MADE IT SAFELY TO COSTA RICA & SURVIVED OUR 1st EARTHQUAKE
We are settling in here, in Costa Rica and getting into the groove of things. We currently reside in a 2-bedroom apartment about 35 x 20 ft. Not much room, but we’re only here for 4 months. We are walking distance from the school so we don’t use a vehicle here. We use taxi and bus to get to the stores further out when needed. It has not been much of a culture shock for us due to our frequent visits to Quito, Ecuador. Our kids on the other hand are enjoying the new adventures of city living, we are still working out the new street-smart rules, but we expect that will be a process. We are thankful for being blessed to come here as a stepping-stone for some of these adjustments. San José is not as congested with traffic like Quito, so it makes a great middle ground for the transition. This gives us a chance to layout some safety ground rules with our children. Plus, they are still adjusting to all the bars and barbed wire everywhere. In this picture you can see the view from our front door. Our own little piece of Alcatraz 
The weather has been beautiful, muggy, torrential down pours, oh; and yes our first earthquake experience. We were picking up a few household supplies when it hit. The isles in the store were shaking, things were falling off shelves and people began running out of the building screaming. I froze it took about 3 seconds until I verbally shared with our kids we were having an earthquake. Luckily, we were in the toilet paper isle and mostly safe. It was a 6.0 magnitude; just enough to be exciting yet make us anxious at the same time.
A WINDOW INTO ANOTHER WORLD
Our day in the life of San Jose. From Left to Right: Arrive at ILE, Easton in class, Haven in class. Then off we go to our classes.
OUR DAILY BREAD
We received our latest report a few days ago and were very blessed with several surprises. We had some unexpected one-time financial gifts come in and we are very grateful for those. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We are still currently without a vehicle when we arrive in Ecuador so every deposit is a HUGE blessing for our family. Our beloved friends, the Mills family, has been running a garage sale to sell off some of our remaining items we had to leave behind. So far the sale has made $600.00 on the first day. Daily we are being humbled when leave our home because we are not fluent in Spanish and are treated with grace and patience by the Ticos as we stumble through our conversations. These daily blessings have been inspiring for us since we have been so mentally drained with learning so much in such a short time. Over all we are doing well and when the discouragement arises we are reminded that; “Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.” When we are struggling and are continually being humbled, then we know that we are in a good place. This war is not ours it is His. We are just mere soldiers on the front lines obediently putting one foot in front of the other and as we all know, the war has already been won.
STRATEGIC GIVING
In preparation for our life in Ecuador we still have needs for basic essentials and conveniences that many take for granted. If you wish to be intentional in your support for us feel free to review the list at www.extremehing.org/strategic-giving and strategically plan your investment into our lives and work in Ecuador. PLEASE NOTE THAT PARTIAL DONATIONS CAN BE MADE IN ANY AMOUNT BY CLICKING “Send Another Amount” LINK.
With Great Love,
- The Hings