September-October
- Can you break a pact with the devil? This was a question asked by a young man in whom we’ve been investing in, and recently he gave his life to Jesus (praise be to God!) and I (Christopher) currently have the honor to disciple him. His question comes, unfortunately, from living in a place that is syncretic, often mixing Christianity with witchcraft or other pagan practices. Thankfully, we had a deep conversation about his question, which led into other questions and topics on his mind or things from the Scriptures.
- Another one of my (Christopher’s) disciples has been showing fruit as a follower of Jesus. With one of his non-Christian friends, he shared his testimony. With that same friend, he has lovingly and firmly confronted them about some unwise decisions, hoping they repent and come to know God.
- Recently, we have a young adult attending discipleship times and bible studies, who we will call Robert, who has shared that he is not a Christian, although he did grow up Catholic. However, he seems very open to hearing about the gospel and Jesus Christ. Recently, I asked all of our young adult Christians why they loved God, and Robert turned the question around on himself and said, “I suppose the question for me would have to be why don’t I love God?”
- I (Christopher) have been reading through the life of Abraham with one of my disciples, and one of Hannah’s disciples has also joined us for this study. It has been a blessing to see how Hannah and I can pour into various youth, especially the disciples, in different ways. I am challenging them with the question, “Why did God choose Abraham,” as well as other questions, and it has been a dynamic time with them.
- With a few of the disciples, we have been exploring what their spiritual gifts could be, which has gone hand in hand with the group teaching of 1 Corinthians 12-14 and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Truly, we never stop learning as the perspective and experience of others gives us new things to think about and take into consideration.
- I (Hannah) had the opportunity to walk alongside one of our young adult ladies more frequently in order to go through a number of past hurts and hangups she had faced in her life. I essentially took her through a teaching on spiritual warfare given the context of the situations and we did a little “entravista” or interview with questions relating to her family, past, relationships…etc..As our time came to a close we prayed together over each topic of struggles and she truly received so much deliverance from the Lord! She shared with me after we finished praying that she felt so much lighter, as if a huge weight had been removed from inside of her. She continued and shared how she felt a hand on top of her head and on her back while we were praying and mentioned it was difficult to believe that God operated in these ways before having such encounters as this. The past few months we have been teaching on the Holy Spirit and it is awesome to see just what He can do in His timing-which is always perfect, never late and never early. Praise God!
- We recently had a group of women visit to volunteer from another missionary contact who works with us where they accompanied us for a Saturday youth service. We gratefully had a flutist join us in worship and shared yet another expression of worship unto God through her testimony and use of the flute. Additionally two other team members from the group shared their testimonies with the youth while Christopher translated. After testimonies we had a gospel message to invite others to receive Christ. Although there was no “evident” response in this moment we know that this day sowed many seeds and that we will continue to water them. That is what we are called to do as believers: plant and water seeds and let the Holy Spirit bring growth. What was certainly evident was the presence of God in that place.
- The past few months, we have really taken advantage of going out with youth and young adults and bringing them over to the house. We have had dinners, games, meaningful conversations, times of worship and bible studies all in our house, grateful to utilize it as a tool for hospitality and ministry. However, we recently ran into some issues with our landlord regarding having them over since they are from La Carpio. Today, we had a follow-up conversation with her, and for now, it seems to have been resolved. Nonetheless, pray for us and our landlord, as the past two months have been somewhat testing. We would love for her and her son to come to know the Lord as we pray to see how God will move through and despite these circumstances.
- One Friday we had the opportunity to lead worship for a teacher’s retreat at the language institute we attended last year. The room was full of teachers from elementary, middle, and highschool as well as those who teach missionaries the Spanish language. Christopher also was given the opportunity to translate the message into Spanish. It is always a blessing to serve alongside other ministries when we have the opportunity to do so!
- It feels as if everyone in Costa Rica has a guess as to whether our child is a boy or a girl. We have heard quite some interesting reasons, from the shape of Hannah’s belly to the specific side effects she has had as well as all the “do’s” and “don'ts” passed down from generations. All that to say, we have had some laughs, and head scratches, hearing the “why” behind each person’s guess.
- On Monday, October 21st, Hannah and I were excited and ready to find out the sex of our child. For 2+ hours, the gynecologist tried to see the sex, without any luck. Our baby covered themself the whole time! While we were disappointed, at least we know we have a modest baby!
- Together with one of the young adults, who is deaf and mute, I (Christopher) have been writing down Scriptures and reading parts of the gospel of Mark, accompanied by videos that help illustrate the stories. Despite his handicaps, he is able to communicate through his own form of sign language, as well as emojis, and can read and write at a certain level. Additionally, what has been most impactful so far with the aforementioned young man is that he communicated he no longer wants to continue living a homosexual lifestyle, and had even sought help from one of the young adult Christians to avoid a situation where another man was trying to go out with him. So far, it seems to us and others that he understands the cross and the message of Jesus Christ.
PRAYER POINTS:
- Unity and wisdom in the ministry among leadership
- Recently one of the youth found out she was pregnant at 17 years old
- Discipleship among the youth and young adults
- Our current home and landlord situation
- Healthy pregnancy for Hannah, the baby and insurance resolutions for the delivery