The adventure began at 5:05 am on Wednesday, July 27, 2011. Three cars pulled out of New Hope Ministries parking lot, headed to Miami International Airport. Patricia, Cal, Reese, Catherine, Eddie, Sandy, Tammy, Nancy, Henriette, Stephanie and myself. The 2 hour drive to the airport was filled with eager anticipation of what was ahead. The flight was delayed about an hour, but the time was enjoyable, everyone was excited about the trip ahead. It was fun to watch a family of six young girls entertaining themselves as they waited.
The two hour flight to San Jose, Costa Rica was uneventful, as I fell asleep almost as soon as I was I was seated. Having only about an hour sleep the night before was catching up to me.
I was wedged between two fellows who had no interest in conversation and that was really okay with me. I wanted some rest time.
When we landed in San Jose, we were in another world. I could see mountains surrounding the city. It was beautiful. After spending an hour in line getting through customs we were met by our welcoming committee and a 25 passenger van. The two hour trip down the mountain was wild!! The road wasn’t very wide, I was glad I wasn’t sitting in the front. I really couldn’t see what was ahead, and that was a good thing. But the driver was skilled and comfortable and I felt safe with him at the wheel. It was an amazing time of worship and prayer, and I immediately felt the spirit of the Lord with us.
When we arrived at the house we were staying at we were met with such a warm welcome. There were three ladies in the kitchen cooking and many warm faces to greet us! They had prepared a lunch of fish and clams with rice and veggies. It was wonderful and we spent the next couple of hours settling in and meeting the pastors of the churches we would be ministering at.
The house is on the beach, the waves of the Pacific are crashing and declaring the glory of The Lord … beautiful.
Michelle was the first young lady who spoke some English, we had a nice afternoon visiting. A young man, Andy, seemed to have a crush on one of the young girls with us, and he wrote notes back and forth with another young girl. They wouldn’t share what was on the notes, but it seemed to make them smile. Eddie Flores showed me two songs that he had song that were on You-Tube. He is a pastor in Honduras. His song was very sick and in the hospital and he wrote a song to Jesus, pleading for his life. And his son was healed.
I met a woman pastor who has about 45 families in her congregation. She has no husband, she takes care of the church herself. She has a heart for children and takes care of many parentless children in her community. One of the translators told me that she lives in a very dangerous community, yet she is safe, God is her protect
The spirit of the people here is just awesome. They are so excited to serve us. We came here to love on them and they are loving on us! WILD!!
They were planning a big celebration and soon the house started filling up with people. The cooks were busy in the kitchen preparing the dinner of Seviche, Chicken Kabobs and fresh salsa and slaw!
But before dinner, was the worship time. Now this was amazing. It wasn’t 2 or 3 songs and then let’s eat. We spent TWO HOURS worshipping THE LORD. I can’t really explain what happened in those two hours, simply that the Spirit of The Lord flowed through this place.
I met so many sweet spirits … they gave me gifts and thanked me for coming to Costa Rica. I spent a good portion of the night talking to Daniel. Daniel is 21 years old. He is our interpreter. He is going to school to be an English teacher. He is the only one in his family who loves Jesus. His mother has a drinking problem, his brother is gay. Yet, this precious young man believes that JESUS is going to save his family and heal their hurting hearts! I shared my story with Daniel and gave him a copy of Sticks and Stones. He was so cute. He was going to share it with his family and pray that God touches their hearts.
The party lasted into the night, but finally I could not keep my eyes open, so I put my I-pod on, and laid in bed and let the spirit of God draw me into sleep.
Because Costa Rica is two hours behind our time, I was wide awake at 5:00 am … so I got up, showered and went out to survey my surroundings.
I am sitting here now, at the kitchen table surrounded by people. People here to bless us. People that we are to bless. The chefs are back to cook us breakfast. My friend, Michelle, brought her laptop for one of the girls in our group to use. There are a group at the beach. There are people praying on the lanai. The love here is simply amazing.
The prayer for this trip was that God’s AGAPE LOVE come forth and it is so flowing here.
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.
We have a big day ahead. I am eager to see what God will do today.
My love to you!
Joyce
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Will Affect Your Tomorrow!
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