COSTA RICA BLOG 2019

Hey all,

I hope everyone is having an amazing week! Today, the team took an hour bus ride to a school for special needs students. While we were there, we made colorful balloons for them, did face painting, played basketball, and made fun crafts. The kids were very energetic, and we loved getting to hang out with them! At the end we enjoyed fresh fruit with some of the staff.

Later, we walked a couple of blocks and ate some delicious Costa Rican food. We spent half of the afternoon shopping for souvenirs and taking pictures with the team. We then went to a nursing home where the girls spent an hour assisting elders in rounds of Bingo and engaging them in conversations, and the guys spent the hour dutifully helping with construction around the buildings.

Once we got back to the ranch, we spent the rest of the day relaxing at the pool and playing fun competitive games!

Today, personally I've learned to push my comfort zone by getting the opportunity to converse and have fun with people I normally wouldn't have the chance to be around. This experience has taught me God has supplied me with ample amounts of gifts, and he has shown me how he can teach me in the most unlikely circumstances.

I want to thank everyone for supporting us throughout this trip, and let ya'll know that the recipients of the donations have been extremely grateful! Please continue to keep us in your prayers! See ya'll soon!

• Pray for good weather, as it's been raining everyday
• Pray for safe travels, as we start heading back tomorrow
• Pray that we continue to be able to spread the light of the Gospel to those around us

I hope you find this recap well. Hope y'all are doing well wherever you may be!

Today was a very jam-packed morning and afternoon. We started off this morning by going to the church where we attended the seminar (from Friday and Saturday night), and we attended their Sunday morning church service. Their ways of worshipping was very different and unique to their culture. We started off with a time of welcoming and prayer, followed by Scripture reading from the book of Psalms, then we had musical worship coming from a phone, an offertory prayer (led by me), then followed by a message led by Pastor Justin about Jonah and the Big Fish. One major thing that stuck out to me from the message was the way how Jonah rebelled against God, turning away from His commands and going to a different city. We too are like Jonah, where we rebel against God because we want to do things our way and not God's way. The service ended with the people of Costa Rica praying for us, and I was personally touched by that moment. We were then treated to a delicious lunch, and we walked over to the church that we painted (Thursday and Friday). We threw a huge community party for the people in the slums by making hundreds of balloon animals/hats, various face painting activities, playing with the kids, serving food, and providing donations (thanks for all of your support!). We spent several hours there, and then we headed back to the Ranch, where we relaxed for the night, as we prepare and get ready for the VBS with the special needs kids tomorrow.

Personally, even though I was tired and super sweaty, I found a lot of joy just being in that place. Whether I was observing the other people, making balloon animals, or trying to practice my Spanish with the locals, the energy and atmosphere of the church was very ecstatic. Praise God for what He has done today, knowing that these families received your generous donations, as well as enjoyed the many balloon animals we prepared and made for them.

Thank you so much for your continuous love, prayers and support. We wouldn't be here without you! Thanks again and see y'all soon.

• Pray for continuous strength for our youth and leaders
• Pray for our VBS with the special needs kids tomorrow
• Pray for our team to continue to mingle with each other outside of our cliques (circle of friends)
• Pray to serve well for the Lord

Halfway through the week! Today, we headed to the slums to put on a VBS for the local children. The event included skits, music, and crafts! The kids especially liked getting to take polaroid pictures of themselves and decorating them. We were also able to give out donations of clothing, toiletries, and toys to the families. While most of us were helping with the VBS, a few of us began working on a construction project for one of the families. Everyone involved worked really hard to help put a concrete floor into the family's house.

Later, Luis took us to a small shop that had recently been established in the slums. He explained that the owners had worked really hard to start up their small shop and that even though it didn't seem like much, it was a big step for them. Luis reminded us to be grateful for what we have and to be thankful that our needs are taken care of. He also bought all of us ice cream from their shop and it was ¡muy delicioso!

After leaving the slums, we passed by a pineapple farm and were able to take a look and pick some pineapples for ourselves. The pineapples here are super sweet and a very vibrant yellow! We brought a bunch back to the ranch for everyone to eat. After getting back to the ranch, we ate dinner and began preparing for the "Access" we were helping with in the evening.

After dinner, we ended the day by heading off to the same church we had led seminars at to lead an "Access" night. Despite the rain, we were able to have a great night of games, prayer, and a wonderful message from Dominic over our character as Christians.

• Pray for good weather, as this week has been a rainy one.
• Pray for the heath and strength of our crew.
• Pray for the continual growth of the local churches and ministries here in Costa Rica.

Our crew started off the morning waking up to a lovely rooster crowing every 15 minutes, no need to snooze your alarm, folks! After a great wakeup call, we were treated to a nice Costa Rican breakfast of yucca, eggs, watermelon, and bananas. For the second day at the church, Monte De Dios, we finished up putting the final touches of our painting job and were rewarded with a delicious plate of smothered pork cooked by our own Uncle Ken...YUM! Uncle Ken has been teaching the team that lives in Costa Rica how to cook authentic Chinese food and they have been doing a great job at it!

Later, while some of us were prepping to speak at youth seminar, the other half of our group had the opportunity to visit the slums to meet and invite the families there to VBS, which we are hosting tomorrow. Luis treated the team to popcorn that a local girl was selling to help provide for her family. They also got to visit and pray over the pastor's house that serves the community there. The crew were touched and blessed by the people there seeing their love for God and joy to serve His kingdom despite their circumstances.

During our free time, some of us hiked behind the ranch to take a refreshing plunge in the river. After a scrumptious beef soup for dinner, we loaded up the van and headed to another local church to lead a seminar in youth ministry. Our youth did an amazing job sharing our 7 core values to the leaders here in Costa Rica and the leaders here were very receptive to what we shared.

• Pray that God will open the hearts of the locals here in Costa Rica to hear his Gospel.
• Pray that God will move and bless the local church and its leaders.
• Pray for our crew's health, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Specifically pray for Aunt May's injured foot

The crew arrived at the ranch and immediately unpacked, showered, and went to bed. The team had a breakfast of rice and beans, eggs, and a tortilla at 8:30 am. This year, we were gifted with 5 translators, who volunteered through a college English course they are currently enrolled in. Once we finished our food and met our translators, we loaded the bus and headed down to the church, Monte De Dios. Despite the rain, we were given the task to paint the interior and exterior of the church before they open their doors this weekend. Overall, it was a very productive day, and we got a lot more done than predicted.

We headed back to the ranch late afternoon and were able to shower and relax before dinner and devotionals. For dinner, we had a bowl of soup with beef, yucca, potato, and corn. After dinner, Pastor Justin led a discussion over Acts 3. One thing that stood out to Alexis and Sarah was when Justin said, "we know it [the Gospel] to be true, but we never act on it as if it is true." and talked about how we need to trust God fully in order to change. If we don't trust God, we won't change.

While we were taking a water break, Luis, our host, asked both Alexis and Sarah to pray over one of our translators, Stephanie. She has recently felt God talking to her, but she is hesitant to accept Christ into her life. She has the heart to serve others, but she fears that people will judge her. After she told us her story, we prayed over her, and she felt a sense of comfort. We hope to continue to build and strengthen our relationship with her in hopes that she accepts Christ into her life.

• We ask that you keep Stephanie in your prayers, that she will be willing to accept Christ into her life.
• We ask that you continue to pray for the team, our health, mental and physical well-being.
• We ask that you pray for the locals, that they be vulnerable and receptive to God's word.
• Finally, we ask that you pray for good weather, the predicted forecast is rainy all week.