Although Costa Rica is one of the most beautiful countries in the world and a good percentage of the “Tico” people are seemingly contented with their lives, 16-24% of the people in this nation live with significant poverty in their lives. Yesterday our Missions Team visited one of the poverty stricken areas to minister to the people there, and to see what we could possibly do in the future to assist the church and ministry there. 

The community we visited is known as Cantar.  It is a very small community consisting of 48 families (probably 250 people), and in the center of the community is a church that is overseen by Pastor Mario Obando and his wife Ruth.  Mrs. Ruth led us up and down the streets of Cantar, introducing us to people and helping us get into their homes to minister to them.  We were struck by several things.   One, all of the people already knew and loved Mrs. Ruth, which means that she had previously visited every home in the community (something that we want our Life Groups at Celebration to do in the near future).  Two, there were children everywhere, even though the nearest school was certainly in session.  Many times in poorer areas children don’t go to school regularly or at all because their parents see no benefit in their doing so.  The belief of the parents is that their children will simply do in the future what they do – work on a coffee or sugar cane plantation or stay home and bear children – and so they don’t encourage their children to become educated.  By the way, in our interaction with these beautiful and sweet children, we found them to be very smart and quick-witted, and they had had sparkling personalities.  We all had children picked out that we would have loved to have brought home with us.

The third thing we noticed is that the people were very warm and welcoming.  They not only greeted us warmly, but they also invited us into their very small homes.  Then, when we visited the people’s homes, we saw the abject poverty they live with daily, and were reminded of how blessed and fortunate we are to live in the United States.

Our world has over 6 billion people.  It is estimated that 2 billion of the people around the world live on less than $2 day.  Some of the people we visited would probably fall into that category.  Their homes were very small structures.  Those who lived in wooden structures had big holes in their walls and lots of space between the wall boards, allowing wind, rain, insects, and other things to come into the homes.  Most of these types of homes had no electricity or indoor plumbing, and therefore the people had to transport their water and bathe in the creek, and they had no restroom facilities whatsoever.

One of the ladies we visited was the worship leader of the little church in Cantar.  She and her husband and three boys live in a “100 square foot one room wooden house.” In that one room is the bed she and her husband sleep in, a small sofa, some mats for her boys to sleep on, and piles of clothes (there was no room for any furniture).  There were also some cooking utensils, and a very tiny stove to use when cooked inside.  We also learned that her husband is addicted to drugs and alcohol, so she and her boys rarely have any income whatsoever to utilize to improve their lives.  This is a woman who lives in a seemingly hopeless situation.  But as we conversed with her through an interpreter, we heard her share about her love for the Lord and her faith in the Lord.  Then, as we were concluding our conversation, she sang a song for us in Spanish, a beautiful song that we used to sing as a church years ago, titled, “God Will Make A Way.” The words of the song are, “God will make a way, where there seems to be no way.  He works in ways we cannot see.  He will make a way for me.  He will be my guide, and hold me closely to His side.  With love and strength for each new day, He will make a way.  He will make a way.” The Bible says that God is pleased with the faith of His people.  The Lord is obviously pleased with this woman of God, and so we blessed her financially.  Please pray that her husband will surrender his life to the Lord, so that he can have the peace, joy, contentment and victory that his wife already has (even living in her 100 square foot wooden home).

At the end of the day, our Missions Team put on a big event for the children of the Messenger of Hope Church and the surrounding community.  Toni Collins and David Sprague led the way, as we interacted with and ministered to the children through games, singing, Bible stories and craft-making.  The gospel was shared with the children in several different ways, and many of them prayed for Jesus to become the Savior of their lives.  At the end of our time together, we had ice cream and cookies, the breaking of a piñata and the distribution of lots of candy, and then we ended the time with the fun-filled activity of water balloon tossing (it seemed to be the first water balloons most of the children had ever seen).  At the end of it all, the mothers and grandmothers there thanked us for ministering to their children and Pastor Godwall deemed the event a very successful ministry time and outreach for the church.

Today we will have some leisure time, before we go to minister to recovering alcoholics and drug addicts at a Recovery Church.  Please pray for our protection as we go “canyoning”, and please pray that we still have money left over after we go souvenir shopping.

