Michael, VTI team leader, reports on the recent trip to Costa Rica by a team from Westpointe Community Church in Grande Prairie:

Pura vida! This is what they say in Costa Rica when asked how they are, how the day is going, how the meal was…. Costa Rica was full of special times to reconnect with several friends made during my visit in 2006…and meet several new people to be thankful for… pura vida!

It was a privilege to be in Costa Rica with the team (14 youth and 4 leaders) from Westpointe for 10 days! We were able to assist the church in La Fortuna (5 hours from San Jose, the capital city) in a number of ways, including a mixture of outreach and practical work, visiting people in their homes, handing out Bibles and praying with people (one of the highlights of my time there)! 

During the door to door visits we invited the community out to our program, to share how Zaccheus had a life changing meeting with Jesus. It was clear that we were "reaping" the church’s persistent, prayerful efforts. For the first time, many people from the community came to the church's outreach efforts. After the program, the younger children sat in one group to make a paper tree craft with us, while the older children made a bracelet to tell the wordless book story.

In the mornings, our team helped remodel an existing kitchen. When we ate our meals inside, we knew first-hand why they wanted to "raise the roof" so it would be cooler when groups come to eat! Mid-day it was usually 100F (40C) inside! Even our cook left the kitchen because it was cooler to eat outside rather than inside!

I often felt the Lord’s encouragement and strength to face the full days in Costa Rica and upon returning now to Canada. It reminds me how HE uses your prayers and gives help through His Spirit to face the day!