Serving Others

(A message from Chuck Jones)

Hola from Costa Rica! I thought I would send you a quick update on the trip so far.

It’s funny. Aprill and I brought the computer thinking that in the evenings, one of us would have time to give the Church at Charlotte family some updates on things that happened during the day. This is my first real chance, and I’m writing when I should be in bed.

We’ve had three great days. A few bumps and bruises along the way, and lots of rain - but all in all we’re off to a great start.

Today (Monday), our three work groups started work in three distinct areas. Our first group is doing a community-service project in an area near our partner church to rehabilitate a soccer field and playground, repairing dilapidated equipment and creating a greater access for the children of the community. In the afternoons, the group returns to the area where they’ve been working and plays with the children, making contact with parents and others about the church.

Our second group is assisting a school in the same area with some much-needed repairs and maintenance that is not funded. This group is doing a lot of painting and, during breaks, spending time with the children, looking for other needs in the school, and creating relationships with the faculty and staff as an outreach for the church.

The third group is spending the week working at a special needs school, assisting in work projects such as clearing a sidewalk, used by all of the wheelchair-bound students, that has become overgrown and dangerous. They are also working with the staff in crafts and activities with the students.

In the afternoons, members of all of the teams are working at an orphanage, showing the love of Jesus to 12 orphans ranging in age from 1 month to 7 years. This includes both interacting with the children and staff, as well as a painting project to help improve the indoor play area used by the children during the rainy season.

Tonight, we shared the experiences of the day. One line that was memorable was from one of the boys who said, “when all of the kids came to the playground in the afternoon and saw how much different it was from just this morning, the light finally came on.”

I love that statement: “the light finally came on.” There are lots of lights coming on, and we have nothing but high expectations for what God will continue to do in the lives of all of our team members.

I’ll try to write more later. Keep us in your prayers!