Northlake Christian School took a total of nineteen people, made up of students, faculty, and parents, on their second annual mission trip to Costa Rica from Feb. 28 to Mar. 6. The trip was such a life changing experience for everyone involved. I was one of the nineteen who went and it impacted in a great way my outlook on life and missions. Here is my day to day experience:

Day 1

On our first official day of mission, not everything went as planned. There were two groups, one went to a school to serve the children there and the other was supposed to help with a soup kitchen. I was part of the second group, but we didn’t get the chance to serve the way we were planning to as the meal was unexpectedly canceled. Instead, we got to have an amazing opportunity to speak and minister to a group of people that consisted of ex-gang members and drug addicts in recovery. It was amazing to hear their stories of how they came from what seems like the place of no return to following God and straightening out their life. After that, we went to a church to put together snack and hygiene packs for people in need, which also got disrupted by rain. However, that didn’t stop us. Thanks to the rain delay we ended up having enough snack and hygiene packs to last the rest of the trip. Through this, I realized how we can make plan–even plans to serve God–but he often has something better in mind.

Day 2

On the next day, Saturday, we split into two groups again. One went to the slums for house to house prayer and the other went to a church to watch and play with kids while their mothers had a day off and got to paint. I was with the children keeping them occupied so their mothers could relax for a while. After, both groups met up at a beautiful park to start ministering. We would go in different groups and would go up to people and try to share the word of God with them. This was not my favorite part of the trip because I thought it could be considered rude. This is a conversation brought up later that night as many of us confessed how evangelism can make us feel uncomfortable. The missionary, Micah, challenged us to reflect on why that is and set out in boldness and not let fear stop us from impacting lives.

After the evangelism we went to a dance studio run by Christians who explained that they feel and worship through their dancing, which was so amazing to experience as it showed how anything can be used to worship God.

Day 3

On Sunday, we all went to the same church as Saturday and got to partake in their service which was interesting to experience since they do church similar, yet different compared to how we do it in the States. They spend about an hour singing and worshipping, which everyone enjoyed. You could feel the presence of God in the building. The service then entailed forty-five minutes to an hour of sermon. Their services were so pure and full of love and God that you would think that an hour of worship was forever! In reality, it felt anything but that. After the service, we got a chance to check out an artisan market, which was so cute. Post market, we got to go to one of the slums and do basically what we did on Saturday with the children and moms. It was so beautiful to see all of the mothers and children dressed in their Sunday best and so full of joy regardless of their situation. They really were the embodiment of Philippians 4:13. There was one kid who really stood out to me in this slum, his name is Roberto and he has a type of special needs that appeared like autism. Seeing his joy in getting his face painted, coloring, and making bracelets, along with the other kids made everything so real. The moments spent with the children showed me that I was doing something good and I knew I was bringing joy to these children just by hanging out and making bracelets with them.

Day 4

On Monday, we had a day off just to have fun and enjoy the scenery. The whole team went on a road trip to Jaco Beach, and some of us even got to try surfing for the first time. For lunch, we went to this really cute taco restaurant called Taco Bar. Afterwards, we shopped and just looked around the town, but the boys and Mr. Holloway went on an adventure to try to cut down coconuts. It was really refreshing for all of us to just have a day to relax and bond with each other before we left on Wednesday to go back home. I’m so thankful that God blessed us with a beautiful safe trip to Jaco Beach.

Day 5

Tuesday was our final day of ministry and it was the day that really made a difference in my life. We started out going to another slum in two groups: one doing house to house prayer and one hanging with kids and putting on a little pamper day for the moms through painting. Once again I was with the kids, which seems to be a pattern on this trip, which I loved. We did the same things–making bracelets, coloring, and painting faces, but this time we got to serve them lunch. Seeing how grateful they were and how they were cleaning up after themselves basically to say thank you and give back to us since we served them was so heartwarming. But what really made an impact on me was when we went to Ms. Melba’s home. She has legally adopted over one hundred children over the past forty years with no help from the government. Everything she has was provided from God. She gave her life to helping children for God and even her home was donated to her by a man who made a promise to God to give his home to kids. Just seeing everything happening in her home was beautiful. The words to explain how being in this home was like is just God’s love and faithfulness to those that are trusting in Him. This was the first and only day I cried while in Costa Rica and it’s because I was overwhelmed by God’s love and the realization that God speaks to me through children.

This was my first time out of the country without my parents and my first mission trip. I would recommend it to everyone. It was so eye opening and beautiful. If I had the chance I would go one hundred more times.