I got some advice from an official Post Office employee, Denise Bardash. Here's some additional information that might help if you're looking to mail something to us (Thanks, Denise!) . . .
"Certified mail is a service only for within the states and not foreign mail. Best way to send in a secure manner and with recorded delivery is by using Registered mail with return-receipt request. Registering requires you. the addressees, to sign for the mailpiece and sign the return receipt, which is then mailed to sender as proof of delivery. Mail piece needs to be secured with tamper-proof paper tape which the window clerk should be able to do for sender or can be purchased at local stores. Any other type of tape is not acceptable as it can be resealed with no evidence of being opened...only paper tape is secure."
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Address & Phone Number :)
We finally have an address & phone number! How exciting, huh?
I don't want to post it on the blog here for security reasons, but if for some reason you did not get our email with all of the information, just send us an email at brkandel@hotmail.com & we will be glad to share! Goodnight :)
I don't want to post it on the blog here for security reasons, but if for some reason you did not get our email with all of the information, just send us an email at brkandel@hotmail.com & we will be glad to share! Goodnight :)
Thursday, November 23, 2006
The view from here!
Happy Thanksgiving! We hope that everyone is doing well, with full stomachs & full hearts . . .
I am happy to share with you all that we have settled into our new apartment & it's beginning to feel a little like home. We are getting to know San Antonio de Belen, the bus routes, and the good places to buy pinapple (very important). We have been involved in a few different areas at the school (many many English placement interviews, some staff meetings, and some other miscellaneous work). We also had a neat experience serving with a bible school/food ministry for poor children in a city close to here. . . Overall this month has been an amazing opportunity to meet new people and to see God at work in the lives of many.
Thought we'd share some pictures with you so you can get an idea of life here . . .
Our apartment:
(the view from our bedroom on a clear morning)
(the view from our bedroom on a rainy afternoon - where did the mountains go??)
The bus stop (about a 5 minute walk from our house) & the surrounding neighborhood:
A street in downtown Belen:
The beautiful Catholic Church in Belen:
Our Thanksgiving Celebration:
I am happy to share with you all that we have settled into our new apartment & it's beginning to feel a little like home. We are getting to know San Antonio de Belen, the bus routes, and the good places to buy pinapple (very important). We have been involved in a few different areas at the school (many many English placement interviews, some staff meetings, and some other miscellaneous work). We also had a neat experience serving with a bible school/food ministry for poor children in a city close to here. . . Overall this month has been an amazing opportunity to meet new people and to see God at work in the lives of many.
Thought we'd share some pictures with you so you can get an idea of life here . . .
Our apartment:
(the view from our bedroom on a clear morning)
(the view from our bedroom on a rainy afternoon - where did the mountains go??)
The bus stop (about a 5 minute walk from our house) & the surrounding neighborhood:
A street in downtown Belen:
The beautiful Catholic Church in Belen:
Our Thanksgiving Celebration:
(Robin with another missionary teacher, Kristin)
Thanks to everyone for your support through all of this! We wouldn't be here without you!!
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Moved again!!
Just a quick post to let everyone know that we are pretty much settled into our new apartment in San Antonio de Belen. We managed to find some furniture, washer-dryer, fridge, stove, and a couple of other things. Still far to go to make it a home . . . We also have been working on getting internet and phone and whatnot, and it´s been a little frustrating, but now we can proudly say we are owners of a cell phone line! It was too difficult to try to get a land line here. . .
Anyways, we have been doing some things at the school so far this week, mainly observing and helping out with classes. This weekend we are going to help out with some entrance testing and interviewing, which should be fun. They have several other projects that they´d like us to help out with, so we will definitely be busy over their break, which is a good thing!
We really think we are going to like it here, and praise God for his provision. Please continue to pray for us as we seek God´s guidance for our work here. Thanks to everyone for all of the encouragement with comments, emails, and prayer. We really appreciate it & miss you all!!
Anyways, we have been doing some things at the school so far this week, mainly observing and helping out with classes. This weekend we are going to help out with some entrance testing and interviewing, which should be fun. They have several other projects that they´d like us to help out with, so we will definitely be busy over their break, which is a good thing!
We really think we are going to like it here, and praise God for his provision. Please continue to pray for us as we seek God´s guidance for our work here. Thanks to everyone for all of the encouragement with comments, emails, and prayer. We really appreciate it & miss you all!!
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Moving on . . .
Tomorrow is our last day of classes at the Spanish Language Institute. In many ways, we are excited and in other ways, it's difficult . . .
