Returned from my Costa Rica mission trip

9 years ago

I got back very late Sunday night from spending 8 days in Costa Rica. There were 30 of us from my Methodist church and it was an intergenerational group. The youngest was 14 and I was the oldest at 72. On the flight from Dallas to San Jose, Costa Rica, there was another Methodist group from San Angelo, TX.
The day after we arrived we got to tour a volcano.
The next day we started work at 3 different locations, all within walking distance of the mission where we stayed. I was in the group that went to a Methodist church to work on a parsonage for the pastor. Another group went to a soccer field where they helped build a retaining wall and the third group went to a Pentecostal church to do some construction.
The following day, I got to go to with a group to a feeding center in a church in a very poor area of San Jose. After we fed the kids, we played basketball and other activities with them
At the end of the week we took a 5 hour bus ride to a beach on the Carribean coast where we stayed 2 nights. We swam in the ocean and I got to go zip lining. Others chose to go to a Sloth Sanctuary.
We had a very long trip home and had to spend 8 hours at the Dallas Airport because our flight to Omaha was cancelled due to mechanical problems with the plane. I am still tired but managed to go water walking this morning. It was a great trip and I am glad I went but this is the end of my mission trips.

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Comments (17)

angelaid
9 years ago
What is water walking?
Glad you are home safe!
murraysmom Zone 6a OH
9 years ago
Linda, that sounds like such an interesting trip! I'm sure it is very satisfying to do work like that and then you got to have fun too. Perfect!

Well, if it's your last, it sounds like you are ending on a high note!
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I went to CR four years ago and had a spectacular time. Flew to San Jose, went to Arenal / La Fortuna, Monteverde, and Quepos / Miguel Antonio Park. In 9 days, I saw a volcano, hiked around the volcano and through the jungle and the rain forest, rode zip lines across the rain forest canopy, swam under a waterfall, went to the mountains, went to the beach, heard and saw monkeys, lizards, sloths, and many other animals, rode horseback through the mountains and across a river, took a three hour sailboat ride, went to the famous hot springs, got a reflexology massage in a grass hut, toured a coffee plantation, rode a bus with locals and their chickens, had great food, did a little shopping, went to a couple cool art galleries and musuems, wore a t-neck and jacket and 2 days later a swimsuit, learned a little Spanish, learned a lot about the country, people, and environment, and always felt safe and comfortable. I went on a guided tour with Gap Adventures (gapadventures.com) on the 9-day tour. I think it was called the Quest adventure. They have dozens of differenet tours in CR, guided and independent. THe one I did was great, because they arranged everything from hotels to transportation to entrance fees to reservations. They got you to an area, told you what cool things there were to do, and then arranged for you to do whatever you were interested in. It was not a tour where everyone does the same thing at the same time and you are kinda trapped and on someone else's time table. You get the same guide for the whole tour and she knew the areas well and knew everyone in the areas we went, so she could always point us to the right people and places for what we wanted to experience. I frankly do not think I would want to try to navigate and drive through the country without a knowledgeable guide-- it's not like AAA will come get you if there is a problem and there is no mechanic or tire store around the corner. The roads are VERY rough and not well marked-- it would make a heck of an adventure, but just think about if that is the adventure you want, or if that would detract from the adventure you really want. I thought the loosely-guided tour was perfect and would highly receommend Gap, although there may be others that are just as good (I am not connected with them in any way, just a happy customer.) OH! One word of advice for San Jose-- If a man pinches you on the arm downtown, just say "No!" firmly and move on. That is the customary way that a man tells a uh, shall we say "lady of the evening" that he is interested. Some men just pinch anyone they think is cute, hoping she's a "lady of the evening"! You'll only experience it right in the center of downtown by the square, though, and if you say no then they apologize and leave you alone. Frankly, you likely won't want to hang out much in San Jose. One day for a musuem or two and the flea market is plenty. It is literally hard to breathe in the city because of all the pollution. Hope this helps. I'd be happy to answer any specific quetions if I can. --A.
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linda_in_iowa
Original Author
9 years ago
Water walking is done in the lazy river at our aquatic center. You can either walk with or against the current. I usually run into someone I know and walk with them and we chat and forget how many laps we have done.
glenda_al
9 years ago
Know you had a great time!
ellendi
9 years ago
Is this your last mission trip, or traveling in general?
I really enjoy Costa Rica and you should experience it as a guest, not a volunteer worker.
ruthieg__tx
9 years ago
Are these mission trips really trips that you feel are set up to help the poor of the country or just quasi cheap church vacations where you give a few hours of your time and get dollars saved on fairs and cheap hotels...I have heard a few talk about their mission trips and it doesn't sound like they did a whole lot of real mission work...
rob333 (zone 7b)
9 years ago
When my church goes on trips like this, doesn't matter if it is Russia, Hungary, or Africa, the kids always cling to them. I always think that must be heartbreaking to leave them. What touched you the most in your work there?
marie_ndcal
9 years ago
Regardless of the mission trips anyone takes there is always something good. It helps some and refreshes the people going. Thank you for helping out and yes sometimes it seems not much physical work is done, but just being with others is a true blessing. It tells them we do care.
linda_in_iowa
Original Author
9 years ago
This is not the end of my travels, just the end of mission trips for me. I am 72, was the oldest on the trip, and find that I just cannot do the physical labor that I did in my 40s. The heat and humidity exhaust me. Most on my trip worked very hard and accomplished a lot. I enjoyed interacting with the children. They are starved for attention and love.
susanjf_gw
9 years ago
the one my dd went on was beneficial and not a "trip"...but she also spoke the language and was helpful to the dr's who went as she had had medical Spanish as one of her classes in college...

