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"Preach the Gospel to all creation" Mark 16:15

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The 1999 Costa Rica Crusade was one of multiplication. The 14 members of our evangelism and construction teams started off the New Year with a mission trip that would yield 335 new believers, a much-needed expansion of the block walls of a growing church, church leadership training and corporate worship with our new-found friends in Christ. The weather was wonderfully breezy in this warm climate where coffee, sugarcane and oranges are cultivated on nearly every hillside. The dormant volcanoes that disrupted the horizon all around us were a testimony to God’s power. He would continue to testify to us of His power all week as prayers were answered, strength was given, encouragement offered and souls were saved (Romans 1:16).

Our Costa Rican brothers again worked hard in their preparation for our construction team. As in last year’s project, the foundation and retaining walls were up and ready to build upon. Our men and women mixed mountains of sand, cement and gravel by hand. 100’s of feet of steal were formed into numerous columns and beams. Nearly 500 blocks were mortared into place and countless buckets of concrete were carried, hoisted and poured. The Lord multiplied what little strength our construction team could muster up each morning and by week’s end a testimony to His faithfulness stood tall for all to see.

Our four evangelism teams from the 1998 crusade had seen the vastness of spiritual darkness in the six communities where our sponsoring churches ministered. We prayed for more workers to go into the fields because we experienced the Lord’s bountiful harvest but where there were so many more that did not hear. When only four evangelism teams could be assembled for the 1999 crusade, I was wondering why God was holding back when the people were "white unto harvest". At the beginning of this campaign I did not understand God’s math but I would soon learn that He was multiplying when I was adding. An average of 35 local evangelists from all six communities would accompany our eight each day. Eight plus our power will equal eight but eight times God’s power would yield 43! The harvest was plentiful as our teams led young teenagers to 92 year olds to faith in Christ. The Spirit was overflowing as they saw homosexuals, agnostics, the indifferent and the religious repent and accept Christ as their Lord. Ministry was overflowing as prayers were lifted up with the hurting, discouraged and downcast. Our visiting pastor from the United States greatly encouraged these churches that struggle daily in a place with so few believers. The Lord’s math is not new it just needs to be trusted.