It's taken us longer than we expected to feel comfortable where we are, but I'd have to say that we have somewhat settled into San Francisco de Dos Rios. We have really been blessed with a loving host family and have had some wonderful opportunities to get to know them. They say that they are sad to see us go, and we can honestly say the same. We've also had a neat experience at the language school, with some fun classmates and excellent professors. We've marveled at the beauty of the mountains in the morning. We've figured out where we can go to get notebooks, shampoo, and some great coffee. And its all flown by. . .
Monday we leave this area & with some help from some missionaries close to LPDV school, we should be into our condo by Wednesday. We're still working out some minor details, such as: how do we get electricity, where should we get a fridge, and when can we get our keys?? We know though, that God has it all under control. We're so thrilled to be on our own, and to begin our work at LPDV, but we know that its going to be another transition. We'll need to learn all about San Antonio de Belen and how life flows over there. We'll need to learn how to be somewhat self-sufficient in our own home. We'll need to learn where and how God wants to use us at LPDV. But we are excited because we know God has called us to this life and that He is faithful. There have been a couple instances which have prompted me to think about going home this week (the fact that many of the students are going home now that they're done with language school, and also the fact that we had a return flight that we weren't able to exchange that flew out today). A part of me thought, how awesome would it be to go home where I am comfortable and see all of the people that I love??? But much of me thought, I don't think I would feel fulfilled going home now. Our journey is just beginning.
Please continue to pray for us as we take this next step in our mission. Please pray specifically for:
- Our individual relationships with the Lord (We want to be fully equipped for our mission.)
- Our relationship with each other (I don't think we've ever spent this much time together & while it's great, it's something new for us.)
- Our daily safety (There have been a couple of incidents in our neighborhood here and we don't know exactly what the area we are moving to will be like.)
- Our move to the condo (That we would find all that we need to make a home.)
- Our move to Belen (That we would get to know the area and also make new friendships within the community.)
- God's guidance in our roles at LPDV
Thanks to everyone for your encouragement, we deeply value all of it.
God's peace be with you . . . goodnight
It's taken us longer than we expected to feel comfortable where we are, but I'd have to say that we have somewhat settled into San Francisco de Dos Rios. We have really been blessed with a loving host family and have had some wonderful opportunities to get to know them. They say that they are sad to see us go, and we can honestly say the same. We've also had a neat experience at the language school, with some fun classmates and excellent professors. We've marveled at the beauty of the mountains in the morning. We've figured out where we can go to get notebooks, shampoo, and some great coffee. And its all flown by. . .
Monday we leave this area & with some help from some missionaries close to LPDV school, we should be into our condo by Wednesday. We're still working out some minor details, such as: how do we get electricity, where should we get a fridge, and when can we get our keys?? We know though, that God has it all under control. We're so thrilled to be on our own, and to begin our work at LPDV, but we know that its going to be another transition. We'll need to learn all about San Antonio de Belen and how life flows over there. We'll need to learn how to be somewhat self-sufficient in our own home. We'll need to learn where and how God wants to use us at LPDV. But we are excited because we know God has called us to this life and that He is faithful. There have been a couple instances which have prompted me to think about going home this week (the fact that many of the students are going home now that they're done with language school, and also the fact that we had a return flight that we weren't able to exchange that flew out today). A part of me thought, how awesome would it be to go home where I am comfortable and see all of the people that I love??? But much of me thought, I don't think I would feel fulfilled going home now. Our journey is just beginning.
Please continue to pray for us as we take this next step in our mission. Please pray specifically for:
- Our individual relationships with the Lord (We want to be fully equipped for our mission.)
- Our relationship with each other (I don't think we've ever spent this much time together & while it's great, it's something new for us.)
- Our daily safety (There have been a couple of incidents in our neighborhood here and we don't know exactly what the area we are moving to will be like.)
- Our move to the condo (That we would find all that we need to make a home.)
- Our move to Belen (That we would get to know the area and also make new friendships within the community.)
- God's guidance in our roles at LPDV
Thanks to everyone for your encouragement, we deeply value all of it.
God's peace be with you . . . goodnight
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
We´re still here!
In case anyone was wondering, we are still alive and well! We have been getting used to the area and school, and are beginning to feel a bit more at home here (about the time we have to move again). We have been plenty busy with schoolwork, but we´ve been enjoying our time at the institute. We got our first test back today and it wasn´t too bad! Well, I wish I had more time, but my hour at the cafe is running out. . .for a more detailed and exciting blog, check out Bryan´s Blog. He´s way better at this thing than me!
We miss you all. Please continue to pray for us as we continue at the spanish language institute and also look for a house on the other side of town. Thanks & ¡Que Dios Los Bendiga!
We miss you all. Please continue to pray for us as we continue at the spanish language institute and also look for a house on the other side of town. Thanks & ¡Que Dios Los Bendiga!
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Stopping by to say hi . . .
