Find one of our upcoming Mission trips:

Howdy ya’ll,
It’s been awhile since we have had Internet access as we have been away from our home at the Finca Educativa. This last week we went up to Alto Coen to help in the building of a suspension bridge. This bridge has been a dream for the BriBri families for many years-one that they have been working on for the past 6 years. It has been a long, difficult process for the BriBri as they have fought to find aid and funds to build this much needed bridge. For many of the families, they are unable to get to the nearest clinic and school as the only way of crossing is through a river that contains raging rapids. These ever swelling rapids have separated a village for years and this past week, a group of 7 of us had the privilege to be part of God connecting the two sides. As we arrived with clamps in hand and an excitement to build, one could feel the joy and elation that spread through the air as locals traveled from near and afar to be part of their long journey of building a bridge. Everyone wanted to assist in some way and in many ways it was neat to see the bridge not only physically join a community but also by bringing people together. The men of our team: Yon, Donovan, Monas, Ben, and Kory worked alongside the BriBri men: Abdul, Margarito, Moises, Cesar, and Arielle to name just a few as they began drilling holes in the planks and setting up clamps that would connect the two wires. As Americans and Costa Ricans worked together, with each plank that was laid and each clamp put in place, one could witness the formation of this long awaited project. While we finished the work we came up to do, more work remains to be done on the bridge however with each step the people are finding themselves able to finally see their dream take shape.
Team Costa Rica

*Go to www.experiencemission.org to sign up for one of Experience Mission’s trips in 2010.

International Mission Trip: As I sit here at a hostel in Puerto Viejo reminiscing about last week’s mission trips, I find myself once again amazed at God’s beautiful mosaic that He is creating out here in Costa Rica. This mosaic, which is composed of the hearts of the Costa Rican people, us summer staff, the various teams from throughout the U.S. and also those who have been praying for us back home, may be in its beginning stages however it is showing itself to be a breathtaking view.
Two mission trip teams made camp at the Finca Educativa this week and began serving throughout the BriBri people. One of these work projects proved itself to be of grand necessity. The teams had the joy of getting to know a woman named Dona Christina, who is an elderly woman whose house was completely infested by termites. Upon arrival to the site, one could not only witness the slow deterioration of her house but could see the giant termite nest that was the quarters of thousands of termites that were destroying her home. She was literally being eaten out of house and home. This past week the teams had the privilege of beginning the process of not only forming a relationship with this beautiful Costa Rican woman but also in the destruction and construction of a new living space. Equipped with diesel and Penta-cell, the workers were able to completely fumigate the home, destroy the termite nest, and begin the destruction of her home so that the next team can build her a new, safe home. More importantly then the building of her new house, the teams placed seeds in her life that contained the love of Christ in them. Their hard work, encouraging smiles, and willing hearts laid a strong foundation upon which future mission trips will be able to build upon. Not only were they able to meet a need but they were more importantly able to love with Christ’s love and servant hearts.
Over and Out for now. Peace.
-Team Costa Rica

*Note: Interested in going on a trip with Experience Mission? Visit our website at www.experiencemission.org to learn more and watch for our Summer 2010 trips.

This past week God worked in a mighty way while 13 members of the Illinois team made the long journey up to Alto Coen, a small village in the jungles of Talamanca, Costa Rica.  Their mission for the week was to continue work on a bridge that would provide the BriBri people a safe way to cross the Coen River in order to access medical services and school facilities.  Knowing that the long journey to Alto Coen, which had to be done on foot, would not be easy, the team only brought the bare necessities such as a change of dry clothing, food, and all of the supplies for the bridge project.  The team left early Friday morning, excited to see what God had in store for them. The journey consisted of long days of travel up the mountain and it required accommodations that most Americans would not find comfortable such as having no electricity or clean water, sleeping above cattle and being woken up by roosters that crowed from 2 in the morning until sunrise. As the long journey continued with 40 - 60 lbs. packs up the mountain, only encouragement from the team and faith in God helped us reach the village. Even though it had been a long hike up the mountain, the team members were excited to be there and got down to business.  As we arrived, people from each side of the village came down to the river to welcome us and were excited that a team was there to help them in the process of completing the bridge. The most important task while we were there was to help them connect a 1″ cable from side to side, which was about 400 ft. across a treacherous Coen River.  Since it was in the middle of the rainy season and the Coen River was higher than normal it wasn’t an easy task to get the cable from one bank to another. Margarito, the Alto Coen president in charge of the bridge project, was the reason we were able to accomplish this nearly impossible task. Since there was no communication from bank to bank due to the noise of the raging current of the river, Margarito voluntarily swam from one side to another to help communicate and execute the work plan. The river crossing was a difficult task on its own and the team was able to understand the necessity of the completion of this bridge.  It rained and poured while we completed this task and the BriBri people were impressed with the abilities the team provided. Due to the continual downpour, the river was rising and it would quickly be impossible to cross if we didn’t cut the trip short by a day. There were many struggles on the way down such as river crossings and weather related conditions but trusting on God made this trip a success. Not only did the team deliver the much needed bridge supplies but they also learned how to fully rely on God to get them through the hardest of times.

