Costa Rica Day 8 - 6.25.19

We had an amazing day here at our debrief site! We had our second debrief small group this morning followed by some quiet time. Taking time to connect with the Lord one on one is something that is not incorporated enough in our daily lives and allowing the team to take the opportunity to process what they have experienced on this trip has been a very helpful activity. Following our small group and quiet time, we ate lunch and then had some free time where the team was able to spend some time on the beach jumping waves, surfing, playing volleyball, and exploring nearby shops.

After a great day of experiencing the beautiful beach of Costa Rica, the team gathered for our final porch time.  This is our final moment for the kids to analyze how they can use what they have learned and seen here in Costa Rica back in Williamsburg.  Luke re-visited the story of Gideon that we studied prior to our trip in the pre-trip meeting to close out our study on him.  In Judges 8 we read that after God's great victory through Gideon the Israelites sadly resorted back to their former ways and worshipping other Gods.  They forgot all that God had done for them and resorted back to trusting in their own strength.  Luke talked about how our natural tendency as humans is to choose selfish motivations rather than constantly depending on God and listening to His will for our lives.  Our hope and prayer is that as we re-enter our normal lives back in Williamsburg lives that we would be able to heed the warning of Judges 8 and look to constantly depend on God's strength in our lives.  Luke introduced the phrase "LiveWEAK" to remember and encapsulate this need for dependency on God.  Throughout our week in Costa Rica we have spent time everyday in worship, service, and small group discussions to help remind us of our need for God's presence in our lives.  Please join us as we continue to embrace the truth underlying 2 Corinthians 12:10 which says, "when I am weak, then I am strong."


We have truly had a blessed trip and we look forward to sharing more stories when we see you all in Williamsburg.

Costa Rica Day 7 - 6.24.19

For those who missed the parent prayer meeting on Sunday.  Here is a link to the video we showed form our team: Costa Rica Team Video

We were sad to leave our site this morning, but also very excited to head over to our debrief site! We cleaned out our rooms, packed up the bus, and drove to a nearby city called Sarchi, where we saw the world's largest ox cart. We also stopped at a souvenir shop where we all picked up Costa Rican souvenirs for both ourselves, and families (get excited for some gifts, parents!). From there, we stopped at a restaurant with a buffet for lunch. Our next stop was at a bridge over a river, where we got to watch many large American crocodiles. The largest we saw was possibly close to 15'!

The ox cart

Crocodiles!

Store in Sarchi

At around 3:30, we arrived at our debrief site in Jaco. The purpose of having this time is for students to be able to process what they have experienced in the past week. During this time, we will have 3 final small groups, where students can share what they have learned.  We have found that it can be difficult to go directly from the poverty of Costa Rica into affluent America and so please be praying for God to seal in the lessons we have learned throughout the week during our time here.  After getting split up into our rooms the team spent a little time jumping waves or relaxing in the pool. We then got to eat dinner together at an outdoor food center in the local downtown area. We returned to our debrief site afterwards, and while we did not have porch time, we did split off into small groups to discuss what we had learned from the past week of serving.  In our small groups we are returning to the character of Gideon who we studied before the trip and re-visiting some of the questions we answered in our pre-trip meetings.  It is really neat to see how God has used the story of Gideon to setup and guide our own encounters with God down here in Costa Rica. Tomorrow, we will have more small group and reflection time, as well as a little more time to enjoy the Costa Rican beach! 

Costa Rica Day 6 - 6.23.19

¡Hola! It was a beautiful Sunday morning here in Costa Rica. We got to attend an amazing church service, where we witnessed the joy and happiness of believers from the surrounding community. Some of the students had the opportunity to attend Sunday school with the children, while others attended the almost 3 hour long service. In Sunday school, the kids colored and played Bible games. After church, we organized and set up all the donations which included the 47 bags we brought from Williamsburg. Once it was organized, the doors were opened for the Costa Ricans to come in and choose whatever they liked. It was beautiful to see the joy in everyone's faces as they found things that they needed. It looked like the kids were opening up presents on Christmas morning as they found new outfits and shoes. They were so grateful to everyone who donated!

