Costa Rica Youth Trip

A little sigh as I see that the last time I posted, it was still May. 
It has been a busy summer.  We went to Costa Rica with our youth group in July.  We were kept very busy in the months leading up to the trip. 
We left for Indiana on July 11.  We spent a few days there and then left our kids with Grandpa and Grandma and Karissa.  Kendall and I flew out of Chicago and met the rest of our group on our layover in Charlotte, NC.  Then it was on to Costa Rica!

Here is our group plus 4 staff members:

We were very happy with Pura Vida Missions, the organization we went with.  The first few days were spent at a retreat center with another youth group.  It was a mini discipleship training.  From there we went to Jaco, a beach town, for a 5-day outreach.  We stayed in a church and did work projects, kids club and house-to-house prayer.  Every evening the Pura Vida staff would lead our group in a time of debriefing. 
During debriefing we would all share a high and low of the day.  My high was seeing the kids be pushed and then blossom as they tried something new or uncomfortable.  I was very proud of the kids.  I also loved the FOOD! 
I had some lows too. :)  I missed my kids lots.  I missed alone time/couple time.  I was HOT and tired.  I sometimes had to kick kids in the butt to get to work or have a good attitude.  (Not literally, by the way.) 
It was good for me to have to wake up each morning and put on my youth leader uniform: A smile and a thick skin.  (Now, if only I could figure out how to keep that uniform in good shape here at home...)

This may not look like hard work, but it was hot and it was hard work.




At the end of our time, we got a vacation day.  And I finally got to do something I've wanted to do for a long time- Zip-lining over the jungle!