Sunday with SWU
SWU Volleyball Mission Trip Blog – Day Six
by Derek Schmitt, SWU Volleyball Head Coach
Sunday, August 10, 2008
9:19 p.m. (Local Time) – Wouldn’t you know after my comments on the rain yesterday, it didn’t rain at all today! We had a beautiful day and it worked out great. We went to church in the morning and fortunately, we had Cesar there to translate for us. Another first for me though during the service, they take an intermission. A gentleman spoke on Apocalipsis (Revelation) chapter four and then after the intermission, the pastor led a Bible Study. We got to sing songs in Spanish, which was neat.
After lunch (they had pizza delivered), we headed out to an orphanage. We were going with the men’s and women’s soccer teams from Bethel University and they were a ways behind us so our great bus driver, Guillermo, took us sight seeing. He took us to a scenic lookout and it was an amazing view. During our drive we also passed a volcano which hasn’t erupted since 1963. We also saw the ruins of an old cathedral, which was destroyed by an earthquake, and the new cathedral which was massive, white, and beautiful.
We finally arrived at the orphanage and had a great time. There are over 100 children of all ages that live there. They were so excited to see us. We were able to do a bunch of different things including:
· Played around with volleyballs or soccer balls.
· Played “Duck, Duck, Goose.”
· Gave piggy back rides.
· Played on the playground.
· Played jump rope.
· Took lots of pictures – they loved having their picture taken and then wanted to see it right away on the digital camera.
It was a lot of fun to play with the children, and it was really hard to leave…four of the children came down to the fence right by our bus and were waving goodbye, blowing us kisses, and sticking out their lip, giving that sad face. (I think that was the hardest one to take.)
We finished the night having dinner at Friday’s…Cesar, Guillermo, and Marianella were able to join us. It’s the first receipt I’ve ever signed that had a six digit number. Fortunately, it was in colones and not dollars! We got back to the villa and took some time to debrief about our experience. Many of the girls had really neat stories about their interactions with the children.
Tonight was the last night we’ll all be together. Heather Craker, Monique, and Annika fly home tomorrow so Heather and Monique can get back for some of the Resident Assistant training that is currently going on. As for those of us who are remaining in Costa Rica, we’re leaving at 8 a.m. to do another volleyball clinic and then after lunch, we are going to distribute food. We are expecting God to bless our ministry tomorrow as he has during our entire trip.
Adios!
