Ministering the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Costa Rica with Praying Pelican Missions, networking with local churches ,  and connecting mission teams to  life- changing ministry opportunities.
Busiest Month in PPM CR History!
With 16 trips going on in July, there really has been no "down time."  This month alone, 400 missionaries came to Costa Rica to work alongside of a local church ministering the love and grace of Jesus Christ!

Allow me to try to summarize just the 3 trips that I, Nate, personally led this month.

July 8 -14 we served in Lagunilla with a team of youth from New Covenant Church in Virginia.  The week was incredible as we did VBS daily in a community center, delivered food bags to 20 families, and helped to rebuild Pastor Edgar's home on the church property.  My highlight was watching Pastora's face beaming as the walls on her house were ripped down.  I asked her if she was happy and she replied with "it's a dream!"  It was a joy to serve alongside of a friend of Laura and I from Elim Bible Institute.  All week long I watched his youth group serve, love, and pray over people with a spiritual depth that everyone noticed.  Check out the Trip Journal of this week to see more!

July 21 - 27 we served in Liberia with Westside Family Church from Kansas.  This was their second trip to Costa Rica to the same church.  I walked into this trip with apprehension, not knowing what God was going to do.  Just a week before this trip started, Pastor Jose Blas of Iglesia Biblica Emanuel passed away.  I knew this would be a week of pouring love over a grieving church, and that's exactly what we did.  We were able to share testimonies, deliver groceries to elderly in the church, paint the Sunday School classrooms, serve at a feeding program, minister at a school, and spend time loving on children at one of the parks.

My highlight this week was painting Pastora Cledy's house.  We were supposed to continue painting at the church, but the final morning the secretary asked if we would paint Pastora's house instead.  Of course we did!  Pastora Cledy's face lit up when we said we were going to her house.  Later that day she pulled me aside to tell me why she was so happy.  That very morning she woke up at 6 am and looked over to see a can of green paint that her husband had purchased.  She worried the house wouldn't get painted and the paint would be wasted!  We were so happy to be Jesus' hands and feet to show Pastora that she is loved so much by God!  Check out the Trip Journal of this week to see more!

July 29 - August 4 we served in San Rafael with the youth group I pastored before we moved here from Immanuel Church in Delaware.  This trip was a joy because it's like serving alongside of our own family!  This was their 4th year coming to the church (2 trips with me as the youth pastor, and now 2 trips with Pastor Ryan).  My highlight from this trip was just seeing the value in long-term partnerships that have been formed out of genuine relationships.  To see kids come running up and jumping into the arms of the youth that they have built relationships with over the years is breathtaking.  This year, the team prayed for more people than I have ever seen a team pray with.  We intentionally took a loaf of bread to each of the homes in San Rafael and invited them to a feeding night at the end of the week at the church.  About 125 ended up stepping foot inside of the local church, in which 90% of the people were not church attenders!  Check out the Trip Journal of this week to see more!

That's just 3 of the 16 trips this month!  Thanks for your prayers over this past month, the were felt and appreciated!  Also, 10 of the trips this month were led by Costa Ricans, this is our dream!  
What about Laura?
Laura has been the stability that our family and staff has needed this month.  Laura definitely has the gift of hospitality!  She was busy all month basically running the Norman Bed & Breakfast.  No, this isn't a real business, but instead a ministry to our staff.  Laura has cooked, cleaned, and done laundry for all of our staff when they were in-between trips.  Many trips end Friday and start Saturday, and Laura took care of all of us, sending us out with clean clothes and full bellies!

Along with holding down the fort with the kids, she also was able to visit me on many trips, often bringing all of the kids with her!  Malachi was able to be on a trip with me for 5 days while Reagan and Abbi served with Anna (our Costa Rica Operations Director) for 5 days.  Laura has put many miles on our van being present on trips and moving people from one trip to another! 

We definitely would not have made it through this summer without her!  

When it Rains...2 Ladies get Saved!
One of my favorite moments of this month happened last week with my old youth group.  We had planned to spend 4 afternoons serving children at a field in San Rafael.  One day, the rain was relentless.  We all sought shelter either on the bus, under a tree, or under a small covered bus stop.  I happened to be at the bus stop along with some of the youth from my church, some neighborhood kids, and 2 ladies who were seeking shelter from the rain.

As we were sitting there waiting for the rain to stop, one of our youth, Karlene, said, "shouldn't we share the Gospel while we are here?"  It really was a captive audience!  I jokingly said, "Yeah, share the story about Noah's ark!"  Karlene stood up and instead began to strike up a conversation with the 2 ladies, telling them why we were all here in Costa Rica for the week.  Do you know how the conversation ended?  Those 2 ladies put their faith in Jesus for the first time!

Karlene really taught me a lesson last week about making the most of every opportunity.  Here I was worrying about the team not being in the field doing ministry, and then Karlene steps up to share the Gospel!  
Love,
Nathan, Laura, Darrell (in the USA), Reagan, Abigail,  Malachi,  & Isaiah