Sunday, July 25, 2010

Costa Rica Blog #4 pics

1) The wall is finished, and the concrete floor has been poured!

2) Not a great picture, but one showing some of products from the sewing table. Some are holding clothes and some are wearing clothes.

3) A dancer in the congregation as they shared their native dances and clothes

4) Children in “white face” singing a song about the first white missionaries to come to Costa Rica and bring Christianity with them.


Friday, we finished the work with our friends at the church. We worked our normal morning shift and finished as much as we could. The church wanted to do a presentation of some sort in the afternoon.

Construction
The wall that didn’t exist before we arrived, was completed! They can now add roofing and be close to brand new usable space in the church. Word was then done to level the ground, mix enough cement, then pour the concrete to make a new floor that would join the new wall. Right as it was time to go back to the hotel, all but a sliver of the floor had been poured. This was a successful construction week!

The Soccer Field
The field was finished and working on Thursday, and on Friday it was used non-stop all day! There are several great things about this field. The first thing is that since the field is smaller than a regulation field, the smaller children will have a place to play when the bigger kids are using the regulation size field near the school. The second thing is that this will help to keep them occupied and off of the street as much. The third thing is that the church will keep the goals and balls locked up and will administrate the use of the field. This will mean that neighborhood kids who are not members of the church will come to the church and have some interaction with people from the church. The fourth thing, is that it will just be fun! It’s hard to keep childhoods intact in this oppressive environment. This will let the children run and play.

The Sewing table
After sewing clothes with many women in the church, it was wonderful to see them hold up their finished projects at the “Friday fashion show.” There were many more who took cut fabric and patterns for clothes to be finished later. This too was an amazing ministry as several women learned how to use the sewing machines, so they can continue to make their own clothes after we’re gone.

Bible Study
The bible study was completed on Friday morning. The children seemed hungry to learn scripture and there were several children who memorized twenty or more scripture verses. The curriculum worked well and the children of the church are now familiar with several major biblical characters and the way that God used them to spread the word.

The Afternoon
With all the emotion of the week, we came back to the church knowing this would be the last time we would see and spend time with our friends this year. They had prepared several presentations for us.
They led us in singing praise songs. They did several dances in their beautiful native clothing. One song had several children in “white face” singing with gratitude for the missionaries who came to Costa Rica to bring and spread Christianity.

Buddy, Patty and I were called to the chancel area to say a few words about our week. They presented Buddy, Patty, Sonia, and Ellen with gifts. The church then gave all 42 of us gifts—all 42 of us. It was a nice time of celebration, prayer, and gratitude for the partnership between the church and ITCF. It was then time to say goodbye.

As music played, people milled about hugging and saying goodbye. Many of us gave away clothing, shoes, tools, whatever we could part with. The emotion was strong an intense as everyone from young to old was teary eyed at the prospect of leaving. When we finally all loaded into our two large vans, it was quite a spectacle! The street was filled with church members on both sides of the vans. It felt like a parade of which we were the guests of honor. As we drove away, we looked back and waved good bye until God brings us back together again. Our hearts were full and our souls refreshed by a week of serving Christ by serving one another.

The work portion of our trip is now completed. Tomorrow morning, Saturday, we will pack up and head North to Arenal. This is a beautiful area of Costa Rica built around an ACTIVE volcano. We will spend a few days there, then head home on Tuesday.

Thank you for your prayers and keep them coming!

Peace,
El Pastor

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