A team from the Mechanic Falls Vineyard served in Costa Rica from December 3-14.
Our team was: able team leader Laura Vincent , Sonny Morgan, Ron Perrault, David Colby, Courtney Colby, Josh Brown and David Jefferson. Our small group got a lot done and experienced many unexpected “God moments.”
Down in the community of Los Anonos we helped La Vina from Escazu with a birthday party for Jesus at La Planche, (the outdoor gymnasium by the school at the river). It was such a swirl of activity that there was no way of counting kids, but we cooked 300 hot dogs and didn’t take any home. A talented and energetic clown showed up with lots of fun stuff for the kids to participate in. After his performance he gathered the kids around him and we witnessed 51 young decisions for Christ.
The women of our group, along with Rebecca and Joy, (now interning with Rodney and Cindy) put together a number of craft projects and gift bags for the women of the community.
(I, Cindy, am adding the photo of our very own Martha Stewart's to this. Even the men pitched in and helped to assemble the decorations for the wreaths)
Every day saw some activity at the new Casita ( the store front meeting room in Los Anonos) for Moms and kids. There were two visits at the women’s rehab center, where the gratitude for the bags of simple Christmas gifts was overwhelming.
The men of the group were made aware how out of shape we are as we lugged materials up the hill in Jasmin to help build two of the yellow houses. Despite the hard work, we appreciated the genius in the simplicity of design of these houses, which can literally go up in a day.
The men also spent one afternoon at the men’s drug rehab house. We sang happy birthday to 10 men out of 36 who had never experienced a birthday party of their own. The drug centers and the yellow house project in Jasmin were both started by the CCA Church. Our meeting with their pastor, Alberto, and his personal testimony of how he embraced Matthew 25:31-46 was inspiring.
Toward the end of the week we took part in a Christmas party at the kinder school in Los Anonos, and got serenaded with Jingle bells in Spanish and English. For most of us it was our first experience watching kids (and Sonny Morgan) whacking away at a piñata. The mood went from wild and crazy to quiet and reflective we helped the kids make their own nativity scenes.
One day we went with Eladio to Venticinco de Julio to see the new community facility that is almost complete. We had a sweet prayer time and a walk through this section of San Jose that has seen so much darkness. We went to church in Linda Vista and learned from Laura how much of a difference the church has made to that community.
It wasn’t all work. One early morning we went to the open air market, to carry home the fresh fruit and vegetables for Cindy to prepare for us. In mid week we went for a horse back ride at Roberto and Patsy’s outside the town of Pursical. It was fun picking a few coffee beans from the trees and riding through a grove of bamboo plants over 100 feet tall. It’s sobering to see the poverty, alcoholism and drug abuse every day in this country that in its weather and fertility is truly a Garden of Eden. What a privilege to visit, not as tourists, but as Christ’s hands and feet.
