Good morning to you all!! Today is our last work day in Costa Rica. I cannot believe how quickly it has gone by. I will cover June 27 and 28th in this blog.
June 27.
On June 27 (Tuesday) we had another day of VBS. We went to a local school in Sarchi, the same as the one the day before. We only had a morning session on Tuesday. We had approximately 150 children Tuesday. The kids learned about was forgiveness. They learned the story from Mathew 18: 21-35 where Jesus is teaching the Apostles about forgiveness. The kids were wonderful. They listened and answered questions. I am always encouraged by the children's eagerness and love. When they answered questions they always added something to the effect of "we can do this because we have God." So pure and innocent. This is why Jesus tells us to be like little children. The kids enjoyed a craft, a fun activity, snacks, and a skit. They were very well behaved and participated.
At the camp Jon Hackett led his final leadership seminar for the morning session and Diane Adams held her final lady's class. The group met back at the camp for lunch. After lunch the VBS team went to a local farm and day care to do a service project. We spent the second half of the day cleaning the day care and sorting through good and bad plants. The good plants were kept and the bad plants were thrown out. While the team was doing the service project, Chase started his portion of the seminar. He worked with some of the local preachers and wives on accessing data for lesson plans. They were able to gain access to apps for their smart phones and material to add to their computers to continue the work. We met back up at camp for dinner and had our evening devotional. The devotional was pretty awesome. Diego and Terry took some songs and we sang them in Spanish and English. For example: "It is Well With My Soul", we sang the first half of the song in English and switched back and forth from English to Spanish. It was beautiful. I know it sounds confusing, but it worked and it was beautiful.
After Devo we received instruction and headed to bed.
June 28
Yesterday we had an early start to our day. We had breakfast and loaded the bus to head to the school. We had two sessions at the school before noon. Today the lesson was on Patience. We told the story of Hannah and Job. The kids enjoyed the skits very much yesterday. We followed the same plan where each group went to do crafts, hear the lesson, do a fun activity, and have a snack. This was our last day of VBS at this particular school. June 29, we will split our team into 2 and go to 2 different schools. We will either do the story of David and Goliath or Peter (forgiveness).
After VBS we went to camp and met with the group for lunch. Chase had just completed his final session on the use of the technology to spread the gospel. After lunch, we went to our cabins and began cleaning up and sorting things to prepare for leaving on Friday. It was a much needed clean up time. We also said good bye to some of our Costa Rican brothers and sisters. Saying good bye is the hardest part of the mission trips for me, but the beautiful thing about it is God gives us hope we will see each other again no matter what. It may not be on Earth, but we will spend eternity in Heaven with our brothers and sisters WITHOUT a language barrier.
We had dinner and evening devo to close out our day. After devo, we said goodbye to the rest of our Costa Rican brethren who left at 2am to make it back to their homes for work. We sang songs and hugged one another and said our goodbyes. We all made our way to bed for a good nights sleep to prepare for our final day of service.
In your prayers remember all those traveling and the continued work in Costa Rica. Pray for our final work day and safe travel home. Thank you for reading and praying. Please remember those who will be continueing on to Honduras on Friday for another 10 days.
Thank you and God Bless
Brandy Barnett
Thursday, June 29
Tuesday, June 27
Go!!
Good morning everyone!! Man what a busy two days we have had!! This entry will cover Sunday June 25, 2017 and Monday June 26, 2017.
Sunday
Sunday was a day of worship. Our group was able to sleep in until around 8:30 am. At this time we met at the mess hall for breakfast. We had a lite breakfast, toast, cereal, and fruit. After breakfast we made two trips to the Church. We arrived around 10 am and worshiped with the Sarchi Church of Christ. Jon Hackett led the teenage class, Angie Adams prepared a lesson for the children, and Cary Hadley had the lesson. After the lesson we had a meal with our brothers and sisters in Sarchi. When everyone had finished we loaded the bus to head back to camp. Sunday after our team sorted through VBS materials and began preparing for four days of VBS at the local schools. Jon Hackett and Diane Adams and a few other women prepared for the Seminar that will be held for the brothers and sisters of Costa Rica as well. At around 5pm, we loaded the bus and went to the mall for a dinner. We spent about an hour at the mall enjoying our meals and fellowship with one another. A few of us did sneak away to the local grocery store to purchase a cake for the Behle sisters to celebrate their birthdays. Beth Baily had a birthday Sunday and April had a birthday last Friday. Then we headed back the camp to meet our new guest who had arrived for the seminar. We spent the evening meeting our brothers and sister in Costa Rica and worshiped together that evening. We all went to bed around 9pm.
