Days 7-12: Costa Rica {Hogar de Vida}

We've had a great week here at the orphanage. But before we got here, we took a hike in the cloud forest and found some friends. About 100 feet into the walk, Sophie caught herself right before she stepped on a snake. It slithered into the sunlight and {after making sure Sophie was okay} Jared snapped this photo.

We arrived in the rain at Hogar de Vida, a children's home that Sophie spent time at two summers ago. All the kids were in bed, but it was so exciting to reunite with the family at the home. We spent some time chatting away, and Jared was already doing great with his Spanish!

We've spent the last 5 days helping out and visiting. We take kids on walks, entertain them with horsey rides aka caballito {Jared}, clean refrigerators {that was Sophie}, get kids ready for bed, and play around in the afternoons. Each day we're exhausted from the energy of all the kids but we love it. It has been so incredible for Sophie to get to see some of her kids two years later. Brenda, the baby who had just learned to crawl, now is walking and talking all over the place. Sophie changed diapers of kids who are now in preschool!

Here is a photo of Gipsy, one of Sophie's kids. she is the most adorable little girl. look at those eyes!

And here is Emmanuel, affectionately attacking Jared's face.

The kids here definitely need your prayers. even though it's been special to see them again, we'd rather have them placed with families. So be praying for all the kids here at Hogar de Vida.

We've also had a lot of fun with some families here from the US. The Dorman family is working here for the year, and they've lovingly invited us into their home. Jared instantly won the kids over with card tricks and they've been trying to steal his secrets all week. With some help, they're learning a lot.




We had a game night with the Dormans and some others, which included a round of bananagrams - with tiles in espanol!! We made sure to get a picture of that! We knew The Manor folk would appreciate it.

In just a week we've had so much time with people here that it will be tough to leave. The hospitality at Hogar has been a delight on our journey so far.

We're off to Portugal on Sunday to train through Europe. We'll update next from across the Atlantic!

Amor a todos,

Sophie y Jared

Days 1-6: Costa Rica

hola! we made it to Costa Rica with two very well packed suitcases. on day 2 we made the trek to the beach, which turned out to be a much longer trip than we anticipated. but Montezuma was a great little Costa Rican village on the ocean. after the 8 hour trip there we were excited to relax. so we found an amazing Italian food restaurant. we both wish it existed in San Diego, as it's some of the best we've tasted...except Jared's mom's lasagna. the afternoons usually contain a rainfall, or two. nonetheless, we enjoyed a little beach time and a hike up a waterfall.

now we're in the mountains, in the towns of Santa Elena and Monteverde. it's famous for it's cloud forest reserves, which we are going to see tomorrow. we went for a really fun night hike, which showed us a sloth, some poisonous snakes, and lots of insects. the town is really high up, basically in the clouds the whole time. the bus ride up had some amazing views.

we've met some other fun travelers along the way. they've passed on their travel tips and shared meals with us. shoutout to redhead Josh from Dallas, and the fellow honeymooners from Minnesota (yeah!) and Israel. we'll see you on the dancefloor again soon, we hope.

Sophie is loving that she gets to share her Costa Rica memories with Jared and Jared says he's having a great time, especially when empanadas are involved.

tomorrow we head to the orphanage Sophie lived at, here in Costa Rica. we'll update again after playing with the ninos! we'll try to post some pictures too.

we love you all!
- the Callahans!

we've got everywhere to go!

After months and months of planning the wedding, it happened. and it was wonderful. we were both overjoyed the entire day and overwhelmed by the love of everyone who celebrated with us. 

The ceremony was joyous and beautiful. 

And the reception was indescribably fun. 

Now we’re headed off on our honeymoon adventure, with very little planning. Hence, we are inspired by the words of Lao Tzu – “the good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.”

We have plane tickets, many of them, that carry us around the world, all heading east. There are 14 planned countries on our route. We have no reservations for hotels, hostels, couchsurfers, trains, boats, cars, or buses. But we plan on using many of those along the journey.

Our hope is that our lack of planning and open itinerary will allow us to truly see the countries we visit. We are also inspired by the Henry Miller quote – “One’s destination is never a place but a new way of seeing things.” We want to see more clearly – see people, see culture, see community, see God, see each other. The adventure will change us in profound ways. Thank you for encouraging and supporting us in this endeavor. Pray for us, read about our trip, leave us notes, and we’ll see you when we return!

We love you,

Sophie & Jared