Hey everyone!
To start, I’d like to thank those of you who have been keeping my team and I in your prayers. I feel the prayers that go out for us every single day and I appreciate them greatly.
My team is living and doing ministry in Los Guido, Costa Rica this month. We have partnered with a ministry called “Christian Light Foundation.” CLF was started fifteen years ago by a wonderful couple, Mark and Meg. Everyday I see the fruit of their ministry here and I see the light they have been to this community. Los Guido is known for being a dark and dangerous place — prostitution, drugs, gang violence and poverty are the norms for this community. Everyday CLF provides a hot meal for children between 11am-1pm. (This hot meal is often the only meal some of these kids get a day!)
CLF is more than just a hot meal; It is a safe place. Because discipleship is part of their program, these children are also getting fed truth and love. Unfortunately there are a lot of children in Los Guido that are being sexually abused by family members, or being left alone for long periods of time so the feeding center is a place that they can come and get loved on in a healthy way. CLF also has church services on Sunday and the whole community is welcome!
Last week, my team and I started our ministry of teaching English in the school here. With knowing little Spanish, it has been quite a task, but it is rewarding and I feel blessed. Our purpose in the school is to create relationships with the students and to encourage them to come to CLF so that they can eat and be discipled. Mark informed my team last week that the kids are starting to ask for us by name at the feeding center! This news makes me so happy, as this is what our ministry in the school is all about. My team has also put together a prayer board that we are going to hang in the center, we want the kids to know that we are always thinking of them and our prayers are with them in their struggles.
When we first arrived in Los Guido we would often hear in an excited voice, “Gringa” while walking down the street. This means, white person and/or foreigner in Spanish. Oftentimes we get random kids that run into our arms or hug us for no reason. These kids have given us everything from flowers to colored pictures to snacks, and I even received a marble from a girl in my class last week. How can it be that some of the most beautiful hearts are trapped in some of the darkest cracks on the globe?
I feel honored that out of the 40 other people on my squad, the Lord chose my team of six women to be in the most dangerous territory here. While Los Guido is a scary place and my team has to constantly be aware, we consider it a blessing to be right where God has placed us. I know The Lord has big things planned for my team. I know it because since day one, the enemy has tried to derail us. He has tried to dampen some of our spirit’s. He has created a discord within us at times. He has created a fear of, and anxiety regarding where we are staying. It has been proclaimed that we are a “warfare team.” The spiritual warfare my team has been under has been sensed even by strangers.
My team has been through a lot in the last twelve days and I am so proud of every single person for remaining strong and brave in the circumstances we were given. I respect these women for fighting for this team and appreciating the moments we have together, locked in a gymnasium every evening at 6pm. If there is ever a month I will remember, it will be our month here in Los Guido. Everyday we have to put on the armor of God and remain brave and kind, even when everything around us screams hostile.
My first week in Los Guido, I experienced a lot of fear and anxiety about where we are and what could happen to us at any moment. I began asking the Lord to show me how I can love the people here well without being afraid of them and He lead me to writing called “Dangerous Jesus” and in this, I found the answer. “Love as I have commanded and do not be afraid for I am with you always” “What is your life if you are unwilling to give it up for my name’s sake.” God’s answer to me was so clear through this reading. Jesus is a dangerous man. He calls us to step into unknown territory and show the darkest places and people His love. When He did this, he was crucified for it. Reading about how dangerous Jesus is in the comforts of my home and church has always been thrilling, but now that I actually have to experience it, wow!
I hope that fills you all in for now. We don’t have wifi where we are staying so we have been coming to town a couple days a week to get it for a little bit. I will try to write another blog sometime this coming weekend. We have a fear factor event on Saturday at CLF. I will definitely be taking pictures of that for you all. Please continue to keep my team and I in your hearts, thoughts and prayers. I know the enemy is not done trying to derail my team; please pray that we can continue to defeat him everyday and bring victory to Los Guido!
Love you all,
Sarah
