Costa Rica: Day 2 - Las Tablas

We spent today working hard in Las Tablas, an extremely poor community about 30 minutes from the YWAM base here in San Jose. Here are some reflections from the students...

Today was an amazing day. when i say amazing it is because there is no other way to describe how great it really was. we went to Las Tablas to a place where a woman was taking care of kids who were not being taken care of by their parents. Most of their parents were either dead or on drugs. even as we were there we saw a man walking down the road sniffing glue trying to get high. this was really sad to see. some of the people went into the church where the children eat and fed them. others of us, which was where i was at, went to work on a house that was very beaten down. we worked there for most of the day. we got dirty to say the least. it was all mud and dirt every where. today at the church we met a lot of amazing kids. its amazing how the littlest things make their day. i gave a little boy a high five and his smile was from ear to ear. i cant explain how life changing this trip really is. i am honestly in amazement at what God is doing through me and through all of us. when we got here you could really feel the presence of God. so i will just leave you with saying that if you have never been on a missions trip it is honestly a life changing experience.
pray for us,
love ~ Josh

Hola! Today was such a great day. We went to work for a lady who ran a feeding/community center for the kids who live around the Las Tablas area. I spent half of my time there cleaning mud and debris out of a house and then I headed over with Mrs. Meade to help out with the kids at the feeding center. I love these kids! They are so sweet and their huge smiles just melt your heart. Mrs. Meade and I used what little Spanish we knew to get the kids sitting in a circle and then we started throwing the ball around with them. It was so much fun and the kids are so forgiving when it comes to our Spanish speaking mistakes :0) They just laugh and try their best to communicate with you. They were definitely the best part of the day.
I also spent this afternoon in the kitchen with Meredith and Jacob Fox. We were helping the cook, Juan Carlos, make dinner. I really enjoyed that. I have never peeled and cut up so many potatoes in my life! My hand started to cramp but it was so worth it. It was neat trying to interact with Juan Carlos and communicate with him. Jacob got his hands on a big butcher knife and that was a little scary. Meredith and I persuaded him to use something smaller to cut the tomatoes so don't worry Mrs. Fox :0)
I can't even explain to you how amazing this trip has been. I am in such awe of what God is already doing in my life....it's amazing. I'm so glad I came and am so excited about what God has in store for me. Amo Costa Rica!!!!!
~ Kelly