Recap - Monday in La Cuenca

Our final morning in La Cuenca was the most impactful hours our Seniors have spent on this trip. Tears were shed by many and hearts were broken, as we walked deep into this refugee camp to spread the love of Christ.

We gathered as a group and divided into 4 small teams of 7-8, as the homes we were visiting were quite small. We did not want to overwhelm the families we were visiting. Each group carried a large bag of food and other necessities to give to the family.

We were accompanied by Hugo, Nathan and Melanie who all work with Smiles with Hope, the ministry located in the middle of La Cuenca. Carlos who has been with us all week was there with his guitar, as was Alfonso with his recorder (which he plays so beautifully you would think it was a flute).

We walked deep into La Cuenca, stopping at different homes along the crazy twisted paths of the area. At each home, a team went in and met the mother of the household. We played music and sang Psalm 23 to each one, just to bring a small amount of "light" into their dreary surrondings. The bag of food was given. It seemed like such a meager offering, but was received with joy and appreciation. We asked about things to pray for and spent a few moments praying for each mother and household.

My group stopped first and met a mother named Sandra, her little daughter Brittany, and her older son Julian. Julian is working on his studies and later bragged to me that he had made a 90 on his last English exam and had never made below an 80 in any of his classes. Julian is trying to learn to love the Lord in the midst of his broken world. He followed us the remainder of the time we were walking through La Cuenca. He stayed at the back of our group, on the edge, listening and watching. I can only hope God used our presence today as another way to witness to this young man, that even though he feels invisible to the rest of the world, God sees all, knows all, and loves all, enough to send a group of Americans into Julian's world to pray for him and his neighbors.

 Sandra asked us to pray for her other son, who had fallen into a gang. As I stepped up to pray for her, I had Carlos ask her if she wanted him to interpret my prayer. She said no, that God hears all languages. I prayed for her, her family and for her son. I shall forever be praying for Sandra.

We returned to the ministry building, to talk about what we had seen and how it had impacted each of us. The message to the Seniors was that what they had seen was not to make them feel guilty, nor should they shrug and think "oh well, too bad for them". More important were the questions "What are you going to do about it? Now that you have seen how bad it can be, how are you going to change it? All that we have and all that we are given, including our gifts and talents, are a blessing from God, to be used in service to others.  Make much of your blessings and make much of God."

We praise Hugo and his team for the life changing work they are doing in La Cuenca. May God bless and protect them in a mighty, mighty way.

Lori Horton

What to do with my new tattoo?

Today I received another tattoo.  This is not the first time that God has made a life lasting etch into my heart.  This time, the image is in the form of a beautiful Costa Rican mother named LaMacha.  LaMacha invited us into her home and allowed us to pray for her and for her family.  Her home was built of salvaged crate wood, an assortment of various sized sheets of tin and plastic and was smaller than any classroom at Shannon Forest.  As we spent time with LaMacha she let us know that she had a son that she would love for us to pray for.  Her son was in the home and eventually came and spoke briefly with us at the urging of Hugo, the missionary in the area who we had the privilege of working with.  We prayed for LaMacha and her family.  As we prayed for her son, Giovanni, she began to weep.  She let us know that her son needed to change his job and be safe (his current "job" is as a "robber" in the community).  As we finished our time together, I gave her a hug and told her that I know that Jesus loves her son more than she does and that I will continue to pray for him.  I know that she couldn't understand a word that I said, but I felt as if my heart bonded with hers as a parent longing for better things for their children.  The etching in my heart is in the form of a mother who loves her son and longs for him to experience life to the fullest and to completely know of her love for him.

Like most tattoos, this etching points to something bigger than itself.  Today I was reminded of the depth of the love that our heavenly Father has for His children.  Why do I doubt?  Why do I fear?  Why do I strive for "safety" outside of a complete trust and surrender to Christ?  Today, in the Nicaraguan refugee camp of La Cuenca, LaMacha, who may or may not currently be a sister in Christ, reminded me of some very deep truths about the Father's love for His children.  To be honest, my biggest fear is that I leave this day, and like the Israelites did so many times after a meaningful return to relationship with Jehovah, forget to trust Him fully.  It is my desire that my new tattoo of the heart will remind me of the Father's love for His children, for me, every time that I pray for the people of La Cuenca.  

Daniel Norman

God's Work in my Heart

In Guarari, our second destination, we visited La Cuenca. La Cuenca literally means depression or hole in the ground. It was a camp for Nicaraguan refugees during the war, but now is home to their decendants. It is extremely poor. Houses are made out of sheet metal with dirt floors. The houses are the size of a bedroom and some mothers have 5 kids with no husband.  Some of the fathers that are around beat their wives or kids.

I've been asking God to soften my heart, to use me to a spread his love, and in La Cuenca God broke my heart.

We split up into groups, and each group had a large bag of food, water and toiletries. Each group gave the large bag to a family. My group visited Julie and her 5 kids. Carlos played the guitar, Joseph played the flute, and we sang Psalm 23 to them in Spanish.  We gave them the bag of food. The mother was so grateful and the kids were so happy. I gave all the kids long hugs. I was so amazed that a bag of food, water, and toiletries could cause such joy. I almost cried.

There was another family we gave food to and the mother was so overwhelmed with joy, she was crying. When I saw her, I began to cry too and gave her a huge hug. When it was time to go, I kissed her on the hand and said goodbye.  As we were walking back, I could barely walk.

God opened my eyes to the poverty of La Cuenca and I realized that almost no one from the outside world comes to visit them or acknowledges their existence.  They impacted my life as much as I impacted theirs. God taught me to be more grateful for all the blessings He has given me and to be more generous and giving.

