This trip to Costa Rica was filled with papaya, pineapple, and people. I traveled with a group from Sioux Falls First to capture the trip through photos and videos.

Within the first couple of days, I got to see a glimpse of a 25-year long story come full circle for one of our leaders as we prayed for a man who was recently diagnosed with cancer. My leader had prayed for his salvation for all of those years. We talked with him and learned that within this past year he received Jesus in his heart and he is now going to a house church in his community. 

I had such anticipation of what else the Lord would show me as we headed from the beaches to the mountains. 

We arrived at a Youth With A Mission base and started to build a cabin that will house mission teams, missionaries in training, and YWAM staff. During the trip, we got as far as finishing the frame of the cabin. 

At the same time, one of the leaders taught classes on Community Health Evangelism to seven students. This course is geared toward training leaders to empower people within a community to solve their specific social problems. The approach is holistic, dealing with all aspects of life. 

The Lord helped me realize the opportunity to reach out to the missionaries there and offer them my photography talent and equipment so they could share their stories better through high-quality photos or videos. This is something I have dreamed of doing for years. 

In all of this, God spoke to me about my future, and without thinking about which word to use, I described my excitement to another person by saying, “I’m stoked!” That was the best way to describe how I felt and still feel. 

Stoke: to stir up or tend a fire; to feed abundantly. This trip was one of God stoking the fire that is in my soul. Halfway through the week, I woke up with the song in my heart called Set a Fire by Will Reagan.

“Set a fire down in my soul that I can’t contain and I can’t control. I want more of you God. I want more of you God.”

I couldn’t get that song out of my heart or head. The fullness of God’s love surrounded me, and my heart felt full and heavy all the way home to South Dakota. 

I’m excited for the future. I believe God is going to do far more than I could ever ask or imagine.

In Him,

Julieanne