WELCOME TO THE RICA

To begin, let me introduce myself:
I, Leah Wright, will be your blogger for this 10 day adventure in the beautiful country of Costa Rica. I am currently a junior at Freed-Hardeman University majoring in math and education. This is my 4th trip with TORCH to Central America and my 2nd year in Costa Rica. Last year I had the privilege to be one of Terry's interns and I'm blessed to be back working with the wonderful Christians here in Buenos Aires.
Enough about me...let's get to what's happened so far today.

Every one of our members have arrived safely in Costa Rica, or as some like to call it "The Rica."  2/3 of the group has made it to the hotel and are in their rooms--sleeping, showering, etc. The other 1/3 is on the road and will hopefully be arriving in the next half hour. Joe Roberts group from Cookeville, TN unfortunately ran into some delays at the airport and are running a little behind schedule, but we are thankful that this was the only mishap of the day!

Many of us began our day quite early this morning, with times ranging from 2 AM - 4 AM so that everyone could catch their first flights of the day. We had people flying out of Nashville, Memphis, Pensacola, and Huntsville to name a few, with connecting flights in Miami and Charlotte. All of us arriving in San Jose, Costa Rica to be greeted by Minor Perez, one of our Costa Rican translators, as well as the others who arrived a day early-Jessie Pitts, Malvin and Moriah Allgood.

The greatest blessing of the day was the ease with which we made it through the airport and customs. We had no problems going through customs individually. Everyone claimed their bags, then they were all piled on a cart, and rolled to our buses! The most work we had to do was to help load all the luggage on top and inside the bus. The Lord was on our side today and we pray that He will continue to watch over us as we work to spread His Word here.

We were able to see some beautiful sights as we made our way up the mountain this afternoon! Even though we ran into some rain along the way, the view from the mountains was breath-taking, especially for those who were here for the first time. The best way to introduce you to Costa Rica is to show you the beauty found in it's landscape. God's creation cannot be grasped in pictures, but is best beheld with your own eyes. We are certainly going to be seeing some gorgeous scenery while journeying through this country and I hope everyone else enjoys it as much as I do!

I'm happy to announce that while I'm finishing up this blog, Joe Robert's group has arrived at the hotel and we will be giving them a shortened orientation so we can all get to bed and rest up before we start full swing tomorrow! We have a full list of things to do--Bible class, worship service, sorting medicine, organizing VBS and door-knocking!

On some funny notes: Garrett Best is the rule breaker of the year--Flip Flops are not allowed anywhere but at the hotel and he managed to make it the whole trip with them on...May the foot fungus have mercy on him...We also discovered there are a range of topics you can cover on a bus trip with people you've never met before--the most popular one was childhood television shows.


We ask that all of you back home in the States continue to keep our efforts in your prayers and check back in tomorrow for another nightly update.

"Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’  For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things."Matthew 6:31-32


I'm thankful that this trip is in God's hands and that He is providing for all of our needs. 


In Christian love,


Leah Wright