Hello all! I can't believe Costa Rica went by so fast. It was definitely an amazing experience to be there and minister with our host families. As I mentioned, we did some wall murals at a school for missionaries, their children and also Ticos (Costa Ricans) close to San Jose. The coolest thing about doing this was physically seeing the impact on the children at the school. Though I found it a different concept to be serving in a school that was predominately North Americans, there was definitely a purpose for our service there. It was so amazing to see the excitement of the children with the life we brought to the walls! We did five murals in total! The best story, however, involves a little girl in the preschool. Everyday she would cry and cry, extending her arm to us as we painted and asking us to get her out of there. It was so sad. She was a new child to the school and had been crying everyday since she began attending. The staff was at a loss with what to do about this. One of our team members was able to calm her down on certain days, but it was with the completion of the mural that we were able to witness something really cool. The little girl stopped crying and interacted with the wall mural, pointing out colours and saying them. It was so cool to see how our ministry of serving this school had an impact on all the children, but especially that little girl. We went and helped out with the school when the murals were done, observing this little girl from a distance. We noticed that she was hardly crying at all. She was playing with the other kids, and interacting with the staff who were taking care of the preschool children. AMAZING!
We did our best to turn drab walls into a work of art. The artwork was designed by Ciera and we are so happy to have made a difference!
Ciera is a fabulous artist and a real asset to our team
We also really enjoyed our time playing with the children at the orphanage. We got to spend another day there running and playing with the kids. I am still so amazed by the love of Victor and Melba, the parents, who currently have 39 children living with them. Each child is raised as their own. They have a photo of each child in their living room. It really is so heartwarming to see a family give so much love. I know this is the love of Jesus.
Victor, Melba and their adopted family… So much love in this house
One of the other cool things that we witnessed during bible studies with people in the local community was families coming to Christ. The communities in Costa Rica are Roman Catholic. Roman Catholicism looks a lot different there than it does in North America. They live a life based on works. Their salvation is earned through acts such as drinking holy water, going to mass, giving money so their prayers are heard, etc. Our hosts have built relationships with people in the local communities and have bible studies with them. He sits with them, shares verses and discusses the verses with them. Showing them what the bible says about salvation, that it is a FREE gift, not something earned by works. These people are often told that they should not read the bible, and that it may even make them go crazy…. It is so amazing the relationships our host has built with these people, and also just to see their hearts to reach out to the people of Costa Rica, and to have been a part of sharing with these people and hearing what they had to say as well. One highlight was being present when a family of 5 decided to fully accept Christ as their saviour. Our hosts continue to meet with these families and encourage them and build relationships with them.
The very beautiful Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Los Angeles in Cartago. The people live very modestly, but the cathedrals are stunning.
So that is my sum up of Costa Rica! We are looking forward to Nicaragua where we will serve in Palacaguina with our entire squad!
At the sumit of the Irazu Volcano, 3432 m above sea level. Irazu is the highest active volcano in Costa Rica. We lived at the 1,829 m level during our stay here.
These cute and cuddly racoon-like critters are called coati, and as you can see, they are not a bit shy
