More and More photos have been uploaded from the Costa Rica site. Currently there are 2 folders, the large one that contains all the photos (currently 1204 pictures) and also a new gallery that is named "Costa Rica Matt's Pics". These are Matt's pics for his favorite pics. Hope you enjoy!
We have safely arrived from Costa Rica and I asked 3 people to share some testimonies of what took place on the trip and what God is doing in their life. We also prayed for Raquel who will be moving on and going to Cal Baptist University (congratulations!!) So the first half of the podcast is Brittany, Dayne, and Raquel sharing, and the second half is me talking about what to do once you get off the mountain, do you keep running, or do you hide in a cave? The choice is yours.
This is the message on the Saturday night right before we left for Costa Rica. It was a night where a decision was laid out, which flavor of Pura Vida do you want. Do you want the Quick, or the Lasting. Do you want all the sparkle and glitter of this dieing world, or the completeness of eternity with God?
The first set of photos have gone live, 250 more should be up in a few hours. The web site is having some difficulties, as you can see, the site is a little plain, it should be back to normal in 24 hours or so.
Well everyone made it back to the church safely and to my knowledge everyone made it home safely as well. I have a feeling everyone slept like a rock, and most are probably still sleeping now. I am now going through the process of uploading all the photos we took throughout the trip. Its amazing the difference in the definition of "high-speed" internet between Orange County and Puerto Viejo. So throughout the day click the photo link and more photos should be up. Also I will later write a large recap blog and touch upon the final things of the trip. And once all photos are up I will make a special gallery of my favorite 100 or so photos that encapsulate the trip the best. Thank you to all the drivers, that you to all that prayed and thank you God for the awesome things you did in our lives and the lives in Puerto Viejo.
This will be my final update on Costa Rica until we land. The trip has continued to run smoothly and God is taking special care of us. I did a partial update yesterday after our free day so let me update you on what has taken place since.
Awards: due to missing awards for 2 days ( skate night and me being sick) we had an extra large serving of ice cream...
Savannah: Won an award for sharing her testimony at the skate night, I have already posted the story, but she did an awesome job. It is always difficult to share such a personal thing, especially through a translator, but she rocked the house
Kim Nicol: Also previously mentioned, but she dropped in on a skate board which was something very few non skaters tried to do and after lots of determination and practice she accomplished it
Kimberly Schlenker: Won the award of valor and courage on the zipline. She was able to overcome all her fears and soared like the eagles through the jungle
Chris F: I brought 4 sets of snorkeling gear on the trip to take out 3 students at a time on snorkeling excursions. Well I loaned my stuff out yesterday and Chase lost one of my masks, so Chris tried to help him find it, only to lose that one. So i probably shouldn't reward people losing my stuff, but hey why not
Chase: When we got to the zip line, one of the guides asked if I was "woozie" for going on the zip line (scared) (think rasta accent) and I told him no, that I had done it before, but that Chase was "woozie" so the guide got everyone else to call Chase woozie all day, it was quite hilarious. The cherry on top however was when Madison came and she became known as "Woozie's Sister"
Chris Nicol: Well on the zip line when we were on the platform with the howler monkey Chris and i decided to play with the howler monkey, I mean monkeys need to make new friends. So I was imitating his call and Chris was grabbing the branch he was on and shaking it to and fro. I think the monkey really liked it because he made more noise and moved about a lot more!
Last night was a really great night and I heard from many that it was their favorite night. We set up a rocking chair in the middle of the group and i asked for students to sit in the chair, share what is going on in their lives and how we can pray for them. We would then have 2 other students immediately pray for them. It was an amazing night that more than 90% of everyone were willing to get up the courage to share what was going on. And now as believers we can support one another. It was really cool and freeing for many students.
Tonight is another special night and not jest because it is our last night. Weather permitting, we are having worship and a bonfire on the beach and following that with a baptism. I am very excited to see what the Lord has in store for us this evening. So please keep that in your prayers.
