I woke up to the sound of rain this morning. I enjoy waking up to rain because it reminds me even at the start of my day of God's provision for Creation. However, this morning it is something of a surprise because we usually get rain in the afternoon. This time of year in Costa Rica, rain makes 4 pm the cut off time for outdoor activity. Thankfully, we have completed most of our outdoor painting and will probably be working indoors today.

Yesterday, we had a "fun day." We visited Jaco Beach where several of us played in waves that make Tybee look like still water. The beach itself was beautiful covered in rocks rather than shells since it is a volcanic beach. Some team members walked around the Jaco area after lunch and just took it all in while others of us went all out on zip lines. This was both a challenging and exhilarating experience. Each of us was suspended in the canopy of the rain forest on steel cables as we zipped from tree to tree. In betwe ...

Although we know that the church is really the people who compose the community of faithful, the actual physical facilities are important. Have you ever thought about how difficult it would be to have various festivities and celebrations if our church did not have a functioning stove? Today, the stove died at lunchtime here at Rincon Herrera Iglesia Metodista. So, as a group we decided to do something for the church and give them a new stove. I had the pleasure of going with the group that purchased stove. We went to a market that Enny (the pastors wife) had long thought of as the place to buy a stove. After searching through the store for the different stoves she was interested in, we found one that was a good fit for the church's needs such as weddings and other festivities. Enny was incredibly happy. She was practically dancing because it is something they really, really needed yet was diff ...

What I learned today

I learned that a God can calm your feas just a a Jesus calmed the water if I have faith. Today I was scared as we began to lead songs in Spanish for the children during Bible school. However, as I trusted God and just sang, the words came to me and I learned the songs and began to really enjoy it.

I learned that love and kindness are universal. Sometimes words do not matter nearly as much as a smile

I learned that mothers have a common bond in loving and caring for their children. The mothers I saw today were obviously dev ...

Tomorrow morning, a couple team members will be sharing a testimony of what God has been doing in their life. Myself, Charley and Mark will be those sharing. I may even try to do a bit of mine in Spanish. The team wanted me to let everyone know how much we love you and how grateful we are for your prayers. One prayer was already answered: we arrived here safely and without any trouble with the Costa Rica customs authority. This isn't a small feat either considering the number of supplies both for VBS and construction we have brought. I've added more pictures and hopefully will get to continue adding many throughout the week!

We have arrived at the church where we will be staying and serving. Wayne Racz led our first devotional and we have just started to settle in. What does settling in mean? It means that we are setting up our air mattresses, arranging our suitcases, some folks are resting from a long day of travel (we started at 4 am) and just generally getting oriented to the space. I was speaking with some team members on Friday before leaving and just sensed that this trip is going to really be blessed. It should come as no surprise considering how much prayer has gone into this mission and considering how great our God is.

Feel free to comment on this blog. What do you want to hear about our trip? I also want to let you know about our photo gallery that may be found on the left sidebar.

Peace and Grace.

Pastor Greg< ...

All the steaks have been sold. The tshirts have arrived and the team has been commissioned and prayed for by the faithful community here at WIUMC. Tomorrow, then, we will be landing in Costa Rica for a week. Jeff H. and Mark have been assembling the tools that we will need to help in construction. Others have been dutifully preparing crafts and lessons for a VBS program that is second to none.

I'm happy to report that between our fundraiser and individual donations to the trip, our entire trip has been paid for. Thank you to all who have been praying and contributing in other ways to this mission.