Late Sunday evening, the Costa Rica touched down in Philadelphia. There were mixed feelings as most of us felt the excitement to be home, yet already missing the joys we found in Costa Rica. It was a great week of ministry as we saw lives touched, hugs given, smiles exchanged, the Gospel shown and preached, and God glorified! Each member of the team came back with a different story of how individual children grabbed their heart and how God changed each of us, bringing us closer to Him. We also had a great time connecting with the church in Costa Rica and will continue to lift them up in our prayers as they keep bringing the message of the Gospel to people desperate to hear of God’s love for them. Thank you for all your prayers for us over the last week. They were heard and effective for God’s eternal Kingdom and Glory.
Gracias a Dios!
Anne
Buenos terdes,
We have just returned to Los Pasos after our last day of ministry with the children. The week has been very full but rewarding just the same. Yesterday we went to Ninos sin Fronteras or Children without borders. This facility is in a very poor section of San Jose. The foundation provides medical services and food to kids and their families in the area. We ran some clinics with about 60 children ranging in age from 2-12. This wide range in age presented some challenges for the girls but they were creative and made it work. We were all humbled by the conditions and felt extremely blessed to live in the United States in such an affluent area. The afternoon we traveled to Fuente de Vida Church and Food Kitchen. It was raining so we decided to just play a game of “Football” with the kids that showed up. Yes, we were quite muddy but had a lot of fun. Nattie shared the word of God with the kids afterwards. The Pastor there showed us his church and some of his vision for the future. He would like to put a second floor on the church and put some cement on the floor so when it rains there isn’t mud everywhere. This really made me think of how ridiculous we can be to have disagreements about the color of the carpeting that goes in the sanctuary.. Right now the church serves about 100 children and they would like to continue to bring in more of the children in the area.
Today we traveled to San Agustin Education Center. This is a small private school with children from 3 years old to 3rd grade. What a difference from the day before in the conditions of the facilities. Apparently these children also helped to raise money for Push the Rock by selling cookies. We ran a variety of clinics trying to keep it real simple for the 3 year olds and challenging enough for the older kids. These children spoke some English so that made it a little easier. The school showed such hospitality and we were blessed. We then traveled to the CONOBI High School to play a game of “football” We won the game 9-1 but more importantly had a lot of fun. We were able to meet the girls afterwards and share a little about ourselves. They were very friendly and exchanged e-mail addresses. Well tomorrow its off to the beach. What a fast week!
For the team,
Nancy
Hola Amigos!
Currently we are in the middle of our third day of clinics and so far God has blessed each clinic, going before us, filling each of us, and working in and through our time with the kids.
Yesterday, we spent all day at a private school doing clinics with four different classes, grades 3-6. Some of the kids came with great excitement, others a little more timid. However, it only took a little encouragment and a few good cheers with the kids to get them all pumped up and by the end, all of the kids were having fun. Nattie shares the gospel to each group as they rotate through stations and she shared with me that one little boy came up to her after the station and asked how he could have Jesus live in his heart. Praise God, He is moving in the hearts of the kids!
Last night we had our first game. There was a little confusion in the beginning with a last minute change of location but God moved quickly and both teams were able to adjust and meet at another facility. The girls were a little anxious heading into the game as they learned that the team they would be playing qualified at the national level for their age bracket. However, the girls willingly embraced the challenge, went out and played hard and when the lights in the gym went out halfway through the game, the girls were winning 6-5! Due to a light failure, we had to end the game early and with weary legs from a long day, I’m not sure the girls were too dissapointed. However, before we left, one of the girls shared her testimony of God’s goodness, with the other team. We hope and pray, that God would grow the small seeds that our planted through these testimonies.
