Leaving for Talamanca, Costa Rica tomorrow!

Pictures:
Pic 1: Our group at the canopy adventures ziplining (most of our group went and was so blessed to get it for free-normal cost is $40, but the community we were ministering in was so thankful for all we had done that they gave it to us all for free!).
Pic 2: Rayme, Carla, and me
Pic 3: Tony (our leader and translator), me, and Krista presenting the dollar bill illustration based on our value to God.


Outreach Part 1:

We returned back from our first part of our outreach on Sunday night (May 10th) for a 3 day break in San Jose at our base. It is good to be back in San Jose which now feels like home to all of us, even though we were only be here for three days. For the last 2 weeks we ministered in Tilaran, Costa Rica! God really opened doors so much for us there. The school board asked us to come in and speak at the local highschool and we were allowed to share whatever we wanted to. Every day for one week we went into tthe highschool and shared our hearts with the teenagers and we got such an amazing response. So many kids came up wiht us after every presentation/assembly to talk with us about what we spoke about. They liked the hour and a half presentations so much that we had a lot of kids come every day in between classes and during class breaks to listen again and talk with us afterwards. Everyday I had the opporutnity to present something for about 5-10 minutes in the assemblies about people’s worth being like a dollar bill and how God gives you value no matter what happens to you. On Wednesday I was asked to present the gospel message to the teens and so I did. After that day, the pastor’s daughter who is a senior at the hgihschool, shared with our group some encouraging words. She said that she had been talking with some students at the school and one girl rededicated her life to Christ after she left the assembly and that one girl is really seeking after God now. It was so encouraging for us as we worked to know that what we were doing was not in vain, but was impacting so many students’ lives. In the assembly we did various dramas which I was directing most of, testimonies, and illustrations geared to reach teens related to relationships, value and identity. At the end of every presentation, we would always end by presenting the gospel message to clarify the purpose of why we were there. At the end of the week, we had a time to share with the teachers fo the highschool and the principle. The principle spoke with us and thanked us for coming and sharing with thier students. They told us that the door is always open for us to come again and share and that they would love us to come again. We were amazed at the openness of this school and its staff!

Along with the high-school ministry, we worked with a local church in Tilaran. The first night we were there we had a youth service with about 7 youth. Because of the park outreaches and spending time at the high school and developing so many relationships, this last night’s youth service had over 30 youth attneding. It was pretty amaazing to see the seeds that God has planted in Tilaran! That same night we had the opportunity as a team to go and minister at an all night youth prayer service. One of our leaders Tony shared about God’s call for missions and the call to somehting more. After the service, one of the girls Rebekah came up to talk with us. She started to cry as she told us about how everything that Tony shared was what she has been feeling. She realized that God has something more for her and how us coming was such an answer to her prayers. It was incredible to see God working immediately through us being obedient to sharing and going! Rebekah is now applying for the next DTS at YWAM and her dream is to be a nurse in Africa.

Prayer requests: We are leaving tomorrow morning for Talamanca and staying for the next 2 1/2 weeks on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. Please pray for the ministry that we will be doing there. Also please pray for me as I prepare to go back to California (in one month, June 14th). I want to know God’s will for me as I return and what He wants me to do specifically. I don’t have a place to live yet when I return so I need a place to live. Please pray for His direction for my life and that I can relax and enjoy the rest of this time trusting Him to clearly show me the next step.