Hey Everyone!
We have been in Costa Rica for almost 3 months now, and it has been so amazing. This past 2 months, my team and I have been working with an organization called Project Abraham. Project Abraham started out as a small house church with maybe 10 or so members and no money. But after about 20 years, God has grown that small house church into an amazing organization. Not only is it a church of about 500 members, but they have a daycare for kids ranging from newborn to 12 years old. The daycare provides kids with a place to be before and after school to keep them off the streets and teaches them about Christ. They also take in children whose parents can’t care for them and provide them with a home while they wait to be adopted or placed in a foster home. And recently they have been building homes in in a lot nearby for single moms. These moms will be taught practical life skills and about Christ. Their kids can attend the daycare and the only requirement for them to live in the homes is to be enrolled in school, whether that is high school or college. So we as a team have been teaching the kids and playing games with them, helping with the new homes being built, and doing maintenance around their main campus. It has been a really great experience and we have been creating a lot of great relationships. This week will be our last week working at Project Abraham and we are all sad that we are going to have to leave, but we are also excited to see what God has next for us as we move from Costa Rica to Ecuador. Anyway, that is a quick update on what is going on down here.
I also wanted to share five of my favorite moments on the race so far. So here it goes…
- Swing Dancing in Thailand.
When we were in Thailand, some of us found a little swing dancing place to go to. It was so much fun and I would have never expected to find swing dancing in Thailand! I loved it so much not only because it was fun to hangout and dance with my squad-mates, but it also just simply reminded me of home. It was like a breath of fresh air.
- Fishing in the river of Chiang Dao
We were living in a village of Chiang Dao, Thailand. Our ministry host, Aaron, asked if we wanted to go fishing with him and his sons and we like, sure, why not. We were thinking, you know, stand on the shore with a fishing people and see what we get, but that’s not exactly what Aaron and his sons had planned. Instead we jumped into this muddy river that was almost fast enough to knock you over if you tried to stand up. We had a massive net that stretched across the river and we just floated down the river for about two hours. Whenever we got a fish, one of his sons would grab it and throw it into his backpack. It was so much fun and such cool experience.
- Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving was a lot of fun. We were in Malaysia at the time and set up a little Thanksgiving party for ourselves. We played a lot of games and had Texas Chicken for dinner. Texas Chicken is the same as Church’s Chicken in the States, but in Malaysia they can’t use the word church, so they use Texas instead. I loved it because even though we still missed our families back home, we got to spend it with some amazing people.
- Christmas
Christmas was is also one of my favorite memories. During this time we were living in a church in Heredia, Costa Rica. A family who are members of the church invited us to spend Christmas with them at their beach house about 4 hours away. So on the 24th, we packed up and headed out there. We got to spend that day and evening at the beach and sing Christmas carols and worship the Lord under the stars with the waves in the background. It was so beautiful. Christmas morning we did a small gift exchange and then hiked to a waterfall. The waterfall was gorgeous and we were able to swim and climb up it. It was one of the most peaceful and beautiful places I have been. I see it as God’s Christmas gift to us. We are so thankful for the family that hosted us and gave us such an amazing Christmas during a time when we all missed being home.
- Silent Sabbath
During our mid-point debrief last month, we took a morning to spend a few hours with the Lord in silence. We called it a Silent Sabbath. I decided to take this time to walk around in nature, praying, and asking God what He wants me to do in the future. He ended up speaking to me through a small man made stream. The water started out following the concrete path, but halfway down the water disappeared into the ground. It eventually reappears into a beautiful pool of water surrounded by rocks and flowers. The water continues on but again leaves the concrete path and ends up going through the grass and it is muddy and messy, but it then ends up in the pond where it was supposed to go the whole time. So, the water represents my life, and the man made path represents the way I want/wanted my life to go. I had planned and wanted my life to go a certain way, but God told me if I let go and trust in His perfect plan, He will guide my life. I may be confused and have trouble seeing where it is going, and it may be a muddy mess at times, but if I trust Him it will be beautiful just as the pool of water. So He answered my prayer by simply saying, “Trust Me”.
So those are some of my favorite moments on the race, but not the only ones. I have so many moments I will never forget. I am so thankful for the opportunity God has given me to be here to have these moments and to grow closer to Him. I can’t wait for the new memories that are going to be made as our time in Costa Rica comes to a close and we move to Ecuador for our final 3 months on the Race.
I am also happy to announce that I am FULLY FUNDED!!! Praise the Lord! Thank you all so much for your prayers and support! I am so thankful for each and everyone one of you and you mean so much to me!!
Thank you!!
CJ Shiner
