50 days on the world race seems simultaneously like a lifetime and also like we just started.
45 days in Costa Rica feels like a dream and I cannot believe it is nearly over.
I want to share a couple of my favorite stories from my time of ministry in Jaco, Costa Rica as our time here comes to a close…..
C O M M U N I O N
My team takes communion together typically every week or two weeks, but the first time we took communion together in Jaco will always be my favorite. Communion can look a lot of different ways for different people, but ultimately the heart behind it of remembering what Jesus did for us on the cross and his love for us is what matters. So my team bought grape juice and bread to have communion together, but we dramatically over estimated the amount of bread we’d need. As it got passed around we were all already beginning to giggle, because each person was getting nearly an entire hot dog bun each. The fits of giggling only increased as we passed the cup of grape juice and began a very jumbled and awkward leading in communion (none of us have any experience leading anyone else in communion – hence the awkwardness). As we wrapped up partaking, we had a lot of left over bread and grape juice that we didn’t know what to do with. Micah ended up eating a majority of the bread, and we passed around the grape juice for each to have some. Paul took a drink of the juice, passed it, and then it got passed right back to him somehow and he drank the rest of it despite the rest of our team wanting some. As several of us felt jipped, and also saw the hilarity in it, more laughter naturally ensued. I sat there listening, laughing, and taking in the moment only to realize that Jesus was laughing and enjoying this moment with us. I didn’t have to feel irreverent because communion isn’t required to be silent and contemplative. Ultimately God is after our hearts, and if our heart is right with him we can enjoy communion in a way that is as unique as we are. I really love the freedom and joy that that revelation brings.
K I S S E D & D U N K E D
February 9th, 2021 – a day that will be marked in the history book of my life. I was baptized for the second time, and this time it was in the pacific ocean. This baptism was incredibly sweet. Throughout my time in Jaco, my relationship with the Lord continued to deepen and deepen. As I felt pulled toward being baptized a second time, it was clear to me that it was to be a place of remembrance and a representation of the new depth of my relationship with the Lord. The beach and ocean was the perfect place for that because I could walk a little deeper than I was comfy with (not an ocean girl here), and be dunked into a wave. All throughout the day of my baptism, God was speaking to me through nature and it felt like a lot of little kisses. First, I saw so many beautiful Macaws flying early in the morning, then I saw a wild parrot that was the prettiest green color and raising one foot at us. As our whole squad arrived to the beach at sunset for the baptisms, a really vibrant rainbow appeared in the sky for maybe 10 seconds before disappearing behind storm clouds. Later in the evening, I was sitting outside and I saw the biggest and brightest shooting star I’ve ever seen. If you know me, you know that fireworks are a big deal in my family and that shooting star is as close as nature can get to fireworks.
I came up from the water that day with the words fresh and free to describe my second baptism experience. I am still reveling in all that God showed me, and how he gave me little kisses throughout the whole day that still make me feel so loved and chosen.
There are so many more stories I am sure I will share as time goes on, but for now I’ll leave you with those two.
As I mentioned earlier, our time in Costa Rica is coming to an end and I would like to share with you about our upcoming ministry location. My team of seven, along with a team of six will be heading to Chichicastenango, Guatemala where we will work with Juan at New Generation Centroamerica. Chichi is a tourist destination about 3 hours outside of Guatemala City, and we will be working with local outreaches to kids and youth through soccer and teaching english, preaching in schools, as well as some manual labor/construction service projects. I am so excited for the 9 weeks we will be partnering with Juan and the Break Breakers team to see the kingdom come in Chichi. If you made it this far, congrats on sticking it out and finding out the fun info!!
Until next time friends!
Much love,
Laina
