12/15/10
For the
last 10 days, we lived up on the Irazu Volcano in Cartago, Costa Rica with a
family of five from South Carolina. Jacob & Courtenay moved their family to
Costa Rica two years ago to begin language school and become immersed in the
culture. They have three beautiful curly-headed children-Benjamin (9), Lizzie
(7), and Sophia (5)-and a puppy named Zorro. Their main mission is to live out
their Christian lives amidst the Tico people in the nearby village of Cipreses.
Jacob
leads eleven Bible studies each week in different people’s homes in order to
disciple the men of the community and empower them to eventually start their
own church. The community is predominantly Catholic, so they put a lot of
emphasis on good works. Jacob is working to break down their belief systems and
traditions and teach them more about the love of Christ and the power of His
forgiveness. It is not about doing good works, but rather the fact that Jesus
died on the Cross for the forgiveness of our sins. It really doesn’t matter
what we do or don’t do. It’s all about having a relationship with Jesus Christ,
and from that relationship will come a natural willingness to serve and do
things for the Kingdom.
Our team
was able to help Jacob out by leading some of the Bible studies and sharing the
testimonies of our lives with some of the people. Their ministry puts a lot of
emphasis on what God can do in and through people’s lives, so he wanted us to
share our stories of God’s redemption with them. The girls also did some dirty
work by helping Jorge plant tomatoes and lettuce in the greenhouse on the farm,
while the guys shoveled manure and helped with the water treatment and
irrigation system. We were able to help Courtenay out around the house by
relieving her job as the homeschool teacher for the kids.
[our family Christmas portrait]
Overall, it
was a great week-other than the freezing temperatures!! Courtenay is an
incredible cook so we have definitely been spoiled with some great American
home-cooking! We spent most of our time around the house bundled up in our
sweatpants, sweatshirts, and sleeping bags drinking lots of hot coffee J
They even had a Christmas tree so it actually felt like Christmas! We
celebrated Christmas yesterday by drawing names and exchanging Bible verses. Lizzie
had my name so she drew me a picture along with Proverbs 31:8-9:
“Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of
all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of
the poor and needy.”
We were truly blessed by our time with the Folks. They definitely
exemplify what a Christian family should look like.
—–
This afternoon, we arrived at Jaco Beach, our ministry site for
the next two weeks. It is a cute little tourist town right on the beach. From
what we understand, we will be working a lot with street kids and prostitutes in
the town, as well as doing some yard work on the property where we live.
