By Jennifer Turk

Very early on the morning of July 8, 28 youth and 10 adults loaded up on a bus bound for Costa Rica. Twenty-four hours later, after a very harrowing 8-hour bus ride from the airport, we finally arrived at the Seventh-day Adventist elementary school in Guapiles, Costa Rica.

Though we were all exhausted, the sweet ladies of the church had been waiting 5 hours to feed us dinner, so most of us gathered our plates and enjoyed a wonderful meal. It was one of many amazing meals lovingly prepared by our cook and a few ladies. Three meals a day, fruits, beans and rice, and many other dishes were experienced by all of us over our 10 days there.

God showed up. Before we call, He answers. He held the rain so we were able to finish every project they needed us to. We completed painting all the exteriors of every building on the compound, we helped pour an enormous basketball court, and completed a raised bed garden and planted it too. We dug out and moved more boulders and stones than we could count. We also got to plant banana trees.

We held Vacation Bible School for 3 evenings, and it was amazing. One of our youth was quoted saying “after working all day in the heat and humidity, I didn’t think I had any energy left. And then as I saw the children arriving so excited and smiling, I was instantly rejuvenated.”

God protected, God preserved, God prevailed.