This morning, it may have been a struggle to get out of bed but the weary legs and tired eyes were quickly forgotten when we pulled up to the school and were embraced by over a hundred excited little chicos and chicas anxiously awaiting the soccer clinic and even more some love and attention. I was so encouraged by the way the team rose to the challenge. In a small location, with a large number of kids, God moved and our hearts were soon captured with the bright eyes and big smiles on each child. Amidst chaos, kids everywhere, soccer balls everywhere, dust and dirt flying everywhere, kids were loved, and seeds of the gospel message were planted. After the clinic, Nattie told me more stories of kids asking questions like, “How can Jesus live in so many hearts?” and one boy stating how happy he was to hear this story from the Bible.
Alabado sea Dios! Praise God for the work He is doing here!
Currently the team is enjoying some rest before the game tonight. Although weary at times and a few bruises here and there, God continues to bless us with good health. Please continue to lift us up in prayer as we take on the second half of our week. Our desire is to bring more and more energy and enthusiasm to each clinic, to bring excellence to each opportunity, to give every kid our best. Pray also for our time together in God’ s Word as we continue to study what it means to be committed to Christ, to His work, and His Kingdom. Pray this time would be used to grow us spiritually, to bring us closer to Christ, and to motivate our efforts and attitudes throughout the rest of the week.
Gracias A Dios!
For the team,
Anne
Buenas Tardes!
We are so blessed to be here in Costa Rica serving the church and serving our Savior. Yesterday morning we had the privilege of worshiping with our Costa Rican brothers and sisters. It is such a vibrant church, full of praise and joy for our incredible God. The team was asked to sing for the church which so we gladly humbled ourselves to try our best to bless the church through a song. Pastor Don G taught from 1 Samuel 15 where we were challenged that “almost to obey, is to disobey.” Later that night when we met for team time we studied Acts 9 and our commitment to Christ. Here we took Pastor’s challenge and applied to our own study: “almost to commit, means to NOT commit.” Our goal this week is not to almost commit but to fully commit to the work God has for us.
This morning we ran a soccer clinic at the “Roble Alto” foster home. The home includes kids who’s families cannot support them and kids who have no families at all. Today is a holiday in Costa Rica so those kids who have families went to be with their families. That left twenty kids who had no families to go to. We were able to go and be their family for the morning, to run a clinic for them, play a game with them, sing songs with them, have fun with them, and love them. At the end of the clinic one of the coaches shared with the kids about how God loves each of them, that He is absolutely trustworthy, and He promises to always be there for us. People we love may go away, but God never goes away. After the clinic the team brought out the silly bands and the kids were just as excited over the silly bands here in Costa Rica as they are in the United States. If the silly band craze has not reached San Jose yet, I think it may have just started.
Tomorrow we will run a marathon of clinics in one of the local schools in San Jose and conclude the evening with a friendly match against local high school team. In each of the clinics the kids will hear the Gospel message from Nattie, our host from the CED church and will hear a testimony from one of the coaches. At the game, one of the coaches will also share a testimony with the other team.
We have been encouraged so far with how God is blessing this team, going before us, clearing the skies of rain, giving us strength, energy, and good health. Please continue to pray for us and those who will hear the message of the Gospel through our words and actions.
On behalf of the team, thank you for the prayers you have lifted up for us. God hears!
For the team,
Anne
We could not have asked for a better or easier traveling day. We got a little worried when the security line stretched a mile long with a little over an hour to our departure line. However, we were escorted to another line where we got through in time to grab some McDonalds for breakfast and jump on our plane. Upon arriving in San Jose, our luggage was all ready for us by the time we got through immigration and then once again we we were ushered through another security line as if we were celebrities. I’m not sure why the special treatment but I was not about to argue.
As soon as we stepped out the doors of the airport we were greeted by Nattie and Danny, our hosts for the week and soon after Guillermo our bus driver pulled up in the bus with a friendly wave. He is a very friendly man who will make our bus rides a lot of fun this week.
