I was baptized for the first time at the age of seven… I remember being dunked in the “big hot bath tub” at church, my family being at church to witness it, getting a necklace in the shape of a cross, and eating cake to celebrate. I learned about what baptism meant… I heard the words “buried with him in baptism, and raised to walk in newness of life…” but at the age of seven, I didn’t know what trials, temptations, pain, and hurt would look like. I knew nothing of pain… I was very blessed and never had to worry about anything,...

This week we made the six hour trek to the jungle to serve the people surrounding the village of Talamanca. One day of work stood out in particular. It started with a nice walk to the river, getting in a canoe, and crossing over to Panama. There we encountered José Antonio—the man we would be working with for the day. He picked some fresh oranges off his trees for us to eat while we waiting for everyone to get there. We had no idea what we were in for that day.  The men leading us told us it’d be about an hour hike to where we were working and they started chopping...

for months leading up to this trip, i’ve been begging and crying out to God that He would show Himself. that i would feel Him. that He would speak to me. I’ve wrestled with bitterness and apathy and even anger at my prayers not being answered.    two weeks ago, we arrived in costa rica. the bus driver dropped us off at a beautiful building called “la casa de oración” near the top of a mountain. our time spent there was not what anyone expected. we stayed there for five days, serving the woman who lives there and assisting a man named Emmanuel by...

“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:26-28 Here’s the honest truth: I am one week into this mission trip and haven’t talked about Jesus to anyone who didn’t already know about Him. In fact, I haven’t shared the Gospel with anyone in Costa Rica. Even so, I am confident I have furthered the Kingdom of God. Let me tell you how. I have been a...

  Ministry is often portrayed as being glamorous but in reality it’s scrubbing the toilets no one else wants to scrub, bleaching the floors that no one wants to bleach, walking into town because you can’t afford to take an uber, going without any form of communication with the outside world for a week, and cleaning up dishes that 15 people have used. Ministry isn’t always holding babies and taking cute team pictures, it’s digging out roots of flower beds for hours, eating a little less than normal, and lots of tears. These past few days our Costa Rica team has...

  Ministry is often portrayed as being glamorous but in reality it’s scrubbing the toilets no one else wants to scrub, bleaching the floors that no one wants to bleach, walking into town because you can’t afford to take an uber, going without any form of communication with the outside world for a week, and cleaning up dishes that 15 people have used. Ministry isn’t always holding babies and taking cute team pictures, it’s digging out roots of flower beds for hours, eating a little less than normal, and lots of tears. These past few days our Costa Rica team has...