Another big Change...

Well people get ready for a very interesting post! The Martinsen Family has moved to Costa Rica!! That’s right….Costa Rica.

One full week of living on a remote island in an extremely third world country was just a tad more than we bargained for. Ok, well it came down to the fact that after Lane trying desperately for a week to get high speed internet set up at the house, he realized it simply was not going to be adequate for him to still be able to work his business, so we made a very quick move today just a little ways south (about 90 miles) to the beautiful land of Costa Rica. This was an adventure in and of itself so settle in and let me tell you all about it.

Costa Rica was our plan “B” in case the internet was a problem and it became apparent yesterday that yes indeed, we needed to proceed with plan “B”. (I have to admit that I have never been so grateful for failed internet in MY LIFE!!!) Now, don’t get me wrong, our family is truly grateful for the experience that we had in Nicaragua and we learned things this past week that will forever be part of us. Our kids had their eyes opened as to what real poverty is and they suddenly became extremely grateful for the simple things that we all took for granted at home. This is something they could not have learned any other way. The way that people live in Nicaragua and on Ometepe Island specifically is so totally different than anything we have ever experienced before.

While we were all pretty excited to leave, there were a couple things that we knew were going to make it difficult for us. One, leaving the tiny branch of members of the Church there who were so excited to have us, including the missionaries who we knew had prayed for help and hoped that would be us. We knew this was not going to be an easy phone call to make.

The second thing that was going to be even more difficult for us was trying to explain to our wonderful caretakers on the property that we were leaving them. It makes me want to cry all over again even reliving that moment. First of all we cannot really speak their language at all although we had gotten fairly good at figuring out what each other were talking about and so we knew it would be difficult to express how sorry we were about leaving them. You might say, “you only knew them for a week…how hard could it be to leave?” Well, let me just tell you that this little family was one of the sweetest that we have ever known. They are humble and hardworking and we grew to absolutely love them in just one week. Emerson watched over us like a mother hen and had something new and exciting to show us every day or a new food to try, the kids were sweet and happy and always wanting to play and Leyla….it broke my heart to leave her. I type this with tears flowing even now, because I just can’t even tell you how much I love this sweet woman. We worked alongside each other each day and communicated through our smiles and laughter and a little sign language. She was truly an angel to me and she has such a heart of gold. When I saw what she lives in and how she cooks over an open pit and does her washing and takes care of her family…I just was so amazed. She taught me so many things and I am a better person just for knowing her. When we hugged goodbye, it just broke my heart as we wrapped our arms around each other and cried. We both know that the chances of us ever seeing each other again are slim to none. She is my island sister and I will love her forever.

Well, we got ourselves loaded onto the ferry and said goodbye to the Island that we called home for a week. It truly is a beautiful sight from a distance as you see the majestic peaks of the volcanoes rising up through the clouds. I only wish it were that beautiful on the streets. The people have not been taught to take care of their land and it has become somewhat of a garbage dump and is not a desirable place to live in the slightest bit.

Well, we were a bit apprehensive about how to get all of us and our bags across the border and into Costa Rica, but we knew that the Lord would watch over us and show us the way just as he has done since we left the states. We asked the taxi driver if he would be willing drive his van onto the ferry and take us as far as the border and he was willing to do it for a fair price. This was truly a blessing because it made it so that we didn’t have to unload our bags onto another taxi and go through all that hassle. So far all of the taxis drivers that we have met have been super great and helpful to us. Marvin was no different.

So, he got us to the border which is only about 30 miles and then WHOA!! If you have never been to an international border crossing, then you haven’t really lived..ha ha
It was CRAZY! This is where the story gets good so get comfy here…. We had hoards of men all jabbering in Spanish all coming up to the van wanting to help with our bags etc…the taxi had no choice but to let us off here because he could not drive his taxi across the border. There is a large space in between the borders called “no man’s land” that we were going to have to walk with all our bags. It had just rained and so it was extremely muddy which was going to make this a most miserable walk. Plus, you do not feel entirely safe at this point in the journey. It was right at this point that I spotted a big guy that had a CSI Miami t-shirt on and I hollered out to him…”Habla Englais??” He turned around and said “YES!” He turned away for a sec to talk to a border patrol agent and it was his wife who said she spotted Emma and saw the look on her cute, but terrified face and she came over to us and said, “you guys are coming with us.” She had a friendly smile and she spoke English and they had a huge RV so we didn’t hesitate at all!

Let me tell you, this family…the Ballantine family are just the most incredibly awesome people! They were truly good Samaritans and didn’t bat an eye at all our bags. They just started loading them on and told us to get in. Turns out, we have much in common with them. They are crazy Gringos just like us! They were traveling with their 3 kids and one very new daughter in-law. Their oldest son just got married one month ago and has a darling wife, then they have a 17 year old son and a daughter who I think was also 17. They did exactly what we are doing when their 3 kids were exactly the same ages as ours are now. We had so much fun hearing all about their adventures! They are wonderful Christian people who do missionary work all throughout Central America. They helped to start a foundation that provides clean water filters to under developed countries like Haiti. They started in Texas and actually drove their RV all the way down Central America to Costa Rica and are headed to Panama. They speak perfect Spanish and really know the ropes of being on an adventure such as this. Although we learned from them that there are definitely times when it is best to pretend NOT to know Spanish! Ha ha

Anyway, the fact that we came across this family today was NOT a coincidence and we definitely realized what a huge blessing it was for the Lord to put them in our path. I just get choked up thinking about that. They got us to the nearest town that they were going to and then waited with us until we were able to find a taxi van that brought us all the way to this wonderful little house that I am sitting in now typing this post.

I am unbelieveably tired and so I will end this for now and fill you in on our NEW home tomorrow. Let me just say that it feels the Hilton compared to the Island and we have clean sheets and AC and I am so excited for a nice shower with a fluffy soft towel!

We are happy and healthy and excited for this chapter of our adventure to begin!