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Jon's Journal: Panama & Costa Rica Mission Trip (May 2022)

Updated: Oct 20, 2022

After a 2 1/2 year lapse in travel due to the impact of COVID-19, the opportunity finally presented itself for me to return to Central America for my annual Christian mission trip. I looked forward to seeing the progress being made on projects that Your Kingdom Purpose Ministries is currently supporting, and to exploring new possibilities for aiding pastors and churches that I had not met before.


Ironically, as I researched the pandemic practices in Panama and Costa Rica earlier this spring, I found that the measures these countries had undertaken were far more successful than even those of the U.S. The vaccination percentage levels in Costa Rica were in the high 90’s, and in Panama the high 80’s. During my visit, the precautionary practices I found in place included a universal high usage of masks and hand-washing facilities everywhere.


Interestingly enough, I learned the folks in these countries do not believe that taking safety precautions equates to sacrificing personal freedom; rather they consider them sensible measures in view of the health risks. To them, it’s not a political issue. It’s just common sense.


Panama City skyline—old vs. new

As on previous trips, and after such a long absence, once again I had to toughen my emotions when confronted with the level of poverty one sees in these two Central American countries—which, ironically, are the most economically viable nations in the region. When venturing into the poorer sections of Panama City, or to villages inhabited mostly by the indigenous Guna tribal communities, I was easily reminded of how blessed we Americans truly are (at least economically) when compared to these people.


Day One: Saturday, May 14th

After flying out of Boise, ID, at 6:30 a.m., with a long layover in Houston, TX, I arrived the evening of May 14th in Panama City where my local ministry partner, “boots-on-the-ground” ally, and good friend Douglas Rossman met me at the Tocumen airport. Emerging from the airport terminal, I was immediately met by the humidity of the Panama evening air. I was already sweating by the time we got into the cab. Tired as I was, it was so great to reunite with Douglas. Our bond of brotherhood is undeniable.


Douglas and Jon in avocado orchard - May 2022

Douglas had reserved us rooms at the Hampton Inn in the hotel neighborhood of Panama City. The accommodations were quite pleasant despite the challenges in accessing adequate Wi-Fi service—something I don’t seem to be comfortable living without these days. My international daily allotment for Wi-Fi on my phone was used up shortly after arriving. Over the next few days in that hotel, I found that for consistent Wi-Fi service, I would need to head to the lobby early mornings to enjoy a cup of coffee and a more dependable Wi-Fi connection.


Day Two: Sunday, May 15th

Sunday morning, Douglas and I journeyed to Pastora Dalia Vivero’s church in the impoverished neighborhood of El Chorrillo in Panama City. As I’ve mentioned in previous journals, many in church leadership in Central America are women. To the casual observer, there seem to be almost as many ‘pastoras’ as pastors.


I have been asked on multiple occasions why there seems to be a disproportionate number of women in pastoral positions. We work with several in these countries. There is not a clear answer, except to say there is a definite shortage of pastors in general, particularly given that many churches are simple neighborhood congregations of modest numbers. Perhaps only 20-75 people attend many of these churches. Most people don’t have their own transportation to make their way across town. Therefore, they are more prone to attend services in their own neighborhoods.


Jorge (Dalia's son), Dalia, Jon, and Douglas (left) / Pastora Dalia Vivero's celebrating African culture (right)


There are many cultures blended into El Chorrillo’s population and one of them is the African culture. The church service that day was celebrating African people in the community and most of the attendees wore brightly colored clothing in honor of this event. The service began with a forceful and loud prayer from a young man in the congregation to get the folks fired up (a customary practice in Panamanian churches), followed by praise and worship, and a few comments from Douglas and me. It concluded with a great message from the book of Acts regarding the Apostle Paul’s experience with shipwrecks and how to manage life’s storms with God in our corner. The message was preached by Pastor Dalia’s son, Jorge. (Note: The spelling of Dalia’s name is correct here, pronounced the same as the popular dahlia flower.)


