This mission trip has taught me so much. And I have loved seeing all the diversity in cultures, languages, environment, food, and more. This trip has taught me a lot about how to worship freely and not care who sees my love for the Lord. Last night (Wednesday night) we got to experience this amazing worship service. It was incredible! There were people jumping around, people on their knees and raising their hands, and just giving it their all throughout the entire service. And at one point I was just overcome by this feeling and I thought to myself, “This is real worship. This is what should happen in church everyday.” And being a girl who loves to sing and use her voice to praise the Lord, I was so overwhelmed and inspired by this and I just started crying. I had the feeling of taking that “freedom” I guess you could say, back to my school and my church and just show everyone how amazing God is just through worship. And another thing I have learned this week is that I am so blessed with everything I have. God has truly blessed my family and me. He has shown me that even the littlest things in life can make someone happy. During the carnival on Wednesday night, I was running the tattoo station and to see the smiles on all the kids faces because of the tattoos or the crafts or the water balloons, just made my day entirely. In the States we take so many things for granted. And being here is teaching me to really be thankful for all the things I have. I know that this mission trip will always be in my mind. And I cannot wait to come back next year. And I cannot wait to see how God will use me in the future.
-Jessica Rodriguez
Words cannot explain how amazing worship was last night. It was free, selfless, fun and so much more. The Locals here aren’t afraid to show their love for God through their worship. It’s breathtaking. While I only knew two of the songs that they sang, it was so awesome to be able to sing those songs in English, while they were singing in Spanish. Definitely something I’ve never experienced before. In the middle of worshipping, the worship pastor asked us to, “Raise a hand if you are in need of something.” I raised my hand and a few seconds later; a very kind lady was at my side, praying for me. She didn’t know me, we didn’t speak the same language, but yet she still felt the need to pray for me. I was in such a state of awe at this whole thing that I started crying. I was overwhelmed with what was happening, and what God was showing me. True worship. I couldn’t help but think that I wish people in my church would be freer with their worship. I mean REALLY get into it for God. Before church that night, we held a carnival for the local kids in the area. It was an amazing feeling to watch over 100 kids having the time of their life throwing water balloons, playing soccer, and making crafts. I helped put tattoos and stamps on the kids and just to see them smile over such a small thing made me realize how grateful we need to be for what we have. We have SO MUCH, and yet it’s never enough. We always want more. The kids here are thankful for what they have. If anything, the kids here taught me that I don’t need to take anything for granted, and smile at the little things. God is truly changing me and opening my eyes to the world around me. I hope to one day bring free worship to him, and help others do the same.
- Bayli Bishop
Wow. What an incredible week it’s been. Yesterday we held a carnival for the community, and it was unbelievable the amount of kids that showed up. I had so much fun trying to hold a conversation with them in Spanish. On Tuesday I met three little girls that helped us pass out flyers for the carnival. And all three showed up the next day. It’s an amazing feeling to know that they enjoyed their time with me. The littlest one, Baena, stuck to my side all night. I was in awe of how quickly I became attached to them, as they were attached to me. Later that night, we gathered in the church to be apart of the youth service. When worship started, not a second went by before The Locals were dancing, and singing, and worshiping so freely. Words cannot describe how much it impacted me. It was powerful and moving. As I looked around, I began to cry because of how incredible it was that everyone in the room was worshipping the same God, but in different languages. This whole week has taught me so much. Any chance I have to see some of The Locals, all I can think about is how truly happy they are. Some of them have so little, but they are SO happy and SO content. We as Americans seem to never be satisfied. We always want. Want, want, want. These people are such fantastic examples of being satisfied with the joy of the Lord. They have the joy, and it shines so bright! I could type a billion more things, but I’m running out of time. This trip is what I needed. My heart is smiling.
-Kayleigh Farris
The experience that I had yesterday was absolutely amazing. When the carnival started, I was expecting it to be the same thing as me working with the kids in Sun City. But I was completely wrong. I met this group of kids who really touched my heart. Even though there was a communication barrier, they did whatever they could to let me know what they wanted to say. I think it means something when they speak a completely different language and they are trying so hard to communicate with you. I did get a picture with them but then I accidentally deleted it while messing with my camera. That was completely disheartening to me. I hope I see those kids again tonight to regain that memory. Then we had a worship rally with the local youth group and I had the most amazing night. It so awesome to hear all the worship songs I’m familiar with , sung in a different language. I met a few girls and was told to look them up on Facebook. To bad I didn’t understand their names because they spoke to fast. This week has been awesome and I absolutely do not want to go home.
-Connor Hawkins
Yesterday was my 16th birthday, and I was so blessed as to spend it in the beautiful place of Costa Rica! This day was breathtaking and bone chilling! We started the day with some work, my job was breaking and shifting rocks so we could pour concrete. Then we ate a delicious lunch that included some amazing fish, rice, and cilantro black beans. Around four kids started coming to the carnival and I was in charge of the crafts with glitter and let me tell you, those kids LOVE glitter. They took some home with them in little plastic pouches. It was so cute. Then Kayleigh and I introduced piggyback rides to the kids, and I got my cardio for the day in. Haha. I met a little girl named Fiorela and she was attached to my hip. She was so adorable. Later that night we went to a worship service and it was so beautiful to hear the sound of us singing in English and them singing in Spanish. Yet God only hears one language. It was amazing. Then I gave my testimony to every one while our translator translated. Then Bayli, Brendan, and Alex gave theirs. After the service we paired up with a Costa Rican and we each prayed for each other. This guy Steven asked me to pair up with him because my testimony is the same thing he is going through right now. So we talked then I prayed for him in English and he praying in Spanish for me at the same time. It was amazing. Later that night he kind of talked to Laurie then me about his life. I prayed that night that I would get to see him the next day and God definitely answered my prayers. This morning I got up and walked down to the store and standing right there was Steven! He helped us today to keep his mind off this and he shared more of his life with me. He told me that the reason I’m in Costa Rica is to help him in his life and make an impact to help him stop his problem. During quiet time I got to pray with him and do quiet time together. I cried because I had no idea that God was going to use me in such a powerful way in someone’s life. This trip is definitely life changing.
-Madison Strickland
