Ministry in San Jose

Hello Family and Friends,

What a wonderful week it has been and it only continues to get better.

We all had a blast yesterday on our fun day in the rain forest. We had an eventful boat ride down the crocodile infested river where we saw lots of wildlife including all sorts of birds, reptiles, monkeys, wild horses, and of course crocodiles!! It could not have been a more beautiful day as well. We had rain everyday for the most part this week with clouds and a cool wind, and then yesterday was sunshine and no clouds!! We could not have been more lucky! After surviving the fear of heights, everyone highly enjoyed the zip line. Gliding through the jungle on a single cord was such a thrill for everyone. After doing that, we were able to see some poisonous snakes, and beautiful poisonous frogs. We also were able to go horseback riding which was a great unplanned activity. By the time we finished for the day, we returned back to our hotel in Sarapaqui to pack up our luggage on the bus. We then drove to the church where we had been doing ministry to see the progress on the house in the last 24 hours. We were all so encouraged to see the house take form with the front wall of the house up. We then said our goodbyes to Rodrigo and his wife Aydee (i-day = phonetic spelling) for the last time and many tears were shed.

We finally got to San Jose where were checked into a quaint Bed and Breakfast hotel. Everyone fell quickly asleep after our debriefing time.

Today was our first day of ministry in San Jose at the new church branch. It was the first day of VBS with the children and we had so much fun. The kids were absolutely precious and on several occasions the youth were stating how they were going to pack one of the children in their carry-ons and bring them home with them!! After playing Whale and fish (sharks and minnows), we sang worship songs in Spanish with the children. It was neat to see our youth leading the children in songs and even getting into the hand motions. After singing, Brandon gave a message on Jonah and the whale (hence the game connection), and the kids were highly interactive and so much more attentive than the day of ministry we had earlier in the week at another location. It was encouraging to everyone to see the bonds forming already in just a few hours.

Today was a relaxing but rewarding day. After we finished the minstry time at the church we had the next several hours to ourselves. The majority of the group walked around the city just to experience culture. This immersion was invigorating as well as educational. Those of us that went, walked with our intern Martha to her apartment where we rested before walking back (and of course had to make a pit stop for icecream!)

After the adventures we all headed back to the B&B where most of the team took naps before we headed out to see the coffee shop that Chuck and Robby (The Missionaries stationed here), are starting as a ministry. Martha graduated from culinary school specializing in pasteries, and American pasteries will be served at this coffee shop as well as the coffee. We visited the location tonight to see the progress on the construction. Everything is almost complete and it is absolutely beautiful. We are now at Chuck and Robby's house for an American dinner. Most of the youth were thrilled to not be eating rice and beans again as Costa Rican's eat them with literally every meal (breakfast included).

Tomorrow we will be doing our second day of VBS at the church in Crystal Ray where we were at today. Pray that the Lord uses our team to impact these children and other people we come into contact with. The focus of ministry tomorrow will be on following Jesus and being obedient to His calling. We want to stress that all people, no matter your race, where you're from, who your family is - you are called by God, and He wants you to follow Him. We are all God's children and even if you mess up terribly or have made some bad decisions, God still loves you just as much and still wants you to follow Him. So we are very excited for our ministry tomorrow with los ninos (the kids), so please remember to keep us in your prayers from 10-12ish.

After our time of ministry tomorrow we will be doing our souvenir shopping downtown San Jose. We are all excited for interaction with the locals, and to barter for our purchases! :)

On Sunday, after going to 2 church services (one of which Brandon will be preaching at so keep him in your prayers), we will be doing our third day of VBS with the children in Crystal Ray. This is the day that we will be doing the wordless bracelets about salvation. We're hoping that our youth can continue to progress in their great impact with these children who just love them.

Hopefully I will have another opportunity to blog again on Sunday evening when we are back at Chuch and Robby's for a final dinner with them before leaving Monday.

A couple prayer requests:

For safety while doing ministry
For God's providence and hand in our ministry
For rest as some exhaustion is starting to set in
For life changing experiences for the youth to remember
For the experiences the youth have had here to impact their personal relationships with Jesus Christ so that growth in their spiritual lives are seen, and that they continue to grow after returning home.

We thank you all so much for your continued prayers and support.
We are all so blessed and lucky to have this opportunity and are all falling in love with Costa Rica quite quickly.

Until next time,

The Team