After lunch, we divided into 4 groups to visit houses in La Radial, the same place where we had done our work projects earlier in the week. We saw kids we had been interacting with all week in their own homes, and it was an emotional experience as we talked to their families and prayed over them. Afterwards, we said our final goodbyes and headed back to our housing site. We enjoyed our last dinner with our hosts and also celebrated a birthday with cake (happy birthday, Sherrieff!). We finished off the night with our second-to-last porch time and some great time in small groups. Tomorrow, we are heading out to our debrief site in Jaco. We are excited to see more of Costa Rica!

Costa Rica Day 5 - 6.22.19

We had another great day here in Costa Rica! It started off with arroz con pollo and eggs with grilled hot dogs. We headed back to the carnival field for a fútbol (soccer) tournament. We set up three fields -- a practice field and two for girls and guys to compete in. The turn out was good and it was fun see everyone enjoy playing even if it was their first time. The boys had some tough competition as soccer is a huge sport here, but they were awesome sports and worked hard. After a hot day in the sun, it was nice to cool off with a pool party for the community kids. We served lots of pizza and juice. The kids loved splashing around as it was a real treat for them. Some don't even own swim suits. We ended the event with a dance party and learned some Costa Rican dance moves. On the way back to our site, we stopped at a local cathedral and saw wild parakeets. After the tour, we had spaghetti and salad for dinner. The usual porch time continued with reflecting on the day and worship. One of the leaders on the trip, Christie Geiling, gave a wonderful talk on the myth of the poor and encouraged us to think about what we are filling our lives with.  The night ended with some sweet small group time. The students continue to have high energy and spend intentional time in fellowship. Tomorrow we will attend church in the morning, set up a thrift store with the clothing donations, and serve food to the community of La Radial.

Reminder that there is a prayer meeting for the Costa Rica team this morning (Sunday, 23rd) at the Chapel between services in room 123 from 10:30-10:45. We'll also be showing a short check-in video from the team!

Costa Rica Day 4 - 6.21.19

Good morning, parents! The day started off with ham & cheese breakfast sandwiches as we headed to set up for Carnival Day. Energy and enthusiasm were high as our team welcomed over 200 kids from the La Radial community. We had two large inflatables and various games set up --- face painting, corn hole toss, wiffle ball, water balloons, ring toss, and many more. To nobody's surprise, there were pick-up soccer games running throughout the day. The kid's favorite part was definitely the tons of candy we handed out as prizes. Each wave of kids finished off the carnival with a hot dog and chip lunch. During our lunch break, we headed up the mountain to see the ruins of a historical unfinished monument on a dormant volcano. It gave us an incredible view of the valley and city below. 

After another great session at the carnival, we packed up to see some more of the city. With some time to spare, we toured the Iglesia de la Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes also know as the heavy metal church. It is entirely made of metal sheets and is the center of the town of Grecia. It accidentally arrived in Costa Rica but was supposed to be in Greece, therefore the name of the town is Grecia (Greek in Spanish). 

The day wasn't complete without some local ice cream which everyone loved after a long day in the sun. We closed out the evening with an arroz con pollo and frijoles dinner back at the site. We ended the night with our usual porch time and small groups. Luke talked on suffering, sacrifice and selflessness. We all had great small group time to reflect on the day. We are resting and eager to spend time with the kids once again at tomorrow's soccer game and pool party.

Costa Rica Day 3 - 6.20.19

After a pancake and fresh fruit breakfast, the groups headed back to La Radial to finish the work projects and the community church for painting. We had 4 four hours to finish as much as we could and the students worked hard and efficiently. One group worked on a ramp to replace an unsafe walkway made of logs. This allowed for safer access for the residents. Another group made concrete by hand and delivered it to the various projects. Other groups cemented stairs and built hand rails making the stairs safer and less slick when wet.

We left for lunch at the church and had pork chops, mashed potatoes, and pineapple. For the afternoon, we finished the rest of the Jonah story. We made crosses with beads and pipe cleaners with the community children. Afterwards, we set up an olympic style competition. The games varied from relay races, tug of war, egg race, etc. The the students led four different teams and surprisingly came out as a four way tie. After we said our good-byes, we headed to the Strong Mission site for fish tacos. The students were able to buy hand painted pictures and support a local artist. During porch time, Luke spoke from the Gospel of Luke about leaving our comfort zones and the purpose of why we are here. After some small group time, we finished out the night with some sweet sweet fellowship. Tomorrow we will host a carnival for about 200 kids in the community. We are excited to see what tomorrow holds!

