Month 4 of 11: Jaco, Costa Rica
Ministry: Christian Surfers Costa Rica/Horizon Church
Overview:
This month was honestly a gift from God. That’s the best way to sum it up. My team and I spent the month working alone (without any other teams) in a fun surf town on the Pacific coast. The ministry we were paired with was Christian Surfers, but it was more like working with everyone from Horizon Church—the English speaking church in the community.
The church community was incredible. We were blessed by so many of the families who invited my team and I over for dinner and fellowship. The heart for ministry and lives of the people in Jaco and Costa Rica is so rich it was inspiring. We learned from the different missionaries and heard their stories. From listening to their stories, I realized I had been putting mission work into a box, but it’s so much more! Some of the ministries we learned from include U-Turn an intensive discipleship program for men with addictions, Seeds of Hope-a ministry that takes girls out of prostitution through classes and the love of Jesus, youth ministry and kids clubs, Tablas Para Ninas (Surfboards for Kids)- a surf ministry that outreaches to youth through surfing, English classes, and so much more! (I’m totally selling these ministries short here but I encourage you to check out their websites at the bottom of the blog!)
Another great aspect of being a part of this community was seeing the amount of people who have retired to Costa Rica and are now dedicating their lives to ministry and God’s work. It’s encouraging to see how God has transformed their lives and now in a place where they are using their gifts and skill sets for kingdom work.
A theme for this month was being set free. I was baptized in the Pacific Ocean! Praise! I learned a lot about my spiritual gifts and my passions. I had people speak life into me and encourage me to be the person God made me to be. It was so freeing! I was encouraged more than ever to really find a connection with business and ministry. God put it on my heart my sophomore year of college to help small businesses in developing countries, and this is my year of exploration to discover what that might look like.
I love Costa Rica…but my body was not a fan. I struggled with heat rashes, a stomach virus, weeklong attack of hives all over my body (yeah that was fun), and mosquito bites to the max…but that didn’t get me down. I have nothing but amazing memories from the friendships, inspiration, adventures, and life long lessons I learned.
A genuine thank you to those I met. You all are a true inspiration. You are a light in the darkness and I thank you for everything you shared with me and my team.
Sights
Palm trees
The Ocean
Sand
God’s mighty creation all over!
Mango trees
Monkeys
Fiesty iguanas
Crocodiles
Lots of surfing
The darkness of the party town/sex tourism
Lots of people on bikes
Sounds
The waves crashing
Smells
Coffee!!
The salty ocean air
The smells of our kitchen—we had our first month cooking for ourselves!
Random Things I Learned
The darkness and truth of sex tourism
More about my spiritual gifts!
Costa Rica is expensive!!!! (Especially for a world racer’s budget)
How to surf! (not pro level but whatevs)
The importance of truly “filling up” on the word, spirit, God’s love before being able to pour out
They actually have organic/healthy food in Costa Rica!
How much I love and appreciate awesome community
I don’t think I could ever handle having 6 kids
The world is growing smaller each and every day
Real Life in Costa Rica is
Joining a community of American missionaries
Never knowing what each day will bring
Filling up on God’s love through peace, meditation, and prayer
Understanding what it really means to find peace in His presence
Women’s bible study on Monday nights
Prayer meetings on Friday mornings
Constantly getting attacked by mosquitoes on the property we tented/stayed on
Sunrise worship on the beach
Sunsets on the beach
Weekend surf competitions
Dangerous rip tide
Being blessed by the many families in the church who invited us into their homes
Fighting off weird stomach viruses
Pura Vida
You Just Never Know…
God works in amazing ways and brings people into my path that I would have never expected. One family from Horizon Church, the Kah’s, invited our team over for dinner on April 13, and after hearing they were from Indiana I mentioned my little sister goes to Anderson University. Gary responded that him and his wife graduated from there! Well, it just so happens my aunt, uncle, and mom graduated from there as well…and after mentioning her name…turns out they knew each other! His wife Audrey and my mom were close friends in college and Gary even had a jingle he would sing about my mom! This family who invited us over for dinner in Jaco, Costa Rica not only knew my mom from college but they were close friends with her. Like what?! It also happened to be the same day as my mom’s birthday and my baptism!! Woot woot
A HUGE Thank You to those who have supported me this month:
Nina Tiaga
Walter Wallace
Michelle Ward
Crystal Sanchez
I am still currently a little under $4,000 to be fully funded and I have two more months to raise the necessary funds. If you would like to contribute to the work God is doing through me on the World Race I would appreciate you prayerfully considering donating by clicking the “support me” tab on the left.
I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.
Ecclesiastes 3:12
https://www.facebook.com/tablasparaninos
https://www.facebook.com/SeedsofHopeHomes
Part of the property we stayed on in and helped to clean 2-3x a week
Team Awakening with our property host Dayron
Learning to surf!