Yesterday was a big day at the Messenger of Hope Church led by Pastor Godwall and Ruth Martinez.  Although the rain in the morning hindered some from attending, we had a very good crowd at church, and members of our Missions Team helped lead in the worship service.  Bridget Frederick sang a solo, Toni Collins and David Sprague shared their conversion testimonies, and I preached a message from Luke 5:17-26 about the saving, healing and delivering power of Jesus.  At the end of the message, some responded to the call for salvation, and many responded to the call for prayer.

Another singer in the worship service at Messenger of Hope was Joylesia Obando, the daughter of another Pastor in Turrialba that I had become friends with over the years.  I first met Joylesia when she was about 12 years of age, and have always been blessed by her singing and by her heart for the Lord.  Once I was preaching a crusade in the Municipal Auditorium in Turrialba and, unusually, there was not much of a sense of the Holy Spirit’s presence that evening.  I remember actually thinking to myself, “Not much is going to happen here tonight.” But Joylesia got up and sang, and the Holy Spirit “fell” upon that place, and we wound up with hundreds of lives that were touched and transformed by the power of Jesus.  Just recounting that story reminds me of how important it is for us to have anointed, gifted and surrendered worship leaders on the platform, men and women who know how to let the Holy Spirit work through them to open the hearts and lives of people to the message and ministry of Jesus.

In the afternoon our Missions Team prepared to present a funny but powerful drama called the “Sin Box”, and then in the evening our Team and members of the church returned to the Central Park in Turrialba, for a time of outdoor evangelistic ministry.  We passed out flyers to the people in the park inviting them to the event, while some members of the Church were setting up the sound system.  It was during this time that I took the Mission Team into the Catholic Church across the street from the Central Park.

In that church is a strange scene that you will find in many Catholic churches throughout Latin America.  Now, we Christians are accustomed to seeing pictures or sculptures of Jesus hanging on the cross.  Those representations remind us of the great agony and death that Jesus went through to pay the penalty for our sins.  But in many Catholic churches across Latin American, you will find a real coffin in the building, with a manikin made up to look like a dead Jesus in coffin.  And sometimes there will be a “glorified” representation of Mary (whom many Catholics call the “Queen of Heaven”) standing over the coffin.

The first time I saw this scene was in Apopo, El Salvador in the early 1990’s, and I remember how chills went up and down my spine that day.  I thought to myself, “These people are worshipping a dead Jesus.  No wonder they don’t have any hope for their lives.” I remember that day pledging to the Lord that wherever I go I will certainly preach and teach about Jesus’ atoning death for us on the cross of Calvary, but that I will also emphasize His resurrection and the fact that He is alive today, and that because He’s alive we can daily experience His presence, peace, power, provision and purposes in our lives.

After passing out flyers throughout the park, we began the special event with some singing (Joylesia Obando was back to sing for us), a musical drama by a teen church group, and another song by our own Bridget Frederick.  Then, our Missions Team presented the “Sin Box” drama.  In the drama: David Sprague was the “happy go lucky” guy who thought he didn’t need Jesus in his life, I was the preacher trying to convince him of his need for the Lord, Toni Collins was the philosopher trying to convince him that the knowledge of the world was the key to life, Michael Young was the “strong man” trying to convince him that physical conditioning was the secret to happiness in life, and Bridget and Kristin Lee were the “Cha cha girls” trying to convince him the worldliness was the way to happiness in life.  The “Sin Box” drama ends with none of the worldly characters being able to help the man in the “Sin Box” get “unstuck” from his sin, but then by surrendering his life to Jesus Christ he experiences forgiveness of sin, freedom from the struggles and strongholds of life, real fulfillment in life, and of course, the future of heaven.

At the end of the drama and singing, I preached a short message about how everyone in attendance could live a life of lasting significance.  I had to preach a short message because the drunks in the park were shouting to compete with me while I was preaching.  But at the end, several people accepted the Lord and many others were encouraged.  We left the park that night exhausted, but confident that the Lord had once again transformed lives.

