Final Day--Costa Rica

Today was AWESOME!!! Today Ryan, Gretchen, and some police friends we made blessed us so much for all the hard work that we did for them. First off this morning we went to a market place. It was nothing like in the states. Almost everything you can think of is sold there. Plus you get to bargain for items which is really fun. After that we went to the national soccer stadium which is HUGE! We got a private tour of the whole place. Our costa rican friend got us into the stadium. We worked at his house and his gift to us was the stadium and a private tour of the San Jose police station. He is such a godly man its unbelievable. The police station was really cool. God gave us such a great day to end on and just relax after working.
-Ryan McDonald

Oh my gosh this week was super cool! Ive found out what God had in mind for me for this trip. I cant wait to get home and use my new skills. Im gunna come back with a new attitude and understanding. I hope i can spread my experiences and just share how much of a blessing this trip was. I really would like to do this again. Ive made so many friends that im going to miss so much. But its never good bye, its see you later ;)

-Jonathan Woolf

Friday Morning in Costa Rica

The last two days have been busy! We have had the opportunity to bless the family of Deitl and Noylie (sp?) by painting the entire inside of their house. Many families can't afford paint, especially colors, so it was a blessing to put color on at least one wall in each room. Their home is small, so having too much color would actually make it feel smaller. We primed, and painted their entire home, and did major landscaping including bricks and crushed stone. That was the main part of the day for the last two days, but the evenings included another big project. We spent the evenings helping the missionaries (Ryan and Gretchen) move to another house. It is a much different experience moving in Costa Rica, but many hands still make light work. It was a fun couple of hard working days and it has been a blessing to serve with old friends and new! Just one more day until we head to the airport for a full day of traveling home.
-Jason

The promised pictures of Costa Rica Missions

Costa Rica Pictures

Wednesday Night in Costa Rica

Today was painting day and landscape day. Our team is painting the interior of a home belonging to one of the centurions and his family. We are also doing some landscaping, driveway repair and adding some landscaping rocks. I got to weed Costa Rican weeds. My cup is full.
-Kim

Today was our first full day in San Jose. (Yesterday we made the 3 to 4 hour drive here from the little coastal city of Quepos.) We spent the day working at the Beta’s house, a wonderful Christ following family. We started painting, landscaping, and driveway projects that we will continue to work on over the next couple of days. We also have the wonderful opportunity of working with a tremendous Costa Rican couple and their seven year old son. It’s amazing how they have close to nothing and are still filled with so much joy. The believers here in Costa Rica are all like that, and through them God is teaching me what it is to truly give Him absolutely everything. It has been so cool to watch God move through this trip. He is doing so many great things here, and I am so thankful to be a small part of that.
-Becca McDonald

Costa Rica (Tuesday 8/9/11)

This trip is certainly an eye opener on many fronts. There have been several subtle cultural nuances that have spiritual implications. The believers here place heavy value on family and faith and live this out quite clearly. Many of us would say we place value on similar things. However, many of the people we’ve met are extraordinarily committed to making Christ the hero in everything they do, even though they struggle with meeting daily needs like transportation, varieties of food to eat (vs. rice and beans every day), and living in homes suitable for their families. In almost every discussion with the Tecos (Costa Ricans), it’s always about Christ as the hero, and not about them – humbling and impressive.
-Tom

Monday night update

Wow!!! Today we had a great time at the beach got thrown by a lot of waves and enjoyed the sun. We got to climb the rocks which was amazing and go out into the deeper part on the rocks. It was all a cool creation the God has made for us to enjoy!!we went on a hike into the woods thinking we were going to the other beach...Well really that turned out to be a hard barefoot experience around a big peninsula. After that we went to the island where lots of troubled people live (I guess you could say). We went door to door and invited a bunch of people on the island to church in the Kapos central. During this time we got to evangelize to a couple of people who were interested in God. Saved a man who thought that he wasn' good enough for God because of his sins. It is truly amazing what God has done for most of the people here the way they treat one another and the feeling of helping another brother/sister in Christ. I am truly happy to be here and to see what God has planned next for us in San Jose.

-Eric Rohlwing-

Today was super fun. I love the fellowship and Im really good at this spanish stuff. Im not sure im getting the whole missionary thing, i feel like im not getting something but im sure ill get it cuz were only on day two. During soccer one of the ladys got a cheap shot with the ball right where you dont wanna get hit. I hope i feel like myself as the trip goes on in San Jose tomorrow .

-Jonathan Woolf-

Today was an incredible day of seeing God's creation around us on this beautiful coastline and seeing the opposite as well. We visited a beach never that has never seen a vehicle...untouched. We also crossed a very dirty, smelly river to visit one of the most difficult places in Quepos to share the gospel door to door. We had the amazing opportunity to hear a man pray the prayer of salvation asking God to take over his heart and life. What an amazing privilege! We are headed to drop off some bullet-proof vests in the morning at the local police headquarters and then head to San Jose for the remainder of our trip. God is alive and well in Quepos, but there are some very hurting people here. Please pray for the local church to continue to invest in the lives of these people. There is great passion, but the work is very difficult. People are very stuck in tradition and cultural lies.
-Jason
P.S.--we were humbled by the Costa Ricans in FUTBOL (soccer) tonight.

