Day 6: Pastor Wilbur’s houses in Sixaola

Day 6: Pastor Wilbur’s houses in Sixaola
March 5th Wednesday

6:45 Breakfast
7:30 Devotional (Anita – The Father’s Love letter)
7:45 On the road to Margarita church
8:45 Work site (Pastor Wilbur’s house)
12:00 Lunch
4:00 Clean up and change clothes
5:30 Distribution of school clothes and supplies
6:30 Services
9:00 return to Hotel

Wednesday morning we woke up, and met down at the outdoor restaurant for a continental breakfast outside by the beach. It wasn’t your Comfort Inn Continental….they had yogurt, granola, fabulous coffee and all sorts of fresh fruits. We moved down to a patio under the palms for Anita’s devotional. She shared more around the theme of God as a Loving Father, and passed out copies of the Fathers love letter. This collection of Bible verses shows that God has desired us to be his children from the beginning, and made a way to insure it was possible in the end. Here is a small portion:

....I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love. Romans 8:31-32
If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me. 1 John 2:23
And nothing will ever separate you from my love again. Romans 8:38-39
Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen. Luke 15:7
I have always been Father, and will always be Father. Ephesians 3:14-15
My question is…Will you be my child? John 1:12-13
I am waiting for you. Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad.
God Almighty

The specifics of that moment are beginning to fade, but the LifeChanging theme came home during the plane trip back days later when Anita asked me a really good question on the plane “ How will you walk that out?”. More about that on Day 9.

We loaded up, and raced down the dusty road to the land of banana plantations, and the house of Pastor Wilber. He is a courageous man who left his job as the manager of one of the banana operations to resuscitate a small church that was affiliated with the Assemblies of God. When he and his wife started there were about four people left, and the AOG, despite having brought him on actually wanted to close it down. Since Pastor Wilber came, the group began schooling children and there are now upwards of 40 people in the church, with over 30 children in the school from all over the community. When we got there, we were all impressed by the love and humility of Pastor Wilber, the poverty of the house he lived in, and later that night …..by the power of God’s Spirit in that place.

We all worked, as Scott described, according to our gifts. Many of the ladies painting, Bill and Scott built new steps with Pastor Wilber and some of the Tico men. Anita sewed curtain (under the palms!) and taught the pastor’s wife how to sew. DJ was everywhere, fixing bikes for the pastor’s son...sanding and painting. Most of my day was spent cleaning the floor, a sweet experience. Lisa, in an encouraging way said “You are really working hard to clean the floor”. It was a dusty paint splattered floor, with cracks between the boards that showed the dirt below. I tried to explain that I saw the beauty of the wood, and if we bought this in the states, “it would be expensive, exotic wood”. Then she said “That’s neat, you saw the value of the wood and it makes it easier for you to clean it.” I felt God was saying to me…How much more I see you and the other children not as you are, but as you can be! What love he pours on us.

That night did the quick change back into our dress clothes. We passed out the kits of school supplies, and watched a move “Rescado Del Inferno”. The movie surprised me because of the personal testimonies against satan worship, which I learned is somewhat common in that part of Costa Rica. Bill G. gave his heartfelt testimony, and then we sang some songs together in the boisterous way we came to expect. This time it though was hard, because the musicians didn’t show up, Rolando and Hosuea (our guides and friends) had to sing…and it was a little flat.:) I remember asking God to do his work, despite what I thought and saw and heard, He is not bound by externals signs of “it’s working” or “not working”.

Pastor Wilber talked for a while, and the people seemed to warm up. Scott talked, and gave the alter call, but there was not much of a response. Then a little later, after talking with Pastor Wilber, Scott said to all the people under the stars that he wanted to do something a little different “that we don’t normally do”. He wanted to us to pray for anyone that needed prayer. Nearly the whole crowd came up to Scott and Anita, and each of us went from one person to another, praying in English. That’s when I saw God’s spirit moving in others like never before, especially one lady that cried out loud and shook while DJ prayed. Others were healed or given new hope. We all agreed that God was there in a spectacular way.

That night we rumbled home with some Ticos in the van, moved by the whole experience. Back at the hotel, I rocked in the hammock until well into the morning, because I couldn’t sleep….