“Refreshing, Rejuvenating, Fellowship.” When asked to describe their time in Costa Rica in one word, there were a lot of answers, but the Work and Witness team from Bolivar Church of the Nazarene (Missouri) agreed that it had been worth all of the hard work.

The team of 19 people, with participants ranging from ages 10 to the mid-70’s, came to the Nazarene Seminary of the Americas in San Jose, Costa Rica to work on a much-needed bathroom facility. They dug and poured foundations, did block and concrete work, painted, and even found some time to plant several hundred trees. Most people volunteered to plant trees when they were ready for a break from concrete work, but it was universally agreed that pouring concrete was easier!

The seminary administrator, Anaís Rojas, said that this team made her think of a great man of the Bible. “They gave all of their effort and worked incredibly hard. They reminded me of Gideon.”

In August the team from Waynesburg First Church of Nazarene (Pennsylvania) arrived with a story to tell. First the bus had a flat tire on the way to the airport and then their first flight was delayed two hours, but the Lord provided and the group made their connecting flight to Costa Rica.

At SENDAS the team continued the work on the water project as well as the new bathroom structure for the gymnasium. They laid the pipe, made connections, dug and filled in holes and poured concrete. They also welded and helped construct the outside walls of the restroom building.

The leader of the 21-person team was Pastor Martin Burns. The Work & Witness team leaders were missionaries Patrick and Kimberly LeGrand.

Both teams also worked with the Los Angeles Nazarene Church located near the Seminary. They helped with the groundwork for a new entrance to the church and also helped pass out invitations to the community for a Vacation Bible school. The Waynesburg team moved dirt to prepare the ground for the driveway and assisted with a Saturday morning VBS on the church property.

It has been a blessing for SENDAS to receive these teams on campus. We thank both the Missouri and the Pennsylvania team for their hard work to assist with the most basic necessities of SENDAS.

If you are interested in work and witness opportunities at SENDAS, please visit this page and click on projects www.workandwitness.org . We would be happy to receive your team at the Nazarene Seminary of the Americas.
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