Freedom Streets!

Hey y’all! 

I hope you are all doing well! 

I wanted to update you on a few things God is doing in me and through me. 

The past few weeks have been amazing.... God has revealed his power and His might and His faithfulness !!! It’s been wonderful!!!!

“Freedom Street Ministry”

Freedom Street Ministry is the human trafficking ministry that I have been working with while here in Costa Rica. As I talked about a bit before, prostitution is legal here. Therefore, there are thousands of children and adults sold into sex slavery through human trafficking. Some are sold by their parents to “pimps” that they truly believe are taking their children to the states to ‘get a job and have a chance for a better life’. Other people are enslaved because of “debt”. Others are enslaved through manipulation. The list goes on and on. None the less, “Freedom Street”’s heart is to reach out and offer hope to these victims. We go and visit the streets and night, with the goal to extend the love of Christ and build relationships. The hand of God is so evident in orchestrating every step we take in “unfolding his plan for us in the streets”. This is His ministry, and we are prayerfully following His lead.

One of the things we do is go out on the streets and take coffee and cookies to these people. We go in the opposite spirit, being the only people who have ever approached them (as one prostitute said) “wanting to give and not to take”. The ministry also has a coffee shop where the friendships we build with these people can be furthered. We talk to the prostitutes, discipling them, building into them, speaking words of life and truth into them. The ministry also offers English classes, which provide these people with a skill they can then use to make money if they do decide/or find a way to leave the streets. 

Another thing that we do is “prayer vigils” in front of the biggest brothel in San Jose. The bible clearly says in Ephesians 6:12 that “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” This has been something that God has been teaching me in HUGE ways... the power of prayer... and the reality of the spiritual warfare. During our prayer vigils, we go in front of this house of darkness, and pray POWERFULLY in order that “God’s will can be done HERE as it is MEANT TO BE and IS BEING DONE in heaven”! This is one of my new passions... fighting in prayer. 

“Freedom Streets” also has a church service... how huge is this?!?! A church that welcomes people the way they are, and climbs into “their boat” instead of expecting them to climb into ours... isn’t that the way God intended it?! Isn’t that what Jesus did? I am expecting HUGE things out of this church... please keep this in your prayers! 

Of course, the streets are a dangerous place. There are pimps, drug lords, human trafficking is some people’s “business”....people who obviously have no respect for human life. The spiritual warfare is thick. But one thing that we HAVE found.... where evil is great.... God is FAR GREATER; and FAR STRONGER. The power of God has been displayed in HUGE and magnificent ways. God is faithful to His promises. 

A few miracles of God :)

We were able to watch God work in huge ways this week! We prayed over someone who had torn all of the ligaments in her arm and leg and she was IMMEDIATELY healed! WOW! 

This past week we were involved with a lot of “healing”. A ton of inner healing and a lot of liberations! The bible talks about how Jesus came to free the captives and to relieve the oppressed.... we were able to see people heal and break out of captivity from a wide arrange of things through the power of Jesus. From things such as bondage to sin, captivity in guilt or pain, enslaved to depression, anxiety, thoughts that held them captive.... and these people were set free! That’s what God is talking about when he talks about life ABUNDANT now! Jesus came to break every chain and free us from every type of captivity! 

I received a package last week from my aunt Tracy which was a HUGE blessing! It was filled with fun things! My entire room was excited for me! 

After 12 hour days of ministry and training, missionaries all sharing a room have to look for some sort of fun.... this week’s fun trick: “putting a squeaky dog toy under someone’s pillow and waiting to see them react”. Fun times! :)

Today is my birthday! The missionaries here pitched in a bought me ice cream! That brought a huge smile to my face!!!!

Today we also did some exercises in hearing God’s voice.... the activities we did were somewhat radical, but I learned so much! We have seen how essential it is to clearly and constantly hear God’s voice for things like spiritual warfare! So, we practiced some this morning.... it was wild how God would speak. Our group would have their eyes closed. The leader would lay a hand  on one group member. Then, without knowing the person that it was, we would begin to listen to God to receive words for that person... wow! We sure did hear them! The best part... the 5 of us praying would receive something that was either the exact same or on the same topic! Crazy Awesome! 

Metro Ministry Pictures 

and yes... I was a "puppet" in the puppet show! :) 

My Valentine!