Hi everyone! I'm too lazy right now to email all of our groups, so I hope you continue checking this blog and Bryan's for updates . . .
Let's see, where to begin??
We can start with our host family. It has been nice getting to know them and talk with them. Like Bryan said, we are living with a nice woman and her daughter of 17 yrs. They are Christians and very very faithful. They have taken us around San Jose and have been willing to help us out however they can. They have also continued to feed us WAY more food than we (I) need, which is nice, but can get to be overwhelming after a while. I think I've finally communicated that I don't need as much as Bryan!
We live about 5-10 minutes from the school. It's nice to walk around. We've also managed to make it to a few stores, this internet cafe, a mall, and other places. The neighborhood is very close to downtown, but kind of suburban (though not like the suburbs you would think of in the US, still very busy).
We started language school on Monday. I was happy to make it into the same level as Bryan, as he has been teaching and knows more than me. We are alone in our grammar class, which is nice, but also intense. We are in a conversation class with another man named Rob, who is here with his wife. They took us out tonight for coffee. I guess you could consider them like parents because of the age difference, but we always seem to identify with people older than us. Anyways, the classes are what they are called - "intensive." Our conversation teacher has already given us way more assignments than I needed to know we were going to be doing. However, I think it is going to be a good experience for us. I am just mentally exhausted when we get out at 3:15. Bryan however, gets excited about the assignments - he may be just a little bit too much of an overachiever for me!! haha
I'm not sure what else to say, since we really haven't been here for too long yet. Please please continue to pray for us (thanks for the prayers thus far) - we are still missing home and family quite a bit, we've had bouts with cockroaches that we're not too thrilled about, and I have been getting very tired by the end of the day (which by the way is at like 5:30 when the sun sets here!! it also rises around 5:30 am . . .weird, i know). Please also pray for our safety, while out walking or on buses, and also while at home. We know that God has called us to this place, and want to fulfill that call with joyful hearts. Thanks to everyone for the encouragement through email, blog comments, and prayer, please keep it coming!! We love you much . . .goodnight!
ps - I was able to watch Monday Night Football to see the Eagles beat the Packers, so that was nice. I didn't think that would happen (capacity to watch real football in CR, not the fact that the Eagles won!)
Let's see, where to begin??
We can start with our host family. It has been nice getting to know them and talk with them. Like Bryan said, we are living with a nice woman and her daughter of 17 yrs. They are Christians and very very faithful. They have taken us around San Jose and have been willing to help us out however they can. They have also continued to feed us WAY more food than we (I) need, which is nice, but can get to be overwhelming after a while. I think I've finally communicated that I don't need as much as Bryan!
We live about 5-10 minutes from the school. It's nice to walk around. We've also managed to make it to a few stores, this internet cafe, a mall, and other places. The neighborhood is very close to downtown, but kind of suburban (though not like the suburbs you would think of in the US, still very busy).
We started language school on Monday. I was happy to make it into the same level as Bryan, as he has been teaching and knows more than me. We are alone in our grammar class, which is nice, but also intense. We are in a conversation class with another man named Rob, who is here with his wife. They took us out tonight for coffee. I guess you could consider them like parents because of the age difference, but we always seem to identify with people older than us. Anyways, the classes are what they are called - "intensive." Our conversation teacher has already given us way more assignments than I needed to know we were going to be doing. However, I think it is going to be a good experience for us. I am just mentally exhausted when we get out at 3:15. Bryan however, gets excited about the assignments - he may be just a little bit too much of an overachiever for me!! haha
I'm not sure what else to say, since we really haven't been here for too long yet. Please please continue to pray for us (thanks for the prayers thus far) - we are still missing home and family quite a bit, we've had bouts with cockroaches that we're not too thrilled about, and I have been getting very tired by the end of the day (which by the way is at like 5:30 when the sun sets here!! it also rises around 5:30 am . . .weird, i know). Please also pray for our safety, while out walking or on buses, and also while at home. We know that God has called us to this place, and want to fulfill that call with joyful hearts. Thanks to everyone for the encouragement through email, blog comments, and prayer, please keep it coming!! We love you much . . .goodnight!
ps - I was able to watch Monday Night Football to see the Eagles beat the Packers, so that was nice. I didn't think that would happen (capacity to watch real football in CR, not the fact that the Eagles won!)
Thursday, September 28, 2006
We are here!
Hey all! This blog is going to be pretty short, as we are using internet cafes for internet right now. Just wanted to let everyone know that we are here and doing well. We´re living with a very nice host family, and start language school on Monday. Please continue to pray for us as we get to know the area, start school, and begin looking for a more permanent place to live. Thanks & God Bless!!
PS - Bryan also posted on his blog, if you click on his link below (to the right). I have no idea what he wrote, but check in there to see if he gave you more info than me!!