Monday
Monday morning we woke and had breakfast at 7am. After breakfast we had devo led by Thad Butts. After devo we gathered supplies and prepared to leave for the local school to conduct VBS. When we arrived at the school, we received instruction from the principle on where our classes would be. We would have a drama class, arts and crafts, lesson, and activity. We all met in the auditorium for singing and instruction. We had four rotations of kids in the morning. The students learned about the story of David and Goliath. The morning groups we well behaved and listened very well. After the four rotations we loaded and came back to the camp for lunch. After lunch we loaded and went back to the school for our afternoon group. We tweaked the rotations a bit having a lesson class, arts and crafts class, activity class, and snacks. The drama team did one skit during the meeting in the auditorium after singing. When the meeting was over, the classes were divided into four groups to rotate through the classes. This worked much better than the morning! I would say we had approximately 250-300 students.
While the VBS team was working with the school, the brothers and sisters of Costa Rica were at the camp participating in a seminar conducted by Jon Hackett and a lady's class conducted by Diane Adams. There are about 30-40 Costa Rican brothers and sisters here participating in the seminar.
At around 6 pm we all came together to fellowship with one another and hear about each others day. We had dinner around 7 pm and devo after.
Today we will have a similar schedule. I will attempt to post again tonight. We have a media day, it is difficult to post due to internet power. Several of the group have posted pictures on Facebook and Jon Hackett is trying to do Facebook live for devos. Every thing has been going well and we appreciate all your prayers. Please continue to pray for the work and everyone traveling. WE love you guys!!
Brandy Barnett
Sunday
Sunday was a day of worship. Our group was able to sleep in until around 8:30 am. At this time we met at the mess hall for breakfast. We had a lite breakfast, toast, cereal, and fruit. After breakfast we made two trips to the Church. We arrived around 10 am and worshiped with the Sarchi Church of Christ. Jon Hackett led the teenage class, Angie Adams prepared a lesson for the children, and Cary Hadley had the lesson. After the lesson we had a meal with our brothers and sisters in Sarchi. When everyone had finished we loaded the bus to head back to camp. Sunday after our team sorted through VBS materials and began preparing for four days of VBS at the local schools. Jon Hackett and Diane Adams and a few other women prepared for the Seminar that will be held for the brothers and sisters of Costa Rica as well. At around 5pm, we loaded the bus and went to the mall for a dinner. We spent about an hour at the mall enjoying our meals and fellowship with one another. A few of us did sneak away to the local grocery store to purchase a cake for the Behle sisters to celebrate their birthdays. Beth Baily had a birthday Sunday and April had a birthday last Friday. Then we headed back the camp to meet our new guest who had arrived for the seminar. We spent the evening meeting our brothers and sister in Costa Rica and worshiped together that evening. We all went to bed around 9pm.
Monday
Monday morning we woke and had breakfast at 7am. After breakfast we had devo led by Thad Butts. After devo we gathered supplies and prepared to leave for the local school to conduct VBS. When we arrived at the school, we received instruction from the principle on where our classes would be. We would have a drama class, arts and crafts, lesson, and activity. We all met in the auditorium for singing and instruction. We had four rotations of kids in the morning. The students learned about the story of David and Goliath. The morning groups we well behaved and listened very well. After the four rotations we loaded and came back to the camp for lunch. After lunch we loaded and went back to the school for our afternoon group. We tweaked the rotations a bit having a lesson class, arts and crafts class, activity class, and snacks. The drama team did one skit during the meeting in the auditorium after singing. When the meeting was over, the classes were divided into four groups to rotate through the classes. This worked much better than the morning! I would say we had approximately 250-300 students.
While the VBS team was working with the school, the brothers and sisters of Costa Rica were at the camp participating in a seminar conducted by Jon Hackett and a lady's class conducted by Diane Adams. There are about 30-40 Costa Rican brothers and sisters here participating in the seminar.
At around 6 pm we all came together to fellowship with one another and hear about each others day. We had dinner around 7 pm and devo after.
Today we will have a similar schedule. I will attempt to post again tonight. We have a media day, it is difficult to post due to internet power. Several of the group have posted pictures on Facebook and Jon Hackett is trying to do Facebook live for devos. Every thing has been going well and we appreciate all your prayers. Please continue to pray for the work and everyone traveling. WE love you guys!!
Brandy Barnett
Sunday, June 25
Coffee, trails, and fun
Good morning to you all!! I hope everyone who reads this is having a beautiful and wonderful day. I will be cover the past two days and the plans for today in this entry.
