Together We Live

A Church Of Us

Hey everyone! On the first day with Jonathan in PA we walked from our homes to Gap, PA and stayed with our associate pastor from our home church and our friend cameron (his son). We ended up going out to dinner with Jonathan’s mother (Luli) sister (Julia) and our friend, Nate, to an amazing buffet restaurant called Dutchway. There we talked to a really genuine, Jesus loving man named Micah who was then waiting on us. It was really cool to get to know him more and hear about his dreams. Now he is backpacking through South America with his friend filming, photographing, and blogging. On their website they say, “Ultimately, our hope is that people will be able to connect with, relate to, and support others that they would otherwise never reach out to. Whether that means someone watches a video and supports the highlighted family or organization, or…

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Photo Of The Week: Niños De Nueva Era

Together We Live

Taken in Nueva Era, just outside of Pucallpa, Peru. We asked the children to raise their hands if they have received medicine in the past from Victoria’s Little Lambs Fund (http://www.victoriasfund.com/), a fund founded to provide basic medicine need for children in that area.

This was their response.

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Photo Of The Week: Chan Chan Ruins

Together We Live

The Chan Chan ruins, right outside of Trujillo, Peru, gave us a flashback to an ancient civilization.

The ruins, which cover nearly 14 square miles, are believed to be remains from one of the largest Pre-Columbian American cities. Tombs, walls, statues, carvings, and pyramids all remain to be seen to this day.

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Colombia Part 1

Together We Live

Finally, we’ve arrived in South America!

Our port of entry into South America

After traveling through the San Blas Islands between Panama and Colombia, we eventually ported in Capurgana, Colombia. This marked the beginning of our adventures through South America. We rested in Capurgana for a day, and spent the evening saying goodbye to all of the friends we made on our boat between countries.

The next day, we purchased a speedboat ticket from Capurgana to Turbo, where we could take a bus further into Colombia. What they didn’t tell us, though, was that the boat ride was absolutely crazy. As soon as we left the dock, the driver cranked the three engines on the back of the boat and we shot into the open water, jumping over each wave as they passed. Unfortunately for us and a few friends who knew no better, we sat in the front of…

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Photo Of The Week: Las Lajas Sanctuary

Together We Live

When we arrived to the Colombia / Ecuador border town of Ipiales, we spent a day traveling to Las Lajas Sanctuary. The church is located right on the border of the two countries. It’s a gorgeous church funded by the locals and the congregation of the church, not through outside funding. Construction began in 1916, and wasn’t finished until 1949. What makes the church unique is it’s integration into the canyon of the river. The church actually serves as the bridge between the river valley. Waterfalls and rushing water surround the church. Actually, where this picture was taken standing right next to one of those waterfalls.

Here’s a closeup shot of the bridge and church.

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The B-Sides Part 1: A Collection of Photos That Didn’t Make The Cut

Together We Live

We take a lot of photos (and video – coming soon) while traveling.

So many that, there’s bound to be some that don’t make the cut. We’ve actually taken over 5,000 photos since we began our journey two months ago!

And for every one great picture we share, there are always 10 that don’t get shown. We decided we would post a collection of our favorite photos that didn’t make the cut in our blog, website, or Facebook.

We decided to call them the B-sides. Enjoy!

We were taking pictures of an apartment for prospective renters. Decided not to use this one…Toliets don’t make great pictures.

Annoyed?

An English Teacher. He may or may not verbally abuse his students(?).

Mmmm..

“Pointing Picture #1”

From the Back.

San Jose, Costa Rica.

Good ol’ mirror selife.

Our first hotel room in San Jose.

Tons of “Crosses in the sky” photos..

This guy…

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Photo Of The Week: Outskirts of Medellin

Together We Live

Taken on a metro-cable ride north of Medellin. The city is the only one in Colombia with a metro system. Once considered the most dangerous city in the world, Medellin has been progressively transforming into a smarter and safer city. In fact, in 2012, the Wall Street Journal named Medellin the most innovative city of the year, beating out other heavy contenders such as New York and Tel Aviv.

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From Central to South

Together We Live

After our time in Nicaragua and on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, we returned to San Jose, where our journey began. In the two days spent back in San Jose, we spent our time reconnecting with friends in the GAP program, and preparing to move onward into Panama. In those two days, we spent the day watching and helping the male students of the GAP program prepare a special dinner to honor the girls in the program. In proper fashion, they waited until the last minute, but were able to pull together a nice dinner with ambient lighting, live music, and a meal topped off with chocolate covered strawberries.

After the dinner, us and our two friends Luke and Dustin, went out to a overlook of San Jose to grab a late dinner for ourselves. The pictures hardly do the view justice, and the adventure it took to make…

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Video: Desafiando Gigantes (Facing Giants)

Together We Live

While in San Jose, we had the opportunity to spend time with a local pastor named Jairo.

Jairo (pronounced Hi-Row) works in Tirrases de Curridabat, a district in the northern region of San Jose. Tirrases is interesting because almost half of the population is under 20 years old.

Jairo has a huge heart for the youth in the area, and he started a program with the local youth called Desafiando Gigantes, or “Facing Giants” in English.  When Jairo was a youth, he got involved with the drug scene in the area, until he later gave his life to Christ. Now, on saturdays, he spends nearly his entire day mentoring the youth. Jairo has connected with the GAP Program, and each saturday they send some of their students to help Jairo with his ministry.

Me and Nate tagged along for one saturday, and we spent the entire day with the kids…

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Excursion to Nicaragua & Costa Rica Beaches

Together We Live

In order to fly into Costa Rica, we needed a ticket to prove our plans of onward travel out of Costa Rica. Since we were flying on a one-way plane ticket, however, we had to buy a bus ticket. After a bit of searching online at home we found cheap bus tickets to Nicaragua, and decided “why not check out Nicaragua for a few days?” So after spending a week in San Jose, Costa Rica working with the Score International GAP year program, we headed up towards Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua. After a nine hour bus ride, our first land border crossing, and a little taxi bartering in broken Spanish, we arrived at a place called Managua backpackers hostel.

Very tired and gitty at this point

Over the next few days in Managua, we spent our time touring the area, learning a little about the history of Nicaragua, meeting…

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