A very Happy Halloween

Typically Halloween is not one of my favorite holidays; however, I definitely had the best Halloween imaginable and want to share it with everyone. Every week now we visit one of the sweetest women I know from a very impoverished area of Alajuelita and dress the diabetic wound on her foot. Without the proper medicine or diet to treat her diabetes her body has been unable to heal itself after receiving a nasty dog bite more than two years ago. She lives in a one room shack at the very bottom of a long, narrow, steep alley. With her pronounced limp she is able to hobble to her immediate neighbors' house but cannot even reach the main street without assistance. The really crazy part about sweet little Maria is that she is an ex-witch. Her relationship with 6:8 actually began through her neighbors, Jose Antonio’s family. Whenever 6:8 went to visit Jose Antonio, a severely handicapped seven-year-old who is a walking testimony of the power of prayer, they would bring Maria food. At that point, Maria practiced witchcraft and was openly antagonistic towards members of the local church. On the last day of a clinic hosted by a Celebration of Jacksonville medical team Maria showed up to receive treatment for her foot and ended up receiving Christ. The transformation in her life is absolutely incredible, as anyone can see from even briefly meeting her. We continue to bring teams down to be blessed by Maria's smile and to bless her with food and medical treatment.
Last week during our visit we invited her to come to church with us. She gave us the infamous Costa Rican response: “si DIOS quiere…” ( If GOD wants, or GOD willing…) but we decided to take our chances and we showed up on Sunday morning with new shoes for her, a couple of guys to help her up to the street, and the trusty funi (the ministry station wagon) waiting to bring her to Celebración Church. After waiting quite awhile for Maria to change and to check and then recheck everything in her house she emerged dressed in her Sunday best and ready to make the climb up to where we parked the car. Slowly but steadily, with the help of Anton, Mike, and Wilburt, one of the men from the Refugio, Maria made it to the car and to church. Once at church I was overwhelmed by the welcome Maria received. A few older women in the congregation came over during the break to introduce themselves and sit with her, exemplifying what a church community should be. My all time favorite part of the day, however, was during worship when Maria stood up about halfway through and began to sing along. I cannot explain what a powerful moment it was for me: I was standing next to an ex-spell caster, on the day of Halloween, worshiping our Heavenly Father. What a cool GOD we serve that he can redeem and bring glory to himself in such an incredible way! "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17). So, hands down best Halloween I have ever experienced. Gloria a DIOS 

Becca