Our team is safely home

Saturday we left Costa Rica. We had a little adrenaline rush, not due to zip lining or river rafting for which Costa Rica is well known instead, it was due to a passport being left at the hotel. The staff at the hotel sent the passport to the airport in a taxi. The timing was tight, since the hotel was an hour from the airport, but praise God that the team was able to leave Costa Rica together. Our flight home was uneventful and smooth. We arrived in San Diego last night just after 10:30pm. Thank you for following our journey, and especially thank you for all your prayers. It meant so much to our team to know that we had such a large team of people praying for us and supporting our work in Costa Rica. Stay tuned for more stories of our trip, and videos recapping all of our projects. This is only the beginning of what God is going to do through Newbreak Church in Costa Rica at Linda Vista School. We look forward to our trip next year. We hope you will be joining with us on that trip as well. God Bless you, Kendra

Friday in Costa Rica

Friday was our last full day in Costa Rica. We started the day with an assembly put on by the school. The preschoolers sang a song, the kindergartners sang and danced and gave us some gifts. The older kids sang, danced, and prayed. They even had their own folkloric group. They danced even better than the group we saw at the restaurant on Wednesday night. The teachers even sang for us. There was not a dry eye in the place. The school was presented a banner of the successful graduates which was made from the photos which David took earlier in the week. There was a blank square on the banner for the kids pictures in the future. The kids were very excited. After the assembly, the teachers were presented with laptops for every classroom. We were able to purchase them through a generous donation from a Newbreak family. The teachers were so overwhelmed with gratitude. They will now be able to access teaching materials and resources they only could have dreamed of in the past. Katie and David conducted teacher training sessions in the afternoon while the rest of the team finished the makeover of the teachers' lounge. The cooks were the first to peek at the renovation, and they could not stop smiling. They were so thrilled with the difference. Mindy did a great job leading the team and her design was so thoughtful and beautiful. We had a HGTV style reveal to all of the teachers, and they were overwhelmed once again. The day ended with the teachers presenting us with bags they decorated themselves with the national flower of Costa Rica. Inside were gifts they bought for each of us. It was so thoughtful. We lingered a bit longer, but then said our farewells until next time. We will be back next summer. Start planning now if you want to join us.

Delivering the school supplies

Pictures from the school assembly

Wednesday Festivities and Thursday Fun

Last evening was the appreciation dinner for the Linda Vista school staff. We drove up some winding roads to a higher altitude so the view from the restaurant was amazing. The turnout was great as well as the food and entertainment. The Costa Ricans sure know how to have a spirit of celebration! One male teacher in particular got our group going with some song and dance. There were also some dancers that performed with working their skirts and doing a local version of a celebration scream that was quite an unusual sound-sort of how my little poodle mix dog sounds when I accidentally step on his foot. (No offense I hope). There were also the guys that wear the costumes with the big heads and grabbed different people in our group to go out and dance with them. Afterward there was a twizzler/firework display outside where one of the big head guys jumped out and scared the wits out of me. Lots of laughter and fun to say the least. It seemed that the teachers and school staff really enjoyed themselves and some of them said that they never had the chance to come to this restaurant. Today, the fun continued with leaving early to go to the most incredible waterfall park I had ever seen. The idea came from our local “Missionary Mary” because she had experienced it before. The design and landscaping were captivating. The park was full of interesting butterflies, hummingbirds, monkeys and even jaguars as we walked the paths down to the waterfalls. You’ll have to check out the photos to get a glimpse of the beauty of this place. So many pictures were taken that batteries went dead and memory cards got full. Afterward, we did some shopping for authentic Costa Rican gifts for family and friends and went out to dinner. It is now down to the last day of school this week and we got back to the hotel around 8 pm and are busy prepping for tomorrow. There is a lot going on with the photo/frame project, finishing the school lounge, and also a plan to do some coaching with the teachers led by our team educator Katie. More to follow tomorrow. Until then, team member Ellen

