From Phillip's Perspective....Last Day on the Field

Today was a new day. The game plan was to get up and after yet another large breakfast we were going to return to Betania to follow up with all of the homes in the community that accepted Christ earlier in the week. As we turned down the main road we immediately knew that today would not be the same as the ones before. So far we have been going door to door in the community of Betania and sharing the gospel with anyone that would open the door, but as we pulled down the street there was a group of Jehovah’s Witnesses now knocking on the same doors that we had been visiting the past few days. It was clear that there was and is spiritual warfare going on in this community. Before even leaving the bus we prayed for the community, the false teachers and our attitudes and focus as we unloaded the bus. It is amazing how God can take a seemingly difficult situation and use it to bring him glory; the enemy truly has no power against our God. As we visited the last houses we would knock on in Betania, eleven more women and children accepted Christ as their Savior today. Many of them had either just talked to Jehovah’s Witnesses minutes before or refused to open their doors to them. What we expected was to visit and encourage new believers in Christ this day but God had something more dynamic and supernatural in mind, in the midst of the enemy. We ended the day by showing a Max Lucado cartoon after dark for the children and we had many families attend, mostly children. After a day of touching moments with families and children, feeling the Spirit of God move in a community we had to load the bus and watch as children chased us down the road. We may never see them again until we meet in glory but God has impacted my life in Costa Rica through the people. They see the value in what had been offered to them and many were saved. While sharing the gospel with Marcos he asked me how Jesus had changed my life and I told him that Jesus was someone I could rely on despite my circumstances even though I could not see him. After this week I think that the Spirit of God can move in a way that your eyes are drawn to him through the lives that he changes and that is something that we can see. 

Thanks for your perspective Phillip.  It is truly amazing to see the Lord working here in Batania de Guatuso.  Tomorrow, it's off to Rio Celeste for our tour.  After seeing this beautiful creation, we will travel back to San Jose, do some souvenir shopping, and check in to our hotel near the airport.

Perhaps we will encounter someone with whom to share the gospel tomorrow!  Let's pray to that end together.

Day 4 Wrap

Quick encouragement: check out the facebook pages of anyone who is going on the trip to see tons more pics than I am able to post on this blog.  People are tagged and you should be able to find many online already.

Now, check out the Day 4 wrap from Brittany.

Day 4

Today was pretty relaxed in comparison to our other days working in the tiny town of Betania, but it was just as inspiring as all of those that preceded it.  This morning, our group held a makeshift church service in the “meeting room,” which is more accurately an outdoor patio filled with chairs and benches we borrowed from throughout the hotel campus.  We worshiped God with songs playing from Melissa’s computer and then Michael Blue delivered a message from Luke 24 about the Road to Emmaus.  After lunch, Tane, Melissa, Saranne and I decorated some cross necklaces to give to the Tico kids, while the rest of the ladies worked on preparing salvation bracelets.   Around 2:30, we headed for Betania to take part in the 3 o’clock church services held in the “Casa de Lito.”    As it had yesterday, this tiny church service rocked me to my core.  First, a group of kids from a church in San Jose performed a few sign language dances and sang songs.  Then, Blue delivered a message through translator Wences from Luke 15 with the three parables: the sheep, the coins, and finally, the prodigal son.  Gerson and Pastor Pedro were amazing (as usual) with all of their enthusiasm for the gospel and for the people they were sharing it with.   Also, Amber, Pat, and I led the church in singing “Amazing Grace” and “Open the Eyes of My Heart,” which we actually attempted to sing in Spanish (Abre mis ojos, O Cristo.)   The entire church singing together, perhaps, was the thing that touched me the most.  As we all sang “Te adoro” (I adore you) together, I could so plainly feel the practically tangible presence of God.   There’s something beautiful about the universal message of the gospel that transcends culture and language barriers.  It was such an amazing experience to be worshipping with brothers and sisters in Christ from halfway around the world.   God is moving in Guatuso, no doubt about it.  And I’m so thankful that I have the opportunity to witness it.   Please continue praying for our team and for the people of Betania, that their hearts would be softened and that those who have received God’s salvation will continue to press on as disciples.   

Thanks for your perspective Brittany!

Another amazing thing happened today.  Our driver, Egidio (A-he-de-oh), knocked on my (Cory) door.  He explained to me that he was chatting with one of the ladies who cleans the hotel, Adonai.  He said she wanted to know more about Jesus and asked to talk to someone.  Egidio, Adonai, Amber, and I sat in our room and went through the gospel together.  After dialoguing for roughly 15 minutes, she said she wanted to give her life to Jesus and wanted to walk with Him!  We spent more time encouraging this new sister in Christ and encouraged her to share her story of salvation with her family and friends today.  We are all looking forward to seeing her again tomorrow and offering more encouragement.  It is also a tremendous blessing to have such a godly man who gets us from place to place!

God is working here in Guatuso and we have the blessing of being able to see it first-hand!  What a good God we serve!

Day 3 Wrap

After a solid day of orientation and prayer walking, we hit the field for door-to-door evangelism!  We are broken into four groups with a great mix of people!  Our interpreters (Egidio (who is also our driver), Wences, Andres, and David) do an incredible job of crossing the language barrier and reading the people we visit.  Pastor Pedro was accompanied by his son, Gerson (hair-sone), who has an incredible gift of evangelism.  Every member of this team was able to share their faith and hope in Jesus with people in Guatuso.  What an incredible thing!

