What we are up Against

Hey Everyone! The last few weeks have been quite a journey and I can hardly believe its already time to move to Anita's apartment and then head to Canada for a 3 week visit! When I return from Canada the end of August, we will be looking for a place close to the soup kitchen. It's coming up so fast and the work here continues. Not only in creating visuals and program stuff but the work of ever seeking after the Lord and praying against the strongholds of the community, against the frequent spiritual attacks, and trusting in Him and his guidance in this leap of faith.

Through all the trials, one thing is sure, we are held in the hands of the almighty king. This last Saturday, God opened our eyes even more to see the struggles of this community. Saturday morning started off great and as usual with singing and asking the kids what they are gratefulfor. This week my lesson to the little ones was on the fruits of the spirit. I was so blessed to see them more relaxed and more attentive than usual. They were quite successful on remembering the fruits of the spirit!! I pray that these precious little ones can see the fruits in me. I long to shine God's love there to them and I can't wait for when I will be right there with them and can be available to them. I am so grateful to God that He helps me teach week by week.

Teaching the Kiddies about the fruits of the spirit!

After the lesson, Anita noticed a lady crying in the streets, she thought at first that it was someone we know so she went to go talk to her. It ended up being someone else. She had just gotten in a fight with her husband and he was kicking her out of the house. In the series of a couple hours......she had stored her stuff at the soup kitchen, left with her kids and came back, left the kids with us....made up with her husband and took her stuff back to where she was. Cecilia told us how often this happens with them....that they often have violent fights but then make up....she was worried having the stuff in the soup kitchen.....it can be dangerous getting involved in such a situation. But God was there and it shed light to us on the parents of some of our kids at the soup kitchen and the violence they are often exposed to.


After that, we taught our youth group on prayer and then we headed up to see an older lady with a ministry in the mountains. I definitely was not prepared to what I would feel up there. We got there and I just did not feel at peace at all. I tried to shake it off but as it went on, I just could hardly stand to be there. Something was just off. I could feel major spiritual things up there that I rarely ever feel. What I felt was evil. As she began to pray over one of my friends, I was just freaking out....something was off....way off....but I was questioning myself why I felt such darkness. All I know is that there was an undeniable oppression up there. I could hardly breathe. This also shed alot of light on the area where we are serving.


Me and Daniel, one of that Lady's sons.


Yesterday, we found out that one of our kids was kicked out of school for selling drugs :( This was just another sad reality on top of the other events. He just seemed so sad and the kids were picking on him for that. It did give me some joy that he didn't seem happy to have that pinned on him. The truth is that these  kids don't want to be identified in that way. These kids really do want to be good in some way.

Last week, a teen from the community was texting me and he asked me. Do you think I am good or bad? I told him I didn't know. He told me that he used to sell drugs and rob people but that he was changing. He was struggling because the community was still seeing him as bad. I encouraged him to continue doing good and it meant alot that he was seeking encouragement and expressing a desire to be different. Please join me and Anita in prayer. Things have been intense but we still have very much felt God's presence with us and preparing us for our next steps. Please keep praying for this community, our kids, and God's provision for a house to rent in the area that we can also minister out of, and pray for us as we pray for the provision to move. We will be needing furniture and some household items. We lay all these things in His hands. Please pray!

A Witness of God's Work

Me and my parents, Anita, and Steph visiting a friend.

As usual another month has almost finished up with hardly a blink. My parents came to visit in May and I had the privelage to get some R&R with them going to the beach and the volcano and just admiring the beauty of Costa Rica. It was also so neat to just be able to show my parents my work here, my dream, and my heart. It's one thing explaining your passion to people but for them to come and be here and have it explained while standing in the soup kitchen is so different. It was nice to give them a glimpse into my life.

The day after they left, I went to go help as a translator for a medical team. We travelled around to some more remote places in Costa Rica for a week. It is such a blessing for me to translate once in a while for people coming from all different places. It's amazing the people God brings into my path and I see His hand in everything.

Evangelists Eric and Esmirna

Esteban, the boy I witnessed being healed.

While we were in a small town, me and Anita had the privelage to meet a couple from Panama who are evangelists with the gift of healing. I had never met a person with the gift of healing before so I wasn't sure what to think at first, but through talking with him and his wife, talking about their testimonies, I knew that they were truthful. I could very much sense the Holy Spirit in them and enjoyed a few conversations with them. It just so happened that on my 26th birthday, I was there in that small town, and after working with the medical team all day, this evangelist preached in this small modest country church. The most amazing thing is that it is on this day, that I witnessed my very first miracle. I witnessed a boy with one leg longer than the other grow to be the same length slowly as he was being prayed over. It was amazing and undeniable! I know that my God is indeed a powerful God but had never been able to say that I had witnessed a miracle.....now I can!!! It was a wonderful birthday gift!

After getting back to San Jose, me and Anita had another chance to meet with them and we were just so encouraged by them. We connected so much with them, that they really want us to go to Panama and visit them and their church. We are planning to visit them when I need to renew my Visa in 6 months. I think that this is very much an open door and a God thing.

Our first handmade visual!!! The story of Jonah!!

Since that trip, me and Anita have started working on a children's program and preparing to move to the community where we work. We are working on different info to create a website in the future. We are making alot of visuals to help us to teach kids bible stories etc. Being low on funds, we are creating our own and are realizing how much can be done with so little, and just how much fun it can be! So right now, we are spending a lot of time preparing to do more ministry in Los Guizaros. We have been in a few meetings with Cecilia, the lady who started the soup kitchen, sharing our heart and vision. Things have proven to be a bit tough in this area as we would like to start a ministry apart from the soup kitchen that works hand in hand. We are praying that Cecilia's heart will truly be open to the idea of having two separate ministries working together to better the community and bring people to Christ. Please pray for this, we know that God is calling us to this, but we want to do this with understanding and harmony with the soup kitchen. We know that God is in charge and we continue seeking him in this process and seeing the doors that He opens. Please pray against any division that could come out of this.

Me and Anita teaching the youth at Guizaros

The kids at Guizaros praying for me.

So as you can see, God has been doing some pretty amazing things here in the last months. I find many times that so much has happened that I can't fit it all in one blog. I cannot even begin to express the ways God has been working in me and also in Anita. God has been really been confirming and reconfirming things with us and we continually feel his nudge simply saying that its time to step out in faith. Pray for us in this process and pray for the help we need to get this going. Thank you for all your prayers and support, I feel very blessed.