Harvest Party 2023
(the pictures are below)
Tire Stackers. We had to stop the game after the first team went. For safety reasons.
Picture this: a 12-foot square metal post, oversized tires, and a burly firefighter.
The goal was for the teams to hold the post upright and strategically get as many tires onto the post as possible in two minutes. The team that managed to ring the most tires would win. We imagined they would build human pyramids, or even towers, and pass the tires up to the top… but our burly firefighter friend… simply began chucking rubber.
Three things immediately became clear.
Twelve feet was a long way to throw a heavy tire.
When a tire is thrown twelve feet in the air (by a burly firefighter) and then loses its brave fight against gravity, the team needs to run for cover…but not let the metal post damage anyone as it’s falling.
If the first team’s burly firefighter couldn’t pass this test of strength and strategy, nobody else could
Before the two minutes had passed, we called the game to a halt. The first team actually was successful in placing a single tire on the post - the same post and tire that proceeded to hit an 11-year-old and 13-year-old (thankfully, they were not too seriously injured). Welcome to the untamed world of missionaries living in a land where nobody sues for such uncalculated mishaps. LOL.
This was our second annual Harvest Party. It was super fun! We hosted about 70 youth and young adults to give them a taste of “Harvest time in the USA” while we thanked God for His abundant provision in our lives. Like last year, the students and staff from Vida220 helped us immensely. We had youth from our church, Encuentros Church International, and a few friends from the two international youth groups that our teens attend. Oh! And we invited a family from Ohio that was staying at Pasteje while vacationing in Costa Rica (thus the burly firefighter’s appearance on the scene).
As they arrived, we gathered in a large circle in the chapel and played an icebreaker game where one person says their name. The following person in line says their own name and repeats the name of the first person who said their name. They kept going until they were about 30 names in, and then they started over on the other half of the circle! We couldn’t believe how well they did!
After splitting up into five teams, the first contest began: hauling wood! (We end the night with a bonfire, so this is a great way to get free help.) We then played other games like Tire Toss, 3-Legged Race, (the infamous) Tire Stackers game, Wheelbarrow Races (our favorite), and “Poison” (and 11-year-old Juliana was right up there competing with the big kids! See pics).
After working up their appetites, we feasted at a hotdog bar complete with chile, chips, veggies, coleslaw, and friendship tea.
Then, for a farmwide scavenger hunt. To keep costs down, we’d bought eight “pumpkins” - last year’s Christmas styrofoam ornament balls that were on clearance - and spray painted them orange… which shrank them, but, oh well. The teams did remarkably well spotting “pumpkins” spread over the 25-acre farm.
While they were scavenging, the adults lit the bonfire, and then together, we had a wonderful time of worship, singing around the blaze.
We finished the night’s celebration with desserts: pumpkin custard, gingersnap cookies, oatmeal cookies, marshmallow popcorn balls… and then, line dancing! What a sight to see a room full of Latinos and gringos trying their best at ‘Footloose’!
We also held a mini Harvest Party for the little tykes where they enjoyed a Petting Zoo, Cardboard Toboggan Race, Face Painting, Crafts, Balloon Stomp, and a Flashlight “Pumpkin Hunt.” Special thanks to our visiting guest, Phoebe, for heading up the mini version. :)
We truly love opening the farm up for community-building events like this. To God be the glory!
Love,
Dave, Heather, Aspen, Clementine, Louis, Juliana, Huxley, and Caspian Helmuth
Ps. Thanks also to Allen from Encuentros Church for helping clean up the property beforehand.
Pps. And special thanks to Steven Bolaños for most of these pictures!
Ppps. And Sara, thank you for staying the night and helping us clean up.