 We were also able to have a worship service in Betania (Bethany) last night.  As we arrived, we were greeted by some of the brothers here along with kids who were literally pouring out of their homes and following the bus!  There were roughly 30 children and 10 adults packed into an 8 x 12 room.  Gerson began our time together by doing a few kids songs.  It was great to see so many children worshiping Jesus here!  Pat, Brittany, and Amber then led a few songs of worship in English and a chorus in Spanish.  I (Cory) then had the privilege of preaching in the service.  Pastor Pedro ended our time by calling people to repentance.  He was able to counsel with many.  Through the course of the service, our team members were taking turns coming off the bus and being a part of the service from just outside the door.  We wanted to allow as many Ticos/Ticas (how Costa Ricans refer to themselves) to be inside as possible.

Check out Austin's take on Day 3...

Day three was a different experience for me. I have been to the Dominican Republic in the past and we had done more testimony speaking while there. Yesterday we were able to go door to door and pass out the Gospel of John. Inside the little pamphlet was not only the Gospel but also a presentation of the Gospel and how to live an effective life as a Christ follower. The day began with our team (Phillip, Melissa, Jessie [Missionary's family] and David [Missionary]) going from door to door with one of us "gringos" fumbling through a set spanish phrase that said "Here is a gift for your family, it is part of the Bible, the history of Jesus. It's free." We would hand it to them and they would look at it and then a Spanish-speaking pastor would come in and discuss with them a few things. It was great to see him talk and be very animated with the people. The pastor was very sensitive to the Spirit and what God was doing. If he saw that he could engage in a conversation and present the Gospel to them he would go straight for it.  If he saw they were not interested and were not going to listen, he would back off and we would leave. It was great to see God move. There was also a joy in these people's lives that you do not often see in America. The lack of possessions these people have in comparison to us in America is very sad. These people are happy, smiling, and happy to see us. It is also very rare to see a "gringo" walking the streets of where we are. We spent most of our time on one half of the street due to the conversations we were having with people...it was incredible! When we finished with our part of the street another group was done also so a few of us decided to go to the play ground and visit with the kids. It was great to hang out with them and not only practice my spanish with them, but a few of them wanted to practice their english with us. It was great to see them learning out language while we were learning theirs also. I played soccer with a few of the kids the day before, so they had recognized me and were asking me to play again. It was great that they wanted to play with me and enjoyed spending time with me just as much as I wanted to spend time with them. That night there was a service at one of the houses in the area. It was a very tiny house, much like all of them, so we were not able to go inside. We were able to look from outside and pray for what was going on inside. Cory was bringing the Word to them, so it was good to see how many people were there to listen. Of course it was raining, but it was great. From what I heard I believe there were 12 people who accepted Jesus. It was amazing. The trip has been very different and a good experience so far. God is doing some great things here in Costa Rica. He is doing things in the far reaches away from the mega cities of the world. The simplicity of the culture here is great. Continue to pray for us and for God to do great things here!

Day 2 Wrap

God wants Guatuso for His glory.  He greatly desires this community to be a place where people follow Christ, enjoy Christ, and minister for Christ.  Here are some ways we ask you to pray specifically....

• Pray for our group as tomorrow we begin the visitation in Guatuso.  We will be breaking into teams (as we did for prayer walking the community) and visit each home.
• Pray for gospel-centered conversations.
• Pray for encouragement and boldness for our missionaries to share what Christ has done in our own lives.  Pray for us to remain true to the gospel so the lost will be found.
• Pray that some of the people assembled from every tribe, every language, every people, and every nation are people in Guatuso.

Here is Day 2 from Pat Greenwalt's perspective...

Today we met with David Brown, the IMB missionary, and he gave us an orientation.  The purpose is to evangelize door-to-door so the local people can lead the church here.  Currently, a pastor drives from San Jose (four-hour drive) each week and meets in a home with believers.

We went into the neighborhood and prayer walked.  At first, people were just watching us and children were peeking out the windows.  We were praying and didn’t know whether to engage them or to continue praying!  After we covered the whole neighborhood in prayer, we gathered at the park near the river.  Some boys were playing soccer in the mud and Austin and Melissa joined them.  More children started coming to the park and were very friendly.  We had a great time!  The hardest part is seeing all the children and the conditions they live in and wondering how many adults have not heard about Jesus. 

Never underestimate the power of prayer.  We were just supposed to prayer walk, but while prayer walking, a man invited Pedro, Andrew, and Warren into his home.  Pedro was praying for the family so loudly and enthusiastically, that Brittany, Abby, and I could hear him from the street.  I started praying for our missionaries aloud to the point of weeping.  I couldn’t understand Pastor Pedro’s prayers, but I knew I was feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit.  Andrew told us Pedro was praying for health, blessings, and salvation.

It will be difficult to share tomorrow because of the language barrier, but I know God will use us for His glory.  When we return tomorrow, the people will recognize us from our prayer walk and will hopefully want to interact with us as the children did today.  As God prepares the way in Guatuso, He is also working in our hearts to be His servants.

Day 1 Wrap

Our day began very early!  We left from the chuch building at 5:45 am and took off at 8:15 from New Orleans.  After two uneventful flights and one hour sitting on Houston´s tarmac, we were in San Jose.  David (missionary), Andres (translator), Wisnes (translator), and Pastor Pedro warmly greeted us!  We stopped for a meal outside Naranjo and began our trek up to Guatuso.  We traveled through beautiful mountains on a winding road.  Heavy rain slowed our trip.  We also had a few team members who dealt with motion sickness.  At the end of a very long day, we arrived in Guatuso and bedded down at our hotel.

We were greeted this morning by a singing, laughing, and talking parrot!  We depart for breakfast and orientation in 15 minutes.  Our work formally begins this afternoon as we begin prayer walking and door-to-door evangelism.

This is being posted from an office computer.  We are troubleshooting an issue with their router (thank goodness we have Phillip with us!).  We hope to post pictures and more testimonies as we go forward.

Don´t forget to lift our team and prayer and that the Lord would use us to have wonderful gospel-filled conversations with the people of this beautiful community.