Thursday at the Waterfall Gardens

Wednesday night pictures

Wednesday in Costa Rica

We had a joyful beginning to our day on 2 fronts: the first is that we got to sleep in and leave at 9:30! The second is that we got to visit with the preschool toddlers and watch them sing for us. Again, these children are precious beyond words. After that, the team was busy at work on the teacher’s lounge project. There were also some activities on the side: Laurene and her girls Rachel and Dani helped some school girls with gymnastics. Rachel and Dani demonstrated cartwheels as Laurene spotted each of the girls. When the girls finally could do the cartwheel by themselves, you could see the pride and joy on their faces. I organized all of the school materials, games, and puzzles that we will give to the school and Jonathon and Rory continued playing soccer with the boys to get a break from painting. Back to the teacher’s lounge-the couch finally arrived but is being housed in the library as the team finishes up the paint job. It is looking great! After all the sweat and hard work everyone is looking forward to taking the teachers and school staff out for an appreciation dinner. The school staff here is so positive and hard working and they give so much without much gratitude in return. There is also to be a show along with the dinner so it will be fun to see the local culture in action. More to follow, Ellen

Wednesday Pictures

Wednesday Pictures

Tuesday in Costa Rica

The day began at the Girl’s club. The team had a tea party for the 5th and 6th grade girls where we decorated the room with a butterfly theme. The girls seem delighted to sit at the tables covered with colorful tablecloths, place settings with tea cups and butterfly centerpieces. Kendra, one of our team leaders began a discussion with the girls about beliefs they had about themselves that were lies. Kendra and Mary, our other team leader, shared about the lies that they had believed as children and how God healed their hearts. Dani Peña and Danielle Johnson also shared with the girls. The exercise involved the girls writing down what the lies were that they believed on one piece of paper. On the other piece of paper, the girls wrote down how they challenged those lies by knowing the truth of Jesus and His love for them. It was so moving to experience the openness of these girls and the kind of abuse and hardships they endured. Despite everything, their hearts were open to receiving the love of Jesus and they were so loving to the team. They would hug and kiss each of us and we were so touched. On the boy front, Rory led the 6th grade boys in a basketball game that was “some kind of crazy”. It seems that the boys were a lot better at being organized with football and they all had a great time. Later in the day, they broke out the gymnastic mat and Jonathon, the younger teen on our team, did an amazing dive somersault over 6 of the boys which the kids loved! David, Jonathon’s father, and Rory also led a discussion over cookies with the 6th grade boys. They talked about treating girls with respect and becoming aware of the angry thoughts they had at times and how to deal with them through sharing and prayer. In the afternoon, we started the project of re-painting and decorating the teacher’s lounge. The plan is great with the blue and tan color scheme, where we got a new couch, window coverings, and corkboard for decoration, notes, etc. This project will take a few days so we’ll keep you posted! Another exciting work in progress is with Katie, our bilingual principal of a school in Las Vegas that deals with very similar challenges as this school. Katie is discussing with the educators how they can implement a computer program that will help the parents learn to assist in their children’s education at home. It as if God tailor made this mission for Katie. She has been invaluable with translation for the team and with communicating with the Costa Rican teachers. In the evening, Mary, the local missionary with Assemblies of God, had the team over to her home for a delicious meal of tacos, black beans, and chips with salsa and guacamole. The best part of the evening was listening to the compelling testimony of Mauricio, a local pastor and teacher. His childhood had every kind of pain and hardship imaginable and he truly is a walking miracle for the Lord. God is blessing all of us with such a richness of experiences throughout this trip. Praise Him! Until tomorrow, your team member Ellen

