Beginning June 30th, 19 students and leaders embark on a missions trip to San Isidro de Heredia, Costa Rica. For the next 10 days we’ll be serving with iTeams International (Costa Rica page) at the Multiplication Center (Link) in a variety of ministry opportunities.

Check here for updated info and pictures from the team as the trip progresses. You can also click this document for more detailed information on the country of Costa Rica; About Costa Rica.

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The following video was put together by Brent, a friend and volunteer with iTeams this summer. Unfortunately, I can take no credit for the high quality of this video! Enjoy!

Costa Rica 2008 from Lance Olimb on Vimeo.

DAYS 8,9, 10

It is 2:36am as I begin this update. I’m riding in the chuch bus which is bareling down I-94 through driving rain. It’s been quite an adventurous day of travel already. We began at noon in San Isidro de Heredia when our bus didn’t show up to pick us up and take us to the airport. We quickly piled into 5 vehicles (3 of them local taxis) and raced across town to make our outbound flight. I was in the last of the taxis which promptly stalled as we made our way through the winding streets. The driver managed to get it started again only to have it stall… and start… again a few moments later. He called ahead and asked the other cabs to wait for him in case we needed help so our kids, with no understanding of Spanish and therefore no understanding of why they stopped, watched in amazement as their new ride to the airport stopped and the driver decided to have a smoke next to the car outside. We raced by them in our limping coche and despite it all managed to get to the airport and get the team checked in.

After a few fairly normal plane flights we waited for an hour in Minneapolis because our drivers (gracious and kind as they are) couldn’t find the van parked in long-term parking 10 days earlier. We eventually found it, stacked as many bags as we could in it, loaded up on the bus and were off. Just 15 miles into our trip we noticed some beautiful multicolored lights behind us which, of course, meant the highway patrol was stopping the van for having luggage stacked too high in the back. After a brief wait we were on the road again with only a warning… I guess the lesson being not to drive at 1:30am with 15 bags stacked in the back of an early 90’s AstroVan following a Costa Rican mission trip. I’m thinking this will be a fairly easy thing to avoid in the future.

I’d love to say that was the end of the story, especially considering we’re only 1.5 hours into the ride home, but that wouldn’t quite be the truth. After stopping for gas and treats in Rogers the bus wouldn’t start for a few minutes which I guess was its response to being left out of all the drama. We prayed and coaxed it into starting though and are now thinking we may just leave it running when the inevitable bathroom stop comes around. So that’s the story at the moment.

You’re probably wondering what happened during the last 3 days of our trip. Lots. That’s the short answer. I don’t have images on this computer (Noah has this amazing mobile broadband thing he’s generously letting me use) and a full update will come later but I’ll try to give a quick rundown.

Monday we went up to La Fortuna which is a town near the very active Volcano Arenal. It was an absolutely stunning 4 hour drive through the Costa Rican countryside with a stop for souvenirs in the middle. When we got to La Fortuna we checked into a hotel and then made our way to a place called Baldi Hot Springs. The hot springs are a series of seemingly endless natural hot springs from the volcano that they’ve turned into a waterpark of sorts. Overall it was a pretty unique place with one ridiculously dangerous waterslide that I firmly believe no one in their right mind would ever go down twice.

That night we stayed at the hotel and one of the rooms had a bat in it. Yes. Seriously. A living, flying, hissing bat at 3am. We’ll try to get the whole story in the team video we make but a pretty crazy moment for sure. The next morning we went to an adventure place that specializes in canopy tours which is a shorthand way to say zip-lining over the rainforest. I’ve done a lot of exciting things in life but this activity was without a doubt one of most enjoyable and unique I’ve ever taken part in. There were 10 zip-lines, the longest being over 1/2 mile long, reaching speeds of 45-50 mph at 400 ft above the rainforest below. In one of them you race over the top of a magnificent waterfall. Sound exhilarating? It was. Again there will be pictures and videos aplenty.

