Significant Shifts
Today, we begin our 5th year of saying “yes, Lord” by serving in Costa Rica. Of course, it’s not been a smooth path, but we lack less than when we started! (Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4)
May our faith and actions work together toward our faith being made complete by what we do. (James 2:22) Hallelujah!
We came to Costa Rica to work in Costa Rica, not to work remotely in the USA. For the past 14 years, our income has come from the work of coaching worship leaders in the States. A few months ago though, I (Dave) realized that we were basically digital nomads now.
We believe the Lord is calling us to be more fully present where we are.
In May of this year, the farm owners invited us to increase our time volunteering on the farm. Following what we believe is the Lord’s leading, I plan to maintain my involvement in leading the Ad Lib Music team, but on the side, rather than as our primary ministry. I now serve as the Pasteje Administrator, Heather has begun overseeing Hospitality, and Aspen and Clementine are the “Trail Masters” for Goat-Packing with God. That is to say, we’re investing more and more of our time and energy in bringing the farm back to life.
And for what purpose?
Here are four vignettes we envision facilitating.
ONE
The leaders walked into The Cabin, tired from life and their journey, yet glimmers of excitement sparked in their eyes for what was to come. They had gathered from different churches and cities with the purpose of seeking God together, kindling afresh the flame, laughing, eating, growing, and having their perspectives expanded.
TWO
It was the worship team’s first mission trip. Upon seeing the majestic, volcanic mountains as they stepped off the plane, they realized that the journey to that moment had only prepared them for what lay ahead. Together, over the course of the week, they worshiped, prayed, learned, hiked, served, widened their worldview, and swam in the Pacific Ocean… in January! Twelve years later, they still talk about that worship team missional retreat.
THREE
The look in the pastor’s eyes, as he greeted his host, said it all. He had his guard up, but it had become too heavy for him to bear. But he had found a safe place, and was about to get more real than he had allowed himself to be in years. As he tucked his kids into bed that first night in The Cabin, they giggled in anticipation of exploring with the host kids the next day. By the end of the week, this pastor was barely the same man… it seemed as though ten years of life had been pumped back into him…and his family.
FOUR
Mission work is not glamorous. Mission work is lonely. You do a lot of missing in mission work. The missionary family came to recharge, and reconnect with God’s call and purpose in their lives. Missionaries need to talk with fellow journey mates who get them, listen to them, and point them to what the Father is doing. In the quiet of the mountain, this missionary family received the rest, perspective, and encouragement that propelled them into the next decade of fruitful ministry.
We desire:
To be a safe place for leaders and their families to be empathetically cared for and listened to
To be a place that models givenness to each other and the Lord
To be a place that plants the seeds of raw, honest, deep worship
This farm is a quaint retreat for restoring, rejuvenating, and releasing ministry leaders and their families into mission, ministry, and influence. We want every follower of Jesus to serve in fruitful ministry for at least seventy years. We want them to grow deeply in love with Jesus. We want their family to love that they are given in ministry. We want them to reach the fullness of what God has for them.
This is exactly what we dream of.
We wholeheartedly invite you to invest in what we believe God is doing through us in Costa Rica, by supporting us financially as we step into new beginnings - the fullness for which God brought us here 1,461 days ago.
Love,
Dave, Heather, Aspen, Clementine, Louis, Juliana, Huxley, and Caspian Helmuth
You can click below to support us financially.