Sunday Evening Costa Rica Update--Day 3

Wow! Where to start?!?! Church this morning was OUTSTANDING! Pouring and investing into about 80 kids was such a blessing to all of us! It was humbling to see how happy and/or excited they were about the shields, helmets and swords that they made as they completed their Armor of God wardrobe. Some of the kids had never seen or used crayons and it was such a blessing to be able to send each child home with their own box of "many colors". Becca "knocked it out of the park" as she stood before all these kids and taught the Truth directly out of the Bible!! We spent the afternoon with 2 TACTICA police families, grilling and listening to such moving and God centered testimonies. Every team member was moved and humbled to be able to hear these miraculous life transformation stories. GOD IS GREAT!! Looking forward with great anticipation for the rest of the week!!! Thank you for your prayers . . . we are seeing them played out here in Costa Rica. PRAISE AND GLORY TO GOD!!! (Nicki)

Well today was beautiful. The weather was great, the little kids were fun, and it was cool to listen to Rafael and Carlos share their testimony's. We got to go to the beach and swim in the ocean today, wow was it warm. The waves today were huge like I don't know, maybe 7 to 8 footers. The kids loved the passage shared by Becca and, they liked the balloon swords. We got to meet with a bunch of kids, i feel so sorry for them because they are struggling with family life and what not. But we made good connections with them and, even though we can't understand a word they are saying we still got through to them. Can't wait for the rest of the week only day 2 and, I can already see the work GOD! is doing in the people and us.
-Eric Rohlwing-

Wow!! I don't even know where to begin. Today was absolutely amazing! It is only day three of this incredible mission trip and you can already tell that God is completely at the center of it. This morning we had the awesome opportunity to love on a bunch of kids that really really needed it. It broke my heart to see the pain and sorrow on these kid's faces when they arrived at the church, but the joy that they had when they left was something so great I can't even put it into words. I had the great honor of teaching these kids this morning. It was a truly amazing experience that I am so thankful for. After church we headed to Rafael's house. He is an amazing guy and we had the opportunity to hear his and his wife's testimony. It was so cool. We also got to hear the testimony of a couple of Rafael's friends. Another amazing story. God is doing so much on this trip, and I can't wait to come back and tell you guys all about it. Please continue to pray. Although God is doing amazing things here, there are still many struggles going on among the people that we are working with. Love you all!!
-Becca McDonald

Great day today...what a reward to see the team working together and watching the kids leave with huge smiles on their faces! We are left with a boost of encouragement as we see the local teachers and TACTICA leaders deeply committed to their people. A beautiful country, with many wonderful people. Unfortunately, the majority of daily life consists of a dark life...drugs, abuse, prostitution, etc. - it's the norm. For the few believers who are here, they have to battle this and much more every day. The good news is that these people have faith - and a boatload of perseverance to continue living out their faith...kudos to them! Pray for them - for continued strength as they face the challenges of a society that opposes everything they live for and for their ministry to continue to grow.

~Tom Rohlwing

Hey! So far AMAZING trip. Its really cool seeing gods hand in everything we do. Today we were able to serve kids breakfast and put on a Sunday service for them. After the service our group went to a centurion, Rafael's, house for a cookout. Then our team came back to the hotel which sits right on the pacific shore. We went out into the water and got trampled by some major waves. Tomorrow we are planning on getting on a boat and going to a not so comfortable or good island which is filled with sin. Hopefully we will be able to go door to door and hand out tracks and share the word of god. I personally love talking to these people about Christ. They are so open almost the opposite of the U.S. Even though there are some language barriers we always seem to figure each other out. Charades is a very popular way to communicate. Haha.

-Ryan McDonald

Great day in Costa Rica!

Thanks for your prayers. Today was an effective day of serving in a local church in Quepos. Becca McDonald did an amazing job teaching a very cute group of kids. Many of the kids are brought in via bus for a simple meal of rice and beans along with a slice of fried bologna. We were blessed by the opportunity to serve them. I'll post pictures later.
Thanks for your continued prayers for us and TACTICA Ministries!
-Jason

Sunday morning in Costa Rica

We woke up this morning to an incredible sight...multiple monkeys outside our rooms. We are headed to serve a church this morning and run children's programs for about two hours. Becca McDonald will be teaching about the Armor of God and the team will be running crafts, games, and leading small groups. Children are bused in for a good meal and teaching. Please pray for the team to represent Christ well.

Saturday Morning

So far the trip is going great. The planes were on schedule which was something that is always an amazing gift. We arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica and from the airport got on our team bus and drove to Quepos. This morning we woke up around 6:30 and had breakfast at the hotel. We had a devotional time and shared our testimonies. We are now getting ready for tonight. We are going to be serving at an outreach directed towards couples. We will be showing a movie for them and waiting on them.

-Ryan McDonald....(Jonny Woolf says hi)

also Jon says that it(this is Jon talking) was not to easy putting together a testimony and sharing it with people Ive just met. Were going to do that many more times on the trip. Also ive made sure to make a point that I am Mr. Woolf's son because of my amazing singing range. Ahh were going to have a lot of fun singing and stuff. OH and the weather is great with no rain yet. Kay this is Jon Woolf signing off!

-Jonathan Woolf

Well we are in Costa Rica the view is great and the driving is nuts. Ryan and Gretchen are really cool people to meet and I am looking forward to the rest of the week. Tonight we are setting up an event for couples for a marriage seminar. Then back to the Hotel. The weather is nice here, no rain yet. Can't wait to see the rest of the country, and meet the people, share our testimonies.

-Eric Rohlwing

On board to Costa Rica

We are seated about ready to leave Miami for San Jose, Costa Rica. Then a nice bus ride to the coast. On about 4 hours of highly interrupted sleep! I love missions!!!!
-Jason