And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.Hebrews 13:16
Friday night they begin to arrive, young families with their fishing poles, pre-teen boys with their surfboards, young professionals with their friends. I pull another bag of frozen fish out of the freezer and grate the rest of the cabbage, check the rice and beans to make sure there will be enough. Someone brings drinks and I have one of the pre-teens clear the table of surf magazines, bibles, stickers, toys, back packs, school books, wet trunks and towels. We gather and pray, another car arrives, head count goes from 16– 20. We sit and eat, talk about school, grades, family, jobs, Jesus, surf reports….. This is the beginning of a typical week-end at the Leon house. The fun continues with small group discipleship, service projects, chores, counseling, English classes, Kids Club, more food, fishing, friends and culminates on Sunday with worship and a cele-bration of the love of the God we serve. During the week we catch up on the laundry, house cleaning, and other ministerial chores in preparation for another full weekend of living together and following Jesus.
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As the national director of Christian Surfers Costa Rica Dennis works alongside the leaders of five chapters along the coasts as well as in the city. These chapters have an important evangelistic role in the surfing community as they provide a bridge from the beach to the church. Dennis is also involved with Christian Surfers International to develop healthy strate-gies for Christian Surfers Chapters to be the catalyst for new churches in areas where there is no healthy church.
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We have seen God’s hand at work opening hearts to Jesus; and communities opening their doors to the transformative power of the body of Christ as churches are born along the coasts of Costa Rica. As of November 2011 we are meeting as a church in our home in Esterillos, and Pura Vida Esterillos has also planted a home church in Parrita, 20 minutes south. The commissioning of a new church in Tamarindo will take place in January of 2012 while plans are being formed to begin another church in San Jose by January 2013.
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Partner Raising Tour 2011
We have been accepted as extended term missionaries with Free Methodist World Missions. With this new position we have much big-ger responsibilities and benefits such as a five year commitment, a real pay-check, and the support of a home office. Of course with all these new things we also have new financial needs and a much larger budget that needs to be fundraised. We are nearly half way funded with one time donations and about half way funded with monthly pledges, but we need to bring this up to 100% before we can return to Costa Rica to continue the work that God has for us there. Our hope is to be back in Costa Rica before the Christmas holiday, which is prime time for ministry as people flood the beach for their “summer” vacation time.
Florida to Colorado to California we have seen the hand of God, felt His grace and been cared for by His body as strangers opened their doors to our family in Christian love and hospitality. We have been on the road for over a month visit-ing churches, friends and family, sharing stories and good food as we raise sup-port for the work that God has called us to in Costa Rica.
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