Sunday we got up, put on our church clothes and headed back to Los Guido to attend the church. Who’s pastor puts on the kids program we were at on Saturday.

It was definitely a cultural experience. Hearing the pastor share the Word and having the need our interpreter so we could understand. We took communion together and following the service we headed back to the Villa.

Shortly after lunch we boarded the bus and headed to the orphanage where our group and another group from Ewell Bible Baptist Church worked together to show Christ’s love to the kids. It was a moving experience to give them two hours, which doesn’t seem like much, but it’s two hours of attention, fun, joy, and love. Check out their blog through the link above.

We’re challenged as we consider what happens to these orphans when they turn 18 and they must leave the orphanage. It’s a tough reality to face as we got to bond with these kids, break the communication barrier and play games. One child continued to say “para mi?” Which means for me? For me? In reference to a wrist band one of us had. When asked “por que?” Which means why? He would respond with “ti mi amigo.” You are my friend.

Before we left the child named Kendal… had a new Nike rubber band around his wrist and was all smiles.

Pray these kids at the orphanage will feel love and know love from a Heavenly Father. Pray that our team will reflect well on what we take fro granted, especially our families that we have. Pray for the truth that what we consider insignificant accessories is another’s treasure.

Pray for us today, as I write, we are getting ready to head to the hot springs. Where we will be in close proximity to an active volcano. Pray we do not get too comfortable. Pray we have great team time, reflecting and debriefing what God has put before us. Pray that the students do not push me (Rhett) into the volcano, like they threatened to. (This is only a joke :-).

But seriously we ask for your prayer support for this day away to still be less about us… but more about how God can meet us in a special way in some surrounding Creation. Pray for those in Los Guido who still do not have running water.

We’re blessed by your prayer and support from the US. We’re humbled and thankful.

Muchos Gracias,
Rhett

Saturday was a day that really held for us a lot of tension as a team. The sort of tension that God brings to us when we are faced with realities we have not seen before. We started the day with mediating on a verse. Proverbs 16:19.

For us we first went to is the most oppressed part of San Jose. We didn’t really know what we were in for. We knew we were going to play with some kids and assist in a kid’s ministry a church does each Saturday. But as we approached this part of town we were informed that they had not had water for a few days. And that many church neglect this part of town. In this small area 45,000 people and roughly 90% are refugees from Nicaragua. The team was led to silence and to just open our eyes and close our mouths and take in what we saw. Just off the road a bit, beyond the homes immediately in front of us, we saw hundreds of tin metal shanty’s with the beautiful backdrop of mountains. We saw one of the most oppressed areas within the beauty of God’s Creation.

Our team began the day very humbled. The students did great with the kids as we shared a story and colored pictures with them. It’s been difficult to communicate with the children due to the language barrier. However, we still were able to demonstrate the love of Christ. We were with a church who’s pastor has had a broken heart for this oppressed community and began to do a kids program every Saturday. He informed us of the various forms of abuse that these very children come from.

We left that time with much to meditate on with the Lord. His Spirit was beginning to really stir in our team.

Following lunch we we’re going to distribute Gospel tracks but plans changed due to weather. Following a brief opportunity for souvenirs we went to the grocery to purchase our goods for our evening ministry opportunity.

We prepared sandwiches, a drink in a plastic baggy, and cookies for our opportunity to go feed the homeless in downtown San Jose. Several Score reps. came along and needless to say our students were a bit nervous. We sang some favorite worship songs and hymns to prepare our hearts before hoping off the bus, which was parked half a block away from the police station.

Quickly, as we got all the goods we had for these men and women, we were swarmed by many, ready to receive the food and a Gospel track. Our students did great at standing in the line and smiling as they handed out to these men and women. We were very proud of our team for how they conducted themselves in this situation which was unfamiliar for us all.

