Here is a little video of my group of teens during our time in Costa Rica. Enjoy! - dd
Monday, January 20, 2014
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Fortuna and Los Lagos
Goodness! Where to begin?
It's been a full couple of days since we last wrote. Besides the successful VBS programs we've run (successful meaning lots of kids showing up and getting loved on, our teens being loved back, and the teens doing a fantastic job with each of their roles on the team), we have been enjoying lots of laughs, lots of tears, incredible, challenging conversations with teens, and making lots of new memories. It's been so good but, well -- exhausting. A good kind of exhausting, but boy will we crash when we get home!
Saying goodbye to the kids at each of our sites was a challenge for our teens (and for many of the sponsors). The Costa Rican's love is so abundant and since time is slower here, I think the kids really enjoyed the experience of time to love, time to build relationship. We are just so busy, busy, busy in our culture. Simple things like jump rope and Duck, Duck Goose aren't appreciated because we're too busy. Not so here. There is time to stand around throw a football, jump rope, play children's games, talk, listen to music, be silent. From my perspective it felt like the kids really enjoyed the pace of life here because it allowed them to build relationships. When it came time to say goodbye they found it to be very, very difficult.
During the evening worship services there have been some incredible workings of the Holy Spirit and some significant battles being waged for the kids' hearts. The enemy is doing his best to win their hearts and God will not let them go. (Amen!) It's been an honor to be here praying with them, crying with them, and sitting in silence before God with them. Please continue to lift them each in prayer because we are still having tough conversations even here at our recreation site.
Speaking of our recreation site, let me just say that when CCA decides to spoil your kids they know how to do so BIG TIME. The resort we are staying is called Los Lagos and it has the best pools! Multiple pools and slides are filling the kids' free time. The hotel is beautiful and we are all thrilled with access to large, spacious bathrooms that we only have to share with 3 people instead of 43 people. (It's the little things in life, folks. And yet, they are still most excited about being able to flush our TP when we get home to the USA. ha!) The food has been AMAZING all week but in the last 2 meals here in Fortuna...well, it's an understatement to say that we've all over-indulged. I would post pictures but it would only make you feel bad for missing out.
Today we are heading out to enjoy the zip lines through the jungle and then a pizza lunch. Afterwards we will come back to the resort for rest time (in plain English: pool time). After another big dinner tonight we will shop in town for souvenirs. We leave here at 2 am to make our long trek to the airport for our early flight out. (Heavens!)
Keep praying for us and we'll see you all tomorrow. Adios!
It's been a full couple of days since we last wrote. Besides the successful VBS programs we've run (successful meaning lots of kids showing up and getting loved on, our teens being loved back, and the teens doing a fantastic job with each of their roles on the team), we have been enjoying lots of laughs, lots of tears, incredible, challenging conversations with teens, and making lots of new memories. It's been so good but, well -- exhausting. A good kind of exhausting, but boy will we crash when we get home!
Saying goodbye to the kids at each of our sites was a challenge for our teens (and for many of the sponsors). The Costa Rican's love is so abundant and since time is slower here, I think the kids really enjoyed the experience of time to love, time to build relationship. We are just so busy, busy, busy in our culture. Simple things like jump rope and Duck, Duck Goose aren't appreciated because we're too busy. Not so here. There is time to stand around throw a football, jump rope, play children's games, talk, listen to music, be silent. From my perspective it felt like the kids really enjoyed the pace of life here because it allowed them to build relationships. When it came time to say goodbye they found it to be very, very difficult.
During the evening worship services there have been some incredible workings of the Holy Spirit and some significant battles being waged for the kids' hearts. The enemy is doing his best to win their hearts and God will not let them go. (Amen!) It's been an honor to be here praying with them, crying with them, and sitting in silence before God with them. Please continue to lift them each in prayer because we are still having tough conversations even here at our recreation site.
Speaking of our recreation site, let me just say that when CCA decides to spoil your kids they know how to do so BIG TIME. The resort we are staying is called Los Lagos and it has the best pools! Multiple pools and slides are filling the kids' free time. The hotel is beautiful and we are all thrilled with access to large, spacious bathrooms that we only have to share with 3 people instead of 43 people. (It's the little things in life, folks. And yet, they are still most excited about being able to flush our TP when we get home to the USA. ha!) The food has been AMAZING all week but in the last 2 meals here in Fortuna...well, it's an understatement to say that we've all over-indulged. I would post pictures but it would only make you feel bad for missing out.
Today we are heading out to enjoy the zip lines through the jungle and then a pizza lunch. Afterwards we will come back to the resort for rest time (in plain English: pool time). After another big dinner tonight we will shop in town for souvenirs. We leave here at 2 am to make our long trek to the airport for our early flight out. (Heavens!)
Keep praying for us and we'll see you all tomorrow. Adios!
