God loves to grow us and stretch us by using uncomfortable situations. I think that He loves for us to do things for Him that we would normally be afraid to do because it pushes us straight into relying on Him. At the same time God loves for us to do things that we love to do.
Doing youth ministry is something I used to be terrified of. Years ago God asked me to step into that exact thing that was so uncomfortable for me and quickly changed it into something I have such a huge heart for. I think we get to know more of Gods heart for us when we do things we are afraid of, and I think we also get to know the sweet heart the Lord has for us when He invites us to serve Him in ways that we absolutely love!
That all being said, when our host asked if a few people would be willing to serve with the youth group at the church we have been attending in Jaco, Horizon Church, my hand shot up right away! A couple of us get to hang out with the High School age youth group every Thursday and on some random other days too and boy what a joy it’s been so far.
The Youth Pastor and his wife are both from the States and both have a Young Life background which I obviously love and makes my heart really happy. (Ok Young Life I see you.) So anyway, the youth group is run very similarly to styles of ministry I am used to which is so fun for me. What a sweet gift from the Lord to let me be a part of something I love!
One of the absolute sweetest things about the kids in the youth group is that almost all of them are either bilingual or trilingual. One girl I got to know speaks English with one part of her family, Spanish with another part, and Hebrew with another part! I also talked to another girl who’s third language was French. Beautiful!
The dynamic of the group was very interesting because the fun games were all explained in Spanish but when the Youth Pastor was speaking, he delivered the message in English. I watched one of the leaders quietly translate the message as she sat next to a girl who spoke only Spanish. A beautiful aspect of Costa Rica is that people move here from so many different countries and it is such a melting pot of different cultures.
The inclusivity that I’ve experienced here truly has been a picture of Gods kingdom. Obviously coming on the race I am prepared to go to countries where the language is unfamiliar to me personally. What I did not expect to find was a youth group with so many different languages all present at once. Here at Horizon they don’t use differences of culture or language as a barrier to sharing the Gospel, that’s Jesus’s heart for the whole world!
I’m so grateful to get this sweet look into the work God is doing in Jaco. Jaco is such a beautiful and unique community, but underneath the surface there is also a lot of darkness. I plan to share about that more in a later blog, but even though there are a lot of pockets of light in this community, the enemy is also at work right underneath the surface. Horizon Church is such a light in this community and evidence that Gods hand is all over this town. God is so much bigger than any of that darkness.
I’m so glad that the youth group at Horizon exists and that there is a place for kids in Jaco to be seen and loved by each other, their leaders, and the Lord. What an absolute blessing it is to have a place where kids can have Truth spoken over them and they can just be.
Photos all by my sweet and talented friend Kelsey Corns!!!! Check her out: kelseycorns.theworldrace.org
Courtney – I love reading your updates and reflections. Praying for you, your team, and all of the amazing people you are getting to meet and serve!
Wowowowow, this looks incredible! And how sweet that you got the opportunity to be involved with the youth group?! (Fun YL connection too 😉 )
WOW! I love your sweet obedience to the call of youth ministry, that you now get to see the fruit of! I’m so proud of you for stepping fully in your identity and your calling as a servant leader. Thank you for sharing this! 🙂