God came through in a big way this week. Due to unforeseen external circumstances, we were unable to setup the specifics of this trip prior to the group's arrival. We only had a basic itinerary. Door to Door evangelism, VBS at a school, serving lunch to people who live/work in a landfill. Of these we were only able to go door to door.
You see, at this point in the year in Costa Rica, there is a huge festival/pilgrimage to Cartago (Central Costa Rica) to see/pray to la Negrita, a special statue of the virgin of los Angeles. The most pious of those who walk the 22km from San Jose complete the last 100m or so on their knees. It's a huge Catholic holiday. We had no idea that the spiritual oppression would affect our ministry so much.
Though we had previously received approval for our group to spend time at the school, the director rescinded his offer of welcome simply for the fact that we were evangelicals. This was an easy fix; we instead hung out at a soccer field nearby, and the kids came to us! As for serving lunch, someone had told these people about us before we arrived and were offended by the idea that we thought they needed our help. We worked around this by inviting all the families (whose kids we played with everyday) to join us for a dinner and a viewing of the Jesus film in that same open area.
Even though we were able to go door to door in the areas, we definitely faced rejection. The week prior to this, the team had been invited into homes and allowed to share. This week we had outright refusal to listen, and doors shut in our faces. It was quite the change.
All of this oppression/persecution opened up discussion for us about spiritual warfare and led to meaningful times of prayer for the communities we served in.
All was not lost though. Ironically, on our last day of ministry, we went to another community where we once attended church. Our contact asked if we wanted to visit the school there. Even though I was full of doubt, I figured it couldn't hurt to try. Lo and behold, we pull up to the school, spend 10 minutes talking to the director, and then we were in! Granted we were only allowed 40 minutes.. but still! We had tried all week to get into one school and were refused, and then it was like God said, "Look what I can do!" Awesome.
Highlights from Bagaces (Aug 3-10):
- Driving the beast of a van, Charlie
- Feeling the Holy Spirit working in me and speaking through me
- Finishing the summer with a gold brooch (Spanish saying)
Praise God:
- For the ways he proved himself mighty
- For becoming closer with my ATLs
- For the student who decided to start living for Christ in both word and deed
- For a flexible group leader who understands that things don't always go as we plan!
- A RENEWAL!!!! THEY SIGNED UP TO GO AGAIN NEXT YEAR!!
Pray for:
- Light to break through the darkness in that area
- The church to do ministry in a healthy way that draws people to Christ
- Our contact Anabelli, who needs funds to keep her ministry base open
Aaand the trip journal link: http://www.prayingpelicanmissions.org/journals?tripid=1996
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