Day 4 - Church, a Farmer's Market, and the Heredia Futbol Game

Happy Sunday! We woke up this morning and drove across town to attend the International Baptist Church in Escazu. Most of our trip we've been running on Tico Time (late), so today when we made it to church on time, our host, Ronny, said we were running on Gringo time!

On the HPS Property right before church! 

Our lovely ladies after church! 

We chose an English speaking service so our kids could follow along, but what was cool about this church is that it is filled with many people living in the area as missionaries from the States to Costa Rica! Lots of English speakers, but also many were bilingual and living in the area. Church started by the youth band playing worship, worship was filled with songs our kids recognized and could sing along with. Then the children's team got up and spoke about what they are trying to start at the church and the importance of a children's ministry. Finally, the Pastor gave a great message about Gideon in regards to discerning God's will. He said when we're trying to discern God's will, there are wrong ways and right ways.

Wrong Ways:

1. Asking for a sign
2. Rely on emotion/feelings
3. Listen to the wrong voices/influences
4. Leave God out of the decision

Right Ways:

1. Focus on my relationship with God
2. I trust the Holy Spirit to guide me
3. I spend time in God's word and prayer
4. I have godly voices around me

It was a great message and gave us a lot to talk about later during debrief!

We came back to the house, hung out for a bit, then realized the farmers market would be closing soon, so we all hopped in the bus and drove down to the city center to walk through the Farmer's Market. As soon as we got in there it was loud and we definitely stood out, but all of our kids tried every weird fruit and juice we asked them to try! This is always a great experience with our kids to try to communicate with the vendors, see some of the locals shopping for their families, and for all of us to try new things! They tried fresh coconut water, Manzana de agua (water apple), what we call the booger fruit, Cane sugar juice, strawberries, Tamarindo Juice, and more!

After the farmer's market, ate some lunch at the house, then played a couple games of volleyball in the wind! We also played two rounds of Survivor, and in both rounds, Tanner came out as the champion! Go Tanner!

 



Following our volleyball game we all piled back in the van to head down to the Coronado city center. We all got to enjoy some ice cream at Pops then we walked around the city center a big and got to see some of the Coronado band as well as checking our the church!






Finally, we ended our day by attending the Heredia vs Liga Futbol game. This was a fun experience for everyone, but also an interesting one! We got there an hour early and as we walked in everyone immediately knew we were Americans and told us to cheer on Heredia! When we got to our seats one older man was yelling for his team, our boys yelled back, so it turned into a cheering friendship! The game was great, Heredia scored immediately, then Liga came back and scored twice. Heredia scored during the second half, then Liga scored about a minute after! We decided to leave about 5 minutes early to beat the crowd, and as we got on the bus we turned on the game on the radio & on Josue (another one of our leaders) phones. Heredia ended up getting a PK and scored!!!!

Today was a great Sunday! We're looking forward to leading some PE classes in the morning tomorrow followed by some basketball & volleyball clinics, and our last games.

Team Thoughts: 

