SI Costa Rica hosted its first group of the year, which was also the first group since having full time staff living in the country. Krysta, Aiyla and Cailah led a weeklong outreach to the small jungle town of Shiroles, in the Talamanca region of Costa Rica. The team consisted of 22 students from the Intervarsity chapter of James Madison University in Virginia.  It was an amazing week of sharing in the morning devotionals and evening meetings, as well as participating in work projects during the day and playing with kids from the community in the afternoons. 

Curtis and Cathy Sharp, the missionaries we partner with in the jungle, as well as some of the locals we worked alongside, all commented on how this team worked really hard and with good attitudes. It was clear that they were seeking to encounter God in all that they did, whether it be digging ditches, moving rocks, painting, playing soccer with kids or even running around with multiple children hanging from several limbs at one time.  It was encouraging to support the Sharps in their ongoing ministry in this region and see how God continues to work through His ministry there. We have been blessed through this first trip and are excited for what’s coming next and the beginnings of our ministry here in the city.