Costa Rica Team 2010

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33

We had hoped to have internet access our first night in Costa Rica, but did not. We've been keeping track of our days and are excited to update everyone at home.

Saturday
The 2010 team has arrived! Our flights were smooth with the only tension being a medical emergency (not one of us) on our flight from Miami to San Jose, which made us more mindful of and thankful for Ned Nutt's presence in our group. We have enjoyed sharing the details of our travels with others along the way and one passenger even felt moved to give Nancy a donation for the mission at the end of the flight after hearing her describe our trip.

From the airport we boarded a bus (for those of you who have been here before, we are in Daniel’s capable hands again) for the several hour trip through the Costa Rican mountains to San Isidro. We were re-energized by the views along the way - it was impossible not to see God in the clouds, mountains and beautiful sunset that greeted us (our trusty photographer Michael and others in the group have already captured some amazing pictures that we will post when we get back).
We met Wil Bailey (our missionary contact down here) and others familiar to those returning members of our group at the Methodist Church in San Isidro and had a group meal at a nearby restaurant before getting some much-needed sleep at the Church (located just yards away from the Pan-American Highway - many thanks to Nancy for supplying us all with earplugs!).

We have laughed, bonded, prayed, eaten well, happily peeled off fleece layers (it is in the 80s!), reconnected with old friends, and yes, some of us have already climbed on top of the bus to better take in the gorgeous view (I should probably mention that it was not moving at the time) . Today we will worship at the Church here before boarding the bus for a few more hours. We will travel to La Bonita de Changuena where we will be working on a Sunday School classroom.

We are all so grateful for the opportunity to be here and want to thank Hayes Barton and our extended families and friends for the prayers, the fundraising, the beautiful commissioning, the early morning gathering (complete with biscuits, coffee and encouragement), the ride to the airport and all of the other ways that you have blessed us and made this possible. We feel God's presence and are filled with joy and love!

Sunday
We began our day by worshiping at the Methodist Church in San Isidro. It was a wonderful reminder that we truly are one body of Christ, as the similarties between our two worship services abound. Two of the songs that we sang are regular LightHouse songs and they even have an Allison - a woman whose Spirit-filled prayers transcended the differences in language. Doug and David were quickly invited to join the worship band and radiated joy when they were up there making music with their old friends. Wil reminded us through a wonderful Sunday School lesson of the real reason that we are here: to commune with our Costa Rican brothers and sisters through work, worship, music, and relationship. We are building much more than an educational building, and are looking forward to getting started.

After worship we boarded the bus and began the two-hour journey to La Bonita. We stopped for lunch at a beautiful spot overlooking a river and began adjusting to the slower pace (lunch took three hours, but the fish was delicious). Our home for the next week will be the sanctuary of the Methodist Church. We sleep on mattresses on the floor, shower in the attached bathrooms and eat amazing typical Costa Rican meals prepared by Yolanda and Fanny, wives of Wil Bailey and Hugo (the contractor in charge of the project). We quickly learned that our sleeping arrangements were comfortable compared to some of our Costa Rican friends. Each night we end with a devotion prepared by a member of the group, which provide wonderful opportunities to reflect on our day and all the ways that we have seen God moving around us.

Monday
Our days begin early - we are up around 5:30 and start working at 6 am to get a good start before the heat moves in. Hugo is up at 5:00 to perculate the coffee - we are very thankful for Hugo's ability to make coffee! We work until 8 am and then break for breakfast and Holy Communion. It is hard to put into words what we all feel during Communion, but it is safe to say that many of the "God moments" that we take back with us will be from these services. This morning Laura annointed and prayed over each of our hands, which is surely one of the most powerful moments we will experience. After Communion, we work until noon and break again for lunch and siesta/quiet time/reading/music making/showers in the nearby waterfall - in other words, whatever moves us. We pick up working again around 2 and work for several hours more before breaking for the day. Monday night, John led us in a rousing game of Scrabble Apple before we ended the evening with a devotion outside by a bonfire overlooking the mountains; again, words just seem insufficient to capture what we are seeing and feeling about the beauty of the country, the people here, each other, and God.

Music is a common bond that we share with our Costa Rican friends. We have so much talent on this team, from David's songwriting and guitar-playing to Doug's singing and strumming, to Ned, Dick, Andy and Sherry's harmonious voices. Doug and David play each time we come together to worship and are constantly making music with their good friend Filipe (who plays a piano that HBUMC helped purchase). Watching the love that these three men share has been such a blessing to us all.

Tuesday
Today took the same form as yesterday. So far the types of projects that we are working on include priming (Laura, Kelly, Lori and Andy were deemed "Laura and the Primettes" for the amount of priming they have done), painting benches and pews, sanding, grinding, painting, electrical work, installing toilets, digging trenches, painting, routing, making frames for benches and tables, and (more) painting. The food continues to be some of the best we have ever tasted, and we are starting to worry about fitting into our clothes upon our return. Today's pace was good, with us remembering to turn aside from our work and see those opportunities in front of us that do not center around building projects. At one point as I was rushing off to work on the educational building, Hugo pulled me aside and pointed to a beautiful toucan sitting on a nearby tree. The people here seem to take more time to pay attention to those small but extraordinary things in our midst, and I think we are all hoping to take some of that ability home with us. Those of you that know Lori and Nancy will not be surprised to learn that they have quickly become attached to some of the four-legged friends here, and have reminded us to see God in all the creatures that we encounter. During siesta today, several of us explored La Bonita by foot only to find a 20 foot waterfall enclosed by the lucious green jungle. While the trek to the waterfall was not the most stable, we were safe and enjoyed nature's massage (courtesy of the pounding waterfall).

