Outreach in Esterillos

A family that attends our church lives in Esterillos, a little town 25 minutes south of Jaco.  The Lord has really stirred their hearts for service and they have a huge heart for their community.  They came to us and asked us if we could do a Kids Club Outreach in their neighborhood like the one we do on Saturday mornings in INVU.  There are many in this neighborhood that live in extreme poverty and have never experienced anything like a Kids Club.  We thought it was a great idea so we took a few members of our youth group so that they could serve as well.  It was a BLAST!!!  We played games, had a Bible story, crafts, snacks and all left with a bag of beans and rice--just like we do in Jaco.  It was wonderful!  At first, they were shy, but by the end we were laughing and playing and asking when we would return.  We are planning on doing this outreach once a month for now and we will see what God does with it!  I LOVE loving on people with Christ's love and seeing them drawn to Him in a new way!!!  Praise His name!!!

 

A few of the moms that attended

 

Cristian, one of our Youth who went to serve

 

Our precious Youth, ready to love on the kids

 

Bible Story time

 

Time to pray

 

craft time

 

face painting

 

snack time

 

beans and rice to go!

                                            Enjoying cupcakes after all that hard work! 

Human Trafficking Awareness Day

I can't believe I haven't blogged in so long!  So sorry!  We have had a family working alongside us for the past 3 weeks and we have been getting ready for some BIG things ahead so we have been super busy!!  Tomorrow we have a huge Human Trafficking Awareness Day that the FBI here asked us to do for the local government and all the organizations that are affiliated.  This is HUGE as nothing like this has ever been done here in Jaco!  We are very excited and are really praying that God moves the hearts of the people and that 1#- many come to know Him and #2- they are motivated to really fight the sex trafficking/tourism that is going on here in Jaco.  PLEASE pray with us tomorrow!!  As Daniel was praying and reading this morning, the Lord gave him a verse and impressed upon his heart that it was for us for tomorrow.  It was Joshua 3:5 "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you."  This is an amazing promise for us and we are excited to see what God will do!

The Annexation of the Nicoya Peninsula

Thursday was a holiday here in Costa Rica.  It was the celebration of the annexation of the Nicoya Peninsula.  On Friday, the boys' school had a celebration where each grade level performed a different "typical" dance followed by typical corn-based food that is most common in Nicoya.  We had a great time and the boys did a great job dancing in their little campesino outfits!  Here are a few photos of the day:

2013 Missions Update

Celebrating the Completion of Book #2

We had a wonderful dinner tonight with the ladies from the INVU Bible Study!  We went a restaurant to celebrate the completion of the "New Life in Christ"  Book #2.   It was a wonderful celebration of accomplishment because this culture is not a culture of "completion" or "commitment."  Most things are started and never finished and to get a commitment is very difficult.  These women committed to studying God's Word every Tuesday night and we are seeing growth in them!  It is exciting to watch them begin to minister to others in need of Jesus as well as to become involved in the local church!  It was such a joy for us to bless them with a nice dinner and they felt like royalty with good reason---they are daughters of the King!!!  We missed 4 of our special group members due to sickness and night school exams, but we will celebrate with them at a later time!  Here are a few pictures of our night together...

Yahaira y Ana

Gerarda y Katalina

Arlen, Yamilet, y Beatriz

Rosa y Dale

Lisa, Johana, y Carmen

The group (minus Hellen, Michell, Isabel y Maria--we miss you!!)

 

Sarah y Zeneyda

 

Presentation of certificates of completion

I love these precious women!!!

Mission Teams

For the last 2 weeks we have had the privilege of hosting 2 mission teams, one from Chattanooga, TN and one from Orlando, FL.  It was so much fun and these groups did amazing work!!  They led kids clubs;  did a movie night outreach;  taught kids and families about dental health/caring for your teeth;  did haircuts;  built a rancho (outside covered area for an outside kitchen); built bunkbeds, picnic tables, and shelving; shared testimonies and loved on the locals.  Getting to know different members of the teams was really special for us and we were so blessed to have them here!  We already miss them!  Here are a few pictures of their time here...more pictures to follow.  (Our camera with most of the pictures seems to have walked away:)