brother from the town of Jaco. Our second day here and we’ve already ran into 11 other brothers and sisters by chance. Such a small world in Jehovah’s organization! The brothers from Brooklyn invited us to come down to the beach tomorrow and do some surfing with them. Being that Wednesday will be our first day in the ministry, we accepted and will be meeting up with them to soak up some sun. Sorry for such a long post, but as you can see, I’m pretty excited about our trip thus far. Adios - more to come!
We started the day out this morning with a rooster waking us up at the crack of dawn. The B&B offered a wonderful complementary breakfast of eggs, rice & beans, pancakes, fresh watermelon & papaya, etc. and of course fresh Costa Rican coffee. While I was checking out, I mentioned to the owner that we were Jehovah’s Witnesses and that the local branch office had suggested her B&B as a place to stay. After a minute, a lady who had been swimming in the pool walked up and began talking to the owner and myself. The owner proceeded to say something in Spanish to the lady, who then looked at me with a big smile and said, “you are my brother?!!!“ She gave me a big hug and began to tell me all about herself. Her name is Sis. Carpenter, and she grew up in Costa Rica, married a brother from NJ who had been sent there as a missionary and they are presently living about a half mile down the road (they go to the B&B in the morning for an exercise swim). She and her husband invited us to their house, but unfortunately we had to get going to have time to tour the branch offices. They said that we could stay with them anytime and in fact said that when Sam and Jen come back into the city to pick up the other sister, Carmen, on Thursday that they were welcome to stay the night before they headed back to Quepos. They gave us their email and phone numbers to contact them later.
At the Branch Offices:
We were welcomed at the branch by Felix, one of the 38 Bethelites, and he gave us a wonderful tour of the facilities. One of the beautiful features of the branch is that in the middle of the building is a huge opening were the sun is shining in upon a large cluster of plants and flowers. The rain, as well as the birds come right into the office! The branch is located about a mile or 2 from a little area called San Antonio which is known as having the best weather year around in Costa Rica.
Our drive to Manuel Antonio:
We headed out of the San Jose area at noon and we were all starving! We decided to wait until getting out of the city before stopping for a bite to eat. The road from San Jose to Quepos (Manuel Antonio) is anything but what we Americans are used to. The roads wind back and forth and up and down the mountains, oftentimes with no guardrails to stop you from plummeting hundreds if not thousands of feet down the side of the mountain, oh, and did I mention the crazy drivers on the roads here. We stopped at a little open air restaurant just before the little town of San Mateo that was practically hanging on the side of the mountain. The food was delicious and cost the five of us $16 total for food and drinks! The countryside here is amazingly beautiful and the people are so friendly that it’s easy to see why so many people are retiring here. About a half hour from Jaco is a bridge that had many tourists gawking and looking over it’s railing. Down below were 15-20 huge crocodiles, some of which looked like they were at least 15ft long. Finally after about 3 hours of driving we saw our first glimpse of the beautiful blue waters off the coast of Jaco. There were several surfers out in the what looked like 8-10 foot swells. From Jaco to Quepos are a couple of one lane bridges made of old railroad ties that seemed sure to give way at any moment. We survived though. There are miles and miles of palm tree plantations here that the road runs through.
Destination Manuel Antonio:
We made it to Manuel Antonio at around 5pm and after stopping and asking for directions several times finally found our little bamboo house where we will be staying. The little road to the house is straight up the side of the mountain and next door is a brother and his family who are locals and attend the Spanish congregation in Quepos. Our house is really nice! Downstairs is one big room with 2 beds and a bathroom, the main floor has a living room, dining area, kitchen and another bathroom and upstairs is a loft with another bed. It even has an air conditioner! I hear those are luxuries around here. After unloading, we were off to dinner. At the end of the driveway we saw a nicely dressed, happy couple waiting for the bus and guess what, they were Witnesses on their way to the meeting. Their names were Michael and Rocky Phinney, both pioneers from Tennessee and they moved here to help the English congregation 10 months ago. He serves as the Service Overseer, Secretary & a book study overseer. There are 18 publishers in congregation.
We ate at a nice restaurant that was frequented by all the tourists here. The Manuel Antonio area is a very touristy place and much more expensive here than in the rural areas. We stopped at a grocery store on our way back to the house and before we knew it Sam was talking to a group of 5 guys in one of the aisles. Four of them were brothers from Brooklyn Bethel that Sam recognized from when he served at Bethel. They are all here on vacation for a few days! The other brother, Franklin, is a local brother from the town of Jaco. Our second day here and we’ve already ran into 11 other brothers and sisters by chance. Such a small world in Jehovah’s organization! The brothers from Brooklyn invited us to come down to the beach tomorrow and do some surfing with them. Being that Wednesday will be our first day in the ministry, we accepted and will be meeting up with them to soak up some sun. Sorry for such a long post, but as you can see, I’m pretty excited about our trip thus far. Adios - more to come!
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