What a whirlwind these past couple weeks, and even months, have been. I apologize for not posting this earlier! I wish I could have posted more during my outreach in Costa Rica, but our time was extremely busy with ministry and internet was limited. So, I'll give you a large update on all that we did during our time there! :)
As you from the last update, we started by working with Homes of Hope. The three families we built homes for were so extremely blessed and thankful for all that we did for them. Those weeks were filled with a lot of manual labor. We were doing things like leveling ground, digging holes, carrying buckets of dirt up hills, bringing cinder blocks down to the sites, and more. It was hard work, but it was SO rewarding. God worked on our hearts and blessed us through blessing others.
My team plus a few friends, with one
of the families in front of their home
Another picture of me and a little boy who stole my heart.
Isn't he precious? He lived nearby and would always come to be with us.
We also worked with Freedom Streets, the ministry working to help get prostitutes off the streets by giving them jobs in jewelry making.
Here's a picture from one of our days with those ladies
And another one with more of my team playing with kids
We also went to La Cumbre Christian Adventure Camp. There we built friendships with the kids who came for an "open camp" week, did skits for them, and worked all around the camp. The last night of the open camp, we had a bonfire and were able to go around and pray for all the kids. That was such a special time.
During our time there, I received a phone call that my great grandma, Eva Lathen, passed away. It was hard to be away and miss her memorial service, but I was blessed to know her and am so thankful for the Godly life she lived. My team was so supportive, and I really appreciate how wonderful they were.
Two of the girls who came to La Cumbre,
with my friend Haylee and me
After La Cumbre, we left to be part of something called the Bible project. The goal of the Bible Project is to get the same version of the Bible into every home in Costa Rica in ten years. We went to a beautiful town called Orosi for door-to-door evangelism and Bible distribution. This was a type of ministry that I realized I really love. The people were SO friendly and welcoming to us. They were completely receptive and would often invite us into their homes and share with us about the things they needed prayer for. Overall, we distributed 360 Bibles! It was an amazing time. :)
Dios Habla Hoy (God speaks today) is the version of the Bible we distributed
My distribution team and translator with one of the
ladies who invited us into her home. She was a sweetheart!
After this, we did something called NIKO. NIKO is a YWAM program that is a five-day, wilderness survival training. Part of NIKO is not knowing what's going to happen, so we aren't supposed to talk about it too much. But what I can say is that it was a really difficult, yet amazing time with God. We had no choice but to rely on Him, and it was SO good. It was a stretching time, but I know that my whole team would agree that it was worth it in the end. :)
We also went to a little beach town called Jaco. During the day, Jaco was absolutely beautiful. The main street has a lot of touristy shops and restaurants, and it's right next to the beach. When the sun would set, you could feel the spiritual atmosphere shift. Jaco is known for it's sex tourism, so human trafficking and prostitution is a huge industry there. While we were there, we did a lot of kids ministry. There were many Nicaraguan squatter families who had been there ten years or so, living in tiny houses made out of sheet metal. We would go into this big field surrounded with trees, and kids, anywhere from infants to about 14 years old, would come to be with us. We told them Bible stories, played games, and one day we washed their feet like Jesus did with the disciples. You could see they were embarassed, but it was so cool to do that service for them.
Our last week of ministry was spent with Freedom Streets again. We helped put together the sets of jewelry and get them ready to sell. We also did a night of prayer on the streets. We took a van to downtown San Jose, where we spent our time in a park. There were girls selling themselves on the corners, and we were right next to them singing and praying. Teresa and Ruth, the girls heading up that ministry night, went to talk to the ladies and continue building their friendships with them and witness to them about Jesus. As we were praying, we could feel the spiritual darkness being pushed back. It has no place in the presence of God!
Most of the girls from my team with Teresa and Ruth,
who taught us about the trafficking in Costa Rica
All in all, outreach was a life-changing experience. God taught me a lot about doing EVERYTHING as unto Him. Whatever it is that I am doing can be done as unto the Lord, which is a life-changing perspective to keep.
I want to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who supported me, financially and in prayer. THANK YOU for being sensitive to the Holy Spirit and helping send me to Costa Rica and to the entire Discipleship Training School. There are no words to describe how much it changed my life.
I'm keeping all of you in my prayers and praying for revival in your families.
God bless you!!!
~LC~
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