Costa Rica - Day 5

Another night of being serenaded by birds, bugs, frogs, and a light rain; helped us all enjoy some sleep. Some dreamed of chiseling cement, others of those serenading bugs crawling closer, and others of all the delish food. And thankfully the power stayed on the whole night.

Fanny, Huguito, and Noamy did not disappoint with breakfast. Thick fluffy pancakes and a delish pork sausage (tasted just like bacon) fueled us for the work ahead.

After Coleman finished some calisthenics to keep in cross-country shape, he led us in the daily devotional. For today’s bus activity, we were blessed by sharing in a tradition of the South Carolina group. They were giving the Santa Marta’s congregation prayer squares. We all took turns praying over every square. We had a lesson in harvesting pineapples as we drove through pineapple fields. To grow a new plant, you take the top of the plant and put it in the ground. Normally it takes 9 months to produce fruit but here it only takes three months. The weather and soil create an environment where the plant can produce fruit faster.

Once we got to the site the real work began, and the sun was sunning and it was hot! But the speaker was fully charged and the music pumped us up! We layered up with sunscreen, bug spray, hats, and gloves as assignments were made.
Drew, Mason, Alec, Coleman, (from SC-): Wayne, Harris, Adam, and David were stacking cement slabs, completing framing for the foundation.
John’s roofing skills resulted in a quick assignment up the ladder with the roof team that included Lewis, and Beverly (from SC). Emily (from SC) was on ladder duty because of safety first. They were finishing screwing in all the last screws to complete the roofing.
Rachel (myself), McKinley, Annabelle, Amanda, Kylie, and Rafaela were assigned landscaping. We need 6 holes that need to be 70 cm from the fence, 145 cm apart, and 40 cm deep. Then fill with 10 cm of gravel. Math is hard.
Ava, Kristen, Fiona, Lila, and Bethany were on stucco. They work on the main living area and master. They had to work fast so it didn’t dry before they finished.

We stopped for some refueling. Julie blessed the wonderful meal of sandwiches, salad, chips, and freshly squeezed mango juice.

To break up the day, several walked over to a local mini mart-type store. Many were in search of a Coke (Alec), but chips, ice cream, fresh: bananas, mangoes, and avocados made the cut as well. On the way back to the site, the rain came in. We could see a wall of it coming down the street. We enjoyed a bit of a natural shower of sorts.

The rain slowed down the work but never the fellowship. From SC: Beverly, Julie, Kate, Bee, Sophia, and Mary Kate played cards to pass the time. Others awaited their turn for Kylie’s braiding chair to have an opening. You could have a traditional French braid, fishtail, or Dutch. Everyone just lined up for their turn.

After a much-needed break, people were back at it with stucco, working on the classroom roof duty.
But John and (from SC) Harris, Julie, and Pedro worked to relevel the cement walls of the parsonage.
Rachel, Amanda, Coleman, Lewis, and from SC: Bee, Emily, Kate, Julie, Gracie, and Sophia moved gravel to create a level path to reduce the muddy puddles. This should allow Pastor Luis and his family to walk back and forth without getting covered in mud. Once the rain started, Lugito thought we would want a break. But this group powered through and kept going. Rain wasn’t going to stop us. Anderson snagged a time-lapse video for our proof of how much gravel was moved. And honestly, the rainy drizzle was perfect to work in. We were sweating but no one knows what was sweat versus what was rain.

Some women from the congregation set up a fire to fry chicken for dinner. We cleaned up as best we could. And then had the most delicious chicken. Nice crunchy skin but not too much batter. Ava was able to snag the last piece. Sorry Coleman!

After dinner, we had the pleasure of participating in the Wednesday night service in the Methodist church of Santa Marta. It was an experience that I am so grateful to have, the language barrier didn’t really matter. We were welcomed, thanked, and prayed over. Bethany and McKinley were jamming out in worship!  We ended the service with communion. God was in the house. The spirit surrounded everyone. We sang hallelujah together after everyone had the body and blood of Christ. I was moved to tears. It changes you to be the church and see the gratitude/appreciation from those you are helping.

After a long long day, we predicted a quiet peaceful ride back. Imagine our surprise when the girls started to sing along to “Baby” by Justin Bieber which was the first song of the trip. As a birthday eve gift for Mason, Rihanna’s “Umbrella” was next, and Mason joined the sing-along.  And then the song requests kept coming. The highlight of the sing-along was Drew singing along to Mick Jagger’s “Brown Sugar”. We laughed and sang the whole way back to the mission center.

It will be a day we remember forever! God Bless!