::The Scene::

This was my cousin Jacob's Eagle Scout Project. He got money and clothes donation from his ward to give to our branch here in Costa Rica. We're using the money to buy the ward members scriptures and hymn books. This is me and my aunt helping getting the things out. It was really fun to see people picking out their clothes and being excited about them. They were very sweet and almost all of them said, "I don't want to take a lot. More people need these." Everyone got to find a couple outfits each. We're not done though, we just started inviting the neediest people in the ward. I suppose my family will finish handing out the clothes and things this or next week.







(Above) this is my favorite area near my house (copyright, my cousin Lindsey Lawson).

I can't believe I'm coming home so soon. I'm going to miss having a jungle around me everywhere I go. I was trying to think of how to describe Costa Rica, I'm supposed to be able to do things like that, as a writer, so here's an attempt:

There's green growth everywhere. Giant leaves and vines grow on trees that seem to have a grand design in mind. By a "grand design" I mean there are trees that grow perfectly vertical, with branches that grow horizontally and make a flat circular plane of leaves around the vertical parts with red leaves mixed in among the green because it's the dry season now. There are trees that remind me of the ones in Africa that grow out and make a perfect shaded circle below their branches. And then there are the Chinese flower trees and giant trees that look like the ones from the Princess Bride's Forbidden Forest.

There are some areas where the dirt is covered in small leaves growing like moss. Mists roll in heavy and thick on which lamp posts put eerie yellow lights on. The houses are small, always one story and usually have a roof, some walls, or a fence of rusted (wavy potato chip-shaped) metal. Lots of places are fenced off with bars, and you are always bound to see, at any time of day, people lounging on their porches, or children playing behind the bars of their houses. The people are really kind, and polite, and patient, and humble. And they're really short. And they're not all dark-skinned and dark-eyed like you'd think they'd be. There are tons of brunette Costa Ricans and I've even seen a few blond (no joke, the kid I really saw was dirty blond and he didn't even have white skin)--so they're very diverse in appearance.