Friday, July 30

Hello Blog Readers,

It is the last day of Costa Rica. No more long work days, no more sweaty clothes, no more beans and rice for every meal, no more of Austin Fletcher getting hit on the head with shovels, and no more of Wes Cole's text message interceptor. This trip will not be one for us to forget because it is simply unforgettable. From day one this trip has been nothing but fun for the whole lot of us.Through all the games of soccer, football, ultimate frisbee, and the countless games of ninja, this trip has been full of activity and vibrance and crammed full of entertainment for us all. Music was like water to us all, it was a necessity of our lives. I cannot tell you how many times I caught Lauren Bagwell and Katie McDaniel singing random songs throughout the day or the numerous amount of times I catch Gus Blessing and Phil Dieke dancing like there was no tomorrow. But not all of our time here was fun mind you. We had 4 long, grueling, exhausting days of working down to our bones shoveling rocks and sand, mixing concrete, wheelbarrowing, painting, landscaping, which was all mixed with buckets of sweat and many square inches of sunburn. The physical aspects of this excursion are by far not the best part of this trip. It's the emotional side of the trip that realy plucks the heartstrings and hits me harder than any bag of cement could. Every single person is so inclusive in everything we do! People are just friendly beyond belief. I have seen small things from two people sitting on each other's lap and people sharing water bottles on the bus to a whole room of people holding hands in unison all for the same beliefs and thoughts and feelings to create a singular energy that cannot be describe by words because at the sheer thought of it, the energy takes those words you would use to describe it, and remove them from your mind because the feeling that is felt in that single moment is indescribable to those that have not felt it. This trip has changed my life and that of my peers, and if there was to be a highlight reel of the life of Chase Dalton, I can say without hesitance, that this moment in time would be included because this small fragment of the gigantic timeline in the history of our world has had the biggest impact on me. And to me, it is a crucial time in my life, and I cannot wait for my next trip to the magical, entertaining, life-altering, emotion-filled, action-packed land that is Costa Rica. We will see you when we get home!

-Chase Dalton-

Thursday, July 29

Payton and Audrey woke up to the sweet voice of pitcher tellling them to wake up, after she left the girls, turned the light back off and stayed in bed till their tummys rumbled with hunger. they shot out of bed and got ready in 10 minutes. they skipped down to breakfast to drink two cups of coffee, eat pancakes, and of course rice and beans. they then went to devo and contemplate our impact on the enviorment. after they got ready, they went to hop on the bus to travel to the big worksite chatting with their friends alex and chris *aka roy*. they divided up the job amongst a large group. both Audrey and Payton painted and worked very hard all day because it was the last day  of work. Allison, lindsey, elizabeth, stephine, and rachel went on medical missions. everyone seemed very tired but  happy with the work they accomplished over the last one or two weeks. we then had a lunch arroz con pollo, chickys, beans, and fresh fruit. they then rested and traveled to VBS. after arriving and meeting the children with smiles on their faces, they began  the worship of singing, and play *joana and the whale*, and coloring. we were all ready to jump into the pool, a last work day tradition. after swimming and showering, they enjoyed a nice meal of beef, rice, and potatos....but no beans....and some wonderful ice cream. they then watched a game of ninja and skipped off to worship where Andrew Hedges gave a wonderful testimony and phils sermon spoke about how we treat the enviorment and how we treat ourselves. we then sang Dare You to Move, a mission trip favorite, and were dismissed to small groups. after some good discussions, they played a few more games of ninja as the rain fell softly on the jungle surrounding them.
Audrey says she loves her family very much and will see them soon!
Payton hopes her dad is not too lonely and is excited to see him.

Packing Health Kits

VBS....

