Walking

A couple of years ago, my good friend Bryon Mondok gave me a book to read. The book was entitled “The Master Plan of Evangelism” and the focus was on Jesus and the way he raised up the 12 men that answered his call of “Follow me”. It didn’t go overboard with formulas and strategies. Most of the focus was on relationships. It encouraged the reader to focus on the few for the good of the many. The reality is that Jesus spent the majority of his time with twelve men. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, they went on to change the world. We are here in large part because Jesus focused his efforts on twelve men that said “yes”. Whenever my mind begins to turn to numbers as a measure of success, I remind myself that it’s depth that counts and that much of that depth comes from just being willing to spend time with someone…letting them know that they are important. Here are a couple of short stories that demonstrate this truth.

Recently, I was running some errands and had invited my friend D. along. As we were talking, D. mentioned something that made me realize just how much takes place without words ever being spoken. D. told me that he had never really wanted to get married. He never saw the need for it and truthfully, had never even considered having a family and committing to one person for the rest of his life. That is until he began spending time with Amy and me and one of the other couples on our team. Here in this culture, men are trained to have as many women as possible, almost from the day they are born, and the results are heartbreaking. D. hadn’t been exposed to anything outside of this way of life. As have gotten to know him and spend time with him, he has seen that there is a different way to live. As he has grown in his walk with God, the things he wants out of life have begun to change and one of the key elements in this is that he finally has someone to walk this road with him…to model the Christian life for him. It’s having an impact.

This past Monday morning S. dropped by the house as we were eating breakfast. We invited him in to join us and the first thing he said with a huge smile on his face was how much he had enjoyed house church the night before. He said that it was awesome and that he had such a good time (this was after a hardcore message about the final judgment and heaven and hell – see Matt. 25). His face just lit up as he talked about the evening and the impact it had on him. Shortly after that, as we were talking, he paused for a moment and then told me, “Barrett, you’re like my dad. You feed me, you surf with me and you spend time with me.” He wasn’t telling me that I was similar to his dad. He was telling me that I take the place of his dad who left him and his mother several years ago and now lives on the Pacific. Over the past year, I have spent a lot of time with Sebas and he has grown immensely as a Christian. He is one of the older youth that is the most excited about sharing his faith with others. He sees it as a privilege. But this wasn’t true before he had someone to walk alongside him and encourage him.

If God blesses me enough here in Puerto Viejo to have a significant impact on a few then that’s what I want to do. In the end, they are the ones that will eventually reach their community and their culture with much more of an impact than we ever could. God is using us to get something started. To come alongside people and show them that there is a different way to live. A way created by a God that loves them and wants to change them in more ways than they could ever imagine.

I don’t say any of this to blow my own horn. I say it to encourage you. It’s hard to imagine the impact you can have on someone’s life just by living your life for Christ alongside them. Years ago it happened to me through a friend in Arizona named Paul Almquist. I had gotten away from the church and had a distant relationship with God. Amy and I had just started attending Calvary Chapel in Tucson. We met Paul and his wife through some friends. Paul was the guitarist for the worship team but he never acted like this made him special or put him on a higher spiritual plane. One day he invited me to go mountain-biking with him and it soon became a regular weekend event. Paul never preached at me, he did life with me. One of the only things he would do is ask if he could pray before we went riding each week. I hadn’t prayed regularly in years, so this . Spending time with Paul made being a Christian real for me. He showed me what it was like to live in the world but not be of the world...life as a Christian outside of the Christian bubble. That made an impact on me. Paul, you are one of the main reasons that we are doing what we’re doing. God used you in my life and in many ways He is continuing to use you to reach this community here in Puerto Viejo. There have been other Paul’s in my life… my dad, my friends Norm Jaeger and Todd Harper. It’s because of friends like these that D. and S. are following Jesus.

Be someone else’s Paul or Todd or Norm or Billy (my dad). Come alongside them and walk with them. You never know what might happen in the future. After all, the world as we know it is a different place because Jesus spent time with 12 men.

