“The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
Have you ever had something all planned out, then nothing goes according to plan? It is sometimes in those moments of letting go of our control on those plans that we can truly see God move in surprising ways. That is the story of this past Vida Missions week! We had 5 teams come down from the United States for 10 days. Their first couple of days were receiving classes at the base. They then went out to work with churches around Costa Rica.
I had the honor of being used by God to lead one of the teams during their time here. We were paired with growing church in downtown Barrio Jesus where we did demolition and construction. We assisted in removing bathrooms and moving them, building a classroom, and painting some of the church.
We were able to see God moving in many things during this week, but the main things we were able to see is His sovereignty and how He is our provider in all circumstances. One example of this was how God answered our prayers with the weather. The main project that the church requested was for a classroom to be built behind the Pastor’s house to provide space for the youth. We began to build up through the back patio roof of the Pastor’s house to created a second story classroom. We began by cleaning, painting, welding and grinding the steel beams into place right away.
Here in Costa Rica we are in the rainy season, which would normally make welding for the second part of the day nearly impossible, but God moved and it was different for us while we were working there. The rains would wait and wouldn’t come heavily until we were beginning to clean up our work for the day. By the end of the week, with God allowing us more time to work, we were able to construct the frame for the classroom, get the concrete floor boards up, and frame out the roof! It was a huge project that would have normally seemed impossible, but with God answering prayers we were blessed with more time during our work days to be a blessing to the church in return.
The weather wasn’t the only way God answered prayers and was evident with us this week. He was working and using everything to bring unity, vulnerability, and growth to the individuals of this team. It shone brightly in the night after our last work day. We started off the night with a prayer and worship service with the church. At the service, we were able to share a beautiful time of worship, in both English and Spanish. It was amazing to hear the two languages combine to glorify one God! When the service finished, we went back into the church to have our team time for that night.
We opened our team time with reading a passage in John 13 about how Jesus washed His disciples feet, (even Judas’!) taking the position of the lowest slave in the first century. We took some time to reflect on this in a time of worship and our own time of footwashing. The night was open for the Holy Spirit to come and work among us, and that is exactly what He did! We were able to see relationships, hearts, and overall intimacy with the Lord restored. In the middle of it all, one of the leaders came, paused the music, and took a guitar and began to play. The church was filled with beautiful voices singing hymns of praise to the Lord!
God showed up, took over, and did what only He can do! The Lord was moving! What an amazing thing to see the Creator, who sits in glory, come and be with us during that time. He’s always moving, He’s always working, He’s always God.
Throughout this week, God has been showing us the importance of open hands to Him. During this week, time was opened and given to Him. From the project to the worship night, He was in it and working through it all. When our anxious hearts have no idea what to do, we can sit still with open hands before the King. Knowing that the Sovereign God is taking it. We can plan all we want for anything in life, but it is Gods steps and plan that will come to pass. He is faithful, and we can trust that He will come, provide, and will work His ways. He is the one that has made everything during this week possible. To God be all the glory!
By Conner Carpenter
A Vida220 Student