Caskey Costa Rica Mission Trip Day 7 The Sunset

Our final day here in Costa Rica has now come and gone. It’s hard to believe we’ve been here an entire week already. Tomorrow, we head home.

Today, was a day to rest after the Pastor’s conference that ended yesterday. So, what better place to kick back than at the beach. It’s about a 1 hour drive from Atenas to the beach and what an eventful drive it was. We stopped at a roadside stand and bought a couple of fresh coconuts and drank the coconut water inside of it. Delicious! Next we stopped at a bridge over a river where the crocodiles hang out. The week before coming here, I saw a show on Animal Planet called “The Killer Crocodiles of Costa Rica”, and there I was seeing them first hand. We saw about 10 of them. 3 of them were huge. The next stop was the beach. Black sand, big waves and clouds. Yep, clouds, it’s the rainy season here, but it actually didn’t rain today. We had a good time playing in the surf and just listening to the ocean. We had a first time experience of feeding an Iguana right from the table at lunch. He was about 2 feet away, on the ground, so, we gave him some tomatos. Also, we saw about 30 Scarlett Macaws, you know the really expensive birds in the pet stores in the US, just flying around and hanging out in the trees, at the beach.

As we left the beach, the Lucas’ took us to the Villa Caletas Hotel to view the sunset from the hotel’s restaurant/amphitheater perched on the top of a mountain, looking down over the lush, green forest and out over the ocean. They thought it would be the perfect way to end such a great trip. Well, they did not disappoint. It has to be one of the most magnificent views I’ve ever seen. All I could do was just soak it all in and say thank you, God! It was the perfect ending.

We’ve seen and done a lot this past week. It’s been a week that I’ve witnessed the work of God’s hand in His creation, the children at Hogar De Vida Orphanage, and in His people. It’s been a week that God used me and my 2 kids to bless the lives of others. And, it’s been a week that God, in turn, used others to bless us. God’s taught me many things this week. I have a new perspective on what following Jesus is all about.

Caskey Costa Rica Mission Trip Day 6 Conference Ends

The end of our 6th day here has come to an end, and we only have 1 more full day left. What a great day it was. The closing of the Pastor’s conference was a blessed time. Although it’s been a very busy 3 days, I was kind of sad to see it end.

We started out early once again to get to Vista Del Valle before breakfast started. After breakfast we were to go on the hike down to the bottom of the waterfall for a morning Bible study, but because it rained all night last night, we had to cancel it. The ground was too slippery. The remainder of the day consisted of 1 more session, lunch, and then a final session dedicated to testimonies.

Oh man, what a blessing to hear those that shared a testimony. We had one of the Pastor’s wives, who spoke very good English, sit with us and interpret for us. Each 1 that got up to speak talked of how the conference had been a blessing to them. How it was a gift from God. A few of them talked about how they didn’t know what to expect and were nervous about going, but were now, so glad that they had come. One spoke of how they had had a number of issues come up right before coming, and that Satan was doing everything possible to stop them, but they came. And with tears in her eyes she expressed her heartfelt thanks and praised God. When they were done, they had all of us (the Lucas’ and Caskey’s) come to the front, and then they prayed over us. Just WOW!

I know these Pastors and their spouses were blessed by being there, but little do they know how much they blessed us. They left with a new fire burning inside of them. They left feeling like they had just taken a dip in a nice, cool pool on a steamy, hot summer day. They left feeling encouraged, loved and supported. And, they left with a renewed faith in our Lord. I left with a new sense of awe at what God did in their lives over the last 3 days. I left with thanksgiving that God gave me and my kids the privilege of serving them.

After we left the conference, it was time to celebrate what God had done. It was time for…Pizza Hut!

Caskey Costa Rica Mission Trip Day 5 Pastors Smiling

Wow, day 5 has been a loooooooooong day. It began by us leaving the house at 5:30 AM to get to the conference center by 6:00 AM for breakfast. Ouch! But, the long day was fruitful and we saw God working.

After breakfast the Pastors and their spouses loaded into a tour bus and headed to the San Luis Canopy Tour that me and my kids went to a few days ago. It’s a standard part of the conferences and is meant to give these Pastors and spouses a chance to cut loose, have some fun, and share the experience together to build relationships and camaraderie. Just like many of them have never been on a vacation, or to a retreat, they probably have never had an opportunity to go on a Canopy Tour either. It’s a very “touristy” thing to do and is usually too expensive. Jumping ahead to their return, evidently the Canopy Tour was a success. Everyone of them returned with smiles on their faces, laughing and sharing their stories about the zip-lines. “BUENO” was the common response, with 2 thumbs up.

Session 3 started shortly after, and once again I spent the time praying for the needs expressed by some of these Pastors and spouses. What struck me this time was how basic some of their needs seem. At least to me, someone from the US, they seem pretty basic. As I read through some of these prayer requests, translating as we went, I was stunned by the lack of things that I thought everybody, including them, already had. But, they just don’t. To these guys, these needs of theirs are almost monumental and sometimes appear to be unmeetable. For instance, today a number of them expressed the need for a car for their family and ministry. My heart sunk to think they don’t have a car. As I prayed and then read some scripture, God led me across Psalm 11:4 & 7.

4 The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord is on his heavenly throne.
He observes everyone on earth;
his eyes examine them.

7 For the Lord is righteous,
he loves justice;
the upright will see his face.

As I read that, I asked God to let these Pastors know that He is in His temple and on His thrown. In other words, the Lord is in total control. Also, that He knows their heart and sees their needs. And I prayed that they will see his face through his provision and blessing. It’s interesting to me that later in the evening, when Steve gave a special message regarding what The Brook Ministries is all about, one of the key points that he stressed to them is that God provides and knows each one of their needs in their ministry and in their life. I thanked God for His affirmation of what I prayed earlier.

