FAQs
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No shots are required, including Covid. However, if a person or family feels that shots are necessary they should check with their local physician or clinic.
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We recommend trips anywhere from 7-10 days. A 7 day 6 night trip, on average, costs around $840 per person.
(Final cost is dependent upon group size and ministry location).
The per person amount includes:
Pre-trip planning help/ consultations
All housing
All transportation (airport pick up and drop off and drivers)
3 meals a day
Purified drinking water during the length of your stay
Free day activity (volcano hotel activity, zip cording, or whitewater rafting)
Admin fees
GC2 staff and translators
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Our main ministry is church planting through medical missions, VBS, Teen outreaches, Construction, Leadership training and Leader's retreats. The specific ministries that your team will be involved in depends on the personnel you are bringing on your team.
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A typical 7 day trip looks like this (The trip can be longer or shorter according to your needs):
Day 1
Arrive
Lunch
Check in to hotel
Orientation and Training
Day 2
VBS is 2 locations or
outreach in high schools
Fun fair carnival outreach
Day 3
Elementary school outreach (vbs)
or outreach in high schools
Day 4
All day sports/ games teen outreach
Day 5
Church service
Afternoon vbs or
Souvenir Shopping
Day 6
Free day tour
Debrief meeting
Day 7
Airport
Fly out
A typical Medical Outreach schedule looks like this:
Day 1 (Usually Wednesday)
Arrive
Lunch
Orientation and Set up for clinics
Days 2,3,4
All Day Clinics (9am -4 pm)
Day 5
Church Service
Tour (Waterfall gardens or Coffee)
Day 6
Fly out
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The airport code is SJO (San Jose Costa Rica).
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Once you have landed in Costa Rica, please text us to let us know.
Immigration and Customs is fairly simple. You will not need to fill out any forms for entry into Costa Rica. Everyone on your team will need:
1. A copy of your return ticket out of Costa Rica.
2. The address located below of where you will be staying.
3. If asked- your reason for travel is tourism.
Please print the following address for each member of your team to show to the immigration officer if they ask for an address in Costa Rica:
Concepcion de San Rafael
Heredia
Del mirador tierra blanca
300 sur casa gris mano derecha.
After that you will pick up your luggage (again just follow the crowd). If you have a lot of luggage you can grab a cart for $5 (2.500 colones). Once you have all of your luggage, you will go to the luggage x-ray machines located at the other end of the room.
You will place your luggage on a conveyor belt to go through the X-ray machine. If you are stopped, they will open your bags and look through them.
After going through customs, you will immediately exit the airport. Airport carts are allowed outside of the building. Exit to your right. Once outside you will feel like you are walking the red carpet at the academy awards because there will be a crowd of people many of whom are taxi drivers trying to get your attention. Follow the crowd and exit the tunnel like structure. We will be there to pick you up.
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Things to bring:
Bible / journal
Reusable water bottle
**Towel and washcloth** (No towels will be provided here)
light jacket or sweatshirt
sunblock
hand sanitizer
Imodium/ pepto bismol
Work clothes
Bathing suit (Girls: One piece bathing suit)
If working in high schools: photo album of 10 pictures of friends, family and pets.
Note to team leaders:
It is recommended to bring the following for all team members:
Copies of passport photo pages
Emergency contact info
Emergency liability and health waiver (click here if you need one)
Note: For minors, the form will need to be notarized to be valid.
Do NOT to bring:
You do not need to bring bedding. All bedding, sheets, and pillows will be provided here
Do not bring anything of real value that can not be easily replaced.
Note: Plug adapters are not needed. Costa Rica uses the same plugs as the US. Also laundry service will not be provided.
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For High School Ministry
Jeans (no holes), khakis, capris, skirts, Polo shirts and t-shirts (with no offensive words or secular musical bands or artists) are fine.
No flip flops or shorts.
For Sport Outreaches and free day activities:
Shorts and T-shirts are fine.
