"I will send down the showers in their season; they will be showers of blessing." Ezekiel 34:26
Rest... Sweet rest... The adventure started with an over night retreat into the mountains with our 9th grade generation. Everyone arrived at the school at 5:15 A.M. After brief instruction and loading onto five buses, we were shuttled up into the mountains of Costa Rica! We arrived at the camp around 8, and first things first, we had breakfast. Once everyone had consumed the most important meal of the day we started the fun. Large group games, followed by small group games, followed by high ropes activities, followed by getting rained on, followed by more activities involving high ropes course action and running around. Our over night trip was packed full of endless activity. It was great. We gathered in the evening and worshiped God. A word was shared, talking about Daniel. How Daniel stood out among his peers and how not even a pack of lions could turn him from pursuing the will of God. It was the best part of the camp. After worship we played a MASSIVE game of hide-and-seek. Each staff member was worth a certain number of points (Kendra and I were worth the most). The game ended when either all the people were found or time ran out. Off we go! Into the dark, rainy, and cold jungle of Costa Rica to hide from 120 students. After 30 minutes of very uncomfortable hiding, I heard the siren announcing the game was finished. "Awesome", I thought, "They didn't find me, I win!" I hike out of the forest towards the camp fire, excited to see if Kendra was found. Every couple of minutes a new leader would appear from the cloak of darkness, smiling because they were not found. Every time someone new appeared I would rush over thinking it was Kendra. Kendra never showed up. I would be lying if I told you I wasn't worried. I knew she had a flash light, but not a sense of direction. We put together a scouting crew. We scoured the woods looking for any sign of a beautiful gringa, my beautiful gringa. Eventually she was found. She was less than 50 yards from the fire, hiding behind a rock near the river. She couldn't hear anyone yelling or the siren because the river was too loud. #HideAndSeekChampion2016 goes to my beautiful wife. Sharing of testimonies and smore's around a fire is what finished off the night... or so I thought. After multiple attempts to get all the guys in my cabin to lay down and go to bed, they finally relented and there was peace. Less than 5 minutes later everyone was awake, running and yelling, as 70 girls sang high school musical songs at the top of their lungs right outside our door. There was no hope to getting my guys back into "sleep mode". We stayed up all night....
The next day was still great! More activities and even more laughs. After lunch we packed everyone back into the buses and made our way home. We hugged and said goodbye to our students as their parents picked them up. All were ready to be home, but our adventure had just begun!
We went home, unpacked, and then repacked our things, and went straight to bed.
The alarm went off at 4:15.... We awoke finished repacking our things. At 5:00AM we got into a taxi that took us to the airport. After an entire day of travel we were back in Texas. We spent the weekend in Kerrville preparing.
Tuesday morning we head out to Camp Eagle and prepare for the senior class from Costa Rica to arrive that afternoon. We wait... And wait.... And wait some more. The students and teachers finally arrived, after many delays, around 1:00AM. They were exhausted but excited. Tuesday night, I had no trouble getting the guys in my cabin to go to sleep.
Camp Eagle (located near Rocksprings, TX) is an adventurer's paradise spanning thousands of acres of wilderness, including rivers and cliffs. Incorporated into the cliffs along the river there is rock climbing, rappelling, and an assortment of challenging "heights based" adventures. All of which our students were able to enjoy!
Every morning, before our activities, we gathered together for worship. And every evening, after activities, we would worship together. Throughout the week we went through the book of Ephesians.
Something crazy happens when we open God's word. God speaks to us. The best part of the trip was the last night of worship. We spent the night at Kerrville First United Methodist Church. Before worship we ate BBQ and learned how to line dance.
Once we had gathered for worship, we prayed and sang a song. We put a microphone in front of the student body and gave them an invitation. "We invite you to share how you encountered your Creator during this trip to Texas."
Listening to the testimonies of student after student share how God spoke to them was the best part of the entire trip.
