Time With the Kids

by Eric McClellan

Our first full day in Costa Rica is officially complete and we all had a really great time. Our day started out when we went to Los Guido to do Vacation Bible School (VBS) with the kids. We split into groups and walked the streets to find kids in the neighborhood to join us. We all had a blast singing, dancing, playing games, and spending time with the kids of Los Guido. Sad to say though, we did let our country down when we challenged the Costa Ricans to tug-of-war.




After VBS, we all left to La Finca ("The Farm") to do some work. We all pitched in and sanded down about twenty newly made wooden benches and stained them to match the cross in the church. We even got some more time to play around with all the kids from VBS. All in all, we had a really great day. I already know I'm gonna miss this place and all of kids that we spent time with.




I couldn't help but notice a shift in my perspective after today. The idea of Costa Rica that I had before today was one of a very poor nation. It's easy to stop and look at the conditions in which these people live and wonder how they can handle so much. Vandalism and theft plague the partly paved streets, with trash, stray dogs and sewage everywhere you look. I would have expected that these kids would be struggling with the hardships that they have to deal with every single day, and yet they are completely unphased. Instead of pity for their situation, I felt a desire for what they had. Though these kids live in conditions worse than just about anywhere in the states, they glow with joy and literally live every day to the fullest. I hope I can learn some of that resiliance and think twice the next time I want to complain about something.