Nine Wood-Mizer employees and family members traveled to Costa Rica to build a cabin at a Christian Camp. They departed from the Wood-Mizer parking lot (8180 W. 10th Street, Indianapolis), to the Central American country on June 7th, and returned June 16th. In their short time in this tropical country, they made a huge difference to the Costa Rican people.

The group performed mission work at Camp Roblealto, a Christian bible camp for children. The mission work entailed building a new facility to house the youngsters attending the camp. Wood-Mizer sawmills were used to make timber out of logs.

The Wood-Mizer group managed to finish the cabin despite some major obstacles. There were a few days of intense rains, accompanied by flash floods. And in one close call, a tractor carrying building supplies overturned. Wood-Mizer Customer Service Director Darlene Guzman, who was riding with the supply wagon, had to jump and roll so she wouldn’t get hurt. Darlene ended up suffering some bruises, but is otherwise okay.

The beneficiaries of the Wood-Mizer mission work were deeply moved. The children sang songs of worship, and presented gifts to their new American friends.

Wood-Mizer Missions Coordinator Dave Rowzer says the trip was a success on many different levels. “We received good exposure to the Costa Rican culture in both the country and city life. We saw some of God's beautiful creation geographically, learned how the Costa Rican’s lived, worked, ate, worshipped, traveled, had fun, and we enjoyed learning the history of the country. We worked hard and accomplished much, which thrilled the mission. We got to see first hand what a difference a mission can make in this small needy country and got the feel of how we can help others. The best satisfaction usually comes with the feeling of accomplishment knowing that you have helped to lift the load off someone else in need and have made a difference.”

Wood-Mizer, the worldwide leader in portable sawmill sales, encourages employees to perform good works around the world. The company pays for half of the mission trip.

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