The impact of this opportunity began to play itself out immediately after as God began breaking our hearts. Most were silent on our drive back and as we returned to the Villa we met as a team. Cried as a team and prayed as a team. Our hearts broke for what we had faced. Seeing the face of Christ in these people… whom with so little and in such margins bear the image of God and our deeply loved by Christ. We reflected on some Scriptures together upon what God says about the oppressed and the prideful. Our hearts were heavy. His Spirit was convicting many of us of how we have lived in such ignorance.

It was a powerful night. Many tears were shed. Many hugs were given. Many prayers were said. That God would not let us forget what we have seen. That through this tension we were faced with, we would see His Hand in it all and follow Him as He asks.

Pray for us and the processing through the brokenness. Pray for our leaders as we shepherd our students. Pray that we will being to see how Jesus is calling all of us to light up the darkness. And truly live out His message of Reconciliation as we read in 2 Corinthians 5.

With Compassion
Rhett

Friday we headed to the Rainforest. There we encountered Fossil Land. It was a great adventure for our team as it held a number of of spiritual truths along the way.

After our formal introduction with the Costa Rican style chicken dance… we got our equipment, got our instructions and got our comic relief from our guide who was also a super hero, in his own right.

Our first obstacle as a team was the hike. We had a portion of the hike where we needed to work together, depend on one another, and physically assist one another as we ventured through the slipper rocks.

Follow our water adventure, we had another long hike to the top where we needed to get before we could zip-line all the way down. As we got closer, members of our team were getting a bit tired and short of breath due to the steepness of the climb and altitude. Finally, we made it to our first line.

The next challenge came as most of the members were very worried or afraid of going on the line. It was a bit intimidating, but our team came together to encourage and inspire and support one another to overcome our fears to take the plunge and zip-line several hundred feet, and several hundred feet in the air over seeing a beautiful scene.

We’re proud of the students and adults who overcame the fear and faced it. Taking literally a leap of faith that they would make it to the other side. And they all did. In fact you can see from some pictures that many got a little creative before the day was done.

We got to see some beautiful fossils in the rock formations as it was evidence at one time this mountain range was covered by water. We got to praise God for His beautiful Creation. It was a great morning and our guide did a fabulous job at keeping things light, humorous and exciting.

We had authentic Costa Rica lunch with beans, rice, meat and a drink of fresh fruit base.

In the afternoon our plans got rained out so we adjusted and did some service to the Villa in which we are staying. The students are constantly challenged to remember that they are a testimony of Christ at all times. That even in their joy of being together, they must be sensitive to those around them, seeing outside of themselves. They were challenged at night with the power of their tongue and whether they mouth being open is helpful to people to experiencing God better. We closed with about 20 minutes of silence to listen to what Christ wanted to say.

Pray for us today (Saturday) as we go to one of the most oppressed areas of San Jose to do a BBS. Also, this afternoon as we head downtown San Jose and distirbute Gospel tracks to people. Pray for hearts to be sensitive to the Gospel. Pray that our team will be quieted and take in the truth of God around us. Pray that we will be a strong testimony of Christ to the Costa Rican people and our hosts at Score.

With Love,
Rhett

For updates on Ewell Bible Baptist Church in Costa Rica, please visit www.youth.ewellbaptist.org.

On Thursday we had the opportunity to go to two Kindergarten’s and run a Bible School program. We had been informed the night before that the BBS in the morning would have a lot of bumps and that we were the first group working with Score to put on a BBS. We got to be part of opening the door for them to have more connection in the future.

The night before we had planned diligently and had a whole program put together. However, upon our arrival in the morning we had to adjust and be flexible. We adapted and played different games, created crafts, read stories, and students shared testimonies to nearly 100 kids. A banner in the school read “When we raise our hands, it is to hug not hit.”

The students did great. They asserted themselves quickly and the kids took a liking to them instantly. Some students had kids around their neck the whole time. Others were wrestled to the ground by a mob of 6 or 7 boys. Others would take our students camera, to have their picture taken again. Overall our team showed the love of Christ to these kids. Wrapping up our program a Score Rep. shared the gospel with the group. It was a successful morning since we were obedient to love these kids well and the Message of Christ being shared never comes back void.

