SAN JOSE, Costa Rica- Senior Lori Pankratz spent time in Costa Rica with Wesley United Methodist Church volunteering at local orphanages and churches on Jan. 5-16.
Pankratz and the group of 12 people delivered over 100 toiletry kits to children in the community, provided day care services to parents who can not afford it and built a concrete retaining wall at a playground site throughout their time in Costa Rica. On the last few days of the trip, the group had some free time to do site seeing.
During the trip, Pankratz shared some of her daily adventures with the Leatherneck community via www.GoLeathernecks.com. Here is the final installment of Pankratz's journeys in Costa Rica.
One last Hola, (01/21/10)
Our work in Costa Rica is done for now. We continued working at the
site and got a thick layer of concrete poured through the trench. In
the beginning of the week, we took a half day of work and threw a
fiesta in the afternoon at a local church. About 210 kids and their
families came to celebrate. We played games with the kids and served
them dinner and ice cream. The best part of the night was seeing the
kid's faces light up when they saw the pinatas! There was a lot of
screaming going on. It was a wonderful service. We also went on a
second trip to Los Guidos to see the children again. They were very
excited to see us and we were happy to play with them all day. The
last few days of the trip we were able to take in the beautiful scenery
of Costa Rica before our long trip home.
Thanks for reading about my trip. Costa Rica is a beautiful place
with wonderful people and I was blessed to be able to have this
experience. A big thanks to the Wesley Church for the support and
organization of the trip. Adios for now! Time to prepare for another
successful softball season! Go Necks!
Lori
Below is a photo of some of the construction work started by
Pankratz and members of the Wesley United Methodist Church.
Hola!! (01/10/10)
After three long days in the sun, we are
taking a break from the construction work. We have been working at a
site that will eventually become a playground. However, a strong
retaining wall needs to be built in order to make it safe. Since there
are earthquakes, the structure needs to be very strong so we are busy
bending and tying rebar together. On Monday, we will start pouring
some concrete. The entire project will take 3-4 months and will
involve several mission groups that will travel to Costa Rica. Lots of
labor and love is being put into this playground and it will have such
a great effect on the community! Tomorrow
we are taking a day trip to visit a volcano in the area. We have been
blessed with amazing weather and I wish I could send some of the warmth
back to Illinois!! Adios for now!
Buenos noches,
Lori
Hola from Costa Rica! (01/07/10)
We arrived Tuesday morning in Costa Rica after traveling all morning. We flew from Chicago to Guatemala, then a short trip to Costa Rica. The scenery is gorgeous! We are surrounded by mountains and luscious green trees. When we first arrived, we were taken to lunch at the missionary location. We were also given a small tour of the town. Today was the first day of missionary work. We traveled to a rough neighborhood where a Methodist Church takes in children during the day. About 100 children or more gathered for lunch and activities. These children have very rough lives and value the food and love we gave them. My activity was providing simple string in order to braid some jewelry. It was a hit!! I had about 10 kids at a time pulling at my arm yelling “muchacha muchacha, por mi por mi?” I got tons of pictures of the kids holding up their new jewelry, definitely pictures I will savor. The day flew by and it was time for us to leave. We also gave the children zip lock baggies filled with soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and other necessary products. They were all so thankful. Tomorrow is the first day we will be doing manual labor. We will be traveling back to the missionary site where a playground needs to be built. I will share more pictures and stories later!!
Adios,
Lori
