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Beachside Miracles

Costa Rica. Not quite what you would expect. You hear about the picturesque beaches and perfect surfing waves but there is so much more and it’s not good. There was just a heaviness everywhere we went.

We spent our time in a small town on the Nicoya Peninsula near Paquera called Rio Grande. Its one of those towns you drive through and don’t realize was a town until you’re already past. Then you immediately forget about it and never think of it again. Although I’ll never forget it.

Our host gave us several days to settle in before he had any planned ministry and we used that time to explore the beaches. Pajaro beach was in walking distance. A quiet local beach known for manta rays coming close to shore due to the lack of waves. We saw one baby manta ray that first trip out there and that explained why everyone kept warning us about them. They are very hard to see. Lindsey went there for some God time and was walking through the shallows and got stung by one! Manta rays are venomous and her ankle swelled up and stung. She made her way back to the house we were staying at and the owner J happened to be there. She saw the sting and immediately set to work on getting the swelling down. Ice and a special ointment and after a few hours the swelling went down. It still stung but she didn’t need to go to a clinic which would have been a much bigger ordeal. Praise God it was a shallow wound and so barely had any venom in it!

For one of our adventure days we stayed overnight on an island called Isla Muertos. The owner told us some crazy stories about his background. Saying he was part of a mafia, had been an accountant for drug rings, and how God had saved him from prison multiple times and eventually gifting him with this island for free. He even spoke like one straight out of those old mafia movies. Anyway, we were going to stay overnight and so Lindsey had set her sarong down on the beach and went to explore. The tide came in before she came back. Realizing where she placed her sarong was now under water she rushed over to the spot praying that she would be able to find it. She did. It was exactly where she left it. Rather than being pulled out into the gulf, the tide had anchored it down by half burying it in sand. Meanwhile Gwen had also gone to explore around the island and had left her shoes on the beach. Several hours after Lindsey had found her towel Gwen remembers her shoes. The tide is now going back out. The shoes are the type that float so it’s even less likely to be found since we had been on the island for a solid 5 hours and at least 4 of those hours the shoes had been on the beach. She runs over and starts searching. A dozen feet away, above the tide mark, tangled with some debris were her shoes. Praise the Lord that no one lost anything that day!

On another free day we went further south so a beach called Tambor. I saw the tide was coming in when we first got there so I made sure our bags were far back so we wouldn’t have to get out and move them. The floor was covered in sharp rocks. I broke my toe on my way out to the bigger waves and the rest of my team. Of course that didn’t stop me from getting out there though it did slow me down. We were out there for a couple of hours and it was basically like hanging out in a wave pool. Nice and gentle. Because of a storm moving in we decided to get out. But we got out much further down the beach and had to cross a very dirty and deep river to get back. Did I mention yet that it was very rocky? I struggled to get out. From my broken toe and tender feet and swirling waters at the mouth of the river. I was crazy dirty but I made it out. Everyone else was ahead of me at this pint and they kindly picked up my things to get it out of the rain that had started to fall and carried it back to the van. We get to the van and I use the rain to try and rinse off somewhat and then I reach for my towel and my glasses. My glasses were nowhere to be found. They had been setting on top of my things but my stuff was dark colored and it blended in. They were gone. The tide was moving in very quickly so I didn’t really bring up my missing glasses except that first time I questioned where they were. We moved on. We drove to a store to get some snacks and while we were there the rain stopped. My team started asking me again about my glasses and I shrugged it off. I could always go to an optometrist and get new ones, not to mention the glasses I brought were already broken. It was no big loss. Just a couple days of headaches until we managed to get new ones. They insisted on going back and looking for them. A quick sweep of the beach showed they weren’t anywhere to be seen. Then Jose was walking right next to the water and saw a glint of something in the edge of the water. Yep, my glasses.

How amazing is our God that he can give my team eyes to see exactly what is lost. No matter if it floats or sinks, if its big or small. These are just a couple of the miracles my team saw this month in Costa Rica. Praise God!

10 Comments

  1. Love “How amazing is our God that he can give my team eyes to see exactly what is lost.”
    And I bet that applies to more than just objects.

  2. I love that I still would have been able to see it all even if I had lost my glasses! Only one more week!

  3. Those were wonderful stories…thanks for sharing! The story of the one team member finding the sarong made me think of Elisha’s floating ax in Scripture. I’m glad that the team is working well together and that your legs are holding out! I pray for your strength and that God continues to show you His marvelous deeds every day around the globe!

  4. “No matter if it’s big or small.” Love the perspective, Allie. Thanks for sharing these memories.

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