Winding down or gearing up?

Hi all,
We have had another busy week of ministry and building relationships. We have been on the streets of Bahia again delivering bread and Gospels of John and continue to be amazed at how such a simple minstry can have such an impact. We have been warmly welcomed by young and old alike and it seems that a few folks in the church may continue on with this outreach once we leave. Several people have started coming to church and mid-week prayer meetings so it has definitely been worthwhile.

Now that Payton and Julie are back from the US we have been able to go out to Cocori - home to the city trash dump and about 3-4,000 residents. Cocori has a pretty bad reputation that is well deserved. It is a hotbed of drugs and prositution with a well known red-light district that is particularly dangerous.

Today we went out to the trash dump where about 40 men, women and kids were scavanging through the latest dump truck deliveries to find anything that may be of value such as copper wire, tin siding, wood or car parts. Of course most of the trash is typical household garbage so the smells are pretty foul. As in many places outside the US, toilet paper is not flushed but put into the trash, which ends up at the dump too - you get the picture. There is a ministry here that will require a distinct calling from God on someone´s heart. It is tough, dirty, dangerous and desperately needed. Payton has a heart for this area and comes as much as he can but a fulltime presence is needed to have a longterm impact. Please pray that God raises up the right person/people for this task.

We have continued to meet more members of Coastal Cristian Fellowship and I promised an update on Randy and Julie Russell so here it is!Randy and Julie sold their house in North Carolina about four years ago and headed down to CR about the same time Payton and Julie did. They have only been back to the US once and have truly imersed themselves in to the lives and culture of the people in their neighborhood. Randy spends much of his time just coming alongside his neighbors and showing them the love of Christ in practical ways like helping fix their homes or rebuilding the access road to the village, or pasturing a farmers cows on his farm. Julie ministers to local women and teaches English to their kids. They are living out the Gospel by living sacrificially at every turn. Please keep them in prayer as they seek to build a ministry center/Christian retreat on a corner of their farm.

We are feeling increasingly burdened for the children here. The amazing opportunity we mentioned earlier that might allow us to place a Christian worker in many local elementary schools seems too important to ignore. Many people speak about transforming communities but it is an incredibly difficult thing to do unless you target the upcoming generation. I believe that if we can influence children through a Christian values´ education (character curriculum) and give them a positive, trusted role model then, as they grow, lead them into local church based youth programs then there is real hope that they will grow into tomorrow´s Christian leaders, ministers, business people, parents and teachers that will bring eternal change to the lives of the people around them. It´s a big dream for a little person like me but a small thing for our great God. Please keep us in prayer as we think through how best to begin this new ministry.

Our time here is about over and we will be heading back to California this Friday. I hope we get a chance to sit down with each of you and share our photos, videos and experiences from this very special time in Costa Rica. Thank you for making it possible and for your invaluable prayer support. God Bless You.

Meeting the People!

We have had a great week of meeting locals through our Bread of Life outreach and a JESUS film showing. Teresa teamed up with some of the ladies from church and went again throughout Bahia delivering homemade banana bread and sharing scripture verses. We have been so warmly welcomed that going back is a real pleasure. The old man in the wheelchair was totally blessed to see us again and Ingrid's teenage daughter (Gendry) will go back with Teresa to read the Gospel of John to him this week!

We spent an awesome afternoon with Orlando and Ingrid getting to know their hearts and learn about their vision for the community of Bahia. It was a joy to be in their home despite the humble setting. This couple have shown the love of Christ throughout many trials and are a living witness to God's grace and compassion. It is amazing to see how the hard things in life prepare you for service that exceed your expectations. The old saying "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" seems to be especially true when God is at the controls of your life.

JESUS FIlm Update... we had 13 people show up for Friday night's "J" film showing and because there were more children than adults we aired the kids version. Six kids and one adult prayed to receive Christ at the end of the film! Please pray for those precious hearts that are receptive and open to hearing Truth. Pray for their families and for CCF to become the home church for these hungry souls.

This last photo is of the team that will be heading back into the streets of Bahia on Sunday after church to share more bread and scripture - please pray for divine appointments.

They are (L-R) Liz (a local believer), Ingrid, Teresa, Gendry, and Julie Russell. I will give you the story on Julie Russell and her husband Randy next time. Meanwhile, thanks again for your support and love.

Greetings Team!
Web access has once again been difficult this past week hence the delay in updating the blog. We have had a busy week and the realities of Costa Rica living are settling in. Nothing ever goes quite as planned so flexibility is the watchword! Never the less, we have had another great week of fellowship and ministry.

