Postcards from the Mission Field - Pacific Costa Rica: 2013

Monday, July 1, 2013

Stories

Robin
HIIIIII!!! Costa Rica has been great! Yesterday was so fun when we went snorkeling! We took a boat over there and it was a blast! We swam in like a mini cave and it started raining really hard! It was so cool! And then on our way back we saw dolphins. There were so many! It was really cool. Today we went Zip Lining! It was one of the highlights on the trip for sure. We also got to hold monkeys and snakes at the same place. The monkeys were A D O R A B L E. I'm so thankful to be here! Thank you so much for all the support! I have so many stories to tell when I get home!
Love you guys!<3333
P.S. Please write and comment on the blog. It would be great to see all what you have to say! Miss you!!

Lindsey
Hey everyone!! Costa Rica is sooo indsecribable. It is beautiful and has been incredibly fun. we had a crazy cool day snorkeling yesterday.

Jake
Hey familia,
Sorry it took so long to respond i have been really busy. In the pass couple days i have dived in lava tubes, held a monkey and gone zip lining. When we went diving in the tubes i was the only one other than the native guide who made it through the tube and on top of the rock on the other side. And we went out on a boat, and had a little bit of "party" like fun. While zip lining i caught a snake and saw a 3 foot long iguana, it was pretty cool, i also held a boa constrictor. But probably one of my most favorite parts was working at the church, while working there one of my shoes go stolen, we got to paint rooms of there home, and not me but otheres reinforced the roof of there church. It really strengthened my faith seeing the joy that resides in others because of the things that we were doing. And today we were doing some street witnessing and me and my group brought two people to the Lord, but the coolest part was when i ventured through the bairio with Benji and Jerry. There was this older guy who was talking to Jerry and Robin for about an hour or so, so when Robin stopped talking to him i started. He told us about how his wife had died and how he really stopped feeling Gods love, then he told us ho we helped him feel Gods love. After that we started walking to his house so when we (me Jerry and benji) got there he invitred us in and I started talking to huim about Jesus and he really opened up (ill tell hinm more when i get home) but unbenounced to us the whole team was looking for us and when we started walking back we were greeted by the whole bus and a teary Mrs. Suilivan, And Moma please stay safe on your trip to Honduras, ill be praying for you. Ohhhh and i held a monkey. Love Ya -Jake

ADARA
hi everyone!
im having a blast! i could live here. today and yesterday were pretty much the best days of my life. yesterday we took a plantoon boat on a 30 min ride to a hidden beach. on the island there were lava tubes (caves formed by lava). we went diving in them. then out of nowhere it started raining! we were diving off the boat. it was fun. on the way back dolphins were swimming right next to the boat and riding in the wake. today we went zipling, it was fun but the best part came at the end when we held a baby monkey. it was the coolest thing ever. jake and i decided to take the kayak (as far as Mr. C would let us go) and jump off and go swimming. yeah not the greatest idea because i got stung by something (i think a small jellyfish) TWICE! i cant even describe how pretty it is here. i guess we just have to come back to see for yourselves;p. Pura Vida! much love dawa.

DYLAN
Hi guys! i really miss you guys a lot! The past couple of days have been indescribable. Yesterday was one of the greatest days of my life. We took a boat about 30 minutes out into the water to a hidden beach. We expected to snorkel, although things turned even better when we hit the beachhead. By the way one of the guys was a fellow german/irishman, named sean, and he was super cool! He showed us all the cool spots, and led a group of us in lava tubing. Once we came out of that, it started raining which was one of the best experiences ever because we got to swim, and it was raining!!! The loads of water created a waterfall, which was an amazing sight to see. In the rain we just hung out and had fun with music blasting and jumping off the boat. On the way back we saw dolphins, swimming right next to our boat! Today we went zip lining, and it was really fun! We also street witnessed which was really cool! See you guys in a few days! Say hi to angel for me!

CHEYENNE
Hola mi familia! Como esta usted? I miss you all so very much! But Costa Rica is absolutely fantastic! Words cannot express how wonderful it is here. There is such a plethora amount of activities we are doing here and I can't wait to share all of the funny and amazing stories that have taken place here. But yesterday (Friday) was the most amazing day of my life! It is just indescribable! We went on a boat and took approximately 30 minutes to go to this egg shaped beach area to go snorkeling. One of our guides, Sean, was so amazing! He was telling us all of the different stories about diving and snorkeling and had so much to talk about. We jumped in the nice, warm, cool water and saw a sting ray, a diverse amount of fish, and a huge school of colorful swam right in front of me! It was great! Then we went into these two caves where huge waves were crashing in. Me and a few of the others went into this small cave, not too far though, and when the waves came in, it was pitch black. It was thrilling! Then in the other cave, we stood there and held onto the rocks for dear life as the waves crashed in. What an adventure! Then we exited out of the caves and it was pouting rain, I mean pouring! And we went swimming in the water while it was raining and me and few others swam out to the boat and jumped off the boat a few times while it was raining. It was so much fun! Then we all got on the boat and basically had a fiesta! We had crazy music on and were all singing and dancing and just being crazy! We saw dolphins right in front of us, like they came up right to the boat. This day was just absolutely amazing and words cannot even describe how fantastic this day was! I can't wait to share so much more with you and I love you all soooooooooo very much!!!!!!

