Wonder Voyage 2009 Summer Blog

6am and the team from First at Firewheel were on the road saying goodbye to the YWAM base in Guanacaste to their new home, Arenal. Pulling up to a waterfall a few hours later the team took some time to reflect on their week of service in Costa Rica. It had been a challenging experience both physically and spiritually. The Lord was at work both in them and through them. After spending some time swimming under the thundering falls the team checked into their hotel and spent the afternoon exploring the town of La Fortuna under the shadow of the Arenal Volcano, one of the ten most active volcanoes in the world.

In the evening the team spent their celebration meal at a local hot springs enjoying some amazing food, relaxing water, and dangerous water-slides. It has been a full week of experiencing Christ in Costa Rica and as the time draws to an end it is hard to head back home.

We started off the day with a surprise trip to a canopy zip-line and it was great, thrilling, experience! After we finished the 11 stations we got on the bus and headed to the school we have been serving in all week.

We had so much fun playing in the rain with the kids, and playing their version of pool. After we said our goodbyes we headed back to the base to prepare for a BBQ with some students in Copal and the local community, it was a great success! The food was good, and the sports were fun and intense. We really had a good last night in Guanacaste. It was a fun addition to the great times I’ve already had here in Costa Rica!

Day five found the pilgrims on  journey with Pleasant Bay as the destination.  We managed to find two Anglican churches. Although we missed service at the first on our path, we arrived just in time at the second for prayer service to St. Andrew’s in Neil’s Harbor. The congregation was so receptive and welcomed us with open arms to join them. The interior of the church was nothing like we’d ever seen, although we couldn’t quite put our finger on it. Shawn then shared with us that often churches built in fishing villages are constructed by ship-builders, so that they look just like an upside down ship! By coincidence, St. Andrew’s was in the same “boat” as St. Mark’s. They have recently hired a new rector who is to begin on September first.

After service, we had a quick lunch at a wonderful restaurant overlooking the sea called the Chowder House, and headed out to “Fiddling Whale Tours”.  The water was quite choppy on our way out to where the whales were last spotted, which was both terrifying and fun, I think the term Six Flags and Sea World was used often.  We returned to land 2+ hours later having missed the whales, but enjoying the gift of Stan, our captain and fiddler.

When reflecting later, Shawn reminded us that the whale watch was not unlike God. We cannot put Him in a box and say “okay, I need to see you *now*!” For us, knowing the whales were there just below the surface would have to be enough, just as knowing that God is there, even if we don’t ever get to ”see” Him.

Today we spent most of the day on Toronto Island on Lake Ontario.  There were so many scenic paths and interesting sights to find on the  island including a garden maze and amusement park. We played on the  beach and rented bikes so we could get a good view of the entire  island. As a group we enjoyed a picnic lunch in the shade (which made  
it feel much cooler than it really was.) Some members of our group  were brave enough to go in the water, but they got out about 30  seconds later. We were all tired when we returned happily to the  University for a barbecue dinner.

After dinner we were each given a letter from home. Some of us cried;  some of us realized our parents really care, some were simply happy to  hear from family. However the letters made us feel, they all had the  power to open us up with our emotions and help us connect. We  discussed what our parents wrote. Some of it was humorous, some of it  
was sad, and all of it came from the heart. The letters helped us  connect to each other and maintain a connection throughout the night.  All of the girls stayed up afterward and wrote letters back home to  our families. Our goal was to make sure that our parents know that we  love and miss them as much as they love and miss us.

Everything went by so fast, the  last day today in the big green,  is over! “too bad, so sad”. Laughter took up most of the day for a lot of us, and what we did  was fun. Of course breakfast might have been my favorite; the eggs were SO good! (we didn’t have the cool scones though with the fruit in them partially because I had, like, five yesterday. Very good scones) Ending our delightful morning meal,  we piled into the puffing van and drove off to these abbey ruins. Short ride there and that was great, and going on the tour was shorter but certainly more enjoyable. Mostly we stayed for the tour but we walked around a bit too. Enthusiastically, our tour guide lady said, “okay” a lot but between those she explained the monks who lived there’s daily lives and the meaning of all the symbols on these thirteen century statures and sarcophaguses…There were representations of the deadly sins (which I actually understood!) and symbols clueing who the statue was. Fact I learned today: Did you know the monks shaved their heads to represent the crown of thorns? I had no idea why they did that! I almost got a picture of one on the street the other day but he got away, darn it. I did get a picture of some of the statues though.

