Baptisms

Today was a celebration as 3 were baptized as part of the new church plant, Horizon Church.  It was a wonderful time of fellowship and celebration as many came out to support these 3 special people as they step out in obedience expressing outwardly what God has done in each of their hearts!  Praise God for His work in our lives!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us!  We love you and are so thankful for all of you!!!

Hearts for Jaco in Action!

Our very good friends, Scott and Melissa Huey, from our home church were part of the church mission trip that came and served alongside us in June.  To say they left a little piece of their hearts here is an understatement as the Lord has given them such a heart for Jaco and a vision to reach kids/families.  From this vision, "Hearts for Jaco" was born.  The first phase of this program is a school scholarship program for kids who are older and have dropped out of school or have not been attending for various reasons.  There is a new school in town, La Academia, that is tuition-based and is perfect for these students to be able to complete high school in about 3 years.  We have been praying through this with the Hueys and after lots of paperwork and prayer, our first 3 kids started classes yesterday!  Yuliana, Cristian and Dania attended their first class and LOVED it!  They called me last night so excited and really motivated to study and finish high school--something they thought was out of reach for them at this point.  Dania (18 yrs old) and Cristian (almost 16 years old) are in 7th grade and Yuliana (19 years old) is in 8th grade.  We are so excited about this and my heart is so thankful to those who are sponsoring these 3 precious teenagers to attend the school. There are requirements to attend such as attending weekly tutoring sessions, active in youth group/church and getting passing grades.  Please pray for these 3 as they have a huge challenge ahead of them, but as Dania told me on Monday, "Sarah, con Dios todo es possible"  (Sarah, with God all things are possible)!

If you would like to know more about Hearts for Jaco ministry please check out the website at:  www.heartsforjaco.org.  Here you will find profiles and pictures of each young person available for sponsorship.

Here are the three registering for classes:

Dania

Cristian

Yuliana

Halloween Outreach

On Wednesday night, a group of us hit the streets to minister to people who were out and about in central Jaco .  Here in Jaco, there is not much good that happens on Halloween due to the influence of satanic activity, the heightened practice of witchcraft this night, and the prostitutes decked out in full costume roaming the streets and soliciting customers.  We felt this year that the Lord was saying to go out and be "light" in the darkness so that is what we did.  We bought flashlights and printed on them "Jesus is the light" in English and Spanish and then went evangelizing in the streets.  We had some really great conversations with people, one in particular with a "woman of the night" named Maria (not real name).  As I began to speak with her she immediately said to me "Why am I wearing this?  What am I doing?" as if she had been awakened instantly from a bad dream.  She told me that she felt in her heart earlier that day that something was telling her not to dress up and go work but she did anyway.  She then began to ask me if God was mad at her.  I told her over and over how beautiful she was, how much God loved her and has a wonderful plan for her life....how He is not mad at her but His heart really hurts for her.  It was an amazing time with her and I truly feel like the Holy Spirit was speaking to her through me.  I prayed for her and because she lives here in town we agreed to meet up again.  I know that God's Word penetrated her heart this night and if she was the only reason I was out that night, it was all worth it.  Please pray for her and all of the others we were able to minister to that night!  Jesus truly is the light of the world and we are called to be that as well!

The house is finished!!

Daniel, David and Jimmy put the finishing touches on Leo and Michelle's house yesterday and they moved in last night!!  They are super excited and were very emotional as they received the keys to the front door.  God has done so much in their lives over these last few months as a result of building this house for them.  God has used this to draw them to Himself!  We are excited for them and their new place to call home!!  Thanks so much to all of you who prayed and gave financially to make this possible!  You are truly a blessing to all of us!!

bathroom

Girl's bedroom

Leo and Michelle's room

kitchen/living area

front door

front angle of house

new home owners!!

Women's Bible Study

We had a great time today at the women's bible study!  We have a small team here from our home church and they brought tote bags for the ladies to decorate after the study.  They can use them to bring their bibles and notebooks to Bible Study each week.  They ladies loved them and the study was a sweet time of fellowship today!

New Uniforms!!

Our precious friends, Melissa and Scott Huey, from our home church, came to visit and serve with us for a few days last week.  They came on the mission trip in June with the church and the Lord really touched their hearts through the people of Jaco.  Since returning to The States, they have been in communication with a special family that they met while here through weekly letters.  I receive the letters over email and then the kids write back to them and I translate it, type it and send it on.  It has really been so special for all involved.  Well, they found out that 2 of the boys played on a baseball team that was just getting started here for youth.  They also found out that they are the only team in the league that doesn't have uniforms.  They began to pray and talk to people and Scott's boss offered to sponsor the team.  So after a time of working on this, Melissa and Scott had the special opportunity to come and deliver the uniforms to the team themselves!  It was such a special time!!  We have about 7 members of the team that are part of our youth group and more are starting to come and visit.  We are already seeing fruit from what the Lord used them to do!  The Lord has also given them a vision for a sponsorship program at many levels and we are partnering with them to put this in to place.  God is bringing people from all over to fulfill this vision and it is super exciting!  There will be more to come as soon as we have everything in place!  Here are a few pictures of the excited boys with their new uniforms!!!

Scott with the coaches

Johana, a friend, helping size the uniforms.  Her kids play on the team as well. 

Happy players!!

Here is most of the team....