March 4th Tuesday
7:00 Breakfast and Dishes
8:00 Devotional (DJ – Let me be your Daddy)
9:30 Leave for Sixaola
12:30 Lunch in Limon city park
2:00 Limon Prison
4:30 Arrive at Villas del Caribe and check in (we were 1 ½ hours late!!)
7:00 Dinner
9:00 Ping Pong
We were all excited, and maybe a little nervous about the Prison trip in Limon (on the East side of Costa Rica). It was a great day to have DJ lead the morning discussion, reminding us in a deeper way about the Father-heart of God. We gathered around the patio, next to the apartment that Anita, Katy and Amanda shared. DJ read from Isaiah 43:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.
Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you…
…."Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
What DJ said gave us a vision for the prisoners, and ourselves. Speaking with the quiet, calm confidence that screamed conviction, DJ described how God would NOT be like our fathers--who left us alone to do their own thing--but that God wanted a relationship. God woke him up one night to tell him “You are my Child, let me be your Daddy”. It reminded me that I need to come to God with a child-like attitude, open arms, nothing to give but love. His talk was more like a testimony and less like a teaching; it connected so clearly to the conversation from Saturday with Anita the day before about God as our Father, reopening and answering questions we all have:
How do I get started with God as a Father? We didn’t choose him, He choose us despite our wounds and mistakes.
How do I know His love? Through others, as we become part of a family.
How much does he love me? DJ read from 1 John 3: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”.
Why does he love me? From this Love come a purpose, “…you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
I was so glad to be there with DJ, Scott, Anita Dan and the others at that moment, reminded of the darkness Father was bringing me out of, and how we would be used later that day to help others "escape" from their Prison. For that part of the story, because it was so precious and shared, I should start a new post to focus on the prison.
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