Harbor photo with Luis Altimorano and his family

That Sunday afternoon, we had arranged to have lunch with Pastor Luis Altimorano, his wife, and two sons. I had been anticipating having a chance to meet Luis for at least a couple of years. We met at an open-air fish market/restaurant on the bay immediately adjacent to where the fishing boats come in with fresh fish and shrimp caught that morning. It was a splendid setting, albeit a bit hot and humid for me as I was still adjusting to the weather. (It snowed at home in Idaho the week before I left.) Luis was accompanied by his wife Johann and their two teenage boys for our lunch.


The meal was pleasant, and we talked a bit about Pastor Luis’ church and his desire to build what I would describe as a “halfway house” to accommodate men being released from prison—as had been his own personal experience a few years before. His testimony about becoming a Christian while in prison and subsequently studying to be a pastor is powerful. Our lunch that day set the stage for meeting him at his church facility the following day.


Between the heat and the long travel day prior, I was ready for a nap after lunch. Douglas and I were scheduled to get together with Pastora Dixia Bliss and her husband Eduardo that evening at 7 p.m. While I napped in the late afternoon, the heavy rains drenched the streets outside. May is the beginning of the rainy season in Central America.


By 6 p.m. the rain had stopped, and I was ready for a walk. I struck out from the hotel to circle a few blocks and get in some exercise. I was no more than a block away from our hotel, when to my surprise, someone called out to me from a parked car I was walking by. Dixia and Eduardo were sitting in their car waiting out the next hour before they were to meet with Douglas and me. I suggested we could get together then rather than waiting another hour for the scheduled time. I called Douglas, and he met us in the lobby of the hotel where we ended up having a great reunion. More on Dixia and Eduardo later in the week.


Day Three: Monday, May 16th

On Monday, our agenda called for us to look in on Pastor Roberto Vasquez and his wife, Marina, whom we had met on my last trip to Panama. They live in an area called El Progresso de Chorrera, about 30 miles southwest of Panama City.


Vasquez family in front of new home with Jon and Douglas

Roberto, Marina, and their eight children are native Gunas. Sadly, their home had been destroyed by a hurricane since our last visit. Our ministry was able to provide funds to help them build a new home at a different site. Their previous abode had been a very primitive structure of mostly plywood, corrugated metal, dirt floors, and an outhouse. It was a place I’ll never forget in that it left a jarring, lasting impression on me, albeit a happy home for them.


By comparison, the new home—though still modest—is on a concrete foundation and is slightly larger, though not huge, for a family of eight. There is now running water in the house. (There wasn’t in the original house.) But I noticed that the toilets we had purchased for them were not installed. These folks had never lived in a home with modern bathroom facilities, and they weren’t convinced they needed to do so now. Funny, but Roberto was concerned that his kids would consider the toilet(s) a toy and would stuff things down them and clog them up. Therefore, they still use a big hole in the ground (housed out back) with a hollowed-out tree stump for a toilet seat. Fascinating!


The other building supply that had gone unused were glass windows. Again, they had never lived in a home with anything but open-air windows and doors, and they rejected the idea of glass windows, which they were fearful of breaking. Their plywood walls had holes cut in them and the resulting cutouts were rehung by hinges so that they could be opened and closed like shutters if desired.


Despite these somewhat odd lifestyle practices (to me, anyway), the Vasquez family couldn’t be a sweeter, happier group of people. They love God, they love people, and they love each other. I think the world of them and admire them very much.

Praying with Vasquez family

After a round of hugs and photos, we prayed blessings over their family and their ministry and then departed.


The entire region adjacent to Panama City is under heavy construction, what with the subway line being expanded plus the building of a new four-lane highway to accommodate more tourism to the beaches of Panama. The government is shuffling the residents here and there—including the Vasquez family—building housing to move people from the city to the country and vice-versa. It was amazing to see how many new single-family homes, condos, and apartment buildings are currently under construction.


From El Progresso de Chorrera, we headed back into Panama City to spend the afternoon with Pastor Luis Altimorano at the site of his church and the planned housing facility for just-released prisoners. In Panamanian society, prisoners being released are typically rejected by family and friends, so they frequently go back to the same “safe haven” of gang or drug activity that got them into prison to begin with. In other words, there is a high incidence to reoffend, ending up right back in prison.


