The
White Family
-in-
COSTA
RICA
A Month of Madness..
er, uh… Missions
Good month
of July to our family in Christ around the world, from the Whites down here in
Latin America! The month of June has
been a tiring month for us, full of preparations, reunions, givings,
receivings, hugs, fellowships, works, plays, hellos and goodbyes… and no room
for REST! Folks, I had to rub my eyes,
stretch, and have a cup of coffee before even thinking about starting on this
newsletter… so I will try and finish it before drifting off to sle….zzzzzZZZZZ…
So… as I rub the sleep out of my eyes… I will begin to recall the details
amidst the madness of this last month...
We’ll begin
by talking about our endeavors of finding ample space to house our first short
term mission group of 21 people from the states. During our time here in Costa Rica, Bobbi Ann
and I (as well as Steve and Angel) have made pretty good friends with the
owners of a “mission house” that is only about 3 blocks away from our
house. This is where we began, making
reservations, changing details, updating information, and communicating the
needs between the group and the caretaker of the AMCA house (the mission
house). After a couple weeks, we were
well acquainted with the caretaker and were always expected to have something
new in mind for the group and their stay.
We are so very thankful for the patience of the caretakers, as well as
the patience of our first mission group.
As the time
of the team’s arrival grew nearer, my wife Bobbi Ann began the frantic cleaning
and rearranging of the house. As space
at the AMCA house was still limited, we decided that Steve and Angel would
“move” downstairs into our house for the week and stay in my bedroom, while my
wife and I would sleep on an air mattress in Annika’s room, so that the Willis
family (Mackey, Gale & TJ) could stay in the apartment by themselves. We all had a part to play in making
everything as comfortable and as clean as possible for our guests and for ourselves
for the week ahead. By the day before
the teams arrival, we were ready… we hoped!
Finally, the
day of the teams arrival had… well, arrived! Friday, June 14th was
the day, and we scrambled making sure that all the details were in order, and
reaffirming that we had proper transport for the team from the airport to the
mission house. The team was to arrive on
2 different flights; the Willis family arriving fairly early in the afternoon,
and the other 18 people arriving later that night. Our brother in Christ and partner in the
ministry, Fernando Herrera, offered up his own van and time to pick up the
Willis family, and though we were about an hour late in getting to the airport
(due to traffic issues) we picked them up and brought them to our home. While they settled in, Fernando gave us use
of his van once again to pick up the baggage of the rest of the team, and the
team, with their carry on luggage, boarded a 23 passenger bus that we had
rented for them. Despite 10 bags being
left behind by the airlines, everyone arrived safely and soundly to the mission
house, and we prepared for a long day ahead… we were going to hit the ground
running!
After
finally getting to bed at around 2:30am Friday night, we woke up at 6am to load
up the team and the puppet show equipment onto the 21 passenger bus and set out
for the 1 ½ hour drive to Atenas. Upon
arrival, a few of the members of the church there were already preparing the
sanctuary for the puppet show! We held a
bible study for the children, as well as some crafts and snacks while others
finished setting up the puppet show equipment, then after the lesson and the
snacks, the kids all got to come into the sanctuary and enjoy the (improvised)
puppet show. What a blessing to watch
everyone having a great time, despite the language barrier!
After
finally arriving home back in San José, we all spent the evening fellowshipping
and catching up on the lost time of the last 2 years. Then, getting better rested Saturday night,
we all were privileged to use the Spanish Language Institute’s chapel building
to hold our services for Pura Vida Fellowship.
The Willis family even blessed us with their music as they lead the
worship of the morning. It was a great
feeling to be with everyone, worshipping the Lord together again, for the first
time in a very long time.
For the next
5 days, many things would be happening simultaneously in the ministry. The Willis family lead the music twice a day
for the spiritual emphasis week services, the majority of the team held a
complete VBS schedule for the children of the missionaries there at the
Institute as well as a puppet show each night, and a couple of the men stayed
back with me at the house solely to work on, repair, and replace many things on
our 1991 Ford Explorer. We also had many
opportunities to hand out tracts and minister to the poor of the area. This had to have been the most versatile and
edifying team I have ever been blessed to be a part of. They were able to minister to other
missionaries and their children, to the local church here in Costa Rica, to
their own missionaries on the field (us), to the lost through tract evangelism,
and even contributed largely to the long term ministry here through the work on
the vehicle. We are so very grateful for
their work.
As a rest
and reward for their busy and hard labor throughout the week, we all went to a
place called “La Paz Waterfall Gardens”.
This was a park filled with beautiful scenery, exotic animals, great
food, and its share of memories. From
standing in a room full of colorful butterflies to holding a toucan on our
shoulders to standing only feet from huge crashing waterfalls, we were all in
awe of God’s creation.
After a long
and busy week, Sunday morning (early morning) arrived and we gave our final
hugs and final farewells to the mission team and watched them pull away to
return to the states. I would say that
we finally got to sleep in and rest a little after such a long week, but we
were not done yet. Only a couple hours
after the team left for the airport, Steve and I (along with Fernando) had to
head out to the bus station for a 4 day long mission trip of our own in
Nicaragua. After receiving the blessing
of encouragement, it was our turn to encourage others.
It was an 8
hour bus ride, along with border crossings and all the legalities and baggage
checking that goes with it, then 4 days of visiting the locals, fellowshipping
with the missionaries there, and praying for an open door for future ministry
there at Camp S.H.E.O. in Masatepe, Nicaragua. S.H.E.O. stands for Sonny
Holland Evangelistic Organization; we had met and have come to know Sonny
Holland from the camp meetings in Zachary Louisiana called “Fires of
Revival”. After speaking with him, we
were given an open door to use their facilities as a base to launch our
theological training ministry there in Masatepe and the surrounding areas. It is amazing as we meet other members of the
body of Christ for the first time, yet know that we are all one family by the
blood of Christ and the praise of His glory!
Though
Fernando, Steve and I were out of the country on a mission of our own, don’t
think that Angel and Bobbi Ann got an opportunity to rest. They were left with the debris that was left,
from the tornado of mission work from the previous week, to clean up
after. From putting away all the
supplies that were brought down to sustain us here, to returning all closets
and bedrooms back to normal, to catching up on the laundry for the week, and
caring for the kids along the way, the women had their work cut out for
them! By the time that Steve and I
arrived home from Nicaragua, the house was back to normal… we are so grateful
to be blessed with wives that take care of all our needs at home, that we may
go out and minister outside of home.
They are truly a gift from the Lord and a vital part of ministry.
That draws
us to the conclusion of the events of the month, and I promise you that these
words do not even begin to describe the blessings and the business of the past
month, nor the hopes and prayers for those of the months ahead. Keep praying for us, as well as for the
ministry, that we would always follow the straight and narrow path that the
Lord has set before us, and that we would be faithful ministers here and
anywhere the Lord may take us. As of
right now, we (the Whites) are planning on returning to the states on August 8th
in order to raise support to continue our ministry unhindered, so we hope to
get an opportunity to visit with you and to fellowship with you during our time
in the States. God bless you all in His
will and His word… until we see each other again… here, there, or in the AIR!
-Justin,
Bobbi Ann
Kevin
& Annika