Wednesday, July 28

Hello, it's Blake Lueder and Heather Pitcher, the coolest current residents of the bambu excluding Andrew Beard, the musician... obviously. Today was a really good day, despite the fact we were saddened due to separation during our usual tandem devo time (each morning the two of us go over our devo questions together as a pair) because of my (Pitcher's) day trip to San Jose. Upon my return to my fiance (Blakers and I got engaged two years ago on the youth choir trip, though we will not be accepting gifts until the wedding in 2013), the concrete making began. Immediately as I pulled up to the worksite, the aroma of concrete and human sweat was in the air. The rest of the morning and early afternoon was spent shoveling buckets of rock into the conrete mixer, carrying wheelbarrows of mixed conrete to our artistic concrete slab, and finally digging, digging, and more digging. After a hard day of work, we reunited with the workers from the other side of the site for a delicious and mouth-pleasing "almuerzo" which is spanish for lunch. On the days we have "arroz con leche" which is a rice pudding dessert, I ate so much I couldn't move for the next 30 minutes. After playing with kids at a local church, we returned to the humble bambu for a much needed shower (at least for some of us).

Hello, now for my (Blake's) view of the day. Today was a fantastic day. The first thing I did was my devotionals (alone unfortunately). We got to the worksite and I quickly realized that my fiance was not present. Someone informed me that she had taken a sudden trip to San Jose but would return shortly. I don't know how I survived so long without her but God helped me push through it. But a burst of happiness sparked in my heart when I saw her car rolling along the drive way. Reunited, we mixed concrete, shoveled rocks, and wheelbarrowed concrete. We ate an amazing lunch that consisted of the usual: rice and beans. Then after an afternoon full of playing, we returned to the Bambu. Some say the best part about returning to the Bambu is for a nice hot shower. I think differently.....

Tuesday, July 27

Yo - It's Cameron, what up HP?
Im so sore... Concrete destroyed me today and was extremely draining. But even though I'm so tired, it has been great to see the ways that God can work through/with me and my friends to accomplish amazing things. Yesterday Brian and I went on a medical screening and it was honestly one of the most eye-opening experiences I've ever endured. We were able to see the struggles Costa Rican families deal with, and it made us realize how miniscule our problems are in the grand scheme of things. Even though at times I miss my wonderful bed and people back at home, being able to positively affect the lives of the people here gives me an enormous spiritual high. I've gotta get going because it's getting dark, and if you stay out too late you get taken by the Chupacabra! BTW Andrew Beard is the coolest musician/comedian/dancer/beast/awesomeguy/rapper/ultimateworshiper in the history of the planet PERIOD. Peace.

note:

feel free to comment on the blog -- i will get the notes to the youth that wrote it!! - Drew

Monday, July 26

Day 1 of week 2 work -- we had to unload the bags of cement from the truck...50kg bags 

(remember 2.2 lbs is 1 kg!!)

We visited this man during medical screenings - he has arthritis, works selling plantains and was having a lot of pain.  We gave him a bottle of advil to get some releif

I had to learn humility today....the man above paid for his Advil with these plantains....I told the clinic nurse, Lilliana, that we would pay the man for them....I was corrected - that was his payment!

It shows that everyone has something to give!!

Plantains are usually cooked -- but we tried them raw - they were great! it tasted like a really green banana.  The locals were shocked they think plantains are disgusting raw - but we loved them!!

Monday July 26

hello outside world. 

this is adrienne fleck here. i would just like to say that this has been the best birthday ever. (17 forever!) today was really eye opening for me because i went on the medical mission with drew and we went to this really rural neighborhood to do medical surveys. we walked from house to house and asked different families about their water conditions and just general health. i think at least one person in every family that we visited was sick or had something wrong with them. it really shocked me when i saw the kind of conditions that these people were living in. it made me really think of how fortunate we all are to not worry about clean water or if we are going to have food for dinner. vbs was really fun also, just playing with all the kids and singing songs with them and doing crafts. lindswhit is about to take over so peace out for now yall. LOVE, adrienne :) p.s.augustus maximus says hello. and sorry i didn't get to call you today mom and dad but i love you tons! 

HI EVERYBODY!!! 

this is lindsey whitmeyer!! im going to be a senior at highland park high school! costa rica has been so amazing!! today was my first day of work and it was great! i was in the all day vbs (vacation bible study) group at a local school! it was really neat because costa rica just celebrated their annexation day! so the children at the school put on a little show for us that include some awesome dances! then afterwards we sang some songs, played games, and colored! it was a great experience to interact with the kids of costa rica! then tonight we had a sermon by stephen wise and it was amazing! he talked about living every moment to the fullest!! well thats all for now!! hope everyone is having a good summer! and we will see yall on saturday!! bye!! love, lindsey whitmeyer (hi mom,dad, and molly!) :) oh and allison says hi!