Having come out of that environment himself, Pastor Luis has a real passion for these people (primarily men) and wants to help them adjust back to civilian life with a new angle—learning the Gospel and having Jesus Christ in their lives.


Luis pastors a church called Ministerio Internacional: Pozo Del Viviente Que Me Ve, which translates to “Ministry International: Well of the Living Who Sees Me.” (This translation doesn’t seem to make sense to me, but to the Panamanian people, it is meaningful.) The church is in a neighborhood called Curundú, adjacent to the El Chorrillo area where we’ve done quite a bit of work in the past. As tough as the El Chorrillo section seems, it is possible that this area of Curundú is just as challenged with extreme poverty and crime, if not worse.


But Pastor Luis’ church facility itself was a breath of fresh air. Standing inside, you would never imagine that this iglesia (Spanish for church) had sprung up in such an impoverished neighborhood. While relatively plain on the outside, the inside was quite appealing.


Pastor Luis' church entrance (left) / The interior of the church (center) / Adjacent playfield for neighborhood kids (right)


Luis, his wife, and several people (who are residents of the limited space he currently has to house former prisoners) led us on the tour. Again, the church itself was a lovely building. The adjacent field used by neighborhood kids, etc., was littered in trash, as were the streets outside. This was primarily due to the trash collectors being on strike while I was there. “Squatters” living in makeshift houses had torn apart the fence on one side of the field to erect their homes. It was my understanding that these residents were soon to be relocated by the Panamanian government to more suitable housing.


For the handful of men who are the currently-released prisoners presently living in literal shacks next to the church, the conditions are horrible. At least they have a roof over their heads and someone who cares about them, but it’s not housing that anyone in our country would feel comfortable settling in.


Area for halfway house project

Behind the church building is the space in which Pastor Luis hopes to build the structure to house the recently-released prisoners. Currently, it’s just an empty lot, but 15’ high concrete walls surround the lot. Luis’ vision is to drop refurbished cargo containers, stacked into the space, to be used as dwellings. The containers would be modified to accommodate doors, a walkway, restroom facilities, and a kitchen. The second floor would be accessed by a metal stairway.


Prior to this visit, and following up to it, Douglas and I have discussed an alternative to the cargo container concept, which might manifest by taking first steps to get a few more residents into the facility and then continuing to modify as the occupancy grows. As of this writing, those considerations are still being studied.


Day Four: Tuesday, May 17th

Today, Pastora Dalia picked us up to head to a village called La Esperanza de Guna Nega (which translates to “the Hope of Guna Nega”), which is a new destination to Douglas and me. It’s adjacent to the main landfill for Panama City, where 2,300 tons of refuse arrive each day. And it is another of those villages where a majority of the people make their living in some form through recycling or repurposing garbage brought into the dump. (Similar to the location of the church in Nindiri, Nicaragua, where we helped with additions to the building there in 2018.)


We headed northeast in the direction of the city of Colon, which is the Caribbean port city entrance to the Panama Canal. We pulled off to the side of the road just after we had seen several homes concentrated in an area adjacent to the highway. A group of ladies, indigenous women from the now familiar Guna tribe, greeted us by the road. They were dressed in what I perceived to be their “Sunday best” dresses. It quickly became apparent that these ladies were going to lead us up a muddy hilly road past numerous shanty-like residences built with corrugated metal and other recycled materials, to their little church building at the top of the hill. The hike took probably ten minutes trudging through the mud. Fortunately, I had worn hiking shoes that I wasn’t afraid to get muddy, but these sweet ladies who accompanied us were in flats that couldn’t have given them much traction.


It was mid-morning when we arrived, but already humidity was building with the rising temperature. I just had to get used to sweating there, a sensation I am not used to in the dry area of the country in which we live. (Douglas and I subsequently resorted to sending out our weeks’ worth dirty clothes to be laundered – it cost $10 and was nicely washed and folded.)


Muddy hill incline to La Esperanza de Guna Nega church (left) / The exterior of the church with members (center) / Church interior (right)


Arriving at the top of the hill, the iglesia was much nicer than I expected. Built of seemingly shiny new corrugated metal panels, it stood as an emblem of their dedication to God in this community.


