Pura Vida
April and Hannah were our amazing ministry contacts during our time in Jaco, Costa Rica. They organized all our ministry opportunities and spoiled us with some fun in the sun.
Every Wednesday we worked with George. He started feeding the homeless every Wednesday night and sharing the love of Christ with them. George has incredible story of redemption and how after 30 years of being homeless and struggling with drugs he came to know the Lord and is now reaching out to men who have similar stories.
Cooking dinner for the homeless feeding!
Emily and Lisa are two incredible women just following the Lord’s calling. They are starting a youth house where youth can hang out and learn how to live out their faith. It is a welcoming home called Casafe which means House of Faith. These girls want to help break through to the youth and empower them to live a life that glorifies Christ and is different than other teens in Jaco. One of our projects was to make a video all about Casafe so people know how to get involved. Check it Out!
Our team was also in charge of a women’s movie night so we made limeade and brownies in our kitchen and set everything up the next day to spoil the women at Horizon Church. We watched Mom’s Night Out and had a relaxing afternoon with treats and fellowship. The women were quite impressed with our skills. Steve ran all the technical stuff for us!
A huge part of our time in Jaco was relationships! Steve loved spending time with Oscar who was part of U Turn for Christ a discipleship program for men who struggle with addictions. Oscar completed his year program 2 days after we left Jaco. He is striving to follow after Christ and is now moving up into leadership within the U Turn program to help other men.
On Saturdays we did Kids Club. We would go to the park where kids from all over would show up. We got to play games, sing songs, teach a bible story, make a craft, and also give the kids each a bag of beans and rice to take home. This was a program Sara and Daniel Barrett started when first coming to Jaco. It is now part of their church outreach at Horizon Church.
On Sundays we served at Horizon church either leading worship or teaching the kids Sunday School classes. We taught ages 3-10. Steve had some good practice time playing Barbie.
This is Sara Barrett who is the pastor’s wife at Horizon Church. Her heart and love for the community and her family is so admirable. She has taken in several teenagers from an abusive situation and brought them into her family and made them of the kids. I learned so much from her and her servants heart and love for her husband, family, and how she councils women in the church body and community.
Hanging out in Jaco we always ran into friends we knew. Levi and Rafael help lead worship at Radical which is the Spanish church we attended on Friday nights. Levi who is the boy in the front has such a team love for the Lord and for kids of all ages. I know the Lord is going to use him for great things. He also helped us translate when we were trying to communicate with people.
On Friday nights after Spanish church we would go on prayer walks through the streets of downtown Jaco where drugs, prostitution, and a huge party scene consumed the atmosphere. We prayed over clubs and deals we saw going on right before our very eyes. This was a powerful time where we got to the darkness take over a city and yet pray for God’s light to shine through every part of it.
This is just a glimpse of our month in Jaco, Costa Rica. It truly was an incredible time of growth in our lives and in our marriage as well. We grew to deeply love this community and the people in it. Thank you for all of your prayers and support and we continue our journey.