Last Saturday Teresa and Blake went on horseback up to a massive waterfall while Nathaniel and I ran errands and chased bugs. It was good to have a little R&R in the midst of a busy week. Later that day we went to a home group at the home of a couple from Northern California that attend Coastal Christian Fellowship. We discussed lots of ministry ideas and came away with a much clearer perspective on ministry opportunities in the area.

With Payton and Julie back in the US, Sunday’s church service was in Spanish with English translation; we listened to a passionate message from Orlando about getting ready for the battle and to quit “coasting” in our faith. Quite the challenge! After wards we went to lunch with Orlando and his wife Ingrid to hear their story. Two years ago a gringo managed to purchase a bunch of property near the beach that was home to many Tico families including Orlando and Ingrid. A few hours after the deal was done bulldozers arrived to clear the land and raze the homes and that was the first the residents knew about the deal. Within a matter of hours they were homeless and had lost everything. You would expect bitterness and anger but today, this remarkable couple has a joy that surpasses human explanation. Orlando is a gifted and eager teacher who works construction to make ends meet, Ingrid cleans homes and is a humble servant who loves the Lord. Both are gifted in ministry and it is quite likely that they will be the ones who plant a church out of CCF.

Last Monday Nathaniel got to celebrate his 8th birthday in Costa Rica so it was a day of beach, swimming pools and cake! He had a blast and so did we!

The highlight of the week so far was when Teresa, Deon ( the translator from church), her daughter Rosie adn Blake baked 14 loaves of banana bread and went door to door in the community right around the church to distribute it and share the message of love and hope that is found in Jesus Christ. This is the same neighborhood where the VBS took place a few weeks ago. What an awesome time of outreach as they met people in their homes and, through this simple act of giving a home baked gift of bread they were able to learn the needs of local families and pray for them.

One old man living in a dark shack next to his family’s house was confined to a wheel chair. The lower part of one leg was missing and his left side was withered but he was more concerned that his visitors we getting wet than about his condition. They were able to pray for him and his family and will go back to see him again next week.
This is a simple yet effective local strategy to meet the locals and invite them to church. Please pray for continued opportunities to reach out to the Ticos in Bahia Ballena.

Meanwhile we are still here and are planning a JESUS film showing at the church next Friday – Family Film Night as we call it at Rainbow Community Church. As we go through the community on Wednesday we will hand out flyers and invites to the showing. We hope than Orlando will be available to give a short message after the showing.

Now to the ministry opportunity that seems to be tugging most at our hearts. Currently there is a willingness in the elementary schools to allow people in to help with teaching and extracurricular activities. Every little community has an elementary school; many have fewer than 30 students with only one teacher for all the grades (scroll down and see the photo of the little school - it is typical). This understaffing has created the openness that provides a window through which we may be able to place Christian helpers into the schools to assist the State teachers and also teach perhaps music, art, character curriculum, or all of the above! We think that one worker could initially go to a different school each day but over time as more workers are raised up each one could stay at one school as a full time assistant/sub-teacher (sort of like a school based Christian Peace Corps!) The cost per month is less than most of us spend on gas.

Anyway we feel that God has shown us this opening and we must do something about it. We are seriously looking at what it would take to raise up the workers and develop and method to fund them. If successful we could use the same structure to fund new pastors and youth workers.
Our vision is pretty big and thankfully our God is bigger, way bigger! So please keep us in your prayers as we flesh out the viability of this idea.

We are also looking ahead to next year and the idea of bringing a team down to lead children’s outreach through VBS both in the schools and local park, and a team to help make audio recordings (with Orlando) that can be given away to locals that cannot read, to help with the bread ministry and to reach out to gringos in the area. Are you up for it???

We will try to get another update posted next week or earlier if things arise and Internet is available.

Catching up...

What a great week! Although it has been hard to get to a computer this week, life seems to be continuing nicely! I guess my web surfing wasn't keeping the earth spinning on its correct axis after all.

Since our last update we had another small but successful VBS outreach at a local school. We were thrilled that 22 kids showed up for a morning of stories, games and crafts. One of the CCF congregation (Deon) who lives next door to the school made the arrangement for this VBS with the school principal - Deon's daughter has been at this school for the last 7 years - there are only 24 kids in the entire school so a turnout of 22 was pretty impressive!

Last Sunday was a special treat - immediately after the regular church service there was a baptism. The entire congregation - about 40 people - walked down a mud path to the beach where Henri took the next step of obedience in his walk with Christ. It was such a contrast to the beautiful baptism service we had at our home church, Rainbow Community Church, the week prior - but just as inspiring and meaningful. Henri is the father of the little boy in one of my earlier photos (the boy on the right).

