Armour

Sorry if the title of the post seems strange, but we talked about armour during our Prayer Breakfast - namely putting on some armour.  Elizabeth Chotka had used an excellent example during the prayer breakfast of how the shields used by army's in the days of scripture were not made of metal or other hard material as we would most likely assume, but rather of leather, wet leather.  The  sides of the shield were cut in such a way so that when the army marched in a line to battle, they could 'lock' their shields together, forming an incredible barrier to the enemy.  Further, they soaked their shields in water, so that flaming arrows shot by the enemies would be doused by the water in the shield upon impact.

As we go to serve and be the hands and feet of Jesus, there is no doubt that we will face trials, hurdles, problems, and blocks that Satan puts in front of us in an attempt to break us and halt us from moving forward.  He may attempt to divide the team.  We need protection from this.

We need to daily put on our shield everyday to be guarded from the evil one.  As a team, we must look to the Father, and claim Him daily as Lord over all that we do.  We need to put on His armour, and walk together trusting in Him.

Unannounced to anyone, Caleb Spratt had been busy working at making leather bracelets for the team with "Costa Rica 2010" stamped on them.  The idea was simply to create something symbolic to tie the team together further.  The example that Elizabeth Chotka had used of the leather shield was an outstanding lead-in to distributing the leather bracelets later that day.  Isn't it interesting how God can use something very simple to drive home a message without any 'intervention' or planning on our part!  While not a physical shield, the bracelets serve as a reminder to each team member not only how important it is to put on the Armour of God, but also that we are strong in unity.

Thanks Caleb for all of your hard work on the cool bracelets!  Your thoughtfulness and hard work on these is a wonderful contribution to the team.

Packing Up!

Following the prayer breakfast on Saturday morning, the team gathered to take on the task of packing the various ministry bags full of sleeping gear, VBS supplies, crafts, games, soccer balls, and everything we needed to bring with us.  As they say many hands make light work, and indeed this is true.  Everyone pitched in and made the job of packing a little easier.  Thanks to all of those who were responsible for keeping us organized!

The bags are each organized by content and day that the contents will be used.  Team members are required to carry these ministry bags with them during travel, and they need to know what is in their bag if they are ever asked by airport authorities, so an inventory is kept of all bags, and are numbered and cataloged in detail.  On Saturday morning, all of the ministry bags will be hauled to the airport and will be loaded on the plane with the rest of the personal luggage from each team member.  By my guess, that could equal upwards or 65 to 75 suitcases in total.

Here are some more photos of the days events...

As you can see below Mike Reilly must have figured he needed to 'wrapped up' and shipped to Costa Rica...  Don't worry Mike, you can come on the plane with the rest of us.  In actual fact, we needed a paper cutout of Goliath, and Mike stepped in to provide the Goliath figure.  Thanks Mike!

Prayer Breakfast

Today was very busy for the team.

We had a great prayer breakfast meeting this morning full of fellowship, learning, food, and corporate prayer.  Teaching times led by Pastor Pedro Escamilla and Elizabeth Chotka drew our focus to prayer for the mission, and was a great lead-in to a time of group prayer.  Pastor Pedro reinforced the need to wait on the Lord before we do anything, while Elizabeth Chotka encouraged us to clothe ourselves daily with the armor of God.  To close the meeting, time was spent corporately calling on God to be over all of the trip

A big thank-you to all who made it out to the meeting.

Below are a few images of the morning - click on an image so see a larger frame.

Prayer Breakfast, Packing, Commissioning Services

Greetings all!

Tomorrow is a very busy day for the CR2010 team.   At 9:00 am Saturday morning a prayer breakfast will be held at Spruce Grove Alliance Church, where a few prayer supporters of each member of the team will attend, and spend time praying for the team and all aspects of the trip.  As I said in our last post, prayer is what the entire trip hinges on...  And what more can one ask for - good food and prayer time together!