They proudly showed us their small sanctuary. Ten minutes into our visit, Pastor Alejandro Perez, who leads the church, arrived. We stood around as a group as he described changes he’d like to make to the church: Adding on an area (in similarly constructed material) where the kids could have Sunday school each week. And creating a little kitchen area further away from the metal building where they could cook meals for church social events. The current fire pit they use is so close to the metal building, it becomes extremely hot to the touch and even heats the interior. (Trust me, heat is not needed in this building.)


The needs they have are simple. They would also like to replace the floor covering inside the building, which, honestly, is just a recycled piece of carpet laying over a dirt surface. Douglas and I have since discussed whether putting some kind of vinyl flooring down would be more practical or buying a durable Astroturf-type carpet would make sense. Either way, we will get something done with that.


Our little group of eight or ten people stood around and prayed over the church and their hoped-for project needs. It is humbling to know that God’s people in this part of the world have needs that are often so much simpler than ours with resources that are so much more limited than ours, but we all love and worship the same God. It is truly a blessing to have doors open to ministers of the Gospel like these folks with whom we can share resources.

Feeding the children from Guna Nega

From there we headed back down the hill and took a turn near the location of our car to visit the community center that these families are quite proud of. Each day, kids who live in the village are fed a healthy meal by ladies of the village when the kids return from school. I am uncertain who provides the meal for the kids.


Next to the community center, a new school is being built for the kids. Some type of non-profit foundation is donating the building. It will be great to have educational opportunities expanded right there in their neighborhood.


Again, these are sweet, unassuming people, who expect nothing, but were so warm in welcoming us into their village and in sharing their church with us.


Next on the agenda for this day was to survey the new neighborhoods in a region called La Nueva Esperanza de Arraiján (“The New Hope of Arraijan”) of mostly apartment buildings where new highways are going in to enhance tourism travel to the coastal areas. As was pointed out regarding the El Progresso de Chorrera neighborhoods, many Panamanian families are being relocated to this area by the government. Typically, they are given their own apartment condo at very inexpensive rates ($80 to $100 per month), where after paying for the home for 25 years, it’s theirs. These are primarily two-bedroom, one-bath apartments, or condominiums as you would think of them.


Thousands of families are being relocated in this fashion, and the number of churches to serve them is minimal. A small nucleus of people who have been attending Pastora Dalia’s church in the inner city for a year are making plans to plant a church in this neighborhood.


Meeting at La Nueva Esperanza de Arraijan in open square (left) / Pastora Dalia praying for young lady (right)


These individuals, assisted by Pastora Dalia and her son, Jorge (who is the Youth Pastor), are holding an evening service once a month in the open square between apartments. The meetings are held outside, and hundreds of people are showing up. The harvest is ripe!


The prospects of having a bricks-and-mortar building in the short term are not good. However, our plan is to provide them one of the large tents (16’x40’) that we’ve provided for other ministries in Panama and Costa Rica to facilitate church meetings in a covered space. It is believed that once the government authorities observe that people are taking the initiative to get a church started in the area, ultimately these folks will be allotted a piece of ground they will be able to call their own for the eventual construction of a church building. That seems to be a common occurrence with the Panamanian government.


In providing these tents, we typically equip them with a good sound system, lighting, and portable seating. It’s exciting to play a part in these church “plants,” as we know the Gospel of Jesus Christ will reach new people by these efforts.


Our busy day ended with a visit to Pastor Ismael Diaz and his wife Yorleni at the apartment area of the El Chorrillo neighborhood that I had visited on prior trips. Our ministry has previously supplied funding to build a kitchen and a small meeting area where apartment-dwelling children are fed and taught the Gospel. This apartment building is in front of the area where our efforts continue to complete construction of a play area that the ministry will use to serve the community children, complete with playground equipment and a video wall where the pastors can display videos and Christian movies.


