Visitors Keep Streaming Through...

A few months ago Jenn Scharf was living with us in the apartment downstairs while studying at the nearby University for Peace. Then, while we were traveling around the States, she went home to Canada. Now she's back again to finish up her thesis (in Peace Education) and spent a few days visiting us. She's moved to another part of town now to house sit.

It was great having her back!

Here's a couple of shots with Jaleh, the new pumpy, Barney, and Sassy the kitty:

We also enjoyed a surprise visit from Karen (previously Thurber), her adopted daughter, Alicia, and her husband, John Hines. This is a first for John, who is on vacation from his teaching job in Utah.
Alicia is Costa Rican and was adopted when she was a tiny baby. She left with the Thurbers (we knew Karen, who worked for awhile in the Continental Office with Counselor, Ruth Pringle, and Kingsly when he was working with Jimmy Seals as a recording guru) when she was only one year old! So, the purpose of this visit to CR was to see if it might be possible to find Alicia's biological family, which she has always been promised would be attempted.

The first day here they were amazed to discover that the 17 year old records were still neatly filed away at the Patronato (Child Welfare) office in Alajuela, plus people working in the office actually knew the wherabouts of Alicia's family who live nearby. So, there was a tearful, but joyous, meeting of her mother and half-sister and others very soon after they got here.

Now, they're off to visit more family members in the northern part of the country and to have a couple of days at the beach. Then they all return to Utah.
We hope that Alicia will return sometime soon and hang out with us as well as to polish up her very weak Spanish! Thanks for the visit, guys!