We are starting to run out of steam, but the Lord is giving us the strength to perserver! There's several of us who have been on this trip since 6/20 and we are feeling it. Not only that, this is a totally different kind of work. This work is more spiritual than physical. Sometimes that makes it harder! Often it is easier to keep your body moving and working, than to open up your heart to people to help them with their spiritual needs.
We have been following the same basic schedule which means we arrive at the church around 8 am and leave the church around 8:00 pm! (sometimes later) I'm loving the ladies' Bible class. We are having lots of participation all the ladies regardless of their age or nationality. We've already had two great lessons on marriage and raising your children up to be Christians.
Yesterday, they decided that it was too distracting being in the main room, so we had class in a tiny room. We had about 25 ladies packed like sardines! (Nearer my God to thee!!)
The ladies of the church (with some of us helping) having been graciously preparing lunch and dinner for us each day. It seems they go out of their way to feed us and keep us happy!!
After lunch, we have 3 choices of work. (door knocking, VBS at the children's home, or painting at the children's home) Today, I door knocked.
In Costa Rica, (at least in the city) families are barricaded behind tall, locked gates. I can't imagine living that way. Some have very small yards with beautiful flowers and vegetation, but I can't imagine living that way. Living like that, also makes door knocking hard. You have to "knock" on the gate with something hard, the best thing is a colonas (the CR coin). A lot of the CRs don't open their gate, but we leave a tract and an invitation.
(Young people practicing for the VBS skit.)
Tim Hines has been our evening speaker each night. He is fluent in Spanish and he usually gives the sermon in Spanish & Chase Turner translates it in English for us. They are quite the duo because Tim often reverts to English and then Chase has to translate into Spanish!! He does it with ease never breaking a stride.
(One of the most wonderful thing about CR is there is little bakeries or panaderias around every corner with fresh bread.)
(Door knocking selfie, actually this is when we took a break for fresh bread.)
(Lincoln from Gulf Shores, one of our youngest door knockers.)
Tim is a dynamic speaker & I wished I had the time to`tell you about his message. Here's some of it in my own words. God is a masterful creator, he knew us before we were born. He created each of us uniquely with a specific purpose. There is approximately 7 billion people in the world and each person has a unique fingerprint. Does that not sound like an accident?? What was God's purpose for creating us??? See below.
Eph. 4:11 & following: And it is he who gifted some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, and still others to be pastors and teachers, 12 to equip[a] the saints, to do the work of ministry, and to build up the body of the Messiah[b] 13 until all of us are united in the faith and in the full knowledge of God’s Son, and until we attain mature adulthood and the full standard of development in the Messiah.[c]
Our purpose is to serve to build up the church and build up until we are unified and all of us (the world) comes to know God. Are you living up to your purpose???
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