Ismael, Douglas, Jon, and Yorleni in front of kitchen and small feeding area

These endeavors are ongoing where the hope is to influence the kids away from gang activity, drugs, and stem the occurrence of a high level of teen pregnancy. We have faith in the importance of the Gospel to present a message of hope for these impressionable young lives.


Ismael with kids in new kitchen area at El Chorrillo playground (left) / Kids eating in kitchen (right)



Day Five: Wednesday, May 18th

The plan for Wednesday was that it was to be a day for tourist activities. We toured the harbor area, where seagoing pleasure boats are at port. We spent time around the Panama Canal area and visited a recreated village that was set up to depict life in this area near the port in the late 19th Century. Panama has a very interesting history, even pre-Panama Canal construction.



Pastora Dixia and Eduardo Bliss (left) / Pastora Dixia in kitchen at Guna apartments (right)


Earlier, I had expressed an interest in observing one of the moms who live in the apartment building and who craft a unique type of needlepoint pieces by hand. The stitchery is called a “mola” and are characteristic of the native Guna women. They ushered Douglas and me into her apartment where I had the choice of several pieces. I purchased four of them for loved ones at home at incredibly inexpensive prices considering the amount of work that goes into them.


We then joined the lively church service a couple of floors below. We arrived to a rousing message and lively praise and worship, with the exuberant crowd mostly made up of children and their parents who reside in the five-story building.

The service ended that evening with the pastors praying over Douglas and me. Their prayer time included the ‘laying on of hands’ on us both in a manner in which I was not quite accustomed. On their knees, they began by placing their hands on our feet, then gripping our calves, knees, and thighs. They moved on to our hands, back, hearts, our shoulders, and, finally, our heads. Wow. It was a very powerful experience which I will never forget. When the Bible speaks of laying on of hands, these people truly practice their faith in a demonstrable and effective way. The evidence of the Holy Spirit flowing through them and into us was undeniable!


At the conclusion of the service, it was very touching to have numerous children come forward to hug both Douglas and me and say thanks for the work they knew we had participated in to provide their apartment building the kitchen and dining area they use each day. Hopefully, our ministry had modeled the love of Jesus in a powerful way to these people living in such humble circumstances.


Day Six: Thursday, May 19th

Today, well before dawn, we left the hotel for the Tocumen airport just after 6 a.m. as our flight to Costa Rica was scheduled for 9:50 a.m.


Interestingly enough, Panama and Costa Rica are both in the Central Time Zone, but Costa Rica does not observe Daylight Savings Time. So, we recaptured an hour back in our 1 hour and 20-minute flight from Panama City to San Jose, Costa Rica.


The customs procedure into Costa Rica was a breeze (compared to the last time I flew into CR).


At the airport, Douglas’ friend Gerardo met us and drove us to Douglas’ home. I had the quick opportunity to meet Douglas’ kids, Daniella and Jan Michael. Both are college grads doing well in their early careers and are currently working from home.


After delivering eggs to customers of the mini farm (to be discussed in Saturday’s journal) we headed for Limon by car. The trip is only 98 miles, but the going is painfully slow. The highway is 2 lanes most of the way and is heavily used by trucks coming from the port city of Limon loaded with goods going to San Jose. Since my trip to Central America this time was during the rainy season, we drove through a downpour most of the way.


In El Cruce, the first town we came to after traveling over a mountain pass that goes through a beautiful national park and rain forest, we picked up a passenger. Pastora Martalena, who lives in the small village of Rio Blanco off the beaten path, was going to visit Carla Campbell, our friend and fellow missionary who resides in Limon.


Carla became an acquaintance and friend when she worked as an interpreter during the first mission trip I made to Costa Rica with the mission team from Charis Bible College in 2017.


The entire car trip took four hours to go the 98 miles, so between arriving at the airport three hours before our flight, and adding in the long drive, it was an exhausting travel day.


That evening, we joined a local study group of pastors who gather weekly to share the Word and support each other in the important task they do in leading their congregations. I was not able to be involved much in the conversation as their exchange was completely in Spanish. Yet I was impressed with the commitment of these local pastors who make it a priority to meet regularly and buoy each other up in order to deal with the many challenges they face.


