Leap of Faith

Today was our last day with the kids' club and the medical clinic. With it being only a half day, many assumed maybe the majority of the work was already completed.  But there was still plenty of work to be done.  The medical team saw patients who waited in line yesterday and couldn't be scene due to time running out.  Several of the patients for today, where the church's construction workers.   The kids camp left with a bang with Costa Rican's largest water balloon fight and a skit about Jonah and the Whale.    Since the dedication of the house was done yesterday,  the construction team hung up their work boots and gloves ready to hang around and help clean up.  Little did they know, the church recruited them to serve by digging ditches and moving hundreds of cinder blocks.  Looking around out lunch, it's amazing to see all that was accomplished in just a few hours.   

We thought we were the ones leaving our mark on the costs Rican community, especially after placing our hands upon the Perez family's doorway.However, the people of Ciudad de Fe are the ones who left a mark upon our hearts. The children at the church took their handprints and placed them on plates for us to take home as a memento of our time with them. They placed a paper heart over each handprint to represent their thankfulness, but perhaps it shows the handprints they will leave in our hearts. What a wonderful keepsake to take home to cherish forever. Now we have a homemade souvenir to pair with our memories and God moments throughout the week.

Mostly work and a little play, later in the day-we all journeyed up the mountainside to go zip-lining through the rain forest. For many of us, joining this trip was a leap of faith. For some it's their first time leaving the US, and for others it's their first mission trip. We thought that leap of faith at the beginning of the week was a one and done deal; however zip lining proved to test our faith again. Some were thrilled, some were timid..and others were terrified. We experienced screams, shrieks, and faces plastered with unnatural freckles from dirt and rain. We all now understand why it is called a Rain Forest!

In the same way we zip-lined from platform to platform, our Christian walk should be representative of us continuing our leaps of faith throughout life even when we feel it's hanging by a thin string. Especially when we are scared, in the end, the leap of faith is worth the risk.

In Love,

Morgan O'Connor

Kelly Peterson

Lindsey Sieja

Sherryl Nens

Construction crew blessed with digging ditches!

A happy birthday shoutout to Brandon for turning 21 today!

a prime example of morgan's face plastered with dirty freckles

mom & dad

Mi Casa es Su Casa

Today was a big day for mission group – it was the final day of the home build.  This day was very reminiscent of that TV show “Extreme Home Makeover”.  All week the family has been with us, working hand in hand with us on the build.  Noel, the father, helped build the roof rafters.  Gerado and David, the sons, painted and helped nail in dry wall and trim.  Many of the mothers of the community, who watch over the children of the neighborhood, have provided coffee and bread to us all week.  Much like the TV show, today we sent the family away for a few hours to the church to see the kids’ camp and medical clinic.  This gave the construction team time to finish last minute preparations.  Through the generous donations of team members, we were able to not only build a complete home, but furnish it too.  The family now has a new stove, kitchen table, and bedroom furniture.  Like every good reality show, we had the last minute drama of touching up painting, running furniture in and hurrying to make everything perfect with mere seconds to spare. 

When the family arrived we held a dedication ceremony.  Each member of the construction team passed around the keys to the house and said a few words to bless the Perez family.  Noel thanked God foremost for all His blessings and then thanked the constructions team for giving his family a home.  The dedication ceremony was emotionally moving and there wasn’t a dry eye in the bunch!  While we built their family a house, the foundation was already there when we arrived. 

It may just look like we built a house, but really we were servants of God, making a home for Christ and his family. The Perez’s will become a pillar in their community to spread God’s love.  So many hands contributed towards making this possible, including the supportive hands from home.  Noel asked all of us to place our hand prints over his doorway, along with our names, so that we can always be remembered and welcomed in his home.   As we handed over the keys to the family it was symbolic of hands coming together in service for a life aimed at living out our faith-by being an experiencer, and not just a believer.

the neighborhood of the house that we built

construction team on the first day with only the foundation 

the construction team

and the family with the newly built house on the last building day

each member of the trip painted their handprint on the front of the new house and signed their name upon the father's request

morgan in action

bob the builder (can he fix it?)

a picture of the house the family lived prior to their new home