Wonder Voyage 2008 Summer Blog

From San Jose we traveled to Cartago to visit the Cathedral of the Black Madonna – the patron saint of Costa Rica. Each August, thousands of pilgrims journey from all over Costa Rica to the Black Madonna, walking the last 15 miles on their knees. The team took some time for reflection and appreciation of the site and its rare icons.

We then traveled back into San Jose and had the honor of partaking in the Eucharist with the bishop of Costa Rica. We capped off our journey with a great celebration meal and pass the candle – a Wonder Voyage tradtion of sharing the week’s wonder moments.

A steep flight of stairs lead us down through the moist jungle. Our anticipation grew stronger as we listened to the sound of rushing water filtering through the trees. Finally we broke through to a breathtaking view of La Catarata de La Fortuna – a 70m crystal clear waterfall near Volcan Arenal. We were able to experience God’s power firsthand with a quick dip in pools near the falls.

After a drive back into San Jose we rested with the incredible adventure from the falls still fresh on our minds.

Waking up early, we packed up our bags and headed off to the volcano town of Arenal. After a great breakfast and 4 hours on the road, we arrived at our hotel near the base of the beautiful Volcun Arenal. Once settled, we headed off to Bali Hot Springs.

It was a very relaxing day until we discovered what we have now nicknamed “The Pain Slide”. This water slide is super fast and when you hit the water it looks like a tsunami. Most of us sat at the bottom and watched the “victims” skip accross the water, but all of is tried it at least once, including the leaders. It was highly entertaining.

That night we had dinner at an old familiar, Burger King. And once again, the team rejoiced!

Today we loaded up 20 food bags and headed to a small village about an hour and a half away where we broke up into small groups and, with a translator, walked to houses and gave the food bags and Bible to the families. We spent a little time talking with each one. One of the ladies we gave the food to was a recent window and was in desperate need of food. Eventhough it was a long drive for such a short visit the team felt it was well worth it just to be able to help the widowed woman.

We drove back to base where we had an amazing lunch waiting for us and then headed in to the town of Nicoya for a bit of exploration.

In the morning we pondered the ancient question, “is God over our heads?” Accepting that God might be involved in our everday lives takes quite a leap of faith.

The team then got to experience literally taking a leap of faith as we zoomed hundreds of feet across a lush valley on zip lines. Quiet, hesitant fear quickly turned to exubarant laughter and tears of joy as one by one each member of the team gained confidence in the zip line.

That night one student described it best when they shared that they felt it was as if the hand of God was beneath them along the way.