Vineyard family and supporters~

Today, our group of 20 awoke from a not-so-restful sleep in our wooden, poking, bunk beds to a glorious breakfast, Costa Rican style. It definitely made the uncomfortable night of sleep worth it! Then we headed off to "La Campina," a Costa Rican country club, where we stayed for the whole day with Pastor Pablo and his church. They had 3 pools, 2 tennis courts, a volleyball court, and two basketball courts that doubled as soccer fields. The highlight of many peoples' day was playing soccer and volleyball with all the Ticos (native of Costa Rica), and competitive spirits were high!

The whole mission of the day was to build relationships with the people of Pastor Pablo's church and with each other.  Delynn stressed that building relationships are very important to the people of Costa Rica, much more so than in the US. By getting to know the people of Pastor Pablo's church, the work that we will do later this week will mean more to both them and us. I believe that we will get so much more out of this trip now that we are closer to the students of Vida 220 that are working with us and now that we know the people from the church. Vida 220 is a ten month discipleship training program running between October and August of each year. It is designed to be an international program and is open to those who are interested in deepening their experience as disciples and gaining experiences in missions, ministry, and leadership.

Towards the end of our time at the country club, Pastor Pablo talked to us about some of the history of his church, some of the problems they are facing, and the amazing trust they've to have in the Lord so far. There were some specific things he asked us to pray for, and I would ask everyone reading these updates to pray with us as well. The most pressing issue that they have right now is that they need a new building and a new location for their church. At the moment, their building is far away from the people they want to reach out to, and it is really straining the structure of their church. Pablo stressed so many times that they want to be near the people, and it was so touching to see the crazy amount of passion he had! You could tell that Pablo trusted the Lord with his whole heart, and he truly wanted to please him. Personally, I was encouraged and challenged to have that amount of trust and faith, and it was something truly touching.

All the people here have really eased some of the anxieties and timidity that many of us have had. The students of Vida 220 are all so amazing, and even as I was writing this, Joseph was helping me with my Spanish and showing me pictures of his dog and a huge spider that he found, simply chatting away! It's awesome how ready they are to get to know us and share their lives with us, which makes us feel that we can share our lives with them. I am truly thankful for them and already dread having to leave...

All in all, the first full day in Costa Rica was AMAZING! Again, we thank you for your prayers and ask for more everyday!

Sincerely,

Lauren Stevens