Thursday -- Finishing the trench & VBS

Going into this trip, I really did not know what to expect. I didn't feel like I would make any impact on anyone's life or was doing anything useful. Little did I know! God bless the beautiful children of Costa Rica! Seeing the look on these kids faces when they see a balloon (something so simple!) is honestly one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my life. The kids look so happy and are so excited to be there with us. One boy in particular who is around six or seven years old has made a huge impact on my week. I started off just tossing a balloon around with him. We were both laughing and smiling and just enjoying our time playing with each other. I do not speak Spanish at all, but we are somehow able to understand and communicate to each other. Throughout all of VBS that day, he would look for me amongst everyone else and his face would light up when he saw me. The look on his face is something I will never forget.

Knowing that I could allow someone who lives such a hard life to have a chance to learn about God and knowing that I could make someone happy is truly a gift! Today, I sat behind my new friend when Tim was talking to the kids about God. He turned around to see me and his face lit up. He kept turning around the rest of Tim's sermon to look at me. Knowing that he, along with all of the other kids, were excited to see us and were thrilled to spend time with us really highlights the impact that people, teenagers even, can have on others.

The older Costa Rican kids have been very patient and helpful with me, too. They have taught me Spanish (I can have a conversation in Spanish), and I have taught them English. I am very impressed with the amount of English they can speak at such a young age!

In general, these people illustrate God's power. They do not have much (some live in metal "huts" and in boxes), but are some of the happiest people I have ever met. They are more than thankful and appreciative for everything God has done for them. They make you really think about how lucky we are to have such a good life, but it is very sad that they have to live in such horrible conditions. I ask that you keep these families in your thoughts and prayers.

-Kymberly McCoy



This week has been the experience of a lifetime. The childeren, the people, the weather, it has all been amazing. The childeren here are so innocent and joyful. When you throw them a football or toss a balloon the look on their faces gives me the greatest feeling. Sometimes they remind me of when I was a child at that age. They act the same, they play the same. They are competetive too, each time we threw a ball or tossed a balloon they rushed to get it. The people who live here are so different though, they are so trusting of people, even us americans, we were walking along the street one day telling people about VBS and some of the parents just said, "Go, take them" they don't have the same sense of security that we do. The people who live here barely have anything either. They literally have four metal sheets for walls, and barred porches, and maybe a car. But other than that nothing. As a side-note most people who think americans drive crazy... you have not seen anything yet, I have literally only seen two traffic signs here, both of which were stop signs, yes thats right no speed limit signs. The work here has been fun too. I personally have been digging a trench the whole week and have a new respect for gold miners. We dug a total of 110 meters in three days and laid all of the piping. It has been grueling work somedays but it finally paid off. This trip is an experience where I have seen God in so many places and people it would be impossible to count. I can't wait to share the full trip with everyone but for now I ask you to pray for the people who have so little and for us to make a safe trip home.

Sincerely,

Austin Kendall

well... what can i say. As you can see from the above paragraphs many people that have gone on this trip have had their eyes opened to a whole new world. we have gone from looking at our daily luxuries to looking at all of them being stripped away. it is hard to explan what i have felt throughout this week. i have gone from excitement, to astonishment, to guilt, to contentment about what i have, and then to a realization of what gifts that God has blessed me with that i take advantage on the daily basis. when we first arrived here i had a picture of what i thought was the worst possible senario of what people lived like, i wasn't that far off, and that amazed me that i was actually right. i mean i wasn't expecting for it to actually get to the point where it was the worst that i could imagine. i was also expecting for people to be broken in a way, or depressed because of the situations that they were in, but i was most definitely wrong. it's funny.. one of the things that amazed me the most was that even when you think that people can't possibly find any happiness in the place that they are in they end up being some of the most inspirational and joyus people you have ever met. that was definitely the case this week and i hope i can get the opportunity to experience this again.

God Bless,

Annie Wandishin