PICKUP CREW: thanks so much to those that signed up to pick us up at the airport. Also if you desire to pick us up but didnt sign up you are more than welcome to meet us at the airport. Our plane lands at LAX at 11:15pm and I am guessing at least 45 minutes for baggage and customs. You can click here for real time tracking of our flight and the most up to date details on it. Also if you are tech savvy you can register here and get a text message when our plane lands. I also plan on updating the webpage the moment we land (can do it from my cell phone) but that is dependent on the battery life of my phone.
Thank you all for your prayers and we will see you tomorrow!
No way some 104 degree fever is going to get me down. Luckily I was the only one with that bad of a fever. The good news is the flu was only a 24 hour bug and most people that were ill are completely better. In fact most of them are soaring over and through the jungle as I type. I myself feel so much better than yesterday and want to thank everyone for their prayers.
Well things change in Costa Rica and the ATV guy got sick so everyone went zip lining. We broke into 2 groups and the first group just returned and the second group is going now. It was an awesome trip, we saw the elusive Bullet Ant and a sloth. But my favorite was we heard a Howler Monkey and all the boys were like "Its a recording to scare tourists." But on the next platform there they were, 4 of them. One of them threw its poop at us. So I started howling back at it and Chris Nicol shook the team he was in, very fun.
Yesterday we had Franklin share his testimony with us in the morning. Franklin has lived in Puerto Viejo for many years and i have known him for about 5 years. He has a crazy testimony and held the complete attention of all the students. Last night was the first meeting I have ever missed, but from what I hear, Raquel did a good job of sharing. However I ask that you keep tonight in your prayers. Its a special night that I look forward to ever year and have been praying about for a while. Its a night where we ask students to look deep into their lives and reach out for help. Its a night with lots of prayer and its a night most students will never ever forget, so please keep it in prayer.
So since I missed a recap yesterday let me list a few of the things I remember. Friday night was our youth Skate Park out reach and it was really cool. Kim Nicol learned how to drop in off a ramp skate boarding and we had a bunch of students skating with the locals. In the evening Billy did worship and Savannah gave her testimony. She did an awesome job and someone raised their hand to accept the Lord. Team Holla Holla has almost completely finished painting the school and has made good friends with many of the students there. Yesterday we went to a waterfall and had a great time swimming in the pools, getting bananas, and goofing off. Tomorrow is our last work day and then we leave for the airport at 10am on Tuesday morning. The time has flown past us, many of us are sad that it is almost over. In fact Dillon has threaten me he is going to swim to the island Tuesday morning so he doesnt have to go back. But that is where we are at, keep us in your prayers and see you all soon!
Friends and Family-
Today was a wonderful day. Not only did we finally get to experience the amazing Costa Rican Rain, but we also got to visit the village of BriBri today. The entire team took a trip to a waterfall and played around for a few hours. Upon return team Holla Holla went to the skate park to hang out with the local kids. Team Spicy Ponies and tClick tClick went for prayer walks and reflection around the city, praying for the people they have met this week as well as the things God is revealing to each of them in their own lives. Today was a great way to reflect on the week of hard work and relationship building that has taken place.
Tomorrow will be a free day full of fun and excitement. Most of the team will be going zip-lining through the jungle, 8 guys are going ATVing to a waterfall. Both are very fun and safe. We will do our best to write a post tomorrow to tell you all about it.
Please pray for the hurricane in the Caribbean, we are not in the path of the storm, nor will we be affected by it, but we have seen reports on CNN so please pray for those countries that have-will be affected. Please also pray as some of our students and Evan have a touch of the flu. It is only a 24 hour virus, but it is not fun so please pray for those students and Evan to feel better. (I contacted the parents of the ill students, if you have not received a phone call, then your student is doing very well.) Thank you for your prayers and support.
