My family, and many others in Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) have close ties with Monteverde Friends.  Lucky (Standing) Guindon, my mother’s cousin and constant companion during their childhood, was one of the original group of Quakers who moved to Monteverde, Costa Rica, and live there today.  Prior to going there, on October 14, 1950, she and Wolf Guindon had a double wedding with my mother and father at Bear Creek Meeting.

Last year students at Monteverde Friends School began to draw pictures on the envelops that contained the financial appeal letters. https://kislingjeff.wordpress.com/2018/11/29/giving-friends-schools/

Bear Creek Friends Meeting returned the favor, and sent drawings from the meeting to the Monteverde students.

This year, besides the financial appeal letter and drawing on the envelopes again, students, staff and Monteverde community members wrote a letter on the back of each letter. I was really glad to receive this letter from Lucky Guindon, who was in the double wedding with my parents at Bear Creek Meeting in 1950.

Then yesterday I received the most recent Monteverde Friends School newsletter. Part of the newsletter included a paragraph about the exchanges with Bear Creek Meeting, as well as a link to my blog post: https://kislingjeff.wordpress.com/2019/11/26/bear-creek-friends-and-monteverde-friends-school-2/

Donations to Monteverde Friends School can be sent to Eliza Beardslee, MFUS, P.O. Box 1308, Greenfield, MA 01302

My grandparents, mother, brothers and sister, and I remained in the United States, and attended Scattergood Friends School and Farm, near West Branch Iowa. Donations to Scattergood can be made at: https://scattergood.org/donate-online/