The First Days

Well, alas, this journey has begun. We are here in San Jose, Costa Rica, getting settled. Our language school (Instituto de Lengua Espanola) begins Wednesday Jan 9. Sam, Georgia and Ty begin school tomorrow on Monday.

We have been here one week. The first couple of days for all of us was difficult—leaving Charlottesville and our friends and family left big empty spaces in our hearts. Each day gets easier though as we hold firmly to the belief that God has appointed us to this place and so we would rather be nowhere else.

I should emphasize how difficult it was for all of us those first couple days. I did not want to unpack our things because that meant committing to staying and I was not ready to stay. Tonight as I write, we all feel vastly different, we are experiencing peace and contentment—“fight the good fight” has been our mantra. The difference between now and five days ago is so stark that I believe God has intervened through the prayer of our friends and family to lift those onerous feelings from us.

Funny story: Angela took Ty and Georgia to the panaderia (bakery) yesterday while I cooked dinner and Sam rested. The clerk asked Angela if she wanted her pastries in a bag (bolsa). Angela said, “What? Umm, yes, botella.” The clerk just stared at her with a confused look. She came home and told me the story and asked why the clerk seemed confused. I said, “Honey, that’s because you told him to put the pastries in a bottle (botella)!”

There are no street addresses here. You merely describe where you are in relation to landmarks. So here is how we give our address: San Francisco de dos rios (our neighborhood), Parque Los Sauces (park adjacent to us), La esquina enfrente de Abstacedor (corner opposite the Abastacedor ((store)), La casa con terracotta y verja negra (the house with terra cotta and a black gate).

But if you want to mail us something don’t write the above description on envelope. Send us letters and packages to:

Ken and Angela Massey
Instituto de Lengua Espanola
Apartado 100-2350
San Jose, Costa Rica
America Central

We will post some pics later!