Today we went to Liberty Christian School in San Jose. We got connected to this school last year through a connection we have at YWAM (Youth With a Mission). Last year the juniors and seniors (10th &11th grade here, same ages) came with us to help translate for one of our PE classes at another school, so it was awesome to step on campus today and recognize our friends! Kyle, Tanner, Rebecca, and Jacee all received warm greetings from those who remembered them!
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| The High School Group (7-11) |
To back up a little, there are now 9 cases of Coronavirus in Costa Rica. Two are an American couple who are in quarantine in the city and the rest all come from people living with a 54 year old man. The minister of public health has declared this a minor state of emergency and commanded the city to stop all large gatherings of people if not necessary to avoid the spread of the virus. Because of that, the orphanage and foster care were both shut down and we are no longer able to visit them this trip. We are definitely bummed, but totally understand they want to protect those kids’ health. At this point we’re still not concerned about contracting the virus ourselves based on where we’ve traveled and who we’ve been around, but we’re obviously taking precautions to stay healthy.
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| Upper Elementary (4-6) |
All that being said, when we walked on campus at Liberty, the principal immediately told us that we needed to follow all recommendations from the health department, which meant no high fives, no hugging, anyone who had an obvious cough needed to sit out, and we all (and the students all) needed to wash their hands after playing.
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| Lower Elementary (1-3) |
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| PreSchool |
We started by leading PE classes for the High School (7-11) and divided them into three groups to rotate through during their 80 min session—volleyball, basketball, and soccer. After high school we had the rest of the groups for 30 minutes each: lower elementary (1-3), Preschool, and upper elementary (4-6). Our kids did an amazing job of being encouraging, patient, and playing right along with the kids today! At the end of each session we gave out some stickers, took a group photo, then there were lots of illegal hugs and high fives given.
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| Rebecca and Jacee reconnecting with their friends! |
After the PE classes we went back to the house for lunch, then headed right back out to the souvenir market. Bartering was a new experience for some of our kids! Everyone seemed to get something they wanted, and a ton walked out with pooka shell necklaces and bucket hats (the boys wanted to twin once we got to the beach). We also walked into the city center to take a photo with the San Jose sign, but quickly got distracted by the pigeons! (And some stayed FAR away!) Don't worry, we used LOTS of sanitizer after!!
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| At the Marketplace |
We were then supposed to split up and the guys and girls were each going to lead their own clinic then play a game, but again, coronavirus precautions caused our volleyball clinic to get cancelled. Again, we were bummed, but totally understand. Many of our kids feel everyone here is over dramatic about the coronavirus here, but we also reminded them that if any of us got it we have access to great healthcare and could control it better. Over here there are so many people living so close together that, similar to in Asian countries, it could spread really really fast and not everyone would have access to quick healthcare, so we understand the need to be precautious!
So, we all ended up going with the boys to their basketball clinic at Power Basketball Academy. This group is led by Coach Farid, who we’ve built a relationship with the last two years. He’s only 19, but he has the respect of the basketball community around here! As soon as he talks kids and parents listen to him! It was fun to watch our boys work beside him to teach the kids some shooting skills!
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| VC + Power Basketball Academy Kids |
Finally, after the clinic was done our boys played a group of older men who are part of the academy. And when I say older men, it ranged from 30-60 years old! We were laughing because this is one of the games that was advertised all over social media! A former professional player from Costa Rica even played! We came out to an early lead, but as our guys started goofing off and their team started taking it more seriously, the score was tied near the end! Our boys turned it on though and pulled out the victory, 112-108.
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| VC + Power Basketball Academy Men |
We got back to the house and Bryan Timmer started reading through the story of Gideon. We told you we wouldn’t leave without them knowing about it! He did an amazing job sharing the first part of the story and relating it to his life and what some of these kids are going through right now! Some of the main talking points were:
- Gideon felt like he had nothing to offer, but God used exactly what he had. No matter what we feel like we don’t have, God will do something with it!
- If we keep following God’s will he hopes we wake up one day and say, “Holy cow! That is nothing that I planned, but look what God did!”
- Are you letting God use your talents or are you being more focused on what YOU want to do with those talents? Use your talents to better yourself, but more importantly, the kingdom of God.
- Are you praying? Are you trusting God with your life? Start praying in regards to recruiting, college decisions, dating, etc. “Lord, I want this, but YOUR will be done!”
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| Mrs. Harrison braided Jacob & Our Driver's Hair! |
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| When Jacob took out his braids we think he looked like Mugatu from Zoolander! |
Team Thoughts:
- Kyle—During the lower elementary soccer game the teams were completely unfair and Kyle was in the goal, and even though this whole trip we know we’re not better at soccer than them, a kid came up after the game and told Kyle he was a really good goalie, which really filled his cup. He also just loved how much all the kids loved playing sports.
- Hayden—She thought it was interesting that there were a couple of kids who didn’t want to talk to us, maybe because they were scared of the coronavirus? They would walk away when any of us came near! At the basketball clinic she noticed a brother and a sister in the huddle and the brother hugged his little sister and kissed her on the head and Hayden just thought it was really sweet!