Let me share one last story from yesterday.  At the end of the service in the park, I met a Pastor, who is now the leader of the Pastor’s Fraternity in Turrialba.  Years ago he was an alcoholic like the drunks in the park.  But he attended the first crusade I preached in Turrialba in 1997, and surrendered his life to the Lord.  Now he is a Pastor to the pastors in this city.  That story reminds us that when we share our faith with others, the Lord will use what we do in unexpected and powerful ways.  So, as you go through your day, think about how the people you meet and share with may be future leaders in God’s kingdom.  

Yesterday was a great day of ministry here in beautiful Turrialba, Costa Rica.  Turrialba is a city of 30,000+ located about 2 hours from the capital city of San Jose.  How beautiful is Turrialba?  It is nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains, and sits at the foot of the Turrialba Volcano, which is currently sending a plume of smoke into the sky.  Not far from Turrialba can be found beautiful waterfalls and rapidly flowing rivers, providing some of the best white-water rafting and kayaking in the world.

The terrain in Turrialba is mountainous and yet tropical, and palm trees, banana trees, coffee plants and all kinds of beautiful plants and flowers dot the landscape.  Luscious fruits are to be found everywhere, including some of the best-tasting pineapples, mangoes, guavas and plantains I’ve ever eaten.  Also, beautiful birds are everywhere, and they wake us up in the mornings with their chirping.

But even more beautiful than the landscape and wildlife of Turrialba are the people that reside here.  This is my fifth visit to this city, and I’ve always found the people to be warm, gracious, patient with my limited Spanish, and fun-loving.  Although this is only my fifth trip to Turrialba in the last 15 years, I’ve made some good friendships here.  Besides Pastor Godwall and Ruth Martinez, I’ve developed friendships with some of the other pastors in the area as a result of having led evangelistic crusades and Pastor’s Conferences here, and having preached in several of the churches in the area.  And I’ve also gotten to know some of the lay-leaders from the churches here.  This is my first trip to Turrialba since 2005 (Hurricane Katrina had something to do with that), but it’s great to see a number of familiar and friendly faces.

Yesterday was spent preparing for last evening’s special event in the city’s Municipal Auditorium.  Our team spent the day walking through Turrialba’s streets, central market and central park, passing out flyers that invited people to the event at the Auditorium, where I would be speaking and a Christian singer named Rigoberti Amaya would be performing.  Whenever possible, we would also witness to those we were meeting, and pray for people as they expressed their needs to us.

We were able to converse with and pray for people through two interpreters who spent the day with us.  One, a young man named Joel, is not even a Christian yet, although he does believe in God.  Joel speaks fluent English and Spanish, having spent a good portion of his life in Florida.  Please be praying that Joel will fully surrender his life to Jesus this week.

At the end of our day, we had our special event in the Municipal Auditorium, and it was packed-out with people.  Pastor Godwall said it was the largest crowd they’ve ever had in the Auditorium.  After a time of worship led by Rigoberti Amaya, I preached a message about “overcoming storms in our lives” from the story found in Matthew 14:22-34.  I began the message explaining to the people that the reason I hadn’t returned to Turrialba in so many years was because of Hurricane Katrina, and the devastation that it had brought to our city and our church.  But I also assured them that we have discovered at Celebration Church that Jesus is greater than all of our problems, and that He will bring us safely through every storm as we depend upon His presence, power and promises for our lives.

At the end of the service, we had about 50 people pray to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and then a much larger number came forward for prayer and ministry.  Two of the men who came forward for salvation were alcoholics that we had witnessed to in the park earlier in the day.  They had had nothing to eat that day because they had spent their money on alcohol, so we bought them some food and gave it to them while we witnessed to them.  They left the service last night weeping with joy because they had experienced the forgiveness and freedom of Jesus in their hearts and lives.

We concluded the service with an interactive concert by Rigoberti Amaya.  It was great to see our Mission Team worshipping the Lord along with the people of Turrialba, even though we didn’t understand the language of the songs.  All in all, it was a great evening for our Missions Team and for the people of Turrialba.

We are so grateful for those who have prayed for and financially supported our Mission Team.  Already, your investment and sacrifice have resulted in bringing transformation, hope and healing to many people’s lives here in Turrialba.