Kids Small Groups

Hi Friends,

Sorry for the delayed trip update! Here is a little piece of the last two days.

Day 2 Sunday - In the city of San Jose
On Sunday morning the team divided up into three smaller teams to go and worship with our three host churches. Overall we had an incredible experience with our brothers and sisters in Costa Rica worshipping and serving together. We were welcomed with open arms. All three teams had the chance to participate or lead the each churches children´s church. It was a great opportunity for the team to connect with not only the kids of each ministry but the leaders who lead it week in and week out.

On Sunday night Shawn was given the opportunity to preach to the adult group. While Shawn was preaching the rest of the group went down to spend time ministering along side the children´s team of Sendero De Luz to around 50 unchurhced kids from the surrounding community. There were some great moments that came out of this time. Including several kids making a decision to follow Jesus for the first time. It is hard to put it in words some of the difficult situations these kids from the community are coming in the church from. It has been an eye opening time for some of our kids to hear about some of the real realities that kids there own age are having to face on a daily basis. I have been so proud to watch them minister to there own peers!

Day 3 Monday - In the city of San Jose and surrounding communities
Today was a national holiday in Costa Rica. The whole country was pretty much shut down which gave the churches here an incredible time to do a community outreach in the community. All three groups divided up to go to the churches they were assigned to. Wow what a day we had! Each team had some incredible stories of how God worked in them and through them. Overall each team had a great time partnering in ministry with their churches by doing community outreaches to kids. One story that really stuck out from the many we heard about during our team debrief came from Cheryl Badley, Amber´s mom.

At Cheryl´s church they had received a delivery of 50 boxes from Samaritan´s Purse which is a ministry that has people fill a shoe box of different items to give as a Christmas gift to kids literally all over world. We are talking about literally millions of boxes. Cheryl´s daughter Amber walked into the room and pulled a box out of the stack of 50 boxes. They opened the box to see if these were just empty boxes or actually ones that were yet to be distributed out and no joke...that was the very box that Cheryl had purchased items for and sent out herself. Are you kidding me?? Wow! What a moment! Just a huge reminder to how God sends us those confirmations that we are here at the right time.

Tonight we had our first Children´s leader training at Sendero de Luz which was lead by Maurice and Harmon´s team. The team did an awesome job as they introduced to the leaders the basic concepts of each book in Kids Small Groups through dramas and testimonies from the kids of what they learned in that book and how it impacted their life. Very powerful time as the leaders were able to see first hand the impact and result of what focused and intentional kids discipleship looks like. Incredible! Please be praying for Barbara and Laurie´s team and Dean and Greg´s team who on Wednesday will be training the children´s leaders on how to implement Kids Small Groups at there church.

Off to bed for another full day of ministry!

God is working friends in huge ways. Your prayers are felt big time...I cannot even begin to describe. The team is full of energy (espeically our girls who have now sung probably every Justin Beiber song at the top of their lungs in the van. Jesus help us! This does not count for our very own version of Party in the USA now titled Party in San Jose that we just wrote today) and healthy! Thanks for your continued covering!
Take a look of some photos from our team photographer Maurice Ling! Thanks Maurice!

http://www.linglink.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=10663&g2_highlightId=10874