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So, one of the more interesting parts of Costa Rica and our time there was seeing the many different animals in the wild. Not usual for someone from Colorado! Sleeping bats in the morning hut where we did devotions. Monkeys dropping mangos on to cars in the hotel parking lot to break them open for a mid-morning snack. Gila monsters crossing the road. Gecko lizards in the luggage and more!

One of my favorite moments was seeing a stick bug who had found one of our green walls to have a similar color to a tree. Such a small and fragile feeling creature. An amazing wonder and complement to God’s created world. I literally thought a small twig or branch had fallen across the fresh paint of one of our walls, and yet it moved!

But that wasn’t to be all! The last night that I was with the team (Thursday) I decided to take a shower before heading out for dinner. The rest of the team was down at the beach to watch the sky after sunset. Ahh the peace and quiet of a room all to myself!

Then — pinch!

Ouch! Must be a muscle tweak from all the hard work today.

Pinch.

Ahh! I must be getting old.

And then, pinch!

What is going on?

I turned my towel over to reveal another of Costa Rica’s critters. I snapped my towel in surprise and he happened to land on the shower curtain as pictured below.

Yes, folks, that’s a scorpion!

I loved it when Coach Brian Shultz walked in and asked if I had any last requests. A team member said, “I remember when I had my last meal with my best friend.” Comforting words to be sure.

Team doc kept his eyes on me that night just to make sure.

What was even more fun was when we returned from dinner that night. The body of the crushed scorpion was missing. This put all the young lads in the room into a bit of panic. It wasn’t until a couple of red fire ants sauntered into the bathroom for a late night snack that we realized they had probably taken up a scorpion take-out order for dinner!