Resting, Regrouping, and Reconnecting

Okay so you’re probably wondering why our plans changed and what we had to face on the beach Easter morning. Before I get to that part we will start with the very beginning of that day. 

A few of us had woken up early to watch the sun rise that morning. If you know me, you know I set maybe 20 alarms to get up in the morning. I’m not sure if it was the anticipation of Easter(one of my favorite holidays) or knowing my day would be started by sitting at the edge of the ocean while part of the world was waking up. But I was up and ready to go without an alarm, I woke up part of the team and we grabbed our coffees from the fridge we had put in the night before. When you’re on the race you tend to get creative, since iced coffees are more of a rare commodity. I’m normally not much of a morning person but when I had something to look forward to, by supernatural strength I am AWAKE. The Lord did not disappoint on His day of returning from the dead. The sky was incredible. Huge billowing clouds were coming from behind us moving towards the sea. Soft golds, with light blues, and creamed colored clouds were in the air. I was amazed. It was majestic, powerful but also peaceful. The Lord was kind enough to start my day off with a sense of restfulness. A wave of peace came over me as the weight of Easter was sinking in. The Lord is powerful and fought off death yet that morning He wrapped me in His arms and let me sit and just be. We headed back an hour or so later to get the rest of our team and Alek from Austria, who was staying in our room at our hostel. 

As we were walking to the service on the beach we were faced with the reason we received the call about not being able to go. It was hard to not feel bummed about having that opportunity taken away from us but those feelings fleeted after we saw the church service on the beach. The happiness of Easter and the overwhelming joy that our Savior had risen was thick in the air. Going to the beach is always a blast but adding church and the Holy Spirit into the mix. I was filled with excitement. There we met a group from South Carolina who was visiting from their leadership school to do missions work. Yep folks the group that essentially took our spots. Not really I’m being dramatic here to keep things interesting. Due to Covid restrictions they were unable to host both teams and since they had a prior commitment, and the Lord had other plans, we were the first to get the boot. Although we anticipated not doing ministry with them, the Lord provided ministry for all of us. How sweet is that? After service we were invited to have lunch with them. My team sat down with the girls from the other group and shared how we got to Costa Rica. All of us were naturally encouraging each other, pointing out what was Christ like, and sharing what the Holy Spirit was saying. We were praying for one of the women, when the pastor of the church came over and asked us to pray for a man who was walking around the beach. Josh* was going around asking for money for rent that was due that night. His wife was also struggling with schizophrenia and needed to purchase medication as well. They recently had a baby and long story short he was just struggling. Both teams came around him and prayed. After we heard his story and prayed, Josh* told us he could feel the Holy Spirit in him and had peace. The Lord is SO GOOD. He brought both teams together, to not just pour into each other but to evangelize together. We hung out with them until sunset and spent the rest of the night together has a team.

Our ministry looked different from our squads but something I’m learning even through writing this series about rest is that my team is relational. My team is gifted in naturally building relationships with others. We were able to bring Alek to church and build a relationship with her. She shared that occasionally she went with her parents and that this church wasn’t like any one she’s been to before. My team is still praying that through us the Lord will pull her in closer. We ask you would also join us in prayer for her! Before we left for Quepos and through listening prayer we did the Lord was very clear this would be a time of coming together as a team and reconnecting. That our ten days away from the squad would be for resting. Through hiking, meeting others, building relationships and connecting, as a team we brought the Holy Spirit with us. The Lord used us to plant seeds and to rest in trusting Him that they will grow. Living with 32 other people can be draining and it was a gift to take a step back with just our team. Our time together was sweet and we were able to get ample rest before going back to ministry in Jaco.