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
TAG Time and More
Hello Everyone! I would have typed the greeting in Spanish but I have a hard enough time just speaking it. By the way, this is Aaron Hoffman posting tonight because Diana was too tired from lounging at the beach all day, so she asked me to fill in. Only kidding, she's been working hard with the kids each day.
What an awesome few days it has been in here in humid but beautiful Costa Rica! I will try to share with you a bit about the amazing kids...both those that live here and those that came to serve them. Tuesday was filled from well before dawn until late in the night with activities. Mr. Z (the CCA school administrator and current girls basketball coach) Hannah, Michael and all the other athletes up a 5:00am for a run and soccer match. After an hour or so of early morning torture it was off to the showers to prep for the day. Diana & I and all the other sponsors were sleeping blissfully during the heathy harassment.
The rest of the day began as usual with a great breakfast and "TAG" time. TAG stands for "Time Alone with God"and it really helps set the tone for the rest of the day. Albert (the mission director) gives a brief plug for the spiritual focus point of the day and then we get to spend 30 minutes just intentionally building on our relationship with God. At 9:00 the buses roll out of the mission to the VBS sites.
Below is a picture of the kids in action at our first site Bajo Managua. This is area is most challenging of our locations because it is so severely poor. The only new house in the area is the one being built right next to our ministry area. The majority of the homes are up above us built into a steep hill with very limited services and conveniences.
Our second site is much more traditionally developed but the play is mostly just a big, broken concrete pad. It is perfect for our games, which include: soccer, American football, frisbee, jump roping and lots of little crafts. I learned how to make a woven bracelet this week and Hannah became a human canvas!
At each location, we play with the kids to get to know them and then spend an hour and half running through a series of songs, skits and crafts. We finish the visit with a little snack, lots of hugs and promises to see them all tomorrow.
You would all be so proud of the kids that have committed to coming on this trip. They have been amazing at showing God's love in action in hundreds of tangible ways. Whether it was during the prep-time for the skits and crafts, sitting on the hard ground with local children in their laps making plastic jewelry or chasing a ball around, they are laughing with and loving on the Costa Rican children. It has been impossible not to fall in love with these kids.
The end of our day was capped off with a trip into town after dinner for a few hours of fast and furious indoor soccer between teams of CCA students. We split into 4 groups and the arena was filled with catcalls and cheers as we challenged each other for the pride of victory...even the old folks joined in the fun. If felt like I had aged 10 years when I woke up this morning.
It is now 1:15am Thursday morning & I am ALL DONE! We'll catch you up on more details again soon. We love you all and appreciate your prayers and support. Continue to pray for our health, soft hearts and sleep.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Have You Checked Your B Mail Today?
One of the first things the mission had each of us do yesterday was decorate a regular old brown paper back with our name. This is for B Mail (bag mail). All week long we are encouraged to write notes to one another. (For those of you who are familiar with the Circle of Encouragement, it's the same concept.) It's so great to see the kids focusing on the kind things they can say to their friends, praising them for a job well done or thanking them for their friendship. For many of you who wrote letters to your teen and gave them to their mentor, those letters are being dropped into these bags each day. You can imagine the fun of peering down into your paper bag and discovering a letter from a loved one back home.
"A word fitly spoken is like
apples of gold in a setting of silver."
Proverbs 15:11
Today was our first day of VBS and each team ran two, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Our group went out to a place called Concepcion this morning and when we arrived there were four little girls waiting there for us. We had met them yesterday during our prayer walk and they were ready and waiting for us. One little girl named Ashley had a gift all ready for someone in our group and she chose Willow right off the bat. That was a great choice because Willow poured her heart out on the field today. If you don't know Willow then you are missing out on knowing one of the most joy-filled teens I've ever met. Everything she says and does is permeated with kindness, love and joy...it's a real treat for anyone who is around. All of the teens were awesome today. Each of them led in their particular job assignment and did so with enthusiasm and joy. I wish all of their parents could see them serving this way. They would all be so proud!
This afternoon our group went to another place called Linda Vista and when we arrived we were surprised to find the field had piles of concrete and rock and the church on the property is now someone's home. It caused us to pause for a few minutes to assess what we should do but before we knew it there were children running down the hill to join us. So we pulled out the jump ropes and frisbees and got busy having fun. Russell was in this crowd. He is about 10 years old and Russell did everything he could to turn our teaching and singing time upside down. But, our teen leaders persisted and did a terrific job staying on task. Nic Lubin and Russell took a special liking to one another and they ended up with bond that I'm confident will last all week. I am proud of Nic for taking the little guy under his wing...he was quite the little booger!
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Prayer Walk
by Diana Durrill
We are finally enjoying the last few minutes of our first full day in Costa Rica. We landed early this morning around 5:55 am and while many of us slept on the flight, many did not and they are very tired! We were greeted by a thick blanket of humidity (which I happen to love), lush green vegetation and flowering plants. Costa Rica really is breathtakingly beautiful.