After that we visited a castle and we all walked around and did a bit of shopping. We also got ice cream with a flake. Flakes are beautiful., there this chocolaty crumbly bar they stick in your ice cream and its like, good. And so we concluded our last day by piling back in the van and sharing our highlights of our trip with our lovely and friendly hosts and guides,

John, Sonia, Lisa, and Karin. I think we’re all going to miss seeing them and the rolling patches in the cool air, I know I’m going to miss the sheep. But I think to spend any more time here would be like eating a flake every day for the rest of your life, we might not appreciate it as much. This extreme opportunity to get a taste of Ireland has a magnitude beyond any of us expected. If ever there was a place of peace, at one point or another all of us found it here in these six days. That being said, we’re ready to come home. See you tomorrow!  

(Rachel hit some button on the computer that made the print REALLY BIG and we can’t figure out how to change it.  But Rachel has a big personailty so we felt it was appropriate to keep the BIG PRINT!)

Our J2A Group went on a car ride around Cape Breton to the Highland Village, a recreation of Scottish life on the island over the last 200 years. At the village, we learned about the old Scottish culture from the 1800’s and how the natives came over from Scottland. After our drive back home, we started a camp fire and sat around the fire pit making smores and talking about what was in our metaphorical “backpacks.”

I really liked talking aroud the camp fire. We got to get to know ourselves and each other alot better. Many of us hadn’t shared what was burdening us in a very long time and it was very ?. Making smores was also a very tasty treat! The camp fire was important to our pilgrimage because it gave us time to talk about what has been burdening us throughout our busy lives. Releasing all this negative baggage is going to give us a chance to focus on finding a relationship with God and ourselves and start this new school year with a fresh, new perspective.

Wow- what an amazing trip here in Costa Rica! God is really at work here and it is so exciting to be a part of it, used as an instrument in the hands of God. Today we continued the work we have been doing in Copal and the relationships we are building and forming are beautiful and amazing. Presently, we have given away up to 70 bibles to people in their homes as part of the bible distribution project. As several of us ventured out today to continue this we had an opportunity to pray with a lady in her home about a family member and his illness. Because of the language barrier it was hard to determine what she was trying to tell us, but God gave me insight into a certain word and through that I knew she was telling us about a family member who was needing a kidney transplant. Being that I speak no Spanish really this was amazing.

Also we had a parent meeting at the school and I was able to share my testimony about what God has delivered me out of in my life. I had the chance to witness and give advice for loving and consitently parenting their children. It was an incredible time for the women of the village where they had a chance to open up, ask questions, and share their stories of what they go through everyday in their own lives. I am thankful to God and I know he will use it all, for his glory. His word says in Isaiah 55:11 that his word never returns void but always accomplishes his purposes. I am just grateful to be privileged to be a part of it.

God’s beauty is diverse in so many different ways and that was very evident in our journey through Costa Rica today. The plants in Costa Rica are very different than the plants in Texas because the plants here in Costa Rica have a different purpose and have different features because of the atmosphere they live in. That also applies to the people, we are different than our brothers here in Costa Rica, and people are different because everyone is called to different places to do different tasks.

God also showed us a different side of his beauty today in the Barra Honda caves. The intricate details and the amazing structure of the cave showed us this. This reminded me of all the hidden beautys that God has created. Just like God has hidden this cave below the ground God has also hidden things inside of us. God has given us all special talents and abilities. Some have been blessed with good athleticism and others were not. There were many testimonies today of people on our team struggling hiking up the mountain but with God they were able to have the strength and they were streched in ways they have never been before. God is alive and very evident here in Costa Rica.

