Hello from Costa Rica! So I think I´ve decided this is going to be my journal for the trip, it´s a little easier then writting it all down. I wish I could give justice to this past week and what an amazing experience it has been, but I doubt I truly can.
We started off the week with a safe but late/early flight that included several of us sleeping on the floor of the Miami airport and waking up to many hispanic people staring at us. When we arrived we came to the local church where my team will get to spend a lot of time this summer. The church is precious! Such a loving and kind community,and some of them even speak English, praise the Lord! Douglas the preacher is working on remodeling this house and four of us got the opportunity to spend a day helping out at his house. It was a good experience because none us spoke great Spanish but we made such good friends with Douglas´s son DJ, Jonathan, and Henry. Another day we got to work at the warehouse which will also be a big project for us this summer. We sorted through lots and lots of boxes and got to eat at an awesome "soda" that´s what they call local lunch and dinner places here. Basically every meal here includes rice and beans, fresh fruit, meat, and salad. I think it will be a very healthy summer for food. My favorite has been breakfast so far where we had rice and beans, eggs, fruit, and good juice.
We also had the chance to visit several schools and do a few VBS programs which is of course right up my alley. I struggled at first with the language barrier but God is so good and has allowed me to intereact with the kids with ease. For each school that we visit we usually watch an assembly by the kids and then sing three songs of our own to them, two in English and one in Spanish. Then we split up to go into the classroom to read in small groups (basically point out objects and tell what they are in English and Spanish). For the rest of the time we just get to play games with them which is so fun! For VBS we do the same song wise and then go into the story of Jonah by reading it in Spanish and acting it out (I play half of the whale that swallows Jonah haha). My favorite so far was VBS at the local church. We only had five or six show up but oh my gosh how precious were they... little David, Crystel, Samantha, Santiago, Neice, and baby Zach. They were so much fun to play with, I was a little partial to adorable but loud David, four years old and already a little boss haha.
We also got to spend a few days in the legit rainforest off the Sarapiqui River. I cannot describe how beautiful the ride and actual location was but I can compare it to what the Garden of Eden must have looked like (or Avatar haha). We saw a sloth, several iguanas, many loud wailing monkeys, lots of cool birds, poisonous frogs, and so many beautiful types of plant life. I hope to travel back there several times in my life. While we were there we worked with the Learning Center by going to a local school and painting, planting trees, and playing with the kids. The all summer team got to learn more about our next visit there on June 22 through June the 2nd. We will be doing a home stay all together and working on a farm, in schools, and other locations. Hopefully we can go ziplining while we are there too! If you wanna look the place up it is called Selva Verde.
Now we are back in San Jose staying at a hostil called Hotel Paseo Colon, it is definitely a change from the luxurious lodge in the rainforest, but I think this is a little more mission tripy. We found three cockroaches in our room last night... Tomorrow is the last day that the one week team will be here and I will miss the fun we have had with them playing games at night and stuff, but I´m excited to try life on a smaller scale with just the seven of us.
Overall I have loved this trip so far; this country is so welcoming, beautiful, and fun. I´ve been surprised by how much I like the food. I´ve also been surprised by the people.At church on Sunday people were literally dancing in the isles; the most adorable older couple made me tear up watching them. God is definitely here in this country and I´m excited to work with Him here for two more months. I hope you are all having an May so far, I miss you all and wish that yall could be here with me to experience all of this. Have a great rest of the week!
Love yall!
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