Costa Rica

Our journey began in the capital city of Costa Rica, San Jose. There is a thriving YWAM base there of about 30 YWAMers from all over the world. Our first week there we had the privilege of serving at a conference for there base. For our team it was a joy to serve the people who are doing the work of the Lord in Costa Rica. Also that week we had the opportunity to minister to a youth group in San Jose. The kids at this youth group reminded me a lot of our youth group at Belmar. I had the chance to pray for a bunch of different guys in the youth group and we saw some really good breakthrough for some of the teenagers there.
The next week the adventure really started. We took a five hour bus ride to the southern tip of Costa Rica near Panama. We stayed at the house of pastor Elias in Talamanca-Suretka an indigenous village. The pastor's house sits along the banks of a massive river. The spot he lives is a port of sorts, where the plantain farmers bring there crops down river to load them into semi-trucks for sale. God has placed him in the center and heart of his community where he sells gas and fruit to all the people of the village. Pastor Elias and his wife Marybelle taught me and our team a lot about what it means to serve God with your life. This is a couple who from sunrise to sunset serve there community and family through the small businesses they run out of there house. Their doors are constantly open to everyone in the area for meals, gas, fruits, vegetables, and whatever they can provide for there family. In the evenings three times a week they run church services in the temporary building they have constructed near there house.
While we were there we got to help with the construction of a new church building that they hope to have completed for Christmas services. The process for building a new building in Talamanca was drastically different from any construction I had seen. For starters the first day we hauled the wood for the new building out of the rainforest as the men cut planks out of recently fallen trees. We helped dig holes for the posts to be started and the frame of he building begun. Some of our other ministry included working with a nursing home and the school in the area that pastor Elias lived.
Talamanca was a humbling experience in many ways. For starters the way they live and work for everything they have made me think about the smallest things I take for grated. Beyond that the people that are serving there are giving of themselves daily in a fashion that puts to shame even my best service experiences. Their heart and work ethic toward the calling that they have been given was a truly eye opening experience. There hard work and joyful attitudes toward everything they have flow from there love and fear of our God. They embody taking up your cross daily, and losing your life so that you may have true everlasting life.
Overall my time in Costa Rica has taught me about service especially that service which flows from the healthiest fear of the Lord. Next its off to England for eight days. Please pray for guidance and continued unity throughout our team. Thank you for all your support and prayers.