Dependency to Dignity

“They’re pioneering ministry to a group of people that other Christians refuse to give the time of day.” -me. It was me. I wrote that. 😉

That seems to be a theme for our time here in Costa Rica so far. Hannah and her team at Ocean’s Edge are boldly pursuing the souls of the lost in a city that’s been avoided by the Church for so long. Micah, Melissa, and their host of ambassadors at The Hope Project are reaching people that are most often forgotten and marked by hopelessness. They refuse to write off any person searching to restore their relationship with God, creation, themselves, and the people around them. While I’m more familiar with the work that is happening at Ocean’s Edge, I’ve never seen anyone doing the work that The Hope Project is doing in San José. 

As we drove into the city, I expressed to my teammates that San José, in appearance, is quite similar to New Orleans, Louisiana. Though we’d not been given a whole lot of information about the ministry that we would be partnering with, I had a feeling that we’d be doing some type of inner city ministry, and I wasn’t wrong. We’d learn later that day that the heart of The Hope Project is to see the people on the rim of society, the ones that have been declared unreachable, come to know Jesus. They’re helping these people break out of the cycles of poverty that they’ve been trapped in for their entire lives. They’re seeing people move from dependency to dignity. 

The vision for this ministry is quite ambitious and has not yet been unfolded in its entirety, but Micah and Melissa are being obedient to the voice of God as He speaks life into their work. I could spend a ton of time writing about all that they do, but I’ll give you a quick rundown of each of their ministries. 

The Center

Located in the heart of San José, “The Center” provides a space for folks to safely be with one another, while also serving as the hub for each of the different programs that The Hope Project, also known as “Til He Returns,” operates. 

House of Raw

Though it is not directly associated with this ministry, “House of Raw” is a dance studio that is run by one of the ambassadors for the project, José. The dance studio is housed in the basement of The Center and brings so many people into this environment that never would have considered entering on their own. 

El Refugio

The Refuge is a pregnancy center that is also housed in The Center, but began as a room in the Mixon’s home when they first moved to Costa Rica. The pregnancy center provides physical, spiritual, and emotional resources to women for the duration of their pregnancies and beyond. It’s such a sweet part of what they do. 

English Club

English club is a project owned by one of the ambassadors at The Hope Project, Rachel. Her vision for this ministry is to create a curriculum that allows native spanish speakers to learn english and experience the depth of relationship that is necessary to inspire Christlike life change. 

Waves of Grace

This is one of the programs that is used to break people out of a poverty mindset. The goal is to give women practical skills in order to make a living from their own home while taking care of their families. Specifically, this practical skill is making bracelets similar to the brand, “Pura Vida.” Melissa has a big vision to make these bracelets more widely available in the future, but for now, they’re pretty exclusive to people traveling in Costa Rica. 

Honestly, I’m astounded at the amount of work these cats are doing for the kingdom. This is only a fraction of their programming. If you would like to know more, or would like to make a financial contribution to the work of this organization, check out their website here.   

Our time with them was short and sweet, but I’m insanely thankful for the perspective shift that happened in my mind while we worked with The Hope Project. Aside from their beautiful view on missions, Micah and Melissa are jam packed with wisdom and it was such a privilege to soak in that for a while. 

For now, I’m back in Jaco with the rest of my squad and I’m stoked about what God is doing here aaannnddd  I ALMOST FORGOT TO TELL YOU. We will no longer be traveling to Peru when we finish our time in Costa Rica as we originally planned. At the moment, we don’t know where in the world we will be next, but we’re thankful that God is faithful and sovereign. When you think about it, pray for the homies working on our logistics back in the states. YALL DA REAL MVPS! 

I love you. 

AWM