Dean’s batty adventure….

Summer’s lizard…

Rebuilding walls…

Alicia refinishing shelving…

It’s Monday, and we’re all getting acclimated to our new environment.  We’ve rested and recovered from our travels, and today we begin the work we came here to do.  We started the day with a hearty breakfast of pancakes, compliments of Chef Joe Cunninghamb and pineapple by Patricia.  At 7:15 am, we gathered in the living room for our morning devotions and team meeting.  The focus of the discussion centered on being open to the wonders that God will reveal during this trip and our purpose for being here.

 At 8:00, we were off to work.  Richard Davis, the group leader, divided us into three groups, working on three projects.  The first project, to remove siding and refurbish an exterior wall of the cafeteria building, is being lead by Dean Thomas. The second project is to refinish and repair furniture for the kindergarten classroom, which is being lead by Wanda Miller. And the third project is to build new furniture for the kindergarten. This one is lead by Patrick Oliphant. All three projects were very productive today and much progress was made.  Many of us who are not used to this type of labor were a little sore and sweaty, but we had a wonderful time and worked so well together on our teams. Everyone stepped up and did amazing work.  In the process, we had lots of fun too. We were even exposed to some of Costa Rica’s wildlife today.  Dean, while tearing out some of the siding, had an encounter with a bat! And summer’s painting led her directly to a tiny lizard.  It was certainly an interesting day. 

We had lunch in the afternoon, and worked until 3:00 in the afternoon. At this time, we were taken around to meet our families.  In groups of three, we covered seven of the houses. After a brief visit, we went back to the team house to clean up and rest a bit before dinner. We rejoined our families at 6:00 pm. The house moms prepared very nice meals of stew and salad.  We ate with the children and attempted to communicate with our very limited Spanish, and their even more limited English. Of course, smiles and hugs are a universal language, and there was a lot of that tonight. The families were incredibly gracious and invited us into their homes with open arms. After dinner, we played with the kids for a while, and then the parents lead a powerful devotion with the children. After devotion, it was time for the children to get ready for bed since they get up early for school.

We went back to the team home for our debriefing and to share our experiences.  Everyone expressed very positive encounters, and some were touched quite deeply.  Alicia is already dreading the thought of leaving, and it’s only our first day.  After the debrief, many turned in for bed after an exhausting day of work.  Some moved to the dining room for an intense game of chicken foot.  We all look forward to another day of serving the Lord tomorrow. Please enjoy some additional pictures in the posts that follow.

Today being Sunday, we had a light breakfast and coffee, before heading off to church in San Jose.  The church is called Ciudad de Dios, or City of God, and is an old warehouse that has been converted to a beautiful place of worship. The surrounding city is somewhat dangerous so there are guards on the roof and at the entrance, and a high fence around the perimeter.  It was raining a bit and the bus driver dropped us close to the door. As we entered the building, we enjoyed a display of pictures on the church’s history. There was also a café and some small stands selling various items.

Church began at 9:30 with some incredible music performed by a band of young people. We sang the words displayed on the large screens on either side of the stage, not knowing the meaning, as the service was entirely in Spanish. The lead singer, a young woman, had an amazing voice.  There was also a chorus of young girls on one side of the stage.  After about half an hour of song, a young man who would be delivering the sermon, announced that our team had come from “Walnut” in California to work at Roblealto, and the congregation applauded us. There we likely 200 in the congregation, sitting on folding chairs, praising God. We were provided interpreters for the sermon, which helped a great deal.  The lesson, which was very appropriate, concerned God’s command that we love one another, regardless of who they are or how they may have failed, and to not be afraid to express our love.  The minister was exceptionally passionate in his sermon, and we could understand how strongly he believed even without words. After the sermon, we sang a bit more, and then we departed. 

We drove to a magnificent seafood restaurant called Princesa Marina Moravia, where both the food and the service were very good.  After lunch, we were off to do a little touristy shopping and then a short visit to the grocery store to load up on supplies for the week.  When we all had our shopping done, we were on the road again back to Roblealto. 

Shortly after we arrived, Pam, our liaison and coordinator at Roblealto,  gave a presentation on Costa Rica and the Roblealto mission.  She had an absolutely fantastic announcement for us too.  Apparently, they were hoping to build a fourth daycare center in Los Guidos, a slum area of San Jose. The land for the project had been donated by the government of Costa Rica, but the cost of building the daycare would be roughly $2 million.  Well, a very wealthy individual from the United States met with the leaders of Roblealto and offered to make a fairly significant contribution, but insisted that the government of Costa Rica support this project too.  The government officials agreed to cover 40% of the project, and the wealthy man will match whatever Roblealto raises in contributions.  So basically, he will cover 30% and Roblealto will only need to fund 30% of the entire project!  This is so exciting for this organization.

After Pam left, we prepared dinner, which consisted of several rotisserie chickens and salad. We ate and talked and enjoyed each other’s company.  Afterwards, we worked as a team to get everything cleaned up.  We all gathered in the living room later for a team meeting, where we discussed our projects tomorrow, and went over the rules and guidelines that we will follow when we begin visiting our family homes tomorrow.  Richard Davis, who oversees the work here, established four teams, one will do crafts with the moms, one will do siding on a wall in the cafeteria building, one will refinish the furniture for the kindergarten classrooms, and the last team will make brand new furniture for the school.  We are all very excited to begin work, and even more excited to see and play with the children tomorrow. Tune in tomorrow for another exciting day with us!