Love Needs No Translation - Explore Archived World Race Alumni Blogs

Photos by MK Hill

So sorry, I haven’t really made blogging a focus so far this month. I arrived in Washington DC for launch on January 7^th. It was a time for our entire squad and 3 other squads to reunite and receive some further training. We invaded the Holiday Inn near the airport for 4 nights. It seriously felt like an eternity! We were so ready to “get this show in the road”. It really was great time though! We left DC on January 11^th and experienced our first World Race “travel day.” 13 hours later we arrived at our Ministry site for the Month.

We are working with 6:8 Ministries in Alajuelita, Costa Rica whose primary focus is serving the local community and building relationships in order to share the gospel. 6:8 Ministries has partnered with Celebration Church Jacksonville, Florida to plant a thriving, Christ-centered, life-giving church in the heart of Alajuelita. Celebration Church is a global, diverse, multi-site church that reaches people from all walks of life. They have a passion for connecting people with Jesus Christ through an accepting atmosphere and by creating an environment where people can experience the presence of God. Their mission is to lead people to experience a God-first life.

The local Pastors and local worship leaders of Celebration Church Costa Rica use the gospel of Jesus Christ to bring hope to the hopeless, love to the unloved, and continuously turn sorrow and despair into joy and promise! We have the privilege to stay in the 6:8 team house for the duration of our stay here. This well equipped house is located just a few blocks from the center of Alajualita and just a few steps from the church. Our house is definitely not in line with what many World Race teams experience. We have bunk beds, bathrooms, hot water, and in-house wifi. We have a rooftop terrace with a beautiful view of the town. There are 4 teams staying here this month. This makes 19 girls and 5 guys. Lord, help us! Just kidding! J

In just a few short days we have done so much! We have served at multiple feeding centers throughout the city, played street games with local kids, cleaned up a plot of land that has been long neglected and abused, sorted and organized hundreds of clothing donations, and cleaned the church. I have thoroughly enjoyed each ministry as each has very different focuses. My favorite so far has been the homeless feedings, which occur 3 times per week. It has been a truly humbling experience. These men absolutely crave love and attention as they are typically treated like stray dogs. They are spit on, hit, and sometimes sprayed with garden hoses. It is such a sad situation. I feel so incredibly comfortable interacting with them. The language barrier is super challenging but love needs no translation!

Tuesdays will be our day off. This week all the teams decided to take a field trip over to Jaco beach, which is about two hours from our house. It was a great time! Much of our time this week will be spent being exposed to all the service projects that are going on with the 6:8 ministries and from there we will making decisions on which direction our teams feel led to help in.

As you can see we are super busy! So thankful for every opportunity to serve the beautiful people of Costa Rica! Please continue to keep our teams in your prayers as we are ministering to the broken and building relationship with the unloved!