The afternoon held a similar program. It was a different location and having already run through a program in the morning, we flowed through better this time around. Our students did a great job showing love to these kids, who were so excited that we were there to play with them. The activities were the same and Score Reps. shared the Gospel with the kids to wrap it up.

In the evening we were in for a great treat. During our devotional time we had the privilege to hear from a missionary who is visiting the Villa. She shared her story of being in Iraq about 4 years ago, with her husband and three other missionary friends. They were victims of gun-shooting violence. She spoke of her experience being the only survivor and in the midst of the shooting… the heart and compassion of a few Iraqi men who got her out of the vehicle and treated her with deep respect as they got her help for her injuries. She spoke confidently, that in the midst of such an experience God’s faithfulness has been so present. That He is faithful everyday and if He asked to go somewhere to serve Him, would we?

We were all deeply moved by the power of her story.
Pray for our team that we will have a sensitivity to the Spirit, as He gets our attention. Pray that we won’t have an attitude of sympathy, but that a heart of passion will rise and each team member will begin to discover how to be agents of change in this world. Pray that our team will be unified. Pray for what the Lord holds each day, that we won’t miss the opportunities He is putting in front of us.

Much Love,
Rhett

We departed for the kindergarten in the morning. We were welcomed by boys and girls with lovely blue outfits and big smiles and waves towards us. The group did a great job at working diligently at scraping and sanding the walls and then putting a coat of paint on. This took us most of the morning and most of the afternoon following lunch.

The teens really had a delightful attitude and all had a readiness to serve. They also loved saying “hola” to the kids as they peaked, out of their class, at us.

Following a delicious dinner we heard from Raymond, and he challenged us from Proverbs 3. To take care of our hearts, lean on the Lord’s knowledge and to simply be quiet and listen to God.

After our devotional time, we put a program together for our Vacation Bible School ministry Thursday, morning ad afternoon. Please pray for our time as students will share testimonies with students, Christ will be shared, and kids will be loved because He first loved us. We praise God for the example of BBS from our church family as we are using the same scheduling and we’ll be using craft supplies that were offered to us the Sunday before we left. Tomorrow we will be sharing Christ with 175-200 kids from ages 3-6. We praise God that He’s worked out little things in advance that He knew we would need. Like the craft supplies.

Pray for the ways God will use us with the kids and how we can see the face of Jesus in their face and be changed by it. Everyone has been getting along well and we are continuing to pray for unity and to be minded on the interests of others.

With Love,
Rhett Edwards

Feliz Navidad! Christmas may be six months away according to the calendar, but it came early for the SCORE missionaries in Costa Rica.

For months our group from Calvary Baptist Church in Red Bank, Tennessee, prepared to minister to the people of Costa Rica. With most of the group being veterans at mission trips, we prepared the usual: skits, games, crafts, songs, testimonies, etc. We desired to be a blessing and to share the good news of salvation with the lost.

This trip, however, was to have a brand new aspect. We were told early on that we would be bringing Christmas to all the missionaries and their families. A little confused by the timing, they explained that since no groups travel during the week of Christmas, there is never the opportunity to share this holiday with them. We were very excited about this privilege to be a blessing to the missionaries, but we had no idea how it would impact us as well.

When the day came to buy the gifts, we were given lists that Trey and Jose had compiled for each person. We covered all of the windows in the cafeteria at the Villa and prepared all the decorations, complete with a Christmas tree. None of the missionaries were allowed to enter as it was to be a surprise. Everyone worked together and we headed to the Costa Rican version of Wal-Mart and divided in groups to complete the shopping.

That night, we greeted the entire staff with “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” and began to divide up their gifts with several of the youth acting as “elves”. With God’s incredible provision, we bought laptops, cameras, clothing, toys, mp3 players, and many other things that the missionaries would never considering buying for themselves.

As we watched the families open their unexpected gifts, there was hardly a dry eye in the room as we felt the inexplicable joy that comes from sacrificial giving. While we ministered to them, it was really our own hearts that were impacted in an unforgettable way.