Today was the first day the team was able to see the school and work with the Costa Rican students. We began our morning with a team meeting over breakfast. We were all able to enjoy our special words of affirmation, prayer, and blessings from a friend or family member at home. It is such an amazing way to start your day with the support and love from someone at home, so thank you all for your kind words. Shortly after we arrived to the school, we were introduced to an amazing woman filled with love from God and a passion for helping change the lives of children in her community. We were fortunate enough to have a powerful prayer with her shortly after touring the school. It was so powerful seeing one woman, encircled with thirteen people, with her arms held out to receive the love and prayer. As we finished our prayer, she was so greatful that tears streamed down her face as she hugged and thanked each individual on the team. Following the prayer, all of the team members went into a kindergarten classroom and played with the children. All of the boys crowded around Rory to play race cars. Laurene and Danielle sat on the floor to play house and dolls. Jonathon, Ellen, and Pat played blocks with a little boy named Jefferson. David humored two little girls in the doorway. And we were all snapping pictures of these memorable moments. Next the team branched out into different arms to reach out. David and Jonathan reached out to the community with the national director of LACC, Johnny. They were able to take pictures of past students that have become successful in Costa Rica. Rory, Katie, Kendra, Danielle, Laurene, Dani, Rachel, Mary, and I reached out to the students. The children were asked to think about what God has asked them to become as an adult in the career field. Then the students began decorating a picture frame with their career dream. The students had an assortment of careers including; firemen, policemen, artists, architects, writers, teachers, ministers, doctors, and missionary leaders. As the students finished their craft, or a group of students came running out for recess, Rory picked up a basketball and went to shoot some hoops. Dani and Rachel made beautiful crafts for the girls with some extra supplies from the picture frames. Towards the end of the school day, Mary Mahon, Mary Linam, and I went to collect supplies to remodel the teacher's lounge. It sounds like everyone enjoyed their experience today and the team is so supportive of one another. I would like to say Thank you to the team for their uplifting spirit, unconditional love, and abundant willingness. It has been an amazing trip thus far, and I know that God is making huge changes in San Jose, Costa Rica. I have noticed that my personal spiritual growth is continuing to expand, like a sponge soaking up water in the hot sun. I am so thankful that I listened to my calling from God, to step outside of my comfort zone, and follow my heart on this mission! Goodnight and God Bless, Mindy Dlouhy

Sunday Services in Costa Rica

Our first full day in Cost Rica was incredible. God showed up in big ways. We attended the church in Linda Vista to worship with the local community. David Peña was the featured speaker for the worship service, and his message in Spanish touch the members of the congregation. In the afternoon, we returned to the school to hold separate sessions with the men and the women of the church. Pat Whitson spoke to the women about the breaking the cycle of violence in their community. During her talk, several of the team members did crafts with some of the children who attended the talk with their mothers. After the talk, the women asked for prayer, and the team prayed for them. While the women were meeting, the men took part in a Bible study with David Peña, Rory Jennings and Jonathan Peña. The men shared their struggles and their desire to change their community's cycle of drugs and violence. It was a truly blessed day!

Day One Photos

Travel to Costa Rica

Have made it safely to Costa Rica, and all of our school supplies, toys, and games have arrived safely with us. Our journey started Friday afternoon with packing and weighing all of our boxes and bags. We then left for Los Angeles at 3:30pm. Luckily, we had an incredible bus driver who braved the traffic without any issues. Those of you who have made the trek to LA on a Friday night know that it can be very difficult. It took about 4 hours. We had a lovely dinner at the IHOP and settled in for a quick sleep before we left for the airport at 4:30am. We flew from LAX to San Salvador, El Salvador for a short layover. That flight was 4.5 hours. We then flew from San Salvador to San Jose, Costa Rica. It was only another hour flight. We arrived to a very nice airport and helpful people. All of our boxes, bags, and even our gymnastics mats which flew standby all made it to Costa Rica. Our missionary, Mary Mahon met us at the airport with a big bus, loaded us up for the hotel. After checking in, we went to Rosti Pollo which was very delicious. As most would guess, it is a Roasted Chicken restaurant with all the fixings. It was the perfect meal for 13 tired travelers. Tomorrow we are going to a local church and David Peña is going to speak to the congregation. Thanks to everyone for your prayers for our trip. We are all doing well and are excited for the days ahead.

Headed to Costa Rica in less than a week!

Hi, This will be the place to get all the latest news on the team leaving from San Diego's Newbreak Church headed to Linda Vista, Costa Rica to work with Latin American Child Care. We will be working along side of dedicated, passionate men and women who work with the children in that community to inspire them to gain the best education and life skills they can to live the life God has for them. Thirteen of us have been willing to give of our time and resources to serve God and the people of this neighborhood. We are also all honored by all of our friends and family who are partnering with us in prayer and finances to make a difference. The people at Newbreak know and believe that God has called us to trust and and follow Him and that by doing that we will "Shake the Planet". So this is the place where to get the latest planet shaking news!