Wow! It’s already been over a month in Jaco, Costa Rica! I can’t believe how fast time has gone by, it feels like we got here a couple of days ago and yet it’s been weeks! Anyways, this past month in Jaco has been truly amazing in watching the Lord use us, and work through us for His good. This past month we have been able to take part in a great number of different projects including beach and park clean up, construction projects on the base, children’s ministry, evangelizing and connecting with the community.
One of the projects we were assigned was to clean up a park and paint some of the walls to brighten the place up. When I first heard we had this job I didn’t think much of it to be honest, I thought it was just going to be your average manual labor project. It was amazing to see how God took the simplicity of cleaning up and painting a park and turned it into so much more. The first day we got there we had roughly 10 or so kids that showed up out of the blue, eager to help in any way that they could. They were grabbing rakes and pulling weeds, you name it. These kids were doing it and loving it. We took lots of breaks periodically to play soccer with them or have sword fights with the balloon swords that we made. We got to know all of these kids pretty well and over the next couple of days, we even spent some of our down time meeting up with them in the park to play soccer. The more we went to Invu park to work, the more people would show up the next day. Word got around about what we were doing and it led to lots of people and kids coming to hangout with us daily and learn about why we were doing it. I might never know the long term effect we had on the lives of these kids but I do know that by loving them like Christ would have will result in a lasting impact on their lives. God showed me how He can turn the seemingly simple tasks we are given and use them ultimately for His glory and also for the benefit of others.
There is so much that I have learned in Jaco, Costa Rica. I am going to miss this place and all the people that I have had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know. However, I am also extremely excited for the next destination in Nicoya, Costa Rica! We leave for Nicoya tomorrow and will be partnering with a church there to do construction projects, evangelism and VBS camps. Although I am going to miss Jaco, I am ultimately excited to see what else the Lord has in store for my team and I. Thank you for all of the prayers.
