4:19 PM
October 13th, 2019
Hello!! We are here in Costa Rica! Sorry for how MIA I’ve been but it’s been crazy.
We’ve finally gotten settled here in Jacó and things are wildly busy. Let me give you a little rundown of the location here. We are staying and partnering with a local ministry called Ocean’s Edge, which is in the heat of things. Jacó is a broken city. Bursting to the brim with prostitution, drug dealing/use, and overall considered a major surfing/party town.
Jacó has been referred to as the “modern Sodom & Gomorrah” by neighboring towns, and it’s known that you don’t come here unless you’re being chased or chasing something.
Each night around 7, the sun has been down for about an hour and it’s pitch black outside, only lit by city lights. Then, the birds come. Huge, black birds with nasty sounding caws and seemingly no fear of humans. They are imposing and loud, and hundreds and hundreds of them fly overhead and land on the electrical wires above the strip in town. We noticed them immediately, and later were told by our hosts that they are prophetic for the darkness encapsulating this town. They sit above where the thick of the drug abuse and prostitution rings lie. Then, they flee when the sun arises.
We have a strict curfew and are only allowed to go out in pairs for a reason. The darkness has such a hold on this town and we were told the history of how this ministry was begun. It actually originated with a woman from YoungLife!!! Whoop whoop!! And she joined Christian Surfers who allowed her to receive the property to start The Edge.
They have started a project that we are helping with for the whole month, where we paint the light posts around town with bright colors and animals local to Costa Rica. They light up the town, and are a beacon of hope. Each one is placed in the dark strip. So far, during a six hour workday with the posts, at least 7 people come to each group of three and ask us what we are doing and why. It has all been such a huge easy way to evangelize without pushing people away.
We also help at the local church and prenatal center, as well as the homeless/prostitution ministry and surf club for kids.
We do prayer walks and God Hunts where we walk into town and ask God to lead us where He needs prayer. My teammates Stef and Noah, and myself went out with the hopes of helping someone God needed to speak to. We prayed for a vision of something and I distinctly saw and heard the description of a worn leather book. So we were on our way. We took random twists and turns and ended up in front of a random strip of town. Here, my eyes darted around, staying aware, when I landed on a worn leather book. I turned wide-eyed to my teammates and showed them. Just then, a man came out to speak with us. We asked him about his business and for his name, Dan. After small talk and a description of why were there and what we were doing, we asked if he needed prayer and he so enthusiastically shouted “Yes!! Please!” It was so genuine and life giving, so we waterfall prayed over him and he thanked us so much. We went on our way and later found out he went to the church we would be working in for the month, and today we got to see him again! It was so sweet and amazing to see God lead us to him.
Much more to say, not enough wifi in the world!!! Gotta run. See you soon.