-April
So day 4 lets see what happened. Still no injuries and God is doing mighty and amazing things. I have really like where the Spiritual aspect of the trip has taken us. Two nights ago I spoke about Psalm 139 and how this Psalm breaks into 4 parts talking about God's omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, and His holiness, respectively. We then shared as a group how we have seen these attributes of God in our lives and in Costa Rica. Last night we looked at 1 Chronicles 4:9-12, also known as the Prayer of Jabez. We discussed how as a team we can pray the same prayer and how God has already answered many aspects of that prayer. Then we discussed what has been hindering us and holding us back from fully serving God. I challenged the students to think about this and we will discuss it later in the week. I have also been blown away by the quality of our morning devotions. So far we have had 5 leaders share their testimony: Bryan, Kim, Billy, Lindy, and Matthew, and they have done superbly.
The teams have been continuing their projects at their respective locations. They have been doing awesome jobs and really making a difference in the community. Team Holla Holla was taught some Salsa dancing by some locals, and in usual style, the girls were excited and the boys watched.
Awards: Brett Schorr (also known as BrettSchorr.com) has stubbed both toes and then cut his heel on something, so he got an award for his accidents. Don't worry BrettSchorr.com's mom, Brett is doing great!
Edward: We took a group snorkeling and swimming out to an island not far off the coast. On the way back I speared a lobster, but it was stuck in the rocks, and Edward was the one who was able to retrieve it. We took it back to the hotel and cooked it, it was mighty tasty, freshest sea food ever.
Michael James: I was told he worked the hardest on his team and did an awesome job setting an example.
Prayer Requests
Tonight is our large youth outreach night. We are inviting people from the community to the skate park for a giant BBQ and skating, and then we will have a time of worship afterwards. Please pray that God is moving at the event, that students are able to leave their comfort zones and outreach to new friends.
Tomorrow we are taking an excursion to Bri Bri (not Brianna) and going to spend some time playing in the jungle, swimming under a waterfall and trying to make friends with monkeys. Pray for safety. Upon returning, one team will be traveling to the skate park and the other teams will be participating in a prayer walk around the town.
Exciting times are upon us and I cant wait to see what God has planned. Side note: the upload rate here is terrible, its worse thatn when i was on a modem speed back in the day. So the newest photos are at a very low quality, but when we return, i will have beautiful large prints and we're working on getting a DVD with all photos for anyone.
So being in Costa Rica we often times lose touch with the happenings in the United States. So sometimes news reaches us and i don't know if if reaches the states. Yesterday there was a earthquake in Peru. So please keep that in your prayers. However some quick panic swept over the city of Puerto Viejo as rumors abounded that a tsunami was headed toward us, 13 meters high (40 foot) and was coming at 9pm. Some of the students got a little scared, then April and I discussed the inherent flaws of logic in the theories of a tsunami wrapping around the coast of Chile 'rounding the cape near Antarctica then traveling up the other coast of South America and then making a 90 degree turn into the Caribbean Sea, or traveling through the Panama canal (jumping each lock individually), or hoping completely over the entire continent of South America. 9pm came and went without incident, we even turned on CNN and heard it reported that all tsunamis were canceled. But we're all safe and sound. I have been uploading many new photos so check them out, and a new post will come later.
Another day of work and more work. Lets break it down:
Holla Holla: Painting is their middle name. They continued to paint the school, finishing what they started yesterday. They have actually finished all the painting at the school that was planned for them way ahead of schedule. Tomorrow they paint trees. Apparently this protects them from insects.
tClick tclick and Spicy Ponies: Today they joined forces and worked at the skate park and the music cafe. The table is almost completely constructed. The upstairs of the cafe has been varnished. The jungle trail behind the property was cleared of debris. Trash and green waste was burned (cultural thing) it was an active day for the crew. After the work, spicy ponies stayed for some skate sessions and they quite enjoyed themselves.
Awards:
Servants: Billy H and Shelby both won awards for being servants today. Billy went above and beyond multiple times to serve people by offering his chair, food, being polite etc. I Was told by 2 leaders that Shelby was extremely outgoing and cheerful and did the best of reaching out to students at the skate park.
Look what I caught: Bryce thought it would be cool to catch a crab and make friends. I was also told that the reason his nail was hanging off his finger was because of the crab, so he won, i then learned it was a skating injury, don't worry though, i didn't revoke the ice cream.
