Monday, January 3, 2011

By Jake Schaefer

Today was a little bit of a change of pace here in Costa Rica. We took a break from the VBS activities and street ministries to do a our first full day of back-breaking manual labor. As I write this, I can feel the effects of the day in my upper arms and lower back. The body aches, however, only make me grateful for the fact that our team was able to be used as vessels of God’s love today. Upon arrival at “La Finca”, our team split into different groups and shifts in order to begin these different projects:


Photo #1 – In this picture, Elsa and our bus driver Corey (who worked beside us all day) are taking down a fence and some brush that we needed cleared in order to start digging a trench.



Photo #2 – On the left, Kati, Elsa, Lanaya and myself are all working together to measure and trim cinder blocks that would be correct measurements to be used for the drain and sidewalk that we were laying on the right side of the newest building of “La Finca”. On the right, Eric and Summer are putting the cinder blocks in place with the cement that our team and the leadership team of the church had been mixing all day long.



Photo #3 – Both of these pictures are of the left side of the building where groups dug a trench amongst mud and sewage. The trench was being dug for a wall that would be put in to go all the way to the back of “La Finca”.


Through our work projects at the church today, it is my hope that our team was able to provide encouragement to the leaders of the church. The amazing leadership team of adults and kids works tremendously hard for the Kingdom every day of their lives. They are often opposed and face trials in their ministries. I pray that in our efforts to work beside them today, that they felt loved and appreciated.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

By Adam Flores



I'm so grateful for God choosing me to be here and serve in Costa Rica. I feel so privileged to see God's hand at work here in the community and in our team. Although today was our first break from outreach, the Lord still had plenty that He wanted to teach us.

Beginning with the morning devotion, we learned how we should glorify God in all that we do and what it means to have joy and not be embarrassed of ourselves in the midst of our suffering. It breaks my heart to see the extreme living conditions and circumstances that exist for most of our friends on the leadership team. But as I look deeper into their lives, I realize that they are not the least bit ashamed. In fact, they live their lives rich in faith and joy. I was sharing with the team today that I taught a few of them how to throw a football, play paddy cake, and say phrases in English. They love every bit of it! I now realize how much I’m learning from them. I'm learning a way of life. This young leadership team lives a life that's loving, caring, and rich in faith. I have so much back at home. But as I'm here, I realize that they have what matters. In the states there are so many things going on that often times I don't even realize my needs.

In the last few days I've seen God use our team to meet the needs of the people. Seeing this happen has increased my trust in God as well as my faith. My conviction is the strongest that it's ever been and I see a very strong conviction within the leadership team here. Their commitment and dedication inspires me. They spend so much of their time reaching their light out into the community and sharing the gospel. I feel that if I were to ask that kind of dedication from someone at home, they would make excuses and tell me they have too many things going on. The reason I feel that way is because that person is me. Josh said something powerful to me today. He said, "If something is stopping you from sharing the Word of God and keeping you from His will for your life, then you should reconsider the things you have going on."

I came to Costa Rica to serve. The Lord has used me to do so, but I also feel that the Lord had to bring me all of the way out here to free me from distractions so that He can speak more clearly into my life. This experience has already been life changing for me. I'm so grateful that God has used our team to be here and make an impact in the community. While doing so, the Lord is making a big impact in our lives.

Huevos, Huevos, Huevos

In Costa Rica, it is customary to crack eggs over someone's head to celebrate their birthday...one egg for every year. Today we celebrated Kati Miller and Eric McClellan. Be sure to check back tomorrow, as we will be celebrating Megan Wylie's birthday!!!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

By Heilena Rojas

This morning’s devotional time continued in the book of Philippians. We talked about Paul being in chains and encouraging people to speak the Word of God more courageously and fearlessly, even though he was being persecuted. We were challenged to be bold in the defense of the gospel. As a group we talked about what kind of things might hold us back from doing that in our daily life. Some of the things we thought of were pride, fear, and embarrassment.

After we had devotional time and breakfast with the team, we headed out to Los Guidos to invite the kids in the community to come join in on the fun at La Finca for Kids Club. In order to invite the children, we had to walk 4 miles up and down steep hills, rocky roads, and some really huge steps. As we walked along the streets, we came upon some familiar faces that had come to the previous days of VBS. The leadership team passed out flyers inviting them to La Finca’s gigantic slip-n-slide. We also handed out some candy to the kids. Being able to see the smiles on those kid’s faces was such an encouragement for the leadership team and for us.

On our way back to La Finca, everyone was so exhausted but we still had work to do, so we fueled up on food and we were back in the game. As we were waiting for the kids to arrive, some of us set up the slip-n-slide with water and soap, while others bonded with the leadership team. This was a great opportunity to get to know and share new experiences with the team. As the kids came through the gates of La Finca, we could see the bright smiles on their faces. When all the kids had finally showed up, it was time to begin the fun! Throughout La Finca, kids were yelling and screaming with laughter, running up and down the hills, eating candy, and sliding in the water. I got to truly experience the most important thing in life… JOY! These kids showed the true meaning of joy; whether it was from just a simple lollypop to a giant slipping slide. It made me realize that our attitude should be like those kids of Los Guidos: even if things don’t go the way we expect it to go, we must live our life filled with joy.




Tonight we came back to the mission house earlier than the past few days. This allowed us to have another devotional time with the team and to open up and share all the things we had experienced in the past few days. It was amazing to hear the eye opening and heart-warming stories that make up this once in a lifetime opportunity. So far, this has been the biggest privilege and most rewarding experience I have ever had.




Please continue to pray for the strength and health of our team as well as for all of the incredible work that God is doing here in Costa Rica.

