When I signed up for the World Race I was excited to travel to different countries, but I’m not going to lie, there was one that I looked forward to more then the rest. COSTA RICA!!! This is my place. I’ve been to different parts throughout the country multiple times. Once for a vacation and many other times to help my dad with his dental mission that he does every year. So while the world race is all about staying present, I was secretly peaking ahead to month 7 in Costa Rica. I began to tell my friends in Costa Rica that I would be coming in July and kept my fingers crossed that our paths would cross based on my placement for the month.
So placements came in…..and my team had UNSUNG HEROES!!! This meant we got to basically choose where we went, within reason. So we began to plan our month out by searching for ministry contacts throughout the country that could possibly partner with the World Race in the future. We spent a day researching and the route was decided. We were heading east of San Jose and then heading north. I was a little bummed because my friends and the families I have gotten to know over the years live in a place called Shiroles. This is in the southeast corner of Costa Rica, right on the coast. But I was trusting the Lord with this month and believing that He would lead us where we needed to be and most importantly where he wanted us. I knew in my heart that my ministry friends would be a great partner with the World Race so if the Lord wanted us there, he would make it happen.
Later the next day our Unsung Heroes Leader called a meeting. She said, “Things fell through and we are going to be heading southeast instead, to Puerto Viejo, to meet with some contacts.” I looked up with a sheepish grin because while everyone on my team knew I had connections in Costa Rica, they didn’t know where. So I thought okay this is cool, but its still 2 hours by bus away from Shiroles so I’m not going to force the issue just to see my friends. I was trying to have a team first attitude :).
When we arrived in Puerto Viejo, we began the day with a prayer walk. After the prayer walk, we met up with another one of the World Race teams that were staying in that area for ministry this month. When we got there, I ended up talking to a local at their hostel named Luis. He spoke English and I mentioned that I had been to Costa Rica multiple times. He asked me where. I told him Shiroles and he said, “That’s where I am from!” I then asked him if he knew Raul and he said, “Yeah! Raul and Kimi!” I asked if he knew my sister who stayed their for a year and he said, “Yeah she is studying medicine right?” And yes she is currently studying to be a doctor at the University of Michigan. (GO BLUE!). Then I asked about a few more people and he said yes and described how he knew them. He then asked me if I knew Joseph Molina and I said, “Yes, I just talked to him on the phone last night!” At this point I was kind of blown away because this is a guy I’ve never met before and yet he knows my father, sister, and all my friends in Shiroles. This was no coincidence that we headed south instead of east and it was no coincidence that I met a random guy who knew all the same people in Costa Rica that I knew. God was opening a door for me to see them again. Not just for my sake, but because they are people who love the Lord and love to serve in any way possible. A perfect contact for the World Race. So the following week we were off to Shiroles!
We arrived and Raul and Kimi were waiting for us with open arms. This is a couple I have known for 4 years. Raul is a local who is well respected in Shiroles. He knows everyone and everybody knows him. Kimi is originally from Kentucky, but ever since she was 18, she has felt a strong tug on her heart to be in Costa Rica. She is 26 now and lived in Costa Rica ever since that first calling. These two have been a huge inspiration to me in the way that they follow the spirit and respond to what the Lord wants them to do without question and without hesitation. They are young missionaries who are extremely wise and mature beyond their years. To see how greatly the Lord has blessed their ministries from the time I met them to now, it is clear they are doing exactly what he has called them to do. The picture below is of Sabrina, me, Raul, Kimi, and Jonny.
So when I first met this amazing couple, they had an awesome vision for ministries and this included taking in kids who didn’t have a family or kids without a father so the mother had to be out working during the day. It was a great vision, but first they needed a home that was big enough to make this happen. A little over a year ago they began building this home and I don’t think people realize the work that is required in building a home in the jungle. They begin by camping out up the mountain for a few days and cutting down a huuuuge tree. Then they cut the big tree into smaller pieces and turn it into ply wood. Once that is done, they carry all this wood on their backs for miles, up and down the mountain. I did this last year for a day and I could barley move for two days after. These men in Shiroles do it day after day until the wood has made it to the location that the house is going to be built. When I arrived this time, I was amazed to see how far it had come. They weren’t completely done with it, but they were now living in it and had 3 kids with them already. Their plan is to have many rooms for people and kids to stay in on the main floor and then on the second floor have a guys and girls side with bunk beds and bathrooms for teams and groups to stay in. Along with room in there house, they have a piece of property that includes a building which is called the base. The base has a large kitchen with two rooms of 2 bunk beds each and then an upstairs with room for 8 more beds. They have just finished up a cabin area where they are putting in 4 bunk beds in 4 rooms so a total of 32 beds. They are also working on another building which is going to be a kitchen that is not connected to either the base or the cabin. The property itself has a soccer field, basketball and volleyball court, and a fire pit. It is a perfect location for a team and even possibly a whole squad in the future once everything is complete.
Along with the ministry of bringing in kids who don’t have a home or family, they have many other ministries that are in the works. They do a thing called children of the promise where roughly 20 kids around the community come and they do school work, bible lessons, prayer, crafts and they teach the kids cultural lessons that are essential for living in the jungle region of Talamanca. They also do a thing called the banquet which is a meals on wheels kind of ministry. This is where they go around to the elderly people in the community who are either forgotten or abandoned by their families and they bring them food, talk with them, and pray for them. They have a soccer ministry that Raul does where the youth and young adults come to play soccer and in the process they build relationships with the kids that is essential in sharing the gospel. They also do a bible study ministry with some of the men in the soccer league that they run called Alpha. These men meet at their house once a week and they talk about stories and lessons from the bible. Most of these men are not Christians and most of them don’t even know who Jesus is. This is an awesome ministry because these men have found trust in Raul through the soccer ministry and are now open and willing to learn about what it means to be a Christian and what life is like having a relationship with Jesus Christ. They also go out and do all different types of construction and projects for the men and women of the community as a form of love and once again a way to build relationships. One thing that Raul said when we were visiting really stood out to me. He said that he doesn’t need people to come do construction with him day in and day out because he could do that everyday by himself. He needs people to come and love on the community, go to their houses and share the gospel and listen to them. Raul and Kimi’s ministry is all about building relationships in order for the people to have open hearts and minds to what they are really meant to do, share the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Another ministry they have is in a place called San Miguel, which is deeper in the jungle. Raul’s dad is a pastor at a church he started with the indigenous tribe there. Each Sunday they walk 3 hours up the mountain to the church and we were lucky enough to go with them one Sunday. It was a great experience for my team, but man was it hard. Here is a picture of our first few steps that started at 6 am that day.
Raul and Kimi are an amazing team of missionaries who truly love the way that God has called us to love. They put the people of the community above themselves and are a great example of what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. Luke 16:10 says, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” This couple has taken the little things the Lord has given them and entrusted them with, and been faithful with that. Now the Lord is expanding their ministries exponentially and giving them more because He knows their hearts and knows that they will listen and be obedient with the little things. I’ve seen it with my own eyes throughout the past 4 years. Raul and Kimi are without a doubt the most loving, honest, caring, and obedient followers of Jesus Christ that I know. They are truly an inspiration to me and my walk in Christ because I have seen first hand how God has blessed them through their hard work and faithfulness.