Prayer: Still no big injuries, we are feeling well and going strong. Please pray that our strength continues and we have the energy to finish the week out strong.
Tomorrow: I wanted to upload some photos but the camera i brought doesn't have the right cord so tomorrow I guess. The teams are at the usual locations for ministry, but we have the opportunity for some to go to Manzanillo for some fun free time. (City south of Puerto Viejo) It will be exciting.
I was able to get a few more photos up, click here for a direct link to Costa Photos
Well Day2 has come and gone. Sorry I was unable to get to a computer last night, but here is a recap of the day. Oh and about the photos, I am trying to get them, but they take about 5 minutes per photo to make it online so it is very slow going.
Today was our first work day and it was great, we broke into our 3 teams and this is what we did:
Spicy Ponies: They worked at the music cafe. The building had fiberboard on the ceiling (similar to our drywall but resistant to moisture) and the weight of the fiberboard was sagging the roof itself. So we had to take it down, it was very similar to removing the ceiling in the new Frequency Room, except this time we did it systematically and without a mess. My favorite was when Edward was on a ladder that was being supported by Kimberly Schlenker and Chase Davis. I was a little worried when I saw it, but April (Abril in Spanish) asked if everything was okay and Chase responded with "I got them locked" referring to his elbows. Which brings me to a good point, we have had no major injuries and no sickness. Nothing a little band aid couldnt fix.
Team tClick tClick: worked at the skate park. Ryan, Michael J, and Peter built a table with Ronnie, the local pastor and a good friend. They had a blast and learned a lot about wood working. The rest of the team sanded wood around the building and then stained it or painted it. It is amazing the difference a little paint can do. This team also had the privilege to participate in Skating that night. It was "Ladies Night" so some of the girls tried the ramps at the skate park (which is the best skate park on the Carribean side of Costa Rica, coincidently it is also the only one) so the boys help teach some of the girls how to skate.
Team Holla Holla: Worked at the local high school. They spent much of their day painting. It was almost at home for me and April, because one of the classrooms they painted was originally the color of our walls in or house, and they painted the room to the color of our couch. (Teal to a Lime Green color). Matt H. was the one who had to tape off the ceiling to protect it from paint and got to crawl around in the room like a monkey doing this, he told me he was thinking of starting a business in taping. They also painted the fence outside the building. Today is mother's day in South America, so today Holla Holla is helping throw a Fiesta with the students for their moms.
Awards: Every night we have team awards for 2-3 people who did something amazing that day and we had 3 last night.
Ladder Save: Leader Bryan was on a ladder with a piece of fiberboard on his head, the ladder began to slip and Bryce Baker with Cat-Like reflexes grabbed the board as well as the ladder, saving Bryan from certain doom. It was a move Batman would be proud of.
Taping: Matt H. received one for his amazing attitude throughout the day and his monkey business mentioned earlier.
That sucked: goes to Billy M. who surfed in waves bigger than ever before and got tossed around, he now knows the power of our God... (his words not mine)
Prayer Requests: We have been having having great morning devotions and evening meetings, please pray that the students are receptive to the Lord and listen. Students have been doing great at being on time, and i would like to see that continue, also their attitude has been amazing. The weather has been great, pray that God continues to bless us with Weather, but maybe ask He turns the temperature down a little. I have been taking some groups of students snorkeling and that has been amazing seeing God's creation underwater (we have seen eels, octopus, lobster, thousands of fish that are very brightly colored and found in the "Finding Nemo" coral, shells, and other awesome stuff). So please pray that the water clears up a little so we can continue this. There is a possibility that some of the guys can go to an open mic night (open jam) so that would be sweet. We were asked to play but our bassist is unsure of his abilities (he is a drummer by nature) Open Mic is an awesome opportunity to play worship to a people group that hears the same Bob Marley album all day long. In closing please pray that God continues to do what He has been doing :)
Well before I even get to talking about Costa Rica, this is the 100th post on the Frequency website, very exciting! Today was a get to know Costa Rica day, we visited the skate park and the music cafe that Alternative Missions has built over the past 2 years. Then we went on a scavenger hunt throughout the city. The objective wasn�t to find items or located buildings, but mroe to meet people in the community and learn about the culture. My favorite part was we had to find the Spencers. The only was to do this was to ask locals where they lived, some of us recieved good directions others recieved very poor directions. Edna Spencer was really fun to talk to, she has lived in the community for 30 years and describeed lots of the changes over those years. The city only recieved electricity 15 years ago, it used to thrive off of chocolate, but then a disease came and wiped out the chocolate, but now they rely on tourism. It was a really fun day.
