UFCCH Costa Rica Mission Trip - 03.07-14. 2009

The Costa Rica Mission Trip was an amazing journey. God once again assembled a great team. There were a total of 13 of us who wanted to do more on spring break than hit the beach. We wanted to serve and work and share. That we did!

After a long day of travel from Gainesville to Orlando to Panama City, Panama to San Jose, Costa Rica to 6:8 Ministries in Alajuelita, CR we were tired! We arrived at the mission house, unloaded, had something to eat, had orientation with Spencer and the 6:8 Staff and then hit the sack! It was a great but tiring day one.

The next morning after breakfast we went to church at CCA. The fellowship, worship and message were good. They had the message interpreted for us so that helped greatly. We returned to the mission for lunch and then spent the afternoon prayer walking in different areas around Alajuelita. We visited with many families and lifted them up to God in prayer. It was a great way to meet people, learn our way around and bring our week to come in to focus.

Each night after dinner we had a time of worship and a message by Duke. We looked forward to this time each day because it encouraged us, challenged us, fed us and kept us focused. After worship we would then have group time. In group time we debriefed about the message, the day, situations.... We also took time to affirm each other and pray for each other.

Monday morning came and the work/ministry began. The rest of the week, except for Tuesday, we were teaching English in schools, sharing and serving at a Feeding Center, building walls for a burned down house, serving empanadas and kool-aid in the park.... One day we had gender specific ministry to do so the girls went to a Women's Ministry Center and the guys went to do some work for a local man that Spencer and 6:8 had been ministering to.
The girls loved their time with the ladies! They shared, sang, danced and spent time in the Word. God touched each one's heart. The guys enjoyed getting to know Luis more and helping him with the entrance to his house. They really liked using POWER TOOLS! Luis is confined to a wheelchair and likes to get outside some. The entrance of his house is being renovated so he can come outside and sit in the shade. There were many other bits of ministry that occurred throughout the week in a small group format. It was exciting to see God working and in through each one on the team.

Our free day was Tuesday. We spent the morning climbing the mountain. What's special about this mountain and this climb is that there are 3 crosses along the way. Each one is different and special. The whole group made it to all 3 crosses and enjoyed "the view from the top". After lunch we went to the markets in downtown San Jose. What a change. It was good though. We found some cool stuff, coffee and ice cream.

The whole week was amazing and I praise God for each team member as well as Spencer, his family and the 6:8 Ministries family. The final closed out with the viewing of the video from the week that Molly had made for us. You can see that by clicking on the link below.

God bless! bob g. & the cch cr mission team

To see more of our journey click on this... http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=032067c66a527a0d87b1

Overnight Ride - 02/28-03/01/2009, St. Augustine Beach, FL

SATURDAY
It was finally here! I had been looking forward to the Overnight Bike Ride with Shawn, Matt and his dad.

We all arrived on time, loaded the van up, prayed over our journey and set out.

Jen and Gavin (Support Crew) went to McDonalds after seeing us off. The ride out of town was good except for some road work being done. We stopped for some fluids and a snack in Orange Heights. It was a nice first stop to access how everyone was doing.

We finished up and began the journey to lunch on the river in Palatka. The ride through Melrose to Putnam Hall was uneventful. Between Putnam Hall and Palatka we had some ups and downs (hills). They were a good terrain change. It flattened out before Palatka so all we had to do was cruise through town to the river. There we met Jen and Gavin. We prayed and picnicked by the water. What a beautiful spot.

Lunch was great. Even better was knowing that we were just over 30 miles away from our campsite. We rode over the St. Johns River and then stopped to reload our fluids. From there it was a quick ride to Anastasia Island State Park thanks to a great tailwind. Everyone did great. Today's ride was 81 miles!

SUNDAY
I love camping at Anastasia Island State Park! Our site was great and having the opportunity to go to the beach just minutes away was fantastic.

After a great night of sleep we got up to dry but windy and overcast weather. We ate breakfast, shared in the Word and Communion, took down camp and began to pedal back to Gainesville.

Shortly after leaving the park it began to rain. With the rain and the wind it became really cold. We were biking into a strong headwind so we were working hard. Just before getting to 95 the rain started to come down hard so we pulled into a Kangaroo station to get out of the rain and get something hot to drink. We also summoned Jen to come back our way so we could get some things out of the van.

We waited for 30 minutes or more then decided to get back at it. The rain had let up alot but just after a mile or so of riding the rain stopped. It was still windy but PTL the cold rain had ceased. We fought our way to Green Cove Springs where we enjoyed Starbucks and lunch out of the van. The low light of the stretch before GCS was crossing over the Shands Bridge. The 30-40 mile an hour headwind made it very, very difficult. The traffic, including big redneck trucks, didn't help one bit. PTL we made it!

Starbucks and lunch were great. It was really great that a Family Dollar store was across the street. I need some cheap gloves and a beanie to keep me warm the rest of the way. We fought the wind to Camp Blanding and then on into Starke. We decided, before Starke, that that would be our stopping point. There was no need to fight the wind all the way to Gainesville. We could do that another day. Our average speed for the day was 11 miles per hour and our total mileage for the day was 60. We met Jen and Gavin at CVS. We loaded up on some food and fluids then we loaded up our bikes in the van and headed home.

It was a great two day ride though day two was quite challenging. I was glad we all experienced day two because that is the reality of long distance biking. Some days are easy and great while other days are hard and frustrating. If you can enjoy the bad with the good you can enjoy life on the road.