I love the way God works.
I'm blown away that God chooses to use weak and feeble humans to accomplish His purpose here on earth. I also marvel in the ways He chooses to accomplish these purposes.
The crew here in San Isidro was incredibly blessed with the opportunity to travel to the Guaymí tribe in southern Costa Rica and share the good news of Christ. For weeks the students and staff prayed and sought the Lord while preparing skits, crafts, songs and games to play with the children of the tribe. It's so cool how God blesses us while we prepare to go do His work. A lot of times it was difficult to stay focused on what needed to be accomplished and continue to love everyone in the midst of it. But (i love that word when it comes to God working) everything came together, and last Wednesday seventeen of us left San Isidro to travel down to Panama and then back up to the Guaymí tribe.
After a full day of traveling through the border and then through the mountains, we all crammed in a small shuttle bus and drove into the jungle. The farther we drove, the more excited I became! It was growing dark as I realized we really were in the dead center of the jungle. The trees grew thicker and the jungle noises grew louder. Getting dropped off, we all traveled over an perfectly sketchy bridge into our campsite. I went to bed with such excitement that night because I was so stocked to be camping out in the middle of the jungle!
The next day was blessed as we started working on laying the foundation of a small house for the pastor of the church. Little by little during construction the precious faces of the Guaymí children began trickling into the church yard. It was so much fun to get to play with the few kids that were curious enough to come see us Gringos! The rest of the day involved playing in the river, construction and getting to know the village more. Because not many kids showed up the first day we weren't able to do a lot of the activities we had planned which was a bummer, but God looking back, totally God's plan :)
The second day we went hard on construction. Most of us worked on mixing and laying cement for all of the morning and most of the afternoon. It was a huge task that became difficult because of the extreme heat and the limited resources. We were constantly in need of water that had to be brought uphill from the river. But after a solid day of work, we laid the concrete for the house! After we all got to bathe in the river we arrived at the campsite along with a lot of the village kids! We had walked through the village the day before inviting kids to come the next day, and it was awesome to see most of them came and brought friends! We played games, painted faces, blew up balloons and played soccer with all the little guys. After awhile we gathered all the kids together and were able to sing songs with them and then perform the drama we had prepared. As we acted out the life of Jesus, the crucifixion and resurrection it was so cool to watch the kids faces. Their eyes were hooked on Jesus and were closely watching to see what would happen next. I think the coolest part of the drama was what we found out later on! Bart, the missionary who took us out to the Indians, told us that the way the Guaymí pass on stories from generations is exactly how we told them the gospel; they act it out while a narrator tells the story.
How good is our God.
We didn't know that at all going into this trip, the students just thought a drama would be a fun way to tell the kids about Jesus and His salvation. But the Lord knew how He wanted His gospel to be told to the children and their parents.
Please pray for the seeds that got planted while we were there! The Guaymí are an unreached people group, with only 1% being Christian. In the village we were at there is Jehovah Witness, strong Catholicism and native religions. A new hospital is being built on the reservation and witch doctors will be kept there as a treatment option for the patients. The enemy has a strong hold on these beautiful people's hearts and minds.
This trip opened my eyes up even more to the darkness of this world and how desperate the need is for the light of Christ to be shone, especially into the uttermost parts of the earth. Even in the middle of the jungle, God knows and loves every detail about these people He so carefully created. He desires their hearts just as much as He desires yours. The need for relationship is so greatly there!
Dear brothers and sisters, please go! Go to the coffee shops. Go to the struggling girls and hurting guys. Go to your neighbors. Go to your workplace. Go unto all the nations. Please don't keep the love of Christ you have in you hidden away! Oh beloveds, the world around us is dying and we hold within us the remedy for everlasting life! Please don't let another day go by without seeing every single person around you as a soul with a destiny.
Let's turn this world upside down and inside out in the name of Jesus Christ whose name is Redeemer, Forgiver, Lover, Sovereign, Compassion, Merciful and Friend.
I'm blown away that God chooses to use weak and feeble humans to accomplish His purpose here on earth. I also marvel in the ways He chooses to accomplish these purposes.
