Hello Everyone welcome to another blog update regarding outreach. We are so glad you are here! We have decided to do two outreach teams one in Malawi and the other in a rural part of Costa Week. Weekly updates regarding both teams will be shared here. With our many different backgrounds, culture and spiritual gifting we have come together in this season to serve one Lord. Keep reading to hear what the Lord is doing through us!

Costa Rica Update

Week 4 Report

This week was bittersweet as we entered the last week of outreach in this beautiful part of Costa Rica. After getting our car setbacks fixed we were ready to go starting the week attending at a children’s program sharing the gospel through the wordless book, puppet show, skit, songs and games. At the schools we continued the bullying and self-image talks and the kids were attentive and respectful enjoying the activities such as songs, videos and testimonies shared. The church from last week where we included a puppet skit within the children’s program wanted us to come back and teach them how to make puppets because the children enjoyed it so much. After they kindly served us lunch, we brought supplies and had them make and keep their own puppets to use. At a High School we’ve gone to before we got invited back to teach about the power of words, so we got to share testimonies and connect with the teenagers once more. Again construction was a huge part of this week as we get closer to finishing projects. Getting to help add two bedrooms and a bathroom to a house for a family was a huge project this week. It was so encouraging to have some men in community come along side and help support the family. A little girl that will be living in the house was so sweet helping while she was not in school. We ended our time here getting to meet and connect with our neighbors down the road. We are thankful for the wife of one of the DTS students who has been organizing the ministry opportunities here. As this family leaves to go back home, we will miss them. Our team is feeling thankful for the beautiful community we got to serve and be a part of.

Malawi Update

Week 4 Report

This week started with some birthday preparations for missionaries Whitney and Kossi’s children. Cakes baked, celebratory outfits on, and a monumentally, stunningly gorgeous balloon arch constructed. This balloon arch not only shimmered in splendor but caused every party attendee to rethink their measure of innate beauty. An impromptu viewing of the coronation was followed by a visit to the monthly farmer’s market for some famous dumplings which ended a lovely sabbath day of rest. Refreshed and ready to attack the week, we set out to build a new chicken coup in Whitney and Kossi’s garden, some long-term missionaries that we are staying with. Other jobs such as renovating their compost facility and pruning their garden were tackled throughout the week. This Sunday, Jackson and Benji were involved with the kids church which even ended with Benji teaching some more songs much to the anguish of the parents with the children skipping out of the door singing the same 4 phrases again and again and again. Thankfully, Benji made sure the earworms weren’t isolated to the children’s homes by ensuring he sang the same tune for the rest of the day. This week included a sack garden workshop that we taught at an organization called Brothers-in-Arms which brings boys off the streets and into quality education involving Sciences, English, Chichewa history, and Music lessons alongside different clubs that include agriculture and sewing. An organization that we have loved working alongside the last couple weeks and one that will be in our prayers. On Tuesday, we went to Phalombe on a surveillance run. We were showed around 2 villages in particular which had not received aid from any particular NGO’s or even the government. The team was met by absolute poverty with entire walls completely gone, poor/non-existent harvests, yet smiling faces. We met the next morning to discuss our observations, our analysis, and our thoughts on how to proceed and what advice to give to Flood Church who will be carrying out a Relief distribution run later on this week. We also had our ideas for potential community development that could be done in the area. Despite the travesty that the team saw, we were all amazed by the sheer joy that the children had in particular as they followed us around with glee. The excitement upon having a photo taken and seeing what they looked like was something that we will all treasure when we eventually leave this beautiful country. We have experienced many of the effects of the recent cyclone that have broken our hearts but these haven’t been without the evidence of hope and community that makes this place what it is. A country full of hope, a country full of praise for their Father, and a country fueled by their savior, Jesus Christ.