Bethel University
Day 5
Today, we woke up early and left at 7 AM to head out on a long bus ride to the Punta Leona resort. On the way, we stopped at a bridge where our guide Raymond told us to beware of the crocodiles and their capacity to bite off the toes of unsuspecting tourists. He also told us that Steve Irwin once did a demonstration at the bridge and captured a 3 meter crocodile! We admired the crocodiles from a good safe distance on the bridge, and also came across a snake and iguana along the way. Four hours later, we finally arrived with our faces pressed against the windows taking in the awesome view of the ocean. After eating another huge and delicious SCORE meal, we spent the first three hours at the Playa Mantas beach soaking up rays, exploring, picking up shells, swimming, and playing beach soccer. At 2:45, we checked in and moved into our AIR CONDITIONED rooms that were named after various South American countries. After a quick 15 minute rest, we headed out to explore the other beach: Playa Blanca (the white beach). Right away, we were in awe of the gorgeous scenery: clear water, rolling waves, and rock formations with all kinds of crabs and slugs to investigate. We were reminded, once again, of how incredible our God is by what He has created! We did a lot of body surfing and definitely got our fair share of sodium for the day. While the water was clear, it wasn’t necessarily the best tasting! To finish off at the beach before dinner, we watched the beautiful Costa Rican sunset just as a few drops of rain fell on us. We were definitely blessed with great weather during our time at the resort, because those were the only raindrops we saw! We made it back to our rooms with plenty of time to prepare for the dinner feast, which Raymond and Tom had been talking up all week. They definitely weren’t exaggerating; they had everything from fresh fish to muy bueno leche cake which only some of us were lucky enough to taste before it ran out! At any rate, none of us left hungry. After dinner, many of us went our separate ways. A lot of us headed back to the beach for a night time stroll or just to sit and relax, listening to the crashing waves. All the while, we were being stalked by the fearless raccoons, but thankfully poppy pep was on guard and protected us all. Others of us were exhausted from the day and went to bed right away with the intention of getting up early to watch the sunrise. To conclude, we were all thankful for a fun and relaxing day to unwind and have some quality team bonding and to get a restful night sleep in a cool, comfy bed! Dios tes bendigas! –Alicia, Jami, and Aani
Hey there… well after a few days in the cloudy mountains we were finally heading off to the beach. Yeeeeeeah!!!!!!!!!! We rose early and we had a long drive ahead of us, but we didn’t mind because that just meant we had a lot of time to play mafia!!!!!!! Many games of mafia later we emerged from the hills. We had finally reached the ocean. Before we knew it we were on the sand playing beach soccer. A few of us went exploring down la playa Blanca and found a bunch of hermit crabs. After moving into our rooms we all went to the southern beach to watch the sunset and oh what a sunset it was!!! After a long day we returned to our rooms and ate some dinner. We were dead tired afterwards, but adventure still called us…so a bunch of us walked down to the beach to just relax, chat and stargaze. Day five was one to remember.
-anonymous
The fifth day of our mission trip served as a needed day of rest, reflection, and relationship building. We used the opportunity to explore God’s creation and to continue to grow the God-glorifying friendships throughout the team. It was great to see a mix of forty young men and women all sharing in beach soccer, body-surfing, shell scavenging, tree climbing, conversation, relaxation, and plenty of GOOD eating!!! Most amazing of all was observing the sunset from the beach. The splendor of God was clearly visible as we explored the rocks and swam at the beautiful beach. We stood in awe as the sun slowly broke from the clouds and descended behind the distant island positioned opposite the beach. The sky grew orange in contrast with the bright green vegetation surrounding the water. Cliffs loomed on the right, while rocks jutted into the see on the left. Mere minutes from sunset, a soft rain began to fall. It brought forth a rainbow behind us—arching over the palm trees too completely render us speechless. What more is there to say? God is beautiful, his creation amazing, and he is graceful enough to reveal it to us!
-Dan
Day 6
Day 6 has arrived and passed before we knew it. We woke up at varying times at the resort and headed to breakfast. One thing for sure is that I know it’s nice to wake up to air conditioning. Yesterday and today were necessary to recover. I know personally I slept for 12 hours and could have gone for much longer. Some of the players decided to wake up for sunrise and to get to the beach one last time before breakfast. After breakfast we headed off to our last game. It was not to far from the resort and the humidity showed. Once the game had started we were all soaked like we had just walked out of the shower. The clouds eventually covered us up and cooled down a bit. The girls won 4-0 and the guys won 5-0. this was not what was important however. Randon was able to share a part of his life to the kids and Kantor was able to share the gospel. After this Raymond, who had been traveling with us the whole trip and was a part of Score International decided to share the gospel himself. It was very promising to hear the passion in his voice and body language. Even though he had never met this group of kids you could see the love of Christ in him and hear it through his voice and that is what this whole trip was all about. Many of the kids ended up accepting Christ on the spot. We learned later that many of the kids parents were drug users and the families were very poor. This was one of the more powerful times of sharing personally. After all of this we headed back to the Score villa and on the long bus ride had some extremely intense games of mafia. Day 6 was an amazing day and was filled with times that I will remember.
-Josh Miller
As many of the other players have suggested, after spending the day at Punta Leona I am convinced that there is no better apologetic answer to God than His creation around us. No matter how well we present our theology or the amount of time we spend formulating our opinions, none of that will ever compare to the magnificence of the breath taking beauty around us.
It’s hard to leave such a wonderful paradise and know that you will soon be returning to a life that can often times be plagued with chaos and deadlines. But I am excited to return to Bethel and begin to live out some of the lessons that I have learned while here in Costa Rica. The one thing that has revealed itself to me more than anything is the fact that we as Christians do not have to go to a foreign country to change lives. Often times it is in our everyday lives that we encounter instances wherein we have opportunities to show Christ’s mercy and love to the people around us. Even in the most simplistic ways, whether it be starting a conversation with a complete stranger or serving someone who is in need of assistance; it is those moments that we perpetuate the Kingdom of God and fulfill the work to which we have been called. And as I reflect upon my life and the hundreds of instances that I have in a given day to be a blessing to someone else, I realize how important my life is. Not because it is mine…but because it is God’s and there is so much that He can do with me if I allow him too.
There was an evening on this trip where a Score representative was giving a devotion and he asked our group how many of us were planning on going into full time ministry and in response a handful of us raised our hand. But as I sat there and listened to the remainder of his devotion, it dawned on me that if we are truly going to live the life Christ has called us to then all of us as Christians should be raising our hands. We all are part of a full time ministry because our lives are continually ongoing, and it is our lives and our actions, rather than our words that convey to the people around us what it means to be apart of God’s Kingdom. And having spent the past week with 40 young adults who are all aware of this I cannot wait to see what God is going to do in the upcoming season.
-Anonymous
Day 7
Wow! Being a part of this trip has truly shown me the power of God. As coach of both the men’s and women’s teams it is sometimes hard to keep things in balance. This week was great proof of God’s place in all of our player’s lives. I have been so honored to be involved with such great player’s who are willing to give it all up for God. More to come…………………