PS - Bryan also posted on his blog, if you click on his link below (to the right). I have no idea what he wrote, but check in there to see if he gave you more info than me!!
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
This is it!!!
I'm taking a break from all of the craziness to let everyone know that we are leaving for Costa Rica in less than a week!!! Wow, when did that happen?? It's actually funny because we've been planning this for oh, 4 years, and somehow I still feel like this snuck up on me!!
But yes, it's official, we will be leaving for Miami at 7:15 on Monday, Sept 25th and finally arriving in beautiful Costa Rica at 12:35 on Wednesday, Sept 27th (we have to stop in the LAM office before leaving). So, this week for us looks to be full of packing, moving, gathering up all of the important stuff that we need, last minute things, anxious anticipation, enjoying the rest of our time here, and of course some very difficult goodbyes. We just want to say thanks to our friends and family who have been incredibly supportive of us through all of this. Please continue to pray for us, especially during this time of transition. We believe that God has an amazing plan for us in Costa Rica, and can't wait to see it begin to unfold.
Please keep in touch with us & we promise to do the same - we should be able to email and post updates fairly often. Also, if anyone would like to say goodbye, there will be a party on Saturday evening. . . . let us know if you are interested.
But yes, it's official, we will be leaving for Miami at 7:15 on Monday, Sept 25th and finally arriving in beautiful Costa Rica at 12:35 on Wednesday, Sept 27th (we have to stop in the LAM office before leaving). So, this week for us looks to be full of packing, moving, gathering up all of the important stuff that we need, last minute things, anxious anticipation, enjoying the rest of our time here, and of course some very difficult goodbyes. We just want to say thanks to our friends and family who have been incredibly supportive of us through all of this. Please continue to pray for us, especially during this time of transition. We believe that God has an amazing plan for us in Costa Rica, and can't wait to see it begin to unfold.
Please keep in touch with us & we promise to do the same - we should be able to email and post updates fairly often. Also, if anyone would like to say goodbye, there will be a party on Saturday evening. . . . let us know if you are interested.
Monday, September 04, 2006
3 weeks away!!
Hello again! Well, so now that Bryan has discovered the wonderful world of blogging (check it out - you can use the new link on this page), he has been severely showing me up in the frequency category. So here is my attempt to update you all, to let you know how we are coming along!
Yes, it's true, we only have 3 weeks until we will be in Miami, getting ready to leave for Costa Rica on the 27th. Our plane tickets are booked and we are now running all over the place trying to get things set. We're making our lists, and checking them 20 times. It seems like every day something new pops up. Right now we are just trying to make sure that our first month of language school is set, and that we will have all of the important things that we need. Being the procrastinator that I am, it's really hard for me to think about packing right now, but I know that I need to get things done because the time that we have here is just going to fly.
Other than getting ready to leave, Bryan's played a few shows, I've been on the loooooong road of wisdom teeth recovery, we've been babysitting our nephew Jeremiah (now that we're "unemployed"), and honestly, I don't even know what else we've been doing!!! We've been plenty busy though, and ask that you continue to pray for us.
Here are a couple of prayer points:
- That we would be aware of all of the things that we need to take care of before leaving.
- That we will be fully supported by the time we leave (we are really close!).
- That Bryan has a happy birthday (26 on the 6th)!
- That I would fully recover from the wisdom teeth/throat pain ASAP.
- That all remaining tests and health insurance will work out.
- That God would prepare us for Costa Rica & Costa Rica for us!! :)
Thanks & Have a Blessed Week!!!
Yes, it's true, we only have 3 weeks until we will be in Miami, getting ready to leave for Costa Rica on the 27th. Our plane tickets are booked and we are now running all over the place trying to get things set. We're making our lists, and checking them 20 times. It seems like every day something new pops up. Right now we are just trying to make sure that our first month of language school is set, and that we will have all of the important things that we need. Being the procrastinator that I am, it's really hard for me to think about packing right now, but I know that I need to get things done because the time that we have here is just going to fly.
Other than getting ready to leave, Bryan's played a few shows, I've been on the loooooong road of wisdom teeth recovery, we've been babysitting our nephew Jeremiah (now that we're "unemployed"), and honestly, I don't even know what else we've been doing!!! We've been plenty busy though, and ask that you continue to pray for us.
Here are a couple of prayer points:
- That we would be aware of all of the things that we need to take care of before leaving.
- That we will be fully supported by the time we leave (we are really close!).
- That Bryan has a happy birthday (26 on the 6th)!
- That I would fully recover from the wisdom teeth/throat pain ASAP.
- That all remaining tests and health insurance will work out.
- That God would prepare us for Costa Rica & Costa Rica for us!! :)
Thanks & Have a Blessed Week!!!
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