04-25-08

Today is our final day in Las Vueltas. Yesterday, we made good progress on the wall and were able to get the outside of the church painted. The electrician showed up very late and was unable to finished installing the lights, so today he returned to finish the job. Our goal today was to finish the wall with enough time to get cleaned up for church in the evening, and to finish painting the inside of the church building.

A few years ago, a Tri-S group from Anderson University came to the village and painted the church, but since then the years have taken their toll and the church needed painted once again. We are extremely happy to help in any way we can, and our group finished painting the inside of the building just after lunch.

The rest of the group worked at the building site, again making great headway. By late afternoon, the final block was ready to be set in the wall. One of the Costa Rican workers asked Rich to be the one to set the final block. He was honored to do so and performed the momentous deed with great skill. The group yelled in celebration as the final touches were made on the wall. It seems like such a small thing to build a wall, but the wall represents the first progress made toward the future that this church has been dreaming about for some time. The village of Las Vueltas is actually a growing village. There are plans in place to pave all of the streets, and there are even plans for development of many new homes in the village. As the church plans for the new building, they are actually positioning themselves to be ready for strategic ministry to this growing community. So even though building a wall may seem insignificant to us, this is a historical first step toward the vision that God has given them.

Our evening service was a time of celebration and thanks. We worshiped together, and the Costa Ricans certainly worship with passion, and then we shared together. Our group was given time to share in the service, so Brenda and Logan were asked to represent the group. Logan sang “Surely the Presence of the Lord is in This Place,” and Brenda read from Philippians 1:3–4 and then shared from her heart about the special blessing that we received during our time here in the village. Pastor Noily Hernández followed with a short sermon from the same verse titled “Unforgettable Moments.” What a Spirit-filled time we had together. The people truly are the most beautiful sight in Costa Rica. They are so full of joy and laughter and passion for the lost.

After the service, we had dinner at Cureque, a rustic restaurant on the edge of Tuqurique overlooking the valley. We invited the ladies who had cooked for us and our papa Leo, a sixty-seven-year-old man in the church who worked along side us on the wall. We enjoyed our last evening together as we laughed and dined in the open-air restaurant. Leaving tomorrow will be quite difficult because we have developed such deep relationships that we feel like we’re leaving close family members behind. God is so good to bless us with this kind of experience.

Logan E. Ritchhart
CBH Media Specialist