Our NIKO camp was really awesome, I learned a lot and the base in Talamanca (close to the CR Panama boarder) is such a beautiful place. They day before NIKO started we all went and played in the river and had a delicious dinner. I can’t say anything else really about the camp itself because the only reason it works is because of the surprises and I signed something saying I wouldn’t spill the beans, so you’ll just have to trust me.
Talamanca!
After our week or so in Talamanca we spent a week doing ministry all together in Puerto Viejo! Its on the Caribbean side fairly close to Panama and is a very touristy beach town. A lot of people there spoke English which made doing ministry a lot easier for those of us who only speak spanglish (me!). We were staying in this great Pentecostal church and had a lot of evening services with great worship times. I even got to share my testimony at the Monday night youth service, which was a little stressful, but such a great experience. We worked a little bit with a skateboarding ministry that is in the town called the Concrete Jungle, we also did basketball and soccer ministry during the week. We would play sports with who ever talk and get to know people, pause the game for a drama and continue playing, it was a really great time. Later in the week we had a free bike wash (bikes are the super common transportation) and a concert in front of a Christian Coffee Shop called Caribeans (Care-ibeans). The community was really great we were so blessed by the church we stayed in and a man named Orlando who is involved with the Baptist church in town, we cooked us lunch one day and dinner another night it was so special to have fresh fish that had been caught that day! Our time in Puerto Viejo was coming to a close and we were all sad to leave our home one minute away from the ocean, but excited to go back to San Jose to see everyone and get our mail!
Welcome to Puerto Viejo
the church we stayed in
soccer ministry
Being back at the base in San Jose was good but a little weird, being on outreach but back in your regular bed is an odd combination. The new DTS (Extreme Adventure/ Backpackers) was arriving and we had the welcome dinner for them on Saturday night, we all got dressed up and enjoyed good food, and a Costa Rican band was playing music and we danced.
back at the base
This past week I have been staying at the YWAM Base in Guanacaste Costa Rica, which is in a rural area with lots of cows, scorpions, iguanas and intense heat. Our main focus there was to help the base with their vision of seeing a Bible be placed in every home in the province of Guanacaste. So we split up into teams and went door-to-door talking, praying and Bible-giving! It was such a great experience; people were so nice to us and practically took us in in some cases, with cold drinks and mangos galore. By the end of the week we had handed out over 400 Bibles to the community. While in Guanacaste we were also involved in some really fun soccer games with people from different towns close to the base. It was cool because we even had JUCUM Costa Rica jerseys to wear and it was fun to be a team with the other DTS girls. I was of course goalie (having to tap into my grade 9 soccer playing skills) and we didn't even get kicked by the Costa Ricans like I thought we would! haha
on our way to the Guanacaste base
part of the "Big-Blue" Bible crew
My birthday was really amazing! We got in the car bright and early and drove to an english speaking church by the beach (about an hour and a half away). I got to sing on the worship team with Melissa and Dave (Johan on drums) and it was really special to be a part of an english speaking service! We also did a drama and then got to sit back and enjoy the service. After church we went to the pastors beach house, had lunch, brownie and ice cream and went swimming in the ocean! It was such a great birthday, that one is going to be hard to top!
note the b-day pin!
But I think thats all for now, and I'm finally caught up on filling you all in on my life! I will be staying at the base for around a week, and will update again before leaving for Haiti!
Lots of love from Costa Rica
