Pura Vida en Costa Rica

Hola amigos! I’ve been in Costa Rica for about four days now and I’m still in disbelief, it’s a DREAM! The view in our backyard is unlike anything I have ever seen; I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of waking up to the fog frosted mountains and the rain-kissed grass, I’m already missing it in three months. We hit the JACKPOT and are so blessed to be staying at the AIM base here… with our entire squad!!! Every morning when all 48 of us are outside spending time with the Lord, I look around and am in absolute awe of the community I’ve been blessed with: so many life-long friends that I’ve grown so close to in such a short amount of time. These people have the biggest hearts I’ve ever been loved by and will stop at nothing to make sure every single person feels valued and like the most precious child of the King and I’m so undeserving of their friendships. They give me a glimpse of God’s love and kindness with every word they speak and hug they give out. Long story short, I won the squad lottery! I am crazy spoiled with all the access to American things and stores and restaurants so that makes being gone a little easier but I am quickly snapped out of that daydream CONSTANTLY when the locals take pictures of me walking around town and laugh at me when I try to order and when I have no idea what the heck I’m buying at the store because EVERYTHING is in Spanish!

We started our ministry assignment Friday, WOW. My team and I have the amazing opportunity to work in a daycare focused solely on providing a safe and healthy environment for kids ranging in ages 3-12 in the midst of the most impoverished and dangerous parts of San Jose. These kids are fearless, selfless, and avid jump ropers. In the five hours I have spent with them so far, I already see so many characteristics of Jesus in them and am so constantly reminded of how much love the Father has for them and the plans he has for their lives. Next week we get to begin teaching their English classes and diving deeper into our relationships and ministry with them! Our job there is to be the hands of feet of Jesus so playing soccer (futbol), coloring for hours, feeding them lunch, and helping them learn English is undoubtedly making an impact, I just can’t help but wish we could communicate clearly and let them know why we’re there and who sent us. The language barrier is definitely a hurdle but a wise man once told me to “spread the Gospel and when necessary use words.” Loving these kids like there’s no tomorrow and treating them like they are cherished in the kingdom of the most high are the tools the Lord gave us and I know he will work in ways that only he can to change these children’s eternities. Abba is revealing himself in ways I’ve never experienced before and I am absolutely ecstatic for the next several months as I get to meet him every day over and over and fall more in love each time.

Saturdays are our adventure days and Sundays are our sabbath day to relax and regroup and focus on all the good God is doing in our lives and in our ministries! aka MUCH NEEDED CHILL TIME! Today was laundry day for about 4/5 of the squad and wow oh wow can you spell C H A O S!? It’s also cleaning day today and my room has the glorious job of cleaning the outside bathrooms which entails removing the 5lb hairballs from all the shower drains, taking out the trash in the bathroom stalls (we can’t flush toilet paper sooo the trash smells great!), and mopping the muddy footprints off of every square inch of that floor. ALL THE FUN!!! Anywho, thanks so much for keeping up with me and reading this lil update! I’ll have a lot more pictures and fun stories after we really get rolling, praying for everyone back home, chau!