Missions: Costa Rica

Hi you all! In a couple of days, it will be over 8 months here in Costa Rica. Still so unbelievable to me. When I look back to all that has happened over these past months, it feels like a long time but if I think how the end of the year is just around the corner, I cannot believe 2019 is almost over! Before I came to Costa Rica, I had plans to go to Brazil but I could not be away from my family and friends during the holiday season! So I'm coming back to Japan next week! :))) I really hope to be able to take some time and debrief these past months so I can process, readjust, grow from my time here in CR! ------ Last Tuesday was my last day with my two ESL students. Although the girl was not able to pass her exams (the results were unfortunate but thank you for your prayers btw!), I hope that they both will continue to eagerly pursue their education! I gave them a present, a back to school kit that included the basics a student might need with the hopes that they may keep

Hello Everyone:) It has been quite a busy month! I definitely underestimate how hard it was going to be to balance school and ministry work, and it resulted in many late nights studies so I could catch up on my assignments... But God is good and faithful. I just finished two classes last week and have a few days off before the next one starts!  I'm trying to cease every moment that I have left serving in the ministries here! Though it has been over 6 months, every now and then, I will still experience somethings that will break my heart and keep me sensitive to what is surrounds me. Not so long ago I came across a boy who left me astonished.  This boy, who will be in third grade soon, could not write his own name. We were doing an activity and asked the kids to write their name so they'd recognize which craft were theirs. This boy stayed till every kid left to go get a snack, and I came and told him that when he finished his drawing and wrote his name, he could get a

Hello Everyone, First, I want to tell you that I'm so excited to see how the Lord is going to use those who are going on this short term mission trip to Cambodia! How exciting! Let us all keep them in our prayers. :) _____ It's been officially 6 full months since my arrival, as I'm writing this while at the airport. To renew my visa, I will be taking a short trip to Florida for 5 days and will come back to serve another 2 months! I will be heading to Brazil to spend time with my family after the remaining 2 months. As I mentioned in my last post, I decided to take a break from one of the ministries. It was a difficult decision but I feel that the Lord is preparing me for the next season in my life so I have peace about this decision. The past month, I haven't been able to write a post because as my classes have started, I have been swamped with the amount of study load I have :( It has been a hard transition trying to balance school work and ministry work amon

HI EVERYONE! I have officially started my 6th month here in Costa Rica. Honestly, sometimes I cannot believe it has been that long. Each month comes with its own challenges and struggles. But with each month, my relationship with the kids and people I work with are deepened. So much has happened in the past week. We received a medical team from the US and I worked with them as a global team assistant/translator.. that means I spend all my week with the group. God has been so good with us and we were able to work really well with the group. We held several medical fairs, taking care of over 300 patients in total, and at the same time, we had children ministry, coffee roasting class, female hygiene class, house visits. GOD IS SO GOOD. Those from the team were ready to step out of their comfort zone and jump in! I was very encouraged in my faith by spending time with this group. It was definitely the busiest week I've ever had since arriving here but it was so worth it.

Hello there everyone! For the past few weeks I have been feeling down and unmotivated. I was trying to figure out why as I would come home exhausted every day with no energy. With almost 5 full months of being immersed in the Costa Rican culture and Spanish language, I have come to a point that I really miss speaking with people in English/Portuguese. My brain was just feeling very tired of trying to constantly process the language. I was just very tired of hearing Spanish around me, and then it hit me... homesickness, that's what it is. This leads up to a story I would like to tell you:) This past week I have been feeling homesick plus I had a cold in the weekend so overall, I was not feeling very well. I shared my frustration with one of the missionaries and he blessed me with some Brazilian sweets that night. How amazing is that? 2 days later, a Korean missionary invited me and my host family to go out to eat Japanese food. All these months and this is my first time e

Hi everyone! Story Time: Samson and Delilah As I mentioned in my last post, we've been working with short-term groups from the States! From June to August, we're expecting several groups that will be serving with Christ for the city for a short period of time. Just last week, I met 2 groups, one from Indiana and another from California. This group from California was from a Korean church in southern California. It was such a pleasure to serve with them. Several spoke Japanese or have visited Japan so it was a very interesting experience! Being here in Costa Rica, I rarely get to interact with people from Japan (or even Asia for that matter), so I'm always thankful for these opportunities I get to have. However, one of the difficulties I face when working with groups is the fact that the kids behave differently. Many kids have learning disabilities or behavioral disorder, as it is the tendency for those residing in the slum area. This can make it very hard for t

