Maranatha Outreach - Costa Rica

Maranatha Christian Center was blessed to extend its mission outreach to yet another country as 31 of its members traveled to San Ramon, Costa Rica. Our team, consisting of children, young people and adults, partnered with Pura Vida Missions for a week of Bible schools and construction work.

After arriving at the Mission late on Sunday night, we were briefed and told that we would divide into three groups; two groups would be going out into the community to hold Bible schools, and the third group would be helping with renovations on a home for one of the local families.  So our groups would leave the Mission early each morning going to their respective sites. Buses provided transportation to and from the locations. The teams met back at the Mission for lunch and then it was off again to an afternoon site for more Bible school activities with the children.

God tremendously blessed the time we were in Costa Rica, ministering not only to the children, but even to the adults who would come to meet us each day with their childlike faith and smiling faces. As we drove through the streets they would start coming out of their houses and running down to our locale; sometimes a vacant lot or an unkept playground, or they might already be there just waiting for us to arrive. We pulled out the basketballs, soccer balls, jump ropes, face paint and nail polish, and then it was two or three hours of playing, singing, sharing…just loving on the children as they loved us back.

Not only were the children blessed but so were the members of our team as we witnessed their simple lifestyle and their joy and excitement of having us come “from America” to their country. It was such an awesome thing to let God use us to share Jesus Christ with these beautiful people. And what a privilege it was to lead them in the prayer of salvation, or just to pray with them about the needs in their lives.
It was not just the children who listened to our stories about Jesus but also many of the adults who brought them were touched by Holy Spirit. We were able to minister to several of them as well: a lady who was taking cancer treatments, a gentleman battling depression, another lady and her unborn child, and one who was seeking to know more about the Spirit-led life.

We pray for the children and people of Costa Rica and for Pura Vida Missions as they continue the work of the Lord in San Ramon.  Our lives were changed from having experienced that week of serving the Lord together. We thank God for getting to share in what that He is doing in that country. Certainly the Word of God is true when it says…some are called to plant, some are called to water, but it is God who gives the increase.