Thursday night, 15 students graduated from the 10-month Global Adventure Pursuit Program. Over 500 people attended the graduation at Barcelo San Jose Palacio in Costa Rica.

Valedictorian Sarah Kinsey from Woodstock, Georgia, spoke in Spanish while Tim translated into English for the attendees who were also there for the missions conference, KOSMOS 2008. Ron Bishop, president of SCORE International, gave the final address challenging the students to continue in missions throughout their careers.

After the graduation, SCORE held a special reception for the GAP graduates and their friends and family.

GAP, a cultural immersion program, provides ten months of language and Bible classes while allowing students to experience missions work through local churches. The new GAP year begins in September 2008 and will have 23 students.

What an experience we have had today. We went zip lining at fossil land. Du du mantanga was our war cry as we hiked up a mountain up to the lines. Everyone enjoyed the zip lining, whether it was the speed going down the mountain or seeing the beautiful city of San Jose, Gods creation was definitely displayed. On the last zip line all of us got soaked everyone had water guns and buckets and we went to town. Once we got down to the bottom of the hill, we al             l got dried off and went back to the villa.                                       Once back at the villa we ate lunch and prepared for the afternoon. The guys went to pass out tracts and the girls went food shopping for the families in Los Guidos. We than met up back at the villa for dinner which was fantastic. We had chicken and rice and it was delicious. We than had a meeting and our devotions and headed to bed getting some sleep for another great day in Costa Rica.    

Greg Smith

Sorry we haven’t given any updates earlier! Today is the first day that we were able to access the internet here at the SCORE Villa.

Our flights to San Jose were pretty good, just a little turbulence as we approached San Jose. Dean had a little scare when he realized that he had Casey Honeycutt’s passport instead of his after we arrived at the airport in Charlotte. Thanks so much to Allen Reid, Richard Reid, and Jace Thomas for making sure that he got his passport just in time to board the flight!!!!

We were all pretty tired after we arrived so we were advised to take it easy the first night. The SCORE missionaries told us that we would have to adjust to the high altitudes here in Costa Rica.

We visited an active volcano on Thursday morning (see picture) but the weather wasn’t very cooperative. It is the rainy season here in Costa Rica so storms and clouds come and go quite frequently. We were able to see some of the inside of the volcano for a short period of time when the clouds dissipated for a few minutes.

That night we had the opportunity to feed the homeless. We met another group at the SCORE complex, and we made sandwiches to hand out. When we arrived, we handed each person a sandwich, cookies, and juice. With each packet we handed out, we told them “Dios Te Ama”, Which means God loves you.

This morning (wed.) we did sport clinics at a local elementary school. We split our group into 5 groups, and each did a different sport. Afterwards the kids assembled and we had the chance the share the “Wordless Book” with them. After, they sand us a song, and in turn we sang them 2 songs.

Keep praying that the Lord will use us as we try to be a light for him here in Costa Rica.
We love and miss you all!

Hola!!

Hello all parents and guardians.  I know you miss us all! But don’t worry we are doing GREAT!! So today started off with us waking up of course and then doing our personnel hygiene’s. So then we left on our beautiful purple bus! Those roads are pretty bumpy ! Its like a roller coaster!  So we went to pass out tracks on the road for the movie tonight, so we were in the road you know passing out tracks and of course the buses like run us over if were in the road! Lol  So we went to the school and met tons of little boys and girls there and they were all so cute. We sang, and did puppets, skits, and crafts.  

It was really sad to say goodbye but at least we got some time with them.  We did jump rope, played soccer, and there was even a cute dog hanging round. So then after that we passed out some more tracks for the movie. There were a lot of kids it was awesome! It was a wonderful opportunity to witness to many kids and we all definitely got attached to one specific kid. Once again, it was sad to say goodbye to our new little friends. We then came back and had devotions and now I’m writing this so goodnight have a great day and COSTA RICA IS AWESOME!! MISS YOU ALL!!

