Playa Lagarto, Costa Rica and Playa Junquillal (just before the rain hit began)
Hello Everyone!
We have had an eventful 13 days with a team from Carlsbad, California. Their church sponsored team of 25 included 14 teens/preteens and 11 adults. It was a great blessing to have them here in Costa Rica assisting in Maximum Mission activities. Part of the group was here last year, so it was fun to see old friends and make some new ones. Here’s a summary of our time in Venado, a small community in Northwest Costa Rica about 2 km from the beach.
We finally arrived in the area of Playa Junquillal to our hotel called Tatanka. We were thrilled that the hotel was nice since the reservations were made sight unseen. The team was thrilled to have air conditioning since the temperatures were very warm and it was incredibly humid, something the team from CA was not used to. We even had a pool, but only got to use it for a couple of hours since the work took priority to enjoying the pool.
The “town” of Venado has about 300 occupants whose homes are stretched out all around the elementary school, a soccer field and a bar. That is all there is in this small town. There are no churches, not even a Catholic church, which is almost unheard of in Costa Rica. The church in Liberia (about 45 minutes away) had some contacts in this community and a small cell group is already meeting regularly.
The current church location. Plans are underway for a new structure.
We worked to impact the community by helping in the local school. The school has a decent roof, but does not have drop ceilings, so the heat in the classrooms can be unbearable. So, part of the team worked very hard in the heat framing the ceiling for a drop ceiling.
Before the work began...
The framing is finished!
The drop ceiling is going up!
The rest of the team split their time between painting and VBS presentation/playing with the children. The team had a number of folks who spoke in Spanish so they were able to do the VBS all on their own. What a blessing for us to be relived of some of the translating work.
Prayer time with the children in the local church.
The painting crew straining their necks to reach the highest spots.
We also showed the Jesus Film on Friday night on the soccer field. Everyone listened so attentively and around 30 people responded to the call to receive Jesus as Savior. It was a great night!
Next week we’ll share more about the team and their 4 days of work in San Pedro de Poas…
In other news, school began this week. Kayley started 5th grade on Tuesday and Joshua began 9th grade on Wednesday. It was a short week with a holiday on Friday since it is was Mother’s Day in Costa Rica. The banks and government facilities are shut down this day to honor the Mothers so I guess you can say it is a big deal.
We are thankful that the kids are off to a good start to the school year and that the team had an excellent 10 days of ministry. Please pray for David as he leaves on Tuesday for Managua to host another team. This team will work on the island of Ometepe in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. Another beautiful place!
Until Next Week!
The Webb Family
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