On Wednesday morning, back in San Isidro, we went to an elderly care facility where we sang and performed our drama. The people were so happy to see us and talk with us. There was one sweet lady who insisted on serenading us with her own song and she performed it with passion. Just a really great few moments of praying for and blessing some people in need. In the afternoon we finished up work projects around campus and began cleaing our dorms. The kids did a great job again. In the evening we said goodbye to the Tico students we’d gotten to know. It was great to see the authentic connections we could make despite a language barrier. The ministry is. for the first time in the youth groups’ history, hosting a bible camp in April next year and our students took on the task of sponsoring Ticos with a scholarship for that camp because 90% of the students wouldn’t be able to afford the $50 fee.

Well, 3:13am now. You’ll get a full trip update with video soon.

Pura Vida!

 Lance

DAY 7
Sundays are a tremendous experience in a foreign country. We worshipped this morning with a church called Hijos Del Rey in downtown Heredia and had a wonderful 2.5 hours. Yes. You read that right… they have a more Westernized, shorter, service so it only lasts 2.5 hours rather than 3-4! It makes me smile to think we recently had a discussion at staff about the length of our services since they had gone 75 minutes… the Ticos would barely be getting warmed up! They were so warm and welcoming and provided an English translator for us which helped the team a ton. Overall a rewarding time of worship with brothers and sisters from across the globe.

Following church we went to Rosti Pollo for lunch (good food and fun to eat out) and then headed to the park for street ministry. We were joined by members of the youth group we’ve been connecting with and to our amazement 17 of them spilled out of a single small SUV! I don’t know how they did it… absolutely crazy.

The ministry was more than I could have thought of or asked for. We started by joining the Ticos to walk around inviting people to a short performance in the park. With a little help from Ernesto, the Tico youth pastor, Alex Waldeck introduced our group and invited people to watch intently. We set up a speaker Ernesto brought, plugged in our skit audio and the kids performed the drama wonderfully; well orchestrated and passionate. By the middle of the drama there were hundreds of people gathered around watching in silence. The whole park had seemingly stopped. Just a really cool sight to see.

After the drama Garth shared the gospel as he explained the skit (translated by Ernesto of course) and told the people that we’d love to talk with them. For the next 20-30 minutes our students and the Tico youth walked around engaging in conversations and explaining the gospel. It was a blessing to watch. Many of our students remarked how bold the Ticos were and what an encouragement it was to them to see. I believe this will inspire them to live out their faith in an authentic way.

When we arrived back at the campus Cultura Vertical (the youth group) had a scheduled meeting and we joined in. We played games with them, worshipped alongside them, and knelt in prayer with them begging God to give us a passion for His glory in our lives. It was encouraging to see many of the kids who had shown up to our outreach event the day before come back the next day, attending youth group for the first time.

Well, I better stop for now. Tomorrow we head up to the Volcano Arenal for our day off. It’s an active volcano so we’re hoping to see some lava flow amongst a few other exciting things. As usual, I included a few pics of the day below.

pura vida,
  Lance

      
DAYS 5-6
It’s been a few days since the last update mostly due to a busy schedule and partly due to an intense desire to sleep last night! We finished the first week of work projects and have now met with the Costa Rican youth four straight days. Those times culminated this afternoon in an outreach event which about 40 Tico teenagers attended. We began with a playful soccer match between the Ticos and the Gringos (I think we actually won… with a lot of help from one Tico defector!) continued with a short program including our Redeemer drama and finished with a fantastic time of connecting in conversations with youth and their friends. It was tremendous to see our team energized by interacting with the Ticos and spirits are high tonight.

Oh, I almost forgot. Happy Fourth of July everyone! Steve wanted to make sure we celebrated the 4th properly so we ate our lunch outside and had grilled chicken and potato chips. In the evening we had some amazing fireworks they managed to buy in the city. Apparently fireworks are legal year round and you can get your hands on some pretty intense stuff. We serenaded the campus with rousing renditions of The Star-Spangled Banner, God Bless America and America the Beautiful while colorful explosions boomed above us. It really was a splendid time.

It rained again today to keep our consecutive days of rain streak going but may have also hurt attendance for our event which was unfortunate. I guess they call it the rainy season for good reason. Yesterday the rain came down in powerful sheets stirring our team to frolic in the absolute downpour. You’ll see pictures of that along with a few others at the bottom of this post.

