Reflections on the Women's Ministry

Greetings from the Costa Rica women's ministry team (Janice Karkotsky, Kay Watson, June Cartee, Stephanie Hedlund, Courtnae Ramser, Taylor Brooks, Santa Owen, Cindy Blakley, and Linda Milam)!  On Sunday, our team met with the ten women from Iglesia Metodista El Mesias (Pastor Douglas' church).  God has joined our two teams together to kick off a new women's ministry in a little community center outside of Alajuela.  Adding a Spanish-speaking team answered one of our prayers which was to find a way to clearly communicate the love of God, in spite of our limited useful Spanish.  Thank you, Jesus.  After spending an hour together talking about the flow of the week, we gave each of the El Mesias women one of our team t-shirts to wear on Monday.  The women were very excited to be joining with us on this new ministry, and are hopeful for what might continue after the week is over.

On Monday after arriving at the site, El Mesias team served as the greeting committee.  After the women were "registered" (to help the church gather contact information), they were guided to the agape manicure area.  Because of the abundant blessings shown by the FUMC congregation, community women were shown rows, rows, and more rows of nail polish.  They selected a color, and were then seated across from one of the FUMC manicurists!  So how is an agape manicure different from a regular old manicure, you ask?  These manicures were administered with an outpouring of love for our Lord and Savior.  And when you are overflowing with this kind of love, the following happens: hand and arm massages become loving and gentle; the eyes smile brighter; and the human spirit begins to shine through just a bit more.  :-)  While receiving manicures, the love continued to be provided through neck and back massages... We nearly saw a few women slide off of their chairs in relaxation!  Responses from the women were something like this: "I've never had anyone treat me this special," "Look how pretty my old hands are", and "Thank you for making me feel pretty."

After the manicures, the women were introduced to meaning of the day's color of faith, followed by a clip from the video, "Magdalena".  Yami Mesias (Pastor Douglas' wife) and Santa Owen (a missionary who serves FUMC-LV) provided the lesson, using scripture to show how God intends for women to be loved, not mistreated.  The women then moved into small groups for discussion, and also worked on the day's craft (using fabric pens to paint potholders).  It has been such a blessing to be joined by the women from El Mesias church, as they easily facilitate small group discussion and connect so beautifully with the women we are ministering to.  When the women were shown a copy of the Bible they will receive on Friday, their excitement was evident in their eyes and their glances to one another.

On Monday, 18 women were in attendance.  Of these, two women are Catholic, three are evangelical Christians, and all of the rest were unchurched.  So again, God responded to our prayers to touch the hearts of women in this community who most need Him and to give them courage to attend our meetings.  Thank you, Father.  And thank you to those at FUMC-LV who provided funds for these Bibles; just think about how important these Bibles will be to the women who do not attend any church at all.

On Tuesday, we ended up with 39 women... almost a packed house in the small community center where we are.  The Tuesday routine was similar to Monday; but the response of these women has just been so touching... Santa provided such a stirring talk and scripture reading that women began taking notes on their hands, as no paper was handy.  (Next year... it would really be great if FUMC-LV could also provide journals for the women.)  It was so encouraging to see how responsive the women have been; truly they are hearing the message of God's love, grace and mercy.  We also gave out one prayer blanket Tuesday (thank you to the FUMC prayer blanket ministry and to the children who prayed over these blankets during children's church).  The blanket was given to one of the women for her neighbor, Marcelina Calvo... Marcelina wanted to come to our program but she has arthritis so severely in her feet that she is unable to walk more than just a short distance before the pain becomes unbearable.  So please add her to your prayers.  Since it appears we will have more than enough Bibles for the women's ministry, we will also provide one of the Bibles for Marcelina on Friday.

Wednesday (today) is an off-day for the ministry, but we'll be back at it on Thursday.  It should be a very special day, as we will be providing prayer shawls for each of the women (let's hear it for the FUMC prayer shawl ministry and the youth who prayed over these prayer shawls in the warehouse!), and the women will begin praying for one another (facilitated by the women from both FUMC and El Mesias).  Please pray that God will continue to work on the hearts of the women attending our program, and that they will also decide to dedicate their lives to Him.  Please also pray that plans will come together to continue this ministry after we are gone, and that the women of El Mesias will become stronger in their church outreach.  They are deeply spiritual women whose love for God just pours out!  They have so much to offer the community, and it's been a blessing to bring them into program this week.  (Why haven't we done that before!?)

Stay tuned!