The crew here in San Isidro was incredibly blessed with the opportunity to travel to the Guaymí tribe in southern Costa Rica and share the good news of Christ. For weeks the students and staff prayed and sought the Lord while preparing skits, crafts, songs and games to play with the children of the tribe. It's so cool how God blesses us while we prepare to go do His work. A lot of times it was difficult to stay focused on what needed to be accomplished and continue to love everyone in the midst of it. But (i love that word when it comes to God working) everything came together, and last Wednesday seventeen of us left San Isidro to travel down to Panama and then back up to the Guaymí tribe.
After a full day of traveling through the border and then through the mountains, we all crammed in a small shuttle bus and drove into the jungle. The farther we drove, the more excited I became! It was growing dark as I realized we really were in the dead center of the jungle. The trees grew thicker and the jungle noises grew louder. Getting dropped off, we all traveled over an perfectly sketchy bridge into our campsite. I went to bed with such excitement that night because I was so stocked to be camping out in the middle of the jungle!
The next day was blessed as we started working on laying the foundation of a small house for the pastor of the church. Little by little during construction the precious faces of the Guaymí children began trickling into the church yard. It was so much fun to get to play with the few kids that were curious enough to come see us Gringos! The rest of the day involved playing in the river, construction and getting to know the village more. Because not many kids showed up the first day we weren't able to do a lot of the activities we had planned which was a bummer, but God looking back, totally God's plan :)
The second day we went hard on construction. Most of us worked on mixing and laying cement for all of the morning and most of the afternoon. It was a huge task that became difficult because of the extreme heat and the limited resources. We were constantly in need of water that had to be brought uphill from the river. But after a solid day of work, we laid the concrete for the house! After we all got to bathe in the river we arrived at the campsite along with a lot of the village kids! We had walked through the village the day before inviting kids to come the next day, and it was awesome to see most of them came and brought friends! We played games, painted faces, blew up balloons and played soccer with all the little guys. After awhile we gathered all the kids together and were able to sing songs with them and then perform the drama we had prepared. As we acted out the life of Jesus, the crucifixion and resurrection it was so cool to watch the kids faces. Their eyes were hooked on Jesus and were closely watching to see what would happen next. I think the coolest part of the drama was what we found out later on! Bart, the missionary who took us out to the Indians, told us that the way the Guaymí pass on stories from generations is exactly how we told them the gospel; they act it out while a narrator tells the story.
How good is our God.
We didn't know that at all going into this trip, the students just thought a drama would be a fun way to tell the kids about Jesus and His salvation. But the Lord knew how He wanted His gospel to be told to the children and their parents.
Please pray for the seeds that got planted while we were there! The Guaymí are an unreached people group, with only 1% being Christian. In the village we were at there is Jehovah Witness, strong Catholicism and native religions. A new hospital is being built on the reservation and witch doctors will be kept there as a treatment option for the patients. The enemy has a strong hold on these beautiful people's hearts and minds.
This trip opened my eyes up even more to the darkness of this world and how desperate the need is for the light of Christ to be shone, especially into the uttermost parts of the earth. Even in the middle of the jungle, God knows and loves every detail about these people He so carefully created. He desires their hearts just as much as He desires yours. The need for relationship is so greatly there!
Dear brothers and sisters, please go! Go to the coffee shops. Go to the struggling girls and hurting guys. Go to your neighbors. Go to your workplace. Go unto all the nations. Please don't keep the love of Christ you have in you hidden away! Oh beloveds, the world around us is dying and we hold within us the remedy for everlasting life! Please don't let another day go by without seeing every single person around you as a soul with a destiny.
Let's turn this world upside down and inside out in the name of Jesus Christ whose name is Redeemer, Forgiver, Lover, Sovereign, Compassion, Merciful and Friend.
"[as you are going] therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20
Check out the Carty Family's website to learn more about the Guaymí and to see a gallery of photos from our time there! Thanks for your prayer and encouragement friend, you mean so much to me.
-aud
