Costa Rica 2024

Back in March Luke headed to Costa Rica with a group from school and lots of y'all contributed to his trip when he talked about it on my instagram and so I thought it would be fun to give you a little peek into his trip!  

Disclaimer - all but one of these pictures came from the photo-sharing app his teachers used to post pics while they were in Costa Rica and once they got back.  Luke is NOT a photo-taker and I got a total of one picture from him ;) hahaha

This trip had 28 freshmen, 4 senior leaders and several teacher chaperones and they set off from school super early on a Saturday morning.  They were divided into family groups and all the kids had to text their family leaders photos of them holding their passports on the way to the school which made me laugh but was also super smart.  They loaded up onto a bus and then headed off to the airport.

I LOVE trips like this not just for the cultural experiences but for the bonds the kids get to make. 

This picture makes me laugh SO HARD.  The trip leader (our school's missions coordinator) and I have known each other since before Luke was born.  She has always called him "Lukey" (he would DIE if anyone else called him that) and she has talked for YEARS about the day she got to take Lukey with her on one of her trips and she was VERY excited that the time had come.  Can you tell? 

The entire picture cracked me up so much!

 So trying to get information and details out of a 16-year old boy has proven to be difficult BUT I can tell you that they traveled to 3 different areas of Costa Rica, staying in multiple hotels along the way.  They had a charter/tour bus and guide that was with them the entire trip and Luke was blown away by the scenery and the wildlife.

 Our school partnered with a school in Costa Rica and hosted educational and VBS-type programming for them.  They also got invited into several people's homes to experience more of the local life there and were treated to several cultural events.  They ate LOTS of local food, took salsa dance lessons, ziplined, visited markets and even headed to Arenal to see the volcano.  

Now, in no particular order are a bunch of pretty pics ;)

This was the one picture I got from him during the week - without context, I might add ;) hahaha

GRATEFUL is an understatement for how I feel about the adults who take the time to cultivate relationships and build character in my kids (and send pics! hahaha)

From their group salsas dancing lesson ;)

A highlight for Luke was spending lots of time on the beach!

Excited to see Luke and he was excited to get some Chick-Fil-A ;) hahaha

 

LOVE us some Mrs. Pajela!

Luke had an incredible experience - highlights for him was spending time with friends, getting to know classmates better and serving others.  He plans on heading out internationally again next Spring - hopefully to the Dominican Republic. 

HAPPY Monday and THANK YOU to everyone who supported Luke through praying for his trip and donating!!!