Balancing Act

Ever feel like this? This picture is a pretty good description of how I feel at the moment. I think it’s a pretty good description of how we all feel right now. There are so many different things going on right now that it’s hard to keep up. This week our team is preparing for some pretty important meetings with Jeremy from our home office in Phoenix. We are going to be reviewing the past year (goals and accomplishments), looking ahead to next year and at the same time we will be trying to figure out how we are going to stay on top of everything as we lose some of our critical team members. We are trying to decide what we do for the coming year so that we can remain focused on the most critical aspects of our work and lives. One thing is for sure, people have to be the priority. Please pray for us.

Blown Away

Sometimes I am just blown away by the things that go on behind the scenes. There are always two sides to life...the life that is seen and the life that is unseen. Here, the differences between those two sides of life can be extreme. I found out the other day that one of the older youth I'm friends with recently made a life changing decision...for the good. He had been playing around with the badboy/gangster lifestyle, to the extent that he was actually considering joining up with a heavy duty gang from up the road. It got to the point that he actually suited up one night for his initiation. They were planning to make an assault on a group of Columbians with assault rifles, bullet-proof vests, etc... As he was getting ready to go out, he backed out at the last minute and decided that this wasn't for him. It was about that same time that he was invited to our house church and began coming regularly. Now he's there every week, bible in hand and taking notes. He is learning to follow Jesus and his life is changing. What is incredible is that I would never have guessed it from this particular guy. He is soft-spoken, kind and gentle. We love having him in our home and have really enjoyed seeing his life change. That doesn't mean that he's safe. The temptations here are strong and the pull from friends and family alike is intense but thank God, he's made the decision to put those things aside and travel the way of Jesus. This is only one story among many that I am constantly finding out about.

As I learn more and more about this place and the struggles people face, I am amazed. I guess it backs up what Paul wrote when he said that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. We've had youth in our home that have robbed tourists and locals alike at gunpoint, but when they are with us they are polite and genuinely thankful that someone cares about them enough to spend time with them. To see them really interested in the things of God shows me that hope never dies.

Please pray for our team as we work and live here. We are going through some major changes as some long-term team members are returning to the States to continue their educations. This leaves us very dependent on God as we pray for Him to raise up locals and send down more likeminded people to join us in serving Puerto Viejo. Specifically, we need a person to take over all of the duties associated with bringing in Short Term Mission teams and our location administration. We are also looking for someone to take on the youth and skate ministries on a full time basis and finally, we are praying for a couple to come down and open the music cafe/coffee shop. Never in my life has it been more evident that the fields are white for the harvest but th workers are few. Please pray for the community and our team.

We've completed the foundation and are hoping to begin construction of the steel supports for the new deck we're building around our storage container. We use the container for a variety of things including the storage of tools and construction materials, short term mission team supplies and most importantly, all of our skate equipment. In the future, this entire area will be a covered wooden deck that will wrap around three sides of the trailer. It will include stadium seating adjacent to the skatepark, a safety railing and full wrap around bar which will provide parents with a great place to work on their computers, talk and watch their kids skate. Everything were doing is centered around relationships, both building them and deepening them. This is one more way that we can encourage the involvement of families both with us and with each other. If you'd like to get involved financially with this project, please contact me through the "comment" section below and I'll tell you how you can specifically get involved. I'll continue to post photos as the work moves forward. We're planning to host a team from Lifechurch in Oklahoma in mid-October and will be trying to complete the installation of the deck with them. Please pray that everything will go according to plan and that the work will be completed within the next couple of months.

Happenings

Computer troubles are getting me down. Fortunately, when I bought my computer two years ago, I purchased the extended warranty which even applies here in Costa Rica. Today I am waiting for a technician to come over from San Jose to repair the monitor. Hopefully, by the end of the day I'll be back in business on my own computer.

In all, things are going well. Maili had her first ballet recital last week at one of the local elementary schools. She has been taking ballet (in the jungle of all places) for about 4 months now and is doing really well. It is a great way for her to get out of the house and make some new friends as well. Homeschooling down here can be very isolating as there are no homeschool groups or co-ops. We have to be very intentional about getting her involved with others. In this picture she is getting ready for the recital with her friends Paulina and Camila.




