Youth, College, Adult and Family Mission Trips to Costa Rica


Visit www.STRONGMISSIONS.com for group info and many more details...

Thursday, January 26, 2017

New Year - New Faces

Some teams have had the pleasure of meeting her already, and others may have noticed a new name posting to the our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and blog.

We have an addition to the Strong Missions family and we officially to introduce Brianna Selch to all of you!

Bri has been a great addition to the team and many of our new and returning team leaders have been working with her to plan their trips this year! We could go on all day about Bri but instead I will let her do it:

Hola,

My name is Brianna Selch and I am from Avon, Indiana.  Since 2008, I have constantly felt God’s call for me to serve, and would not consider a summer complete unless I went on a mission trip with my church.  Throughout most of my high school career, I hated the Spanish Language, but those feelings changed during my senior year, when I began to love the language.  I strongly believe that God played a huge role in my change of heart toward the language, knowing I would eventually move to Costa Rica and join the Strong Missions team. 

In August 2016, I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish along with a Certificate in Latino Studies.  Just a few months prior to graduation, I came to Strong Missions for the first time with my home church, Bartlett Chapel UMC.  I quickly fell in love with Costa Rica, as well as all of the opportunities that Strong Missions offers to serve the community.  I immediately knew I wanted to become a part of the team and begin helping the people of Costa Rica.

I am eager to start this adventure on which God has led me, and I look forward to meeting all of you that are called here to serve as well!







Please Join us in Welcoming Bri Selch to the Strong Missions Staff!

Monday, January 23, 2017

Personal Message from Charlie Strong

You may have seen it on Facebook but here is a personal message from Charlie about 2017.

We really need help this year. We have two-thirds the work teams signed up we usually have at this time. This means we're cutting salaries and staff and we really don't want to have to cut the programs. We need to provide for the programs shown below plus the feeding and education programs in place. We currently serve 400 kids and there's so much more to do. $15 sponsors a kid in arts or sports for a month. $35 feeds a kid for a month. $30 provides a school scholarships for a kid for a month, and it's tax deductible. www.strongmissions.com. Thanks!







Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Thank You Letter From Dance Student

We wanted to take an opportunity to share a letter from an 11-year old dance student from Carrillos.  Below are pictures of the letter followed by a translation.

Thank you for all your continued support.  All of your prayers and donations go to support programs and children just like her!




"Strong (Missions) has left a mark on my life.  It's something that I love, not only is there discipline there is fun, and also I thank Karla who supports us in dance, for being the person who not only taught me to dance but also believed in me and my team and it doesn't matter to be in the corner because we will always be part of something because we are a team.

Also, I want to tell Karla that not only do I see her as a teacher I see her as a great example because I see that she is a very good person and full of God.  And with her I am going to laugh, cry and dance because it's this person that I love a lot and is very special to me.

Thanks to Strong (Missions) many children like me have benefited with the dance group and have achieved our dream of dancing.  Thanks for helping me to achieve my greatest dream.  I hope that all of the boys and girls take advantage of the great opportunities because in the world there are many talented children and in the future I hope I can help the boys and girls from all over the world and be a very good and talented person like them.

I thank you very much Strong (Missions) and Karla for being these people that have helped me believe in myself and the team and also I want to thank you for all of the great support and help.  Thank you all for everything.

Goodbye,
Fabiola Hernández Quesada"

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

REMINDER: Intern Applications Due Jan 15th

Hello All,

Every year Strong Missions looks for energetic youth to come and spend the summer serving with us here in Costa Rica. This year is no different. If you are interested in hearing about an exciting opportunity to serve the people of Costa Rica through serving with Strong Missions please contact nick@strongmissions.com or reply to this email.

Look forward to hearing from you!

Friday, December 16, 2016

Merry Christmas from Strong Missions

Hello All! 

We at Strong Missions continue to be blessed by the love and support we receive from all of you and Christmas is no exception. Jesus truly is the reason for the season, and we have been blessed and honored to have several churches lift up Strong Missions as part of their special Christmas Offerings. 

The outpouring of support has been nothing short of awe-inspiring and we are still receiving support to help Strong Missions finish the year financially. For more information on how to give please click here

As a thank you to all those who have supported us in the past and continue to faithfully give of yourself financial, physically and spiritually, here is a quick update video!



