Another Amazing Day!

Friday, April 4th

Posted by Kim

Today we got up and had breakfast at the Observatory. We had a wonderful view of the volcano while eating breakfast. There were rocks and lava coming down the side of the volcano and smoke coming out of the top. During the day the lava looks white but you can still see it flowing down the sides of the volcano.

After breakfast we headed straight to the zipline. As soon as we got there we got our gear and loaded into the Sky Tram. The Sky Tram reminded us of the trams that go from country to country at Busch Gardens. The Tram took us to the top of the mountain where one of the guides gave us our instructions for the zipline. Even though he kept telling us how safe it was, we were all still really nervous. The platform that we started on was 600 feet high. The first two zips on the top of the mountain are practice zips...they aren't too high off the ground and they are only about 30-40 feet long. These two zips give you a chance to get used to the position and to learn how to stop. When it is time for you to stop on the zipline, you are supposed to open your legs because this helps to slow you down and it prevents you from kicking the cord when you stop. Everyone else did great on the practice zips... I did not! I was so nervous about stopping that I opened my legs a little too late and I kicked the guide in the head! Oops!

The first "real" zip after the practices was about 400 feet long. Dave went first and after watching him, we were all even more excited and even more nervous. The zip went from the peak of the mountain we were standing on, across a valley to the peak of another mountain. The view was amazing from the platform we were standing on, but it was even more amazing from the middle of the zipline. We could see so far in all directions while flying through the air... It was incredible!! A lot of us asked the guides to take video footage on our cameras of the view going across the zipline... you should ask one of the teens or staff to show you the footage! There were about 8 zips total... the longest one was almost half a mile long!

It is so hard to explain how amazing this experience was for each of us. Melissa, Dave, and I were so proud of everyone for stepping out of their comfort zones and pushing themselves to do this! Everyone was so brave!

After the zipline, we headed to an Italian restaurant for lunch. We had pizza and soda... it was delicious and reminded us of home! As soon as we finished lunch, we went into La Fortuna to go shopping. We walked through downtown, went to the supermarket to buy coffee for friends and family back home, and just enjoyed spending time with each other. At about 3:00 we headed back to the bus to head to the hotel where we would be staying for the night. It started to rain as we loaded the bus... this was the first and only rain we saw while in Costa Rica!

The hotel we stayed in Friday night was called the "Lands in Love" hotel. It is owned by a group of Israeli vegetarians. It is located right in the middle of the rainforest. Because of the location there were lots of bugs and creatures sharing our space! We saw hummingbirds, toucans, lizards, and HUGE bugs. We had spaghetti and milkshakes for dinner at the hotel.

After dinner we met as a group. We voted on our last MVP and Dorcas. MVP was Angharad for her amazing attitude throughout the trip! Angharad is so positive and was such an encouragement to all of us all week. Dorcas was me for kicking the guide in the head at the zipline. I was the only one voted Dorcas twice for the week... what an honor!

Melissa led devotion Friday night. She surprised all of the teens with letters that she had collected from their friends and family back home. Each teen had a packet of letters and they took them to a quiet place outside to read and reflect. When we re-gathered as a group, lots of the teens were teary-eyed from reading their letters. The teens were so grateful that their friends and family had taken the time to write to them.

Once everyone finished reading their letters, we spent time reflecting on our week. Everyone really enjoyed being at the camp the first part of the week. All of us connected with the kids and the staff at the camp and we had a great time while we were there. The last two days were especially amazing and the resounding thoughts that came from our experiences on Thursday and Friday were that God's creations are incredible and that we are so grateful that we had the opportunity to see just how incredible God is. The waterfall, the volcano, the rainforest... all of these places were so beautiful and God's hand was so evident in all of them. We will show you all pictures but pictures do not even begin to give justice to how beautiful the country of Costa Rica really is.

Our trip has come to an end but the memories that we made will last a lifetime. This group of 18 people is now bonded in a way that no one outside of the group will ever understand. Melissa, Dave, and I are so proud of each teen that is a part of this team. These teens set an amazing example for our YMCA and for our country while in Costa Rica. Thank you to all of you who thought of us and prayed for us while we were away... we are so grateful to have such wonderful friends and family!

