Lunes, 3/7/2016

PURA VIDA FROM COSTA RICA!!

We were awoken with a soft whisper from Coach Brittany's mouth that urged us from our slumber at 6:15 AM (yes, you heard us right!). We ate a breakfast filled with panqueques, those weird things that we don't know what they were (but they were delicious!), and fruta! From there we headed on our way to San Agustin Private School to put on a volleyball clinic for the day. We spent about 40 minutes with each grade (1st thru 9th), which included 30 minutes of volleyball instruction and 10 minutes to share a Gospel message and personal testimonies. We set up stations outside of passing, setting/hitting, and serving so that the kids would get instruction in each area. Each grade came through during their allotted P.E. time. San Agustin was extremely hospitable with bringing us fresh fruit and cookies personalized with Push the Rock on them during a break. At lunch time we played soccer with the kids and ate homemade empanadas (YUM). After each testimony, we prayed with the ninos and gave them a gift of candy. We left around 2:40 and headed to the grocery store for some much needed snacks before our evening matches. As we were leaving, the principal thanked us and reminded us that we were planting seeds in the children's lives through our testimonies.

                     

While waiting for Chico to fetch our snacks, we entertained ourselves in the grocery store parking lot with charades and a game of telephone. Ya know, "the ol' play a game in the parking lot while you wait for Chico to get some snacks." We got our snacks, climbed the bus, and headed to the parque. At the park, we ate some plantain chips, granola bars (without almonds, for Jennifer!), apples, and bananas.We sat in the park taking in the culture while we rejuvenated for our big matches against the Costa Rican National Volleyball teams.


The U20 and U23 CR National Teams were really good competition, and it was an honor to play them. We also saw this an another opportunity for a few girls to share their testimonies and the Gospel with peers.  It was a long, HOT day full of burnt faces (oops Mom!) and tired eyes of teaching and playing volleyball for about 12 hours.

-Jane and Taylor