Pura Vida: Rainbow Hands and Dirty Feet

In Costa Rica, our larger team of 50 members has been divided into three different teams: Construction Crew, Medical Crew and Kids Camp. The Construction Crew is responsible for helping build a home of a deserving family of Nicaraguan refugees who have immigrated to Costa Rica for a chance of a better life. The Medical Crew has set up a mini medical clinic to serve the church community with basic health care; taking vitals, providing a medicine/first aid kit and getting a chance to talk to our gifted medical staffers. The Kids Camp has set up a week of Vacation Bible Camp for the children of the church whose parents are working during the week.

The Construction Crew joined a missionary team called “Homes for Hope” who is familiar with the community and has experience building in the area. This year, our team moved to a different neighborhood than in previous years. Since this would be the first time a team would be building in this new neighborhood, as a precaution, our team was vigilant with safety and being aware of our surroundings –being in “code orange”. All our fears or trepidations were put to rest quickly as the family, neighborhood leader and the neighborhood children were welcoming us and the mothers of the block provided an added layer of watchful eyes.

Upon our arrival, we met the father of the household, Noel and his wife and two boys, age 8 and 14. Noel the father told us (through translation) he was humbled by the fact people would come from half a world away to leave their homes and jobs to help his family. He told us a story of how not so long ago, he was up one evening, looking at his wife and children and wished he could provide a better life for his family, as they deserved so much more than he could provide. He said a prayer that very moment. Two days later, he was notified by Homes for Hope he qualified for a new home.

The neighborhood is a series of tin shacks and shanties. About a month ago, Noel’s family moved into a smaller shack, probably the size of a 10x6ft room so they would have room to pour the 16x20 concrete slab so we would have room for us to build their new home. Upon our arrival, this family, who has so much less than all of us, offered us coffee and pastries to welcome us to their home.

We were very fortunate to have such a talented team who had prior construction experience and had the patience and grace to teach and help those of us who needed to learn to swing a hammer or paint a wall Mr. Miagi style.

On Sunday, the medical team left disappointed because the care kits were not fully assembled and the rooms were left in complete chaos. However, this morning everyone jumped in, helped one another out, and worked together to run our clinic smoothly-without any hesitation. It was amazing how everything came together in such a short amount of time. Our doubts and fears from the previous day quickly disappeared by God’s peaceful presence, which allowed us to focus on what needed to be done, without any worry.

We expected to care for approximately 80-100 patients today; however, we only saw about 40 people. Although our expectations were different from today’s outcome, we still experienced Gods healing hand at work. One woman came into the clinic who was very sick. She began to cry, saying that God brought us here specifically to help her: we were the answer to her prayer. Everyone was deeply touched by her graciousness and thankfulness. With a chiropractor on the team, many families experienced a cracking healing touch, especially needed for a small girl with scoliosis. Our nurse practitioner on staff treated an 8 week old dehydrated baby. In all, 40 families received kits filled with children’s Tylenol, Advil, cough drops, dental care, and basic first aid to take home.

We cannot wait to see what God has in store for us this week!At Kids Camp, the day started off with an intense schedule including exact times of each station, lunch times, and breaks. Little did we know the schedule would soon be forgotten. Around 200 kids showed up with huge smiles and open hearts. The leaders struggled to explain games such as "Simon Says" and "Duck Duck Goose" but the playful children soon caught on. Even after the first station, kids faces and hair were covered with glitter, finger paints and tie-dye.

As each hour passed, we saw Christ bond the leaders with the children and new relationships began to form. We quickly began to learn words such as "corre" and "espalda," hinting that the kids wanted piggy back rides. Once the first kid got on one of the leaders back, there was no turning back. Kids were jumping and leaders were falling. The overall experience of meeting the children was such a blessing and we are looking forward to seeing their bright smiles tomorrow morning.

We just hope the tie-dye paint fades sooner than the memories we have built today.

Today all three teams were able to serve others set by the example of Jesus washing the feet of Peter. No matter if we were counting pills, painting drywall, or sitting with a child at lunch, we are all part of a bigger picture of our mission. The small tasks add up to bigger tasks as we are the hands and feet of God's Plan. While we may not know where the plan may lead us, we are eager to learn....dirty, clean or Rainbow colored.

In Love and Blogs,

Kelly Peterson

Morgan O'Connor

Sherryl Nens

We packaged about 400 care kits to hand out to the patients at the clinic throughout this week. We counted and sorted thousands upon thousands of pills!