This morning we woke up at Methodist Center in Alajuela and had breakfast. After we finished breakfast we got on a bus towards the Hacienda Alsacia Starbucks Coffee Farm. We cheered for the Chiefs along the way. Go Chiefs!
At the Hacienda Alsacia Starbucks Coffee Farm we learned how to choose the cherries off the trees to be processed into coffee. In this picture the tour guide is showing Judith the difference between a ripe cherry and an unripe cherry. We learned that cherry pickers are hired to work at the farm four months out of the year. They work from about 5am to 1pm picking cherries and typically pick enough cherries to fill 25 baskets.
During our tour we learned that at this coffee farm the members who worked there were doing research about coffee to share with coffee farmers around the world. Five members from our group volunteered to grab baskets to pick cherries. Once we finished with our tour we had lunch at the coffee farm and then headed to San Isidro to meet Wil and see where we would be staying for the rest of the week. On our way to San Isidro we stopped at Papa Madeo. This was an award winning coffee shop where we got more coffee and some sweet treats.
Written by Cindy & Jansyn
Season 3 – Episode 7
| BIG IDEA | What would you do if you were a struggling single mom in Costa Rica who can’t work without childcare and can’t afford childcare without work? In this episode Wil and Yolanda Bailey share their solution to this defeating circle. What started as a day care center (Escucha Con Amor or Listen with Love) has evolved into a strong support system for single mothers. Through counseling, these young moms find the love, value and respect they may not experience otherwise, and in turn take those feelings home with them to their families. The program grew quickly and now has a waiting list. As Wil says, “Of course you’re not happy that there’s that much need, but we’re happy that we’re in a place where we can provide that kind of support.” We are too Wil. We are too. |
| OUR GUEST(S) | Will and Yolanda Bailey – Missions and Ministry Center, Costa Rica Wil Bailey is a North Carolina Conference Missionary. He received his Master of Divinity degree from Duke University Divinity School in May of 2003. Wil went to Costa Rica for the first time when he was 15 years old with a United Methodist Volunteers in Missions youth work team. He went back every chance he got, and by the time he moved to Costa Rica in 2003, he had been 14 times as a part of work teams. Wil says, "I have known since that first trip that doing mission work in Central America would always be a part of my life." His wife, Yolanda, is an active, life-long member of the Evangelical Methodist Church of Costa Rica. Wil and Yolanda have a daughter, Isabella. |
| LEARN MORE | I couldn’t find a web site for the day care or Missions and Ministry Center. |
| CALL TO ACTION | Recording included the ZOE information (see note in Teams). |
As always, thanks for listening.
Love, the Bridging Cultures Podsquad
Our work is done and today we had our cultural day...in other words, we got to be vacationers today. We left the Missions & Ministry Center and headed towards the Pacific Ocean to Manuel Antonio National Park. We were blessed by William who guided us through the park where we saw monkeys, a sloth, bats, spiders, frogs, grasshoppers and sleeping plants (when you touch them they fold up like they went to sleep). We then headed to Marlin Restaurant for an awesome lunch. This was followed up with a couple of hours of shopping or relaxing on the beach. From there we headed up to El Avion which is a restaurant up on a hill with an awesome view of the Pacific Ocean where we had dinner. The weather was perfect, the servers were very personable and fun and the food was delicious. We also had a couple of unexpected visitors during dinner. Two white faced monkeys climbed up from the outside of the building and decided to hang out in the rafters while we were dining. After dinner we headed back to San Jose where we are staying the night before we end our trip tomorrow morning and begin our journeys home.
So, the end is here. The end of our journey together as a group where we laughed, worked, ate, slept and sweated together. A group of 19 strangers coming together to become a small family with memories made that will last a lifetime. God has been good to us this past week and has helped all of us grow in our faith and appreciation of what he has given us. We will be forever changed in positive ways. It will be fun to get together in two weeks as a group after all of this has settled in to see the effect this experience has had on all of us. Thanks for reading along with us and following our journey. If you have not gone on one of these trips, we strongly suggest you do. You will be so glad that you did.
Well, we made it to our last day of work and the slow realization that our week here in San Isidro is coming to a close. We started with our usual awesome breakfast made by the amazing ladies in the kitchen (more about them at the end). After breakfast, Wil gave us a tour of the new Counseling Center and offices. They are beautiful and we know God is going to do great things through Wil, Yolanda & Priscilla.
We then proceeded to our work sites where we finished up the projects we have been working on this week. It's amazing what can happen when 19 strangers come together and work towards a common goal. We are thrilled that we could be a small part of the new Daycare Office and the other projects that we worked on.
We finished early today which was a nice treat, had lunch and then went into town to the local Farmer's Market. We saw some produce that was new to many of us and had some great local coffee. Some of us purchased souvenirs while others brought home some produce. From there we walked back to POPS for ice cream. It was so good Wednesday night that we couldn't resist a return visit today.
Dinner tonight was pork, plantains with cheese, potato salad, chips and some of the best guacamole ever (Thank You Jessica). After dinner Wil treated us to songs while playing his guitar and then we partook in Holy Communion. It was a great end to our week here at the Missions & Ministry Center. Tomorrow we are off to Manuel Antonio National Park.
Today we want to shine a spotlight on our fantastic kitchen staff! They've taken great care of this week, and we're so thankful for the kindness and hospitality they've shown.
Fanny is the lead cook who has been at the Missions & Ministry Center from day 1. She is a super sweet lady with some great culinary skills.
Noemy is also an awesome lady, great cook and the mother of Johan who we highlighted yesterday.
Felicia is on staff, always has a smile on her face and will do anything we ask for.
Jessica is constantly smiling, always looking around to see what else we need and makes some killer guacamole.
Alejandra not only helps out in the kitchen, but she also helps translate and is one of the 4 ladies who live on the grounds as college students. The Missions & Ministry Center helps up to 4 young women at a time by providing room and board as a help up in their pursuit of college degrees.
Today we started our day by eating breakfast which included homemade pancakes which were awesome. Then we went to work on our typical projects which included welding, painting, staining, tile work and installing lights.
The crafts today was a lesson on Daniel and the Lions. The kids made lion masks to help them remember the story.
Our dinner was steak fajitas over rice with heart of palm, star fruit juice and homemade donuts which were out of this world.
We attended a Prayer Service at the local church where the congregants came up and gave us hugs and handshakes making us feel super welcome. After that we headed to Pop's which is a local ice cream shop and it was a fantastic ending to a great day.
We also wanted to take a moment to introduce you to some of our new friends! Let's start with our local construction leaders. Hugo is the leader of the team and he's also a Pastor at a local church.
Huguito is Hugo's son also known as "Little Hugo". He's been in construction his entire life and has taught us lots.
Pedro and his wife just welcomed their first child, a little girl who is one month old. He's also the jokester of the crew and has us laughing all day long.
Johan is the youngster of the team at only 23 years old. He is a very well mannered, soft spoken young man who has a gift for training. He's very patient with us and never gets flustered no matter how many mistakes we make. He also plays soccer almost every night after he leaves here.
