Another Day in Paradise

Hi Parents!! It is Emma Alpert blogging today here to tell you about my day today. I was on the big work site today and we got so so much done in so little time. It was crazy. We carried about 100 loads of cement on wheelbarrows, and carried them into the house and laid them down where Roberto asked. By the end of the day I’m sure we all felt quite accomplished. It didn’t rain here as much as it did yesterday, but it is unbelievably humid. I bet the amount of sweat each individual person has had just in one day is more than the amount of a whole entire football team. Maybe more. But it just cooled down right now because it just started pouring raining as me, Andrew, and Bull sit down in the worship area. The other night there was a HUGEE storm and I bet half of the people woke up in the middle of the night thinking they were going to die. The thunder was so crazy loud, and the whole room shook with every thunder.  A big group of girls and I have been scouting out monkeys in our forest by our hotel rooms, unfortunately with very little luck, yet the amount of beetles/June bugs could possibly make up for it. You really cannot even walk into your room without a nice long train of beetles waiting to get in before you. Gross. Andrew and Bull are requesting I talk about how great the leaders have been soooo I guess I should say they are good. Just kidding, but actually they have all been amazing. They have all made it so easy to just be here, and be relaxed and feel so loved. It’s really been the most amazing time and I’ve only been here 4 days. Everyone just really comes together and becomes so close no matter who they are and whom they are friends with. I definitely wish I as staying for week two. Well, it’s time for bed now but we all miss you all, and will see you guys soon, even though I’m sure most of us could stay here forever. Goodnight, Hope Dallas is good!

-Emma

Knocking Down a Wall

Hello my name is William Ruppert. Today my team, workgroup four, went to the Evangelical Methodist Church Jesus Cristo De Buenos Aires. Our main project was filling in an entire slab of concrete so the church would be less vulnerable to flooding. We filled in about a twenty-foot by eight-foot slab of concrete about two inches high. To maximize our work output we had eight people filling up buckets of rocks and sand and four people moving the concrete with wheel barrels and in turn dumping the concrete to make the slab. After the concrete was dumped there were two more people smoothing it out so that there was a nice smooth surface. This project took us about four hours and as a sort of reward we got to tear down a wall. I was lucky enough to be able to man the sledgehammer and go at the wall. At first we were sort of clueless and just attacked the wall top to bottom. We quickly learned that this was a lot more tiring than going from bottom to top. My friend Tripp Russ and I got on a roll and tag teamed the wall fairly quickly to its fall. This work was very tiring and at the end I was drenched in sweat and had acquired a very manly musk. After work we went to a phenomenally prepared lunch by a few local women. The lunch consisted of rice with chicken, beans, outstanding pico de gallo, rice pudding, mango, and pineapple. The fruit here is delicious and always the ripest and freshest fruit I have ever eaten. For sort of a dessert we had Chickys, which are these almost vanilla wafers with a strawberry frosting on one side. These have quickly become my new favorite candy. After lunch we went to a different church a few miles away from Puerto Viejo where we participated in a Vacation Bible School. We sang, danced, and drew pictures for about thirty minutes, and then the real fun began. After we had finished the required work we played soccer with the kids and it was a blast. Unfortunately our game ended early because both of our soccer balls got kicked into the river by the field. After an exhausting, but fun day of work, we came back to the hotel to another wonderful meal. We had chicken, pasta, rice, and strawberry mango lemonade for our drink. After dinner we got some free time before worship where we sang, heard a testimony, and Wes Cole had a “text message interceptor” where he read out “intercepted” text messages. When worship came to a close we went to our small groups and in my small group we all shared a good, bad, and ugly part of the day. Today has been exhausting, but very rewarding and is definitely an experience of a lifetime. 