While in Limon for 2 nights, Douglas and I were treated to a stay at a 2 bedroom, 1 bath VRBO-type apartment owned by Carla’s brother. When my head hit that pillow that night, I was out immediately and slept soundly until the cheerful sound of birds awoke me the following morning around 5 a.m.


Day Seven: Friday, May 20th

Friday was a day I had looked forward to for quite some time, as we were scheduled to visit the home, the church, and, most importantly, the pastoring family who were the subject of the founding of our ministry. In fact, it was five years to the week in which Melva and I made our trip together to be there for the dedication of Pastora Xinia Aquire’s church in the Bribri village of Shiroles, Province of Limon.


Jon with the Aguire family

There is a very special bond between Pastora Xinia and her family with Melva and me. You see, when we dedicated the tiny church our ministry had provided funding for five years ago, Xinia expressed to us that Melva and I are now part of their family. In the Bribri community, that carries a much deeper meaning than it would to us in the U.S. That kind of statement is not made lightly in their indigenous tribal culture. They are a private and close community. Newcomers are often held at arm’s length. Melva and I are truly honored to now be a part of the Bribri family.


Jon and Riley

Douglas, Carla, Martalena, and I arrived about 9:30 in the morning and spent a couple of hours with Xinia, her husband Helio, and their family, especially their son and my little buddy, Riley. He was about 11 years old when we made our first trip there. Over the years during our visits, Riley and I have formed a bond of friendship. He is turning 16 this year and would soon have his ninth-grade graduation. Each time I visit, I bring flavored tuna packets for Riley. Usually, he consumes two or three of them within minutes of my arrival. This time, Riley headed for his room to hide his new treasure. He loves tuna, and it’s not easy to come by in their Bribri village or anywhere nearby. (I don’t think he intends to share them with anyone else!)


Pastora Xinia and Helio have had their ministry challenges over the years. Most recently, a visiting pastor came in and tried to convince them that Helio was supposed to be the pastor of the church rather than Xinia because he is a man. Both Xinia and Helio look to Douglas and me for leadership, and we were able to discuss the situation, offer advice on this and other subjects. We also encouraged them with some new direction where they will begin to mentor other pastors in the area.


Happy family at Pastora Xinia's church

It's always a joy to see my Bribri family! As we left, they asked us to hang on for a moment while they went into their home and removed a carving from their wall. They brought it to me as a gift. I know it was an item that they treasured. As was the case when I first encountered them on my original mission trip to Costa Rica in 2017, they live in very, very humble circumstances. Their home is primitive, and they have few possessions. Despite this, they are loving, caring partners in ministry. Emotions ran high for us all as we departed. I will always love them deeply.


People boarding boats at Suretka

In the nearby village of Suretka, we stopped to look in on Pastor Elias Rodriguez, who has been suffering from a brain tumor. From previous reports we had heard of his health, he seems to be improving. We laid hands on him, speaking to our Father in heaven about his continued improvement and restoration. Elias’ wife and sister huddled with Carla and Martalena, as our missionary partners lifted them up with encouragement for the challenging task of caring for Elias, who is still bedridden.


Leaving the Bribri villages, we headed to lunch at a charming spot on the beach in Cahuahita, a village where Melva and I had stayed on our trip there five years ago. We then headed back to Limon.


That afternoon at 3 p.m., Douglas and I had a Zoom meeting scheduled with Michael Campos, a video producer from Andrew Wommack Ministries. Michael had arranged to interview Douglas and me by video regarding a recent supply of Andrew’s authored study guides—in Spanish—that AWMI had recently gifted our ministries. Douglas uses these books to mentor dozens of pastors with whom he is in constant communication in Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica. We have been privileged over the years to have Andrew supply us these materials when we request them.


Though our video interview took approximately 45 minutes, Michael will boil it down to an approximate three-minute final product which will likely be included as one of the monthly features that is profiled on Andrew’s website. We are truly blessed to have Andrew Wommack’s support of our ministry efforts.