I am also including a really cool photo from a recent thunderstorm. I took this photo late at night from our porch. It was amazing to sit there and watch the lightning shoot through the air out over the water. This particular night was very dark and the sky just lit up ever time a bolt of lightning was released. It can be hot, sticky, buggy and sometimes downright frustrating living here but God seems to send these types of things along often enough to make us appreciate the opportunity we have been given.

Saying Goodbye and Getting Older

Last week we said goodbye to April Wood (right) who spent her entire summer helping us host short term mission teams, serving and discipling and building relationships with the youth. What an incredible helper she was. We enjoyed having her on our team and she certainly displayed an attitude of humility. Hopefully, she'll come back and work with us again one of these days. Thanks for everything April.


This past Saturday, we celebrated Maili's eighth birthday. We had her party out on the beach, underneath the coconut palms in front of our house. Lots of friends were there and we had a great time together. It's hard to believe she was only five when we first moved here. Man, how time flies. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAILI!!!!

We had an incredible night this past Sunday at our housechurch. For the first time I can remember, the evening was really in the hands of the people that are attending as they encouraged each other and shared and prayed about the things that are going on in their lives. All of this began as we studied Matthew 24 and looked ahead to the future. I left that night with the distinct feeling that "they really are getting it". Right before our eyes we are seeing lives being changed. We're seeing minds being renewed and we're seeing people becoming eager to have an impact for Christ in their own hometown. That is exciting to participate in. I'm including a photo of our friend Jose who is going through a very difficult time at home. The skatepark and our housechurch have become a major source of strength and comfort for Jose as he learns to give his troubles over to Jesus. Please pray for him when you get the chance. He's an awesome guy and God is really working in his life.



In other news, we (me and the family) are in San Jose again. We came in on Monday so that I could go to my last dentist appointment and then we were planning to pick up a new intern this morning and bring her back to Puerto with us. Unfortunately, she missed her plane and was delayed until this evening. I'm actually waiting at the hotel right now and will be leaving for the airport in about a half hour.

San Jose by nature is not a fun, family friendly city. We usually visit the mall when we're here but there aren't too many safe, fun places to hang out while we're waiting for appointments, etc... This time was the same as usual until mid-morning when our new helper called to let us know she was delayed. Once we found out, we had some time to kill so we decided to go and see one of the nearby volcanoes. It turned out to be a great afternoon filled with cool mountain air (including a slight smell of sulfur) and incredible views. We actually got to walk around in the upper portion of the volcano's crater and looked down into a large lake that fills the lower, main crater. The views on the drive up reminded me of scenes from The Lord of the Rings. We were actually up above several large thunderstorms that were soaking the valley below. We ended up having a great time together and got to see some things that we haven't been able to see since we've been here. Unfortunately, we didn't bring our camera on this trip because we had no idea we'd have any free time. I guess this goes to show me two things: first, you never know what to expect when you come to San Jose and second, always bring the camera.

Changes

Earlier this week we said goodbye to the last team of our summer season. It was a whopper of a team...37 people, and most of them were teenagers. We had a great time with them and got quite a bit of work done as well. Since the group was so large, we divided them up into three smaller groups of 12-13 people each. One group went into town each day and worked at the local high school...painting and maintenance. The other two groups worked at the property each day, sanding, varnishing and cleaning the grounds. They also spent quite a bit of time each day with several of the local youth who really enjoyed the interaction.

Speaking of local youth, I have heard a couple of comments recently that really made an impact on me. A couple of days ago, a friend of mine that is the missions pastor of a large church in Florida said that on his last visit, he really saw a huge difference in the spiritual maturity of the youth we have been working with... that he can really tell that they are growing in their faith This means a lot because this was his third visit. He has come to see us each year that we have been here and has witnessed our work grow from nothing to what is happening now with the house churches, skate-park and AWANA's program.



