Jacó, Costa Rica. An amazing little beach town where you’ll pass a local, a family of tourists, a pro surfer, and a missionary, all on the same street. I absolutely loved this town. Something about the energy here is so attractive. Being so close to the water was also amazing. Almost everyday after ministry, if we weren’t serving at church or cooking dinner that night, our team would walk to the beach to watch the sunset. The restaurants, coffee shops, and one special ice cream shop were majorly supported by our teams this month! We created so many awesome memories here. We also encountered major spiritual warfare here. On the same streets you may pass a prostitute, a drug dealer, drug addict, young people looking to party, or other people looking to fill voids in their hearts with their sin of choice. Living in this town for a month made me realize something very important: we are sheep among wolves.
Our ministry host this month was an incredible missions training base called Ocean’s Edge. The first night we arrived on the property we met our hosts Hannah and Rita. After speaking with them for a few minutes we were all awestruck by their intentionality. These women are the real deal. Hannah was one of the major players in pioneering this ministry training ground. Rita is a world race alum who answered the call to come back to Jaco to cultivate what God is doing here. Both of their testimonies had us completely shook. I wish I had space to share just how much God has equipped and provided for them. Just know they’re mighty women of God out here doing things in the Kingdom. #goals.
This month we were given mentors to disciple us. Myself and my teammates Kelsey and Megan met with Rita and a local Costa Rican lady we’ll call Ruth, once a week to share testimonies, pray, fellowship, and share what God was showing us. Our last mentor meeting was something I’ll never forget. Ruth invited us over to her home where she made a homemade Costa Rican breakfast for us. We visited with her son and their new little dog. Ruth is another powerhouse in the Kingdom. The previous time our group met, we spoke about condemnation vs. conviction. We discussed how the enemy will condemn and shame us, but the Holy Spirit convicts us so we will repent and ask God to show us another way. Today, Ruth shared a story in which she was able to apply what we previously discussed. (I LOVE when God becomes real in our everyday lives.) Ruth works for a local business who frequently helps locals in need. A lady came by the office and asked for help, said she had children that were hungry, and she didn’t know where to turn. Ruth offered help and also encouraged her to seek out a church. As they were standing outside the front door of the office chatting, suddenly, two men on the street who recognized the woman began harassing her and yelling terrible insults at her. Ruth spoke up and told the men to go away, leave her alone, and never to come back. She spoke truth over the lady and told her it was time for her to start choosing a better life for herself and her family.
Two things really spoke to me from this mentor meeting and Ruth’s story:
- Ruth displayed God’s kindness, yet encouraged the lady to seek a better way to live.
You see, God is not demanding and authoritative when it comes to repentance from His kids. He is a good God. He wants nothing but good things for His kids. Because He is so good, His kindness literally draws us to repentance. I love the Passion Translation of Romans 2:4. It says, “Do the riches of his extraordinary kindness make you take him for granted and despise him? Haven’t you experienced how kind and understanding he is to you? Don’t mistake his tolerance for acceptance. Do you realize that all of the wealth of his extravagant kindness is meant to melt your heart and lead you to repentance?”
The more that you allow Holy Spirit to guide you in life you will realize that God is not just seated on His throne demanding judgement. Well, Old Testament God was pretty intense, but we now live under the new covenant. Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. Jesus came to the earth and became flesh to be a human example of God’s love. God wants to be close to us. He wants us to realize how much He loves us and live holy lives out of the overflow of that love.
- As we live as modern day disciples for Christ, we will find ourselves as sheep among wolves.
In Matthew 10 Jesus is sending out his twelve disciples and giving them instructions. He gives them authority to cast out evil spirits and heal the sick. Check this out: when we accept Jesus into our hearts and live in the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we have that same authority! That fires me up!
In verse 16 Jesus says this, ”I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”
Basically, we are sheep in Jesus’s flock. We are commissioned to go love others and bring more sheep into the flock. These discipling sheep are stealthy, mission-driven sheep. They are smart and bold, yet kind and intentional.
This is exactly the example that Ruth showed in combating those men that were harassing the lady on the street. She witnessed spiritual wolves. She was bold and used her authority against men who were evil and casting shame on someone. That is discipleship in action! That is how we are called to live in this life with Jesus! His Holy Spirit living inside us gives us the boldness to be light in darkness. Jesus already won the victory that we live in. We are just called to represent that victory to others around the world.
I feel like this is just one story and one snapshot of the things that I experienced in Jaco. This month made me a better disciple. I am so encouraged by what God is doing to restore a town that was built with evil intentions to a place where people are coming to know Jesus.