- Drew—At the marketplace Drew learned about herself that she was just way too nice! If a person asked her to come in her shop, sure! Sit in the hammock, great! So Drew really practiced saying no today! She also said she resonated a lot with Bryan’s message tonight because she has a lot of important decisions she needs to make right now and she wants to rethink them given what he spoke about!
- Elise—Noticed how different the HS kids here are than us in that they were willing to be involved and try the sports, if roles were reversed and they were visiting our HS a lot of our kids would not be as willing. She also thought it was interesting how skeptical the principal was of us and the coronavirus!
- Jacee—loved seeing all the people from last year! She also really liked the ref at the basketball game! She was funny and nice.
- Rebecca—Resonated with Bryan’s message because she’s so close to graduation and thinking about what she wants to do next year. We just reminded her to pray and remember that sometimes we make the college decision so big, but your decision for next year doesn’t have to be the final decision for your life! God will make it clear if He wants us to redirect our plans! She also loved that despite very little resources and the coronavirus it didn’t stop us today and can’t stop us from being with God and sharing his love!
- Abigail—Couldn’t help but notice that all the volleyballs at the school were completely worn down, some had no leather anymore, and they were falling apart, but they worked just fine! It reminded her that appearances don’t matter! As we keep driving around all over the city she’s just noticing that there is way more barbed wire and gates than she had noticed!
- Emma C—Same thing about the balls...at home we put a ball back if it is scuffed or kind of oval or not soft enough, we’re so picky! But these kids didn’t care! She also said that there was a big contrast between feeling unwelcome yesterday at the soccer game and feeling completely welcomed today. She also told me later that she has never felt more herself than in that clinic today! :)
- Bre—She loved that the kids were just having so much fun playing sports and she did too! She also was inspired by her teammates for the way they balanced having fun and going with the flow without taking away from what we wanted to accomplish with them! She really learned from our girls how to love on the kids and reflected that sometimes once there’s a plan she wants to accomplish the plan, but she learned that you can still accomplish the plan and be flexible and have fun!
- Emma R—Learned that she really does not like when people talk to her while she shops! She also really liked Bryan’s talk and was reminded that keeping God’s will first is hard, but comes with the most reward. Whatever God has for us is so much better even if it doesn’t feel like the right plan in our heads.
- Emily—She loved that the kids at the school didn’t just say “my parents are missionaries” but they said “we’re missionaries”. They know they are there with a purpose too! She also loved that they had small class sizes of about 15!
- Senora Harrison—She just felt extremely blessed to watch our students work at the school today—they forgot about themselves, got out of their comfort zone, were silly, and made mistakes. It was awesome. She also thanked our kids because they could have chosen to be anywhere over spring break, and they chose to be here.
- Clausen—I had the exact same thoughts has Cleonie, and of course teared up sharing this with the kids. From our first trip here three years ago (with Logan) to now, our kids have grown and matured so much and I was so proud watching them serve and lead with very little prompting from us. They had great attitudes and worked hard. I also shouted out Abigail because watching her teach those kids today made me feel like a proud mom, seeing Drew dance and be crazy with the kids just made me so proud of her and who she is, I was so impressed by Logan’s leadership today because he seriously did not take a break and led every single drill at the basketball clinic, and then Michael, Spencer, and Jadon were just constant support. They may have been a little quieter, but they shagged every single ball all day today and encouraged every kid. I was SO proud of them. Servants hearts, those kids!
- Tanner—loved seeing his boys again, especially Saul! He also really connected with Bryan’s message because of course as a confident athlete he wanted to go D1 and when he committed to a D3 school he sometimes felt annoyed by people’s comments or his own pride got in the way, but he also knows he loved his visit there and he wants to quit the comparison and just focus on where God wants him to be.
- Logan—He thought it was funny that the principal gave such a strict warning about the coronavirus, but as soon as the kids came out they were hanging all over our kids and didn’t care! He also really liked hearing BT’s message because he’s known him since 5th grade and learned a lot about him tonight.
- Michael—The kids were really nice and every time he gave them the ball back they’d say thank you! He also was impacted by Timmer’s talk and was convicted that sometimes he focuses on what he doesn’t have instead of focusing on what God gave him.
- Jacob—At the school he thought it was funny how hyped the kids got about stickers—they’re just stickers! At the shop he was overwhelmed by all the vendors yelling and getting so close!
- Skyler—Liked when Bryan said what we want may not be in God’s will, but He will make it known to us. At the market he bought a lot of cool stuff and thought it was funny how hard they tried to get everyone in the store. And the best comment of the night was when Skyler said basketball was fun until he got bodied by a 76 year old!
- Jadon—At the school he was amazed by how joyful all the kids were and at the game he loved that the guys were unrelentless! They were clearly outmatched, but still scored over 100 pts!
- Spencer—Thought it was funny that the kids didn’t know his name, but thought “A Spencer” was an appliance. He also learned that he gets sucked in too easily at the marketplace. He kept getting called back into the same store 3 times!
- Bryan—At the game he was impressed that a bunch of old guys were listening so intently to a 19 year old coach. That would never happen at home!
Photos soon! We’re on the way to zip lining, so it may be after!
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