Abundant Life Assembly of God

After sleeping a few hours in Baltimore, we are up and ready to be in Costa Rica!  

Your staff is ready and excited to serve alongside of you this week. We know that God is going to do amazing things!

We are now settled into our home for the week after enjoying some much needed lunch.  

Pastor Adolfo greeted each of us as we got off the bus at the church called Zuriel.  We can already tell that Pastor Adolfo is full of life!

Pastor Adolfo showed us around his church, showing the work project and sharing about his community. 

Soccer (fútbol) breaks down every language barrier!

Tonight we were able to spend time with the youth group. We had so much fun playing games with them!

Both Ben and Richie were able to share their testimonies with the youth about God's amazing grace in their lives.  

Robert shared with the youth about the importance of having positive Biblical role models to look up to and follow in their ways.  We were able to pray over the youth also.  We believe that youth can be difference makers in Costa Rica!

What an honor it is to worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ!  We worship the same Jesus who offers us all eternal life. 

Jimmy and Nick were able to share their life stories with the people of the church.  They found common ground with the church sharing their struggles with low self esteem and bad choices...but Jesus was able to redeem it all!

Pastor Devin preached powerfully about the benefits of being adopted by God through Jesus Christ.  We all need the love of our good Heavenly Father!

The response to the message was incredible. The Spirit of God was evident to restore and heal many hearts!

We started the construction project this afternoon, emptying the area for the septic tank and digging a drainage area. 

We went to the store and bought enough groceries to bless 20 families. The bags are assembled, and we are praying that they get to the right families that need both physical and spiritual food. 

Tonight we practiced what it will be like in Heaven. We worshipped in English and Spanish.  We can't even imagine how great Heaven will be when every tribe and tongue is represented before the throne of Jesus!

Harold and Robert were able to share their testimonies followed by Jerry sharing the Word with the church. They all did a great job sharing, connecting, and encouraging the local church. 

Harold is all sunscreened up and ready for a big workday!

This morning we worked hard doing many jobs revolving around the new house for Pastor Adolfo!

Richie was able to put his welding expertise to use on the roof of the house. 

The guys are enjoying a much needed AC break (the only fan we could find)!

We are enjoying some amazing Costa Rican food. These ladies know how to cook!  We are going home heavier than we came!

Today we were able to bless 7 families with groceries.  We took the time to pray over each family and ask God to meet their every need.  In this picture we prayed over Jafeth, a 17 year old, who was just in a very bad motorcycle accident the night of our youth meeting. 

Tonight we were able to go to the Norman's house, our missionaries here in Costa Rica. We had delicious enchiladas, worshipped together, and were challenged by the Word!

Every morning we are taking time to share the Word together. This morning we got an extra encouragement from Pastor Devin.

This morning we prayed for Pastor Adolfo to be energized and encouraged in his ministry. What a great example he is of perseverance in the ministry!

Since starting this construction project we have had a constant team plowing through this hole meant for a drainage system. The work can be exhausting, but Jesus keeps giving us strength!

The joy of Food Distribution is even on the giver and receiver!   We always seem to walk away more blessed! 

As Jimmy was praying for this single mother, we heard her children ripping through the bag of groceries shouting, "Can you believe it?  Cornflakes and milk!"

As we went distributing food, Pastor shared his call to ministry and specifically this remote location.  Pastor Adolfo's story is heartbreaking, but shows faith and the favor of the Lord. 

With a lot of hard work, the septic tank is almost finished!

With a lot of welding going on, the tin is finally going up on top of the house!

We were able to start putting concrete down inside the house today. 

Today we were able to bless more families with groceries. Tears flowed at this house as we prayed for a woman whose children attend Pastor Adolfo's church.

Nothing beats the joy of the Lord that exudes from Pastor Adolfo!  And check out that house in the back. Great work guys!

El Jefe (the boss) asked us all to sign our names on the concrete sewer cap. 

What an incredible week!  What an incredible team!

Tonight we were able to thank the amazing cooks who served all of us with so much love. 

For the first time ever, our Costa Rican construction boss spoke on a microphone and told us how thankful he was to have us on his construction team. 

To end the night we prayed over the church and they prayed over us. Part of our hearts will forever be in Costa Rica!

This morning we had our last team meeting in Costa Rica. We spent time encouraging each other sharing how we saw God use our fellow brothers.  We know that going back home has its challenges, but we are grateful knowing we did this as a team.  We are fired up and ready to live on a mission for Jesus Christ in our own church and communities.