Yonathan Moya
Costa Rica Summer Staff

Note: Experience Mission has been working on the bridge with the Bribri reservation for several trips. To check out more exciting trips Experience Mission has to offer, visit our website at www.experiencemission.org!

2/26/2009

The last two days have been somewhat less critical than the first. Yesterday we spent the morning at an Internet cafe, and then we met with Timoteo again. We discussed plans for him to meet the team on Sunday, and he offered to make breakfast for the teams. He was going to be busy today, so we made plans to purchase food with him for breakfast on Friday, which is tomorrow. We also have plans to meet with the Bribri president tomorrow at 2:00.

After returning to the hotel yesterday afternoon, I decided to take advantage of the remaining daylight, and I took a walk along the beach. I met a gentleman who was quite disconcerted about the possibility of falling coconuts. He warned me that I was risking death by continuing to traverse the coconut laden path, but I courageously carried on. It turned out to be a beautiful walk, and I even found a rocky cliff with a great view of the sea. Though it was completely dark by the time I returned, I managed to make it without a single coconut falling on my head.

Since we were not able to meet with Timoteo today, we had to put some of our objectives on hold until tomorrow. This allowed time for me to take a long walk this afternoon. As I meandered along the beach, I noticed a man in the water cleaning off his legs. I passed him by and glanced back and saw that he was now sitting on a bench when a woman with two police officers approached him. He appeared to be a tourist from the United States or Europe, and she was clearly a local Costa Rican woman. She was irate! She walked up close to him as he sat on the bench and began screaming and yelling profanities at him. I further noticed as she was yelling that his leg was all bloody. The oddest aspect of the scene was that he sat on the bench apparently unmoved. He did not respond indeed he looked the same as he had when he sat there alone. The two policemen stood by but let her say her piece (and it was a long piece.) I eventually continued to walk away in spite of my curiosity, and she was still yelling as I left. I can’t can’t imagine what he could have done to illicit her furry, and I wonder how he hurt his leg, but now I will never know.

As I walked around, I was struck by the diversity of people in this town. There are many English and Creole speaking people from Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean. Additionally, there are Europeans speaking an assortment of languages; some are tourists and some have moved here. Of course, you have your share of American tourists. Rich, poor, dark-skinned, light-skinned you will find everyone here. Traveling in a country in which I speak little of the language, I find myself people watching. Sometimes a unique looking individual catches my eye, and I can’t help wondering, “What is his or her story?” Where are they coming from, and what brings them to Costa Rica? Even though I will never know most of their stories, it doesn’t hurt to wonder. Diversity is a good thing. It keeps things interesting.

When I was walking up to our room earlier today, I did have the privilege of learning a bit of one interesting person’s story. His name is Jason and he lives in the hotel room next to ours. He was on the table drawing a design. I struck up a conversation, and he began to show me his art. He makes artwork and writes poems to insert into his designs. He began to explain that his shapes needed to be flowing, but they also need to have form and commented that this was a difficult balance to reach. Once he pointed out different examples I understood what he meant. It was evident that he was passionate about his work.

Jason is from England, and he makes is living selling artwork on the street in the United States. He is staying in Puerto Veijo because he can live very cheaply and work on his art. He says that he makes barely enough to survive, but he feels that he is doing the right thing because his art encourages people. He jokingly told me that someday when he’s famous, I can tell my friends that I knew “that guy.” He said that I could start all kinds of nasty rumors about him and sell them to the National Enquirer. I laughed and told him that I would claim that he ripped me off back in Costa Rica, and he really owed me half his fortune.

