University of Costa Rica Outreach

In our Bible study this evening, when giving testimonies, I thought I´d try this approach: "I recently added 4 friends to my "Facebook "... at which everyone laughed, perhaps thinking it to be a joke... which was what was intended... though really not as superficial as everyone may have thought, since it alluded to people I had just met the previous week - and is the case, when God brings people together for a purpose, there is a lasting fellowship that surpasses the phrase, "All good things must come to an end."
As you may all know Ana and I live in an apartment which is part of a much bigger house - which is a campus ministry house that Scott has been in for the last 6 years. Besides the students that live here, which is a ministry in itself, Scott does a lot of outreach to the students on the campus of the University of Costa Rica, which is literally a stone´s-throw away.
Last week we had a group of 5 people come down from Minnesota for a week of outreach on campus, as we shared the love of Jesus Christ with whomever we encountered.
We had Pastor Johnathan, Ore, Cole, Angela and Jelani from Minnesota, as well as a handful of people who were able to make it from day to day.
I paired up with Ore, also known as the Nigerian fireball - so we were the "African team". Here you see us just before heading out to the campus, myself armed with my harmonica and Ore with a percussion instrument called a "Cabasa". In the midst of translating Ore´s testimony to Spanish for the students we chatted to, I found myself living the steps he took in accepting Jesus Christ as his Saviour. All of the fun was to be had engaging students in a discussion of where their spiritual lives were at, and sharing the beauty of what it means to follow Jesus Christ.
There were numerous testimonies amongst all in the group - of people we´d ministered to and lives that were impacted - but undoubtedly the most impacted are inevitably those, who as they share their faith, get to see God being as faithful as we know Him to be in meeting the needs of so many who are empty without Jesus.

In this photo, the people sitting on the couch behind me from left to right are: Cole, Carlos, Jelani, Ana, Ore and Wainer.
Cole had an impressive level of Spanish, and held his own when ministering to people on campus. Carlos and Weiner are students at the UCR and we see them most days at the campus house. Jelani has a passion for soccer, unlike any American I´ve ever met.


At the grill you´ll see Ana, Angela, Cole and Johnathan, who single-handedly cooked all the meat. On the Friday evening after a week of evangelism, we has a barbecue/Braai for the team and all who were invited during the week. Johnathan heads up the campus ministry in Minnesota, and was an inspiration to all of us here in Costa Rica, as he is quick to get to the heart of a matter and single out what God want´s to act upon in an individual´s life.

That evening Ana showed a hidden talent for playing the drums... it´s amazing what a little inspiration can do!











Ana also found her kindred-spirit in Angela - not only ministering on campus together, but perhaps more noticeably racking up an impressive assault of photos throughout the week.

For me, our fellowship and time spent together in a brief 10 days is summed up in a song, (which comes directly from a Bible verse) which goes, "Though we are many, we are one body, we are one Body in Christ"... and in Spanish, "Aun siendo muchos, Somos en Cristo, un solo cuerpo de amor"... and in "Yoruba", a language spoken in Nigeria, which Ore helped me add into the song, "Wo bi ase poto, ara kan la wa, ara kan la wa inu Jesu."