August 17th, 2017: Day 3
Dark and early around 4am, the rooster woke the house up with its loud morning call. Our real wake up time was 6am and little did we know that after breakfast we would encounter a difficult yet rewarding hour and a half hike through the beautiful Costa Rican Mountains. The path winded and twisted on mud and dirt and was consistently challenging us to keep going in order to reach one of the local schools. The scenery of our hike was breath taking; seeing all of God’s work left us in awe! Once we arrived at the local school everyone realized that we were truly in the middle of nowhere. There was a large field of grass down a hill with three school buildings which were filled with smiling little faces. The kids were estatic to see us and to play sports with us for the next couple hours. Once we talked to a few of the locals, we found out that many of the kids at this school walked approximately an hour or two in order to arrive at school. After walking to the school this morning, we realized how difficult it is for kids in this region to receive an education.
At the camp we broke the kids into three different groups and had a total of four stations which included: Soccer, dodgeball, penny tag, and wiffle ball. The kids were timid at first due to us being new faces and the language barrier, but after a little warming up the kids loved participating with us. After each group went through each station, we gathered as a group and had Hayley and Frankie share their testimonies with a translator. Along with the sports we played, we had three of our team members set up three water filters for them to use. We then said goodbye to the kids and thanked them for their participation and showing us their love. Once the camp was over in the morning we then had to hike alllllllll the way back, which was a downhill, muddy battle which led to some tumbles, a walk through a river (or fall *cough cough Hayley Reitsma*), and a walk over a bridge. After the long hike back we arrived home just in time for lunch and a break!
After our little break we hit the hike path again to head to another local school (thankfully this walk was shorter!) We arrived and began to prepare for the sports clinic. In order for the kids to get warmed up to our team we played cat and mouse tag which the kids loved. Then we broke off in to groups with two stations that included: Soccer and wiffle ball. The kids were not engaged at first but with a little encouragement they started to participate more and more. Then we got together as a whole group and Matt and Julianna shared their testimonies. We also set up three water filters and left them four more to assemble later! We then hit the path again and walked home where we then had free time to shower due to how sweaty we were and had the opportunity to take a nap (which we allllll loved).
After dinner we met up for team time and dove into 1 John specifically chapter 1 verses 1-4. We talked about the importance of having fellowship with God and each other.
To conclude this exhausting yet rewarding day we are thankful for our host family and the amazing opportunity we have had to serve in Coto Brus!
Buenos noches!
-From yo gurls: Heather and Hailey