Immediately following the prayer breakfast, we will begin to pack the ministry bags - luggage that is packed with all items that are not personal items - tools, VBS supplies, sleeping bags, pillows, first aid, plus many items I have no clue of.  :-)  It is always interesting to see how creative we can be to get as much as possible into one bag, while keeping it under the 50 lb. weight limit and keeping track of what each bag contains.  A super thank-you to all of those who plan this out so well!  Once the bags are packed, we will then be storing them for the week until we leave on Saturday morning.  Yikes!  That is one week away.  Oh and did I mention we need to be at the airport at 3:00 am on Saturday?  Sounds like lots of fun!

This weekend is also the commissioning weekend for the CR2010 team.  All three services, including Saturday will have the entire team present for the commissioning.  This weekend we will also be handing out prayer bracelets to those who would like to commit to praying for us while we are gone.


As we near the date of our departure, please pray for each individual on the team.  The stress of preparing for the trip, the heightened sense of the unknown, and the pressure of getting all the last minute items taken care of can cloud our focus.  The enemy will use any means that he can to run us off our track, so please pray for the team to focus, and that we would be protected from the evil one.  Also pray that all of the last minute details and arrangements would come together quickly.

On behalf of the Costa Rica 2010 team, I want to sincerely thank-you for all of your support.  It is amazing to see how a large group of people across a broad age range and mixed backgrounds can come together with a common goal to serve.  We love our brothers and sisters in Costa Rica, and we so look forward to meeting with old friends, and making new acquaintances, all with the focus of being the hands and feet of Jesus in Costa Rica.

2010 Trip is Taking Shape

Well hello friends!  It has been a long time since our last post, but I am excited to say that the 2010 Costa Rica trip is taking shape, and on July 3rd, the team leaves Edmonton, Alberta, destined for San Jose, Costa Rica!

Tonight was planning meeting #10, which is officially our last planning meeting.  Previous meetings were spent planning the work groups, the women's ministry activities, the vacation Bible school, fundraising, etc.  Tonight, time was spent preparing the team with travel information, addressing questions and concerns, discussing cultural differences, and ensuring many important details were addressed and in place.

We also spent a great time in reflective prayer.



There was also a short bit of time to work in groups on the various ministry areas, trying to finalize last minute details and plans.

It is a large team this year, with a broad mix of generations.  The team is gelling, and anticipation is building as our date of departure nears.

Please pray for the team, and the upcoming trip.  We are so needy for prayer.  Below is a quick list:
- that the Lord would supply for the needs of the team - financially and otherwise
- that He would prepare the hearts of each team member, and also every friend that we meet and contact in Guarari
- for protection as the team travels, and that our baggage would arrive safely
- for the YWAM base and the staff there
- that nerves would be settled, and that worries would cease
- that the team continues to unify and gel
- for the young children that are going on the trip this year, that their lives would be greatly impacted by what they experience in Costa Rica
- that relationships will be formed, and old ones will continue to be nurtured
- that there is less of us, and more of Him
- that we will be the hands and feet of Jesus.
- *Travel issues - Airline restrictions may substantially reduce the amount of luggage we can travel with this year, without paying extra fees for more baggage

A pressing prayer request is for the VBS planning team.  Planning the VBS activities for the children is a substantial task, and currently the group assigned to completing this task is feeling the pressure of the amount of work it is requiring this year.  As such, they have scheduled an extra meeting to get this completed.  Please pray for them specifically that their planning and details will quickly fall into place, and that the preparation and sourcing of supplies will be completed soon.

Don't forget that along with the children's ministry, we have groups planning ministry events for the women, for the men, and as well the ongoing building project  They all need your prayers.

Posts on the blog will start to ramp up now as we get closer to departure date.  Additional schedules, prayer requests, and information will be added as they come up.

Here is a higher resolution photo of the team.  Note that are four people missing from the photo. (click the image for a larger preview)