I also had a friend tell me some amazing things. He has lived in Costa Rica since he was 18 and has been visiting Puerto Viejo for over 15 years. He said that he can't remembers a time when he saw so many teenagers' lives being changed and so many of them hungry to learn about God. He went on and on about the changes he is seeing in specific individuals' lives and directly attributed it to the work we are doing. I don't share this to toot my own horn but to let anyone reading this know that God is doing amazing things through your prayers and support. Lives are being changed and God is working in incredible ways and it is happening one life at a time as we live life together with our brothers and sisters here in Puerto. Sometimes all it takes is someone that is willing to say yes to God, to come alongside others...giving them to strength and encouragement to live for Him.

Family Time

Every now and then we get some time to ourselves. This past Saturday was a lot of fun as we took a trip to a waterfall about a half hour drive away. We brought Sebastian, one of the older youth, with us along with a family that lives in the next town. It was beautiful. The waterfall is about 70 feet tall and you have to hike through the jungle to reach it. Here are a few photos from the trip.

The Ripple Effect

Lots of things are happening...too much to keep up with. I wanted to post this note I recently received from our stateside director regarding several people that visited us last month with the mission team from SkateChurch in Steamboat Springs, CO. Good stuff and it goes to show that God is using this location to work in the lives of more than just the people here in Puerto. Vince was one of the oldest members of the team and a really cool guy. It's awesome to see how God used his time here in Puerto to draw him into relationship with Him.

Ok, so here’s the deal….sitting here in the office all the time, I’m rarely able to be witness to the awesome things that are happening in the lives of those you guys are ministering to on a day to day basis. However, being here in the states, I am able to follow up on the lives of those who have participated in a short term outreach and what God is doing in and through them. Well, this last weekend I drove 15 hours north to the BEAUTIFUL town of Steamboat Springs, CO and spent the weekend with Buck and Tara. While I was there I went and shared at Uzoa Church, (Buck and Tara’s church) and also heard the team share about their experiences. After service there was a baptism service and some of the team was getting baptized. Jessie and Ryan got baptized as did Bucks 10 year old son, Hunter, (he was the one who couldn’t make it down this summer because of his mom). It was a great service.

The awesome news was that Vince got baptized too. Vince was the big tall guy who cooked us all lunch that one day. It seems that since the trip, Vince’s life has been radically changed. His girlfriend Gretchen came and thanked me and you guys for the work that is happening in PV and how it has changed Vince’s life. Vince is a HARD CORE believer in prayer. You should hear the guy pray…it’s awesome! He’s charging for Jesus and he attributed his faith to the time he spent in PV. When he spoke at church, he spoke of each of you and the work you guys are doing. He was really blessed by everyone and God really got a hold of him in a major way!

You see, house churches, children’s church, skate ministry, café’s and more are all incredible parts of what we do, but short term missions is another AMAZING way that we partner together in ministry. Yes, these teams are coming down and doing some amazing work, but God is also bringing them down and doing amazing work in them. You guys are doing a great job. Your lives and work are not only affecting change in Puerto Viejo, but lives are being transformed all across the US. Keep charging team…I’m proud of you guys!

Jeremy Dyck
Alternative Missions

Another Baptism

Last week I had the privilege of baptizing two of my friends from house church. Peace, who became a Christian about three months ago, and Dexter, who chose to follow Christ about a year ago, were baptized in the Caribbean Sea that they love so much. It was a really cool evening. After the baptism, we celebrated with a big dinner and then built a huge bonfire on the beach in front of our house and worshipped God together. I love seeing the changes that are taking place in their lives as they follow Jesus, step by step.

Busy Times

Wow! is all I can say. We have been so busy for the past few weeks that I haven't had time to get online other than to respond to necessary emails. Some big things have happened over the past few weeks and although it will be hard to put it all down here, I'll give it a go. Right after Calvary Jupiter left town, we took 15 of the youth and young adults on a retreat up to the mountains outside of San Jose. Nothing like that has ever been done before and we didn't know what to expect. It turned out better than I had imagined it could. We met up with a combined mission team from two churches in the states (Thomasville Road Baptist Church from Tallahassee, FL and 1027 Church from Atlanta, GA). The retreat was held at a friend's goat farm on the side of a volcano named Barva.

