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.
