Digging sidewalks and mixing concrete in the mornings, then visiting homes in the afternoons certainly caused me, a 54-year-old attorney from Alabama, to question why I was in Costa Rica on a missions trip. But as the week progressed, it became very clear.  

“When did you see God move this week?” Jana asked at the Thursday night debriefing. Rodney and Jana Davila are MTW missionaries in Costa Rica. The question immediately brought back so many faces and places where God’s master hand was displayed.

My mind first turned to a young man we met last year. He had been in and out of rehab both before and after we left last summer. Told he would not be in town, we were surprised when he showed up at our Sunday evening welcome dinner in Costa de Pajaros asking for prayer. He had to report to court Monday morning to be tried for stealing some things while on drugs and was facing two to six years in prison. We were able to pray for him. He returned the next night to say he had pled guilty, but the judge suspended the sentence and ordered him to do 10 months of community service.

I also thought of one of our day workers. A strong 40-year-old man, he showed up to help us Tuesday morning. He lived at the first home we visited on Monday but was not there because of some legal issues. We watched him come to faith in Christ Thursday morning.

My mind then went to the former pastor of the church where we worked. He had lost his son to cancer a few years back and had left the church. Carl, one of our team members from last year, had gone through a similar loss and met with him and counseled him over the last year. When we visited the former pastor’s house on Wednesday afternoon, he shared his struggles and how God is bringing him back. God brought the only storm we had that week to keep us at his house to pray and fellowship with him for an hour.

So many other faces God brought to mind: Rodney and Jana, Moises and Maribel, Miguel and Ingrid, Gerald and Geraldo, Alejandro, Pedro, Jorge—all taught us God’s grace and providence, brotherly love, and that God can use a 54-year-old attorney from Alabama for His kingdom’s work and teach him something in the process. He knit seven men from Alabama together and then united them with the hearts of His people in Costa Rica.

When did we see God move that week? He moved all week long.

Jeff Brumlow is a member of Cahaba Park PCA in Birmingham, Alabama.

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