My Letter to You...

Mission trips had always scared me. Not the adventure part - I love adventure! Not the leaving my comfort zone part, I'm down with that. Not the loving on other people in Jesus's name - I LOVE doing that! It was the fact that I knew myself, and I knew if I went... I'd never come home. So to be safe, I just never went.

Last November I had the opportunity to go to Costa Rica in a dramatic "God brought in $900 in 48 hrs, so I guess I’d better go" sort of way, and it rocked my world. I fell in love with the place and with the people. And before I even left Los Anonos, I had begun plans to return in July as co-leader of our church’s youth trip.

With my longing to be a mom, I thought it would be the really young kids who would capture me, but during that time in November, it was the teens/young adults who won my heart. Their raw love of Jesus and total dependence on Him made me ashamed of the lukewarmth of my Americanized Christianity. Seeing the poverty they live in, and the broken homes they come from broke my heart. And when I heard about Missio Dei Costa Rica’s (http://missiodeicostarica.org/) vision of opening a discipleship home for the young people of Los Anonos to receive help with school and English, and mentoring  in building a firm foundation in Jesus, my heart leapt at the opportunity to join in. My deepest cry since meeting those teens was that I would be able to encourage them in reaching their full potential so that they can help shape their community for good.

I’ve been accepted into the internship program at Missio Dei Costa Rica, and am making plans to go in October of this year, for 12 months. Emotions are high in ALL areas right now… Excitement at returning to a place that won my heart, terror at leaving my comfortable life in NH, extreme grief at the thought of leaving my precious nieces and nephews, and the euphoria that comes with anticipation of a complete faith free-fall.

So, I am asking for your prayers. This is a gigantic leap of faith, and I need to know that my people at home have my back in prayer. Prayer that my heart is being prepared for going down long term, and that God will move mightily in the community that’s going to be my home for a year. As the time gets closer, I’ll be setting up a blog, so that you can follow the answers to your prayers in Los Anonos. I will also be compiling a list of emails to send out updates, if you’d like to be included in that.

Finances… The part that no one likes to talk about, but that can’t be ignored. Between the trip in July, and my year beginning in October, I need to raise roughly $11,000. (I SEE YOU STARTING TO CRUMPLE UP THIS PAPER!) Asking for help is not one of my strong suits. In fact, to be brutally honest, I’ve lost countless hours of sleep trying to figure out how I can do this on my own without asking anyone for money. But recently I was convicted as we talked to our youth team about how the Biblical concept of “sending” is just as important as the “going” part. (Acts 13:2-4)

Combining all the expenses I’ll incur for a year (room/board, transportation, Biblical course studies, phone, etc), it only costs $28 a day! So, here’s what I’m thinking. If I were still in the states, and you and I are friends and lived relatively close to each other, we’d probably meet for dinner. And we’d  spend $28 or more… Would you pray about giving that money to the opportunity of allowing me to bring Jesus to people in Costa Rica instead?  (Unless you think we’d go to The Chophouse… and we’d share a bottle of wine, wherein, you can write a check for $200.)

Donations for the July trip can be made online at http://www.razoo.com/story/Lindsay-Jones-Fundraising-For-Missio-Dei-Costa-Rica-Equipo-De-Jovenes-2012?referral_code=share (I’m working on setting up an online donation option for my internship as well)

Checks can be sent to my home address:  212 Chestnut Hill Rd, New Boston, NH 03070

If you’d like your donation to be tax deductible, you can make your check out to Manchester  Vineyard Community Church, and put “Lindsay Jones – Costa Rica” on an accompanying note.

You have the chance to be part of this incredible opportunity without even having to leave your house! How amazing is that??

With a whole heap of love, gratitude, and free hugs!
Lindsay