Pura Vida!
This is a common greeting here. It means “simple life” or “pure life”, but here in Costa Rica, it is more than just a saying—it is a way of life.
We have been in Jacó, Costa Rica for a little over a week now. We started out our time in a hostel for about 5 days for our debrief, which is a time where our leadership flies out to the field to pour into us and process the last month. It was an incredible time of rest and recharging through the Holy Spirit. I learned so much! We arrived at our ministry site on Sunday.
We are staying with a ministry called Ocean’s Edge here in Jacó. I have already fallen in love with this ministry because of the incredible hospitality and intentionality I have already experienced! The people on staff here truly want to make sure we are filled with the Holy Spirit so we can overflow into the community. They have daily devotionals with us in the mornings and they have set each team up with mentors to pour into us as well.
This month is an all-squad month, which means all 32 of us in addition to our 2 squad leaders will be together for ministry here in Costa Rica! We even have our squad mentor, Allison, staying with us to do ministry for the first two weeks. It has already been incredible to have everyone together!
Last Monday, our first day of ministry, our entire squad did a prayer walk throughout the city of Jacó. Our hosts divided us up into teams to conquer different parts of the city. We had lists of the 635 businesses and some even had specific prayer requests for us to pray over as we passed them. We specifically prayed for the Lord to break down walls of brokenness and allow his light to shine through.
To give some background, Jacó has a reputation for being the “Sodom and Gomorrah” or the “Las Vegas” of Costa Rica. This small town of approximately 10,000 people is known for the surf beaches and night life. Unfortunately, this bright beautiful town has a huge prostitution presence and the people are extremely sexualized. Our host told us about the many businesses who allow this to occur and the many brothels that are present in the area. Because of this, our squad isn’t allowed to be out of our property past 8pm, as the atmosphere of the town completely changes at night.
My teammate Hannah has said many times that the darker a situation is, the more potential there is for the Lord’s light to shine brighter. I feel like this couldn’t be more true about Jacó. There is so much brokenness evident here, but the Lord is in the business of redeeming these stories for his glory.
Hannah, our host, has a huge vision for Jacó, and she has created a movement called #WeAre611 or #Somos611 (in Spanish). It is an overarching movement to bring about a more positive Jacó. Jesus is on the move here, and it is evident! Many of my squadmates have been given the word “harvest” for the people here. I truly feel like we are in a time of harvest. The people are hungry for something more. Here is what the movement is about as stated on their website:
“#WEARE611 #SOMOS611 Costa Rica is a positive community movement started by Ocean’s Edge Ministries in Jacó Beach, Costa Rica. It highlights the positive social impact on the 611 zip code in Costa Rica. Every day there are groups and individuals having a positive impact in our community. These individuals are boldly stepping out to face the challenging social environments and because of their efforts our city is a brighter place to live. The #WEARE611 #SOMOS611 hashtags exists to tell their stories.”
(My teammate Hannah hanging up flyers before the Independence Day parade)
Since there are so many of us in the squad, we are split into different ministry groups during our time here according to our spiritual giftings. This month, I am working on a website that the ministry has created called Jacó Beach Info. You can visit it here. Basically, it is a free marketing website for the businesses. It allows us to get to know the owners on a more personal level and allow them to be a part of a better Jacó that is being created. Through this, it allows us to form relationships with the people here and ultimately opens doors for gospel sharing. I have already enjoyed getting to know so many of the people here. We have been busy taking pictures, hearing stories, and building relationships.
Another group within the squad has been building a playground for a local community called Playa Azul (translated to blue beach). They have been working really hard moving and painting tires, digging trenches, and creating some swings and other equipment. This has been a vision for a long time and I know they are grateful to be a part of the implementation. They are currently raising money for supplies so they can make this park as incredible as possible for these children. So if you have a heart for this project, message me and I can get your $ to the right place! Thanks, guys!
(Pictures my squadmate Mikayla took of the park)
I am excited to be here and be a small part of what God is doing in Jacó!