Yes, the great thing about traveling is that you meet interesting people. The opportunities that we have to meet various kinds of individuals broaden our perspectives. When I see people I naturally make projections based on my impressions; some people are likable and others seem a bit odd. It’s strange to think that when God sees all these people, he sees his children, and he loves them. God loves coconut man, bloody legged tourist, irate woman, artist Jason, and mission trip leader Josh. My prayer is that God would help me to see people as he sees them, and this is also my prayer for the teams during these next couple of weeks because that is when we become a picture of God’s love.

Josh G.

**To learn more about what Experience Mission is doing, visit our website at www.experiencemission.org.

Honduras Mission Trips :: Belize Mission Trips
Repeatedly listed by local residents as the most pressing needs in their community, water and food will be the focus of new EM mission trips to Honduras in 2009, while church construction and ministry expansion for the Family of God Church will be the focus of new trips to Belize.

EM staff members Josh Gray and Steven Barry traveled to Honduras on July 4 to assess the possibility of setting up trips there, and while they were prepared to see poverty - Honduras consistently ranks among the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere - seeing it first-hand was still overwhelming.

“There are a lot of places where you see the poor and they stand out and it tugs at your heart, but then most other people seem to be doing OK,” Barry said. “That’s not really the case in Honduras. You see signs of really extreme poverty pretty much everywhere you go.”

Gray and Barry stayed on a small ranch in Junquillo, a village of about 1,000 people that sits in the pine-covered mountains between the capital city of Tegucigalpa and the city of Danlí. Junquillo is known for its remarkably low crime levels compared to the rest of the country, but nonetheless remains just as poor.

Most short-term mission trips deal with basic construction projects–typically things like improving churches or building homes or restroom facilities. While those are all definite needs in Honduras, during a community meeting to help prioritize work projects for next year’s teams, residents of Junquillo and nearby Ocotal said they spend most of their days simply figuring out how to get adequate water and food.

“It’s amazing when you ask somebody, ‘What are the greatest needs you have in your community?’ and they say, ‘Water and food,’” EM Executive Director Chris Clum said. “Our response has to be, ‘Yes, we will come. We will help you with the water, and we will figure out how to help you with food.’”

There are reservoirs in both Junquillo and Santa Clara that contain clean drinking water. However, only Junquillo has a distribution system, and it uses cheap plastic tubing and releases water only twice a week. Ocotal residents, along with Junquillo residents without an effective storage system, must hike up steep hills to the reservoirs. Some spend several hours each day just gathering water.

For those who bear that responsibility—frequently children—it marks yet another obstacle in a day already wrought with challenges families must work together to overcome. Keeping food on the table is a constant battle. Most full-time workers earn less than 100 Lempiras a day, or about $5, and it costs $3.50 to buy beans alone for a few meals.

“The bottom line is just that the cost of living is too great for the amount of wages that are available,” Gray said. “I was surprised by that and just struck by the needs, but also the resilience of the community.”

Some don’t have the wherewithal to provide for themselves at all. One 92-year-man in Junquillo has no regular source of income and only his now elderly daughter to support him however he can. He relies on friends of his gracious enough to bring by food and lives, as one nearby rancher put it, “by the hand of God.”

Belize
In nearby Belize, there is a drastic improvement in the overall quality of life, but the country is still poor.

There, EM hopes to work with the nationwide Family of God Church, which is facilitating successful community outreach programs but needs assistance with infrastructure in order to accommodate growing congregations.

“I was impressed by the Christians that we met in Belize - their warmth and excitement toward us - but I was quite surprised by some of the barriers they have in their ministry, specifically relating to resources,” Gray said. “The churches we visited didn’t have walls, and I’m not even convinced they’re staying dry.”

The term “nationwide” can be deceiving. With only 300,000 people, Belize is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world, and the capital, Belmopan, is the smallest national capital on the planet. One example of the country’s lack of infrastructure: The Belizean labor department has a Yahoo e-mail address.

Experience Mission is facilitating mission trips to Honduras and Belize for Summer 2009. To learn more, visit ExperienceMission.org or call the EM office at   360-732-0986  . Join one of EM’s Central America Mission Trips.