A Note From Tracey (The Birthday Girl!)

How do you sum up an amazing week? Although we are all excited to come home tomorrow to see our family and friends we will all miss Costa Rica and we will all be taking home a piece of Costa Rica that will always be in our hearts.  Coast Rica has touch our lives forever.  I will forever remember the people, the culture, the food and yes the bugs. Today we had an opportunity to go to a local church service. It was so awesome to see Kamryn and Steven being part of the worship team. Even though a lot of the songs were in Spanish and I didn’t understand. I did feel the Holy Spirt. It didn’t matter what language it was in, the thing that mattered the most was we were ALL worshiping the same God. This week I will be bring back many memories and new friendships. I can’t wait to visit Costa Rica again an see what God has in store for all of us through our visit to Costa Rica.

CCSP ARRIVED LAST NIGHT!!

The Middle School Youth Group from Calvary Chapel of St Petersburg arrived safely to camp last night!! They are about to raft the Ocoee River in TN!!!

PREPARING FOR NEXT ADVENTURE TRIP

We spent 12 hours yesterday cleaning up, drying out, repacking, and restocking gear & supplies. We gutted the trailer & reorganized everything. By the time the next group arrived at 7pm we were ready to gooooooo for the next 5 days!! So happy to be ahead of the game. I'm so thankful for my 2 remaining hardworking interns - Jessie & Chris. They're an answer to prayer =)

Carnival Day With The Kids In Rio Blanco

Thoughts From Rachel

Today we woke up and went to the beach after DEVOS and breakfast. The beach was just really amazing, and after a week of working for the Lord we all rested for the Lord. While at the beach we all split up. I got to hang out with my new friend Sury all day long, we walked up and down the beach a couple of times looking to ride horses…it didn’t work out though… lol but it was fun. Later we went to have pizza with most of the group and while we were there we got to hear the testimony of a street vendor. So even while at the beach we had great fellowship with other people. Even on the two-hour car rides we had a blast laughing and telling stories. So all in all today was an amazing day. - Rachel

These two guys were really excited to contact their wives today!  They miss them and their kids so much.  - Laurie 

A Post From Kayla

Hola! Today was a great day of work and worship. First, we went back to the Pastor’s house to finish our concrete job. Once again, we were able to get a lot done in a short period of time. The whole floor, the porch, and the side of the house is finished and looks great.

During a break from work, the Pastor took us on a little hike up the cliff to see a gorgeous view of field, trees, and the border of Lake Nicaragua. On the way, he told us his family story and the reason he has so much hope.

After the long day was over, we got to enjoy a beautiful worship session with the church’s band including Stephen singing in English with them and playing guitar. God’s presence was definitely in the room during this time, what an amazing end to the day.

Goodbye FCD & PPHS ASL Students =(

Another GREAT trip with FCD & PPHS ASL students!! Thank you Jesus!!

The FCD/PPHS ASL students & 2 GTD interns are on their way back to FL... we already miss them!! We love you guys!!

Special thanks to my wonderful interns for the awesome job they did all week long and the great blessing they were to me! I praise God for you!!

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Our next Adventure Trip starts in 24 hours in TN!! Can't wait to see the middle school youth group from Calvary Chapel of St Petersburg, FL!!!

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The Latest & Greatest From The FCD/PPHS Adv Trip

We've had non-stop fun the last 3 days!! Riding over Baby Falls, bridge jumping, swimming at "The Beach", rock climbing, white water rafting, the "blob", pizzadillas, smores, camp fire, and a whole lot of rain!! These kids have had an absolute blast and we've loved all the time we've been blessed with to spend with them. Tonight is our last night together before they head back to Florida =(

Adventure's With Alfredo and Activities With The Kids (Kamryn)

Hey, this is day three!! We had an amazing day today! The fellowship with each other was magnifico. We first went to sweet Elbia’s lovely home. There she showed us how the have made the coffee in the traditional way. There are many steps to this process. You grind the beans out of the shell then blow the shells out and roast the beans. Lastly you grid the coffee and enjoy! This was such a humbling and once in a life time experience I think no one will forget. (Starbucks has nothing on the costa Ricans and how they make their coffee)!

