WE ARE HOME!!!

I just want to let everyone know that our mission team has arrived safely home!

Our Final Day in Mexico de Upala

Today was our last day in Mexico de Upala. Today was filled with mixed emotions, satisfaction looking back at what we have accomplished and sadness of leaving new friends and seeing all of the things that still need to be done. We tied up our ends today with all of our missions. The medical team saw about 8 people, we had the opportunity to play with the children one last time, and 4 of the trusses are now in place. We spotted several types of Costa Rican wildlife today. This trip has been a great success. We have seen changes. We have felt changes. We have even caused change we didn't know we were involved in. We have been changed by the people of Mexico de Upala and will forever stay this way.

Tonight ended with a devotion led by Josh. It was a devotion focused on the week past. We all had a chance to reflect on our feelings of the week and how we impacted.

Tomorrow morning we head out on a hike led by the owner of our hotel to see some of God's most beautiful work. After our hike, we are heading out to San Jose where we will rest for the night to catch our early morning flight on Wednesday morning. If all goes according to plan and we don't have any two hour unplanned side trips, our plane will be landing in Charleston around 5:27 P.M Wednesday evening.

Worship and Fellowship

Today was a day that you could definitely tell that God was involved in; from the enthusiastic worship this morning to unplanned events in the afternoon to our nightly devotion. Our team really was able to mingle with the local Ticos and Nicaraguans. The church prepared us with a lunch of arroz con pollo (rice with chicken).

After lunch, the team opened the medical clinic up for some members of the church that have had to travel a great distance, mostly from Nicaragua. The medical team saw about 10 people today.

The remainder of the team got the opportunity to play with the children. The team handed out the donations of t-shirts from the Summerville YMCA. The joy on the childrens faces when they recieved this gifts was outstanding. Some of the children refused to put them on (for fear of getting them dirty) while others put them on immediately.

Today we had a few unexpected miracles; To sum it up, lost keys aren't always a bad thing.

The team ended the night with delicious tacos and a devotion led by Kara. Kara's devotion was about not only talking the talk but also walking the walk. The team also had a chance to discuss the morning service.

Constuction, Medical, Children, and Clothing

Today was a busy day. We had alot of different activities going on. We had people at the constuction site, working with children, helping Ticos find clothing, and solving medical problems.

On the construction site, the team continued to work on the tresses for the new church building.

With the children, we reviewed the story of Jonas and the Whale. The children got to color a whale and place their Jonas inside his belly. We also played many games with the children, played and unplanned. the children played with beach balls, the parachute, and soccer balls. These activities continued even if it was raining.

In our clothing distribution, we had lots of people show up to come gather clothes for their family. They were guided by a team member while picking out their clothing. The Ticos really enjoyed the personal treatment when our team would hold up the clothing to be sure it would fit.
The medical mission was definately needed at this time. The team saw over 60 people in only a few hours. The medical problems ranged from skin issues to possible appenditis. The most common illness were stomach problems and skin issues.

The team got to visit Nicaragua with the Pastor of the Church. At dinner time, we had hot dogs over and open fire. We also had a suprise party for Debbie Friday's birthday. We celebrated with a pinata filled with peanuts and candy (no flour this time) and a cake from a Costa Rican bakery. After dinner, Hailey led our devotion. Her message was about being open to hear your calling from God.

Una dia de construcion

Today was a very productive day. We limpiarlo (cleaned it), cortarlo (cut it), and soldarlo (welded it). It being metal supports for the building. We also painted the metal. The Costa Rican people (Ticos) made us a wonderful meal of chicken, rice, beans, salad, cooked plantains, and really good tea for lunch. On the way to the work site and on the way home, some of the team members got to see a group of monkeys playing in the trees. For dinner, we also had a muy bueno (very good) meal. We had spaghetti and toast made over an open fire. Some of the Ticos got to join us for dinner and devotion. Paul closed the night with a devotion with on taking care of God's people.

