First of all, hello from Costa Rica! I have been here since September 12, and my squad flies to South Africa on December 8. Since I’ve been here, my team has worked with three ministries, all which include kids. In September, we worked in a daycare program in the mornings and an after-school program in the afternoons. For the daycare, we taught the kids different things that went with a theme. One week was music-based, another teaching colors and animals in English, and just playing with them. We helped serve lunch, then put them down for a nap. After we finished cleaning up, we would head to the after-school program. There, we cleaned the cafeteria after everyone had eaten lunch, and did mostly odd jobs. The school needed some tidying, so some days we were moving classrooms, another we were painting the bricks along the garden, and also putting the kids down for a nap. Since October, we changed from those two ministries to just one. For this ministry, we go into the community and hold afternoon services for the kids. On Tuesdays, we do home visitations and teach English to whoever comes. On Wednesdays, we invite the 3 to 10-year-olds to the church and play with them, sing songs, and teach them about Christ. On Thursdays, we do the same thing, except we invite the preteens. Fridays are our off days, so we don’t have ministry. On Saturdays, we go back to the after-school ministry because this current ministry partners with their church. We hold a service for the youth in the community on those days. Sundays are also our off days, but we try to treat it as a Sabbath. Mondays are our Discipleship Days. This is where the leaders of our squad teach us different things about how to find our identity in Christ, listen to the Holy Spirit, and walk in the Spirit. We have one session in the morning, break for lunch, then go out into the community, praying for people by the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
Since I’ve been here, the Lord has been teaching me how to rely on Him in all things. Sometimes our schedules change at the last minute, but He’s taught me that whatever we do is in His timing. Also, being able to leave home and discover who the Holy Spirit is to me has been such a blessing. I now understand that God actively pursues us and wants to know us personally. I have always held God in a place of reverence and respect, but now I’m really seeing Him as a loving Father. He’s helped me let go of past hurts and walk forward into freedom. I’m still in the midst of embracing freedom, so please pray that I keep moving forward.
As many of you may know, I am not fully funded for this trip. I currently need $3,200 by January 15. I am asking that you, my Oasis family, would pray and consider donating towards this trip. You are able to donate by going to my blog, which is kaileighmartin.theworldrace.org. There’s a button that says “Donate!” so if you click on it, it’ll take you to a new page where you say how much you want to give and some of your information. All donations through the link are tax deductible, so that’s a bonus for y’all.
If you are unable to donate, don’t worry! Anything you can give is greatly appreciated, even if it isn’t money. With that, please just keep me and my squad in your prayers. We’re getting ready to go to South Africa, and we’ll be separated into our teams. I’m so excited to see what God will do as I continue on this journey. You, Oasis, have put me here, and it has been your support that encourages me. Thank you for all of your support! I love y’all!