After settling into our new home for the week, we were treated to a wonderful lunch compliments of Anya our cook for the week. I am pretty sure we will not be going hungry this week. After lunch, the team went through some soccer skills and station drills to prepare for the week and finished up with a fun game. Then after working up a sweat the team enjoyed a nice swim in the pool.
Tonight we will wrap up the day with Team Time where we will come together to study God’s Word from 2 Timothy and prepare for the week in prayer. God is certainly going before us as we come together as a team.
Tomorrow we look forward to fellowship and worship with the church that we have come here to serve with. Please pray that as meet and spend time with them, we would bless them as they encourage us and our unity in Christ would be evident in our time together.
For the team,
Anne
It is hard to believe that the end of summer is quickly approaching. Our fifth and final missions team is headed out July 31 to Costa Rica. There will be 13 people on the team, including Anne as the team leader, the coach, two other adults and 9 young ladies.
We are excited about what the Lord has in store for them as they share the life-changing message of the Gospel through soccer with kids in a number of different schools, foster homes and churches. Please be praying for the team as it prepares for departure on July 31. The team will be returning August 8.
We look forward to furthering the partnership we have with churches and organizations throughout Costa Rica as we partner together to impact the world for Jesus Christ … One life at a time!
Thanks in advance for praying and for standing with us in ministry. We are confident there will be some challenges, but we are excited to see how the Lord is going to use them to draw people unto Himself and to mold people into the men and women He wants them to be!
Be sure to check here for regular updates throughout the trip.
Sunday evening at 10:30 pm we arrived safely home after a great week of ministry in Prague. Thank you for all your prayers for our team over the past week!
As we reflect back on our time, we are grateful for the opportunities we had to share God’s love with the kids in Prague. We hope and pray that the seeds planted will continue to be watered by those missionaries and nationals who remain.
We spoke to many parents who were grateful for the week of camp. Each of them and the kids spoke of our return in 2011. We will see how the Lord leads over the next weeks and months.
The last day of camp brings many emotions. As coaches we spent the week tirelessly pouring our lives into these young men. We wanted them to understand the importance of putting their trust in God through His son Jesus. While we spent time teaching sports, we made sure they understood that it was our #1 priority that they know that God loves and cares so much for each of them. It was certainly a hot day here, which of course tests your stamina, but we were able to finish strong … praise God!
We are sad to say goodbye to these kids whom have made an impact on our lives as well.
Tomorrow we will help the Davies move boxes and whatever else we can do to help them move their items into storage. After that we will head to a castle and do some sightseeing before returning to downtown Prague Saturday night for dinner. We fly out on Sunday.
Thanks again for continuing to pray with us. To God be all the glory!
Scott for the team
Going to camp today brought several areas of concern. The fourth day of camp can sometimes be a challenge. Kids are tired and are in need of the unexpected, so we as staff need to bring a high level of energy and excitement. This happened in several ways today. Thankfully, the Lord blessed us with cloud cover and slightly cooler
temperatures. Yeah! Also today Petrie, a church leader at CB Skalka, shared his testimoney. The kids need to hear from someone they can relate to. They also heard from Kyle, coach Mark’s son. He shared a great testimony and was able to relate to them as a peer.
It’s hard to imagine that we only have one day of camp left. At our Team Time (devos) tonight, we prayed that God would use us to plant a seed, or water a seed, or if He chooses, to harvest one. Either way we pray that all we say and do will bring honor to His name.
Thanks for praying.
Scott for the team
We just finished the third day of baseball and all sports camp.
The hot sun returned once again but that did not keep us from having a great day!
The past two days have been spent on teaching them the fundmentals so today we played some actual games. They were exciting and competitive. In the afternoon at the all sports camp we were able to have some good conversations with a few of the campers after coach Scott shared his testimony. Please continue to pray as we challenge these kids to know God and have a personal relationship with His Son Jesus Christ, which is our focus. Also, pray that we get rest today as the days have been long and exhausting. The team is doing great and is looking forward to another great day on Thursday!
Thanks for praying!
Scott for the team