Dear friends and supporters,
Here’s part two of my Costa Rica Blog!
Platanar (second location)
Platanar is the town where Mr. Tony and Mrs. Rosita have a home and lives when they’re not hosting teams. Mr. Tony is the pastor of their church as well as running many different bible school programs with Rosita for around 800 kids. Because of Covid many of their programs were put online, which has not stopped them from loving people and encouraging them.
We would go to their home for a few days a week to do construction work and bible school on Wednesdays. Our weekly schedule changed on a dime depending on what projects that Mr. Tony wanted to get done that week. When at their home I did laundry, swept, cleaned the bathrooms, mopped, helped in the kitchen, and I also got to paint the front of the church (which was so much fun!).
On Wednesdays, we had bible school for the kids in the morning, which pretty much reflected what we did on Saturday, this also included playing soccer or at least trying to anyway. Then we would eat lunch and head back to the house. Next, we would have a two-hour break and then I would go to the church and do sewing ministry. Due to miscommunication and schedule conflicts, I was only able to go to the sewing ministry one week. But the one week I went, I was able to teach the ladies how to make a skirt from scratch with base measurements, to create a pattern and assembly of the skirt.
When looking back at my time in Costa Rica I am truly blessed to have the opportunity to love those kids and women. But most importantly encourage and love on our hosts. They have such a heart for the next generation as well as for God. I am not going to lie it was hard but I look back and thank God for those hard moments because it gave me a greater appreciation for community, His patience, and the simple things that bring so much joy. One of those being coffee, but there is no surprise there.
I want to thank everyone for your prayers as well as for making this journey possible. God has been teaching and showing me so much since starting this journey and I can’t wait to share it with y’all. I am slowly getting in a rhythm of making time to write. Thank y’all again
With love,
Lydia Strickland 
