My Joyful Hallelujah!: cOsTa RiCaN sErViCeS

My last full post about Costa Rica I think.

I just couldn't go on without saying something about the services that were held each night. I loved them...

Three of our fellas spoke at the services - Andrew, Matt, and Jacob. They all did phenomenal.

The services would begin with singing. Because many of us didn't know each others' languages we decided to sing 2 English songs, 2 Spanish songs, and 2 songs in Gyuami. It was wonderful. It was a beautiful snapshot of heaven for me.

Then, the speaker for the night would begin.

To give you a taste of what the first night's translation journey looked like, check out this video of Andrew:

THIS IS MY FAVORITE STORY: After this chaotic and wonderful time, Anabeli asked if anyone wanted to accept Christ... BEATRICE (our interpreter) RAISED HER HAND! She had felt God pursuing her and she was super curious about our faith and the reasons we were in Alta Mira. She realized her need for a Savior and a Satisfier of her soul... She wanted Jesus!!!! We partied with her and our other NEW sister in Christ that night (pictured below). Beatrice asked the hard questions over the remainder of the week... trying to figure out this new faith of hers. We were all excited to lend our ears and give our answers. She asked the WHY questions, the HOW questions, and the WHAT NOW questions. I'm thankful that she asked and that she cares about her faith. So many times we just go to church... claiming we are Christians but never truly take ownership of our faith and embrace the reasons behind it and the difficult answers that are found in Scripture. At the end of the week, I asked Beatrice why she become curious in Jesus... her answer was that she saw Him in our faith. She saw us having fun (as opposed to her previous thought that Christianity was boring) She saw us being free - not limited to a book of rules. She saw our joy and our love for each other. She wanted it! YES!!!! That's the point in it all! Our lives and love should scream JESUS to the world!!!!!!

What is your life screaming?

Thankful for one of the people living with us for the entire week... saw Jesus so vividly through our team. So THANKFUL for Beatrice and her new relationship with an amazing Savior. So thankful I have a new sister and that her life is REDEEMED and SAVED!