Coming to you today with a casual update from Jacó, Costa Rica! I am currently getting settled at my new ministry and let me tell you, it’s a powerhouse.

My team and I said goodbye to Turrialba and our hosts on the 27th and headed to debrief with our squad. It was five days full of loving one another, resting, getting poured into, and having peaceful time with the Lord after a month and a half of full ministry and being away from the rest of our squad. My team and I fell in love with Jacó, and later found out that the five of us, as well as another team, would get to stay here for our next month!

With that being said, welcome to Jacó! It’s a touristy, beautiful beach town that holds a certain heaviness to it. It’s a place where drugs, alcohol, and prostitution are normalized, but it’s also a place that I can feel is crying out for Jesus. There are people here searching for more, searching for a fulfillment that can only come from Jesus, and I am eager to be able to share the Light of the Gospel with them.

We are partnering with a ministry here in Jacó called Oceans Edge. They are an extremely well established ministry who partner with anybody and everybody in and around town, including the government! They/we are the first people to be called when hands + feet are needed and I am truly in awe of how well they reflect Jesus.

The Oceans Edge compound (where I live) is only about a five minute walk to the beach, which if you know me you know is an absolute dream, so most evenings look like running to the ocean for a sunset swim after ministry. And not only are we with another team from our squad (a group of 5 girls who I love dearly) but we’re staying at the base and doing ministry with an 11 n 11 squad! 11 n 11 is the full World Race, it is 11 countries in 11 months, with people from ages 21-35. Living with them and being loved by/encouraged by them has been and I believe will be one of the biggest blessings from this ministry. They are adults whom I not only love, but admire and look up to, and getting to love them and be loved by them has already been so sweet.

I’m quickly learning how bountifully blessed life is when it’s a life being lived fully and only for Jesus. Don’t get me wrong, this life is hard. There are days where I have to force myself out of bed for another long day of ministry. Times where the only thing I want to do is hug my sisters. Moments where I break down because of how broken my heart is for all of the people I am encountering who have no idea how loved they are. And I am constantly under attack by the enemy (spiritual warfare is so real.) But what makes me laugh is that at the end of those days, those long days where I feel so defeated, I am still able to see victories in the Lord. He is a redeemer, and whether it’s redeeming the past 18 years of my life, or redeeming moments throughout the day, He does not fail to do so, and He never will.

So here I am! Fully embracing the Jacó lifestyle. We had our first full day of ministry today where we worked on painting a mural at a park in an at risk neighborhood. I am actually in charge of the project and it’s so fun! I have a good feeling about this ministry and the people working alongside me, and am eager to see what the Lord does for His people here in Jacó. Today was extremely long and hot and at times stressful, but the Lord was right in the center of it all, and I get to do it all again tomorrow!

Life truly is ministry. How can you implicate the phrase “ministry is life, life is ministry.” into your life?