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!