Hello everyone! It has been a while since I post here! It's been a hectic 2 weeks since my time in the States. Here's what has been going on for the past weeks. 2 other volunteers have joined us, and they are staying with my host family, which means it's a FULL HOUSE. It has been great having more people in the house! The other 2 girls are so amazing, we've been having a lot of fun together. They are both studying to become a nurse so they work at the clinic in Carpio. The kids here are in the middle of their school break, that means that the usual ministries that I'm part of are on break as well. So for the past week, we have been doing VBS (Vacation Bible School) day camp with the kids in Carpio. Each day we would have over 100 kids. For this day camp, we had a group from the States lead and it was so awesome to witness God using this youth group to reach out to the kids and show them Christ's love! I also just completed my first year

Hola! It's been a while since my last post. I have been very busy for the past 3 weeks doing so many great things... I will be sharing a little bit with you all! I have learned that the months from May-August gets very busy because a lot of groups comes to Costa Rica on a mission trip. So this past month I had an opportunity to work with two groups from the States! One was a medical team and I tagged along as a translator! I was really worried since my Spanish is not so great but it was definitely a great experience. And I think opportunities like these help me become more confident with my Spanish skills. Also, through the translators' team, I met a lady who is hoping to go to Japan as a missionary. She is currently learning Japanese and is hoping to go next year! We had great conversations regarding Japan and her passion for Japan. She shared with me that she has a heart for the youth, especially those who suffer from depression, hikikomori, and other illness. She is h

Hello there! I can't believe it's been almost two months since I came to Costa Rica. Life has been definitely crazy and busy with all the ministries plus my own classes but it has been amazing too! I had the week off for Semana Santa (Holy week) and it was much needed. I was able to catch up on my school work and I got to do a little bit of tourism too. The following week I was asked to lead a bible study (for Las Gradas ministry) for the little kids and it was very challenging. It's already difficult trying to explain the Bible to kids, but in a foreign language... it can't get harder than that:) But it all went well and the kids were very sweet. We talked about Moses and the Red Sea and how God makes a way (literary) for His people. As I start to lead Bible studies/ devotionals, mastering the language becomes crucial. Please pray that I will be able to gain the skills so that I can communicate with more confidence and certainty. I feel like I can

Hello Everyone:) Thank you so much for your prayers. It is always so encouraging to know that there are people who are praying for me and the ministries here in Costa Rica. This week I will be sharing about one ministry in particular. As I said in the last post, I'm blessed to be able to serve in several ministries, one of them is called Las Gradas. The word Gradas means steps in Spanish. This is because the whole area is filled with steps so, in order to get from one place to the other, you have to climb these steps. In the picture below you can see the map of La Carpio. It's the biggest slum in Costa Rica and it is located between 2 polluted rivers. The line in the middle is the main street where the buses stop. La Carpio is divided into 9 sectors and Las Gradas is located in the Sector Roble Norte. From the main street, you have to go down the steps in order to get to Las Gradas. The building where the ministries are held is located by the river where people throw

Hello from Costa Rica! It has been a week since I arrived here and due to the difference of climate, schedule, and timezone, I got sick the next day I arrived but after I week, I feel like I finally got over jetlag and my sickness! This past week I visited the ministries that I'm going to be working with and it was a blast. So good to see so many familiar faces and meet new people as well. It's great to be working with the same people again. As for now, it seems as like I will be working with 3 different ministries. I will briefly explain about them below. As for now, I will explain what my week look like. Twice a week for half a day I serve at the Institute here in La Carpio (the building where I gave English classes last time I was here). There I help out with a Refugee Program with the families who have immigrated from Nicaragua recently. The other Ministry is called Las Gradas, a program that helps children by assisting them with their homework or providing aid for

I’m so excited to tell you about this! With a prayerful heart and after a lot of thought and consideration, I feel as though God is guiding me to go back into the mission field. I’ll be serving with the organization called Christ for the City International (cfci) again. As many of you know I’ve served with them last fall. Since then, the people and the ministries that I had the opportunity to be part of have become very dear to my heart. During my time there, I felt called to serve in children’s and youth ministry. Even after returning to Japan, all opportunities pointed towards that area of focus, and I was so blessed to be able to be more involved with my church’s ministries this past year. I’ve learned to lead and serve with a humble heart. Though my time there was not all easy, the challenges I faced helped me grow spiritually in Him and delight in His Peace no matter the circumstances. And now, even though I’m not there to see it, nothing brings me more joy than seeing how the