Emmanuel Costa Rica Mission Trip: Wow, What a Day!!

Today was our last day of work in Estrada, where we are building a school for at risk children, to support both the kids and their mothers. Tomorrow we head back to San Jose (with a little zip lining on the way!!). On Saturday we catch an early flight back to Raleigh (with a long lay-over in Miami). We will see you on Sunday morning in Southern Pines!

We completed many of our construction related tasks today. The doors of the new school building and the Church have been painted Episcopal red and attached to their hinges. The trim on the school building has been repainted Smurf blue. And the apple green paint on the front of the building has been cleaned of dirt and mildew. Let's just say it is a very colorful building! And it looks so much better than when we arrived last Sunday.

The tile floor is nearly completed. The frames for the ceiling tiles are in place. The site is much cleaner. There is also a new bridge over the rain water swale in the back yard.

The Bishop of Costa Rica, Hector Monterosa, and Father Rodrigo visited our site today.  They played soccer with the kids, ate lunch with us and led us in prayer. The Bishop shared his vision for the Diocese of Costa Rica and its companion relationship with the Diocese of North Carolina.  We were so inspired!!

The Bishop informed us that he believes the national government of Costa Rica will pay the final construction costs for the new building.  He also said that we should not wait for the final construction to be completed, that the search for a new teacher to organize the school and lead classes should begin now.

As much as we love the Bishop, the stars of the day (of the week really) were the children. At least 50 local children were on site today. They played soccer with us. They painted. We passed on to them the many gifts sent by you (over 50 shirts, over 80 caps, at least 40 pair of shoes and 10 soccer balls). The jewelry will be distributed tomorrow in San Jose at the Hogar Escuela. The gifts were accepted with smiles and grace. And as usual the givers got more than the receivers.

OK, so that was the polite chronology of the day. Now I am going to tell you what I really think.

As a Parish, we should be so proud of what we have accomplished here over the last 3 years!!

When we started, this lot was inhabited by only a worn down but beautiful wooden mission church on stilts, with a dedicated but shrinking congregation. Today, this site was the most exciting place to be in this small town (about 6,000 people) in one of the poorest counties of Costa Rica.. The activity was head spinning. Soccer, construction, worship, gift giving and sad goodbyes swirled together to the point of being almost overwhelming.

There is a new building, that is beautiful! Our hard work over the course of 6 mission trips, financial support, parishioner involvement, the dedication of the local congregation, and the work of many local workmen, are coming together as a fabulous space for God's work. Our human labor has truly been blessed.

Relationships have developed -- with the Diocese of Costa Rica, with the local parishioners in Estrada, with workmen, with bus drivers, and with students at Earth University where we spend our evenings. Most importantly, we are developing relationships with the children of Estrada. As our bus driver said last night, the experiences we are already providing to these kids may be the best days of their lives, because they have so little. There are countless opportunities here to share God's love, and we are sharing that love, no doubt.

Each of these trips strengthens our own congregation, and this one has been no different.

The most beautiful part is this: no one person made this happen. No small group of people. No committee. Our entire Parish has contributed to this effort -- gifts of labor, treasure, prayer, soccer balls, caps, shirts, jewelery, shoes, walking, wisdom, etc. have arrived from all corners of our congregation, and these have been gratefully received. This is no Emmanuel fringe group!    So many have contributed, and we couldn't have accomplished this without everyone's gifts.  We can do so much when we work together. More than 50 Emmanuel families have sent representatives to Costa Rica, spending at least $1500 per trip. The 11 of us here today are so blessed to be first hand witnesses to our community's accomplishment.

Open your eyes Emmanuel!! Our work here is making a huge impact!!!

And looking forward, this project will provide our Church family with countless opportunities to be the hands and feet of God!

I hope everyone will understand how important our work is here. I hope everyone will be as proud of Emmanuel as I am today.

Here are some pictures from the day!!