Day 3 from Aubrey

Today was a really good day! First we woke up and ate breakfast together, and then we headed out to work on some yard work for the church. We then enjoyed a delicious lunch prepared for us by some members from the church. After lunch, we enjoyed a little down time, but I have had so much fun with the kids this week! The kids are so precious. It’s been so great to see how much joy they have, and their happiness even in the midst of the chaos they live in! Today, we played a few games together as a group, and it was so awesome to see the quiet and shy kids open up and laugh and smile. I have enjoyed making good friendships with all the children and just sharing the love of God with them! God has done some amazing things so far, and I can’t wait to see what His plans unfold as the week progresses!!

*We will post pictures as soon as we can from today. We have had technical difficulties in getting them uploaded!  

Day 2 from Jack

Today we left for Guararri again to go clean up an empty lot near the church. We arrived there after we ate breakfast at our hotel and were ready for work. When we arrived at the church, we grabbed tools and cleared most of the plants from the lot in 2 hours. After we were done working we had an amazing lunch that was prepared by the church staff. We then prepared for the rest of the day and waited for the kids to arrive. When the kids arrived we played frisbee with them, made them bracelets, and some of them got their faces painted. We left the church a few hours later and had a huge dinner at a local restaurant. After that we drove back to our hotel and talked about our day. Hopefully tomorrow is just as good as today was and I hope we continue to see how Christ works in the kids’ lives.

Day 2 : Stories

From Maddie Culpepper:

We are doing great here in Costa Rica! Today we started to clear out this empty lot which is full of dry grass, dirt and rocks. After about two hours we cleared about half of the lot of grass. When we were about finished a few of us, myself included, went and handed out flyers to the kids who were getting out of school. We called it quits at lunch, ate and then hung out with the kids 

in the afternoon till 4. We had a more calm afternoon compared to Sunday afternoon. There were multiple activities going on, face painting, frisbee throwing, bracelet making, chalk drawing, nail painting, and coloring. After hanging out at the church we went to dinner at a very good place and ate, very good. Once getting back to the hotel, we rushed to go get changed to swim, and ended our evening swimming. Finally we wrapped up our night with a Bible study and discussed how our day was. 

From Mary Robles:  

Today is March 12. We worked in an empty field by the church and cleared the lot. We pushed through even though it was hot and gross outside because it was for a good cause. After that we had an amazing lunch. Playing with the kids has to be the best part of the day. We played with chalk, threw frisbees, painted faces and nails and made prayer bracelets. Seeing the kids’ faces light up is so uplifting and encouraging. I met a little girl named Valerie, who soon became my friend. She was adorable and liked holding on to the frisbee with out actually playing on it. The kids get so happy when they see us. Their faces light up with smiles and you can tell they are being filled with happiness. Today was great and tomorrow will only get better.

Day 2 (Pictures)

Here are some pictures from our work day and time with the kids! We will have a few student's post their stories soon! Enjoy!

Good Morning - Day 2

Good Morning from the mission team! We have a full work day ahead of us!
We look forward in sharing stories and pictures from the day!

Day 1 from Kaitlyn

As the day was going by, we, the Joshua Expedition group, had gone to church in Guararri. I had volunteered to share my testimony to the church about how I believed in God and why I am in Costa Rica. After church had finished, we had eaten lunch at the church and it tasted amazing. We had chicken and rice, coleslaw, beans and potato chips. After we had finished eating, we went outside to wait for the kids to come see us and play games. As more and more kids started showing up, we played monkey in the middle soccer edition, blew bubbles, acted out the story of The Three Trees, played Sharks and Minnows, and sang songs such as Waves of Mercy, the Papaya Song, and There's Nothing my God Cannot Do. As we were all doing these activities, I made new friends named Kayla and Kirchahy. They are both sassy, they love to show their skills in gymnastics, love to play with hair, and love to give hugs as well. After we had left the church for the day, the JE group had gone to the souvenir shop and ate a delicious dinner. Finally, we had made it back to the hotel and talked about today. We talked mostly about the kids and how they had joy and were carefree, in a good way. All the kids reminded me of when we were all in kindergarten and when we weren't afraid to meet new people and have enjoy change. 

I had a fun time today. I hope tomorrow will be just as fun.

-Kaitlyn Mickey 

Day 1 from Ethan

Today was a gift from God, it started with an early morning and a good serving of rice and beans along with many other kinds of sweet goodies from our buffet bar! Then we got on our bus with our leader and we went to our sunday service, we sang in spanish and I was a little lost but the feeling of happiness and how excited they where with our arrival was beyond words on how it made me feel! After that me and Lauren and some other seniors went to Sunday school with the kiddos and I was being very friendly and goofy and loving to all the kids and was trying to make friends with the quiet nervous kids. Once that finished we played with the kids for hours and it was the most fun I've had in maybe my whole life! It was also one of the most heart filling and God given days I've ever had! We played soccer and sharks and minnows and sang and did a play and had chalk and we had all kinds of fun!! The kids look to us as super heros and they love us! I had such an amazing day! I bonded with all the kids and met many amazing and once you got to know them PRETTY AWESOME KIDDOS!! then we went shopping and ate and had devotions back at the hotel!  Overall it was a day of God from God! These days and moments will change and shape who I am forever! I'm so grateful for everything! Today was perfect!    

                                   -Ethan