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DAVID A. HIGHFIELD

Part of the largest-ever VIM team from the conference lays tile in a new Methodist church in Costa Rica.

CATONSVILLE ? Nearly 80 volunteers, the largest Volunteers in Mission team to ever leave from the Baltimore-Washington Conference, spent Feb. 4-12 in central Costa Rica. They came from Catonsville, Westminster, Bixlers-Millers Charge and Wesley in Hampstead UMCs. Another 20 volunteers joined them from North Carolina.

It was also the largest group the Methodist Camp at Quesada ever hosted, stretching the sleeping and eating facilities. Undaunted by the crowd, the Rev. Marion Woods, a retired United Methodist missionary in his 80s, had jobs for all 100 volunteers, including about 40 youth.

During the six day stay, the Catonsville team, led by the Rev. Jeff Odom, a veteran of Costa Rica VIM trips, held daily vacation Bible school in El Mirador, near Quesada, put a tile floor in a new Methodist church in Los Angeles, brought electricity to three homes that had none, led a ministry in a prison, helped finish a Methodist school, and began construction on an addition to a building at the Methodist camp.

The mission team had a unique experience of attending a wedding between a Maryland missionary and a Costa Rican, at which the officiating pastor spoke of the richness of blending two cultures. 'The same richness was experienced by all those who made this journey as missionaries of Jesus Christ,' said the Rev. Dave Highfield of Westminster UMC.

They left an offering of $25,000 for the Methodist Camp staff, with the words 'Dios les bendigos,' or 'God bless you.'