SEED Program

After a lovely 5:30 wake-up call, we enjoyed breakfast before heading out to today’s sports clinic at 6:30. We arrived at 7 at the school and jumped right in. Everyone but Hannah, Kayla, and Noelle took part in today’s testimonies. Technically we had four different sessions, but it seemed like every hour the kids would have another recess so we really got to hang out and bond better with them; the in between clinic free-for-alls were chaos. Balls could be seen flying in the air from everywhere. It is amazing how energetic kids are. It’s also worth noting that kids today still take part in eating bubbles—in case you’re wondering. Today was by far one of our longest days. We spent 7 hours with the kids.

From there, we got ice cream. After that, we set out for the market. Not to ruin any surprises, but there’s a solid possibility that we might be bringing some things back. It was different bargaining with venders and having a choice in our prices. Again, we can’t stress enough that we might be bringing stuff back. We departed from the market to AMCA where we enjoyed another meal with no rice or beans—pretty neat huh? Tonight was concluded with a devotional focused around the Third Commandment. It was certainly thought provoking with many unanswered questions. 

That’s all we got…

Arika y Mike <3

 

Notable Quote: “¡Qué freakin’ bueno!” -everyone, all day long because today freakin’ rocked.

Today we got to sleep in until 8 before walking to a bakery to shove our faces full of donuts & calzones for breakfast. From there we went to a nearby church and luckily had a translator for the entire service! It was comforting to understand everything for once! The service lasted about two hours and it was absolutely moving to soak in the Costa Rican culture in a church setting. At the end of the service, we sang the song Oceans in both English and Spanish which was an incredibly unique experience.

Post-church, we hopped back in our trusty bus & headed towards the Canopy tour. Since we were crunched for time, we stopped at a local Pizza Hut for lunch & chowed down on the bus. After some wild curves & rainy roads, we made it to the Canopy tour with barely 5 minutes to spare. We quickly changed out of our church clothes and got harnessed up for the tour! 

No one knew what to expect going into the tour, but it was by far one of the coolest experiences of our lives. Although it was pouring down rain and thundering, we embraced the rainforest weather while flying through the trees like Tarzan! Halfway through the tour there was a giant swing that launched us over the trees. For the last zip line we switched into harnesses that allowed us to lay on our stomachs and fly over the rain forest and the rivers below. The views and experience are something that the pictures and videos we took will never do justice and that will last a lifetime. After the tour, we had a two hour bus ride back to AMCA in our drenched shoes and clothes.

We finished the day strong with some pasta, bread, cinnamon rolls, and passion fruit juice back at AMCA before out nightly team time and Bible study. We are now starting to prepare our bodies for a long day of sports clinics at a nearby school tomorrow beginning at the best hour of the day: 5:30 am. Overall it has been a relaxing and enjoyable weekend filled with lots of laughter & adventure!

¡Qué les vaya bien!

Luke & Amie

Notable Quote: “Ice cream is the best dessert, said the kid with type II diabetes” – Mason

    We began day five with an early wake up call at 6:45. Everything was still wet outside due to the downpour last night. We said thank you and goodbye to Doña Rosa for her amazing hospitality in Platanar. One thing that she said, despite her broken English, that will stick with us forever is, “Christians are the happiest people.” Once our driver, Christian, arrived, we loaded up the bus to go to the canopy tour. We had breakfast there, but realized that there were scheduling issues with our reservations. We plan on going back tomorrow. Right from breakfast, we headed to the Baldi hot springs.

The hot springs were something you would see in a magazine. It was something we will never forget, and was the perfect place to “refill our bucket.” The water felt like a huge hot tub with waterfalls and water slides. It could be said that “the water slides would be illegal in the United States” -anonymous. The buffet for lunch was the closest thing to American food we have had in 5 days (it was delicious, but there was still no pizza or ice cream!) we stayed there for a couple hours after lunch, before we began the long trek to the AMCA house in San Jose. 

On the 3 1/2 hour ride back home, we spent time really growing together as a team. Pushing people out of their comfort zones, and breaking down walls. We had a lot of laughs and made a lot of jokes, but we weren’t afraid to ask the hard questions. Reflecting on it now, all of us could say that the main purpose of this trip was to serve the people of Costa Rica, but this trip has also taught us more about ourselves and each other than we initially expected. To end the night, we had a late dinner and devotional that focused on the 1st commandment.

Matthew 6:34 – “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

“Stop looking for things that make you comfortable.”

¡Adiós!

Nick and Nicole

 

Today was another incredible day here in the country of Costa Rica. We got to sleep in a little (7:00am) and we departed for our first clinic of the day at 8:15am. The school we went to today was one of the nicer places we’ve been so far. We held a clinic in an open gym which thankfully had a roof to shield us from the rain. There wasn’t as much space as we thought, so instead of 4 groups we only had 2. One of the stations was an obstacle course/tag and the other was dodgeball. By the end of the first rotation, the dodgeball group was complete chaos and everyone was dripping in sweat.

The next group to join us was the preschool-aged children. We sat them in a big circle and began playing “duck, duck, goose.” They were smiling and laughing with joy the whole time. Our third group at the same school went through a similar rotation as our first group. This time, the dodgeball station turned into the Hope College coaches versus all the students. By the end of the allotted time, there was dirt and sweat everywhere. All the coaches felt physically and mentally exhausted.