Henri commited his life to the Lord earlier this year after turning from a life of drugs and alcohol and is becoming quite the evangelist through his changed life and obviuos fruit of the Spirit. Please pray for more to step into the kingdom and for a transformation of the community of Bahia.

One more important update - we have met up with a family from Murrieta! Curtis and Shelly Shockey together with their 4 girls ages 4, 3, 2, and 3 months are living in San Isidro de General, which is the largest town in this part of Costa Rica. They have been sent by Calvary Chapel and are currently doing language studies. The goal is to plant a chuch here so language skills are top priority. God has truly taken care of this family and directed every step, right down to allowing them to give birth to their youngest here in Costa Rica, which virtually guarantees them residency. It was quickly discovered that the baby needed heart surgery and because of her Costa Rican birth was able to get everything done under the national health program. She is doing very well. Great family!

We are encouraged and amazed at the ministry opportunities here. It's definitely not for everyone and even the simplest task can be quite confounding but God is using Payton and Julie in a tangible to build up His church in this area. We have been blessed to see just a snapshot of it and can easily see how organized teams coming in for short term projects can help the ministry here in meaningful ways. Over the next few weeks while Payton and Julie are in the US, we will be spending time with many of the CCF flock exploring ministry ideas and future opportunities. Please keep us in your prayers, we want to be useful and an encouragement to the believers here. We will try to update again soon. Thanks to each of you for your part in sending us.

VBS Days

Hi all,

We just finished two action packed days of VBS in Bahia, which is the beach area of Uvita. Coastal Christian Fellowship (CCF) rented the local park and passed out flyers at the local school and went door-to-door in the area around the church. We had about 65 kids each day, more than they have ever had for a community event, and the days were filled with games, Bible stories, Scripture memorization, crafts, and several gospel messages. The kids had a great time and seemed to understand the distinction of a relationship with Jesus compared to the typical cultural Catholic understanding. Most of the children come from the area right around the church so it is relatively easy to continue to minister to them on an ongoing basis.

We will probably spend a big chunk of our time in this area visiting families, delivering baked bread and Scriptures and inviting them to church.

These two little pranksters were having a blast, the boy on the right is the son of a new believer who is being baptized this Sunday. I think it will look a bit different from our baptism service last week! Please pray for opportunities for us to speak into the lives of those we touch even though we are Spanish-challenged! Thanks for your care and concern for the lost.

Ola from Tinamaste, Costa Rica!
We are so grateful for your prayers, everything is going really well. Last night we met with a group of 15 fellow believers for a prayer meeting at Coastal Christian Fellowship. Some were old acquaintances from our last visit although many were new faces. We were joined by a small team from Virginia that are in for a week to help in the orphanages and assist with the 2-day VBS that starts today (Thursday).
The church, Coastal Christian Fellowship, meets in an small but growing town called Uvita, the building is simple and efficient and services are bilingual. It is clear that Payton and Julie have earned the respect of the locals, they are welcomed everywhere and show real love for the people. As Payton likes to say "they don´t care how much you know until they know how much you care", and he lives it.
Pastor Payton is an energetic, gifted man of God who loves the people and goes to great lengths to reach his Jerusalem and Judea. Their "Samaria" is an area outside San Isidro call Cocori, it´s a sort of bario and the residents squeeze their livelihood from the (now) nightly trash trucks that dump in the adjacent landfill. Outreach to them is ongoing but now that the trucks come at night it is harder to connect with the same people. Another growing problem is the increased violence and drugs, which definitely make things a lot more challenging, however a vision for a transformed community continues to drive the outreach and souls are being saved! As for "the ends of the earth" they seem to be coming to Uvita and the congregation are preparing to receive them by building up local ministry, Bible studies and blanketing the area with weekly prayer meetings, like the one last night.
A side note: last night the prayer requests from the locals comprised a desire to be closer to God, for Him to be manifest in their lives and for marriages/family/children. Mostly we Americans requested prayer for finances, safety, family and health, in fact of the 10 gringos present, there were 3 separate prayers for friends in the US with brain tumors... draw your own conclusions.
Today I am hoping to meet with a Calvary Chapel pastor from So Cal. He is in San Isidro about an hour away from Uvita, but very near Cocori so perhaps he can help with that outreach. Please pray for him and his family and they adjust to life here.
Well that´s about all for now, we will write again soon.
Blessings,
Nevil Parsons
011-506-8321-5178 cell
011-506-2432-5257 house