• Jadon - Church felt similar to home in the style of worship and message. The famer's market was LOUD!! Also, the juice was GOOD! 
• Michael - I thought it was interesting that they had a fill in sheet for notes, it reminded me of the Baptist church he used to go to. Also, when we got Ice Cream at Pops this afternoon he ordered a Churchill, which is a popular shake in Costa Rica, and it is basically bubblegum ice cream with condensed milk powder on top. Michael hasn't really had condensed milk before! 
• Spencer - He thought it was funny that the church was having an international day next Saturday because they seemed to all be Americans, but we're sure they are celebrating all the cultures that make up the congregation too! When we were getting ice cream Spencer said he sneezed really loud and a random stranger said, Salud, which was nice! 
• Kyle - The community at the soccer game was really cool. It was really fun that we could celebrate with others despite the language barrier. And church felt really similar to home in terms of the message and songs. Also noticed that as we were leaving the soccer game a lot of people were yelling "Gringo" or "Look at all the Gringos" at us. 
• Tanner - At the Farmer's market Tanner noticed people were either really excited to see us or very mad we were there and annoyed we were in the way. At the soccer game Tanner loved that everyone was who they were - no filter! 
• Jacob - Noticed that when we were in the downtown Coronado area there were a ton of families hanging out in the park and it was nice to see what the families do! He also noticed there were A LOT of police at the soccer game! We learned that there are always a lot of police, but last week there was a fight with the two bands so they also weren't allowed in the game this week. 
• Skyler - At the farmers market he used google translate to communicate with the juice vendors, he also felt like every fruit he saw/tried was better than the US. (Side note, he also bought a couple mangos and chowed down on them when we got home) At the soccer game Skyler noticed the fans are VERY passionate... one guy was yelling a cuss word so loud a vein was popping out of his neck! He also asked later why the people in the farmer's market were trying so hard to sell their items (thinking it was one big store), we got a big laugh when he asked if they sold the most were they considered Employee of the month? lol. So we got to learn about how each of those vendors is a separate farmer and how they make much more money buy selling directly to the consumer than going through a wholesaler that sells at the grocery store. Also, we talked about how most sellers had their own individual thing, but if there were more than one banana stand you could barter. 
• Bryan - Got kicked out of church!!! Well, Bryan had a cough so he went out in the lobby to get a drink and tried to walk back in with his tea and about 3 ushers stopped him. I guess the church just installed carpet, which most of Costa Rica doesn't have because of the humidity, so they REALLY did not want anything to spill as it would mold easily! We just think it's funny that one of our chaperones got kicked out of church. Sporting events here are fun! People at home never scream or swear that much and would be escorted out. We also learned you aren't allowed to bring in coins because fans would throw them at the players! 
• Logan - Soccer is on another level in this country! As we were driving around or at the park today there were soccer fields all over town where kids are playing. At the actual soccer game he noticed that security was there soley to stop any fights that would break out amongst players and/or spectators.
• Emily - At the farmer's market she was the caboose in our group, so she just watched how everyone reacted to Logan, Michael, Skyler, and Jacob as they walked by...they were in awe of how tall everyone was! At the soccer game she was laughing about how aggressive the fans were - she usually tells Bryan he needs to calm down when he gets half that into it! 
• Hayden - At the church when the children's ministry leader was introducing her team of volunteers she said it was a team effort and that everyone played their part, but in reality Kelly (the missionary) did EVERYTHING (teaching the Bible lesson, memory verse, organizing)! Hayden said, Kelly carried the whole team! We actually felt bad because the one volunteer said, "ya, I just show up on Sundays!" At the end Kelly said we really need volunteers and we just thought how exhausting that would be to try to plant a church and get buy in and convince people to serve. I'm sure a lot of these people are doing it all and carrying the team! Hayden also thought the seats at the soccer stadium were interesting because they were just big cement stairs, but a lof of the boys added that they liked the legroom. 
• Jacee - She liked the pastor and his sermon. She said she had never heard the story of Gideon before, which then led to us finding out that more than half of our team has never heard of Gideon before, so before we leave this trip we'll make sure we all know who Gideon is! Jacee also noticed that all day people were staring at us. In America it feels so diverse so people hardly ever stare, but here we stick out like a sore thumb. 
• Elise - She agreed with Jacee that we got a lot of attention throughout the day and she heard people saying "Coronavirus" as we were walking out of the soccer stadium. She also thought it was interesting that the farmers markets here are all produce, whereas at home, it seems like it is all small vendors. 
• Drew - She agreed that we got a lot of stares today as we were walking around, but some people were really nice even though they stared. She also thought it was interesting that we couldn't have coins in the stadium to avoid throwing them at players, but then when we bought something at the snack bar they gave us change in coins! So I guess if you want to throw something at a player you at least have to buy something! 
• Bre - She thought it was cool to see all the different musical groups around town and at the game. She also really liked the message of the sermon and felt like it was applicable to her right now - never leave God out of your decision! 
• Emma R - After church Emma asked what difference was between asking for a sign and asking for affirmation. The pastor said when Gideon left out the fleece and said he would know it was God's will if the fleece was/wasn't wet, he was displaying a lack of his own faith. So he said we shouldn't ask for signs from God but we can ask for affirmation that we are doing God's will (specific will). I think to answer Emma's question, his point was that we can't give God an ultimatum and say we'll only know this is your will if you do X, Y, or Z, but we can ask him to work through people or events to confirm that we are doing what he wants us to do. Also, she noticed that at the soccer game we were really being stared at and judged. She had no idea what they were saying, but it didn't seem nice! 
• Emma C - Agreed that we got a lot of attention at the farmer's market. It seemed like the vendors were happy we were there because we were interacting and trying their fruits/vegetables, but the shoppers were annoyed by us. She also felt like at the soccer game people were staring into our souls - some fun, some bad. 
• Abigail - At the farmers market here people actually buy produce for their family for the entire week, where at home, the farmers market is just an experience for fun. She also noticed at the soccer game that there was no clock or scoreboard anywhere.
• Rebecca - Second year here and still loves the farmer's market! She said it really feels like it represents the different culture and it's like a completely different world - but with better food! At church she was very impressed by the pastor who was a super white guy, but instantly switched into spanish, then back again! 
• Clausen - At church my heart just went out to all those on staff because I could tell they were working hard to grow this ministry and they were probably exhausted! They are doing EVERYTHING! You hear about our churches supporting missionaries overseas, but it was cool to see that firsthand. I also was very impressed by our kids being willing to try everything at the farmers market! Some of it was gross and they didn't like it, but I think everyone tried it and that's all we asked! 
• Senora Harrison - She commented on all of us who felt like we were being stared at - that is an every day feeling for her throughout her whole life! People feel they have a right to say whatever they want, even if it is rude, and don't feel bad about it! Her advice is to just let it roll of your back and smile at people to remind them you are a person. We just stick out because we look different. She also said that a lot of times when we're out and about she doesn't speak spanish because she wants to hear what people are saying about us... I think this whole experience reminded us that we don't want to be the people who stare and make people feel uncomfortable! Mrs. Harrison also said that the message the pastor preached was a highlight and she took copious notes!! 

We have to hit the road this morning, but I'll add pictures from the bus!