Tomorrow we attend church in the morning and then head to a city park from some street ministry. We have some kids coming to translate for us and the plan is to do our drama, hand out Spanish bibles and pray for people. When we get back the youth meet for their regular weekly meeting on campus which we’ll attend to continue building relationships with the kids who came to the outreach event today. In a nutshell, it’s busy; but everyone is doing well and we’re trusting God to grow what we’ve planted.

pura vida,
  Lance
  
DAY 4
Just a quick update before I brush my teeth for 37 minutes straight… my luggage arrived today at about 11am! We continued work today at a pace that continues to surprise Steve, the facility coordinator. The 12-18 inch deep trench, extending some 150 yards uphill through soil, clay, and rock, was completed in a single day thanks to four of our guys working feverishly in a downpour. We stained and varnished all the remaining interior doors for the new building, painted until the buckets went dry and managed to exhaust a supply of exterior grout for a rock facing. I know we’ve been a blessing in so many ways already and am praying the students continue to work with joy.

Even with the busy pace we managed to exchange some money to obtain Costa Rican colones at 500 to 1. It was nice to hand the kids 10K! With new jingle in our pockets we took a winding downhill 15 minute walk into town to buy some snacks and see the sights in San Isidro de Heredia. Though it would have been a great workout we skipped the 1.5 mile long uphill walk home and jumped in taxi cabs to get back to the compound.

Tonight we once again connected with the youth group, Cultura Vertical, and pressed on with plans for an outreach event on Saturday. Our team performed the drama for the youth group and leaders and afterward we all discussed ways that the drama will help us start gospel conversations with the friends who join us. We’re praying for 75-80 students but still wondering how they would all fit in the host building.

Below are 3 pictures from the day; grouting with Emily, Matthew and Alex, trench conduit placement with Caleb, and some fun with the Tico youth. (click to enlarge)

Pura Vida,
Lance


DAY 3
The campus here is absolutely beautiful and it was a treat to wake up to sunshine and mountains. The weather is warm but we are cooled by the rain which, since it is rainy season, will come nearly every day. Today it rained from 3pm to 7pm giving us a good taste of the climate that fuels an astounding sea of deep green plant life.

I’ve been reminded today what an unspeakable blessing it is to give yourself away for the kingdom of Christ… even more so to watch young people do so with joy. With the first full day gone it is clear that these students are intent on making each opportunity count. Today, following a short orientation and tour, we worked for 6 hours painting, staining, trench digging, and sweeping. We accomplished an amazing amount and are forcing Steve to stay ahead of us with more jobs… of which there are plenty. In the middle of the work we stopped for a time of personal devotions in the morning and then a group discussion in the afternoon focusing on God as architect and builder. 

This evening we met with students from a local youth ministry to begin relationship building and planning for an outreach event on Saturday. The Tico students shared their stories of transformation and commitment to Christ and listened as we shared our lives. A few games, innumerable broken Spanish phrases and tons of laughter later we’d spent 2.5 hours with some very fine young Ticos.

I’ve added a few pictures which you can click to enlarge. Off to sleep now… oh, by the way, no luggage for me yet. I’m hoping for tomorrow morning; this outfit is getting old!
much grace… Lance

  

DAYS 1-2
All is well. We arrived in San Jose earlier this evening and are getting settled in at the Iteams ministry complex. The bus trip from the airport to here felt strangely familiar; 50% too fast, lots of honking and swerving and roads a bit too narrow.

The rooms are great… comfortable and beautiful surroundings. So far everything has gone smoothly… apart from my bag not arriving in Costa Rica! We had 23 bags with us and 22 arrived okay which is pretty good I guess. I must admit if we had to lose a bag I’m glad it was mine and not one of the students. Word is it’ll be here tomorrow night but I’m obviously still praying.

For now we’ll sleep until 7am and then awake to a brand new challenge here. Attitudes are good, spirits are high and I’m looking forward to serving the cause of Christ any way we can. Here are a few pics from the trip so far.

much grace,
Lance