--
 |
| Our Team |
I will be honest, I was excited to go to Costa Rica at first, simply because it had been on my short list of travel destinations. We had looked at honeymooning there, and ever since, I've been itching to go. Of course, as Project Serve came together, my scope of interest became much wider, especially in the months leading into our trip as we got to know more about the country and the people we were going to work with.
Some of our team had travelled quite extensively, others had never been out of the province, so there was an interesting mix of anticipation among our team. Once we landed in San Jose we drove straight to the YFC House, right in the middle of the city and identifiable to us only by a local restaurant called "The Spoon" that happened to be on the next corner. Stepping inside, however, was a different story. Once we entered, we were in a hub of ministry and community. Many people come through this house owned by YFC: some for ministry, some for missions experiences like ours, and others to volunteer with the staff. Though some had moved out for the week to accomodate us, normally a handful of YFC staff live at the house, and from there minister through a variety of outreach programs, including their new skate outreach called SK8M.
 |
| Costa Rican & Canadian YFC Staff |
One of the elements of our morning was "Tico Time". Ticos are what Costa Ricans call themselves, and for our team, this time was a time for them to encourage and share their hearts with us. Of course this was only a small part of our tico experience. Our hosts did a fantastic job encouraging community in our team. Early into our trip, they set up "Facebag" for us, recognizing that we were unplugged from Facebook for the week (the horror!). Reminiscent of Valentines bags that we all put on our desks in elementary school, it ended up being a memorable and meaningful way for us to encourage others and be encouraged ourselves.
 |
| One of many, many van rides |
By far, one of the most significant highlights for me was the unity our team experienced on this trip. Definitely, some of this can be attributed to the fact that we were together all of the time, but it was also very genuine. We wanted to be together. Like many of our YFC experiences, we incorporated small group time into each day, where smaller teams could talk about the day, and also focus on why we were serving and how this experience was changing our own lives. I know for many, this had great impact on their life and experience in Costa Rica. We became good friends with our tico hosts, and I think we will continue to develop a partnership and relationship with them.
This was the basis of everything we did during our week in Costa Rica. I will be sharing about the work projects and some other specific stories. If we did not have this foundation underneath us, I'm not sure they would have gone as well as they did. I am grateful for our team and for our new friends in Costa Rica, they were an important part of this journey for me.
--
To find out more about Costa Rica YFC/Youth Unlimited check out the following:
http://cryfc.wordpress.com/ (you'll need to translate this page if you can't read Spanish)
http://cr.yfci.org/ - Youth For Christ International's Profile on Costa Rica
