AJ Weber: My Trip to Costa Rica

My senior class and I, as well as my dad, had the great opportunity of going to Costa Rica for a mission trip in the spring of 2014. We spent a week there, traveling between San Jose and Upala, thanks to the scheduling of Pura Vida Missions, which is run by a family friend. We spent the majority of our time there helping out the community in Upala by building a church from the ground up, as well as helping out the community with some odd and end jobs. We also spend time playing soccer with the local children, and generally getting schooled by their skill, because on the whole, we were not that good at soccer. I still have vivid memories of eight year old kids out maneuvering some of my classmates to the shouts of, “C’mon gringo!”

On our last day in Costa Rica, we had our vacation day, which was one of the most fun experience I’ve ever had. We went white water rafting that morning, which while sometimes terrifying, might be one of my favorite things that I’ve ever done. It’s hard to beat that, but what we did in the evening came close; we went ziplining through two and a half miles of the rainforest in the mountains. Not only was the view terrifying and beautiful when you’re above the treetops, and about half a mile off the ground, but the life we saw was incredible. Anywhere from monkeys, to bullet ants, to bats, we saw a large collection of animals that I’ve never seen live before, and it was wonderful.

On our way home on the plane, as we all contemplated our experiences, one thing stood out to all of us; we felt refreshed. Yes helping the community was great, the vacation day was incredible, but overall we felt at peace; rested. In the end, we positively affected others, as well as ourselves, and that is a true win-win.

#Endeavor #Travel #BFP #Family