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.
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