A Few More Pictures

We had so many good pictures from yesterday, that we thought we'd post a few more. Enjoy...

Friday, December 31, 2010

By Kati Miller

Today, the generous contributions of CBC’s congregation were used as a tool to share the love of Christ and The Gospel with those living in unfathomable situations. There is a neighborhood here in Los Guido, Costa Rica called Sector Seven that is known for its extreme poverty and gang violence. Recently, the leadership team here endured the loss of a young girl in a gang-related murder which occurred eleven months ago in this area. Due to the hardship of the loss, the ministry had yet to minister to the area until today. Alongside the leadership team, the GO Costa Rica Team sought out the opportunity presented to us; because many fear the area, those residing there have not received any help or outreach for almost a year. The food bags that you, our CBC members, provided were given to every home; each bag can feed one of these impoverished families for about a week. I wish that I could show you the faces of those receiving the gift, not only were they surprised that we dared to enter their neighborhood, but their smiles glowed with gratitude and hope. When the food bags were presented to each household, they also had the opportunity to hear the truth of Christ; the leadership team presented them with God’s gift of salvation through His son Jesus.

While the Good News was shared, the CBC team members prayed over every home. The entire experience was incredibly moving and eye-opening; as the families listened their eyes were filled with hope. In an area where fear is prevalent every day and a hungry stomach is familiar, a message of comfort and unending peace overcame the reality of the area. One household that we came to really stuck out to me; the leadership team uses a worksheet to help share The Gospel and when we approached one home a man said that he was vision impaired and therefore could not use the worksheet. Though his vision proposed an obstacle, it was immediately overcome. He listened with interest as the leaders clearly shared the Truth; nothing can come between Christ’s love and His people. So THANK YOU for supporting our ministry by donating these food bags!!!





After our ministry in Sector Seven, the leadership team and the CBC team headed out to another day of VBS; I am almost positive that there was not one frowning face. Between the dancing, singing, games, balloons, bracelets and just playing with the kids it is a blast; but I think I may enjoy it more than the kids do! In just a matter of days, I have come to adore many of the kids that I have met. The kids are given love and attention, two things that we often overlook but they long for. After songs and games, the same worksheet presented alongside the food bags is given to the kids. The verse Matthew 18:3 states “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”; the truth of this radiates during VBS, the kids receive the message with such excitement and eagerness.



Our last activity today was a rather fun one; La Finca held a bonfire fully equipped with dinner, plentiful laughter, a huge bonfire and smores. I saw this evening as a wonderful opportunity to bond with the leadership team and the people of Los Guido. The people and families were served a hot meal, a rarity here. Though The Gospel was not directly presented there, the evening was not at all lacking in ministry; my constant prayer while we are here is that Christ’s love will be prevalent in all of our actions, and I believe His love shown brightly this evening.


Tonight the CBC team awaits the arrival of the New Year by playing games and hanging out; it has been amazing to watch a group of people that barely knew each other become a unit and team for the same purpose, to serve Christ.



Prayer Requests:
-That our team will continue to work together, that we will not be discouraged or grow weak, but rather persevere and serve with joy
-Pray for the leadership team here at La Finca. The truly are an amazing group, they are all between the ages of about 9 and 19. They have devoted their vacation to selflessly serve the Lord. Pray they will be encouraged and that they will continue to be impassioned with His love
-Pray that God will prepare to hearts of those here in Costa Rica to hear His Word

Thursday, December 30, 2010

By Ariel McClellan and Summer Beasley


We begin each day with a time of worship and bible study. Conway is leading us through the book of Philippians, in which Paul writes to the church of Philippi about joy. Throughout our study today, I was amazed by the similarities between the book and our trip in Costa Rica. Paul specifically brings a message of joy in suffering to the Philippians in order to remind them that they can be joyful despite their circumstances. The churches of Costa Rica are nothing like that of America. These people have nothing and are constantly faced with tragedy, yet they cling to God for even their basic necessities. Their joy comes from the Holy Spirit rather than their circumstances.

Today we spent a lot of time with the leadership team from the church we are working with. As we interacted with them, I couldn't help but think about how Paul interacted with all of the early Christian churches. It is so awesome that we can come to Costa Rica and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ to continue their work in this country.

A big part of our day was devoted to Vacation Bible School in the streets of Los Guido. First, we walked through the streets to invite kids, passing out candy and balloons as we went along. VBS was a great time to share Christ's love with these children. We played games, danced to worship songs, and made bracelets that explained the gospel story in a way that the kids would understand. We really enjoyed being able to give the kids an opportunity to escape from their everyday lives and experience the love that Christ has to offer them.

In between VBS and lunch, we took a moment from our schedule to stop and pray for one of the families that is very involved with the church. Sometimes seeing the life style that the people from these small cities survive through can be discouraging, but God reminds us that He is still here. It's very eye-opening to see people who struggle to survive each day have such a deep faith and commitment to God.

Our favorite activity today was rollerskating with the youth from the leadership team. The majority of them had never gone rollerskating before and clung to the members of our team. Let's just say everyone spent most of the time on the floor of the roller rink laughing so hard we could barely pull ourselves back up. The youth and the team members had such a blast we spent hours circling the rink. We took a step in bringing our team closer by building a stronger relationship with the youth leaders.


After each VBS the kids are taken through the "Bridge Illustration" which explains the Gospel in a way that is easy for them to understand. Over 150 kids have already been taken through this illustration during our last two VBS events.


Heilenia is the youngest member of our team and is proving VERY helpful with her spanish speaking skills! The kids love that she can talk to them and our team loves that she can help US talk to kids.