Day 9: Sunday, March 14

- written by Susie, PC '11


Ah, the Lord’s day. Costa Rica has been just amazing so far, but also very full and rich and intense on so many different levels: Every day has been saturated with God’s greatness that stretched us individually and as a group and pushed us to break out of our physical, emotional, and spiritual comfort. ‘Never settle,’ God said. ‘I have things to teach you about Myself and what it means to KNOW Me that are far too great to be missed. And you WILL miss it if you just sit content on your comfortable notion of living as a Christian, or go only knee deep into the heavy waters of mercy. So then you, my children, shall die to yourselves and be born again, together, in freedom and hope, and laugh victoriously at the face of the Enemy that seeks to divide and oppress.’

And so has transpired much wrestling with insecurities and burdens in our plight to freedom and life in the Spirit, out of confusion and misery and into hope of love, peace and unity. All is well, all is well.

And I do not like to be vague—but the important thing that I see is that we’ve been LIVING the ministry of reconciliation (which is so fitting since the tour journal devotional for yesterday was on 2 Corinthians 5:16-21).

Many of us had become quite exhausted, running on almost-empty tanks, with much traveling and also circumstances that contributed stress upon stress (especially on our persevering tour managers and leaders). After yesterday’s J-Holy “concert,” everyone was clearly in need of Rest.

So, thanks be to the Lord for the Lord’s day. Just entering the bright, sunny sanctuary of International Baptist Church began to revive my spirit. I just love international churches. I had been to international Christian fellowships in Beijing and in Seoul, and I have always had an amazingly refreshing epiphany: that the Lord is the Lord of the whole planet Earth! To see people from every kind of nations and ethnicities and tongues and traditions coming together to worship one God, one Lord, in one Spirit, as one Church is the most amazing thing. I remember just exclaiming over and over again, ‘God is HUGE! God is HUGE! And He has touched the lives of every single one of us gathered here in this place from all around the world!’ Simply mind-blowing. Such realization of the scale of God’s greatness and might rushes into my soul with this weight of glory and I am just filled with wonder. And praise, most naturally. So I love international churches because this hint, this foretaste, lights something in me so that I dream of being in Heaven more vividly and more hopefully than ever.

And hope indeed does not disappoint us! Even my hyper-excitement could not have conveyed the full awesomeness of being with brothers and sisters from all around the world, singing with them and singing for them. It was good. It was very good. (And again, it was almost unbelievable for me that I was in Costa Rica, though I had been in Costa Rica for several days now. Again, so wonderful that I am somehow here in Costa Rica, in God’s presence, in Costa Rica?!)

After we returned from IBC, we had three hours of ‘free time’… which we spent talking as a group about everything—things that had to come out, things that had to be covered by humility, encouragement, understanding and love so that we could be hopeful and be reconciled to press on to move forward, on this tour and beyond. I am ever so amazed and thankful for my brothers and sisters who are so strong and courageous and for our God who heals and strengthens.

And off we went to Men’s and Women’s Night. I am sadly unable to give full information of what my good brothers did tonight, but I know that the women had a good sisterly time together at the shopping mall, then at a Mexican restaurant for dinner. It was lots of fun. And good food (mm fajita!). And a good time to just be with each other and share about ourselves, real and pleasant.

And another full day in Costa Rica concluded with everyone gathering together, men and women at peace (although it is clear that the women had a real good time, while the men went… bowling), and myself as the droplet of the day having the chance to share my life story, how I came to belong to Jesus. Pura Vida!