Fourth Day in Costa Rica

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Pura Vida! (That’s a common Costa Rican greeting, which means “Pure Life.”

We began our fourth day at 6am, waking up, washing up and eating breakfast.  We attended the 8am worship service and introduced ourselves to the congregation that is hosting us.  We performed the Burden Skit (where the protagonist tacks on burden (a backpack) in her life after she sins.  She is able to remove those burdens through Jesus, who takes those burdens for her, freeing her to help others.

Pastor Will gave a short message on 1 John 1:9 and invited the congregation trust in God’s promise made in the verse.  He also encouraged the church members to love others, for it is impossible to say we love God without loving our brothers (1 John 4).  We heard that the churches in Costa Rica are not mission minded.  They proclaim that their Christian but do not think about carrying the gospel mission to others.  The pastor of the church challenged the entire congregation to do the same as he talked about what belongs in the church and what belongs in hell.

After service, we went to the local park and gathered anyone we could find to watch our presentation.  We made balloon animals to draw people’s attention, and invited them to watch the Chair skit, performed by our clowns and the gospel rope presentation presented by Josh Jang.  Afterwards, we left all the children with crafts to remind them about the gospel and about our time with them.  Before we left, we spent some time cleaning up all the trash in the park.  Some of the locals who were watching us commented that we were doing a beautiful thing.  We were all encouraged that our God could be glorified through the simple witness of picking up garbage.

Lunch!  A traditional Costa Rican meal, which was very delicious.

After lunch, we visited an orphanage an went through our usual repetoire of skits, songs and crafts.  Stephen Sun gave a message on forgiveness of sin and repentance.  He used a very special object lesson to communicate the power of Jesus to wash away our sins.  Our hearts broke as Stephen led the children in prayer.  After Vanessa’s translation, the children all recited the prayer. (We weren’t allowed to take pictures of the kids).

After the orphanage we had some time to do some souvenir shopping.  We had a chance to visit a factory that makes wood souvenirs.  The quality is excellent, and it’s amazing what they can make with wood.  Their craftsmanship was excellent, and we were able to buy some souvenirs at a good discount.

Dinner!  Hot dogs and fries!

After dinner, we spent some time with the brothers and sisters who have been serving us, providing for us and driving us around.  They shared their testimonies with us and we were all brought to tears as we heard about broken pasts and about how God had given them a new life.  We had a powerful time of prayer for them and we had a chance to share how we were thankful and how we were challenged by their testimonies and their lives.  We were reminded that we have the same God, and if God could work powerfully in their lives then God can work powerfully in ours.

Our time in Sarchi, Costa Rica is coming to an end.  Tomorrow we will be driving to San Jose, the capital and will be ministering to a more urban area.  Thank you for praying for us!