Wednesday
On Monday, Hugo told us that the first day we Americans arrive and all we want to do is work, but that by the third or fourth day, we will have settled down and things would be better. This morning he came in to find a kitchen full of us kicking back and having coffee instead of gearing up for work, and he smiled and said "See, I told you so." We all noticed the more relaxed pace and more frequent breaks today. After lunch we took two field trips. The first was a hike down a steep mountain via cowpath, through a forest-covered river area to an eighty-foot waterfall. The hike out was straight uphill and by the end, as Nancy so well put it, we had experienced every bit of that mountain (and some of us more than others). We then traveled to a nearby house where we were shown how to ring out the juice from newly picked sugercane. We were also able to drink some of the juice, which Wil likened to drinking several Red Bulls. The countryside is beautiful here, and many of the people make their living by harvesting various things including coffee and cashews.

It has been a blessing to serve not only the church through building but also to connect with and help the community surrounding the church. Henry is a local farmer and new brother in Christ that attends the church we are working on. We all found his story compelling. We learned that he was taken advantage of by local buyers and that one fourth of his annual income was in essence stolen. He lives in a tin shanty with a dirt floor and no windows, yet still displays a constant grin of joy. Laura and Wil visited his home and after reporting the conditions to us, we felt moved to take a collection to enable him to purchase necessary farming materials and to fund the construction of a new home for him. We plan to continue our fundraising efforts when we get back to the United States. We can't wait to share his story.

Wednesday night we came together to worship with the people in the church here at La Bonita. It's difficult to describe the peace and joy on the faces of the people here. David was joined on instruments by Doug and Filipe and on vocals, and by our team and the whole Costa Rican congregation for a song written about communion called Santa Cena, an event he described as a high point in his musical endeavors. Laura preached a beautiful sermon translated by Wil. We all felt that this combined worship was what brought us here and what will keep us coming back; it is just the way God intended worship to be.

Thursday
Today was our last workday and we finsihed up some but not all of the projects that we began. Another team from North Carolina arrives on Sunday to pick up where we left off. The weather has been beautiful. It has rained a little bit every day, which is rare here this time of year. We had another beautiful and "highly particpatory" (as coined by Laura) Communion service this morning overlooking the mountains. We have all taken part in the prayers, devotions, and worship services in a way that has been meaningful to each of us individually and appreciated by all.

Before lunch we were blessed by a visit by seventeen children that live and attend school in the area. Each of the children is beautiful and we loved interacting with them even across the language barrier (chocolate appears to be universally acceptable). We enjoyed sharing with them the snacks and toys we brought with us from the United States and watching them play soccer behind the church. They reminded many of us of the children we left behind in the U.S. and were yet another reminder that there are more similarties than differences between us.

As we pack to go back to San Isidro tonight and say goodbyes to fast friends that we have made here, we all hope to carry with us many things in addition to our wonderful memories. There is a stillness and a peace amoung the people here that is contagious, as well as a passionate, no holds barred love and worship of God. It's difficult to explain, but we plan to try, so that many of you will want to travel here and be touched by these people as well. It's also hard to visually capture the beauty here with a camera - the overlapping mountains, Henry's smile, the faces of the Costa Ricans as our whole group sang to them, the beautiful blue bird that seemed to be constantly perched in a tree outside the sanctuary - but we look forward to sharing the pictures that we have taken with you upon our return.
Tonight after dinner we head back to San Isidro where we hope to post these blog entries. Tomorrow we have a free day and will visit Manuel Antonio National Park, which includes beaches, restaurants and shops. Saturday we board an early flight to Miami. We could not have had a better trip here, and have been constantly grateful for all of those that made it possible (here we want to give a special shout out to Mike for all his work), but we do miss our families and friends (including four-legged ones!) at home and can't wait to share this experience with you all.

The 2010 HBUMC Costa Rica Team:
Sherry "John Deere Green" Abernethy
Shanaz "Please No Bugs!" Carper
Doug "David, I Love You Man" Walter
David "Doug, I Love You Man" Dyer
Ned "Sock Face" Nutt
Nancy "I Really Am Having Fun" Nutt
Lori "Do You See A Scrap For The Dogs?" Constantino
Michael "Smile For The Picture" Stanziale
Dene "Spirit-Filled" Dawson
Andy "Men - Get In The Kitchen!" Fowler
Dick "Andy, I Am Fine" Fowler
John "Scrabble Apple" Cates
Laura " I'm Aliven With The Spirit" Fine Ledford
Kelly "I'll Be Asleep" Furr

Some of our favorite group member quotes (which shall remain anonymous):
"This is the dirtiest I have ever been in my entire life."
"I'm so glad I came down here. I've never seen a waterfall before." (read with sarcasm)
"I'm wounded...everywhere."
"Are we at the Hotel California?"
"Michael, got any more of that Benadryl man?"