Hey friends! Currently I am sitting in the back yard of the adventures base here in Costa Rica. Just wanted to update y’all on what life has looked like this past week since we arrived to this beautiful country. It seems crazy to think that just last weekend my squad and I were running around the Hilton Atlanta Airport together during launch as we prepared to leave the states for 9 months together.
But before we get into that, rewind to a few days before that I was saying my last “see you laters” to all my loved ones in the PDX airport. That was an emotional evening. I bawled my eyes out like a baby as I said goodbye to my brothers and again as I said see you later to my best friend when she asked to pray for me first. Walking through security was the strangest feeling. Sad about who I was leaving behind yet excited for what was to come even though at this point I still had no idea what I signed myself up for. I sat on my first flight staring out the window at the beautiful sunset God was painting up that night. I don’t even know what I was thinking in that moment. Then the lady next to me on the plane looked at me and said, “I just have to thank you for being a believer” my draw probably dropped to the floor as I smiled back at her and began conversation. Her & I spoke the rest of the flight. She told me her testimony and the goodness of God as her husband chimed in a few times. By the end of the flight we were showing each other pictures and she asked me for my blog to follow my journey. I remember being on that flight and just laughing inside about how funny God is in the way he works. The little things he does in my life to let me know I’m doing what He has planned.
Fast forward back to launch, a few people from my squad & I went to the nearby Target to get a few things we had realized we forgot to pack. Seven of us were running around target singing, laughing, and having silly dance parties. A lady stopped to see my friends “performance” she then saw my friend Nathaneals young life shirt which ended up turning into a conversation starter. We stood in the coffee aisle of Target speaking to this woman for about 20 minutes. She gave us her email and asked each of us to subscribe her to our blogs so she could support us. We then watched her as she FaceTimed her friend to introduce us and told her friend to be praying for us and asked her to donate to us. From there, she insisted on purchasing all of our groceries for us. I saw a glimpse of Jesus through that woman that day. Her smile was unforgettable and the love she had for Jesus in her heart was undeniable.
Thank you, Amia for encouraging and loving on my friends and I during such a crazy time.
Monday September 9th at 2am my whole squad and I met in the lobby to start shuttling to the airport, where we flew from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. At this point none of us had slept. After a four hour layover of rest and food in Florida we said goodbye to the states one last time as we boarded our last flight to San Jose, Costa Rica. We arrived in Costa Rica around 2pm where our ministry host, Kevin, greeted us as we loaded our packs onto a bus through the window. About an hour later we arrived at the base. We spent the next two days resting and learning about the new culture we’re living in. The base quickly became home. Everyone takes part in cleaning after meals and making sure we are respecting this space. There’s always laughter overflowing from one room to the next. Watercolors have become a big thing for us gals. The boys are often doing pull-ups in the backyard.
We began ministry Thursday morning, my team specifically went to a food bank where we spent the day taping up broken bags of food (such as rice, flour, sugar, beans, etc.) that would be on a families table within two days. The food bank wasn’t at all what I expected, I think I had pictured it more of like a soup kitchen where we would see people. That wasn’t the case which challenged me to think about the different ways ministry could look like. A couple summers ago on Workcrew my job was PITS, basically doing dishes for a month. Very behind the scenes work. The food bank brought me back to that summer and I remembered how then we had talked about what it would look like if we prayed over every plate we washed for the kid who would be using it. I applied that to the food bank as I figured out what it would look like to pray over each piece of food I taped up. I found my heart sad as I realized that taped up food that would be considered garbage in the states is such a gift to these families.
Friday my team and I helped a lady who works closely with the World Race and helps run a ministry organization here in Costa Rica pack up her house to get ready to move within the week. Mold is a very common thing in Costa Rica so we were able to help her pack up her things as we also got to clean off the mold. We learned that day that this next week we will be helping her move into her new house. We will also begin working with the organization she helps run which is going to look a lot like working with children. I love kids so I am very excited for this new ministry and the ways God is going to show up in that.
Later today my team and I will be heading out around 1pm to go to a local prison to do ministry there. We have no idea what that will look like but I’m expectant for the Lord to move in that space. Please keep my team specifically in your prayers as we head into that later today. As well as praying for Z squad as a whole as we dive into our second week of the world race tomorrow. Crazy to think it’s only been a week. Thank you all for following along and supporting my squad and I on this journey.
Thanks for reading
Love always, Cass
