Well…I’m officially writing to you from the field! Month 1 is underway! We landed in San Jose, Costa Rica last Wednesday and are working with an organization called the Christian Light Foundation in Los Guido. Los Guido is a slum located about 30 minutes outside of the capital of San Jose. I’ll be honest when I say that I was not most excited about ministry in Costa Rica because I’ve always thought about it more as a tourist location and had trouble imagining doing ministry here. But Los Guido is far from that, and I’ve loved being here so far. Our ministry hosts are Mark and Meg Kuzdas, who started the Christian Light Foundation 14 years ago. The Christian Light Foundation also works in Nicaragua and Honduras, but here in Costa Rica the ministry consists of a church, Iglesia Nueva Vida, and an afternoon feeding center, Comedor Las Sonrisas. Children in Los Guido are able to come to the feeding center Monday-Saturday from 11-1. Where we are staying is also called “La Finca” just FYI. (Read more about this organization here). Also, our team is locked into the gym where we are staying every night at 6pm. You can imagine all of the team bonding we are able to do. 😉
What I am most excited about is that our primary ministry this month is working in a grade school in Los Guido. We have the opportunity to work with the 4 English teachers in the school. It’s been a blast so far and our primary goal in being in the schools is to show extra love and attention to the kids and connect them to La Finca, along with teaching English. So far my teammate Jillian and I have primarily been working in the 1st and 6th grade classes.
After only being here 1 week, I am already in love with Central America. I truly am. One thing that has been really encouraging to me is the ability to use my Spanish. I have really enjoyed being able to communicate with the locals and help translate for my team. Let’s be honest…I’m surrounded by a culture I love. Sometimes it feels like heaven haha.
When we haven’t been in the schools this week, we’ve been learning our way around town and the local transportation. Since there is no Wi-Fi where we are staying, we take a 20-30 minute bus ride to the nearest McDonald’s. Our team has also taken a couple prayer walks around the town, which is surrounded by beautiful mountains. It still takes my breath away sometimes when I look up from the street and see the view.
So, I’m officially here and doing it. I’m here and I still can’t believe it. I can’t wait to update you all on the rest of the month. Love you guys!!