"I never really realized that God wanted to know me like this"
"I want to follow Jesus and learn about the bible"
"For the first time in my life, I heard the voice of my Creator telling me I was loved"
"I never thought that I had to travel thousands of miles away from home to learn that God is Jealous for me"
These are just a few of the things spoken that made our hearts explode into a million tender pieces. Jesus is so good. E. Stanley Jones says that even evangelical movement starts with the evangelical being moved. Oh how our hearts have been tilled, made ready for growth. Kendra and I have never been more aware of God's love for us than we are right now. And we find ourselves saying some of the same things our students said about going to Texas. Moving to Costa Rica has produced revelation after revelation of how much God cares for us.
It makes me think of Heaven. How Heaven is outside of time. It's not measured in years or millennia, there is only eternity. And every moment of eternity in Heaven will be filled with revelation after revelation of God's goodness. Praise Jesus!
Kendra, myself, and Colegio Metodista are extremely grateful for all of the people and churches involved in making a dream become reality. 100 Costa Ricans on a senior class trip to Texas, spent in the hill country learning of and encountering our creator.
With much love,
Spencer and Kendra Thomas
The next day was still great! More activities and even more laughs. After lunch we packed everyone back into the buses and made our way home. We hugged and said goodbye to our students as their parents picked them up. All were ready to be home, but our adventure had just begun!
We went home, unpacked, and then repacked our things, and went straight to bed.
The alarm went off at 4:15.... We awoke finished repacking our things. At 5:00AM we got into a taxi that took us to the airport. After an entire day of travel we were back in Texas. We spent the weekend in Kerrville preparing.
Tuesday morning we head out to Camp Eagle and prepare for the senior class from Costa Rica to arrive that afternoon. We wait... And wait.... And wait some more. The students and teachers finally arrived, after many delays, around 1:00AM. They were exhausted but excited. Tuesday night, I had no trouble getting the guys in my cabin to go to sleep.
Camp Eagle (located near Rocksprings, TX) is an adventurer's paradise spanning thousands of acres of wilderness, including rivers and cliffs. Incorporated into the cliffs along the river there is rock climbing, rappelling, and an assortment of challenging "heights based" adventures. All of which our students were able to enjoy!
Every morning, before our activities, we gathered together for worship. And every evening, after activities, we would worship together. Throughout the week we went through the book of Ephesians.
Something crazy happens when we open God's word. God speaks to us. The best part of the trip was the last night of worship. We spent the night at Kerrville First United Methodist Church. Before worship we ate BBQ and learned how to line dance.
Once we had gathered for worship, we prayed and sang a song. We put a microphone in front of the student body and gave them an invitation. "We invite you to share how you encountered your Creator during this trip to Texas."
Listening to the testimonies of student after student share how God spoke to them was the best part of the entire trip.
"I never really realized that God wanted to know me like this"
"I want to follow Jesus and learn about the bible"
"For the first time in my life, I heard the voice of my Creator telling me I was loved"
"I never thought that I had to travel thousands of miles away from home to learn that God is Jealous for me"
These are just a few of the things spoken that made our hearts explode into a million tender pieces. Jesus is so good. E. Stanley Jones says that even evangelical movement starts with the evangelical being moved. Oh how our hearts have been tilled, made ready for growth. Kendra and I have never been more aware of God's love for us than we are right now. And we find ourselves saying some of the same things our students said about going to Texas. Moving to Costa Rica has produced revelation after revelation of how much God cares for us.
It makes me think of Heaven. How Heaven is outside of time. It's not measured in years or millennia, there is only eternity. And every moment of eternity in Heaven will be filled with revelation after revelation of God's goodness. Praise Jesus!
Kendra, myself, and Colegio Metodista are extremely grateful for all of the people and churches involved in making a dream become reality. 100 Costa Ricans on a senior class trip to Texas, spent in the hill country learning of and encountering our creator.
With much love,
Spencer and Kendra Thomas
