Welcome back to my blog! It’s been a while since I’ve posted an update and I’m excited to share with you what God’s been doing over the past month. Thank you for your patience in waiting for an update as well as your continued support in reading this and partnering with me!
Over the past month I have found myself processing through so much and yet struggling to find the words to accurately express my experiences of the past month with you all. My hope is to be able to share in more detail about some of these experiences in future blogs, but for now I wanted to give you all a birds-eye view and update of where we’ve been, the ministries we’ve been working with and how God has been moving to catch you up.
On March 3rd our team traveled down the mountain in Honduras one last time and said goodbye to Catracho Missions. We are so thankful for our time with Catracho Missions and I am hoping and praying to return in the near future with my home church. We then met up with the rest of our squad and traveled to El Salvador for two weeks of debrief and training!
During debrief our leadership team from the states travels down to meet with our squad as a whole, in teams, and individual one on one’s in order to check in with how we are doing, growing and to process with us all. We also had sessions and trainings these two weeks on learning more about the Father’s love for us, how to hear His voice and the power of the Holy Spirit. We spent time together as a squad in worship, adventuring together, learning, resting, reconnecting and preparing for our next several months of ministry.
Then on March 16th we drove over 22 hours to Nicaragua with our squad and after a 2 hour nap, Team Selah set off for a couple more hours of driving and a ferry ride to Ometepe Island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua where we served for the past three weeks at a protection center for children and a school! This is an incredible ministry focused on providing safe places and care for the children of Nicaragua and teaching them about God’s love.
Our team served in many ways: helping with maintenance, cleaning and property care, working in the kitchen and garden, assisting and teaching in the school and after-school program and investing in the staff and students. We had incredible experiences with all of the staff and students there and I am so incredibly grateful for the relationships we built and the opportunities we had there.
Our team was also growing spiritually as we started a daily Bible study together through the book of James, stepped into nightly prayer and intercession, and worshipped together several times a week. This was our last month as Team Selah and it was a special month of growth and serving together. I am very thankful for Team Selah and the relationships and memories we’ve made over the past three months!
Earlier this week, on April 7th, our squad traveled together from Nicaragua to Costa Rica for gender month. Essentially this means that all of the men on our squad are spending the month together on one side of country serving in ministry and the two new women’s teams are serving on the other side of Costa Rica and will come together weekly to learn, connect and grow together as women. This means I have a new team for this month!
My team members for this month are Jenna, Zim, Cece, Jamie, Amanda, Emma and Madison! This is a team full of kind, compassionate and strong women and leaders and I’m so excited for what this month will hold for us as a team and as a squad! My team is serving at a YWAM base in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica and our ministry will consist of mostly street evangelism and manual labor.
The week preceding Easter is known as Holy Week and in Central American culture the government and schools often recognize this week and give the whole week off for the schools and many work places. Puerto Viejo is a popular travel destination as it is a surf city and brings in many people and tourists during Holy Week. Our hope is to love these individuals and this city well and to share with them about the hope and freedom that comes from a relationship with Christ.
Street evangelism is not something I have much experience or comfort in, and at the same time I would like to grow in my confidence in sharing about the Lord and what He has done in my life as I have experienced His great love for me and the freedom that comes from knowing Him. I want others to experience that hope, joy and freedom as well. Please join me in praying over the city of Puerto Viejo and my team as we are sharing about the Lord. Please pray that this will be a beautiful month of healing and breakthrough for not only this city and the people traveling to it but also for our team.
Again, thank you so much for your patience and support! I’m hoping to share more about my experiences in more depth at another time, as for now thank you so much for walking with me on this journey!
P.s. My leg is healing well and growing stronger every day! Praise God!
Hello Naomi! Thank you for giving us your bird’s eye view of the last several months from your perspective! I know that you love people and I can hear all the love you’ve shared with the ministries you’ve been involved in. Praying for a beautiful prosperous month for you in Costa Rica. Give’Em Jesus! Love you Naomi!