Douglas and I finished up that evening with a trip to the ice cream shop in downtown Limon, before retreating for the evening. Two nights earlier, there had been a police confrontation with a local gang that involved a member being shot and killed. There were police checkpoints going to and from the downtown area, therefore we headed back to our accommodations and stayed put for the night. We were never personally in any danger.


Day Eight: Saturday, May 21st

Today, we headed back to San Jose. The trip was not as lengthy for our return as the weekend traffic wasn’t as heavy and the rain was light.


Midday, we arrived back in San Jose, picked up Douglas’s wife Iliana, and we headed to the home of their friends, Gerardo and Flory Ramirez, where we enjoyed a scrumptious lunch. Gerardo and Flory have been great companions of theirs since they met quite by chance a few years ago. Their home and property are larger than the typical San Jose residence and was quite nice. In fact, it was the nicest home I had ever been in during my visits to Central America. It's on this property where Douglas and Gerardo sited the agricultural “arm” of our ministries. Those who have followed our ministry efforts may remember that both Douglas and I—especially Douglas—place a priority on mentoring and supporting other pastors. Our recent focus is to develop a level of self-sufficiency for these local pastors, many who live and serve in impoverished areas, by modelling some form of business to subsidize their minister’s salary. Typically, they’re paid little to nothing at all and most must work outside the home to support their families.


Avocado crop two years after planting (left) / Laying hens in medium-sized barn (right)


With this goal in mind, Your Kingdom Purpose Ministries seeded the effort to build a medium-size barn for raising laying hens (starting with 1,000 chicks) to produce eggs. Douglas also planted forty or fifty avocado trees on the property. The eggs and avocados are sold to produce income for ministry efforts. Douglas also supplies eggs to an orphanage as well as several elderly people. The avocado trees take a couple of years to grow to a maturity level of providing fruit. This year, the crop looks very promising, with the harvest season a couple of months away.


That evening, I had a great chance to get to know Douglas’ kids better at a family dinner at a pizza restaurant. Both are in their late twenties and speak English fluently. They are well-schooled in their fields of interest. Aside from English and Spanish, his daughter, Daniella, studied in China and is fluent in Mandarin as well as Portuguese. His son, Jan Michael, is fluent in three languages, including Russian. They are amazing young people and represent the promise of the next generation of spreaders of the Gospel.


For accommodations, that evening I stayed at a bed and breakfast near the site where the church that Douglas pastors meets on Sunday. The B & B is a beautiful older mansion that has been preserved and is now used primarily as an event center of sorts. The event I heard downstairs when I returned from dinner was a wedding dinner party for 35, with a lively DJ. The party seemed to wrap up by 9 p.m., so fortunately there wasn’t any need for earplugs that night!


Day Nine: Sunday, May 22nd

Today is the last day of the ministry portion of my trip to Central America.


The Lord had led Douglas to form a new church near his home in San Jose, with the purpose of discipling people primarily to do mission work. The church group only began meeting in April, so, it is just a few weeks old.


Douglas' home church

Douglas had asked me to teach part of that Sunday’s message on the idea of a person composing a Confession Card. This was an exercise I was asked to do in one of my Charis Bible College classes five years ago. As it turned out, putting this together for myself had proved so thought-provoking that I shared the idea of having the attendees of Douglas’ church compose one for themselves.


The idea is simple: Take scriptures that have great meaning in your life and string them together to be your self-reference in life. I look at mine frequently, and it reminds me of who I am in Christ. It also reinforces to me how the experiences of the last few years since becoming spirit-filled and deciding to find and follow my own kingdom purpose had changed the course of the rest of my life.


I presented the idea to the small gathering on Sunday morning, with Douglas interpreting for me. As it turned out, Douglas shared with me later that week that he had found of number of the people who had listened to this had begun to put together their own confession card.


So, that there is no mystery as to what went into my Confession Card, allow me to share it with you in this journal:


My Confession Card


You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in my name He may give you. John 15:16/ For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jer. 29:11/ Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established. Prov. 16:3/ Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him. I Cor. 2:9/ But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I John 2:20/ Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In my name, they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. Mark 16: 15-18/ Now to him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us…Eph. 3:20a/ I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil. 4:13/ Beloved, I pray that you may prosper and be in health, just as your soul prospers. III John v. 2/ By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35


Again, it is quite simple—just a string of scriptures that have great meaning in my life.