"Eh"

Thursday, April 3rd

Posted by Kim

First let me explain the title of this day's entry. Melissa, Dave, and I have chosen the word "eh" as our motto for this trip. "Eh" has been our response almost every time one of the teens asks a question about our schedule... "What time is breakfast? What are we doing after breakfast? What are we having for lunch?"... you get the picture! The Costa Rican culture is so laid back that there are rarely answers to any of these questions, so when asked, we respond with "Eh".

Today we left camp around 4:30am in a bus with Rolando to head to La Fortuna. We arrived in La Fortuna around 9:00am and had breakfast at a really nice open air restaurant. Breakfast was delicious... We all got to try a new type of juice that is made from a fruit called guanabana. This fruit is picked before it is ripe and has to be eaten within three days of being picked or it will go bad, therefore it cannot be shipped anywhere. The juice made from this fruit was delicious!

After breakfast we went to the waterfall in La Fortuna. To get to the waterfall, we had to hike down 500 steps. Once we got down to the bottom, we realized it was worth the hike! The waterfall was beautiful! We took a few pictures of the waterfall and then we all went for a swim... the water was freezing! We stayed at the falls swimming and relaxing in the sun on the rocks for an hour or so. Then we had to hike back up the 500 steps to the bus. Melissa and I asked Rolando to go slow up the steps... yea, right! Every time we stopped to catch our breath, Rolando said "Vaminos!!" AHHHHH!

For lunch we went back to the same open air restaurant where we ate breakfast. Rolando had already ordered our lunch for us... we had roasted chicken! As soon as we finished eating we headed into town to do a little shopping.



At 3:00 we headed to the Hot Springs. The springs were beautiful and so relaxing. We stayed there soaking in the water and drinking fruity drinks for two hours. While we were there we got to see a sloth and a couple of monkeys in the trees. We didn't want to leave!

After the springs, we loaded the bus and headed for the Arenal Observatory which is where we slept Thursday night. The Observatory overlooks the Arenal Volcano, which is an active volcano. You can see the volcano from everywhere in La Fortuna but the view from the Observatory was spectacular. We even got to see the lava coming down the side of the volcano when we arrived at the Observatory. Our dinner reservations weren't until 8:00 so we had time to shower and relax before dinner. These were the first hot showers we had all week... needless to say, most of us took really long showers! The restaurant at the Observatory was really fancy. It was a perfect end to a perfect day.

After dinner we voted on MVP and Dorcas for the day... Meredith was voted MVP because she was so encouraging and caring towards those of us who had a hard time hiking up the stairs from the waterfall. Dave was voted Dorcas! Then Meredith led us in a devotion about perspective. We were all extremely tired from a very long day and everyone went to bed as soon as devotion was over.

Tomorrow we will go to the zipline first thing in the morning... we are all excited and a little nervous.

ACJ YMCA

We are sorry that we have not posted anything about the trip since Tuesday... we lost our ability to access the internet when we left the camp. Even though we couldn't share our blog messages with you, we still wrote them. Now that we are home, we can share them with you! Enjoy!

Wednesday, April 2nd

Posted by Kim

Last night we got to build a fire in the campfire pit that we built. We all sat around the campfire with our new Costa Rican friends for devotion and reflection on the day. We also voted on MVP and Dorcas. Our MVP for yesterday was Andrew because he fully participated in the day even though he was not feeling well. Katy was voted Dorcas because she... 1. ran into a glass door for the second time this week, 2. She asked why the president of China was on a plaque in our cabin...it was definitely the president of Costa Rica, not China (duh!), and 3. when telling us a story about her family, she said "My dad was born in France when he was younger..."...Needless to say, Katy was a unanimous vote for Dorcas!

Today was our first day away from the Campamento. We woke up this morning and ate breakfast here at camp. Then we loaded a bus and drove into San Jose. We spent our day at the ACJ YMCA in San Jose. While we were there we painted a fence around the playground and we played with lots of kids. We got to see some of the kids that we worked with at camp this past weekend. We also got to see our friends Alonzo, Alvaro, David, Pamela, and Manolo. Per special request by our Team Leader, I must mention here that Dave made 2 new friends AND scored 2 goals in el juego de futbol. I'm not sure which he is more proud of... making 2 new friends or scoring 2 goals!

