Costa Rica

 

Costa Rica

Hola, hello, we are on to another Spanish speaking country, Costa Rica, which means “Rich Coast”. Let’s jump right in with a few quick facts:

* The capital of Costa Rica is San Jose.

* The official language is Spanish.

* The highest point is Chirripó Grande at 12,530 ft.

* The Costa Rican currency is called the colón.

* Coffee is the main export from Costa Rica.

* Some common foods they eat includes corn, coffee, beans, and fruit.

*Special treats include boiled iguana eggs, and cooked hogs head.

            In 1502 Christopher Columbus visited Costa Rica and from then until 1821 it was a Spanish colony.  In 1822 Costa Rica joined the Mexican empire and in 1838 they declared their independence. Since then they have had a rough history with many different presidents and several revolutions. This could give missionaries a good opportunity to introduce to the people the gospel of Jesus Christ and his perfect Kingdom.

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Pablo Yoder is a missionary in Nicaragua, so you might be wondering why I’m talking about him here.  Well, it happens that he once lived in Costa Rica and has written a book about when he and his family moved to Costa Rica.  This book is The Long Road Home and tells about when his parents and family went to Costa Rica to be missionaries.  But Pablo wasn’t a missionary at first.  No, he was part of a gang, a rebel, not at all wanting to serve God.  In his book he shares his testimony of the long road home to God and His love. 

Since then he has also written two books about before his family moved to Costa Rica called Home on the Rock Pile and Home on the Blue Ridge. These books have different stories from when he was young and also tell about the beginning of Faith Mission Home (a home for mentally handicapped children).

Pablo has written many other books as well.  To see some of them CLICK HERE. 

Pablo’s parents, though older, continue to serve the Lord in Costa Rica and now their children and grand-children are becoming missionaries for God.  But they are not the only ones bringing the good news to Costa Rica. Metro Ministries Costa Rica is a ministry that provides spiritual and physical help for poor families.  They focus on helping the children and young people by becoming friends with and interacting with them on their level and sharing with them about Jesus the best friend in the world.  Let’s pray that these people would be empowered by God, to not be weary in well doing, and that many children and adults may come to know the love of our Father in Heaven.

 

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  Now, a little project that you can do…  To go along with books, since I’ve been telling you about some, I’m going to show you how to make two different kinds of bookmarks.

Book Mark #1

What you need:

Paper Cutter

Card Stock

Markers

Colored Pens

Stickers

Fancy Scissors (Optional)

Hole punch

Ribbon

Laminating Paper (optional)

Cut your piece of Card stock into 8 pieces like this.

1.     Mark the center of one piece(bookmark)

2.     Punch a hole in at the top of that piece.

3.     Get another bookmark

4.     Stack the two together

5.     Using the top bookmark as a guide punch holes in all the other bookmarks.

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Now decorate your bookmarks in any way you want.  Use pens, markers, stickers, etc. to make the bookmark you’d like.

Optional: Laminate the bookmark after you decorate it so that it will stay nicer.

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When you have finished decorating the bookmark it is time to add a ribbon to the top.

1.     Cut your ribbon.  I did this one 10” but shorter works too.  You can decide how much you want sticking out the top of your book.

2.     Fold the ribbon in half and thread the folded end through the hole.

3.     Make the folded end into a loop big enough to take the cut ends through.

4.     Pull the cut ends tight and ta-da your book mark is done

 

Here are a few of the bookmarks I made.

 

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Bookmark #2

 

What you’ll need:

Colored paper

1” circle maker

Stickers

Colored pens

Paper clips

Stick Glue

Any other small decorations

 

Punch or cut two circles of the color you have chosen.  ( I am showing how I made 6 different ones) Also cut a strip of paper about 1” x ¼”.

 

Decorate both circles and fold the strip of paper in half.

 

Put glue on both circles and fasten down the strip letting a little of it stick out.  Then lay the other circle on.

Thread the paper clip through the loop and you have a cute little bookmark.

Ok, that’s all I have for this week.  Hasta luego!  See ya later!

P.S.  If there is a country you’d like to learn more about or something you’ve seen before that you’d like to learn how to make I’d be glad for a suggestion.  You can comment or send an email with your idea to vanessasventures2@gmail.com

 

Sources:  World Book Encyclopedia

            Metro Ministries Costa Rica