Day 4 - Orange is the New Asian

Today marked the official start of VBS with the children in Tirrases. After waking up to another tasty breakfast (tortilla sandwich with beans and ham), I met up with the team and we headed for base camp. Our morning was filled with building projects to improve the base. Melissa, Amy, and Gary worked on planting a garden, while Brandon, Karina, Danielle, and I worked on repainting painting the house. Lets just say I learned how horrible of a painter I was... 

Karina painting the roof

Karina painting the roof

Danielle, Amy, and Lisa painting the wall of the house

Danielle, Amy, and Lisa painting the wall of the house

When we were eating lunch, I noticed the housekeeper of our base carrying a big stack of sheets towards the upstairs bedroom. I decided to follow her upstairs to offer my help to her seemingly large task of making ten beds. I found out that her name was Aurelia. Aurelia spoke perfect English, and we started talking about how she ended up working for Christ for the City. I asked if she could teach me and was surprised at how hard it was to make a "perfect" bed that was wrinkle-free with an even amount of sheet on both sides. Aurelia literally took five minutes to make an "perfect" bed, while it took me 20 minutes to make an "almost perfect" bed with lots of wrinkles. During our entire conversation, I specifically remember one quote that I will never forget: 

 
 
 
"Just because there is no communication through words does not mean that you are not sharing the good news of God. I serve you through my hands by making your bed and the house as comfortable as it can be, and that is how I share God with you." 

Aurelia's quote was the breath of encouragement that I needed. Out of everyone on the team, I am the only one who came into Costa Rica not knowing Spanish. As a 100% extrovert, I really value communication and exchanging testimonies . For God to take that away from me on this trip required me to serve the people in another way - through my actions only.   

In the afternoon, we went to Tirrases to teach our first VBS lesson. Gary introduced us to two local missionaries, Nathan (21) and Gabriel (20), who came with us to Tirrases to help translate. It was a blessing having them on our team because they made communication easier. Brandon gave a brief lesson on the Belt of Truth, which was translated to Spanish by Nathan. Then, I went up to model the craft for the day. The kids would be making their own "belt" with ribbons and construction paper. They would spell out "biblia" (which means bible in Spanish) on construction papers signifying that the bible was the truth. Melissa prepared two worksheets for the kids to complete before moving on to the crafts.

Slideshow below to showcase some of the pictures that I took yesterday.

After crafts, we played parachute games with the kids. They really seemed to enjoy the day and we hope that more kids will show up tomorrow.

During the evening, we celebrated Pastor Brandon's 27th birthday by singing him "Happy Birthday" in four different languages via Youtube and surprising him with a cake.

Orange (like the wall) is the new Asian. Happy Birthday Brandon!

Orange (like the wall) is the new Asian. Happy Birthday Brandon!

There is a drug house right across the street from the school. The house "boss" came into the school and asked us if there was anything that he can give or do for us. Esther (Horacio's wife) told him that we are not asking for anything, but anything that he wants to give us, we will accept. I believe that somewhere in his consciousness, he knew what this school stood for and the influence that the school was making on the community. The school is a light to the community.

Prayer Request :)

  1. Team Unity and Effective Communication
  2. Amy's fever and Danielle's bug bite - for healing
  3. Spiritual Warfare at Tirrases 

Spanish Phrase of the Day: Dame Un Abrazo, Por Favor (which means give me a hug, please... I used this to ask a really cute kid named Julio)

In his Love,

Lisa Mai