The bus climbs up the mountain, through the jungle, and over potholes for a little over an hour. We load our stuff onto a little blue boat and we climb in behind. The boat ride is filled with speculations of what we’re walking into. We wonder what people we’ll meet or what we’ll do. Once we get off the boat, we walk up a mountain for a little and then get picked up by a friends cousin. His name is Ricky, he’s 19, and his Dad is the pastor of the church we’re going to. 14 of us hold on tightly to the bed of the truck as we soak in the beauty of the new place we find ourselves: Suiri. Oh man, let me tell you about Suiri. One of the sweetest places I’ve ever been.
One of the base staff here, Steven, is from this community. He was here when a missionary came to his community to share the gospel. He heard about our ministry host and now he’s here! We had the privilege of getting to see this sweet community that he’s from. A small community across the river. The only stores are your neighbors and walking past a couple ducks on the way to breakfast isn’t out of the ordinary. On the first night, we were able to do a 12 hour prayer intercession through the night for Suiri. For the people, the ministries we were putting on, for the broken family dynamics that plague this town, and for the obvious darkness and witchcraft that weighs like a heavy cloud in the atmosphere.
Wow, oh WOW. Jesus loves His people. It took me sitting in a little church at 2 in the morning in the jungle of Costa Rica to be absolutely overwhelmed with the way He loves His people. Most of the time, its hard for me to write blogs that don’t seem eloquent or have a central theme. This time, I’m at a loss for words of where to start. How do I explain the feeling when I talk to a mom sitting in the corner of the church while her daughter makes bracelets with a squadmate. How do I explain how I can’t form thoughts when we are talking because all I can seem to see and is how Jesus loves her? How He said her name on the cross? How Jesus would have whispered the name of the sweet lady who cooked us mounds of pinto every morning even if it was just for her?
So, as I was praying through the night the Lord led me to 1 Samuel 3. When the Lord calls Samuel. “Here I am!” He continuously says to the unknown voice. “The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.” Is what verse 7 says. “These people know my voice but do not know its me. There’s grace for striving in being like a child again.” the Lord says to me when I begin to pray over this scripture. And I jump into the week.
I am continually pushed to step into what the Lord is calling me to. A week of freedom and joy, I wish I could tell about every moment. Through kids ministry, women’s ministry, church services, and the random girls from the community always stopping by, I continue to see the heart of God for His people here.
I see God’s heart in musical chairs with 30 kids in the church. I see God’s heart in laughter as kids worship. I see God’s heart in the laugh that follows, “mi espanol es no bueno”. I see God’s heart in the 10 year old boy who shows up to play soccer. I see God’s heart in swimming across the river with the women of the community. I see God’s heart in the ladies in the kitchen kicking the dog out every 5 minutes. I see God’s heart in the intent listening of the congregation as I share my testimony. I see God’s heart in the way Steven loves the people in his community.
Suiri, I see God’s heart in you.
– Han 🙂
UPDATE:
- First of all, my time in Suiri was absolutely amazing! Please ask questions! I’d love to talk more about it! I was able to lead worship in Spanish, share my testimony, and overall watch my heart grow a little bit more.
- We leave Costa Rica in a week in a half! And guess where to next? THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC!!! Stay tuned for more updates on where we’ll be and what ministry is 🙂
PRAYER REQUESTS!
- Please pray for my heart and my squads heart as we process and grieve leaving this beautiful place
- Also health! the third squadmate has gotten dengue since being here. Please pray for continued good health and safety for us
Thank you friends!!
