Picures Report
The morning started with showing the mime to the youth group so that they can learn it.
Ashley, Tessie, Chip, Joel and Lauren start to teach the mime.
The rest of the gringos and Ticos worked on planning Saturday's outreach.
I love it when a plan comes together.
After some hard work, we played a soccer-like game. Of course it was a low scoring game and at the end of regulation it was tied at 1.
We went to penalty kicks and Chip won it for his team. Of course, it shouldn't have been in doubt.
Chip put his Jesus uniform on to be able to come through in the clutch.
Kids were gathering around well in advance to see what the gringos were going to do in the parks.
This is the team's second performance of the day after we went to the little warm-up park.
As you can see, making it to the big park can be intimidating.
After performing the mime, we asked the kids if they understood what each part stood for with their mask on and their mask off.
Joel's character is very angry and punches and kicks a lot. One child said that he thought that he was Jackie Chan when he had his mask on.
Ashley, Lauren and José Luis take some time to do further explaining with the children.
Three police on horseback were watching that performance, and they told Randy, Chip, Marlin and Esteban that we should go to the other side where there are more people.
This is the group on the bridge just before some guy decided to rob the big gringo with the expensive camera while he was standing alone. Just kidding.
This is one of the other mime locations. I think that the soccer field behind them gets used every once in a while.
Costa Rica Day Five – July 3, 2007
Today was awesome! It started with a decently warm shower and my own room, which I’m so fortunate to have! We had breakfast (cereal and Pineapple) and then took the bus to the church. We walked about half a mile to the bus and rode it for 15 minutes or so. The bus fare is only 20 cents and is no different from home; but it was so much fun!
Once we (my tica Maria & I) got to the church only about 10 minutes late, the youth group performed the mime for the tico group with only minor technical stereo difficulties. From there we spilt up into groups, some teaching the mime and some helping to guide in planning their outreach on Saturday. The mime was very successful and they caught on really fast. My part is the one that she pretends she is beautiful and confident on the outside, but on the inside she is very insecure and unhappy with herself, looking for approval. The ticos picked which part they wanted and a really sweet girl was very enthusiastic about my part; however, she didn’t speak English and I don’t speak Spanish. It was amazing though because with the little that I have learned being here, she did a fantastic job and we became friends.
After lunch the entire group went to the park to perform the mime and evangelize. At the first park, after the mime, I went with the girl I work with for the mime to evangelize. It was so cool to lead her in what to ask and watch her go through a track with a woman. The second time we performed, a group of kids came to sit in front and watch us. We found out later that two of the women watching were people who took these children off the street from the dangers of sexual abuse and drugs and teach them about God. We played with them and shared God with them. They were adorable and wanted to learn more from us. The police officer in the park (on horse, it was so cool!) asked us to go to the other side of the park to do the mime & share the message! It was so encouraging to see the Ticos take a step of faith to talk to the people in the parks. They were bold for it being the first time for many of them.
We went back to the church to debrief about our homes, and some were more difficult than others. Afterwards, we had snack time (chocolate cake) & free time. Megan played a soccer game and Stephanie and I played football. They were impressed with our spirals and it was the first time in my life a guy asked ME to teach them how to throw a football haha (thanks dad for all the practice on the car garage rooftops downtown).
My tica, Tessie’s tica, Tessie and I went to the mall for a while. It was pretty much the same, but they have a variety of clothing stores unlike AE, Abercrombie & Holloster that are all very similar. I was jealous of their arcade though! We took the bus again & went home. Maria and I watched Casino Royale and sang Blink 182 lyrics together. We get along really well & have had great conversations about her faith, family and friends. We had mashed potatoes last night & homemade hamburgers & fries tonight! The authentic food is for later in the week.
Maria’s sister got an iPod nano today, so when she came home that was a big deal. She was so excited & loved the car decals that came with it. It was really funny & another realization of how blessed we are. While the people have less than we do, they are very welcoming & affectionate people. God is doing wonders in our hearts and you can seethe relationships being built cross-culturally.
And for those of you praying are home, we have just begun to see His mighty hand. I’d ask you to continue to pray that we influence and encourage them in their faith. Also that our focus stays clear to do God’s work as we get more drained or tired as the week goes on.
We miss you!
Ashley
Well I have so much to say but not enough brain power to stay awake and write, so I will keep it short. I am writing on my tico’s computer so the spell check thinks that every word I write is wrong.
It has been a very interesting past couple of days. I know that all of us students have truly been out of our comfort zones. Though we sometimes feel very alone and far away from comfort, we are forced to trust in our heavenly father and that I am grateful for. I know that God has been challenging me in ways I didn’t expect.
Now on to today…I awoke around 6:45, however, it only took Jonathan and I about 20 minutes to shower, eat, and be ready so we ended up going back to sleep. We were supposed to take the bus to the church but when John realized that I had Jim’s video camera he said it would be a bad idea. We arrived at church via John’s dad at about 9:30. The morning’s activities consisted of showing/teaching the mime. While half of our group did that the other half helped the students who aren’t doing the mime plan an outreach for Saturday. Lunch eventually came and after lunch we headed out for the parks. We gringos were confused when we got to “the park” because it was very small and there were only about 20 people (and we were supposed to be there for 3 hours?). However Eric informed us that this was only the “practice park.” We performed the mime and afterwards the gringos paired with the ticos and we talked to the people in the park about the mime and we also had gospel tracts in Spanish to give to the people. We then headed on to the actual Parque de Paz. We set up in the middle of this section of park and lots and lots children/parents sat around to watch. After we performed, Eric explained each part of the mime to the big group. A couple of ticos and I actually got to talk to a police officer on a horse about the mime and we gave him a tract. It turns out that the park we were at was the same place that Louis Palau spoke at last summer. We performed the mime a total of 4 times and were able to share the gospel with dozens of people. I know that our entire group was encouraged by the outcome of the day. The rest of the evening was spent at the church “hanging out.” We gringos had our debriefing meeting to talk about our first night in the homes and such.
The host home experience has been very interesting thus far for me. The house is quite small compared to anywhere in the US. To get to my room you have to move the kitchen table against the wall…you get the picture. In the shower there is a window that looks into the kitchen; this also makes for a very awkward situation. The mirror in the bathroom is underneath the sink…now imagine me still trying to use it. Not having ANY personal space takes some getting used to, but it just makes me appreciate my home so much more. My room is separated by a thin wall from Jonathan’s 3-year-old nephew; needless to say it’s been fun. For those of you who know my aunt Becky, all I can keep thinking about is “what would Aunt Becky do with a house like this?” Anyways, I said I would keep it short and have so far failed. I know many more stories are to come and I am excited to see what God has in store for us next.
From a small house somewhere in the middle of Costa Rica,
Chip