Day9 - Iglesia Christiana China’s 29th anniversary

Today we came to ICC early as we celebrated ICC’s 29^th anniversary. There were presentations by children, youth and adults. Each attendee was very involved in the worship. When we sang together, I could feel that the atmosphere was full of thanksgiving.  We also praised the Lord that some of those who we visited earlier came to church and celebrated together. May the Lord continue to build them so that they can grow spiritually. After worship, we said goodbye to many brothers and sisters. Their warm welcome and greeting to us really impressed me. Although it is only 9 days and we only met them couple times, I can feel the closeness to them. It is like I have known them for a long time.

After lunch, we came back to church to join the youth group. Johnny was originally planned to share a topic on being a leader. However, the group would want to learn more about dating and marriage. Johnny had to prepare another sharing in a short time. Despite the short time, we praised the Lord that he was able to reuse some materials in the past. He presented very well.

Tonight we will have dinner in another restaurant. After 9 days of Costa Rica, our trip is about to end. We will pack tonight and fly back to Austin tomorrow.

Prayer Items

• Other than Roland who will stay a little longer to meet his friend, we will head back to Austin tomorrow. Please pray for our safety.
• Please pray that we can be healthy on the way back to Austin.

Pastor Stanley puzzle question #3

It is a trick question - which color pepper is the hottest among these three: the red, green or orange ones?

 

Day8 – Fellowships with ICC brothers and sisters

Today Pastor Sit took us to the nearby market. It is very close to our hotel so we just walked over there. We tried out Mozote, a kind of juice made by a local fruit, a local pancake-like snack made with corns and cheese, and the coconut juice. It is fascinating to see so a lot of local food with big sizes.

After lunch, we walked around downtown San Jose a little. We came back to hotel and rested afterwards. In the evening, we went to another couples small group. Roland led us sing couple beautiful songs, then he shared his personal testimony, and gave us a workshop on how to resolve conflicts between husband and wife. The meeting was held by Johnny and Alicia's house. Like many others, they are very warm and friendly.

At night, Shu-man (樹民) treated us dinner in a nearby Chinese restaurant. They are so generous to us.

Prayer Items

• Tomorrow we will join the Iglesia Christiana China’s 29^th anniversary. Pastor Chiang will give the sermon. Please pray for the celebration and the worship tomorrow that everything smooth and brothers and sisters able to count His grace to each of us over the time.
• Johnny will provide a sharing to youth fellowship on dating. Please pray for his sharing.
• Roland is fully recovered. He thanked for all the prayers. 

Day7 - The joy of saving lost souls

There are more visitations today. Roland, Johnny and I followed Shu-man (樹民) to visit some church friends. Yui Kei (銳淇), the first friend we visited, has been coming church for some time. He has a furniture store. When we talked to him initially, it was constantly interrupted by the customers. Roland and I were praying silently to the Lord to allow us to share the Gospel without interruption and God answered by having his wife coming out to help. Johnny had shared his personal experience and the 4 spiritual laws. Praise the Lord, Yui-Kei was willing to accept Christ. We encouraged him to continue to read the bible, come to church, and grow spiritually.

We visited couple more stores; and we prayed each time before entering. The Lord allows us to effectively share with them for each visit. The last restaurant we visited was owned by a single mom. Her husband left her and her daughter and son for 9 years. We can see the unfortunate impact to her kids: her daughter was currently pregnant, living with her boyfriend. And her son Alex, currently 14, was getting behind in school after his dad left. Johnny shared the Gospel with him in English. Praise the Lord once again: he was willing to believe in Christ. After prayer, Alex could tell us that Jesus is now in his heart.

I experience vividly the livings of the Chinese here are challenging in many different aspects: family, work, financial, social identity, culture, etc. People lose direction easily and really need the Lord.

In the evening, we had a Couple Fellowship. The topic was “parents’ advice on children’s dating”.  Pastor Stanley, Chow-Ling and Roland gave us a good sharing.

Prayer items:                                                   

• Tomorrow we will have a sharing on resolving conflicts in another Couple Fellowship. Please pray the sharing to be effective.
• Continue to pray for Roland’s recovery.

Thank you so much for your prayer support. We can really feel the power of prayer and the Holy Spirit.

Day6 – Sightseeing day

Today we had a chance to have a sightseeing trip. We went to Volcano Poas in the morning. It was very foggy and we could not see it clearly. After lunch, we went to Lapaz Waterfall Gardens. It is a tropical rain forest garden. We get to see many native animals and plants, as well as a beautiful waterfall. His creation is really beautiful.

Volcano Poas

Lapaz Waterfall Gardens

Inside the car, we were listening to hymn CDs and sister Chan Ging (陳荊) was singing hymns throughout the driving. Her passion to Christ is really encouraging.

Prayer items:

• We praised the Lord for the warmth serving of ICC brothers: they sacrificed their time and drove us around. We also praised for the Lord to give us a relaxing day to see His wonderful creation.
• Tomorrow we will visit some families and Pastor Stanley will lead a sharing in Couples Fellowship. Please pray for us to be used by the Lord.
• Continue to pray for Roland’s recovery.

Pastor Stanley's puzzle question #2

One of our STM team members treated us some home grown vegetables. Who do you think he is?

Day 5 – another day of faithful serving

Today we split into 2 teams to have more visiting. This time I was partnered with Pastor Stanley and Pastor Chiang. We spent about three and a half hours to visit three families. Pastor Stanley had visited some of them last year. This time we continued to encourage them to come to church and grow spiritually.

After lunch in a couple’s restaurant, we joined the three-out fellowship (三出戒賭團契). Pastor Chiang shared a message on the importance of devotion.

We had dinner with the fellowship and then came back to hotel for some rest. At 10pm, we attended the brother group at church. Pastor Stanley shared a message about balance between God, family and work.

Prayer Items:

• Praise the Lord for having health and energy to serve Him so far. Pray that we continue to serve Him faithfully for the remaining time.
• Continue to pray for Roland’s recovery.