Last summer I had the opportunity to go on a missions trip overseas to San Jose, Costa Rica. San Jose is the capital of Costa Rica, and it is a well-industrialized city! Our group from Go Tell Ministries stayed at the Score International Villa. We were lucky because we were provided with hot water, nice beds, electricity, and hot meals. I felt guilty because most of the people we witnessed to while we were there probably did not have most of these things. We stayed there for a week and it was a very eye-opening week!
The first few days there we were able to go into downtown San Jose and pass out tracks! It was an intimidating experience at first because most of the people in our group knew very little Spanish, and communicating with people was a challenge. We had a few translators that allowed us to share the Gospel to these people. Some were receptive, and some were not. We also made and gave bracelets to children. The bead on the bracelets represented the plan of salvation. The children loved them!
The first night of being there, we made food bags for the homeless. We went to downtown San Jose but it was the rough part of the town. When we pulled up to the location of where we were going to be passing the bags out, I was scared! That's when it became clear to me that sharing God's Word to other's is not about being comfortable. It's about stepping out of your comfort zone. When we got off of our bus, we had to put our backs to the wall for security reasons. As soon as we got off the bus, we were flocked with homeless people. They seemed to come from no where. Most where high or drunk, and they were begging for us to give them more than one bags. They were very thankful for what they got. It broke my heart to know there are people living in that kind of situation.
We got the opportunity to visit a village. I was stunned. I knew people lived in poor conditions, but to see it in person was a whole different view. Families of about 8 lived in a tin shack of about 50 square feet. We took them food, and spread the gospel with them. To see people with so little made me truly realize how blessed I am! The thing that shocked me most was that even though they had so little, they were happy! It opened my eyes to how materialistic we are as Americans!
One day we drove an hour to an orphanage. We got to spend two hours with the children at this orphanage. The children were ecstatic to see us. Even though communication was limited, we had so much fun with all of them! We danced, played chase, played a game of baseball (just for fun), and did a Bible story with them! I wish we could have stayed longer!
We also drove an hour to a church to reach out to the neighboring community to invite them to a movie night at the church. The movie was of the life of Christ! We also went to that same church on Sunday morning. God was definitely moving in that church!
I'm so glad I was able to go! My fear of flying was conquered, and I'm anxious to go again soon! Seeds were planted in San Jose, Costa Rica!!!
