For Spring Break, Jack, Eli, and I had the opportunity to serve on a mission trip at Campamento Nehemias in Alajuela Province, Quesada, Costa Rica.
We traveled with two local churches here from East Tennessee and were so grateful for the opportunity to go and share the love of Jesus with the people we encountered while in Costa Rica.
Construction Team
Jack and Eli worked with the construction team. This team started the week by working on laying cement blocks for the new event center that the camp hopes to finish within the next year. This event center will provide extra opportunities to host more events for the community as well as future ministry groups that come to serve in Costa Rica.
Since there were some rainy days, the construction team also worked some days inside in the shop to prep rebar that will help the next team with the next phase of the building project.
VBS Team
I served on one of our VBS teams that went to 6 different schools throughout the surrounding areas. We also had a second VBS team that went to around 6 other schools.
Since the camp has had a presence in the community for a long time, they have been successful in building relationships with these schools over the years and, incredibly, the schools allow us to come in and use part of their school day to share the gospel and love on these kiddos.
For a couple of the schools it was the first time a group from Campamento Nehemias had been there. All of the schools were happy to open their doors to us and allowed us 1.5 – 2 hours to minister with the kids and love on them.
For VBS, we worked closely with several of the camp’s awesome interns and translators. Not only are these ladies incredibly gifted translators, but they also had the most precious and loving hearts!
For VBS, we would start with music time which included 3 songs in Spanish. Then in the last song, they would run around crazy and have huge smiles as they loved being tickled and getting attention from our team. The kids LOVED the music time!
Next, we would share a Bible story about Jesus walking on water and how Jesus wanted Peter and the disciples to trust him. For our group, we shared the Bible story in English, then our interpreter would share it in Spanish.
We also had a group of our teenagers & young adults acting out the story as we went which was so much fun. The kids loved it!
Then we would break into smaller groups with different activities – face painting, crafts, recreation, and a group that presented the message of salvation.
There were many seeds planted and many children who prayed the prayer of salvation and accepted Christ during these times!
Our Week
Every day we would start with breakfast and Bible Study around 7:00 AM. Then each team would head out to do their ministry for the day.
At the end of the day, we would typically spend a little time all together after dinner reflecting on the day and sharing what God did in our groups. This was always a sweet time of reflection hearing stories of the ways God had worked that day.
Day 1 – Sunday – Travel Day
We left from the church parking lot around 9:00 am in Maryville, TN, and arrived just in time in Atlanta for our 4:00 pm departure. From there we flew into Panama and then to San Jose, Costa Rica.
Next, we hopped on a bus and rolled into camp about 2-3 hours later. Since it was super late 3 am (5 am Eastern Time) when we arrived, we quickly set up our bunks and sheets and crawled into bed for a few hours.
Day 2 – Monday – Planning & VBS Day
Our team jumped in right away on Monday morning making plans for the week. The construction team went off to work laying blocks while the VBS teams broke into smaller groups and met and finalized the logistics for their groups.
After lunch, we headed to a local school around the corner for our first VBS. The kids were so excited for us to be there and were absolutely precious!
Day 3 – Tuesday – VBS Day
On Tuesday, we had quite a bit of rain, so the construction team started working in the shop on the rebar.
And our VBS team headed out to another local school!
The kids loved the Bible story and thought our team of actors was hilarious. They were rolling on the floor with laughter and had such a fun time!
For lunch, we ran back to camp to eat real quick and then went back out and visited another school. This was the first time a team had been at this school, and we made a great connection for future teams to continue their work there.
During story time, the kids had uncontrollable laughter over our team acting out the story. I looked at the translator and said “I think we lost them.” We both had a good laugh and continued on with the story even though we were unsure if they were really listening.
During craft time, I was sitting next to a little boy who was drawing a scene on his crown. The scene was some water with a boat, with a cross above it. He was motioning about the story that we just shared and particularly pointing at a cross that he drew at the top!
He tried to tell me something in Spanish as he pointed at it, so I had our translator come over to interpret. With a smile so big, he said “My brother is afraid of the darkness; but I am not. I trust Jesus!”
It was a great reminder to be faithful to where God leads you, and He will do the work. What a joy to know that this little boy heard and understood the message that day.
Day 4 – Wednesday – VBS Day
On Wednesday, we drove up to another school in an area near Los Chilies. Upon arriving, we were greeted by the friendliest school staff. They offered us rice pudding and immediately struck up conversations with us. They were very glad to have us.