Our focus was Christian living and service to others. It was an incredible opportunity to take the youth out of their normal surroundings so that they could focus on their relationship with God and with each other. Over the course of four days, we taught four separate bible study lessons. On the second day, we took the group on a missions trip to San Jose to a really dangerous section of town called Little Hell (one of the biggest crack distribution centers in CR). A local pastor provides several opportunities for the children that live in this area to hear about God and his love for them. We spent several hours with the group of around 50 children. I was so impressed to see how the group from Puerto Viejo reached out to them, sang songs, played games and just spent time with the children. One of our friends even gave his testimony, which is a huge step for him. Here are a few photos (to be added shortly) from the trip. The end result was that the group became much closer in their relationships with God and with each other. It was great!

Plans

Although we have a team arriving this coming Saturday, we are already in the process of planning for the next team which will arrive in early August. If everything runs smoothly, we will begin constructing a 3-sided deck and stadium seating around the metal container that houses all of our skate equipment. Once this project is completed, we will have the perfect venue for parents to watch their children and get to know each other. We will also have a great place for viewing our next annual skate competition which should take place next New Years Eve. Please pray that our permits come through and that everything goes smoothly. We have a lot of pre-work to set up so that it's possible for the August team to complete their portion of the project.

Crazy

Wow, things have gotten busy and crazy. I took the Calvary Jupiter team back to San Jose on Monday of last week but it seems like it was yesterday. There has been so much to do to get ready for the next team that I feel like I haven't had time to turn around. One of our friends on the CalJup team helped us immensly with some of the computer problems we have been having. I had to completely reformat the hard-drive of my laptop and it has taken me the better part of a week to get back online with emails, etc... Now, things seem to be working smoothly and I am able to send and receive emails as well as get online to post new blogs...

This coming Saturday morning we are leaving Puerto Viejo with a group of youth for a 4 day retreat. We'll be meeting a combined team from Thomasville Road Baptist Church (Tallahassee, FL) and 1027 Church (Atlanta, GA) up in the mountains above San Jose. It is going to be an interesting experience to say the least and I am really excited about it. The visiting mission team has been planning all of the bible studies and activities for our time together. We will be focusing on the topic of Christian living...basically what it means to live life for God. We will be hosting four separate sessions as well as games and activities with the group from Puerto.

On the third day, we are going to take the PV youth group into one of the poor neighborhoods in San Jose so that they can experience a mission trip of their own. It will give them a chance to serve others as well as experience the other side of missions first-hand.

Our last day will be spent rafting down the Pacuare river, half-way between San Jose and Puerto. I am really excited about this trip and the opportunity to get these guys out of the day-to-day and let them see what it is really like to focus on your relationship with God without all of the normal distractions. It should be an incredible experience for all of us.

SK8 Church says goodbye

Although this post is a little late, it was too good of a photo op to pass on. Here is a photo of the SK8 Church team on their next to last night in town. The youth have continued to ask about them since they left and are already hoping for a return visit. This team really made an impact on personal levels...

Chaos

The term "chaos theory" describes systems that appear to be random and disordered, but in reality posses an underlying order. Chaos theory also describes a lot of what takes place here in Puerto Viejo. On the surface, things can appear to be quite disordered, especially to someone that is not familiar with the culture and the people. However, whether it’s a session at the skate park or a day in the classroom at the collegio (high school), there is usually an underlying order to things that might not be readily recognizable at first glance.

The past few days, the visiting mission team from Calvary Chapel Jupiter (Jupiter, Florida) has been hosting ESL classes at the local high school. The high school is a one room building with acoustics that seem to magnify even the slightest sound into a roar equivalent to a jet taking off. It can be really difficult for someone that is not used to it to maintain focus, but it’s not as much of a problem for someone that is used to the underlying order.