she too, was amazed at the amount of children, and was almost over-run handing out simple toothbrushes...

what I object to is trying to convert people from their "home" religion to something else...
juellie1962
9 years ago
Linda, thank you for serving humanity; regardless of what you did there! I hope to someday be able to do the same. What some people don't know is that mission trips are not free and most of the time they aren't "cheap church vacations" either! It's often quite costly to go help others!!
linda_in_iowa
Original Author
9 years ago
Susan, we don't discuss religion with the people we are serving. We only help with construction and playing games with the children.
Elmer J Fudd
9 years ago
"what I object to is trying to convert people from their "home" religion to something else..."

I understand this view, though fundamentally that's what missionaries do. In Central America, I'm not sure what you pick as the starting point. The indigenous people didn't have a Western religion until the Spanish conquistadors came, at which point the padres introduced Catholicism. The Protestant missionaries came later. What do you call the "home religion" under such circumstances?

What I find a bit more puzzling - if the desire of the congregation in accumulating donations and doing fund raising, etc, is to help impoverished people (which is of course a most noble cause), why waste the funds on airfare and travel? Send down the money instead and make sure it's spent honestly and wisely. Allow a few people to go to supervise and let the others go on another trip. Apply as much money as possible to spend locally on whatever projects are identified. That would do a lot more good, wouldn't it?
linda_in_iowa
Original Author
9 years ago
Each time we went out for breakfast, lunch or dinner at the beach, we contributed to the local economy. The souvenirs that some purchased also contributed, as did our very plain motel rooms and our ziplining tour. Tourism is the #1 income in Costa Rica.
pudgeder
9 years ago
Linda, so glad you had a good experience! Costa Rica is a beautiful country and the Ticas are wonderful people.

Usually the airfares and lodging costs are paid by the individual, not the church.
And I would say the reason that people would rather go WORK is for the satisfaction of helping.
Throwing money at something isn't necessarily beneficial.

(Case in point, the US Gov't.)
oldfixer
9 years ago
Volunteering sounds like fun. It is not a free, or cheap, "vacation". Glad you could participate, benefit some, and enjoy the location.
shelly_seattle
9 years ago
Glad you are home safe Linda

Returned from my Costa Rica mission trip

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