Freshman Honors Costa Rica Center

I was a part of this year’s freshman trip to the Costa Rica Center where we combined classroom learning in Dr. Terry McGonigal’s Biblical Theme of Shalom class with learning that came from our excellent interactions and experiences with the Costa Rican community around us.

One of my favorite aspects of this trip was the fact that good stewardship of the earth was a recurrent theme. The foundation for learning about this was in our reflection of the story of Genesis 1, which outlines an ideal world that God intended in which we as humans care for and work the earth, and it in turn cares for and provides for us. Our broad range of experiences about this subject included our hikes in the cloud forest, the excellent projects with the greenhouse and composting that are happening at the CRC, experiencing a artisan fishing village, a presentation about permaculture from a local expert, and our experience at the YWAM base where being “green” is the focus.

Essentially, we took full advantage of the fact that many in Costa Rica are trying to live in a way that reflects a return to God’s original plan, or as it is said in His native tongue, “El plan original de Dios.”