Journal Entry Jan. 6 Day 2

SUNDAY, Jan. 6 I heard the first alarm clock (the rooster) at 4 AM. Shortly, after the line at the bathroom got going. Everyone was ready to go by 7:15 AM and suggestions were made about having chicken for lunch (good luck catching that rooster!)

We had breakfast at Guadalupe. Rosa and Elizabeth prepared pancakes, fresh fruit (pina, sandia), coffee and juice for us. Charlie Strong, our Costa Rica host, shared information about work in progress at the Guadalupe Church.

Then we went to visit the house under construction at El Eden. The house is being built for a family of five: Gustavo, Evelyn and their 3 children. On the way to El Eden we went by the Los Cuadros neighborhood where poor/underprivileged families rent small plots of land and live in small spaces. At El Eden we also saw one of the houses previously built by other volunteers. A light drizzle locals called “pelo de gato” (cat’s hair) could be felt in the air.

Hospicio Vista del Mar (orphanage): We toured the Hospicio where they have approximately 50 children ages infants to 13 yrs. 30 children were recently adopted. The different buildings provide classroom, home and offices. At this location the VIM group will be doing VBS and painting. Many of the children were eager to make new friends with members of the group.

The next stop was Hiper Mas (WalMart) to shop for cleaning supplies and other misc. items. Then back to Guadalupe for lunch, which happened to include chicken, although I think the rooster is still at large…, with lettuce salad, rice/black beans and fruit.

Colon (singular), colones (plural) is the local currency. Some people have exchanged USD for Colones at a rate of approximately 500 c for $1 USD.

Minor repairs have been done today. Putting flat boards on the beds to replace broken boards from last night, changing of light bulbs, etc. were among the things done.

At Los Guidos Methodist Church we attend the 3 hour worship service in this community in the afternoon. A lively service with loud, upbeat music and sermon by Pastor Edgar on “Forgiveness” was given. Comments heard on the bus after the service, “I can’t ever again say my pastor has long sermons.”

We had to board a smaller bus to arrive at the church at Los Guidos as the big bus could not go through some of the smaller streets.

At 6:30 PM we arrived at Guadalupe for supper of spaghetti with Alfredo sauce with mushrooms and garlic bread. We’ve been talking about ice cream (helado) but have yet to find some helado to eat!

Tomorrow different teams will be going to four different sites: VBS at orphanage, construction at Guadalupe Church, Destruction of house and medical team at Los Guidos. We closed the day with devotions. Nitza D.