Everyone was pretty well sunburned by the time the Thursday morning clinic due to the hot sun and little shade throughout the morning. I am sure running the clinic on asphalt, concrete and gravel had something to do with that as well. Although it was a very long day with the kids, we had a blast! The teachers there were very welcoming and open to us and ready to share the Gospel with the kids alongside us. During the camp, there was a young man who was blind who went through each and every station. Our team could not describe the joy that came over his face as he was able to participate in the drills . It was incredible! And that was just one of the many stories that came out this morning's clinic.

So, after five hours at this one school, we hit the road and headed for a small church (Fuente de Vida) up in the mountains outside of San Jose. Here a Pastor brings kids in off the street on Saturdays and Sundays for a meal. He is in an extremely tough neighborhood, but really feels the Lord has called him there for a purpose. The Pastor is also in the midst of adding a second floor to the church so he can run adult and kids' programs simultaneously. This past Sunday there were 167 people at church and not near enough room to hold them all.

The clinic at this church was held on a local patch of grass. That is the best way to describe the space where 55 kids came, played some soccer and heard the Gospel. I think the greatest aspect of this clinic is the fact that each and every one of the kids goes through a station that is put on by the local church (Centro de Ensenanza y Discipulado). The Pastor or his assistant do the "wordless book" with the kids and explain the Gospel in a small group setting. It has worked out extremely well and they absolutely love the opportunity to build into these kids. Praise the Lord!

We were afraid that the clinic up in the mountains was going to be cancelled because we literally watched the storm (rain and lightning) sweep over San Jose as it crossed the valley to where we were. Praise the Lord it did not arrive until we had wrapped things up. It was another opportunity to see God's hand at work. After the clinic we headed back to Fuente de Vida and had lunch. It was 2:30 pm and we had not really eaten anything since our 6 am breakfast. So we shoved some food down and then spent some time sharing and praying with the Pastor. It was a very touching time for our team to be a part of and witness God at work in this community.

We then made the 45-minute trek home, just in time to get changed, grab our stuff for the games, and head out. Like every day that we have been here, it absolutely poured! Thankfully, our games were indoors as we played the Centro de Ensenanza y Discipulado church teams. The ladies played against them for one half and then split the teams up to make it a bit more even. The ladies team can flat out play! The men's team played at 8 pm against the CED men's team and won, but more importantly it was a great time of fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Language and culture cannot stand in the way!

Unfortunately, because the games were so late, we did not make it back to the guest house until 9:45 pm. I guess you could say it was a late night, especially since we still had team time with devos. The team is hanging in there and doing a fantastic job! Most people were probably in bed by 12:30 am.

Friday's schedule was somewhat of a switch from the past few days, with a shorter camp in the morning and a longer one in the afternoon. We left AMCA around 7:30 for a two hour camp at a school nearby. After arriving at the school we had a short walk to the field in the center of town. They allowed us to work with a little over a hundred kids who were all ready to have fun and play some soccer. During camp there was a live band playing music on the street corner, and during stations Brian apparently thought that one of the groups needed a little help getting things going so he started a little dance. It was then that one of the teachers walked over to the group and started dancing with him... apparently it was pretty funny. Coert shared his testimony with the kids and really seemed to be able to connect with them through a great example of a fathers sacrifice for his son.

After a nice lunch with the kids in the cafeteria we headed back to Pavas to see some of the kids that we weren't able to see the day before. Unfortunately, on the way over it started to rain and when we arrived the school administrators decided that it would be best to cancel camp. Even though it would have been a very long day the team was visibly disappointed that we would not be able to minister to the rest of the kids at the school. Pavas is a much poorer suburb of San Jose, so people do not visit there often. However, God has His way and it may have been God's way of telling us to slow down so that we will be able to finish the trip strong. The rest of the afternoon was spent catching up on rest, journals, and hanging out as a team. That night both teams had games against an organization for deaf kids in the San Jose area. It was such a unique experience to be able to play against the deaf teams.

Saturday we got up very early and headed to Sarapiqui, a 2-hour drive from San Jose. The mornings have been hot, but nothing like what we experienced in these plains. Boy was it hot! We were in an open field with little shade and 130 kids. At several points during the clinic kids fainted from the heat and lack of water. Praise the Lord all of our team members made it through without too much trouble. The ladies from the CED church go down to Sarapiqui regularly to work with the ladies at the church, which opened up doors for our soccer clinic.

We had lunch at the church with some of the members and then headed back to San Jose via a beautiful waterfall. It was a very rainy and mountainous drive, but well worth it once we hit the waterfall. After a long, hot day it was nice to get back to the guest house, rest and do Team Time. It should not be overlooked that we would be sleeping in on Sunday morning... finally!

Worshiping in the house of the Lord HAS to be a highlight of the trip! It was great to be able to sing worship songs in Spanish and English. Three members of our team shared their testimonies and we sang three songs for the church in English. It was a very special morning where we had an opportunity to meet everyone who has been praying for us for months leading up to our arrival.

After church we went to the local mall for lunch where we ate with half of San Jose. Apparently, EVERYONE goes to the mall for lunch on Sunday. After lunch we went shopping for souvenirs across town. We spent a few hours shopping in the rain before we returned to the guest house for a few hours. For dinner we went up to a restaurant in the mountains for a very cultural dinner. It was Costa Rica... buffet style. In addition to the great food, there were cultural dances performed by high school kids. They did a fantastic job, but the best part was when they came and got some of our team members to participate in the dances. The restaurant is also famous for its view of the city. However, it was so cloudy and rainy that we could only make out a few lights. But it was well worth the experience!

After a full, but great weekend we were back at camp Monday morning. We ran two sessions at a local school for about 150 kids. Praise the Lord He held the rain off all day. We were crunched for space at the school and were spread out all over the premises for the stations, but it seemed to work out well and the kids really enjoyed it. After lunch we drove to a detention center outside of town where we played pick-up soccer and shared our testimony with 24 high school men who are behind bars for all kinds of reasons. It was a very unique experience, one that makes us think about the freedoms we often take for granted. It also illustrates our need for Christ in a very real way. It was a special time for our team to be able to interact with these kids.

Thank you so much for praying for us! Keep it up. We are playing some games against a technical institute tomorrow and have some more camps lined up the rest of the week. Please be praying for the seeds that have already been planted and for the opportunity we have to plant more this week.

To God be the Glory!

The Costa Rica team