Costa Rica: Pura Vida, Pura Fe

Welcome to Costa Rica! After arriving into San José, we’ll settle into our accommodations and gather for a welcome dinner featuring local Costa Rican dishes. Opening devotional and orientation: what does it mean to serve as the hands and feet of Christ in a new culture?

Travel by van and boat through a network of jungle canals to reach Tortuguero, a remote village accessible only by water or small plane. Watch for sloths, monkeys, and river birds along the way. Arrive, settle in, and take an evening walk through the village. Evening devotional on cultivating a servant’s heart.

Meet the local conservation staff and biologists who lead Tortuguero’s sea turtle program. Training on turtle biology, nesting behavior, and night-patrol safety protocols, plus cultural orientation on the Afro-Caribbean heritage of the region. Devotional: praying for the week ahead.

Our week of service begins! Depending on the season, days and nights are spent on beach patrols searching for nesting turtles, relocating vulnerable nests to the hatchery, and recording conservation data alongside trained biologists. Team debrief and reflection follow each patrol.

Continue patrol and hatchery work alongside conservation staff. Team members rotate through data collection, nest monitoring, and (when timing allows) release of hatchlings into the sea at dawn or dusk.

Service continues, with today’s devotional focused on stewardship and creation care. In the afternoon, join a beach clean-up project, removing debris that threatens both nesting turtles and hatchlings.

Service continues. Today’s devotional theme centers on faithfulness in unseen work. Evening: shared meal and time of worship with local conservation staff and community members.

Our final day of service wraps with a closing reflection on the week — what was learned, what was hard, and what it means to protect what God has made. Time for the team to thank the local staff and say goodbye.

A lighter day exploring Tortuguero’s famous canals by boat, spotting caimans, howler monkeys, and exotic birds in their natural habitat. In the afternoon, visit a local cacao farm to learn about traditional Caribbean chocolate-making, from bean to bar.

Travel back through the canals and by road to San José. Final group devotional and debrief: what did God teach us this week? Time for last-minute souvenir shopping before heading to the airport for your international flight home.