Even though we had arrived at our host home in Jacó at 2:00 ish in the morning, I couldn’t sleep. It was far too hot and maybe I was a tad bit excited to venture into the new city as soon as I could. I made my way out of the room and found some other hoodlums wandering around the house and overheard that they were headed to the beach, so I naturally joined their group and I’m so glad that I did. We were aware of the mistake that we made by not wearing our swimsuits, but made the decision to take a dip anyway. 

The scene here is straight out of a teen beach movie. There are a few massive hotels right on the shore, waves that are perfect for learning to surf, and green hills on either side of the two-ish mile wide stretch of sand. It’s everything i’ve ever wanted in a beach town and it’s a little slice of paradise that many people will never know exists. 

Can I also throw out the fact that the sunsets here are the most beautiful sight. For the first few nights our squad was here, groups of us rushed to the beach around 5:30 to catch the sun sliding down behind Isla Tortuga in the distance as we frolicked in the waves. No cares. No worries. Pura Vida, baby. 

Then we were oriented to the Jacó by our lovely hosts, Hannah and Avery. What a heavy time of introduction that was. We learned much about this city and our hearts broke with every new fact that we were given. 

At one point, Jacó was the place in Costa Rica that Christian organizations refused to send anyone, especially a young, single woman like Hannah Fletcher. (She’s our host this month) They’d always say things like “Don’t go to Jacó.” “If you go to Jacó, get in and get out.” “Nothing good comes from time in Jacó.” (Sounds like some other stories that we see all over scripture, doesn’t it?;)) 

When Christians should have been flooding to cast out the enemy and reclaim this land in the name of Jesus, they were completely avoiding it.The darkness secured its place here by blinding the minds of believers to believe that it’s too far gone. 

Hannah rejected that mindset and the schemes of the enemy and got herself here. She knew that God wanted to take back what has always been His in Jacó and she abandoned so much to make a life here for the sake of the good news. In case you’re wondering, Hannah IS the most gnarly lady you’ll ever meet. :) <3

We believe that Jacó is NOT too far gone. 

So here we are, our whole squad is living and serving together this month instead of separating into teams and that’s been pretty neat. What I think is so cool is that this place that was once overlooked by believers is now home for thirty one spirit filled missionaries who are passionate about bringing the gospel to the places that no one ever has. It’s also mighty notable that the typical structure of our route is one month in one country, but we’re scheduled to be here for sixty days. What does God wanna do with that? I guess we’re about to find out. 

For now, you can catch us painting murals in the park or on light posts, refining business as missions strategies, and asking the Lord what He wants to do in the city. There’s so much more that I cannot wait to share with you and a whole lot more that I need to tell you, but this’ll do for the moment. 

It’s imperative that you join my squad in prayer as we ask God to protect us from work of the enemy while we are here. There’s plenty of temptation to give into Satan, but we’re praying for strength, diligence, and unity. If you’re interested in receiving emails with specific prayer requests, make sure that you comment “PURA VIDA” on this blog using your preferred email address. 

Here’s the link for the ministry that we are partnering with! Ocean’s Edge

I love you. 

I’m so thankful for you. 

AWM