A 45 minute bus drive brought us to the mission station that Pura Vida calls home and the first order of business was to devour a hot breakfast before settling into our rooms and taking naps. (Well, the sponsors all crashed anyway. The girls lost no time in getting their winter white skin exposed to the sun and the boys started card games and messed around either with the guitars or basketballs. The sponsors were wise and slept off a couple hours of our exhaustion.)
After lunch we went through orientation and then took the buses out to the neighborhoods where we are running VBS and canvased with invitations. The mission calls this time a "prayer walk". We are to pray individually and as a group as we walk, praying that God would open hearts and homes to the message of the gospel. It was fun to be walking in these communities and to be greeted with big smiles and waving hands. I wish I could speak a little Spanish...the language barrier is quite intimidating to me but as in all cultures a smile transcends any and all barriers! The children were excited to be invited so we'll see how many of them show up tomorrow.
After dinner tonight we had a worship service and the Spirit of God was present and working as evidenced by the large response to the invitation. Many of our students came forward and spent significant time deep in prayer, lingering long after the service was over and others had exited the chapel. It was obvious that the message struck a chord. John 1:16 kept coming to mind as I watched teens rise with tears streaming down their faces. Oh, how I long for them to grasp the truth that out of Christ's fullness we have all been given grace upon grace already given. God's grace is more than all-sufficient...it's empowering! My specific prayer after tonights service is that each teen knows that God is pouring more and more of His grace out upon each of them and that the knowledge of that empowers them to live lives that glorify and honor Him.
I will try and update tomorrow and might even get some pictures added. But for now, since I'm all tuckered out from very little sleep in the last 2 days...Goodnight!
We are finally enjoying the last few minutes of our first full day in Costa Rica. We landed early this morning around 5:55 am and while many of us slept on the flight, many did not and they are very tired! We were greeted by a thick blanket of humidity (which I happen to love), lush green vegetation and flowering plants. Costa Rica really is breathtakingly beautiful.
A 45 minute bus drive brought us to the mission station that Pura Vida calls home and the first order of business was to devour a hot breakfast before settling into our rooms and taking naps. (Well, the sponsors all crashed anyway. The girls lost no time in getting their winter white skin exposed to the sun and the boys started card games and messed around either with the guitars or basketballs. The sponsors were wise and slept off a couple hours of our exhaustion.)
After lunch we went through orientation and then took the buses out to the neighborhoods where we are running VBS and canvased with invitations. The mission calls this time a "prayer walk". We are to pray individually and as a group as we walk, praying that God would open hearts and homes to the message of the gospel. It was fun to be walking in these communities and to be greeted with big smiles and waving hands. I wish I could speak a little Spanish...the language barrier is quite intimidating to me but as in all cultures a smile transcends any and all barriers! The children were excited to be invited so we'll see how many of them show up tomorrow.
After dinner tonight we had a worship service and the Spirit of God was present and working as evidenced by the large response to the invitation. Many of our students came forward and spent significant time deep in prayer, lingering long after the service was over and others had exited the chapel. It was obvious that the message struck a chord. John 1:16 kept coming to mind as I watched teens rise with tears streaming down their faces. Oh, how I long for them to grasp the truth that out of Christ's fullness we have all been given grace upon grace already given. God's grace is more than all-sufficient...it's empowering! My specific prayer after tonights service is that each teen knows that God is pouring more and more of His grace out upon each of them and that the knowledge of that empowers them to live lives that glorify and honor Him.
I will try and update tomorrow and might even get some pictures added. But for now, since I'm all tuckered out from very little sleep in the last 2 days...Goodnight!
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Costa Rica Mission Trip 2014
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| Michael in Costa Rica, January 2013 |
Last January we sent our son, Michael, off to Costa Rica for his first solo mission trip. By solo we mean without us. He has had the opportunity to accompany us and countless teenagers on many mission trips in the past but this was his first time to go without one of us being along. We were excited for him! (And only a little bit nervous.) It proved to be a real growing experience for him and we were so glad he went.
Now a year later, we are facing another trip to Costa Rica but this time -- wait for it -- I get to go with him! He graciously invited me to go with him this year and I couldn't have been more honored. So I signed up to tag along as a sponsor. =)
Today is the big day. We fly out of Denver tonight at midnight and will arrive in San Jose, Costa Rica in the morning where we will hit the ground running. We are traveling with a group of 40 from his school, Cornerstone Christian Academy. We plan to get settled at the mission (Pura Vida Missions) and then pull all of our materials out of our suitcases and put final touches on for the week of children's clubs. Michael is the team leader for a group of 8 teens and I am on of the two sponsors for his group. My job is to be present but not in the way...to let the teens in our group fully run the program and to let Michael lead.
Please pray for us as we are coming off two weeks of sickness in our home, with me still fighting the last bit of a severe head cold/sinus crud. Pray for good health for the whole team, safety, good rest at night, and for the Holy Spirit to be actively working in the lives of each CCA student and sponsor.
We are excited!
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