Month: May 2013
Costa Rica #3 May 30, 2013
Safe at home! After a long day of travel on Tuesday, we arrived back safely at Messiah at 3 AM Wednesday morning and parted ways. It was a great trip and we are amazed at what God was able to do through us. Thanks for all of your prayers!
Please click on the link below to read the Blog updates from the team.
http://www.aromacostarica.blogspot.com/
Pura Vida!
East Africa Update #3
Time is flying. We have officially been together as a team for one week. As they say, sometimes it feels like much longer, and other times it feels like we got together for training just yesterday.
Costa Rica Update #2 May 28, 2013
Buenas Noches!
We apologize for the lack of updates! We were in Los Chiles for the week and didn’t have internet access. However, it was a great time of ministry. More on that in our next update.
We arrived back in San Jose Sunday evening after a relaxing day at the hot springs and a canopy tour. After a late dinner and Team Time, it was off to bed. However, a few of us awoke to a surprise in the middle of the night. We felt the entire house shaking but we were so tired we rolled over went back to sleep. When we awoke in the morning, we realized that there was an earthquake on the Costa Rica/Panama border. We also realized that out of 14 people only 3 of us felt it and woke up. Not sure how they slept through it! We praise the Lord that no damage was done and we all remained safe.
After all the earthquake talk, we headed to a school in the San Jose area. We had the opportunity to work with over 100 kids throughout the morning. It was a great time of ministry and interacting with the kids. It was our last clinic so it was great to end on a high note.
We then headed back to our house for lunch. After lunch, it was off to the market for an afternoon of shopping. We had a great time hanging out as a team and buying gives for our family and friends.
After shopping, we headed back to the house for dinner and a time of praise and worship with some people from the church PTR has a partnership with. It was a great time of singing in both Spanish and English and then we received a challenge from the Pastor. It was a very encouraging time for all of us and great way to spend our last night in Costa Rica.
After our time of worship, it was off to pack and get ready to leave tomorrow. Now it is off to bed to prepare for a long day of travel. Thanks for praying!
Pura Vida!
East Africa Update #2
Happy Memorial Day to everyone back home.
East Africa Update #1
Mexico Day 4
Greetings!
Today I am pleased and blessed to report some very encouraging news. After only a few days of camps lives and communities are being changed through an encounter with God.
We have been able to build relationships with many kids and our enthusiastic church partners since we are running clinics at the same location for multiple hours every day this week. Non-Christian and unchurched onlookers or parents of campers have commented that they know God’s presence is here and some have already expressed their interest in learning more.
Moreover, because of our testimonies, service project work and camp interaction, community members are beginning to take ownership of their own park, cleaning up trash of their own accord, looking for ways to serve others during camp, and more. Most importantly, our partners at the church have definitely caught the flame for sports ministry. The children at Real Jardines park don’t want us to leave, but they and the church members remain excited for continuing an ongoing relationship through weekly sports clinics after we depart.
Ramon, a church planter, pastor and president of a prominent seminary in Guadalajara who has been working with us all week said tonight that our team has taught him and his fellow nationals something new: the language of the children. We praise God for using us to bolster our brothers and sisters in Christ in their outreach efforts to the people near them!
Please continue to pray for open hearts tomorrow and Friday mornings as we excitedly return to Instituto Philadelphia school which welcomed us richly and graciously last year.
Mexico Day 3
Hola amigos y familia y hermanos en Christo!
We just finished our first full day of community outreach and soccer camps. This morning we to undertake a few projects under the leadership and with the full blessing of the president of 11 neighborhoods surrounding the church we are partnering with as well as the park in which we will be holding our clinics.
Half of our group combed the local park and picked up five large garbage bags of broken glass, orange juice cartons, dog poop baggies and about any other litter you might imagine strewn on the ground. The other half of our group took up the post-hole digger and cement bucket and installed signs in the park and in nearby street medians commissioned by the community president (or community organizer?) who stopped to pose with the new signs for a few publicity photos. Because of our work in connection with the local church, this woman has opened up facilities she owns for the church to use for meetings and conferences. God has already used us to open doors for his kingdom to expand through this congregation!
According to my best calculations, 53 kids showed up at our first day of camp and we anticipate a greater number in the following days as we return and word spreads around the neighborhood. Church members demonstrated their enthusiasm for sports ministry as they came and helped at our clinic today. We are excited for the ways in which God will use sports ministry through the local church in the near future even after we leave.
Thank you for your prayers; we love you all! Blessings upon you.
Costa Rica Update #1 May 19, 2013
After an early start to the day, we arrived safely in Costa Rica with no travel glitches. At the airport, we boarded our bus to head to our hotel. Along the way we enjoyed the breathtaking views.
After we settled into our hotel, we walked down the street to the park. We had a great time throwing footballs, losing our frisbee, practicing our lacrosse skills, and interacting with some of the kids at the park.
After the park, we had an amazing dinner of chicken, rice, and beans. We finished our night with our first Team Time in Costa Rica!
We are all looking forward to a good night sleep. Tomorrow we take a four hour bus ride to los Chiles, where we will minster this week. Please pray as we share through sports clinics and water filter demonstrations, that the gospel of Jesus Christ will be evident in our attitudes, actions, and words. Thanks for praying!
Pura Vida!