The final week of VBS went very well. We were told when the last group left the first week that they would be bringing up to 40 kids and they would be between the ages of 10-14 - much older than we had the first week. This meant we had to revamp the VBS a bit to make it geared more towards older kids. Sarah found a couple of new songs that we thought older kids would enjoy more and Rose and I came up with some new crafts that were a bit more challenging.
Picking up supplies from Orosi.
Cutting out crowns - the kids learned about becoming a Child of the King.
I was very nervous for the kids to come Monday morning, but of course, everything went fine. I think we had about 30 kids on Monday and most of the kids were older, although some were younger and there were even some kids that had come the week before!
The most kids we had last week was about 35. It was a lot but the kids seemed to behave much better because they were older so it wasn't problem. It was just hard to plan for the next day because we never knew how many kids would show up. We just had to be ready for 40 even if only 20 would end up coming.
I think one of my favorite parts of the whole VBS was hearing the kids memorize Bible verses! We had a new verse for each day that we would teach them first thing in the morning. We would then review it about 4 times during the remainder of the day. Although we would try to get the kids to say the verse together by saying "uno, dos, tres!" they would all speed through the verse and it would just be jumbled mess. But, the most important thing is that kids learned the verses very well. Hanzel, a Costa Rican who came to help with the VBS, usually led the memory verses and he did a great job.
On Monday, during craft time, I heard a huge crack - it sounds like a tree falling. Sure enough, 3/4 of the huge water-apple tree at the camp broke off. I think it was because of the weight of all the apples. We were very grateful that none of the kids were under the tree picking apples when the tree fell. A bunch of us helped cleaned up the tree which made the work go quickly.
The result of cleaning up was this:
During the last week we went on two hikes. The first hike was halfway up a mountain for a great view of Orosi. It was a very steep hike but the view was amazing!
The second hike was to a waterfall up in the mountains. It took us off the beaten path and through coffee trees and a long a banana plantation (I don't know how those trees could grow on the side of the mountain - it was crazy!). We then had to climb up the side of rocks while holding onto a rope. It was a fun hike! the waterfall was amazing. It was kind of like Dunning Springs only much higher and about straight up. We had fun taking pictures in the water and trying to stand up underneath the waterfall.
The last night we were in Costa Rica Ken took us out for supper so that the cooks could have the night off. We went to a restaurant up on the mountain. Because the Dundon's van was not fixed yet, we took the city bus up the mountain (it cost 410 colones, which is about 70 cents to ride the bus). We then had to walk at least a mile to get to the restaurant. Tico's (Costa Ricans) walk very slow so when we walked back to the rode to catch the bus, Ken, Sarah and I made it to the bus stop first (which was a 3 foot long yellow line on the side of the road) just as a bus was coming. Ken jumped on that bus so he could go pick up his van and we waited for the next bus because the Tico's that had come with us were too far away to catch the first bus. Although we had to wait 30 minutes for the next bus to come, we had fun as we stood in the dark and rain. We were attempting to hitch a ride from people driving past but no one stopped. It was humorous!
When we got back to Orosi, Sarah and I bought some pastries for a trip back. They very large but very tasty! We had to be up at 4:45 in the morning so that we could leave by 5:30. Ken flew out at 9:00 to go back to the States for a couple of weeks to see his new grandson. Sarah and I didn't fly out until 12:50 so we had a lot of time to hang out in the airport. We raided the free coffee samples and ate our pastries.
The first flight was uneventful and in Houston, we made it through customs fine. However, a storm that came through just as we were supposed to be leaving delayed our flight by almost two hours. Because of this, we didn't get into Minneapolis until midnight so we didn't get home until 3 a.m. whew...that was a long day!
Overall, the trip was very good and I am so grateful I was able to go to Costa Rica and minister to Orphans. Thank you all for your prayers and support as I went on this trip. God Bless!
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