Keep an eye out for more information about the second half of 2016 in early Januuary. Until that time, may the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ bless and keep you and your families during the season of His birth. 

Blessings to all!

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Giving Tuesday is Today - We need YOU!!!

You have probably been alerted on social media and have friends or family participating in Giving Tuesday.

We have always been blessed by support from folks like yourselves and for the past couple of years, the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries has been doing a dollar for dollar match of donations given on #GivingTuesday.

Unfortunately, there were not able to continue with this trend in 2016, but that doesn't mean the need goes away. It means we need you more than ever.

VBS Activities in Sector 8, Los Guido
Last year we we raised over $13,000 on Giving Tuesday and IF we can raise the same amount this year, it will allow us to continue our programming through January of next year.

Many pledges have been made, but due to many factors beyond our control, such as the Zika virus, Strong Missions still has a sizable deficit to make up to finish 2016.

Please consider going to www.strongmissions.com/support and donating. No matter how you choose to support Strong Missions, via The Advance or the 501c3, your gift is 100% tax deductible and will go to support our programing!

Instead of focusing on what we are lacking, for Giving Tuesday we wanted to focus on all the blessings we have.

The empowered communities programming is undoubtedly a successful venture where we have seen results beyond anything we could have imagined. We see children receiving love and support that they are lacking in their lives, instilling confidence, discipline, and associating hard work with the pride that comes from practice, dedication, and a job well done.

More than that, we are seeing parental involvement grow, parents are also invested into these programs which creates a social support network within these communities that families didn't have access to before. To say the least, these programs are changing the hearts and minds of those involved. These groups are also doing presentations during parades and at their schools as well as participating in tournaments and competitions, further instilling pride in their performance and their community.

Every donation to Strong Missions Empowered Communities provides support to these programs, to building these communities, and to helping us continue to be a positive influence in the lives of these children and families.

There are many more pictures available here on Facebook but here is a quick glimpse of what your donations support:

Feeding Programs: Strong Missions continues to be dedicated to feeding children throughout Costa Rica who do not have access to a well-balanced nutritious meal at home.


Theater Group in the Grecia Parade
Theater:

Strong Missions supports a theater program offering children the ability to express themselves artistically through acting.












Karate Presentation at a school in Poas
Karate:
Strong Missions has multiple Karate programs in communities around Costa Rica. Focusing on teamwork, discipline, and community, our students are competing in tournaments, winning medals, and there are even kids who have earned spots on the National Team as well as medals in the National Games.









Soccer Program, La Lucha, Costa Rica
Soccer:
Soccer is far and away the most popular sport in Costa Rica, and kids of all ages love to play. We have created a program outside of Alajuela offering a great program for at risk youth.


Dance

Dance continues to be a huge part of the Strong Missions Empowered Communities, with 2 dance teams in surrounding communities. Dancers participate in civic presentations as well as the National Student Art Festival each year.





Each and every one of these communities and these children are impacted by your support, your gifts, and your prayers. If you feel led to help out on Giving Tuesday, or any other day, we are always grateful for your support. Even the smallest of donations, combined with the support of others, adds up to big impacts,

Thank you all and God bless!










Monday, November 14, 2016

Giving Tuesday is in 2 weeks

Howdy folks! 
Charlie here at Strong Missions in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. 

It's that time of the year again, and we hope that so many of you will join us in our work during this time by donating to the Advance on Giving Tuesday in two weeks.  All the info is below and if you have any other questions please let us know.  Please note that funds will NOT be doubled by GBGM this year as it has been in the past.

Such donations will be used for feeding, education, youth intervention activities (arts and sports) and entrepreneurship for women. We really need your help to both maintain the 380 children we currently have in such programming and to add another 150 kids over the upcoming year.  

Thanks so much in ADVANCE. :) Get it?  Couldn't help it.  
Peace and love to you all!  
Charlie

The link to our advance page is below, please forgive the fact that it is out of date, the updates are currently under review and should be up soon. 
http://www.umcmission.org/Give-to-Mission/Search-for-Projects/Projects/3021552

For more updated information visit us at www.strongmissions.com or www.facebook.com/strongmissions

The photos below were taken at a community dinner hosted by a group from High Point University in October

Dancers from our program in Carrillos

Some of our students from the karate class Charlie teaches


Dancers from the Artistic Development Program at Escuela Carlos Maria in Calle Rodriguez