2 Friends, a New Country

Over the past two summers, I have had the opportunity to work at a local coffee shop called 3J's.
Being family run, the atmosphere is amazingly positive and the mangers/owners are fantastic. Every two years, the two owners take a trip to Costa Rica to work with a church plant that has been established. This year, they invited their employees to go on the 2017 summer trip.

Working with CiM (Churches in Missions), this trip aims to help and support, not only the church plant, but the local community of Cariari, Costa Rica as well. As a team, we may be completing construction projects, children's ministry, pastoral conferences, or other miscellaneous outreaches, but all will be acted out through the love of Jesus Christ.

In talking to my friends and family about this trip, my best friend (and soon to be sister-in-law) Andrea, expressed interest in going along as well. We haven't been on a missions trip together since 2002. In fact, I went on my very first missions trip with her in 2001. We are both very excited to be traveling together to share the love of Christ once again.

So why am I telling you this? Well, our team is in need of partners - partners in prayer and partners in finances. While yes, I am saving money and conducting fundraisers to aide in my funds for this trip, reaching out to others is a way to get more people involved.

If you are reading this I would ask you to consider partnering with us - either through prayer or finances (or both!). We need prayer partners to lift us up as we prepare and as we go next summer. By joining us in prayer, part of you goes with us as we minister to the people in Costa Rica. Even though you do not travel with us physically, you do travel with us spiritually. Your prayers go forth and prepare the way. Will you pray for us?

We are also looking for financial partners. Andrea and I have joined together to fund-raise. We are making crafts to sell, saving our pennies, and reaching out to our friends and family. We have created a GoFundMe account to help us collect funds. This site shares a bit about our story and our upcoming trip. To access the site, click here. Or you can copy and paste the follow address into your web browser: gofund.me/JandA2CR
*** If you are interested in giving a tax-deductible gift, email me at jgdancer89@comcast.net for information on how to do that.

We cannot do this alone. I mean literally we can't. There is so much going on behind the scenes that we don't even know about - the planning of flights, the organization of itineraries, the prayers of people who don't even know what they are praying for, but just know that something is coming. Will you be a part of our team by praying or giving?

Our deadlines are coming up fast. Our airfare is due in December with the rest of the funds due in February and April. We are believing together, not only for funds to come in, but for prayers to be answered and lives to be changed. As you pray and give to us, we want to pray and give to you as well! Please let us know of any prayer requests you have so we can join with you in prayer! We also want to give you updates periodically on our progress and on our outreach once the trip comes around. Look for information here and on the following social media sites: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (2 of them).