Costa Rica Day 2 - 6.19.19

It was awesome to finally have the whole team together for our first full day of service! We started the day off with a traditional Costa Rican breakfast: eggs with ham, rice and beans, and bread. After a short quiet time, we headed off to serve in the community of La Radial. We split off into two groups, one painting in the church and the other constructing stairs and hand rails in the housing community. Even with a new environment, the students worked extremely hard sanding, mixing concrete, digging holes, painting, etc. We stopped for lunch at the church and set up for the afternoon activities with the children in the community. Our lunch consisted of a pork sandwich, pineapple, coleslaw, and potato chips. We did a short lesson on Jonah and the Whale along with a student skit. We did a craft activity, creating a whale out of supplies. The guys played soccer with the Costa Rican boys while the girls painted nails, made bracelets, and did their hair. The students mingled and connected with the kids. They did well engaging even with the language difference. After a long day we headed back to our housing site and enjoyed Costa Rican fried chicken. During our porch time, Vinny gave a brief lesson on God's disciplinarian and reckless love for us. It was encouraging for all the students as they make the most of our time here and look for opportunities to show this community God's love. We are eager to continue our work projects tomorrow in La Radial and host an olympics game for the kids.

Costa Rica Day 1 - 6.18.19

For half of our group our journey to Costa Rica began at 12:30am as we set out from the Chapel up to Baltimore.  Group 1 traveled from Baltimore down to Fort Lauderdale, Florida and then finished up in San Jose, Costa Rica just in time for a lunch of rice and chicken (arroz y pollo).  After lunch Group 1 went to a local church in a community called La Radial where we will be serving throughout the week.  We met Pastor Dennis and learned about how the church building used to be a bar that was abandoned and eventually taken over to become a church.  The church particularly reaches out to the surrounding La Radial community through worship services and providing for the tangible needs of the community when possible.  La Radial is slum built in between a main highway and flowing ravine.  It is a series of tin and wood shacks crammed together and built a couple stories high on the hill.  Due to the poor construction and lack of adequate maintenance about 3-4 houses get swept away during a heavy flooding of the ravine.  Our team is going to be helping with a couple building projects along with getting to know the kids of the community through some vbs lessons at the church and fun games.  It is going to be a great week of service bringing new hope and energy to this community through the local church!

Group 2 left Williamsburg a lot later and so spent all of their day traveling to Costa Rica.  They traveled from Baltimore to Houston and then after a tight layover in Houston landed safely in Costa Rica.  Due to their later arrival in Costa Rica, Group 2 just ate some food, got settled at our housing site, reconnected with the rest of the team, and then went to bed with everyone else.

Everyone is eager to get the work projects underway and meet the kids of La Radial.  Check back tomorrow for updates on our first full day of service here in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica Meeting 6.11.19

Donation bags are packed and we are excited for departure on Tuesday.  Just a couple quick things in case you missed them last night.  Below is the updated itineraries for both groups.  Group 1 has the same flight and is planning to meet at the Chapel at 11:45pm on Monday, June 17th so that we can leave around 12:30 to get up to the Baltimore airport. Group 2 has a later flight and is planning to meet at the Chapel at 7am on Tuesday, June 18th in order to leave by 7:30am to get up to the Baltimore airport.

Flight Itinerarys

Please don’t hesitate to text Luke or Isaac if you have any itinerary questions or if you are unsure which group you are in.  Also, below is the packing list if you don’t have one.

Packing List

Finally, don’t forget that we are going to pray for the Costa Rica team in our SM service this Sunday so please try to come to church so that we can be prayed for as a team.

Costa Rica Meeting 5.31.19

Our trip is almost here and for those of you who missed some of the Missions Team Night last Friday then here are some of the final details you need to know.

All clothing donations need to be brought by our final team meeting on June 11th from 6:30-8:30pm in the SM Worship Room.  We will be packing all of the donations to bring down with us during this final meeting.

Also, please bring as much of the money you have collected as possible to our final meeting.

Our trip is quickly approaching and we are getting very excited for all that God has in store for us down in Costa Rica!