Groups, Goodbyes and Good News !!

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 those in charge to keep the crowd under control. In Las Gradas is where these pattern of behavior problem is the most evident. We usually can only let in 20-25 kids at once due to this reason. It is just physically impossible to have more kids and manage to keep them engaged and attentive to the activity, whether that is games, crafts or storytime.
But, working with groups means that we make an exception for this rule and let more than 50+ kids come. I have found myself getting very frustrated and overwhelmed with the amount of behavior problems. This is something I need your prayer on. It' rewarding but these ministries are not an easy job. They all require an incredible amount of energy, patience, and love and sometimes it can get very hard.

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I mentioned that two volunteers had joined us and were staying with the same host family as me. Well, their time here in CR has ended and they've returned to the States last week. So blessed to be able to share my time with such wonderful ladies!

I'm so thankful to have made some great friendships over the past 5 months. God has blessed me with a diverse group of people that are uplifting and encouraging.

From Youth Group Last Week
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GOOD NEWS!

The ministry in Las Gradas has been flourishing!  Through God's provision, a space in the area has been provided to us. This space will be used to provide counseling and spiritual support to those in the area. The space is still under construction.. will share more about it with you all very soon!






I want to thank you again for all your support. Your prayers are deeply appreciated and so is your financial support.

-I thought I would share how your financial support has helped me and the ministry here.With your support, you help me cover my room and board, food and transportation. You help me meet the needs of the ministries I'm involved, providing them with materials for classes, activities, and games. You equip me with work funds so I can find ways to provide them with their necessities.Thank you so much.

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First Week in CR

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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
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Ministry: Las Gradas

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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
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Learning from Kids.

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
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