Our Last Day

by Jen Hinkle and Naomi Martinez

Wow! What an eventful trip. It is Thursday, January 7th at 1pm and we have already had such a rewarding day. We had the pleasure of taking the kids from the leadership team to shop for clothes. This was such a blessing for us to watch the joy in their faces as the picked out the shirt they wanted. There is one memory that will stick with us forever. One of the little girls brought us a shirt she had chosen. It was beautiful and she was glowing. She had asked one of the group leaders something in Spanish, and the leader answered “no it’s ok.” I (Naomi) asked what she had said; the little girl had asked if the shirt was too expensive, that shirt was priced at $8! What a humbling situation. God has blessed us to the point that we don’t even realize how blessed we are sometimes. Our prayer is that we would be a grateful people!

Later on we took them to McDonalds (something they never get!). After lunch the kids had such a fun time in the play place! They might have gone down slides for over an hour. They had a blast. However, it quickly came time for our tearful goodbyes. Our hearts were heavy as we hugged the kids. We will miss them but they will always be close to our hearts.


We had such an amazing time here in Costa Rica. God has done and incredible work in all of our hearts. He has stretched us and molded us into new people. As this trip comes to a close we are honored that the God of this universe chose us to be a part of his story in such a magnificent way. What a good God we serve; A God that loves his people so much that he would take a group of sloppy Americans into forgotten Costa Rican communities to share his Gospel of Love. We truly believe that the mission we set out to accomplish was a success. That mission was to grow in Christ, encourage the church, and expand the kingdom. WHAT A GOOD GOD WE SERVE!!!

We will soon be on a plane home and we can’t wait to share more of our experiences with you. Again, we thank everybody for their support financially and in prayer.