Here is Regan handing the purple bag with school supplies to a Cabecar Indigenous woman. I had been trying to make contact with this family for some time. They were fearful and hid behind trees across the river. Thank you Regan and Primrose School for your gifts.

Today we were headed to the farm with a truck full of feed, fuel and grown live chickens. Ahead was an Indigenous woman walking, carrying a small child of maybe 12 months. She was wearing a very used and worn Primrose Camp school bag full of stuff. She had a makeshift strap so that she could wear it. We stopped and she and the baby sat on top of the feed with the chickens. I have never seen this woman before. I am still smiling about the bag. They are used, cherished and loved.

Please tell the others at the school that their gift of camp bags, have meant so much to so many. I continue to see them in use and as Phil said today, Honey there is one of your bags, one of your Indigenous. Well they were your bags, thank you all so much for helping.

These moments are little successes, but successes none the less. We helped a women who had less than nothing. I don't know how she came to have the bag, it does not matter, she is one of our Indigenous women.

Today was a great day in our lives. It is difficult to express how exciting it is to see something as simple as a used purple bag. We smell of live chickens, (by the way, the chickens are beautiful.) I don’t think they were a bargain, but they are layers and one rooster. One even laid an egg in transport.

The accommodations in the Landcruiser were of such that we debated offering a ride, and then we stopped and backed up. The child was wedged between feed and clucking chickens in used feed sacks. Mom was piled on top of 50 lb. feed sacks of dog chow and cow minerals and none of us could get away from the chickens and their fresh earthy smell. The fuel smell overpowering everything. Yes it was a great day.

Regan is gifting the school bag filled with school supplies and homemade bread to Airminnnia our Indigenous neighbor on our side of the footbridge. The school supplies were generous donations from the Primrose School in Lawrenceville, Georgia, USA. More school supplies will be hiked up to the reservation by Hector and Daniel, who operate the Mission in Tuis (Voz Que Clama Mission), this week.

The river looks really tame at the moment, but you can see how high it will come to when the rainy season starts. We have been in a drought for some time now. This is the dry season, but we should still have rain. Our rainforest receives between 200 and 300 inches per year.

My Classmate Jackie from Fort Lauderdale High School, Class of 66 put me in touch with the daughter of a friend of hers. Regan and I emailed this past year and she spoke with her children’s school about helping the poor and indigenous children in our area. The children sold lemonade and the teachers donated and shopped for the children in my area of Costa Rica. Regan and her husband John came for a visit bringing gifts.

This morning we got up, ate breakfast and headed to the farm with our houseguests. I had planned to bring a gift to the indigenous, who live across the river from our farm and today was the day. I put a loaf of homemade whole wheat bread, lollipops, crayons, pencils, pencil sharpener, a pad of ruled paper, and some coloring books into a new bright purple satchel that was donated along with school supplies from Jennifer Hays, Tonya, and Kara at the Primrose School in Lawrenceville, Georgia. My houseguest, Regan and I took the Rhino and went down to the river, near the footbridge, with our gift. This time was different from all of the other times; they did not all hide from me. Airminnia, a lovely young indigenous mother of 4 or 5 little children came forward and walked across the rickety bridge to greet Regan. She spoke Spanish and accepted our gift as I took photos. One little success at a time; today was a really good day. Perhaps the indigenous man that I gave a ride to last week told her about me as Airminnia’s casita was his destination for the day.

If you have not been to a third world or developing world destination point, you can not imagine the impact that small acts of kindness can make. If your vacations are to all inclusive resorts, you are missing the blessings that await us all. Simple pleasures, beautiful smiles, momentary friendships that mean something and the best part is that you are the one who also benefits from that act of kindness as well as the recipient. That little bag of donated goodies was huge for Airminnia and her family, it may have been the biggest gift they have ever received; it may have been the only gift so far.

Last week an indigenous man came down from the mountain, someone was very ill. Because our farm manager now has a cell phone, Marcos was able to make a phone call and a very old Viet Nam vintage helicopter swooped in, landed and picked up a very ill indigenous man. We are the closest communication point and saved him several hours more foot travel to get help. It had already taken him 8 hours to get to us. Small acts of kindness can change and save lives.