First Full Work Day

Hi I’m KK Hudson and I am writing the blog today! To start off I am just going to put out there that I am not the most outgoing person in the world. I get kind of nervous when I meet new people, and this whole experience is great for helping me work on that. Everyone here makes you feel welcome and at home. This is my first mission trip and so far it has been amazing. This morning we woke up at 6:30 and were awake and at breakfast by 7:00. After, we went back to our rooms to change into our work clothes. Once we were all ready to go, we broke up into our groups and headed to the worksite. When we got there we didn’t feel awkward or out of place at all. We were quickly put to work and didn’t stop until snack and then until lunch. People shoveled, made cement, built walls, but most importantly put all their effort into whatever they were doing. No one was lazy, sat around, or complained. Everyone worked their hardest and accepted their job. After worksite, all the groups met for an amazing lunch. Once lunch was over we left for vbs. Vbs was an amazing experience. We met, and tried to talk to the children even though some of us didn’t know how to speak Spanish at all. Even with our lack in Spanish speaking, the kids coped with us and loved every minute of what they were doing. The kids loved the songs we sang with them and the story/skit we showed them. After we left vbs we took the buses home to shower and eat dinner. Once we were back at the hotel we rinsed of in the shower or quickly jumped in the pool, not bothering to change into swimsuits. After everyone showered and changed into clean clothes, dinner was served. Worship and the sermon were after dinner and after an amazing dance party and an amazing worship time, Steven spoke. His sermon truly touched everyone and related and applied to everyone listening. After working, helping with vbs, worshiping, hearing the sermon and having small group, I can take away so much from the day. In our small group we talked about how going home our life would be put into a different perspective and we would be grateful for everything we have at home. I feel that everyone took something with them from the day. We are ready for a great day tomorrow!  

-KK

Costa Rica First Full Day

Regularly we'll have students update you on what we've done and what they've experienced here in Costa Rica.  Enjoy today's blog post by Reed Russ.

Today we had our first full day in Costa Rica after an interesting journey to get here, but nevertheless it was a great one. My name is Reed Russ and this is my first ever day on a mission trip, and it started early at least for me. At 8am most of us boarded the bus for a church service. The service was full of confusing Spanish, but also it really made me realize how grateful these people in Costa Rica are, and how much of a role Christ plays in their life. After a mind blowing church service, we had a delicious lunch from our hotel. I could spend all day writing about that though. Next we went to play in my favorite part of the day. Soccer. I have been playing soccer since I was 5, and I have never sweated more in my life, and also never seen a shorter rainstorm in my life. The rain came to everyone’s delight but left 1 minute later. I am convinced the weather consists of 100% humidity here. At the end it was all worth the sweat, my team won and we all had fun. We used our last energy to watch the U.S women’s team defeat in the World Cup and jump in the pool, a for sure necessity. Everyone swam and had a great time. We saw Blake Lueder do a handstand on ground and played Frisbee. The next event that happened was what blew my mind on day one. I went to the super market looking to buy rain boots, but after getting my boots our group of adults and kids ended up in a bakery. The price was nothing I have ever seen. I’m sure I could bring 100 dollars to this country and live here for a year. It’s heavenly. We bought a foot long bread for 1 dollar and five pieces of pound cake for $1.50. Like I said, I plan on moving here soon. Later on we ate a great dinner till no one could force any more food in his or her mouths, but most important we had evening worship. The worship ceremony started with great songs and an incredible atmosphere. Next we went into our small groups in which we traveled in. It helped me realize what I love most about being involved in the church. There is no one mean here, everyone includes everyone and it is a great feeling. I know I have made great friends already on the first day. Then at the end of my list I am here writing and realizing what a great day my first mission trip day was. I can’t wait for round 2 tomorrow.  

-Reed

Touchdown in Costa Rica!

Costa Rica Blog #1

We safely arrived in Costa Rica tonight around 11:30pm local time after some exciting traveling! Our plane had to make an emergency detour through Belize to deplane one of our fellow travelers who was requiring emergency medical assistance (she was not a member of our group, but please respect her privacy) So that means….two countries for the price of one!  We deplaned so the flight crew could restock, do inspections, clean the plane up a bit, and then resumed our trip to Costa Rica.  The landing in San Jose was smooth, and the trip north to our home took us about 2.5 hours  – while that seems like a long time to travel 60 miles in the USA, that is actually quite good for down here, and well within our expectations.  We are all safe, and the kids are sleeping soundly in their beds.  Thanks for your prayers, and we love you all!