Comprehensive Blog (Wednesday and Thursday)

I am going to blog for yesterday and today because that is how it happened, it has been one long day meshed together.

Our mission team met at SPC on Wednesday morning around 5:00 am. We left for the airport, made it to Costa Rica around 3:30 pm (SC time), and eventually made it to our home location at about 7:00 am (CR time).

The real adventure falls between getting off the airplane in Costa Rica and arriving at our hotel. After our 46+ bags were loaded into our 2 vans and 1 SUV, we were ready for the 4 hour drive to Upala. Little did we know that we would encounter many challenges. Sparring the details, at the end of the night it was obvious that God had us in his protection. We experienced around 11 hours of driving, critical roads being closed because of the bridge being washed out, a ferry ride, tons of bonding, VERY bumpy and steep roads, rain, and a few extra obstacles.

Once we arrived at our hotel in Upala, the vans were unpacked, a short meeting was held, and everyone went to bed. In the afternoon, a group of our team went and scoped out our work sight for the week for better preparation and use of time.

Needless to say, God's alternative route has kept us alive and safe.

We had two good devotions today from Wayne and Sandy with the CCI pastor. Wayne challenged us to find our purpose for being here and living it out. The CCI pastor read us scripture and explained that every job was important and we all needed to work together cheerfully, because one bad fly can make the purfume stink.

Estamos Aqui!

We have arrived at our home in Costa Rica. It is about 7:00 in the morning Costa Rica time (9:00 am SC time). What an adventure we have had; sink holes...hours of driving...and rain. Thank goodness for the protection of God and our awesome drivers.

Packing Tools, Clothes, and Supplies

Packing (or stuffing) clothes!

Please be under 50 lbs!

Can we fit anything else in?

Thank you for your donations!

Teamwork!

Thank you to everyone who donated their extra luggage for our trip. Your suitcases are now packed with clothing donations to take to the people of Costa Rica.

A Pre-Trip Social

The mission team gathered together for pot luck, fellowship, and to meet Stacy Finley, a team member from North Carolina.

Our Home for a Week!

Our exact location is: 25 meter south from Popular Banc, Upala, Alajuela, Costa Rica

Website: http://www.hotelmarakabu.com

A Letter from the Pastor of CCI, Rolando Soto

The construction of the Church has begun. The dimensions of the building are 20m (~65ft) across the front and 30m(~98ft) on the sides, for a total of 600m² (6458 ft²)! This area will be divided into m auditorium and class rooms. There will be a 2.5m wide door on the front, on the right side a 2m wide door and a 1m wide door. On the left side an additional 2m wide door. The concrete foundation is in and is 30cm wide and ranges from 40cm to 1.5m deep and has 8 runs of #3 rebar in the concrete. They have the rebar columns in place. They have laid 7 courses of block. The floor will be at the level of the fourth course as the first three courses are to be back filled to raise the level of the floor. For the next steps, the brothers plan to build the concrete columns to a height of 2.9m. They are going to have columns/beams combined of metal and concrete. The metal has to be painted. We are studying what is best for us to do. If we work metal, it is possible that we will need to do it in another location? There is a believer that lives in Bijaqua, Mr. William Harding. He offered the use of his welding machines and other tools that he has in his hardware store and offered his trucks to transport the structures. We also have two welding machines that we can carry to Mexico de Upala. I am consulting our people in order to figure out what we can do to make the best of our work days. I hope to have a more definite answer Tuesday, July 20. I understand that you have already made a reservation for a hotel in Upala. Please let us know if you need anything else. I want to organize an activity at CCI to say good-bye to the group. Do you think this would be possible Tuesday night? We pray to the Lord that this mission trip will be of great benefit, and that we will glorify God with our action. Please let me know if there is anything that you need. Is there any information needed by the brothers and sisters. Dr. David Varela is awaiting a call. He is ready to help in whatever is needed. He and the other Doctor, Alvaro, will participate in the Journey. I appreciate very much this relationship and this opportunity to grow with you all. Salutations to your family and the participants in this journey.