WIUMC Costa Rica 2008

Our Mission and God's Mission

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:31:00 GMT

I woke up to the sound of rain this morning. I enjoy waking up to rain because it reminds me even at the start of my day of God's provision for Creation. However, this morning it is something of a surprise because we usually get rain in the afternoon. This time of year in Costa Rica, rain makes 4 pm the cut off time for outdoor activity. Thankfully, we have completed most of our outdoor painting and will probably be working indoors today.

Yesterday, we had a "fun day." We visited Jaco Beach where several of us played in waves that make Tybee look like still water. The beach itself was beautiful covered in rocks rather than shells since it is a volcanic beach. Some team members walked around the Jaco area after lunch and just took it all in while others of us went all out on zip lines. This was both a challenging and exhilarating experience. Each of us was suspended in the canopy of the rain forest on steel cables as we zipped from tree to tree. In between zips we enjoyed fellowship with one another and taking in God's creation in the rain forest. It may not seem as vital a time as the actual work we do on "our mission trip" but I believe it is.

Yesterday, we got to see the greatness of God displayed through his natural Creation. By seeing this, I am more inspired to work in God's mission of restoring his fallen Creation. The work we have come to do in Costa Rica is not simply painting a church or playing with children. Rather, we participate in the work of God's mission of reconciling all who respond to himself. By painting this church it becomes a more attractive place for those in the community to come. By loving and teaching children they come to understand an earthly form of unconditional love and realize how God loves them and desires a relationship with them. By helping to construct a second floor for the church building we enlarge the church and their ability to reach out to the neighborhood here.

One final note, we played soccer last night with men from Rincon de Herrera Iglesia. Each team was comprised of both Costa Ricans and Americans. I am proud to say that I scored two goal. After the game Bobby prayed and thanked God for the game we played. It is a small slice of our everlasting existence in the Kingdom of God. Different cultures, different colors, different languages even some different experiences of God's movement in the world and yet brought together for this mission trip. Brought together for the glory of God.

Monday, Monday

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 02:22:00 GMT

Today, Elizabeth is our guest blogger. Today she participated in the Bible School we had for neighborhood children. At one point, she went out not knowing any spanish but invited many children to the Bible School. For our team devotional tonight, she shared some things that she learned and experienced today. I'm sharing it for our blog toight.

"What I learned today"

I learned that God can calm your fears just as Jesus calmed the waters. Just have fith. I was scared to death singing with the children because I did not know Spanish. However, as we sang, I began to gain confidence as Jesus calmed me and I learned the words.

I learned that love and kindness is a universal language and that words don't matter. A smile is much more effective. I learned that mothers have a common bond in loving and caring for their children. The mothers I saw today were obviously devoted to their children. The love of Jesus was evident through them

I learned that I can accomplish alot more with alot less.

Finally I learned that true happiness is having Jesus in your heart every day. With the Hold Spirits help, anything and everything is possible.

I borrowed this paragraph from another writer and it sums up a good bit of my experience today:

God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. A lot of big jobs are waiting to be filled by dedicated little people. The greatest contribution is the gift of ourselves in the service of the Lord.

---------------------------------------------------------------------- I've uploaded some more pictures of our work today. I hope they are encouraging and helps you to feel a part of our mission here.

The Beauty of a New Stove

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:34:00 GMT
David S. tells the story of something great from today.....
Although we know that the church is really the people who compose the community of faithful, the actual physical facilities are important. Have you ever thought about how difficult it would be to have various festivities and celebrations if our church did not have a functioning stove? Today, the stove died at lunchtime here at Rincon Herrera Iglesia Metodista. So, as a group we decided to do something for the church and give them a new stove. I had the pleasure of going with the group that purchased stove. We went to a market that Enny (the pastors wife) had long thought of as the place to buy a stove. After searching through the store for the different stoves she was interested in, we found one that was a good fit for the church's needs such as weddings and other festivities. Enny was incredibly happy. She was practically dancing because it is something they really, really needed yet was difficult to obtain. The women of the church at Rincon Herrera are grateful from the bottom of their heart for this blessing. Thanks to everyone from WIUMC who has supported us by your prayers and gifts which has allowed us to bless the people here in a great way! We will post some pictures later this evening!

monday, Monday

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:05:00 GMT
Each night we have a team devotional time. During this time we worship through song and someone offers a short message that we call a devotional. We do this to help us maintain our focus as a team on doing Christ's work here and to process how He has been moving among us. This morning I welcome Elizabeth R. as a blogger with her devotional from last night.
What I learned today
I learned that a God can calm your feas just a a Jesus calmed the water if I have faith. Today I was scared as we began to lead songs in Spanish for the children during Bible school. However, as I trusted God and just sang, the words came to me and I learned the songs and began to really enjoy it.
I learned that love and kindness are universal. Sometimes words do not matter nearly as much as a smile

I learned that mothers have a common bond in loving and caring for their children. The mothers I saw today were obviously devoted to their children. I especially noticed many of them walking along the road and just stopping to talk with other mothers even as they held their children. It was amazing to see the friendship among these women in the neighborhood.

