Brought to you via Nick….
With our flight landing a bit early in San Jose, we were eagerly awaiting our journey to meet the children. However, while we landed early, numerous others landed late. Unfortunately, this led to roughly and hour and a half wait in the customs line.
The anticipation was building as a bus arrived to pick us up, and we zipped off for a fun bus ride through downtown San Jose, Costa Rica. While this was a time of excitement, it was also a great time for reflection as we took in the smells of burning trash and diesel fuel, saw brightly colored but run down buildings, and barrios covering the mountain side.
While we didn’t talk too much about it, there was still apprehension for what was awaiting us. On the bus ride, we learned there weren’t as many campers as we had expected, and it was re-iterated that they spoke very little English language if any at all. Plus, we were arriving later than expected and night was falling. To top that off, we also learned the campers were leaving earlier than expected the next day. Our hopes were certainly not down, but we knew that we had little time to make friends and impact lives. Add all that to a day long of traveling, and we just weren’t sure where the Lord would lead us. However, looking back now, we know that He had a plan for us and all the things He wanted to happen! Although we had to scrap some of our initial plans for Saturday night, the Lord showed up in a very big way. Proverbs 16:9 says, “In his heart, a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” We were humbled that when Saturday had come to a close, we were positive that the Lord guided our steps and actions.
As soon as we arrived, we met the children and played an impromptu name game which involves clapping and chanting in Spanish! We immediately bonded over laughs and smiles as some of us would forget names, mispronounce the Spanish words, or miss
the beat. We grabbed a quick dinner and spent that time chatting individually with all the campers. There are a few of us here (Katie N, Everett, Julia) who speak Spanish pretty well, which was a HUGE help. The rest of us tried to get by with broken Spanish we had learned in high school. Funny thing is, any time we would say a Spanish phrase or word, the children would immediately break into Spanish dialogue, assuming we could understand everything they were saying!
After dinner is when the real fun began…BAILAMOS!!!!!!!! Many people say the soccer or futbol is the universal language. While they are correct, dancing is right up there as well. Basically, we had a two hour dance party! As you can imagine, the music is wonderful with the different rhythms and beats…and THEY CAN DANCE! We had an awesome time bonding and building relationships through all types of dancing. We would take turns showing each other certain dance moves and trying to follow along. Salsa, the Congo Line, breakdancing, the worm, Michael Jackson…everything you can think of!
After dancing, the Costa Rica staff led everyone through a really cool glow in the dark activity. Everyone was blindfolded, and then covered in florescent paint. After taking the blindfold off, they told a story about the stars and the importance of them all shining together. When they turned the lights back on, all the glowing disappeared. They then explained to us that even though you can’t always see lights shining, you must have Faith in God that it is ALWAYS shining in your heart. We then sang some camp songs around the fire, did a devotion and skit, and begun to wrap u
p our first night. After a really long day, it was time
for group processing time, devotionals, and bed. The children have asked us to meet them at 6:30am in the morning for a Futbol game before breakfast!
With all fun, the children did not want to go to bed. Hugs, high fives, and unconditional love was around.. Someone from our group summed it up, saying “Kids just want love. It crosses and destroys any barrier.” AMEN!
With our flight landing a bit early in San Jose, we were eagerly awaiting our journey to meet the children. However, while we landed early, numerous others landed late. Unfortunately, this led to roughly and hour and a half wait in the customs line.
The anticipation was building as a bus arrived to pick us up, and we zipped off for a fun bus ride through downtown San Jose, Costa Rica. While this was a time of excitement, it was also a great time for reflection as we took in the smells of burning trash and diesel fuel, saw brightly colored but run down buildings, and barrios covering the mountain side.
While we didn’t talk too much about it, there was still apprehension for what was awaiting us. On the bus ride, we learned there weren’t as many campers as we had expected, and it was re-iterated that they spoke very little English language if any at all. Plus, we were arriving later than expected and night was falling. To top that off, we also learned the campers were leaving earlier than expected the next day. Our hopes were certainly not down, but we knew that we had little time to make friends and impact lives. Add all that to a day long of traveling, and we just weren’t sure where the Lord would lead us. However, looking back now, we know that He had a plan for us and all the things He wanted to happen! Although we had to scrap some of our initial plans for Saturday night, the Lord showed up in a very big way. Proverbs 16:9 says, “In his heart, a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” We were humbled that when Saturday had come to a close, we were positive that the Lord guided our steps and actions.
As soon as we arrived, we met the children and played an impromptu name game which involves clapping and chanting in Spanish! We immediately bonded over laughs and smiles as some of us would forget names, mispronounce the Spanish words, or miss
the beat. We grabbed a quick dinner and spent that time chatting individually with all the campers. There are a few of us here (Katie N, Everett, Julia) who speak Spanish pretty well, which was a HUGE help. The rest of us tried to get by with broken Spanish we had learned in high school. Funny thing is, any time we would say a Spanish phrase or word, the children would immediately break into Spanish dialogue, assuming we could understand everything they were saying!After dinner is when the real fun began…BAILAMOS!!!!!!!! Many people say the soccer or futbol is the universal language. While they are correct, dancing is right up there as well. Basically, we had a two hour dance party! As you can imagine, the music is wonderful with the different rhythms and beats…and THEY CAN DANCE! We had an awesome time bonding and building relationships through all types of dancing. We would take turns showing each other certain dance moves and trying to follow along. Salsa, the Congo Line, breakdancing, the worm, Michael Jackson…everything you can think of!
After dancing, the Costa Rica staff led everyone through a really cool glow in the dark activity. Everyone was blindfolded, and then covered in florescent paint. After taking the blindfold off, they told a story about the stars and the importance of them all shining together. When they turned the lights back on, all the glowing disappeared. They then explained to us that even though you can’t always see lights shining, you must have Faith in God that it is ALWAYS shining in your heart. We then sang some camp songs around the fire, did a devotion and skit, and begun to wrap u
p our first night. After a really long day, it was time for group processing time, devotionals, and bed. The children have asked us to meet them at 6:30am in the morning for a Futbol game before breakfast!With all fun, the children did not want to go to bed. Hugs, high fives, and unconditional love was around.. Someone from our group summed it up, saying “Kids just want love. It crosses and destroys any barrier.” AMEN!
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