Tomorrow will begin our first day of full ministry, 2 teams, Team tclick tclick and Team Spicy Ponies will be going to the skate park and working on various projects there. There is a jungle trail between the park and the ocean (the waves crash on the sound, then there is 30 feet of jungle and palm trees, then there is the main road) and in that jungle area is a really cool trail. So one of there projects will be working on that trail. Then team Holla Holla will be going to the High School and working on projects over there. Its going to be a jam packed day and I am really excited.
As of now we have no one sick and everyone is doing great, we have had a few minor cuts, but nothing bad at all. Please pray for continued safety and that God will use us in amazing ways!
The photos are slowly making there way online, it takes a great deal of time. So for now click here to view them, and in the future you should just be able to click the photos link at the top of the page and go to the pictures page. We use flickr to host our photos and they do an amazing job, but as a recommendation, I suggest signing up with them, its completely free, does not require a credit card, but it gives you many more options of things to do with the photos. You can make prints, order DVDs, CDs, posters, and much more.
We have all landed safe and sound in Costa Rica and the bus ride wasn�t that bad. We are now at our hotel, unpacking and getting ready for some dinner. It has been a long day of travel, but its great to have finally arrived. I know I am in Costa Rica because the computer and all the websites are automatically translated to Spanish.
This is a relatively short post because to be honest we havent done anything yet except sit, and sit some more. We are on our way to the beach before dinner, but there are no waves. But the good news is I was able to get all surfboards on the plane for FREE, whoo hoo. So tomorrow I plan on writing a more detailed description of what is going on. Also I really hope to get some photos up. But thats all for now!!!!
Well today is the day we leave for Costa Rica. As a reminder we are gathering for our regular Frequency service at 6pm, except this time, everyone is invited, parents, siblings, sponsors, and pets. When you come bring a yummy dish because we will have a potluck style dinner at 8pm. During this meal we will pray for our trip and after it we will load the vehicles and head to LAX. Also for all the visitors to the site, this is the place to come for updates from the trip, I will do my best to have as much information and pictures as possible. And if you want to get a message to your student, just email me and I will forward it on to them. Today is going to be AWESOME!
And all the dry wall has been removed the new non pink insulation is going up and the walls are being painted desert mesa
The waves have been in the chest high range the last couple days. Beautiful sunny mornings and rainy afternoons. Water temp continues in the mid 80s. We have a new SW swell in the water and picking up steam even as we talk. Look for head high plus with well overhead by mid week. At 220 degrees, it's the perfect direction for Playa Negra. We have the high tide running later through the mornings so the early bird will beat the crowd and score perfect worms. This swell should stay with us through the end of the week.
So there is a sweet day all planned for tomorrow. The day will start as a work day. Construction will begin tomorrow in our new room and we need your help. Tomorrow is our demolition day so we have to tear some things down and destroy other things, its going to be awesome. So come to the church at 9am and we will get started with the construction. Then at 12am (noon) we are heading to T-Street. Bring your surfboard, there isnt any surfing at T-street but we can go surfing right across the way, so we are going to head over there for some surfing action. So if you want a fun packed day, be here at Ocean Hills tomorrow at 9am!!!!!
Hey what happened to FrequencyOC. Oh yeah thats right, it got itself a facelift. Im still working out some kinks, fixing some links, but i hope everyone likes it!
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