As I walked through the neighborhood and saw the simplicity of many of the homes, I learned that I can do a lot more with a lot less.

Finally, I learned that true happiness is having Jesus in your heart every day. With the Holy Spirit's help, anything and everything is possible

The followng is from The Golden Treasury of Bible Wisdom, by Hershel Dean
God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things . ALot of big jobs are waiting to be filled by dedicated little people. The greatest contribution is the gift of ourselves in service of the Lord.
Yesterday was a great day filled with God-moments. Later in the week we will share some more of these. For now, check out some of the new pictures.Please keep praying for us daily. Leave comments in the blog on how we can praying for you!

A great Domingo!

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 03:00:00 GMT

Short, exposure type mission trips, like ours, are a balance between being blessed and blessing and serving those in mission location. Thus far on this trip I have certainly felt that have been blessed more. One example was today, Domingo (or Sunday in English). Mark and I shared testimonies. Most of mine was in Spanish which revealed that I have a ways to go before I can actually claim to speaking spanish. Mark's was well received and even helped to illustrate Pastor Dimas' point that the Holy Spirit wants to change us and deliver us from the things that hold us back a hoy! (or today!) The best part of el servicio (the service) was witnessing the expressed passion for God that the people in Rincon de Herrera church have. It inspired a good discussion about how we ourselves prepare for worship. That was one blessing!

Another blessing was our ride through the Costa Rican countryside. Driving by fields of sugarcane and coffee beans kept our attention as did the mountains in the distance. We visited a national volcano park and could barely make out the crater through the clouds. Still though, the vistas were breathtaking and truly helped us all to reconsider and enlarge our understanding of the greatness of God!

Finally, another blessing was getting to speak with Pastor John and through him with the congregation at WIUMC. To know that y'all are praying and thinking of us means a ton. God has truly been blessing us on this mission trip. I already am seeing lives transformed.

Tomorrow, we begin to serve the people of this community. We will paint the exterior of one of the church buildings so that a wedding to take place next week will have a beautiful backdrop to the beautiful commitment they are making to God and one another. We will also be doing some work to build a much needed segundo piso (second floor) on the church building. In the photo gallery, you will find some photos of our team preparing for a children's Bible School that we will be leading.
Thank you again for your support. Keep checking the site for updates! Paz y gracia, Pastor Greg

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 03:30:00 GMT

Good morning Wilmington Island! The team has had a great evening here in Alajuela at Rincon De Herrera Iglesia Metodista. Our hosts prepared some delicioso food and we had a good time fellowshipping and worshipping together. Skip led our devotional time while Debbie offered a closing prayer.

Tomorrow morning, a couple team members will be sharing a testimony of what God has been doing in their life. Myself, Charley and Mark will be those sharing. I may even try to do a bit of mine in Spanish. The team wanted me to let everyone know how much we love you and how grateful we are for your prayers. One prayer was already answered: we arrived here safely and without any trouble with the Costa Rica customs authority. This isn't a small feat either considering the number of supplies both for VBS and construction we have brought. I've added more pictures and hopefully will get to continue adding many throughout the week!

Peace and Grace,
Pastor Greg

We're Here!

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 21:37:00 GMT
Hello Friends and Family!

We have arrived at the church where we will be staying and serving. Wayne Racz led our first devotional and we have just started to settle in. What does settling in mean? It means that we are setting up our air mattresses, arranging our suitcases, some folks are resting from a long day of travel (we started at 4 am) and just generally getting oriented to the space. I was speaking with some team members on Friday before leaving and just sensed that this trip is going to really be blessed. It should come as no surprise considering how much prayer has gone into this mission and considering how great our God is.

Feel free to comment on this blog. What do you want to hear about our trip? I also want to let you know about our photo gallery that may be found on the left sidebar.

Peace and Grace.

Pastor Greg

Tomorrow we leave!

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:43:00 GMT

All the steaks have been sold. The tshirts have arrived and the team has been commissioned and prayed for by the faithful community here at WIUMC. Tomorrow, then, we will be landing in Costa Rica for a week. Jeff H. and Mark have been assembling the tools that we will need to help in construction. Others have been dutifully preparing crafts and lessons for a VBS program that is second to none.

I'm happy to report that between our fundraiser and individual donations to the trip, our entire trip has been paid for. Thank you to all who have been praying and contributing in other ways to this mission.

One week to go

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 22:23:00 GMT
Wow! In just one week our team will be in Alajuea, Costa Rica. I'm excited to be participating in this trip and to be able to shared God's word and love closer to the equator. I'm also excited about getting to know the members of what seems to be a pretty sharp team.
We will get to host a Vacation Bible School and help in the construction of the second floor of our host church. This blog will have more details and entries as the weeks goes by. Keep checking back!