Outreach and discipleship program for the youth of Jacó, Costa Rica
This week there was a short term mission team working with Horizon Church. They came for one afternoon to Casafé. One of the gentlemen taught a Karate class and shared part of their testimony and the gospel while giving the class. They also did some team building games with lessons built into them. It was a fun time for the youth and great to do something new and different!
On Wednesdays we have a prayer time and a small Bible study. The youth are invited to come at 3 in the afternoon and hang out for a couple hours. Then at 5, after they have had a chance to get some energy out and eat a snack, we gather around the table, study a few verses and share prayer requests. This gives us a beautiful opportunity to get to know each other on a deeper level, grow spiritually together, and to hear some of the things that are going on in each others lives, and in the lives of our families.
It warms my heart to hear the youth praying for me and my family, for people back home, or for other requests that I share. I also love to hear them praying for each other – a break from teasing one another, calling them names or just messing around – now they are lifting up their needs and desires to the only One that can truly fulfull them. And I know God hears every single prayer.
Our prayer times, and the request shared, also open a door for me to have follow up conversations with them one on one. For example, the other week one of the girls asked for prayer for some family problems. Later I was able to talk to her about what is going on at home and some of the things she was having to deal with. This is just a part of the discipleship we do here at Casafé.
Every Tuesday Becky Bell comes up with an awesome English Class for the youth that come to Casafé. She has a rotation of teaching about cooking, money management, geography, and nutrition. So they get to learn a life skill as well as English!
Here are some pictures from today’s class!
Here is a little snippet of the junior lifeguard course we did in January.
Junior Lifeguard Course from Lisa Postma on Vimeo.
I just wanted take a second to recognize Katie Allen and Hannah Kenny for helping out with Casafe this year! Katie served for 3 months and Hannah for 2! Both Katie and Hannah jumped in and served with their all. They helped with everything we do at Casafé, from English Classes, Youth Training, and Prayer times to washing dishes, yard cleanup, and other projects!
Thank you for giving of yourselves to the youth and the community of Jacó!
Hannah Kenny, a friend of Katie Allen, has also come to Casafé to serve with us until the end of March! She has been a great help and connected well with the youth here quickly. She lived in Spain for 9 months and the language she learned there has helped her assimilate quickly. The three of us have had many laughs together and I really enjoy serving with them here at Casafé. Here are some of her thoughts…
I am by no means a writer so please be gracious with me as I try to communicate my thoughts and feelings. Don’t expect any mind blowing spiritual truths, I’ll leave those to C.S Lewis and Bonnhoeffer.
I have had the pleasure of being here at Casafé for three weeks now. It’s been a whirlwind and I’ve been able to be involved with English classes, laughs, prayer, surfing, kids club, futbol, leadership training, and much more. There is truly something special about this place and the people in it. Maybe it’s because they are truly trying to live out the words of Jesus by caring for the fatherless and marginalized here in the Jaco community. I’ve only been here for three weeks now and I’ve already grown to love so many of the youth and the people in this community- it’s truly captivating.
Casafe, and all that they are doing, makes it easy to come alongside them and believe in the work they are doing. For me some of the most beautiful moments in the past few weeks have not only been in participating in the classes and activities here, but have also been in sitting back and observing the community here at Casafe.
I see a space where the kids of Jaco can be kids. Casafe is a place where the youth can laugh, play, and have fun. I also see a safe place. Many of the youth that come to Casafe don’t have safe homes to go home to, but it is incredible to see how safe and at peace they feel here. I see a place that challenges the youth to grow. Whether it’s growth in their English skills or leadership skills, the community at Casafe continually challenges the teens to grow into the people that God created them to be.
A safe place. A place of joy. A place to grow. These might seem like small things, but they almost bring tears to my eyes as I write about them. I am so thankful for Casafe and the youth of Jaco in it who are teaching me more about what it means to walk out the gospel on a daily basis. I’ve only been here a few weeks and I’m excited to listen and learn more from them along the way. It makes me ask myself if I am encouraging peace, joy, and growth in the communities that I am in. Are you in community that encourages those things? How can you encourage peace, joy, and growth to your neighbors and the people that you encounter daily?
Whether you support Casafe through prayer, financially, or by giving your time I just want to say thank you. Your prayers and efforts have helped to create opportunities to make this a safe space, a place of joy, and a place where we can encourage the youth to be all they can be. We always have needs here at Casafe and we would be grateful if you would continue to pray for and to ask Lisa about what she might need for the youth.
I have already been personally impacted by your prayerful support and I’m thankful for that. We will never know the ripple effects of our kindness and love as we try to live out the gospel. I know that these aren’t crazy revolutionary thoughts, but maybe it’s the simple things that are the most profound sometimes.
Safe spaces, joyful places, and space for growth.
It’s been a few weeks since the Junior Life Guard Course we hosted for 11 of the Casafé youth and we’re still seeing the ripple effects.