Note: Outreach day activities most always include pool or water games. We will let the team know the day before the activity what to expect as far as games. Should the games include water, we recommend that the girls wear a one piece bathing suit under their shorts and t-shirt.
For VBS in Elementary schools
Jeans (no holes), khakis, capris, skirts, Polo shirts and t-shirts (with no offensive words or secular musical bands or artists) are fine.
For VBS at Church Locations:
Shorts and T-shirts are fine.
For Church Services:
Khakis, capris, jeans, skirts, dresses, and polo shirts are fine. No shorts or
flip flops for church services.
Note: Please bring both jeans and shorts as schedules and activities may change a bit
upon arrival. It's better to be prepared!
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Costa Rican students are required to wear uniforms, black shoes, blue pants or skirts, light blue or white shirt. When not in school, they wear jeans, skirts, T-shirts, polo shirts, shorts, etc. They are pretty casual here.
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This depends on what area of the country you will be working in. We utilize different hotels, camps and we even host teams of up to 32 people in the GC2 team house.
Here are some of the places we use:
GC2 Team house - Heredia
Camp Brittney - Atenas
Villas Valle Verde - Atenas
Hotel Los Lagos (free day activity) - Alajuela (www.hotelloslagos.com)
Note: As mentioned above, You do not need to bring bedding. All bedding and pillows are provided here. However you will need to bring a towel.
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You will only need cash for personal snacks and souvenirs that your purchase. Also if your team chooses the volcano hotel stay for your free day activity, the hotel offers tours such as zip cording or horseback riding at an additional cost of $50. Team leaders will also possibly need funds for the following:
Baggage fees
Meals in airports
Emergencies
Note: Credit Cards and Apple pay are widely accepted throughout Costa Rica.
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The majority of places will not take anything higher than a $20 bill. All bills should be in excellent condition with no tears or marks on them.
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Since most places accept dollars, you will not need to change out money. Usually you can purchase things with US dollars and your change will be in Costa Rican money (Colones).
Currency: The colon
500 colones = $1
1 mil (1000 colones)
5 mil (5000 colones)
10 mil (10000 colones)
20 mil (20000 colones)
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For non- medical teams, we recommend 10-20 with at least 2 adult leaders.
For medical teams we recommend between 6 and 12. (It is recommended to have at least one doctor and 3 nurses and a pharmacist if possible).
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We receive teams from January to the end of August each year. Spring break week is typically always booked while January, February, April, and May are typically the most open months.
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Either the missionary or one of our bilingual ministry staff will be with your team from the time you arrive at the airport to the time you leave the country.
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You should make copies of your passport (photo page and signature) which will be carried on you at all times. When we are traveling to free day destinations, the actual passport will need to travel with us. At all other times, passports should remain at location where you are staying.
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The water is drinkable (potable). We will provide purified drinking water during your trip and you will be able to purchase bottled water just about anywhere.
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In most cases, the team leader will have access to internet but this is not guaranteed. Please check with your cell phone service provider to ask about international plans.
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No adapter needed. Costa Rica uses the same outlets as found in the US.
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Internet Magic Jack phone: 1-843-536-0551 (This number rings to my cell phone and can receive texts)
LaMar Costa Rican Cell: 011-506-8888-1912
Other ways of contacting us:
Facebook messenger
WhatsApp
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If you can bring any of the following with you, that would be great:
1000 tracts
http://majestic-media.com/order_form.htm
(Choose the order form for "God's bridge to eternal life" and in the "Spanish" box mark the quantity desired.)
Spanish bibles (Reina valera 1960)
https://www.christianbook.com/biblia-pescador-rvr-1960-edicion-ministerio/9781433619038/pd/619038
Quick fill water balloons
Printer ink refill kit
Iphones (version X and up)
Laptops
Adult vitamins
Children's' vitamins (No gummies)
Ibuprofen
Aleve
Benadryl
Toothbrushes and toothpaste
Tylenol
Cordless microphones
Tineco Cleaning Solution