This day of pilgrimage was the best day so far. We headed out to Kilmore Quay to catch the fisherman’s boat to the Saltees Islands. We all got on the boat with happiness, especially Libby since this was her second time on a boat. We were also thankful for God giving us such a beautiful day to spend out. The boat ride was silent because all of us were left speechless by the site of the Irish Sea. We got off the boat and got onto another little boat that brought us to the Saltees Islands. When we first got there, I do not think we were amazed at the view of seaweed, sand, and a bunch of rocks. We had a short walk until we got to something that was worth seeing. Once we got to view the Saltee Islands, let me tell you, we were starstruck. It was as if we just got struck by a bolt of lightning. I felt like I was dreaming or I was looking at a photograph. Only this was not true; it was reality. You could look down and see green water with the waves, big rocks in the middle of the sea, seals popping their heads out of the water, and seagulls land. These words cannot even compare to the beauty we were all faced with. Some of us stayed in the little spot and just enjoyed scenery and relaxed, while the others went on walks or went down to the sea for a swim. I was one of the people that stayed in the little spot. Sitting on the cliff and looking down lets you think a lot about life and really calms you. I remember Jordan, Libby and I picked a handful of daisies and made a little peace sign. After a hour we left that spot, and went to another to go find Patricia and the others. There was Patricia, Jason, Lisa, and Karen down in the sea. And there was Justin, Tyler, Jordan, Hunter, Libby, and I wondering how they got down there. We took one look down and noticed they rock-climbed down there. Then we looked at each other, like no way are we going to do that! So we stayed in that little area. Lori was taking a nice walk around the islands. It was around half three, and we had to leave in order to catch the boat. The boat ride was not all that awesome on they way back, since we were getting splashed by water. But this did not ruin everything since some of us were sort of drenched. We looked behind us and saw seals. I heard whole bunch of “awws” and saw everyone running to the back of the boat with their cameras. This was a perfect way to end the boat ride.

After getting off the boat we headed to a little pub to get some dinner. When we were all finished eating, we were off to home (our Ireland home, that is). Back at home we all relaxed for a little bit. Then we finished the night with a game of charades.

Jake’s Voyage

Today was the big backpacking trip up the river to see the waterfalls. It was a ton of fun, and actually extremely strenuous; this was not an easy hike by any stretch of the imagination. Surely it was worth all of our efforts though, since what we saw was incredibly gorgeous and breathtaking. One of the things that I found especially cool about it is that very few people would ever get to see this place that we ended up at. After hours of hiking and stopping a bit in order to eat our bagged lunches, we found large pool of water surrounded by immense cliffs on all sides with a massive crushing waterfall running through. Some of us tried to swim up to it, but were unable to get closer than about ten feet away because of the incredibly powerful current. This place was an absolute sanctuary to the guide that took us there, and we could surely see why.

More than anywhere we’ve been thus far, I could tell that God was at work there. It was the ideal place to escape from the monotony and difficulty of everyday life. The journey there, to me, represented our day-to-day struggles. It was easy to fall down on the slippery rocks and much harder to have the willpower to get up and push on. When we arrived at our final destination, I found it impossible to think of anything other than the natural beauty of the place and that some kind of Creator must be at work to make it happen. For me, it was more than just a hike. I think that it is natural to question your faith, as I often do. But this experience and this scene gave me further solid proof that God exists. I will think of this place during troubled times when I’m questioning my faith.

Eva’s Experience

Last night we attended our first ceilidhe (pronounced KAY-LEE).  It truely was an amazing experience for all of us.  The night consited of fiddlers and highland pipes both accompanied by the piano.  We had the chance to learn about the musical heritage of Cape Breton.  The featured musician was an excellent fiddle player.  It was amazing to all of us how he, and the piano player, had played their instruments without any sheet music.  In fact, every musician there didn’t use sheet music!  Talk about memory!  After the break we listened to a couple play there fiddles together.  They were fantastic and very insync.  The woman had wrote her own song which she played at her brother’s wedding.  Just thinking about how the bride must of felt walking down the aisle to her sister-in-law’s song, was a real eye opener!

My favorite part had to be at the end.  I noticed people looking behind them during one of the tunes.  As curious as I am, I looked back and noticed a woman dancing!!  Now being a dancer myself I went back and asked if she could teach me something.  I was so excited because she taught me how to do a basic reel.  She taught me slowly and by my third or fourth try we were both insync dancing in the back hallway.  I don’t think I could ever forget that moment.  I’m only a ballerina and a hip-hop dancer, but being able to learn how to do a Cape Breton reel was such a great experience.  This journey has really helped me open my eyes to a new culture and i can bring back something meaningful.