(This blog will cover Monday the 1st through Sunday the 7th.)
It has been great to really settle into our ministry routine here in Jacó. As of this Tuesday (the 9th), we have been at Ocean’s Edge for two whole weeks!
Highlights!
Last Monday (the 1st) we went to the beach around sunset to worship, and a man from Germany – we’ll say Karl – came up afterwards and asked if we would be back again the next day, saying that he would return if we did. Obviously, we went back again Tuesday at the same time, and Karl was there just like he said! And this time, a local man – we’ll say Pedro – joined in as well. (In fact, he ended up with the guitar by the end and serenaded us for a bit.) It was so cool because in this moment, we were able to publicly sing the praises of God in the hearing of everyone present. And even though Karl and Pedro may have initially only seen a group of young people having a “good time” on the beach, they were exposed to something far more powerful (and I suspect it was the beauty of that Power that drew them in in the first place). It was truly amazing to watch how the Lord worked through the simple act of worshipping on the beach. Plus, we got to extend our mission trip all the way to Germany! (Karl actually stopped by the park as we were painting a day or two later to say goodbye to us before flying home. It was the sweetest thing.)
Tuesday (the 2nd), we had a flash dance in the central park next to our still-in-progress mural. Honestly, it was so much fun just to let loose and show the community that Christians know the meaning of the word joy. The mayor was there, and some press was there as well. (In fact, you can watch this video to see how it all went down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bohsx6tikyM).
In addition to working on the mural at the central park throughout the week, we also began working on another park called Invu. This smaller park is situated in a local neighborhood rather than on the main city street, which also means there are more kids there throughout the day since they don’t need an adult’s accompaniment to get there. While our main job at Invu has been to clean it up a bit, the real work here is to play with the kids and show them some love. In fact, Cat (my squadmate) and I sort of got volunteered into taking a few of these kids to the beach Friday before evening worship. Herding 6 children who do not share a language with you across busy streets can get a little chaotic to say the least (Costa Rican driving is something else y’all). But it was amazing to watch these kids communicate so well with us as we attempted to string more than two cohesive Spanish words together. Once we were done, we tried to walk them back to the park, but they ended up taking us back to our street via shortcut. It was an incredibly sweet experience.
All in all, I feel that this past ministry week has been much more rewarding in terms of actual connection to the community. Although we have definitely seen the Enemy try to throw darts in a few areas, the Lord’s powerful movement through this place is truly undeniable and unstoppable. I cannot wait to see what more He has in store for Jacó,
Love y’all!