Saturday, July 24 and Sunday, July 25

Hi everyone, this is Andrew Hedges. To start off with, I would like to thank all of the trip A people for giving all their strength and heart into the various projects. But sadly, on saturday morning we had to say goodbye to them. It was very hard seeing all our new friends get on the bus to head for the airport. After all the emotion, the most  of the c-trippers boarded the other buses to go shopping in San Jose. Many interesting "items" we bought there and amazing food to say the least. After about two hours, we went back to Hotel El Bambu. Not much longer, one of the most intense games of soccer was played, with the skins (my team) turning out to be victorious with a final score of 7-6. Yet that wasn't the best part of the game ending. All of our new friends arrived and later had some fried chicken, rice, and beans. It was a very good day.

Then on sunday the 25th, we woke-up, and went to church at the big work site. It was another amazing day (possibly the best day ever) as it was nation postor's day in costa rica. the service was great. The supervisor of all the local churches gave a great sermon on why we love god and what it looks like. I and many others felt moved. When we were finished with that, we came back to the hotel and had another amazing meal of rice and beans, with a little bit of meat stew. After that meal, another game of soccer went down, this time with all the new people. The score at the end was 9-6 skins winning (I was on that team again, best day ever). After quick water break though, a local team challenged us to a match. The teams looked VERY unfair. All their talent versus ours. But we made up for it by having twice as many players on our side as they did on theirs. But that still wasn't enough. The final score was 6-3. Dinner followed with another chicken, rice, and beans meal. Following that was an incredible sermon by the one and only Elizabeth Ethun Moseley. She knocked it out of the ball park. Her sermon was on the phrase being spiritually weighted and letting the world deal with it. Small group discussion soon followed and that was once again a homerun. And that leads me to where I am right now, writing a blog and reminissing on the past two days. We can't wait to start work and praise GOD tomorrow. Look forward to the next days post, as each day gets better and better here in Puerta Viejo!!

Saturday, July 24

Hey all - we have had a great day of shopping -- the Trip A folks left a little early to the airport for a quick shopping trip-- trip C people went shopping and had lunch today - now back at the hotel waiting for Trip B people who's plane was delayed - but should have landed at this time -- we are ready for them to be here and join us and experience what God has planned for this week! - Drew

Friday, July 23

Dear Parents,
     This morning we were able to get an extra hour of sleep because of late breakfast!! After our full meal, group A loaded the buses to go zip lining through the Costa Rican jungles. It was well worth the hiking, nerves, and sweat! After our last zip line over the river we headed back to the hotel for some well deserved ice cream and coke and watched the boys play an intense football and soccer game. Then, after a long wait we finally recieved our pizzas fresh from the oven...mmmmhmm! Later we went to worship where Kate Minor led us in spiritual songs and Drew delivered a powerful message on worrying and learing to put our stress in God's hands. We ended our long day with small groups and cake to celebrate all the birthdays on the trip. This trip has gone by so fast we can't believe we are leaving tomorrow. We will defintely be back next year!
See you tomorrow mom! Katie Chiles and Jane Marie Jenevein

Friday, July 23

Wow - a week flew by! We are hanging out today at the hotel.  Many of us went on the Zip lines near and they were so much fun! Its just hard to believe that some are going home tomorrow and new mission trippers are coming tomorrow!  We had a great week and are exhausted - but with these next few days to recover - we will be ready to work hard for the people of Costa Rica all next week! - Drew

Thursday, July 22 - Afternoon

Hey it's Rachel Pride! I'm going to be a freshman at Highland Park High School next year, and this is my first year on the Costa Rica Mission Trip. So far on the trip, I have noticed that it is exactly as I expected, beautiful, hot and humid. Today at work, I helped a couple local Costa Rican women cook for the rest of our group. We cooked ground beef with vegetables, refried beans, and rice. There was very little talking involved because I speak very little Spanish and they spoke very little English. After we ate lunch, we had to clean excess debris off of walls to prepare them for stuco. The conversations we had during the work made it go by really fast. After work, we went to a local church for VBS, where the most interesting activity was reaching into a coconut tree to get fresh Costa Rican coconuts. Once we got home, I was about to take a shower, when the entire group jumped in the pool in their work clothes because it is summer Costa Rica mission trip tradition to make a giant whirpool after the last work day of the week. Overall, I have really enjoyed the trip, and it has definitely lived up to its reputation given by my brother and mother.