When we got home from the coffee tour we had to gather and prepare the things for the kids carnival. We have over 100 water balloons from Chris and tons of crafts from Tracy. The quilting ministry of our church was very kind to make the family’s. it was also a very humbling to see the difference in the cultures and see the different family’s and the children. We had2 family’s invite us to there homes. We had brought them toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, and conditioner as well as quilts. The kids reactions to what we had planed were so up lifting and joy filling.

Chris did an amazing presentation of the gospel. We had Tol translate God word into Spanish for the people. We had 8 kids and 2 adults raise there hands and except Jesus and their personal Lord and savior. Our prayer for them is that they grow more in Gods person and that they will start to go to church and be in Gods word and know that he is there every day and night. We hope to get to meet more amazing people like these in the future. See y’all in a few days!!!! - Kamryn

The First Full Day (Hannah)

From tree to tree to door to door; today was quite the day! We woke up slowly and meandered over to breakfast, which unsurprisingly involved the rarity of rice. The beautiful Leila made us feel right at home before we were hooked to a pulley hanging on a line that zig zagged across the canopy of Costa Rica. Through the laughter and nerves of zip lining that morning God really allowed the hearts of the team to bond before going out and sharing our love for Him with others.
We walked on the dirt roads of Rio Blanco and spoke with the friendly neighbors inviting them to come to our Carnival para los ninos (I said that phrase a lot today!) ! It was an interesting time of sharing, listening, and even a little slip and sliding down some rocky slopes! God has truly showed Himself through the beauty of the volcanoes and the beauty of His people!
Jessie shared with us some scripture in Ephesians 4 in the morning and encouraged us of Gods goodness in Hosea in the evening. Laurie opened her heart to us as she showed us her Costa Rican home and told us of the heart behind the church people here. The vision of what God is doing here is muy incredible- I am beyond thankful to be apart of praying for these people and working with them!
-Hannah

To Honor God First Above All

Today the First Baptist Church of Mt Dora helped us honor God by writing His scriptures on the new walls of our GTD Missions Office that is being built. They also wrote notecards full of scripture and tucked them away in the building blocks of the walls. Our prayer is that The Lord will use this office as a tool to bless this community and that it will allow GTD to be more effective in ministry here in Costa Rica. We are very thankful to the church here that they are allowing us the space to build, and we are so grateful to those who have donated towards our fundraiser goal to help us build this office. So far we have raised $400 of $2,000!  If you are interested in donating to our project you can go to our website at www.goingthedistance.org. 

FCD/PPHS Adventure Trip Update

We are having a great time with the Family Center on Deafness & Pinellas Park High School students. We are in TN hosting their annual Teen Leadership Adventure Trip. Yesterday they set-up their campsite and today we slid over Baby Falls, went swimming at "The Beach" in Tellico Plains, went bridge jumping, and stopped at a scenic overlook. Everyone is loving the trip!! =)

Day One FBCMD (Reggie)

Hello all just wanted to share some of the events of our first day.  Starting this morning when we left the parking lot we shared laughs, safety tips, and expectations.  We came into this first day full of enthusiasm and the excitement of the unknown.  These feeling lasted throughout the fight and carried over into our introduction of Laurie and Jessie (our event coordinators) We also got to meet a gentleman by the name of Mikol who was kind enough to drive us around this beautiful country. 

Oddly enough the fellowship time we shared together took precedent over our interest in scheduled events.  Here we are a church family who see each other regularly and continuing to share and earn new things about each other.  About half way thru our bus ride we stopped for lunch and had quite possibly some of the best food we ever tasted, served by an unparalleled staff.  A few of us even got to brush up on our Spanish.  Now when I share with you we are a church family we share a meal like one too, those who were interested shared and tried each other dishes and the conversations and laughs flowed as if we had done this million times before.  I for one was proud to be a part of this mission and was becoming even more excited about what the rest of the week will hold.  It was not until after we resumed our trip we started to inquire about the schedule set up for us and think out loud what God has in store for us in this part of the world.  Jessie (our intern) started to give us a break down and the faces of our team just lit up. 