June 23, 2017
Friday the group went out into the Sarchi community to work with firemen, police men and environmental Government officials. Our group splint into 2 teams. One team went to a coffee plantation to help with cleanup, while the other team went to a community park to clean and paint the playground.
Group one arrived at the plantation around 8:30am. We unloaded the bus and met the Bomberos (firemen) and our leader (Carla) to receive our instructions. From there we split into two teams one team went one way the other went the opposite way. We spent the day cleaning and joking with each other and our new friends from the police and fire departments. They showed us different fruits and explained when the coffee beans were ready to be picked. We even had an opportunity to be part of Costa Rican news interview. Basically we were the background, but hey we were on TV. After we were finished we met up with the other group and had lunch at the coffee plantation.
Group two dropped group one off and headed to the park to begin work there. They spent the day clearing vines of a fence and painting the equipment. The group reports they had a great time enjoying each others company and working to help the people in Honduras. When they were finished they met up with the group at the coffee plantation for lunch.
When we finished eating and cleaned up, the Bomberos (firemen) showed us their equipment and showed how to use the hose. Many of the team members were able to operate hose with the assistance of one of the firemen. Everyone enjoyed watching and participating in the activity. After the fun we were given a tour of the coffee plantation and the process the beans go through before they are sold and shipped all over the world. When the tour was over we loaded the bus and headed back to camp.
At camp we all cleaned up, played soccer, or just relaxed until dinner. For dinner we had tostados, which were amazing!!!! After dinner we had a camp fire devo. Cary Hadley provided us with our lesson. After the lesson we roasted marshmallows, that were the size of your face, and mini sausages. We also received instruction on what we would need to do for the following day. We were all in bed as close to 10pm as possible.
June 24
Yesterday was a travel/fun day for the group. We loaded the bus at 4:30 am and made our way to the Pacific Coast. Our group member did a number of adventures from zip lining, rafting, kayaking, horse rides, and trail walks. We spent the day enjoying God's beautiful work in Costa Rica. We saw monkeys and sloths and many birds, and lizards. We all had a blast and enjoyed our time with one another. We arrived back at camp around 10pm. We all went straight to bed.
Today the plan is worship with the local congregation in Sarchi have lunch with our brothers and sisters. Afterward, we will come back and have VBS prep and prepare for the seminar, lady's class, etc.
Monday we will start the seminar, VBS, Lady's class etc.
Thank you all for your prayers!! Please continue to send prayers for safe travels for those traveling today to the camp.
Love you guys
Brandy Barnett
June 23, 2017
Friday the group went out into the Sarchi community to work with firemen, police men and environmental Government officials. Our group splint into 2 teams. One team went to a coffee plantation to help with cleanup, while the other team went to a community park to clean and paint the playground.
Group one arrived at the plantation around 8:30am. We unloaded the bus and met the Bomberos (firemen) and our leader (Carla) to receive our instructions. From there we split into two teams one team went one way the other went the opposite way. We spent the day cleaning and joking with each other and our new friends from the police and fire departments. They showed us different fruits and explained when the coffee beans were ready to be picked. We even had an opportunity to be part of Costa Rican news interview. Basically we were the background, but hey we were on TV. After we were finished we met up with the other group and had lunch at the coffee plantation.
Group two dropped group one off and headed to the park to begin work there. They spent the day clearing vines of a fence and painting the equipment. The group reports they had a great time enjoying each others company and working to help the people in Honduras. When they were finished they met up with the group at the coffee plantation for lunch.
When we finished eating and cleaned up, the Bomberos (firemen) showed us their equipment and showed how to use the hose. Many of the team members were able to operate hose with the assistance of one of the firemen. Everyone enjoyed watching and participating in the activity. After the fun we were given a tour of the coffee plantation and the process the beans go through before they are sold and shipped all over the world. When the tour was over we loaded the bus and headed back to camp.
At camp we all cleaned up, played soccer, or just relaxed until dinner. For dinner we had tostados, which were amazing!!!! After dinner we had a camp fire devo. Cary Hadley provided us with our lesson. After the lesson we roasted marshmallows, that were the size of your face, and mini sausages. We also received instruction on what we would need to do for the following day. We were all in bed as close to 10pm as possible.
June 24
Yesterday was a travel/fun day for the group. We loaded the bus at 4:30 am and made our way to the Pacific Coast. Our group member did a number of adventures from zip lining, rafting, kayaking, horse rides, and trail walks. We spent the day enjoying God's beautiful work in Costa Rica. We saw monkeys and sloths and many birds, and lizards. We all had a blast and enjoyed our time with one another. We arrived back at camp around 10pm. We all went straight to bed.
