Pura Vida baby, Pura Vida

    

Friday after eating lunch at a cool place by the beach we started our long drive back to San Jose.But first we stopped outside of Jaco for some crocidiles and coffee. We wish we had a chicken to throw in the river. ;) After stopping for dinner we finally got back to our compound and had a great night of sleep.

     On Saturday we got up at 6ish like normal for an awesome day of ministry. We planned to have a huge outreach downtown in the city center, but the the police shut us down :P so instead we all got in groups and got to invite people to Calvary Chapel around downtown. Afterwards we went back to the church and got to meet with a local youth group which was realy cool. After that we went shopping for some souvineers and good food.
     On Sunday we woke up and got into our fancy clothes for church where Jesse taught and Geiner translateda message on being One for All or not at All and encouraged people to go all out the church. Afterwards we had lunch with the congregation and did our skits. After that we went to a mall and got to shop and evangilize. Following that we got a huge surprise from the leaders and Geiner. 

     Monday we prepared for an amazing day of ministry by starting with an amazing time of prayer and worship at the church with Nate. After that we walked down to the university to go evanglize and prefrom our skits. We did this twice yesterday, and it was incredily fun to just bust out into a skit out of nowhwere in a public place içm just sayin... Two people gave thier lives to Christ yesterday and there was a huge party in heaven! It was also cool becuase I personally, got to talk with some other belivers and encourage them which was really awesome.
Today was Mellisa`s 19th birthday and we got to smash an egg on her head and all give her presents. And we have had a great day of ministry so far.
     God has been reavelaing to me how great and big He is and how small i am so much on this trip and i´m so blwon away. Içm going to miss it here so much. But also miss all you in ABQ! Only 4 more days, keep praying for us here that many more hearts woul still be changed. See you soon
-Amor Jonah

Adventures on the Coast..

Sorry it has been so long since you all have heard from us.. we have been had really busy days, along with no internet! After we left Quepos, we traveled to Manuel Antonio where we spent some time at a beach for a day. From Manuel Antonio, we traveled to Jaco where we evangelized to the local people there, noticing the difference in culture right away. We shared the love of Jesus Christ to the people on the streets of Jaco.. there were people who spoke spanish and some who spoke english, but God broke the language barriers! The next day in Jaco, we were able to go clean up the beach and go surfing.. that was a blast! We stayed at the beach for a couple hours, and got to watch surfers while we ate lunch at a restaurant by the beach. God has shown us how to be flexible in all situations.. when we are tired and want to sleep, we push through and go share the love of Jesus Christ to the locals with open hearts. Keep us in your prayers!

Reagan Madigan

BEANS, RICE AND JESUS CHRIST!

Hello my family in Christ! So far so good! Yesterday we traveled to a city called San Isidro and helped a church down there called "Calvary Chapel de San Isidro." We went down to the plaza and one of the malls to bless people with food, prayer and the word of God! By the Holy Spirit working in us there were 2 professions of faith! After that we went to a restaurant and we had, well you guessed it, RICE...! And chicken! Then we went to our hostel and it was lights out... well sorta.

In the morning were on the road again, to a city called Dominical. A church down there called "The Refuge" blessed us with some cheeseburgers and fries! Since a bad flood had hit recently we went to different houses to bless them with food, worship, and the gospel! Once we finished that we went the beach to "fellowship." Once we were done we were off once again! We are currently in a city called Quepos. We went down to another beach to worship our Lord Jesus Christ and take communion! God is truly breaking down any language barriers that we have had prior to the trip! Everything inside me believes that there will be a revival in this place, in this city and in this country! I can't wait to see what God has in store for us and how he is going use us to glorify him! Keep us in prayer always. We love and miss you all!

        Your Nomad,

         Isaiah Jaramillo

     

God's Hand

We're all here in Costa Rica having a great time and doing our best to represent and glorify the Man! It is such a blessing that we can be here and have wonderful host missionaries that have really done so much for us with such a serving heart for the Lord. They have provided and arranged our lodging and have just been so gracious with everything! Yesterday we attended San Pedro Christian Fellowship in both Spanish and English studies and it was so great to see the diversity of the people here! It is very easy to see their heart for God and it's so awesome that God transcends culture and can reach people of any race and style. Later on we explored the grounds of where we were staying, Entre Pinos, and it was soooo cool! There were soccer fields, a play ground, trails, and straight up legit massive inner tubes that provided for some serious fun! The food is great! Lots of black beans, rice, sugary tropical drinks, and some amazing coffee! I'm not a coffee drinker, but it was tasty even to me :P
  Today we had our quiet times again in the morning and then went to visit and help out some Costa Rican kids. The place we went was like a community center where one of the missionary women provide lunch for the kids everyday. They were so sweet and receptive to us and I feel God really used us despite any language barriers or differences to show His perfect love. We got to hang out with them, show a couple skits, have the parents come and hear a message, and play some games like street futbol!!! The kids were so excited to see us and it was really great getting to know them and their situations. Several people exchanged e-mail addresses to hopefully connect with them after we're gone. For dinner we had a home-cooked meal by Nadie, one of the church wives, and it was a blessing to just be together as one body in Christ sharing our experience and things we did well and can improve on! I can't wait to see what else God has in store for us! It's just so exhilerating and awesome to see God working in and through us to further His kingdom and purposes! Jeez did I mention we're only on day two! All our loved ones, we love and miss you! Haha I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking about my family out here. Just know we're safe, things are going on track, and we're following our Lord Jesus Christ to be used as vessels for His work! Keep us in prayer. Pura vida Costa Rica!!
With love, Gabi Benavidez

Great times

Safe and having a blast. About to do our first day of full ministry, mostly with some kids!  Follow us at twitter.com/verticaltrips

Parent Contact List

John DaCamara	505-350-8765
Donna Garcia	505-249-2684
Mary-Ellen Haliburton	505-980-9294
Marcie Jaramillo	505-410-5820
Scott Oster	505-688-2368
Randy Rendon	505-861-7223
Clay &Michelle	505-792-5437
Jim & Diane	505-352-1474
Lucy Tapia	505-344-3510
Carolyn	505-266-9292
Anthony or Brenda Benavidez	505-345-3239
Barb Leoppke	505-235-2060
Tracy Madigan	505-898-6993
Lynda Tye	505-797-0097
Chip Lusko	505-250-7742
Elizabeth Farrour	505-898-2422
Kelly Bransford	505-270-4628
James Sturdy	505-235-6736

4 days

We are 4 days away from leaving to Costa Rica. I am very excited.  This trip will be more wonderful than a cupcake in Candy Land.  Also this is just a test blog.