After only a couple days back, I feel like I never left Costa Rica. YWAM is all about community, family, encouragement, and love- so it’s really easy to slip back into this place with a truly welcomed feeling. There are many new faces and of course many familiar ones, making the past two days full of both introductions and reunions. One of the main changes this time is that the base moved locations. We’re still in San Jose, and actually only about 15 minutes away from the old base, but it definitely has distinct differences. Compared to the old base, this one is much bigger and is going to be housing around 100 people once the students arrive here next week. There is tons of construction going on and probably will be for a long while…

In the past two days our DTS staff team has been hanging out, getting to know each other. We’ve been putting together welcome packages for the students, learning our schedules for the next few months, and just trying to get all of the necessary things in order before DTS starts on Jan. 8th. Lots to do! The classroom is still not finished (one of the places under construction), in fact, we helped as the drywall was going up today and filled in the seams with spackle. Pouring the concrete floor and painting the walls are on the list for the next few days as well.

We had the beginning of our staff retreat tonight- this includes training sessions/meetings over the next few days to help prepare all of us staff for the new schools beginning in the next couple weeks. Besides DTS there will be a Children at Risk school (training missionaries to reach children at risk) and we also have two teams here right now- a DTS from L.A. (leaving this week) and a DTS from Montana (leaving in a month). With all the schools, projects, teams coming through, and preparations for several more schools this year, there’s a lot going on around the base.

I’m excited to continue our staff retreat and prepare as the students begin their own journeys to Costa Rica. I think our final count is 27 students and 11 staff…a big group! It will be a crazy five months, that’s for sure. God has some amazing plans, I’m confident of that.