Missionary Report and Update July and August 2015 We are putting these two months together so that once we get to Canada we will be able to focus on our transition back: buying furniture, car etc., and getting back into the Canadian culture: applying for medicial insurance, banking etc. and reuniting with friends and family. We have found a place to live, which means at least we have somewhere to move into, PTL: 205 Simms Ave. V8Z 1K4. We leave Costa Rica on August 28 th and arrive in Victoria early in the morning of the 29 th. July seemed to fly by as we had two smaller teams visiting us. In July we had two ladies, Liz Ledarney and Marilyn Gilberts, come to be with us for a week. We picked them up at the bus stop, they came to our condo for supper and then treated them to a great Playas del Coco sunset. Liz is from the Beausejour Foursquare church and Marilyn is her cousin who lives in the States. They helped out with a children s ministry in Las Lomas, ministered at our church in La Isleta and our street ministry in Playas del Coco. They were only here for 6 days. During all of this, John, was organizing the mission trip to Nicaragua set for August 3 rd 10 th. We had two groups involved, one from churches in Guanacaste and another group from churches throughout the other provinces of Costa Rica. In all we had 10 churches represented. John set up an itinerary for the week of ministry including meal plans. He also comunicated with the leaders in Nicaragua, as well as, Jose Masis and Marvin Lopez in Costa Rica. As Debbie and I prepared to return to Canada in September we also were involved with our last times. On July 5th we were at our last church service at La Guinea. We have great memories from our first service on May 6th 2009 to our last service on July 5th 2015. The good news is that the work in La Guinea will continue under the leadership of pastora Pilar Galeano and her husband Juan. They are part of the Multi-Campos church network pastored
by Jorge Guzman. Most importantly they have with them an excellent guide, teacher and counselor: the Holy Spirit. The members at La Guinea, like the other churches we are working with, have become family to us. We will miss being with these dear brothers and sisters. On July 10 th we received a team of three from our former church in Campbell River: Pat and Eliana Romero and their daughter Sandra. Pat had accompanied me to Mexico many years ago when we sent teams from our church. Being from Chile they all blended well into the Latin American culture and communicated well in their mother tongue, Spanish.
Pat preached at our La Isleta Church, Belen and Coralillo. Eliana and Sandra taught at a women s ministry time in Las lomas. They were also involved with a children s ministry and our street ministry in the park at Coco. We also had our farewell service at the church we first planted in La Isleta: very emotional day.
One of the things I will truly miss at our meetings in Filadelfia is the beautiful simplicity of church. Where else can you have your sunday school class under a mango tree next to a sugar cane field? In July we also helped with three other teams that came to Coco under the supervision of some missionary friends in the area: Paul and Vicky Young. In the picture we are at Pastor Juan Zepeda s church in Martina Bustos. Patricio our friend is interpreting. I also had the privilege to speak to each of the three mission teams that came about our experience as missionaries in Costa Rica.
In the middle of all of this on July 18th we managed to have a final meeting with our Multi Campus pastors. We were there to share together and pray with each other for needs, as well as, rejoice with them over the victories in their churches. Food and fellowship are important ingredients for a leadership meeting. At this meeting our church in Martina Bustos, served a delicious breakfast and lunch for our Multi-Campus church leaders. Our main purpose has been to plant churches and then help to establish leaders to pastor these works. We are very blessed to see the great team that the Lord has formed. We are confident that what the Lord has started He will cause it to grow and mature. The only church that has struggled to stay close to us has been Pijije. I have shared with Pastor Geinar the importance of fellowship and maintaining relationship with us and being able to attend leadership meetings, zone meetings, conventions etc. They have subsequently decided to go on their own and remain independent. At this point in time we have 2 churches in Martina Bustos, one in Playas del Coco, Belen, Filadelfia, Coralillo, La Guinea, and Bolson. We also have a street church in Coco plus a new work underway in a community called Bella Vista which is close to Martina Bustos. On August 1 st we were invited to a special farewell dinner at our Las Lomas church in Coco. Pastora Rosa and her group prepared a delicious meal for us. We felt very loved and honored. John spoke for the final time at their church service the next day.
