June 13th

Today was our first work day going out to the schools. We divided our entire team into two groups, one going to Lomas and the other to Finca. Both schools are in the Pavas province, which is one of the poorest areas of San Jose. Openhouse is trying to make the schools the safest and prettiest places, so students will be excited to come and continue their education. They have begun to see the students take pride in their schools due to the improvements that our mission trip teams have made. Openhouse has made a huge impact in both the schools and the broader community, and now other schools are requesting the same services that have been given to Lomas and Finca.

At Lomas, we received a HUGE welcome from the students! They put on a fantastic program including dances, cultural events, and a band. The kids were so excited to meet our team! We joined their conga line and gave lots of piggy back rides. It was a joyful celebration. We did crafts and played games, especially futbol! Then the real work began. Some of our team sanded and painted desks, while others sanded walls in preparation for a new paint job. We also had the privilege of working on a beautiful mural. We had a delicious lunch prepared by the school cafeteria, and then went back to work for a few hours. We then headed back to hotel for the evening.

Upon entering Finca, the kids were still in their classrooms, so while we received a short tour of the school, the kids began to get very excited (and vocal) when seeing the tops of our heads through their windows. The students then put on a special welcoming presentation for our team. Each of us were called up on stage and given a handwritten card by each of the kids. Then we split into two teams and started working. One team did crafts and played with the kids, and the other sanded the entrance wall and cleaned metal gates and bars to be painted. We were served rice and pasta for lunch, but only after we turned in our lunch tickets. The younger kids left the school at noon and the older kids arrived. Then our teams switched roles. Instead of doing crafts, the older students were more interested in playing soccer and marbles. Many long and intense games of soccer were held, and the Americans sadly, but not surprisingly, lost. After a long work of work and play, we loaded the van and headed back to the hotel.

Before dinner, some of us took a trip across the walking bridge to a Costa Rican mall. We saw a lot of the same American food court restaurants that you would see in the States. Then it was back to the hotel for dinner.

After another delicious meal at the hotel, our team circled up to debrief from our day. Every person on the team was able to share something special that happened during the day. The students especially did a great job sharing their thoughts and feelings for the day; all of the parents were very proud! We were all given a word at breakfast that morning, and the task was to focus on that word during the day. We shared our experiences with our words at the debrief. Now we are ready for another good night’s sleep to prepare for our work day tomorrow.

Blog collaborated by the following:

Zohra Gutierrez – Thank you, David, for making this whole trip possible for us! I love you and miss you! Big shout out to Raasha, Nadya, Gulnaz, and Nik – wish you were here!!!

Saira Gutierrez – Ditto!

Allison Taylor – Thank you so much to everyone who made this trip possible for us! We feel so blessed to be here with this amazing group. Miss everyone so much and can’t wait to share all our stories with you! Love you all!!

Ashley Taylor — Miss you so much dad and Christopher! Thanks to everyone that donated, I can wait to share all of my pics and stories with you! Love you and see you Saturday :)

Sharon Brangers – We are so thankful for this opportunity! We are having so much fun! Kevin and Ben, I miss you and love you so much!

Alex Brangers— I am so blessed that I get the opportunity to play with the kids and give them love! I miss everyone and can’t wait to tell everyone about my trip!

Chuck/Spencer Toomey – Thank you to all of our family and friends that are praying for us and that made this trip possible. This is such a wonderful experience for both Spencer and me. We miss Mom, Max and the dogs and cannot wait to see them when we return. Big shout out to Mary Ann for holding down the fort while we are out.