A Day in The Life: Jacó, Costa Rica

Hello all!! First, I want to say so sorry it’s taken me so long to post an update! I want to grow this next month in being more consistent in posting blogs. Thanks to all of you who have reached out, prayed and offered support! I’m so thankful to get to do this journey with each of you 🙂

For the past 6 weeks my team, along with 4 other teams, have been in Jacó, Costa Rica serving with the ministry, Oceans Edge. Our first week was spent in quarantine as to honor the community we had come to serve. During that week, we spent time doing manual labor and cleaning and painting around our host home. The month following was filled with painting murals and gardening at the local parks, cleaning up the beaches, cleaning light poles, building relationships with locals, youth and worship ministry at the church, and lots of other little jobs here and there. It was a month of being poured into and getting to serve the community in a tangible, physical way. God showed me just how much we can do for the Kingdom with a paint brush and a shovel. 

Since being on the field, one of the most consistent questions I get asked is, “what does day to day life look like on the field?”. Because of that I’ve decided to start this series! yay! 

So here’s a day in the life in Jaco 🙂

7:00 (or 7:30 or maybe even 8:30 lol): wake up! If ya know me you know that waking up in the mornings is not my thing haha but I tried to be intentional about waking up early while at oceans edge. In a space where there was close to 50 people, it was hard to find some alone time. The mornings were a great time to slow down and have some quiet time with God over a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal (my typical WR budget breakfast)

9:00: devos with Richard! Our incredible host set up devos for us every morning where a man from the local church, Horizon, came and chatted with us. We learned a lot about spiritual warfare, prayer, healing, relationships, soul ties, etc. It sparked a lot of good conversations. 

10:00ish: start ministry! ministry looked pretty different every day but it typically involved a walk or a bike to the park, saying hello to our fruit stand friends or Jorge at the gate who would always greet us with a smile. 

12:30: lunch! Everyday we ate sandwiches and chips. So you better believe I was also hitting up the fruit stand daily for a piña, fresa, mango smoothie con pipa 🙂

1:30 – 5:00: more ministry! Ministry time was always filled with worship music and good conversation. This group is hard working and is always bringing things back to Jesus. I’m so thankful to get to work and serve alongside them :,)

Free Time! Grab a friend and head to the beach to catch one of the world famous Jacó sunsets or to bohío cafe for the best dirty chai in town. Or to masxmenos (what we called our Walmart) to buy some chiky’s (a popular cookie brand amongst our group). Or to Pop’s, the local ice cream shop. Or to all of the fun stores to look for some new clothes since all of ours are covered in paint by now hahah It was fun to be in a town with so much to do and we really enjoyed exploring Jacó. 

7:00: dinner! Each night a different team cooked dinner for the 33 of us. My team cooked on Tuesday’s and, in my humble opinion, we weren’t too shabby at it! Fresh Fire’s got some cooks y’all!

Team Time! After dinner we’d typically have team time. A space for feedback and just getting to hang out with each other. From deep conversations and sharing testimonies to water gun fights and watching movies, these times were some of my very favorite in Jacó. 

Worship! At least two nights a week and sometimes more we would do worship nights after team time. It’s been said that this squad is marked by their worship and it’s so true. I am so grateful to be with a group that maintains the posture that God is worthy of it all, always. 

Games! Almost every night was finished with games. From sheepshead to blitz to euchre, I love playing games at home with my family and so having a group to play with here feels a little like home. 

I am so grateful for my time in Jacó. So grateful to be back out on the field internationally. So grateful to be used by God wherever He’ll have me. It’s strange thinking back to where I was last year at this time. Every time I do, I am in awe of God’s provision, redemption and love. How sweet of Him to bring me here again, getting to love on His children and grow in intimacy with Him. 

This week we have been in San Jose for debrief. We’ve been resting, worshipping, learning and processing what happened the past 6 weeks. After debrief, my team will head to San Antonio Aguas Calientes, Guatemala where we will be for the next 2 months! We are so excited to see what God has in store for us there! We would love prayer for safe travel, smooth transition and for God to prepare the hearts of the people we are about to meet. 

I am so thankful for each of you and pray you are doing well! Please never hesitate to reach out and let me know how I can be praying for you specifically!

much love and many blessings!

Annie