It’s Sunday afternoon and we are sitting around the house practicing the Latin American art of “siesta.”  We have participated in 3 church services today and for those who call the 9am service at Summersville Baptist “early”, we feel equally as strong since that was 7am for us here.  After saying hello to the folks at home via Skype, we left AMCA to go to La Iglesia Primera Bautista del Desamparados, or First Baptist Church Desamparados.  This all Spanish service was very exciting, the group enjoyed contemporary worship music in Spanish.  Many were able to follow along with the words on the screen and know what they were singing.  We sang “Mighty to Save”, “Celebrate, Jesus, Celebrate”, “It is Well”, and a couple others.  I was amazed at how well I understood the language in the service and am finding myself using Spanish a lot more without having Carmen’s skills to fall back on.  I guess we need to use Spanish more at home, maybe then I’ll get even better for our next trip.

After church we went to lunch at a restaurant that served traditional Costa Rican cuisine.  Many of us had a variation of a casado, which included rice, beans, potatoes, fried plantain, and a meat such as beef, chicken, or fish.  We are stuffed from lunch and spent some time walking it off to get some souvenirs.  Although our last two days have been beautiful with no rain, today holds true to normal rainy season weather, beautiful, sunny, blue skies until 3 or 4 in the afternoon then rain and storms through the evening.

I think everyone has enjoyed the fun and restful feel of the first few days, but we are excited to jump in and get our hands dirty tomorrow at the church.  It sounds like we will start out tomorrow morning preparing the bathrooms for tile, begin painting classrooms, and perform demolition on the awning covering a sidewalk.  Through the week our goal is to paint the classrooms, tile 2 bathrooms, demolish an rebuild the awning, and prepare the yard for sod. 

In addition to all of the work to be done, the team met some of the children from the orphanage after church.  We were invited to join the fathers for cake and ice cream and while we sat and enjoyed our prelunch snack, we began to meet and talk with the children.  Needless to say, hearts are broken for these children and we are excited to love them and share with them this week as well.

Thanks for the love and support that everyone back home is sending our way.  We love you and miss you!

We’re Here!  The grace of God covered us and led us through every leg of our journey yesterday.  We arrived safely in DC on Wednesday night and when I said the van would load at 6:45 there were a few groans, however the excitement was already flowing when half the group was waiting at the vans before 6:45 to load up.  We ate breakfast and enjoyed 10 miles of DC rush hour traffic to get to Dulles airport.  The group unloaded at the curb for TACA airlines and when we walked in, the line was winding and extended well past the rope ques.  I was able to ask an airline official about our group of 21 to see if they wanted us to do anything different.  She said she would check us in and made a line that went directly to her desk for our group.  Once the tickets were in hand, my anxiety level dropped drastically.  The next stage would be security, which we were prepared to be rough.  As we entered the security area we walked into an empty line and were happily greeted by TSA agents who were intrigued by our flood of bright yellow shirts.  With two obstacles overcome effortlessly, we went to our gate and enjoyed coffee and doughnuts before take off.  Although some in our group had given me a rough time about a Latin American based airline, we didn’t have to sit with chickens, bring our own chairs, or protect the kids from the fiesta.  Both flights went incredibly smooth.  The first time fliers seemed to really enjoy flying and everyone’s nerves were calmed by the good food and incredible staff.  We had an hour layover in San Salvador, El Salvador and as the first plane landed I was fearful for our luggage making it to the next plane, but from a window we could see Katie’s polka dot luggage and many of our pieces of

The last hurdle to cross would be customs in Costa Rica.  After making it through customs and getting every piece of our luggage safely from the conveyor belt, we went through declarations without a question asked about our saws and drills.  Not a single fear I had about getting a group of 21 people and our luggage through the airport became a reality.  It was rainy here in San Jose as we drove nearly 45 minutes to the AMCA house on the other side of the city.  After unloading our luggage we enjoyed pizza and Pepsi.  The group hung out, unpacked, showered off the day of travelling, and enjoyed a night time reflection about how God’s grace has guided us this far and we are all excited to see what he will do along the next leg of the journey.

The only hiccup we have had in this first few days is that the internet crashed as soon as we got to the house.  I believe a couple of people were able to call home, but it crashed before I could do any group updates.  Such is what we were prepared for being in another country, as with everything, God’s grace will cover this.

Reality has hit...I turned in my Bible this morning to realize that tomorrows date is the day I have been working and planning for since December.  All of the plans go into action tomorrow at 4pm as Summersville Baptist Youth pack two vans and take off toward Manassas, VA where we will spend a night in a hotel before flying to San Jose, Costa Rica for 10 days.  Although the tools are packed, the projects outlined, and the itinerary prepared, I am not sure what to expect.  I am first excited to introduce 20 youth and leaders to short term mission work and to watch them grow as they experience God through this experience.  Second, I am excited to partner with JD Reed before he heads to Bolivia, and to help with a local church and orphanage.  I am, third, excited to return to the place where I believe God laid the initial seeds that grew into a commitment of full time ministry when I was a teenager.  But overall, I'm not sure what to expect.  I read this morning in Acts 8 when God led Philip to an Ethiopian in a chariot.  In my mind I picture Philip thinking to himself "I'm not sure why I'm chasing this chariot, but we'll see what God has in store" and then as he's running beside the chariot he overhears scripture being read out loud.  When  he hears this and gets the opportunity of explaining the passage from Isaiah to the Ethiopian and realizes that God put him there to change a mans life.  My hope as we travel to Costa Rica is that we show up at the right place and time and God uses us in powerful ways.  I know we have been called there for a purpose and I am most excited as we embark on this journey to discover how God will use us.  Psalm 130:5 says "I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope."  I with the Psalmist can say, I wait with hope and anticipation to be used for your glory, God!