Rachel
Hey all, how's it going? These past few days have been awesome despite the fact that I got stung by something or other yesterday and had an allergic reaction. (I'm perfectly fine. We took care of it as soon as I noticed it. I'm fine, don't worry.) Snokeling yesterday was awesome. There was thunder and lightning, and I got to sail for a little while. It was awesome. I also got to hold a monkey today. (Giant smiles here.) Any way, Sarie's birthday is on the 3rd. I love my sister, and make sure to tell her that. Tell her how much I miss her and that hopefully we can stop by and see her before she leaves. I already got her present her, and I really hope she loves it. Tell her I love her. Also, I'm missing my music. Anyway, Love you.

Our Last Day in Guanacaste

Today we went to the Santa Rosa National Park with eight students from the international school and their art teacher as our tour guide. We had fun getting to know them as we were in the bus for the long ride to the park. When we arrived it was super hot and we got to tour the Santa Rosa Museum. We ate a picnic lunch and then went on a 6 mile hike. It started to rain as we were hiking and we enjoyed the view at the midway point of the hike! We found out that several of the students were Christians (including the tour guide)! We had some good conversations with the students and got contact information then we dropped them off on our way home. As we stopped to drop a few students off in Liberia, we saw Rubi crossing the street! She just happened to be there on the side of the road! We got to say goodbye again and then headed home to pack and clean!

Hal and Marsha stopped by to say goodbye just before dinner and we were able to thank them for allowing us to use this amazing house as our home for the past two weeks! We are busy packing tonight and our goal is to leave early tomorrow morning to head to San Jose.

Last day with our friends at church

Yesterday was our last day with the church. We did VBS for the kids in the morning and just as we were done with the games outside it started to pour down raining. We got all of the kids together and gave them salvation bracelets and explained the gospel. CJ and Robin led the kids in this activity. Irene did some finishing touches on the verses she was painting. And when it stopped raining a bunch of our students played soccer with the older kids. We gave all of the kids teddy bears, balls, and rubber ducks and they loved them.

During the middle of VBS we gave Rubi and the pastor's wife, Eva, gifts that we brought from home and they both appreciated them. Towards the end we were pleasantly surprised by a visit from Carlos (our friend from yesterday) who forgot what time church started. The rest of our team got to meet Carlos and we enjoyed hearing how he had been reading his Bible the night before. We told him that church started at 7pm that night. The Pastor was there and he told us that he knows who Carlos was and he knows his story. He said he has helped him before but it did not last. He said he would reach out to him again and see if this was really the time for change in his life. Pray for Carlos that God would heal him and would use this church to change his life!

Towards that end of VBS the church gave all of the kids and our team a snack and then a bunch of kids loaded in the pastor's van and he drove them to their homes. He took two loads of kids home. It is amazing that this church picks up these kids every Sunday morning for Sunday school for 3 and a half hours! We enjoyed loving on these kids and we said our goodbyes and headed home.

Back at home, some of our students went snorkeling and and some took naps. Mr. C started to BBQ and it began to pour dour rain while he was outside. We ate dinner and got ready for the evening church service which was our last time seeing this church family. As we were driving it began to pour down rain again. When we arrived the service just started and it was not very full (last week it was a packed house) because of the rain. We did not see Carlos there but it was probably due to the rain and we pray he comes next week.

Our students had been practicing two songs to sing for the church. One in English, "Our God is An Awesome God", and one in Spanish, "He is Jealous For Me." They performed them during the service and did a great job of memorizing the words and singing them in parts! Mr. C gave the message on obeying God and this time he spoke in English and Rubi translated for him (last time he spoke in Spanish). The church video tapped the entire service and towards the end Rubi asked all of us to come to the front of the church for a gift. The youth came up and presented us all with key chains and picture frames that they made. Then the pastor asked the entire church to lay hands on us and to pray for us. It was amazing to hear in Spanish all of the prayers. It was humbling to see how we had come to bless these people and they were blessing us! Church ended after the prayer and the the goodbyes began. People came from the congregation and gave us huge hugs. The youth took pictures, hugged us and exchanged facebook information. Tears were shed as we said goodbye and drove off. We will miss this church family and pray that God continues to work in the lives of the people!