Thursday, July 22 - morning!

Here are some of the pictures we want to share from yesterday!  We had a great day and are looking forward to a new day today - sad because today is the last day of work for the week!  My hope is the people here for 1 week are changed by this experience and that the ones that are here for 2 weeks are able to rest some this weekend so we are ready for another work week!  - Drew

Waiting in line for more concrete!

Tying the rebar structure for a concrete pad!

During medical screenings - we check to see where the water well is in relation to the restroom at each house....i was really concerned until the woman told us this was her shower!

Wednesday, July 21

Hey this is Drew (the real one, Alleman) blogging from the lobby of Hotel Bambu. Today was another great day of work. Unlike predictions (Phil) we were able to still continue our hard work even though Wednesdays are usually one the hardest work days because the end is so close but so far away. I went to the all day Vaction Bible School site today at a local elementary school. The school was an open air school that had about 200 students. The kids were super excited to see us they were screaming and yelling when the pull up in the bus. We split into groups for skits, music,and coloring. I was in the talented coloring group. All the kids spoke Spanish but I thought through the very few words I could speak to them I got to know pretty well. After work today we headed back to the hotel and had an ultimate game of pool volley ball and then a amazing worship service with Stephen's sermon. Just another amazing day in Costa Rica!  

Our first video blog!!

Tuesday, July 20

Nick Grant, Hayden Greer, Travis Alford all going to be sophomores are writing this blog. Today in the very humid country of Costa Rica not only were memories made, but lives were changed.  We continued to dillegenty work on three different sites.  Beans and rice were eaten once again for breakfast, lunch, and of course dinner. We all woke up at a solid six thiry for breakfast.  Group traveled to a VBS sight where they told the story of Jacob and Joseph with the coat of many colors. The other remaining groups worked at two church sights, one large and one small making cement and pouring it into foundation.  It rained, again, just like it has every night.


Now its Rush Urschel, so today I had a great experience at the vacation bible school with this one little kid named someting like hermanos he was maybe two years old and didnt speak one word of english but we connected instantly and I really felt the presence of god in my life just holding that little boy in my arms while he colored his picture. Just the look on his face of pure happiness and joy was enough to make this trip worth while.

Hi guys, its Heather Pitcher, one of the summer interns for HPUMC youth. Today was a great day per usual in beautiful Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica! I was on the larger site where I spent my day making rebar structures and learning more and more about the people I was working with. Tonight, Tova spoke about being yourself, which led to a great small group discussion. I am the leader for the upcoming sophomore girls, and the most precious thing during small group was when I asked the girls who they can be most themselves with, at least six of them responded with "my mom" without hesitation. So to all the moms reading this, not just the upcoming sophomore girls' moms, but all of them, yall are doing great and have amazing kids! I am so blessed to be a part of this youth group and get to work with these wonderful kids. Until tomorrow!

Start to our work day

Virginia - breaking up old mortar

VBS song time!

Lesson time!

Monday, July 19

Hey its Trent and a few of use had a great experience participating in a medical survey to inform people about the clinic, being built now and opening in January. The houses we saw made me appreciate our blessings a lot more, the things we take for granted like running water and a working stove, without smoke moving through your house all day.  The worst thing was that no one had indoor toilets, all of them are holes in the ground and they fill them back in and they are extremely close to their wells, which greatly contributes to the sickness devastating these areas. None of the people we spoke to have health care, so they do not even know if they are sick. The only health care theses people can attain is in clinics and you have to arrive no later than 4am and then only 40 people are able to be seen per day, so most people have given up on this. The new clinic will hopefully be able to see more people per day, so these needy people can get help. Although this was extremely sad to see, it was a great experience, that I will never forget. Overall It was a great day! Trent

Today started like most Costa Rica Mission trips - we had breakfast, heard a testimony and then had some time to spend with God alone before our work day starts

The Concrete Crew

(please note how clean they are!!)