The first day was got pretty crazy as kids were coming and going throughout the lessons and a few scuffles even broke out. It was quite an experience and I think was a little overwhelming for the team but things worked out and despite the craziness, the kids really enjoyed the interactions. They are used to learning this way as it is often the way things are. Anyway, the second day was much smoother and things really seemed to take on a good flow. The interactions were good and the kids and the team really enjoyed their time together.



At the end of the week, will the high school kids be fluent in English? No, but that’s not really the point. The purpose of these classes is to build relationships in order to gain an opportunity to really pour into the lives of the students over the long run. Visiting teams are only here for a week or two at most, which isn’t really a lot of time, but they add so much to the long-term work we’re doing. Through their sacrifice of time and effort, they help us to build and establish relationships with people and institutions that would be next to impossible for us to do on our own. Missions work truly is a partnership as the different parts of the body come together and work as one to share the hope of Christ to people that are searching. While it might seem like madness at times, there is an underlying order to things… it’s all a matter of perspective.

Cal Jup 2

This is my first day back online since Calvary Jupiter arrived. So far, we have had a great time with a great team. It was also great having Dan, our pastor and friend, down for a few days to see what the church has been supporting and praying for the past few years. We had a chance to go rafting together and yesterday, went looking for howler monkeys which we finally found at the last possible place we could check.

This week is a good but full week. Each morning, the team is hosting ESL classes at the local high school. It is a chaotic but good time and the students really enjoy the interaction. Through outreaches like this, we are able to build more relationships with youth and the visiting mission team really gets a chance to plug into the community in a meaningful way. In the afternoons, the team is doing light construction here at the skatepark. We are working to finish as much of the structural work in the cafe so that in the future, when someone joins our team to open and operate the cafe, all that will remain will be the layout and decorating of the restaurant. It's great having friends in town and I'm really looking forward to seeing what the rest of the week holds.

Cal Jup

I'm in San Jose tonight getting ready to meet Calvary Chapel Jupiter at the airport tomorrow morning. This is exciting because this is our home church and we have been waiting and hoping that they would be able to come down for a long time. We have some friends on the trip and some others that will become friends. I'm really excited for the opportunity we will have to show them around our new hometown and to introduce them to our friends. During the week, we will be working at the local public high school, hosting ESL classes in the morning and some light construction at our property in the afternoon.

I have really enjoyed seeing how each team that comes down adds more brush strokes to this painting we have been working on. Each team brings their own touch and reaches out to the Puerto Viejo community in different ways. Please pray for this upcoming week as we continue to pour into the lives of those that live here and those that give of themselves to serve a God that is greater than anything we can ask, hope or imagine. Please pray for the safety of Amy and the girls while I am gone.

SK8 Church

The team from SK8 Church (Steamboat Springs, CO) has been a great help this week and they have really connected with the local youth. One of the most interesting things has been getting to know many of the kids that are involved in that ministry. I would say that about half of the kids are not Christians, because this ministry is very much oriented toward reaching those that are not part of a traditional church. The ministry is led by Buck Chavarria and his wife Tara. The other leaders that are helping out are also Christians but many of the kids are not. Buck and Tara really feel called to reach out to these kids that come from such difficult backgrounds. They have even become the legal guardians of one of the girls that is on the trip.

Anyway, it has been awesome to see God working in the lives of these kids as they are completely surrounded by the love of God in action. Not only are they getting a chance to serve others, they are getting the straight truth about God's love and the good news of Jesus and his desire to have a relationship with them. Back home, these kids are surrounded by drugs and a variety of relgious options but here on this trip they are being surrounded by truth. I have also been really proud to see some of our local youth reaching out to build relationships with the kids from this team. It was a really big step yesterday for two of the local guys to take six or seven members of the team surfing. The local guys are often extremely shy when it comes to one on one interactions where they are the focus of attention so to see them step up to the plate and serve the members of this team was awesome.

It is a priveledge to be here seeing lives being changed...both locals and visitors alike. God is really doing some incredible things

Love All, Worship One

Here is a quick look at a bumper sticker that was printed for us by SK8 Church, a visiting mission team that is with us this week.