The course consisted of starting off with bread and coffee alongside a devotional. Then Marvin, the head Lifegaurd of Jaco, would take over and lead the youth through exercises and drills. And then we would end the day with some reflection of what was learned and enjoyed from the day.
The thing is this, it was more than just a Lifegaurd course. Although there’s a huge benefit of the teens now being educated should there be an unfortunate event in the water; there were so many takeaways from the three days together. From the very moment the youth put on their “Junior Lifegaurd” tanks, there was a gained responsibility and empowerment wave that filled the air. They were proud of this new role and they paid astute attention to Marvin to their new responsibilities. Through the ways they were working hard, it was evident they could see the more they put into this course, the more they would get in return. The comradery of the teens was also strengthened as they carried one another out of the water during drills, as they ran the beaches together, as they cleaned each other’s plates, as they endured the long days and as they were awarded their certificates at church the following Sunday.
It’s an understatement to say we were encouraged and proud of their accomplishment. They’ve continued to lean into the lessons learned and walk in their achievement. As they still continue to practice their skills even when they have free time on the beach, smiles reach across their faces. It’s so fun to imagine that there’s so much more they will accomplish and conquer.
We want to say a special thanks to those who helped put on the course. To the meals prepared for lunches, to the donations made, to prayers continually prayed and to the applause made to the youth as they were given their certificates!
Post written by Katie Allen
It is so great to have a new intern here! Katie Allen came on the 5th of January to serve with Casafé for 3 months. She hit the ground running as I had her signed up to help with the action songs for Horizon Kids Camp (VBS style), and then the following week helped me facilitate a junior lifeguarding course here at Casafé. Katie has been a huge asset and a great help; she gets along really well with the youth, (and with everyone else for that matter)! She has already gained a nick-name: Queen of wipeouts…because she is learning how to surf! It is how the youth show their love to her!! Katie has been a huge support to me and to Casafé and I am excited for what the next few months hold!
Please be praying for Katie and her time here with Casafé!
You can read her blog here!!
The boys wanted to surf at 6am because that is when the tide was good. We usually don’t have people over after 10am in the morning, but sometimes there are exceptions. I told them they could come over at 6 am if they would help me clean up the yard after! They agreed! I told them I would make coffee, and they said they would bring the bread!
After we surfed in the morning, we had Coffee that I made and the bread they brought! Then we had a little Devo time and prayed before we got to work. One of them said that we should pray around the circle, so instead of just one person praying, we all did! It was so cool to hear the prayers of the youth. They prayed Thanking God for all his blessings, they prayed for Emily and I, and they prayed for others that have poured into their lives. Their prayers are so open and raw – I love it: “God thanks for the waves. God, you know we are a little bit selfish in the water, it is just because we like to get good waves!” And they prayed for Casafé and that it would not sell!* I love these guys and I love to see how much they are growing in the Lord!
I often tell the youth that Casafé is not mine, it is God’s…. It is a gift from God to us, so that we can grow closer to Him. He wants us to know Him more and grow in faith.
I told my roommate that I made a deal with the youth that they could surf early if they helped me clean after – she figures I got the good end of the deal, and maybe guess I did! The mission of Casafé is to empower the youth of the Jaco area to grow in their spiritual walk, develop life skills, and learn to live in healthy christian community. And although this time was not a planned event or a scheduled class, it was a time where we enjoyed one another fellowship, where we could use our skills to serve, and maybe learn some new ones. We “break bread” together and prayed together. And this was a time where the youth really can take ownership of this place that God has given us to grow!
This is what Casafé is all about.
And they love it!
After, they came back in the afternoon for an event and we all joked…
“Lisa, Casafé looks super nice and cleaned up!”
“Yeah, Lisa, the yard looks so good!”
“Thanks guys, some really nice people helped me out with it!!”
Haha
They take pride in their work! …and that is empowerment and gives them self-worth!
*The house/property we rent for Casafé is for sale. …It is my prayer too, that Casafé would not sell. I believe God has this place for ministry for a long time. Please be praying with me that we would be able to buy this place for Casafé in God’s perfect timing!
I want to say a big thank you to Emily Feusse!! She has served with Casafé for almost a year! She was there from the beginning. We have been working together in everything, learning, growing, serving, praying, and sweating along the way! Preparing Bible Studies, early morning surf sessions, crazy youth activities, intense prayer meetings, random emotional emergencies, afternoon coffee times with the youth, big gatherings, and much more…. … Emily has given her all to serve and support here! Thanks Em!
Thanks for pouring out yourself and your heart into the Casafé ministry and the lives of the people here in Jaco!
Emily is now moving on to another season that God has for her! Please continue to keep her in your prayers!
Here are just a few pictures of a fun adventure took before she left to celebrate her time here! Its been quite the ride! 😉
Casafé Youth Ministry House