So, yes, a blog about Costa Rica is long overdue. The past few months have flown by and here I find myself already in month 11! Costa Rica was a great month, my team, one other, and our squad mentor were in San Pedro de Barva, a town just outside the capital, San Jose. We stayed at Zoe International church, and our ministry was primarily to reach the local community.
One of the main ways we sought to reach the community was through house visits, door to door evangelism and community events. At first, I found the house visits hard, due to my somewhat broken Spanish, and reluctance to challenge people with the Gospel. However, as the month went on, I felt God challenging me, to be bolder, and to not fear those sometimes uncomfortable conversations. Yes, sometimes it can feel really awkward when we bring up faith with people, when we discuss what we believe. But you see, the Bible calls us to “speak the truth in love.” God reminded me of this and that doing that means sometimes having these conversations, because the most loving thing to do is to try and share the truth with people. He said that its ok for people to be uncomfortable when they are being convicted of the truth.
So yes, during the course of the month I had several awkward or uncomfortable conversations. We met an elderly Catholic lady who was keeping an object that was most likely associated with witchcraft in her house. We met other Catholics who would pray to the saints. We met two young men who believed that the way to heaven was by what we do, not by faith. We met others who struggled with drugs and alcohol. Challenging people on these kinds of things is not easy or comfortable for us, but that doesn’t mean it’s not the right thing to do, because ultimately it will bring them to a place of freedom.
We had many other great ministry opportunities that month, including running youth nights and a “Beauty for Ashes” retreat. Again, the Lord called me to be bold and although was at first reluctant to, I was able to share with the youth on the topic of shame, and help lead women in an evening talking about their worth and identity. Sometimes we might not feel comfortable or confident with the topics the Lord asks us to speak about, but when it is His will, He equips us and gives us what we need to do it. We can be bold even when we don’t feel like we have the courage because our boldness comes from Him.
We are called to be bold for the sake of the Gospel. Yes, sometimes it’s uncomfortable, but I’m so grateful for our month in Costa Rica and the opportunities it gave me to grow in boldness because that’s the Kingdom, and I want to be a part of it.