Besides playing with the kids, we (Hannah, Luke, Kayla, and Mike) also got the chance to share our testimonies. There was also a young boy who wanted to talk to the male coaches after the clinic. They prayed for him and encouraged him that God has a great plan for his life. After a quick snack, we left the school and went to an open field. At this field we had about 15-20 kids show up to play sports and talk about God. Kayla and Nick ended up sharing their testimonies to this group. While running on very little energy, we played whiffle ball, kickball, and a chaotic game of soccer. Following the games, we had a child from the group pray. 

We feel like we’ve poured our love and energy out to these kids and we are looking forward to recharging ourselves for the clinics that remain. This is our last night in Platanar before we head back to AMCA. 

Hasta luego! 

Hannah and Mason

3Push the Rock!

Day 3: Fleas, Water, & Jesus 

Nick is officially a dog dad now. And there’s a good chance that he definitely has fleas. We came home from our daily adventure and we found Peanut (formerly known as “suitcase in Spanish”) in his suitcase. 

Today’s adventure started off with a 5:30 wake up call… yikes. We headed out after our breakfast to Los Chiles where we hung out and played sports with kids of all ages. Side note: we got to drive past a volcano and trying to use the nearest bathroom with a cat looking at you was quite an experience. Back to business, although it was controlled chaos at moments playing with the kids, it was a blast. 

After what felt like three hours of playing, which was in reality more like one or two, we enjoyed a lovely lunch. From there we really got to the meat of our day: our first water filter demonstrations. 

The trip revolves around our love for God, sports, and bringing clean water. Nick, Mason, and Luke led the water demonstration. When it came time to show how amazing the Sawyer filters are, the three all took sips from the newly filtered water—the crowd began to applaud. It was very powerful and amazing to see the peoples’ reactions. As a result, five people in the crowd committed their lives to God. In total, about 80 filters were distributed to the people. 

After that excitement, we enjoyed a nice cinnamon roll break before making the two hour bus ride back to Platanar. 

Mike and Noelle

Day 2

Hola,

Today was our first day of sports clinics. Our day started bright and early at 6:20 with a wake up call followed by breakfast at 6:50. If I might say so myself the mangoes at breakfast were the bomb. We headed out for a school in San Jose at 7:45. When we arrived after the 40 minute bus ride, we set up two stations in the outdoor gym. The two sports we focused on teaching the 1st and 2nd graders were baseball and American football. The football stations taught them how to throw the ball, while the baseball station played a mini game of baseball.  

The kids were energetic and all over the place but very loving. They were happy to learn sports they haven’t played before. We spent a little bit over an hour with each grade, and Nick, Noelle, Mitchel, and Mason aka Messi, as they called him, were able to share their stories with the kids. After our time was up we headed back to AMCA for lunch before leaving for Platanar. We had a long 3 hour bus ride through the mountains as high as the clouds. The bus ride was as bumpy and winding as a roller coaster. We finally arrived to the place where we were staying, we walked to a nearby river skipped some rocks, caught some tadpoles and got really muddy. Then played some golf—the card game that is— before dinner and ended the night with a nice meal and devotional time. Hopefully we don’t get rabies or fleas from the stray dog Mason and Luke petted.

Buenos Noches!

Luke and Arika 

Hola, from Costa Rica!

We have been in Costa RIca for 8 hours now and I would say we are tired. Our day started at 2:00 am when we departed from Hope College for Midway airport. Our flight was scheduled for 5:00 am. We had an hour layover in FortLauderdale,Florida and then had a three hour flight to San Jose,Costa Rica. We landed in Costa Rica at around noon. We were picked up from the airport by a mini bus and our driver’s name was Christian. Christian works a lot with Push the Rock, which is a sports ministry organization that we are partnering with while we are in Costa Rica.

Our Ride to AMCA (hostel we are staying in) took about 45 minutes.The ride home was very picturesque with beautiful mountains by the road side. We had a nice taco dinner tonight followed by some awesome team bonding and even more amazing testimonies. We can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings! 

Kayla and Mitchel

Our SEED Costa Rica team left campus bright and early this morning and is excited to serve alongside Push the Rock for the next 10 days!

Thanks for your prayers and support for the team!

Mitchel Achien’g – Women’s Track & Field
Luke Beckhusen – Football
Mason Dekker – Football
Amie Hixon – Women’s Lacrosse
Nick Holt – Baseball / Football
Hannah Huizen – Women’s Track & Field
Noelle Jackson – Softball
Nicole Kruithof – Women’s Track & Field
Mike Miller – Football
Kayla Russell – Women’s Basketball
Arika Tolbert – Women’s Basketball

Trip Leaders:
Kevin Cole
Lynn Cole
Mike Kauffman

We’re excited to send out our second SEED team of the summer to Costa Rica on Tuesday, June 5 to serve alongside Push the Rock (PTR).  It is their mission to use global sports ministry to proclaim the life-changing message of Jesus Christ through the pursuit of excellence in sportsmanship and athletics.

View the team calendar for a glimpse of how Hope College student-athletes will utilize their passion for sport to share the love of Christ with individuals around the world over the next two weeks!

Check back over the next two weeks to read updates from the team to hear more about their experiences on the ground and how God is on the move in Costa Rica!

SEED Costa Rica Team Calendar