To end our day at the ACJ YMCA, the staff hosted a BBQ for us. They grilled chicken, beef, and pork and then wrapped the meat in tortillas. We also had fresh salsa, guacamole, and Coca-Cola. This was the first time we had Coke since we arrived in Costa Rica and everyone was very excited! The BBQ was so much fun... we ate a lot and danced (Imagine That!). Melissa, Dave, and I learned how to "crump" from the kids and we have pictures to prove it! (We knew that Stacey and Nick would need to see proof!) At the BBQ, Wendy and Louis (the directors of the YMCA) presented the team with a plaque to hang at our YMCA in Carolina del Norte. They also presented each of us with a handmade clay cross as a token of their appreciation. In turn, we presented them with a YMCA flag that they will be able to hang at the Campamento. While we were waiting for the bus to take us back to camp, we voted on MVP and Dorcas. I won both for the day... MVP because I stayed in the nursery the entire day holding babies (for those of you who know me, you know that this didn't seem like work at all to me... I loved it!).

We got back to the camp around 9:30 and Gabby led us in our devotion for the night. After devotion some of us packed and got ready for bed while others decided to stay up and spend time with La Negra, Alex, and Chilo. Tomorrow we have to get up at 3:30am because Rolando is picking us up at 4:20am to head to La Fortuna. We are so excited about the adventures to come for the rest of the week but we are sad to leave the campamento and our new friends!

That´s why monkeys don´t live here...

El 1st de Abril

Brought to you by Kim
(Nick and Stacey... yes, Melissa and I are here!)

Last night after we blogged, we had a dance party... La Negra, Manolo, Esteban, and Chilo taught us how to salsa! Then we went back to the cabin with all of our Costa Rican friends. We voted on MVP... MEG for her leadership, initiative, and her HUGE heart for helping others. Our Dorcas award for the day was Manolo... Manolo was trying to show off his muscles by carrying a wheelbarrow across the creek and he fell over into the creek with the wheelbarrow... it was quite amusing!

Today was another beautiful, relaxing day at Campamento Oikamene. We woke up this morning between 6 and 7... most of us took another cold shower and then we all headed to breakfast. We had pancakes, eggs, rice, frijoles, and FRESH pineapple.

After breakfast we all took some time to write in our journals and reflect on the trip thus far. Meg encouraged us to set a group time to journal so we did! After journal writing we hung out together, rested, and prepared for another hike down the creek. Today we decided to hike downstream as a group. Everyone said that the hike downstream was easier than the hike upstream... Melissa and I beg to differ! We hiked until we got to the bridge that leads into the camp and then some of us went back upstream and some went on a mountain hike. The group that went on the mountain hike got to see a waterfall... it was beautiful!

Despues de hiking we had lunch... beef stew, rice, beans, and salad. Then we took another nap before starting our work project for the day. Can we just say for the record that we LOVE the Costa Rican culture and that we are embracing it wholeheartedly!! Our work project today was to finish the campfire pit that we started yesterday. We are hoping to build a fire there tonight!

After we finished the firepit, we just spent more time hanging out and getting to know each other. Kevin took a group up the mountain to pick ´oranges´ ... these ´oranges´were green and tasted a lot like limes! Thanks Kevin! We also added a few items to our Top 10/20 list...

18. That´s why monkeys don´t live here...

19. Why? Dave would let us do it!

Oh and we have an amendment to our prior list... Magic Coffee needs to be moved to number 1 per Nick Errato´s request... Nick, we didn´t mean to disgrace Magic Coffee.

After our relaxing afternoon, we had dinner... steak, rice, and potatoes! Now we are blogging and getting ready for our campfire!

We are really looking forward to going to the YMCA in San Jose tomorrow. Manolo and Alvaro are going with us!

Continue to pray for us over the next few days. We continue to be amazed at how well this group is getting along. Everyone is being so kind and considerate towards their teammates. To those parents who are reading this blog, Melissa, Dave, and I are so proud of your teens. We have enjoyed spending time with them and we are in awe of their leadership, maturity, and their hearts for helping others. As individuals their lives are being impacted by this experience and as a team, they are impacting the lives of those we are meeting in this amazing country.