Once we arrived at the property of our host church we met our interpreter Tol and our cook Lila, both absolutely lovely people.  He taught himself English through music and she leads bible studies out of her home and is saving to build on so she may have larger gatherings.  This is day one and it has already been an amazing trip, from the volcanoes to the surf waves we have seen so much and can’t wait to do so much more.  Thank you all for keeping us in your prayers and we ask that you continue to do so as we reach out to share the word and Christ. 

-Reggie

Almost There

About to go off the grid. 15 miles from camp & about to lose cell phone coverage. So far so good & no flat tires =). Group arrives tmw around noon =)

3 Hours To Camp

3 hrs from our campsite in TN. Just bought a ton of food from Sam's Club for the next 3 groups. So thankful for this awesome group of interns!!

Shoes, Smiles, Memories and God's Love

Last week The Seed mission team brought down over 80 pairs of shoes and sandals to distribute to a poverty stricken community!  It was a beautiful thing to share this experience with them and the people of Pijije.  Not only did we share shoes, but we also shared smiles, great memories and the love of God!

Last year we had a team who prayed with this woman.  She said her pregnancy was not going well and that her unborn baby was not healthy.  This year when I arrived at her home I was overjoyed to see this beautiful healthy baby boy sitting on her lap!  Praise God for answered prayers!  

4th of July

Happy Independence Day! ...Freedom!!! My favorite word in the world! So thankful for the liberation afforded to me through the courageous actions of our Founding Fathers and sustained by the brave men & women of our armed forces. Even more thankful for the internal freedom I experience everyday because of our Heavenly Father's free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus!! Double dose of FREEDOM!! BOOM!!

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." - 2 Corinthians 3:17

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AN ANSWER TO PRAYER =)

This morning I was praying and asking God to send more volunteers into our ministry. In 2009, during The Great Recession, we had to let our staff go because of financial constraints. During that same time frame we lost all of our volunteers (around 20 wonderful people) due to various life changes (newborns, newly married, moving away, job losses, financial losses, etc). Since that time it has been primarily Laurie and I working to carry the same load that 25 people used to help with. It has been relentlessly daunting and overwhelming to say the least. That's not a complaint, because I love what I do. It's just a glimpse into one of greatest challenges we've faced in 17 years of ministry. But God's Word says, "You do not have because you do not ask God." (James 4:2) and “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matt 9:37-38). God was reminding me this morning of how many times I've seen the need for more helpers, but forget to convert that need into a prayer request for God to meet. Instead, all too often, I've seen that need and converted it into a "to-do list". Because of this I've experienced two adverse consequences: I've unwittingly added more work to my to-do list and I've failed to experience God's supernatural intervention through answered prayer. So this morning God was reminding me, "Smarter not harder Doug. Don't try to do my job. You can't do what only I can do. I hold the king's heart in my hand. I hold all men's heart in my hand. And like a river I turn it wherever I please. At best you may grab someone's attention through an advertisement, but only I can grab their heart." So I began to ask God to send more workers into the GTD Harvest Field. I began to thank Him in faith for answering my prayers. About an hour later my mom & awesome 11 year old nephew Carson stopped by the office. Carson said, "I have something to ask you. Can I work for you & your ministry? I have a bunch of ideas I want to tell you about." I said, "Carson, absolutely!! I just asked God to send us more workers. You are an answer to prayer." Isn't God incredible! That really blessed me today. I can't wait to see what lies ahead. God has an amazing history of working through children and youth to accomplish His will - David, Samuel, Jesus, and so many more. =)


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Seed Church - Rafting Pics

The Seed Church's Costa Rica rafting pictures have been uploaded to the GTD Facebook Page... enjoy!!

Click here to see them =)

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