Biola Spring Break (Mar 2025) - Service Trip Recap
Dates: March 1 - 9, 2025
Location: Barva, Costa Rica
Our first team of 2025 headed to Barva, Costa Rica this early March! Our team was made up of Biola University students who joined us for their Spring Break. They had a very busy week working on a roof project, building a fence, and lots of playtime and sports.
Read all about our first-ever Biola Spring Break trip below! ⬇️
Day 1
Our team landed in Costa Rica early morning and made their way to the Bible Home to settle in and make breakfast. They tried granadilla, which had mixed reviews as you can see in the pictures below. 🇨🇷🍊
After getting an orientation from our partners, Roblealto Child Care Association, the team rested to gather energy for a river hike in the late afternoon. Rest was interrupted by a lizard which was safely moved outside by a brave team member! 🦎
The team took an adventurous hike up the river which turned out to be a great team building activity. 💪🏞️
The team then played some basketball with an incredible sunset. The day ended with a delicious dinner followed by their first nightly debrief. 🏀📖
Day 2
On this day, the team had an opportunity to discover some of the wonders of Costa Rica! 🇨🇷
The team spent the morning exploring La Paz Waterfall Gardens, engaging with wildlife, and strolling beside breathtaking waterfalls. 🦋⛲
They spent the afternoon exploring downtown San José, buying souvenirs at artisan markets, and enjoying ice cream!🍦
Day 3
The team's first day of service began with dividing the team into working on two service projects: fence building and roof repair! 🛠️
After a long day of work, the team played volleyball with the kids to help prepare them for a interscholastic tournament that started the next day! 🏐
In the evening, the team members split up into different homes and had dinner and played games in their assigned houses with the kids and house parents. 🍲
The day ended with powerful testimonials and team conversation. 💚
Day 4
The team continued their projects in the morning and made great progress on the fence and roof! 🛠️
In the afternoon, the team organized activities for the little ones and a soccer game for the bigger kids. Everyone loved it, especially when it started raining a bit! After the game, some kids stayed behind for an impromptu workout session of pull ups and push ups! 🌧️ 💪
In the evening, the team played Spot It, a pattern recognition game, with their respective houses. One of our team members played the guitar and led everyone in worship songs as the power had gone out so there wasn't enough light to play. God was very present as they all sang together in the dark! 🎸🙏🙌
Day 5
The roof & fence projects the team had been working on almost reached completion! 💪🛠️🏘️
The team enjoyed some new juice flavors they all loved: Cas and Banana, Pineapple, & Watermelon! 🧃😋
In the evening, the team played volleyball with the kids to continue preparing them for their interscholastic tournament happening that week. 🏐
In the evening, the team sorted donations and gifted our hosts an HFK shirt! 👕
Day 6
The day started with worship alongside the Roblealto staff! 💛🎸
The fencing and roof projects were almost finalized and left ready for final finishing touches to be completed the following day.🛠
The team joined some of the house parents and kids on a trip to the dairy farm to meet the cows, get a tour of the dairy process, and taste homemade ice cream! 🐄🍦
The evening was filled with soccer and team bonding! 💚
Day 7
The roofing project gave the team some hiccups throughout the week, but with everyone’s help, they were able to finalize it! 💪
After lunch, the team rested to gather energy for the highly anticipated soccer game with the kids and staff! ⚽
The day ended with dinner in the houses and some fun playing games using some Listos Learning activity books! 📖
Day 8
The team spent most of the day with the kids at the Children's Museum in San José! 🏰
Through many interactive exhibits and themed rooms, the kids and our team were able to explore and have fun together! 🚀
After returning to the Bible Home, the team enjoyed some free time with the kids before having one last dinner with the families. 💙
It was hard to say goodbye to the kids they had connected with all week, and beautiful at the same time seeing how many strong bonds were formed. 🫂
At night, they welcomed our next team coming from Liberty University and Baylor University and gathered for some team time to share advice and ask questions! 🤝
The Biola team had an amazing Spring Break in Costa Rica! It was a great start to two back to back weeks with college teams serving our Roblealto partners this March 2025.
Check out updates from our next college team with Liberty & Baylor University students on our next blog post! 🇨🇷✈️