Bill

All Systems are Go.

Welcome to the HPUMC Youth Blog.  Here we will be posting all sorts of thoughts and reflections of ministry, of mission trips and retreats, of current teaching series, and more.  We want you to stay updated with everything related to HPUMC Youth.  As many of you know, many of us will be heading out to Costa Rica to serve the people in and around the area of Puerto Viejo for two weeks.
As internet allows, we will hopefully be posting what we do throughout the week from a student's perspective.  Please know we will do our best to get posts up regularly, but unfortunately the internet at the place we are staying is pretty spotty.  In addition to checking out this blog, you can follow us on twitter (@hpumcyouth).  Most importantly, please pray for our trip.  We want to be the hands and feet of Christ showing love in all that we do.  So please pray for safety, for great work to be down, and for God to be glorified in all that we do.          

Weekly Thought From T - Pray for Them

Week of 12-5-10

Hey Everyone!

Hope you've had a great weekend!

What I'm talking about this week has been on my mind for a couple of weeks now.  It all started with a prayer card written by one of you that said something like this, "God, please bless all the people who make fun of me at school.  I can't imagine how sad they have to be - or what must be going on in their lives for them to be so mean to someone."

WHAT?  Bless those who make fun of you?

I mean, I know this kid - a GREAT kid - and I wanted to knock some heads together!  Who would make fun of him?  He's the sweetest/greatest guy!

But he was right........someone who needed God's forgiveness, blessings, love. 

I don't know when I was in high school if I could have written a prayer card like that.......

Last week at LOOP I sat with the junior high.  We talked a lot about what they were going through - things they struggle with.  Through tears several boys and girls shared how difficult it was to be made fun of at school.  Some for the color of their skin - others for the way they looked........

It absolutely broke my heart.  My kids were with me and on the way home Anna-Prin asked, "Mom, why do people at school call that girl ugly?  She is beauuuuuuuuutiful!" 

I don't know Anna-Prin.......

Last week I was at the Advent Festival with my kids.  We were eating dinner in Great Hall when a little girl - with obvious special needs walked passed our table.  My son Carter looked at her and said, "MOM LOOK!!!!"  My heart sank for what was next - I was so nervous he was going to ask, "What happened to her?  Why does she look like that?" But instead he said, "Look how beautiful she looks!!"  She passed; the mom smiled and said, "Thank you so much....."  I couldn't help but get choked up - and said to Carter, "I have never been so proud of you."  He said, "Mom, why? And why are you crying?  She was beautiful." 

Of course she's beautiful.........but how many of us take the time to see that?

Why do we spend time making fun of people?  Why is that a popular thing to do?  When did that become cool?  And why doesn't it go away?

Fast.

I can only imagine how difficult it is for these kids after a class, or a lunch, or a day of being made fun of.  How do they recover from that?  The cost on someone else's soul - for a moment to feel cool.  When really - there's absolutely nothing cool about it. 

This afternoon I went to the cemetery where two of my children are buried.  There was a couple there who had recently buried their child.  The dad was reading a story to the grave - while the mother sobbed along side him.  As I walked away tears just poured down my cheeks and I thought, "We have absolutely no idea what people are going through."  I could have stood next to that person in the line at the grocery store today and never knew her pain.

I have no idea what people are going through.

You have no idea what people are going through.

And the boy who wrote the prayer card is right - Jesus has told us time and time again, the only choice we have when it comes to one another is pray.  Pray for each other, pray for our enemies and pray for ourselves.

In 1 Peter 3:9 it says, "Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing."

I believe it.  I believe that we will blessed for being kind to those who don't deserve it - those who have sinned against us - hurt us.  I believe that we could never understand what they might be going through - how much hurt or sorrow or fear or insecurity or whatever it is that motivates such disappointing behavior.

Our love, compassion and prayers are really their only hope.

I love you.  Always will.

T