Welcome to Jaco, Costa Rica.
One of the most gorgeous and exciting places I have ever been.
Upon arrival it was described to us as the modern day Sodom and Gomorra. The beauty of the city sucks people in and eventually the addictions find them. Alcoholism, drugs, and prostitution are what the city is known for. But God is moving in this city and do I, He loves the people here.
This month we have the opportunity to work alongside missions that have been established in the past few years. God has been moving in the past couple years and the results are amazing.
Since our arrival we have been leading kids clubs and teaching Sunday school. These kids are adorable. There is a Spanish church and an English church we are involved with. Both are wonderful and remind me of my church back home. My group is in charge of leading a bible study every Monday Night. We are doing a 4 part series on the book of John.We do weekly prayer walks through Jaco praying and meeting the women stuck in prositution. We are also organizing a sex trafficking walk through Jaco to create awareness. Prostituion isn’t legal but we have been told multiple times that the police are corrupt and look the other way when it comes to that.
We are partnering with Christian Surfers for this month so we also are helping them out however they need. This week it was security at a reggae concert hosted by our church. I now know how to efficiently pat women down looking for weapons. I also get the opportunity to work at a pregnancy crisis center which I am so excited for. One thing I have already learned is God can use your skills wherever you go to his glory. We are doing all these things while shoveling literally tons of dirt for a proper construction project. We have played the thankful game quite a few times this week.
I can’t wait to see how we use our time this month and how God brings us closer to these people. Pray for the people of Jaco, pray they find the hope and love that God has to offer them. And pray for our teams, we have already been stretched and put to the test. and I’m sure there is more to come.