Michelle and Stephanie

Today was one of those days that was ordained by God.  The team got up and got prepared for a full morning of VBS at Los Guidos.  After the 30 minute bus ride to get there, the pastor, Gabriel, said that he felt better if we would wait to do VBS until tomorrow because the children in the community were having exams today.  Everyone was looking forward to VBS, but we did not know what God had planned for us.  Gabriel led us down into a very small community of refugees from Nicaragua that they refer to as “The Hole.”  It is an entire community where houses are built out of scrap metal, leftover materials, and trash.  Not many people go to that place to share the message of hope and salvation.  The team was led to a very small home with a dirt floor, one small table, and some clothes piled up in a corner.  Gabriel shared the family’s story and the entire group was very emotional.  It did all of us very good to see how our God supplies even when life does not seem fair.  The group shared God’s love through hugs, songs, and tears before we left Los Guidos.

After lunch and a little time of souvenir shopping, the group went to the local grocery store to buy food for the homeless of downtown San Jose.  We came back to the Villa and prepared sandwiches, cookies, and juice for well over 100 people.  We then went to grab a bite of dinner for ourselves.  It was really great to eat at a local Costa Rican restaurant.  The food was amazing, especially Dwight’s chocolate birthday cake.  After dinner, and some minor car troubles, we headed for downtown.  Upon arrival, the homeless were already gathering to the bus.  We got out of the bus, got in a line to hand out the food, and in literally 8 to 10 minutes, the food that we had prepared was gone.  Again, we finished the day like we started it, ministering to a group that not many have shown God’s love to.  Altogether, this was a pretty incredible day!!

Trey

This morning we went to a dormant volcano. It was really cloudy and smelled strongly of sulfur (a.k.a.- eggs), but when the clouds cleared the view was amazing. After visiting the volcano, we made our way up a rigorous, half-a-mile trail to a very old crater filled to the top with rain water. It was absolutely gorgeous! It was surprisingly big. Then, we made our way back to the gift shop and eventually the buses. We headed back to the Villa where we are staying.

When we got back to the Villa, we enjoyed a delicious lunch prepared by the missionaries that work there. When we were all done, we boarded the buses once more and left for the small but very poor village of Los Guidos. Upon our arrival, we went to a small church and got prepped for our door to door visitation. We then went out and handed out flyers for the movie we were showing that night, “Jesus.” At about six o’clock the kids started arriving and we played with them in a small field outside of the church. Playing with the children was such a blessing. They were all so loving and receptive to what we had to offer them. Finally, we had to go inside. We sang a couple of songs—in Spanish,  of course—and then we watched a wonderful skit put on by some of the teens from our church. Next, the movie started. We suffered a few small technical difficulties, but luckily, all was well. The Calvary group then went upstairs to enjoy some delicious pizza, glad to have a break from the restless children. We finished out the night with a little lesson and then we were home free! Well… sort of.

Kaity and Miranda

This morning for church we went to a town called Los Guidos. We did a puppet show and a craft for the kids while Dwight spoke through a translator to the rest of the congregation. After we got done with Sunday School with the kids, they fed us snacks. The service started with a skit performed by our drama team. Our host missionary Jose Prado followed the drama.  My favorite part today was playing with the kids at the orphanage.

 This morning we went to church at Los Guidos. We sang songs and Rev. Dwight Martin preached. After the message on being 100% committed we had a brief intermission. After the intermission our teen drama team performed. The drama was dramatical and touched the hearts of the people in the church. After Jose Prado got through with the word of God we took a bus to 2*1 pizza. We were allowed three slices of pizza and had a three liter of pepsi divided amongst us. Shortly after, we were back at the Villa. We changed and then drove to an orphanage. We played soccer and basketball with the majority of the  kids there. It was a great blessing to see the smiles on their faces, knowing we made their day by playing with them.    Balloon animals were handed out and then we went to the mall. Me and Josh ate at McDonalds and then shopped with our group. Most stores closed early and the video games were overpriced. Once we got back to the Villa we had devotions. It was a great day. That’s all for know.

Carolyn and Darrell