Radiant Church of Jackson

Your staff is ready to help you experience a mission trip of a lifetime. We have been praying that we would all step out in faith this week and watch Jesus’ name be lifted higher!

We are getting settled into our accommodations for the week and getting used to feeling sticky all the time. 

Tonight we took some time to practice our skit so that it’s crisp and clean for tomorrow.  Pastor Armando wants us to use the skit for evangelism each night and we can’t wait to see how God uses us to point people to Him!

Although we speak different languages and are from different parts of the world, we worship the same God!

Crystal and Maris both were able to share their testimonies of God’s amazing grace and faithfulness in their lives. 

Pastor Jeff preached an incredible word about being disciples of Jesus, reading from Mark 8, and sharing his personal experiences with the Lord. 

During the service, the Ludington team taught a Bible story, sang songs, and made crafts with the precious kids at the church!

At the end of the service we did our drama followed by altar ministry time.

The Holy Spirit was moving as we prayed over those who responded to the Word. 

Pastor Armando took us on a boat tour this afternoon. We saw all kinds of birds, iguanas, and even crocodiles!

This afternoon we went grocery shopping to bless 16 families!  We will be distributing the bags of groceries over the next three days.

This evening we were able to sit with Pastor Armando and Pastora Juanita hearing their testimonies, hurts, challenges, and dreams. God has great things in store for them!

We were honored to be able to pray over and bless Pastor and Pastora!

We began our construction project today of expanding the church wall in Guatil.  Today we are digging footers. 

There’s always time to stop and take a group picture!

The footers have been dug and we are ready to start mixing cement!

We are learning the art of mixing cement by hand to pour for the foundation of the wall. 

Soccer (fútbol) is a universal language here!

We met this sweet Christian lady while walking around inviting people to the movie night. She was so excited that Jesus followers were visiting her community!

• About 50 people (and a few dogs) gathered to watch the movie “Fire Proof.”  Many of the people who showed up do not attend the church!  What a great outreach!

What a blessing it was to distribute groceries to five families.  The Holy Spirit was bringing people to tears and we could feel the battle for their salvation. 

We started a second project behind the church to prepare for pouring a concrete floor. 

We have been working hard sifting sand, mixing up concrete, and laying block. We’ve been working so hard that they added a second project in the back!

The joy of the Lord is our strength!

Everywhere we have gone, we have had the opportunity to pray for the sick!

Curtis, Kaylee, and Kevin shared their testimonies with the third church under the care of Pastor Armando in San Vicente.  Each story broke down the walls between us and the local church. 

Pastor Jeff brought another strong word about what it means to follow Jesus. We don’t need to be perfect to come to Jesus. Instead, He desires to meet us in our brokenness. 

We were able to share the drama with the church in San Vicente. What an incredible way to show that Jesus makes a way for us!

17 people that have never stepped foot inside of the church in San Vicente came for the first time tonight!  Pastor Armando said that they have been praying for this to happen for two years now!

The sifting of sand hasn’t stopped as we continue to build walls and pour the floor. 

We were able to deliver our last three bags of groceries today. Today was a heavy day as we heard many heart-breaking stories. Yet, we were blessed to share the hope that we have in Jesus Christ!

Today we met an amazing woman who brought us so much joy!

The wall is getting taller!

We just finished up working on the wall for the week!  Pastor and some members of the church will continue working with the rest of the supplies we purchased. 

We visited Pastor Armando’s home to see his pig farm and his hydroponic plants. He uses these to make income for his family. 

We hosted a second movie night, watching “Fire Proof,” at Pastor Armando’s request. This time we did it outside in a neighborhood  surrounded by government housing. We had an intermission where Logan, Judy, and AJ shared their testimonies revolving around marriage and God’s grace in their lives. 

Today we took to the skies zip-lining across the beautiful landscape of Costa Rica!  We visited an animal estuary where we saw pumas, jaguars, monkeys, butterflies, a sloth, and much more. We had a great lunch and spent the afternoon at the beach!  Costa Rica is so beautiful!

Tonight we had our "see you later" service.  We know that this is not goodbye!  And we will never forget how Curtis started a dance revolution during the praise time tonight!

During the service we took time to thank the incredible cooks.  They were always serving us, even washing some of our clothes!  We are going home heavier than we arrived!

Part of our hearts will forever be in Costa Rica with these beautiful people!

Pastor Armando boarded our bus today to pray for our safe journey home!  We can't wait to come back and share all about our amazing trip!