Check out the  fancy boots!

We had a group do medical screenings - We met with this pastor that cant get health care for his daughter that has been ill since birth.

After a long day of work we went to a local church for VBS. The ninos were really excited to play with the group from the US!

They always wanted to be in someones lap!

We sang songs, played games, had a lesson and a craft!  It was a great day!!

Sunday, July 18

Hi guys this is Kelsey Routh blogging from Hotel El Bambu on a SPANISH KEYBOARD! After arriving early this morning from the airport we caught a few hours of sleep before waking up. After a wonderful breakfast at our hotel we boarded the buses and headed off towards church. Our 2 hour service is definitely one of the best parts of our mission trip. The Costa Rican people have the most amazing relationships with God and it's so humbling and inspiring to watch them and be a part of their church service. The most moving part of the service was when the youth group had the oppurtunity to go to the front of the church and the Costa Rican people layed their hands on us and prayed for us. If you're like me and can't speak a lick of Spanish, it's still extremely moving. A lot of them are crying. It's amazing how openly they worship, and we're so lucky to have been a part of it. So after church we came back to the hotel where we had an amazing lunch. After a brief meeting to talk about worksites, small groups, and rules (just a few!) we had the rest of the day to do as we pleased. Some people played soccer, some people swam, some people ran, and those of us who are unathletic....me...well, we slept! Then we had another amazing meal, dinner, and had our first worship of the trip which was AWESOME!!!!!! Kate Miner is our worship leader this week and she's amazing! We're so lucky to have her here with us. Now everyone is off to bed early this this evening so we can be good and rested for our first day of work tomorrow! Well, that's all for now! We will keep you posted!

Love, Kels

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The Agape Church of the Evangelical Methodist Church of Costa Rica

This is the church where we went to worship with this morning and will have one worksite at this week

The church is basically a picnic pavilion - there is only a tin roof - and a concrete floor - but it definitely is worship and an awesome experience!

The church was packed this morning!

Here is a view of what the church is - but in the background you can see what the church is to become - for the past 3 trips (3 years) we have been helping build this church and children's center for the community.  The Agape Church is really mission minded - along with the worship space / children's center they are starting a project for a Christian health clinic on their land.  They want to serve the community as much as they can!  They will dedicate their new worship space and children's community center on August 14, 2010

Sunday 7-18, Morning

The rest of the group made it to Hotel Bambu at about 2am - there was a lot of excitement - we learned a little about living in a different country hotel, including new things about the plumbing.  We are getting ready for breakfast and then going to church at a local church....watch later today for a youth's impression for the trip so far!  - Drew

So these three (all sharing a room) came out for breakfast - oh look we have triplets!

Our Hotel lobby- El Bambu is a great place to hang out and have some fun.  There are areas all around the open air hotel that are great places to relax!

The Hotel Pool - no that's not a hot tub!  

Our Transportation for the week!

The Restaurant

The hotel is built into the jungle you could say...so these are the pathways to get to some of the rooms

This is our home for the next little while - the hotel is great - tons of space to hang out and have some great conversations and fun!!  This is the lobby of the hotel - there are no doors to get into the lobby - all areas are open air!

Saturday, July 17

I am sitting at the Hotel El Bambu - waiting for the rest of the group to arrive.  We have a time change here - we are an hour behind Dallas.  The group I came with had a great flight - lots of laughs and memories were started!

We expect the group to arrive about 11:00 tonight!  We are going to church in the morning at a local church.  Just excited to see some of our Costa Rican friends and make some great memories!!

We were greeted tonight with a rain storm - but it is the rainy season in CR now!

keep watching for more posts -- we will share our experiences and all that here with you!!

-Drew

Friday, July 16: Preparation for Trips A and C

We have had such a huge response with the Costa Rica trip that last year we had to add an additional week to our trips. So, now we have 2 weeks - with 3 trip options. Trip A or B for one week, and Trip C for both weeks. Trip A and C are packing and getting prepared for what God has planned for our week in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica - Drew

Senior High Costa Rica Mission Trip 2010

We will share our experiences for the Senior High Mission Trip here -- keep checking back!

Drew