First in the City

After many hugs and a few tears our first group of students here in the city flew home yesterday. They were a great group to initiate the student part of SI Costa Rica. Everyone was flexible and excited to be working and praying alongside us as we are developing ministry sites. To give you an idea of what the week looked like here is schedule for a typical day. The team was staying at a hostel about 15 minutes away.

8:30 Meet the team at the Park in order to catch the bus up to Los Guido
9-12:30 Hangout with the kids at the Guardaria: One day we made cookies, a brand-new experience for all of the kids. It was hilarious!
12:30-1:30 Eat lunch in a Soda run out of the front of a lady’s house in Los Guido
1:30 Take the bus back to the Dixon’s/SI office
2:45-4 ish Work on sorting books and getting things ready for the tutoring center
4:30 Get students back up to the Hostel
6pm dinner and/or nighttime activities with the team
After 9 head home, exhausted.

Needless to say, it was a busy week. Normal life kind of got put on hold. Hopefully in the future I will figure out a better way to balance everything and still get enough sleep ☺
Even though the week was jam-packed, I was greatly encouraged though having the students here. I loved watching them fall in love with the kids and in turn Costa Rica. It was great to be able to dialogue about the poverty and devastation they witnessed, and what our response should be. It’s easy for me to become discouraged by the oppressive poverty I witness everyday, but talking with the students reminded me that God is about transformation. This week I continually came back to Isaiah 61:1-4

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,

and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.

They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.


There is a lot of devastation and despair in Los Guido and in many of our own lives. I know that God began to transform students’ lives this week, and I pray that He is doing the same in Los Guido as we continue to serve and love the community there.

Our next team comes in tomorrow, but they head out to the Jungle with Cailah and Jeremy for the first 5 days before coming back into the city. Please be praying for them and our staff, that God would be preparing all of our hearts. As a staff, we covet your prayers. We know that it is nothing we say or do on our own that is going to change the students or the community; true transformation only comes through Christ. Pray that we would allow God to work and speak through us, and that He would sustain us through this busy time.

Pictures!!!

Making Cookies at the Guardaria


An intense game of Uno. I think there were two different sets of rules :-)


Alex and some of her new friends at the Guardaria.


All the boys loved hanging out with Adam. It was great for them to have a positive male role model, even if it was only for a week.


Reading books with the kids at Club de Niños. This was probably my favorite even of the week. It was such a blessing to be able to watch all these kids having some sit and read with them. I daily experience I took for granted growing in my house.