Nicaragua 2015 August 3rd John got to lead a team of pastors and leaders from Costa Rica to Nicaragua. This was a national team of 20 members that traveled from all over Costa Rica. They had a full week of ministry planned working together with Randhus and Sylvia Carrion and their team, Generation of Light. After a full day of traveling and trials, we arrived at our destination in Sandino, Nicaragua. Trials were because one of the mission vans had major problems traveling in Costa Rica and so was not able to make it to the border. Jose Masis, the director of missions in Costa Rica, said it well, "Welcome to missions!" We ended up having to rent two vehicles in Nicaragua. The following day, Tuesday, our team of twenty worked hard all day, with Randhus and Sylvia Carrion and members of Generation of Light, at the base where we are staying, Casa Hogar. Everyone slept well that night. Wednesday morning Rodolfo Solis and Shirley Vossman led us in a precious time of worshipping the Lord. I love it when the Lord shows up and directs our meetings. After a time of training, our team went to a community called Marañonal. We formed 6 teams along with members from the church we are working with and visited families in the neighborhood. I was amazed to hear the testimonies from each team member on the impact that was made in two hours.
During the evening we had a powerful time of ministry at the central church youth service in Sandino. Hector Diaz and Ronald Porras preached very inspiring messages. Rodolfo Solis, Shirley Vossman, Roy Salazar and Rebe Solano ministered super well as they led us in worship. Needless to say we had a full day of ministry: evangelism training, door to door ministry and then a youth service.
In the photo I am with Scarlett, Olman and Pastora Connie from the church The Harvest. My favorite experience On Thursday part of our group returned to Marañonal to follow up on some of the homes we visited yesterday. Our team brought some cookies and juice to share with Scarlet and her family. When we arrived her husband, Olman, came to sit with us. He was very open as I shared my testimony with him. Along with Scarlet yesterday, today he also decided to become a follower of Jesus. We were able to bring the pastor over, as well, to meet the couple. This evening we ministered at their church called The Harvest. I was very blessed to be able to welcome Scarlet and her family to the congregation. I was especially blessed when her seven year old boy, Eliazer, came to me and opened his hand to give me 1 cordoba (4 cents). I was very touched by his very kind and sincere offering. While 8 of us went to Marañonal, the rest of the team stayed at Casa Hogar to work on the projects we had there. The photos on the following page show a little bit of the work done on the yard: before and after, and some of the team in action.
Before After This was an excellent group of workers.
After three days of working hard, the team was ready for a rest and to experience some of the culture of Nicaragua, from shopping in the markets at Masaya to enjoying the beauty of a boat ride to the islands close to Granada, a horse a buggy ride through the historic city of Granada and the architecture of the city. Our group came to serve and showed it on Saturday morning as they ministered to three groups: ladies and children at the central Church in Sandino and to pastors and leaders at Casa Hogar where we are staying. I was blessed to see everyone involved in one way or another.
While some taught, others served refreshments or demonstrated how to do crafts or worked in the kitchen cooking a delicious meal for the pastors and leaders. For our final day in Sandino our team visited a little town called Nagarote which is famous for a typical meal in Nicaragua called Quesillos. It was very special to finish our time of ministry at the central church with pastor Randhus and Sylvia Carrion. Our team led the worship time, Shirley ministered in dance, as well as, a choreography with Rebe and Eli. Pastor Jorge Guzman preached a message on the coming harvest in Nicaragua. We closed the service with a powerful ministry time, especially for Randhus and Sylvia and the leadership. With the passing of the former pastor, Dagoberto Carrion, the church is still going through a grieving process. Dagoberto s son, Randhus has taken over as pastor and we felt it important the leaders come to affirm and embrace him and his wife Sylvia in their new role.
Photo of Pastor Randhus and Sylvia, Shirley and Rodolfo and I after the service. To close our time together, Marvin Lopez, thought it would be a good idea to celebrate with a piñata. Karin and Rodolfo realized a little too late that amidst the candies there was a good amount of flour. The photos tell the story. We are now planning for our final service here in Costa Rica, culto unido, where we meet in one location as one body. This will be held on August 23 rd at the convention hall at the Best Western hotel, El Sitio, in Liberia. We have held a united service for the last three years in a
row. This will be number four. I am encouraging our Multi Campus church network to continue to do this in the future to demonstrate that although we are separate congregations in different locations, we are still one church in unity. Debbie and I are also in packing mode and tying up loose ends for our final two weeks in Costa Rica. As I have been reflecting on our almost 9 years as missionaries here, I realize that we have learned a lot. Most of what we have learned I don t think we would have learned in Canada. We are very thankful for the experience, the lives that we have impacted and the friends that we have grown to love. As we look forward to the future, we do so with great excitement mixed with a little fear and trembling, not really knowing what the Lord has in store for us. Our assurance is that we still have our anchor of hope in the Lord and are confident that He who began a good work in us will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. We appreciate your prayers for us as we transition back to a new culture and a new chapter in our lives.