Both Jeremy and Nico beat me to getting out their follow up prayer letters from our time leading a Short Term Team to Costa Rica.
2019 PVCC Costa Rica Missions Trip
6/20/2019
Greetings Prayer Supporters!
First of all, I want to thank all of you for taking the time to pray for me and the team while we served in Costa Rica. Being there, I was able to see the needs of our team taken care of; even before we were aware we needed something. I must say that the trip was a huge success on multiple levels. God truly did something special with our team. Not only did He allow us to encourage so many people, but He also ministered to each member of the team while we were there. Almost every day, the team would work long hours in the hot sun at the camp and we would have devotionals at the beginning and end of each day. However, throughout the trip, one thing remained at the center of everything we did; prayer. Prayers for strength, for patience with others, for health, for proper weather and many other things. Every single time, our requests were fulfilled in very visible ways.
Part of the work we were doing included painting all the benches in the camp, raking dirt away and laying concrete for a horseshoe pit as well as completely remodeling a basketball court. Thus, the weather was a crucial part of completing these outdoor projects. Unfortunately, the clouds had been pouring down like crazy for two consecutive weeks before we arrived, however, when we arrived, there were only clear skies! The team did not experience a single drop of rain until the last bit of cement was poured on Friday.
Additionally, while on this trip, I myself had a giant change of attitude. Heading into this missions trip, I thought there would be nothing unexpected. After all, I had already partaken in multiple trips with my family serving in other countries. How could this one be any different? I lasted until the second or third-day when I broke down; overwhelmed by the amount of work we had to do and the conditions we had to do them in. My dad then sat down with me on a hill that looked over the camp and showed me what I was doing wrong; I was not relying on God for my daily strength. I stubbornly thought I could take on anything by myself. He then reminded me of the biblical promises God makes to watch over his people and sustain them when they call out to him. After I had repented of my unbelief and pride in thinking I knew what I was doing, the work became easier and the circumstances became almost pleasant with the end goal of the camp in mind.
Thus, God truly used this team and this trip to impact more than a few people. The Gortemakers were so grateful (at one point to tears) that the team would sacrifice their own time, vacation and finances to come serve them in Costa Rica. The church in Cañas, a hurting church that has recently experienced the loss of the pastor's wife, was greatly encouraged that a group of Christians from Florida would come down to their church with a desire to serve them. Even the team's bus driver was encouraged by our group and after seven years of not visiting a church, he attended two services with us. God's grace was shown to our team and the Gortemaker's by answering our prayers for the weather, our prayers for physical strength and many other requests. Our God is a wonderful God and He truly did a great work with this team.
I want to thank you once again for your prayers these past few weeks. I assure you that they were answered as our team did not experience any health issues save some motion sickness on winding roads. Mom was in charge of the kitchen and kept the entire team very well fed, which also protected us from stomach bugs. So now I encourage you now to continue praying for me for these next two weeks. Tomorrow, I am leaving at 6:00 in the morning to staff Florida's Summer Encampment with the Civil Air Patrol. Encampments are always intense and require a lot of stamina and grit to be run successfully. So please pray that I serve well, lead by example and have the opportunity to share Christ with my fellow cadets. Also, four days after I get back from encampment, I will fly to Texas to partake in Civil Air Patrol's Glider Academy. Please pray for wisdom as well as protection since this will be my first time traveling out of state alone.
Finally, I would like to encourage you to praise God for the success of the mission trip. The reality is that the team could not have done anything we did without His help. Thus, it is only appropriate to take some time and thank God for His grace over the team.
Thank you.
Respectfully;
Jeremy Abegg.
Jeremy Abegg.
For more Abegg family adventures check out our blog at: www.abeggloveletters.blogspot.com
