I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.

I remember growing up and traveling with the family. Any time we were away on the Lord's Day, we would take the necessary things so we could have worship services, wherever we were. I've participated in services in multiple states, in Europe, on the lake, in living rooms, in motels and hotels all over the place. I've had some of the most fulfilling and inspiring assemblies at times such as these. It always seems much more intimate, much more personal. My mom and dad always told us that these would be the church services we would remember. As usual, they were right.





But on the Lord's Day in Costa Rica, I think we all agree that we had one of the most inspiring, uplifting and humbling assemblies that any of us has ever had the privilege to be a part of. This day we were perhaps just a little more glad to go into the house of the Lord. On this day, in this place, the house of the Lord was just a bit larger than normal. In the picture on the left you can see part of the view from our lofty perch. One of the best spots for a church service in all of Costa Rica if you ask me.

We awoke Sunday morning far earlier than we really wanted. And from the bedroom where Heather and I had been blissfully unaware, we were brought back to consciousness by the sounds of rapid fire Spanish coming from the other side of the very thin uninsulated walls. I can't remember if the lady of the house was talking to Max (the horse that she claimed was a Doberman) or her plumber. Either way, it wasn't exactly the start to the day I was hoping for. At some point that morning her plumber was on-site to deal with a clogged kitchen sink. (I'm no expert, but plumbing is different down there.) The high-speed conversation was making me nervous and they were working on making quite a mess in the kitchen. I was beginning to wonder how interesting our services might be with all this going on in the background. We took some pictures of ourselves in our Costa Rican Sunday best and then gathered around an eating area on the pavilion/deck at the back of the property. It came equipped with a grill and wood-fired cooking area, seating for 8 and about a 1 million dollar view. We had agreed the day before on the order of services. We had copies of songs prepared (less weight than carrying song books. Kudos to D & K for thinking of that), and had our Bibles marked to James chapter 1. There is a lot of meaning for us in this particular chapter and we thought it good to take some time to study on it while we were there. We divided the chapter into 3 sections and split it between David, Jeremy and myself. Here you can see our little assembly.

As David opened up with the first song and our voices joined together, something pretty cool happened. The clanging of wrenches and the discussion of plumbing issues ceased. Things got really quiet back at the casa. Each of us guys led a song. The acoustics were pretty fantastic in this pavilion so the singing was fabulous. My nervousness drifted away rapidly and all that was left was a small group of people praising the God who had made all the beauty that was surrounding us.

There were so many awe-inspiring moments on this trip, but our time together on the Lord's Day tops them all. It was a very emotional service for us as we sang these songs in peace in a foreign land and as we studied some of the verses that had brought us there. The lady of the house opted out of joining us for the service, but we were greatly impressed at the tremendous respect she displayed while we assembled. On this day we were shown once again what our loving God can do when we submit ourselves to Him and how extravagant His blessings really are. On this day we were very glad to go into the house of the Lord. May He receive all the glory for it!






























































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