Day 3 -- Tuesday from different students...

Today we did numerous things. Although the schedule remained predominately unchanged, we did do one thing differenetly. As you may know, it is currently the "season of rain" in Costa Rica. There was a terrential downpour for most of the afternoon while we were doing VBS. Unfortuantely, no more than five kids were in attendance and so we had to go look for some. The church that we do VBS for is close to a small town and so we went into the town to look for some more children. On the walk we had about 10 people and at first we were unsurprised, but as we went further in, the town seemingly became more dilapidated. We went through this one passageway and it became a "shanty-town" what we saw there really opened some of our eyes. It is not a normal experience a) to be in Costa Rica and b) to see the living conditions that some of the people here have to live under. It is hard to comprehend the difficulty of their situation, but almost none of them in the shanty-town have work, and most of them had little hope other than in God of improving their situation in life. So I think above all else that was one of the best experiences I had, to know that these people can somehow be content with their situation when they had no material goods. That left the largest impression on me and gave me a better perspective on our life, and theirs.

Byron Harvey



Our second full day in Costa Rica was again filled with serving and great experiences. Our devotion today delt with putting others before yourself. This morning we continued our work here at the center. The boys made amazing headway on the trench and have completed half of it. Most of us girls kept working on painting the house. We were presented with a challenge of new painting techniques and paint. So after 6 coats of paint in one room we are hoping that we will finally be able to finish tommorow. This afternoon we went to the church to run the VBS. About 10 of us were able to walk through the town with Jose, Tim, and the pastor of the Church( Pastor Victor). We were looking for children that wanted to come to VBS with us. Many of us were able to practice our spanish and all the people we met were very kind and welcoming. The views of nature are beautiful, the landscapes gorgeous, however as we walked we first were confronted with the scent of sewage and litter lining the street. The houses are clearly not what we would expect to see anywhere in America. As we walked deeper and deeper through the town the houses became shacks and the shacks eventually made a shanty town. The "huts" were made of metal or cardboard sheets littered with trash and debreis. As I walked I grew sadder and sadder for this awful, terrible way for these wonderful people to be living. The children we were meeting were absolutely precious, truely gifts from God, and here they are living in a place so saddening. I began to ask myself, "Why God? Why them?". At the end of the walk we meet another pastor that was building a church, in the terrible rain storm. Pastor Victor introduced us and Jose translated for us. He told us how he met Jesus when he was our age and is so thankful that he did. He said he is the happiest man alive and so grateful for everything he has. And this is where God decided to speak to me today. I learned that in spite of everything these people know what is right. They don't care about material things or unimportant matters like we do. They are grateful for what they have and praise God everyday for it. Pura Vida, the good life, that is what the amazing people in Costa Rica have. They have it right and even though we came here to help them, truely I say, they are helping us.

-Mary Frances Roll


With every day that passes, a new feeling is added to my perspective of Costa Rica. The first day, after our arrival in this beautiful church, was initiated with activities to help form our "family". I can assure you that all these activities, such as soccer and marco polo, have done their job flawlessly. While falling asleep on Sunday night, I decided that only one word could describe such an eventful day and the days to come: exciting. The second day started bright and early with a lovely wake-up-call from our leaders. We ate breakfast, did our devotions, and got right to work. Our job is to dig a rather deep and wide trench leading from the top of a hill to the kitchen which isn't very close. But teamwork and perserverance pulled us through. After some sweaty work, we drove for about 10 minutes to a a similar church where our job was to play with neighboring kids. Coming out of that church, I'm positive that no kid has ever smiled that big in ages. We had crafts and snacks for them, then led them outside to participate in soccer or slide down the slide. I took the job of helping the young kids slide safely down the slide since most of the boys want to go down at the same time. Young Sebastian, a 2 year-old daredevil, had to be the bravest kid I've ever seen. He went down the slide countless times backwards while on his stomach laughing harder than any kid his age can laugh. This sight reminded me of why I am on this trip and what my purpose of being here is: to be someone who leaves an imprint on their life. Later that day, we were visited with a heavy downpour right in the middle of our competitive soccer game. But no worries, the game still continued. I walked away from that field, though every step included a squish from the rain, knowing that I've made good friends who I will keep for many years. But soccer wasn't the only game that was popular that day; card games dominated the rest of that perfect Monday evening. You could almost smell the competition in the air as people were yelling and accusing others of cheating - in a friendly way. Monday was both productive and comforting. Today (Tuesday) was much like a repeat of yesterday, except the downpour came much earlier and stayed for a much longer period of time. Thank God we managed to get our trench work in before the storm arrived. Unfortunately, the storm came right when we were preparing to play with the kids, so a few of us decided to go on a walk in the surrounding neighborhood. This walk had to be the most eye-opening walk i have ever experienced. We encountered Costa Rica's Shanty Town, which was rather depressing, along with a 57 year-old man. This man represented God in that he told us that even at his old age and current financial condition, he is the happiest man alive. To be living in such a poverty-stricken area with crime rates extremely high, to hear such happy words made me realize that there's such a large wall between us and the Costa Ricans living in this poor area. I thought that they lived in a state of worry due to the crime and lack of income, but I gleaned that these people make the best of what they have and reach the same point of happiness as us rich and materialistic Americans. These three days that I've stayed in this intersting land have all fused together into an experience that seems as if it has lasted months. I already see everyone as my best friend (including the delicious food), but I'm reminded that this trip has many more days to come and many more people to encounter.

-Aidan Smith