We went about our regular VBS program on the front porch of their sweet, little school.
As our groups rotated, a few of us noticed one of our leaders and our interpreter were praying with the principal. He later shared with us that it is a very challenging community where this school is located. Most of the children are in homes that are using drugs, including many of the children. On top of that, there are some that they believe are being trafficked. It is such a heartbreaking situation.
This sweet principal is the son of a local Pastor, so we are thankful he is there for these children. Please pray for him and the children there that God will illuminate the dark places in this community and give them wisdom in helping these children.
On our way to our next school, we stopped by a little store to grab some drinks and to eat our packed lunches. Right outside, there were several iguanas out in the trees, which was so fun to see! 🦎
That afternoon, we went to a preschool to love on some more precious little ones. Again, this sweet school was so thankful to have us and was gracious enough to serve us a small meal.
We played and taught these kiddos about Jesus. And we even let them try out their painting skills on us!
Later that night after dinner during free time, we headed over to a local Hot Springs to hang out for a few hours. It was such a fun and relaxing place and so beautiful!
Day 5 – Thursday – Free Day – Zip Lining!
After several days of serving and working, Thursday was our fun day! We drove down to La Fortuna, ate lunch, explored some of the town, and did a little bit of souvenir shopping.
Afterward, part of our group went to the famous Baldi Hot Springs resort while the rest of us went ziplining with Ecoglide Arenal Park. The guides were fantastic and made it such a fun experience.
As we were waiting to ride the truck up to the top, one of our guides showed us a sloth and her baby in a tree! They were so much fun to watch!
Finally, we headed up to the top and began our zip-lining adventure!
It was such an incredible experience. Our crew loved it!
On our way back to camp, we stopped by a popular water hole that has a rope swing, El Salto Rope Swing on the Rio Fortuna. It was an absolutely beautiful area and it was fun watching all of the locals show off their rope swing skills.
That night we went out to eat at Tilapias Quecos. They raised the tilapias right there on the property and it was so good. The meal came with a variety of items on the side, including some yuca!
Day 6 – Friday – VBS Day in Tonjibe
On Friday, we drove north to one of the villages on the Maleku Indigenous Reserve, Tonjibe. This is one of the designated areas that recognizes the historical significance of the Maleku as the first inhabitants of Costa Rica.
We arrived at the school, Esquela Palenque Tonjibe, and the principal was there to greet us. He was honored to share with us the important history of their tribe and village. What was even more remarkable was that we visited on the day they were celebrating when Costa Rica officially recognized them and their historic importance to the country.
The kids only go to school for a half day, so when we got there, one group was leaving and they were waiting for the next group to arrive. Our team leader, Roger who has been serving in Costa Rica for many years, drove us up to see the church in their community, and meet the Pastor.
The Pastor was proud to show us the church and he walked us around the village surrounding it. Some of the families have little art shops at the front of their homes and have handmade items that you can buy for souvenirs, and the money goes directly to supporting that family. So of course we had to shop!
Once we headed back to school, we participated in a special ceremony about the historical day with their staff and students, something they are incredibly proud of. We were very honored to be welcomed to celebrate this day with them.
After the ceremony, we did our VBS program with them, and as usual- the kids absolutely had a blast!
During our song time, a bunch of monkeys showed up in some trees behind the school, which was pretty cool!
And a toucan, too!
While the Tanjibe do speak Spanish, they also still teach their native language, Maleku to their students to continue to preserve their culture.
We got to peek inside one of the classrooms that they use to teach their students their history and native language, Maleku.
It was a special day and we were thrilled to be able to spend time with the precious kiddos in Tonjibe.
We then headed back to camp where our other team had been preparing the grounds to host a night of worship with some local teens and young adults.
The wonderful kitchen crew had prepared a delicious meal for us to share with those coming to join us for worship. After fellowshipping and eating, we headed to the amphitheater where some of our Costa Rican friends led us in worship in Spanish. While many of us are nowhere close to being fluent enough to sing in Spanish, it was a beautiful time of worshipping together as they sang in Spanish and we sang in English.
Jason, one of our leaders, then shared a message in English, while one of our translators interpreted it in Spanish. A little rain pushed us out of the amphitheater and we had to move to the Dining Hall, so we wrapped up our special time of worship together there.
