SCCS Costa Rica Update

We are halfway through our week already, and every day has been packed. From the moment we arrived and we’re greeted with excitement by our host families who fed us and welcomed us into their homes, this trip has been really special with Costa Rica and the body of Christ.

Every person of our team has been paired up and is staying with a local Costa Rica family near the church we are serving. Those families have taken us in as their own, feeding us richly, and embedding us into their lives. There’s been family game nights, BBQs, karaoke nights, and lots and lots of delicious Costa Rican cups of coffee. Every member of the team is getting a full on immersive crash course in speaking Spanish, which has also been fun and growing for everyone. We are praying with them, encouraging them, being encouraged by them, and worshipping together as well.

With the church surrounding us, much of our time is spent with local believers. On Sunday, we joined the church for an outing at a cabin a couple hours outside of town and swam in the river nearby with them. Monday was a day of painting classrooms in the church that were due for an update. Tuesday, we visited a school for adults learning English and spent time practicing English and Spanish with them. We talked about life, hobbies, faith, family, and more. We spent some time working on our own testimonies and then went off to get beat at soccer by the Costa Ricans. (But it was close!)

Today we are back at the church, painting for the morning and will be doing outings for lunch with our host families in the afternoon. Then this evening, we are hosting a talent show with the local youth, and we will be sharing testimonies as well.

Tomorrow is adventure day as we head out to La Fortuna so see some of the amazing natural sights Costa Rica has to offer. And Friday is our wrap up day as wefinish up some projects and outreach and then have an evening worship service planned with the church.

To sum it up, this has been a profound experience for everyone on our team. The students have been doing excellent and are enjoying soaking up every moment. The days are hot, so we are working hard to stay on top of drinking water and lathering up that sunscreen. And I have a feeling that come Saturday morning, there’s going to be a lot of well earned exhaustion and sadness to say goodbye. God is good.

On behalf of the St. Cloud Christian School team,

Job