Baptism & Outreach

In each of our weekly studies the subject of baptism had come up. Having many new believers from the last few months the Lord placed it on the hearts of leadership to share the importance of baptism in the life of the believer. In the middle of last month we canceled our Sunday study and invited everyone from our three studies and bilingual class at the Bible college to join us for a day of fellowship/baptism at the river. About 20 of us went to the river with lots of food, a guitar, and our Bibles. We spent the whole day at the river swimming & laughing. We set aside time for a study and baptism. Eight people were baptized! Three of the four who accepted the gift of salvation at the beginning of this year were baptized. I was especially blessed because I had the opportunity to be in the water with each person because I was filming the whole thing. In the water I heard each prayer of the Ticos (Costa Ricans) as they lifted their voice in gratitude for the Lord in their lives, and each prayer from the pastors and they prayed over the life of those who were baptized. It was truly a beautiful thing to see these lives which have been changed by the Lord make a statement of their life with Christ.

I wish I could share all 8 videos with you, but it takes way too much time to upload. However, I'm so pleased to share this one with you. This is Mariel. She is the daughter of Silvia, one of our Tica (Costa Rican) students, and Gerry, a fellow missionary. Mariel is only 6 years old, but her heart is so sensitive to the Spirit and she loves Jesus so much! Pray for her as she grows. May her maturity not be merely physical, but more importantly may it be spiritual. 

All those who were baptized

One of the classes offered this semester at the Bible College was Evangelism. This class was taught by a fellow missionary Darwin Torres, who is from Peru. In this class each of the students from the states were to plan and complete an entire outreach. With much prayer they chose to do a soccer outreach at the end of last month. Soccer is huge here, so it was very fitting. Within the outreach budget the students bought custom made t-shirts and jerseys, a first prize trophy, food, and rented a stadium for a whole day. Towards the beginning of the outreach the gospel message was given and seven people gave their lives to the Lord! Half of them were simply people sitting in the stands watching the games just as they would have any other day. The outreach was such a success! Praise be to God! There were souls won, plenty of food, and no injuries. Each person who came to salvation gave contact information, so I’m looking forward to seeing what the Lord does in each life.

The students with the winning team of the tournament/outreach.

Once again, I cannot thank you enough for all you support, whether it be financial or in prayer. I’m so grateful that you are joining me in the work that the Lord is accomplishing in Costa Rica! Your prayers are so valuable to me! Looking back I remember when I first came to this country. I was only going to be here for “3 months.” Obviously the Lord had different plans! It’s been 11 months since I moved here. I can honestly say that I don’t think it would have been possible without your prayers and support. Thank You! I’ve been so blessed by You.  In June, my grandparents are blessing me with the opportunity to go to the states, two weeks in California and a few days in Philadelphia. I look forward to visiting you and sharing personal testimony of the Lord’s work here! May the Lord richly bless you!

In Christ Jesus,

Vanessa

“Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry sould with goodness.” –Psalm 107:8-9