Medina church mission team builds home in Costa Rica

A team of 17 people from Medina United Church of Christ, Congregational, traveled to Sardinal, Costa Rica, Feb. 28-March 8 to build a home for a family in need. This year marks the 17th year the church has sent a mission team to Costa Rica to work with Mercy Home Ministries.

The team built Mercy Home Ministries’ 251st home. This year the house was for a family of four that includes two boys, ages 4 and 6.

“Through the church’s support, we were truly able to live out Jesus’ call to love and care for our neighbors,” said Liz Wolff of Valley City. “It was an honor to be an extension of that love in Costa Rica.”

The homes consist of two or three rooms. During the first two days of the trip, the team built the panels for the house, fitting 4-by-8-foot frames together that would become walls, doors or windows. Once the frames were completed, Sheetrock was attached and openings for doors and windows were cut. The panels were then painted.

At the end of the second day, the team loaded the house panels and roofing materials into a truck and transported them to the home’s final location. On the third day, the panels were assembled to form the exterior walls and an interior divider. The fourth day included finishing touches such as installing windows, the roof, electricity and plumbing when available.

This year the team also provided the family with household supplies and children’s books, helped lay cement in two additional homes and delivered 35 bags of school supplies to children at a local Sunday school.