1st Day of Work

So today was Monday and it was our first official day of service. I got up at 5 am because I wanted to take a walk to the town center before our 7:30 am departure to Manos de Jesus. A few of my group members joined me. We began our walk at 5:45 and returned at 6:30 am, just in time for breakfast. During our town visit, we saw school children attend church dressed in their school uniforms. This was surprising to me because this was not typical of the children back in the states (at least I was not aware of it). I definitely admired their faith and dedication to the church!!

Our breakfast was a typical American breakfast complete with eggs, toast, and fruit! However, the difference was the fruit was fresh and the jam flavors included guava and pineapple! Super delicious! We left for Manos de Jesus at 7:30 am. I was nervous to meet the residents. I wondered what they would think of us, if they wanted us there, or if they even needed our help???

The first image I have of Manos de Jesus was of a man walking alone. He approached our van as we pulled into the gates. As we got out of the van each one of us said, "Hi!" to him but we did not get much of a response from him. He simply smiled and continued walking alone. We then met Don Eduardo, the most gentle, kind, godly man I had seen in a very long time! Don Eduardo was the director of the facility and we all saw how much he poured his heart into the facility! We saw the care and love he had for each individual at the facility. He introduced us to each resident as they were lined up on the porch. We each shook each person's hands and smiled at them.

A few minutes later one of the residents said to one of the members (in spanish)," You come to help, but then you leave only after a week!" This broke my heart because it was true! We are only there for a week, but their problems don't go away when we leave. They still need us when we are gone. When I heard this, I knew what I needed to do. I NEEDED to make a difference in these people's lives! Some residents do not see family or friends for 10+ years. Their only human interaction involves the staff and us volunteers who only come periodically. After introductions we split off into our groups to work in various areas of the nursing home.

I volunteered to help the staff with cleaning. Another member and I swept and mopped a room adjacent to the physical therapy room. It took longer than expected because of the lack of materials but in the end, the room was cleaned and was ready to be used by the staff and residents for activities. We were then told to clean the stairs used for physical therapy. Once I finished, it was time for their meals so we walked, and wheeled the elders to the kitchen. We helped feed, distribute the food, and clean after the elders during meal times (this happened everyday). Almost half of the 50 residents needed help with their meals! I have no idea how the kitchen staff of 5 cooks, cleans, and feeds everyone! Nonetheless, the first day of service was amazing and by the time we left, I already felt we each made a connection with Manos de Jesus.


** I don't have any photos from the first day because we were not allowed to take pictures yet**

Pizza and the Basilica de Los Angeles

The next morning (Sunday), I got up at 6 AM to shower (I haven't showered since Friday morning!) I guess that's what happens when you travel... The night before everyone was complaining how cold the shower was but when I took my shower I had warm, almost burning hot water. It pays to be patient ;) We left our hostel around 8:30 AM to head to the market for some souvenirs. I was on a search for hammocks for my parents. I didn't get any because I thought they were too expensive. Little did I know that they were actually cheap compared to the other shops I would see in Costa Rica. We split into two groups for breakfast. I opted out of beans and rice and had a pastry with meat instead. We could smell the fresh baked bread from down the street.

We headed back to the hostel to meet our drivers from Cross Cultural Solutions (our third party organization). We met the other two volunteers, Christine and Gina, who came on their own to volunteer. The drive from San Jose to Cartago was 45 minutes. Along the way we saw a million pizza restaurants, Dennys, Mc Donalds, and KFC. It was obvious that there was a lot of western influence. Before the trip, we were educated during our group meetings about the western influence and the increased obesity in Costa Rica because of it. Ironically, only the rich Costa Ricans could afford these American eateries. They were used as status symbols.













We arrived at the homebase before our 3 pm orientation so we decided to visit the town. We walked to the Basilica de Los Angeles, which was only a 10 minute walk from the homebase and it was absolutely gorgeous! It was the largest Catholic church I have ever seen (Catholicism is the predominant religion in Costa Rica). Cartago was the original Costa Rican capitol and every year thousands of Costa Ricans participate in a pilgrimage to the basilica. We learned that people come to the basilica to pray for a cure or a job and once their prayers are answered they return with a silver pendent that signifies their answered prayers. From the first visit, I witnessed how special the basilica was to the people of Cartago.

We went back to the homebase for the orientation and dinner. During our orientation we were introduced to, Manos de Jesus, the site of our volunteer work. Manos de Jesus is a nursing home for abandoned elders who suffers from a variety of physical and mental illnesses. I was bit nervous and wasn't sure what to expect from myself. As I flipped through the binder filled with the resident's interests and dislikes I became unsure of why I was there. I felt as though there was nothing I could do to help them. I was not medically trained, nor was I fluent in Spanish. Before I went to bed that night I thought hard about what I wanted to accomplish the next day and I prayed that I would allow myself to help the elders in any way possible.