Day 7 – Saturday – Church Reopening
Our last day of ministry in Costa Rica was an extra special day. Around the corner from the camp, there was a little church in a small community that had been closed for several years. The missionary at Campamento Nehemias, Paul, has been given the opportunity to reopen this church and we were honored to be able to pitch in to help officially kick off this reopening.
The plan for this last day was to reopen this church and host a VBS for the children in the community, and then later that night, welcome the families back for a meal and receive a bag of food, toiletries, a Bible in Spanish, hear the gospel, and be invited to come join them for church services.
Our group sent out a team first thing that morning to begin cleaning, painting and restoring this church to prepare it to welcome people that day.
Back at the camp, the rest of our group prepared bags of food and necessities that would be given out to each family that night.
Once our team was done at camp, we headed over to the church and joined the preparation crew. The transformation of this little church in a few short hours was incredible. What had been a run-down, empty, neglected building was suddenly a clean, fresh new slate ready to welcome the community to learn more about Jesus.
What was once empty and abandoned was suddenly busting out the seams with children and families from the community! We had an incredible day of VBS with the children and their families.
We wrapped up VBS by serving lunch. It was such a fun time! We laughed and smiled and helped bring joy to this community as we had the privilege of getting to know these people who would hopefully begin attending this church.
After VBS was over, we split into 4 groups with interpreters and walked around the community, inviting them to dinner that night and sharing the gospel and praying with those who were receptive. There were reports of several that accepted Christ.
During the afternoon, we had a little bit of free time, and we got to ride around and see some of the beautiful area.
And we got to see some Macaws. They were absolutely beautiful! 🦜
After that, we headed back over to the church where people were beginning to arrive. Between VBS and walking around the neighborhood earlier, it was clearly an effective effort. We had way more people show up for dinner than expected and we served food until we nearly ran out.
Due to the larger-than-expected numbers, they split the people into 2 groups and presented the gospel to each group. Several raised their hands and prayed the prayer of salvation, and then some of our team were able to sit and talk with them a little more about getting involved at the church to make sure they would continue in the right direction as they began their relationship with the Lord.
Story
Earlier that day at VBS, there was one 16-year-old girl that we immediately connected with during craft time. She showed up with her younger sister, and as she watched her make the craft, you could tell she didn’t quite know what to do with herself. I offered her some supplies to make a craft, and she surprisingly agreed.
She slowly opened up as we chatted the best we could with a little English here and a little Spanish there. I had a translator come over and make sure she knew her to come back for the meal that night and she said she would. And she was beaming with a big smile when she left.
That night at the community night, shortly before it was time to leave, this sweet girl came around the corner and she had her family with her – her younger sister, grandmother, aunt, uncle, and nieces and nephew. She ran up and gave me a big hug and introduced me to her family. I was so glad to see they got one of the bags that our team made that morning with food and toiletries.
We made sure she connected with several other people who would be involved in the church after we were gone. We are so excited to see how God may work in her and her family’s lives.
As we said our goodbyes, we left that night with our hearts full. God had definitely done great things that day. And it was only the beginning of things to come for this little community. We are excited to hear about the progress and how God will continue to restore, heal and work in this church in years to come.
Back at camp, we ended our week with one last time together as a group. We shared the Lord’s Supper and reflected on the amazing week!
Day 8 – Sunday – Traveling Home
The bus arrived at camp at 1 am to drive us back to the airport. Our flight left San Jose, Costa Rica around 5:50 am, from there we flew back into Panama, then to Atlanta and back home. It was a LONG night and day, but we were grateful to make it safely back home to East TN around 8:30 pm.
Thank You!
Thank you to those of you who supported us and our team, both financially and in prayers. This was an incredible week of serving in Costa Rica, one that we will hold very dear to our hearts. We definitely plan to go back again, hopefully, sooner rather than later!
How to Support Campamento Nehemias
Please continue to pray for Paul and the missionary team down at Campamento Nehemias and the work they are doing year-round in Costa Rica. Click here to follow them on Facebook to see all that is going on throughout the year.
There are also plenty of ways you can support them from financial gifts and donations and much more. Click below to learn how you can help!
Interested in learning more about serving in Costa Rica? Go ahead and gather a group and make plans, we couldn’t recommend it enough! To learn more about planning a short-term mission trip with Campamento Nehemias, click below!
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