Following the service, the people seemed reluctant to leave and hung out together on the steps of the meeting place for quite a while. One of them, an elderly man who has been associated with Douglas for a number of years, prophesied over me: His prophecy was that I would have a long life—live many more years—and, that our ministry would have great financial success this year. I cherished those words.


After church, Douglas and Iliana took the afternoon to drive me to a beach area in the Guanacaste province. Of all the times I have visited Costa Rica, at no point had I ever been to the Pacific side of the country where most Americans vacation, and many American expats live. Melva had encouraged me to tack on a couple of days to my trip to just be a tourist and decompress a little. I did so.


We drove to the Playa Flamingo, where I spent three nights in a nice beach resort about a five-hour drive from San Jose. Douglas and Iliana spent the first night there, as well, returning to San Jose after a nice breakfast as we celebrated Douglas’s 57th birthday (May 23rd)!


That Monday was a hot and sunny day. I spent a good part of it laying around the pool and in the water. Too much time, I guess, as I ended up with a mild sunburn that evening. It was probably a good thing that the following day it rained the better part of the day so no chance of sun burning anymore. It was also that day that I figured out (silly me) that I was going to have to have a negative COVID-19 test (done by an authorized lab) in order to reenter the U.S., before boarding the plane the following day. Funny, but there was less exposure to COVID-19 in Central America for me than in the U.S., but I was happy to respect the rules. The U.S. has since eliminated that travel rule.


Return Trip: Wednesday, May 25th

The day I departed, I had to be up at 4 a.m. to meet a taxi at 5 a.m. for what turned out to be a harrowing hour-long ride to the airport. The driver operated the van like we were in a NASCAR race, riding the bumpers of cars in our path and even racing past motorcycles on the winding narrow highway. I said my prayers en route! We arrived two hours pre-flight.


As it turned out, there was no need. United Airlines was lacking enough attendants to enable the flight to take off. That wasn’t announced until about 40 minutes prior to our scheduled departure. The flight left Liberia, Costa Rica, five hours late, causing me to miss my connection to Boise. I had to layover in Houston that evening, compliments of the airline. I made it back to Boise almost a full day later than expected.


Concluding Thoughts:

This trip to Central America was immensely rewarding, as all the previous visits have been as well—visiting old friends, meeting new ones, and seeing the message of the Gospel spread to new people and places. And I always look forward to the boost that my own spirit receives by spending time with my dear friend and brother in Christ, Douglas. He is an amazing man of God and inspires me on so many levels.


It is always exciting to see the fruit of some of our ministry projects! Since the endeavors of Your Kingdom Purpose Ministries and our partners take place thousands of miles from where we live, and almost always in our physical absence, it is deeply gratifying to see those things that God has enabled to be accomplished through some of our efforts.


And it is humbling to see how much the offered support means to these people; how important it is to share in their appreciation. We are touched by their expressions of thanks; how they (unnecessarily) treat us like VIP’s when we visit—even to a point of gifting us a prized, family possession, as in the case of Pastora Xinia and family.


There’s nothing that can replace the joy I feel to see the hope in the eyes of these good people and to hear it in the voices of these dedicated pastors as they share their dreams with us – their miracles! It’s clear much thought and prayer go into these plans of perhaps improving their facility or whatever other efforts they envision to help spread the Gospel. Their passion and anticipation are contagious, and it’s so exciting to team up with them when we can to see these dreams realized.


I’m continually reminded that resources that are relatively insignificant to us in America mean such a great deal to them. They have so little, and by the grace of God, we have so much to give them.


It is always a rewarding experience to discover these new opportunities God places in our paths, both in Central America and Mexico. It’s challenging and fun to examine the possibilities, work out solutions, and work with amazing “boots-on-the ground” pastors for the advancement of His Kingdom. There will always be more to do- more people to help-more projects to take on. I am thankful that God has blessed us with great health, with enormous assistance, and with dedicated people who support our ministry efforts both with their finances and prayers. We are truly, truly blessed.


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