HEYYYYYY! WOWZAA!! God sent me and my squad out to the incredible place of Costa Rica!!
I am so excited that this is real, I’m really here, In Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica! Praise the Lord for safe travels.
The whole journey took 10 hours total! A 3 hour plane ride and a 7 hour bus ride, which was a time for a much needed nap;) My squad and I are staying on a YWAM base ( Youth With a Mission), one of the 5 bases here in Costa! We are deep in the jungle, with plantain trees and monkeys all around! At first, the humid air really drained my energy during the day, but my body has acclimated quickly; tents in Georgia really helped me prepare. We have wonderful hosts, Rasta and Elsie, who love and encourage us everyday.
We arrived on a Saturday, so we were able to rest and explore Puerto Viejo. First stop, La playa de negro, the black sand beach. Oh man, this beach is so beautiful! Praise the Lord for such an incredible first day:)
Ministry!
Oh yeah baby, we get to do ministry right here on the YWAM base. Each team rotates preparing each meal, Breakfast is at 7:00a, Lunch is at 12:30p and Dinner is at 18:00p! The food y’all:0 Wow it is so good. The best is the rice and bean, eggs and fries plantains for breakfast. We eat a lot of vegetables: cabbage, carrots, beets, potatoes
tomatoes. As well as, a lot yummy fruits in the morning and all different forms of plantains. Cooking is a wonderful way to serve out hosts and enjoy quality conversations:) Clean up is awesome. We all rotate meal clean up, and cleaning our eating space, kitchen, sitting areas and bathrooms! What other kind of ministry have we done? Well, we get to help clear a space out in the jungle for a new kitchen and a field as well! What tools do we use to chop down a jungle you ask? Machetes. Heck yeah! Big, sharp machetes and rakes as well. Working out in the jungle is an experience for sure. Unknown plants surround us, tiny lizards are everywhere and snakes are alive down here. So as we machete the jungle, we pray and ask for protection and the Lord protects us:) It is really cool to be here helping create space for others after me. Some day in the jungle are long, and it is hard to see a finishing point. Rasta, our amazing host, always comes out and chats with us tells us his vision for the space we have cleared, and that is so encouraging. The work is long, but here in Costa Rica, Pura Vida (pure life) is the motto. Meaning: chill, heck yeah, live life, hey, take is slow, and don’t worry. There is no rush here in Puerto Viejo. Life is chill, therefore work is easy going. Another ministry we just started, is street evangelism! AHH! This is the coolest, craziest thing I’ve ever done. What is street evangelism? Well, we split up our squad into groups of 3 and the super groovy YWAM school bus drops us off in the middle of Puerto Viejo. We start off with prayer and then hit the streets. Our teams start walking wherever we feel led and just start up a conversation with someone. This is difficult sometimes because of the language barrier, and I have lost most of my Spanish. But we try our best with the little Spanish we know. Starting conversation with a stranger was always so scary. I never knew what to say. Living in this really loving and gracious community has helped me step into a new light, and use the courage the Lord gives to me to talk to others. Street evangelism is hard, but is making me trust the Lord in new ways. It is day 2 of street evangelism and I have met so many incredible human beings! Oh Wow.
I am so excited for more ministry!
Adjusting to life here in Costa for the next 3 months is going to be a challenge for sure. But I can already feel there is new growth starting up here. In my squad and in this beautiful city of Puerto Viejo.
Keep my squad and I in your prayers!
- unity within my squad
- prayers against spiritual warfare
- health
- Strength for chopping down the jungle
- Discernment
- Relying on the Lord
ALSO! I WANT TO KNOW ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE!
SO COMMENT YOUR QUESTIONS AND I WILL POST A Q&A TO RESPOND TO YOUR QUESTIONS!
I love you all! Thank you for your prayers!
God loves you:)
More blogs to come!!!!!!!