VBS

We are passing out the salvation bracelets for the VBS

Mr. C BBQing in the rain

The youth giving us our gifts

Some pictures with our friends

saying goodbye to our friends!

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Another Work Day

We started the day with an extended time of prayer and then got ready to do some work. We headed back to the church to finish some work we were not able to finish yesterday. We painted some verses on the walls (our artists were Irene and Cheyenne) and worked on a little more painting and construction to the church. We only had a few students work at the church on these projects while the rest of us went to pass out free items and to do street evangelism near the church. We passed out soccer balls, teddy bears, toothbrush kits, and tracks to people who were walking by (we got a rush of children who were full of smiles as we gave them items). We also had teams 2-3 who were sharing the gospel using evangelism cubes (a visual aid) and a Spanish track. It was amazing seeing what God did through this experience. We were able to lead four people to The Lord and several recommitted their lives! Praise God that he used us and broke through the language barrier! Please pray that the tracks that were given out would lead more to The Lord that those who committed their lives to Christ would grow!

One man named Carlos was one of the first people we talked to. He was walking by and Robin and Jerry ended up talking to him for an hour where he shared his whole life story including that he lost his wife two and a half years ago and he has been really struggling since then. He claimed to be a believer but he did not feel God anymore. Jake, Jerry and Benji (a youth from the church who has been helping us all week) walked with him to his home and invited him to church tomorrow. Carlos confessed that he needed to get right with the Lord and said he would come to church. Please pray that Carlos will come to church and that God would heal him!

After a great day of work we headed home to get ready for zip lining. It was amazing zip lining through 14 different lines and getting to even go upside down for one run. A few people got to do a superman pose as well! After the runs we got to see some really neat animals at the zip lining place and even got to hold a monkey and a snake! We stopped by the gift shop and then went home to eat and practice our Spanish songs for the church service tomorrow. We are excited to see our friends and to do a VBS with the kids. We are sad that it is coming to the end. Today was an amazing day and we praise God for using us!

(Pics by Irene, some by Rachel, y Ms Bolling)

In the community

Spending time in the community

Handing out toys to the kids

Before Ziplining

Adara

Hayden

Eli

Robin

Cheyenne

Cassie

Nathan

Jerry

Dylan

Lindsey

Christian

Ms. Bolling

Nikki

Connor

Group photo

Superman

Mr. C holding the two snakes

Jake and the monkey

Rachel and the monkey

Hayden and the monkey

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Mrs. Sullivan and the monkey

Unexpected Blessings

After our early morning walk we ate cereal and got ready to go to the international school to meet some children. We did not know what ages we were going to meet so we brought games for all ages and expected to just have a get to know you opportunity. When we arrived we got a tour of the school and then we were taken out to a work site where we were introduced to some American students who were on a summer work project. We were then given tools and asked to move wood and dirt. We were surprised to be working with Americans and to be doing a work project instead of what we planned but our team did a great job being flexible and jumping in to do the work. We found out later that the head of the school and his wife miscommunicated about who we were suppose to work with but God has ways of using unexpected situations for his glory. Our students got the opportunity to share with the American students that we were Christians. Rachel had the opportunity to talk to one student named Alex about how Christians are not what he had thought they were. It was neat to hear how she was able to share with him that we love people. Pray that God would move in Alex's heart and that he would give his life to God. As we were leaving we gave the school our toothbrush kits and books. One of the local woman who works for the school said that the school does a lesson for kindergarten students on brushing their teeth. We were so glad that we were able to give these to someone who could really use them! After working for several hours doing hard labor our team went to get ice cream and then head home for lunch. We ate and then got ready for a boat ride (for snorkeling) with Hal and Marcia. We invited a few of the youth group from the church but none of them were able to attend but our bus driver and a few of Hal's friends came with us. This was an amazing experience! We got out on the water and headed to a remote beach that can only be accessed by boat. When we arrived we swam to an area to start snorkeling. The tour guides on our boat showed us some of the lava tubes that were on the beach where the tide comes in between rocks. This was a fun spot for our students to swim in with the tour guides. After a little while it began to sprinkle and then it began to pour. It was neat swimming in the warm ocean with the cool rain. When we left we were given lots of fun snacks and had a great time singing songs and laughing on the boat. While heading back we passed by some dolphins who were playing behind our boat. It was so fun to see them swim around us. We got back and had pita pizza. We had an unexpectedly great day!

(Pics by Irene)