Luke Horne

Sunday in Guarari

Today I had the wonderful opportunity to sing at the church in Guaraí, Costa Rica. It was very similar to church at home but there were also some differences. During the entire worship ceremony the crowd was rather different from at home. During the entire worship ceremony the crowd was clapping and dancing and having a good time. Then we all went around the room to introduce ourselves with other people in the church. It was very fun experiencing church in a different culture.

After church we went to eat lunch at a restaurant. The food was great but they could not get the orders right. It was so funny and of course I end up getting my food after everyone else had already finished eating their food. Luckily I have sweet friends who let me have some of their food while my food was still being cooked. After we finished our lunch we went to ride some rides in the theme park. We finally ended our day playing soccer and resting in our enos with the perfect view of a volcano in the background.

Jacey King

Recap - Sunday in Guarari

There have been many things we have observed during our trip so far, numerous cultural differences, yet quite a few things that are exactly the same. The lesson of Sunday in Guarari is that all who have saving faith in Christ worship the same Jesus.

We were welcomed with smiles and open arms as our group gathered at our home church in Guarari. There is another small group from Cincinnati also serving this week, so the congregation was full of Americans.

The service itself will always be remembered with a joyful heart, as we experienced the enthusiastic praise and worship of the Costa Rican people. The music, led by a team of youth, was heartfelt and joyous, with everyone singing loudly and clapping their hands. Those of us who don't know Spanish well, still found ourselves joining in, lifting our voices in praise.

The time to "meet and greet" as we might call it in American churches, lasted for several minutes. What warm, friendly people! None of the congregation stayed in their seats, as they went around the room, hugging and kissing the cheeks of each of us. Even some of our most shy boys have become comfortable with returning the affectionate Costa Rican greetings!

We were able to help lead worship as a few of our team members led the congregation in song. Jacey King, Lauren Alsborg, and Lyndsey Collins sang, combining both English and Spanish lyrics in their songs. They were joined by a young lady from the other team who played violin, and two of our new friends, Arialla and Alfonso, who have been with our team since we arrived in Guarari. Our girls did a great job and the music was beautiful.

Bob Collins shared the Word with the congregation with a sermon taken from Matthew 11:28-30. The need to rest in Christ alone, despite situations or circumstances, is one of things that crosses cultures and was meaningful to all. Bob was joined by Pedro, our translator that has been with us since the beginning of the trip, who repeated Bob's words in Spanish with joy on his face.

The service ended with prayer and song, and a heartfelt gracias from the congregation for joining them in worship. We were blessed by our time with them.

The afternoon was all about fun and downtime. We went into San Jose to a park that was an interesting collection of a restaurant, a church, buildings that replicated the old capital, and amusement park rides. After eating lunch together at the restaurant, the Seniors had some time to enjoy the park and ride some rides.

The last activity of the day was our final futbol matches, played at a large outdoor facility. We were to play a team from the church and the winning team from the tournament in La Cuenca. My own personal favorite moment of the trip happened when the boys from La Cuenca arrived, sporting the Crusader soccer jerseys and gear we had brought as gifts. They were so proud to be in their jerseys and I am proud to have them wear Crusader green.

We are back home in our host family homes tonight, saying our goodbyes as we prepare to depart tomorrow. Once again, we are blessed by these precious people that love so deeply.

Lori Horton

My Eyes are Opened

Yesterday, we arrived in Guarari.  Our plan was to drop our luggage off at the church and go to the village of La Cuenca.  We were all excited, but nervous at the same time, because we had been made aware of the condition that La Cuenca was in.  No words could have prepared us for what we were to see.  When we first arrived, the stench was overwhelming.  In the heart of their village, they have a river of raw sewage, with bridges that cross over it to connect different houses.  We all dropped our backpacks off, which had to be locked up in special cubbies to protect them from theft, and we made our way to one of the resident's houses.  Her name was Anna, and she had 10 kids.  She was 41, and her kids ranged from 5 months to 16 years old.  She graciously let us in and allowed us to tour her home, which couldn't be bigger than the bathrooms at Shannon Forest.  She explained how her oldest son is off working at a vegetable farm trying to bring in income for the family.  Whenever she has free time, she studies.  Her current grade level is equivalent to the 6th grade, along with her oldest son.  At night time, she and her son study together, which is special bonding time for them.  Getting a tour of her house really struck the group.  It really opened our eyes to our numerous blessings that God has given us, and that we owe it all to him.

Andrew Duwe

Coming down from Anna's house

My Experiences in Guarari and La Cuenca

On Saturday we arrived in Guarari at the church, then shortly after we went to La Cuenca, a very poor village.  I think we all were a little shocked at how little everyone had but how they continued to live their lives like it was normal to be in such a bad environment.  We received a tour of Anna's home.  Anna is a 41 year old mother of ten who is currently studying to pass the 6th grade.  We had a sports festival later and Shannon had three soccer teams participate, two boys teams and one girls team.  Sadly every team we had lost.  We will be able to redeem ourselves when we play on Sunday.

We met our host families Saturday at four.  I am staying with Julius, Jacey, and Kelcie.  Kelcie and Jacey are in another room of course.  Our host mom is a mother of four and a grandmother of five, so every night we have them all over for food and to hang out.  They have a Wii which we played with them for several hours.  The home isn't very big but we shared the space with everyone comfortably.  The food is very good and we all get way too much of it.  There is this little girl that comes to our house and she was having Kelcie repeat after her, trying to teach Kelcie Spanish.  Then the little girl began to bottle feed Kelcie water, by placing Kelcie's head back and then dumping the water into her mouth.

Ben Wilson