Opening Night Was a Success!

We're just leaving La Gaviota Blanca after the inaugural youth group meeting, and I would say it was quite a success! You can see all of the kids who attended in the photo.

There were music videos, skits, games, and food. I have rarely seen a happier group of kids; they had an absolute blast. We didn't find out until we arrived that the six of us were going to be cooking hot dogs and making iced tea. Problem was, we had no knives (the hot dogs come in a thick casing down here), no tongs, no long spoons for stirring the tea, no plates . . . You get the picture. Fortunately, we had several Swiss army knives and the ability to do crude sterilization.

Chris gave his testimony, with Rosario interpreting. And another young man from the group gave a moving account of how he came to Christ. He had been thrown out of his home, landed in jail, and was on the fast track to a dead end. But then he found Jesus, and he cleaned up his life and repaired his relationship with his family.

Many thanks to Rosario for interpreting. She is the sweetest young lady, and she would be an asset to anyone as an interpretor. Unfortunately, our government won't let her into the U.S. to look at colleges because she doesn't have "sufficient financial resources that tie her to Costa Rica." But more on that story some other time.

It was so rewarding to see our work these past four days bearing fruit! Thank you, Lord, for giving us this opportunity. And please bless La Gaviota Blanca, all those who serve there, and all those touched by its ministry.