Today the plan is worship with the local congregation in Sarchi have lunch with our brothers and sisters. Afterward, we will come back and have VBS prep and prepare for the seminar, lady's class, etc.
Monday we will start the seminar, VBS, Lady's class etc.
Thank you all for your prayers!! Please continue to send prayers for safe travels for those traveling today to the camp.
Love you guys
Brandy Barnett
Thursday, June 22
Poop and stuff
Good day to you all! Our group has had an awesome day today. If you are reading this then you are probably thinking "Poop and Stuff, What??" Well you only thought you were going to get a gross story, but really you are going to read about serving the people in Sarchi, Costa Rica in the name of Jesus.
So, a little introduction. My name is Brandy Barnett and for the next 20ish days, I will be sharing about the work that will be done in Costa Rica and Honduras all to the Glory of our Father! Our group leader is the one and only Terry Reeves and we have 32 people currently on the ground in Sarchi, Costa Rica. Over the next week the group will be involved in a number of ministries that will assist in spreading the Good News of Jesus.
Today was our first work day in Sarchi. We woke and had breakfast at around 7 this morning. We had eggs, toast, fruit and cereal. After breakfast, we had a devotional lead by Terry Reeves. Our theme this year is GO! from Mark 15:15. As Christians we are commanded to go into ALL the world to share Jesus with every person. God gives us opportunities daily to share his Word whether it be with your neighbor or with people in a foreign country. Our group has been given a beautiful opportunity to share Jesus.
There are many, many ways to share the Word. Some may not seem "fun", but if you have a good attitude then it can be fun. Today our group was given the opportunity to help the town of Sarchi with some much needed cleaning. It may have not been glamorous, but it needed to be done. The group worked really hard and we go to see and work in God's beauty. The view was something that cannot be described by words and pictures will not do it justice. Everyone worked hard and was very positive. Like I said, it wasn't glamorous, but the attitudes of everyone was so encouraging. Everyone worked hard and did what the was asked of them.
As of now, the group is cleaning up and getting ready for dinner. Being at the camp this year is awesome!! There is a place to play soccer, or basketball and several trails to walk on the campus. Its probably the most beautiful place to be. I do not believe I will be able to post pictures, however, I will be posting some to facebook and I will send some to be put on the Torch insta gram. I will do my best to post every night, but sometimes internet is sketchy especially in Honduras but Costa Rica there should be no problems.
Please send prayers for the work over the next week for the group and for those that we will be working with. If you have any questions please feel free to email me at brandyb06@gmail.com.
Love you guys
Brandy
So, a little introduction. My name is Brandy Barnett and for the next 20ish days, I will be sharing about the work that will be done in Costa Rica and Honduras all to the Glory of our Father! Our group leader is the one and only Terry Reeves and we have 32 people currently on the ground in Sarchi, Costa Rica. Over the next week the group will be involved in a number of ministries that will assist in spreading the Good News of Jesus.
Today was our first work day in Sarchi. We woke and had breakfast at around 7 this morning. We had eggs, toast, fruit and cereal. After breakfast, we had a devotional lead by Terry Reeves. Our theme this year is GO! from Mark 15:15. As Christians we are commanded to go into ALL the world to share Jesus with every person. God gives us opportunities daily to share his Word whether it be with your neighbor or with people in a foreign country. Our group has been given a beautiful opportunity to share Jesus.
There are many, many ways to share the Word. Some may not seem "fun", but if you have a good attitude then it can be fun. Today our group was given the opportunity to help the town of Sarchi with some much needed cleaning. It may have not been glamorous, but it needed to be done. The group worked really hard and we go to see and work in God's beauty. The view was something that cannot be described by words and pictures will not do it justice. Everyone worked hard and was very positive. Like I said, it wasn't glamorous, but the attitudes of everyone was so encouraging. Everyone worked hard and did what the was asked of them.
As of now, the group is cleaning up and getting ready for dinner. Being at the camp this year is awesome!! There is a place to play soccer, or basketball and several trails to walk on the campus. Its probably the most beautiful place to be. I do not believe I will be able to post pictures, however, I will be posting some to facebook and I will send some to be put on the Torch insta gram. I will do my best to post every night, but sometimes internet is sketchy especially in Honduras but Costa Rica there should be no problems.
Please send prayers for the work over the next week for the group and for those that we will be working with. If you have any questions please feel free to email me at brandyb06@gmail.com.
Love you guys
Brandy
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