WHAT’S UP FRIENDS!!!!

We’ve made it to Costa Rica! We will be here for 2 months with our entire squad in 1 location (in World Race lingo, this would be called All Squad Month). We’re in the city of Jaco, working with a ministry called Ocean’s Edge. There’s also a Gap Year squad here as well, which means we have about 43 people all living in the same compound with no AC and 90+ degrees (not overwhelming at all lol).

Because there’s so many people here, we’ve been divided up into groups to do specific ministries. Normally, we would be working within our teams, but we took an assessment when we arrived that determined our strengths and spiritual gifts. Then, we ranked a list of almost 20 different ministry options and were placed into groups based on this.

I specifically have worked with Business as Missions, painting murals, and Surf Club. In Business as Missions, I’ve been helping to revamp the assessment we took upon arrival (called the Destiny Assessment) to make it more “working world” appropriate. The purpose of the assessment is to give an idea of God’s fingerprint on your life, or how you were created to be a unique representation of him (I am fascinated by this whole concept, so I really could go on and on about it). The murals we’ve been painting are all around the city, on light posts and in parks. Some of my teammates are even getting to design their own! I love that we are getting to leave our mark on Jaco. Surf Club was probably my most unexpected ministry (seriously. I didn’t know that I would be joining in until about an hour before the club started lol). Our ministry host, Hannah, leads a Surf Club for local kids to learn how to surf. We had everyone from a toddler on a boogie board with his dad to a mom learning to surf. If you know me, you know I love the water but have never been on a surfboard. So why Surf Club, you ask? I was a lifeguard once upon a time, and they needed people to make sure everyone stayed safe in the water. Then, we spent some time teaching a Bible story, singing songs, and cleaning up the beach. It’s a great opportunity to spend time ministering to the community as well as learn a little about surfing and cool off in the ocean.

I’m so excited for the remainder of our time in Costa Rica. We’ve had so much going on between ministry, daily devotions, squad hangouts, and trying to find WiFi (lots of coffee shops) and air conditioning (very rare. Almost non-existent or $10 per night if we want it at the hostel lol). Prayers and donations via my blog or Venmo are greatly appreciated.