What a great day it was! The stress and strain of ministry is being relieved from the shoulders of these Pastors and spouses, they’re having fun and their faith in the Lord is being renewed.

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Caskey Costa Rica Mission Trip Day 4 Conference Starts

The end of our 4th full day in Costa Rica has come to a close. This was the absolute busiest day, so far, from beginning to the end. Though it was busy, it was a wonderful day. The 3 day Pastor’s conference began today.

It wasn’t too early of a start as the Pastors and their spouses weren’t actually to arrive at the conference until around 12:00 PM, but we knew that some would probably arrive early, so we did get there between 9:30 AM and 10:00 AM. We got everything setup for the conference pretty quickly and then were ready for everyone to arrive. They all arrived over the next couple of hours. All of us had our assigned duties of either welcoming them, helping with registration, taking pictures or getting the audio/video equipment setup, and everyone jumped right in. It was a good start to the day.

The Pastors and their spouses were all very nice, friendly, a bit quiet and a bit uncertain about what to expect the next 3 days to be like. Many of them have never been to a retreat or conference like this. For many of them, this may be the first time they’ve been on anything like a vacation, away from home or the family for any extended period of time, or even to a hotel. One of the goals of The Brook Ministries is to provide the opportunity for these Pastors and their spouses to be refreshed, renewed, have a chance to get away and be ministered to, instead of them being the ones doing all the ministering. If you think about it, being a Pastor can be emotionally, physically and spiritually draining, and they need to have times to relax, to be supported and encouraged by others, which includes the support of other Pastors. They also need to be fed, and that’s where The Brook’s goal of teaching and equipping these Pastors and their spouses to help them deal with relevant issues in their ministries, church congregations and their lives in general comes into play.

During today’s sessions I had the privilege of spending the time praying for their specific needs and praying for them in general, for their time at the conference. I’ll be doing the same thing tomorrow and Saturday as well. They’re provided with cards to submit prayer requests on, and we pray for them during the sessions, along with, I’ll call them “prayer partners” around the globe, around the clock. Going before our God in prayer for these Pastors and their spouses is a powerful thing and I’m glad to be a part of it. As I was praying during the first session, God put on my heart to pray about how these Pastors and their spouses needed to be ministered to and I thought about the story of Jesus when he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness (Matt 4:1-11). After the temptations were over verse 11 says “Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.”. So, Jesus after all that was over needed to be attended to, refreshed and renewed. I pray that these Pastors and their spouses will feel that renewal and refreshment, that they will feel ministered to, and cared for, and that their passions for teaching the Gospel, caring for their congregations, their communities, and their families will be burning hot when they leave on Saturday.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow.

Caskey Costa Rica Mission Trip Day 3 Party Time

Day 3 is now in the books. It was a pretty easy day today, by design, as we were resting up, and prepping for the Pastor’s conference, which starts tomorrow. But, that doesn’t mean we did nothing.

The day started with me wishing my oldest daughter a happy 19th birthday. Yes, she turned 19 years old. Man, am I feeling old. Then after everyone was up, we went on a walking tour of the town of Atenas. The town is your typical Costa Rican town with a big Catholic Church and a park as the center pieces on the main square. We got a glimpse of what life is like in Costa Rica by visiting the local grocery stores, some restaurants, walking through the church, hanging out in the park for a while, and just walking along the streets. The people are really friendly and very laid back. The slow pace here, could be very contagious. We had lunch a one of the local restaurants, which was nice. Also, we were able to pick up a few decorations and things for my daughter’s birthday party we were going to have later back at the Lucas’. I was also able to buy a few bags of Costa Rican coffee to bring back home. It was a requirement from my wife that I bring back some coffee. Costa Rica is known for it’s coffee and Atenas specifically is one of the largest coffee growing areas in Costa Rica. It’s the best I’ve had and it’s very inexpensive here. Bonus!

Later, back at the Lucas’ I spent some of the afternoon listening to and watching some iWorship DVDs in preparation to lead worship at their Wednesday night English speaking service at their church. Then, we got everything ready for my daughter’s birthday party where we had pizza and a delicious, homemade chocolate cake. What an experience she had spending her 19th birthday in Costa Rica.

After that, it was time for church. We got there a little early to get setup, and the church’s Spanish worship team was still rehearsing for their Sunday service. So, I got a chance to listen to them for a little while. That was pretty cool, but of course, I couldn’t understand hardly anything, but their sound was good. Finally, our service got started and it was a lot of fun getting a chance to lead worship for the group that was there. I’m glad I was able to help Steve out. It was a great night of teaching also, because Steve, as usual delivered a great message. It was awesome hearing him teach again. It was on Revelation 2 and the first part of chapter 3.

Once back at their house, it was time to get things ready for the Pastor’s conference to start tomorrow. We spent the rest of the time preparing the packets the Pastors will receive, the gift bags and going over the agenda for the next few days. It’s going to be a packed 3 days coming up, but  looking forward to it. It will be a privilege serving these Pastors at the conference. I look forward to meeting them and seeing how God can use me and my kids to meet their needs. I pray that they will be blessed, refreshed and equipped for their ministry. Please pray for them.

Caskey Costa Rica Mission Trip Day 2 Adrenaline Rush

We had a very early start to our day, today. It was our excursion day, which was a day set aside for us to get a chance to have some fun and do something that’s somewhat uniquely Costa Rican. So, we headed out to the San Luis Canopy Tour. What’s a Canopy Tour, you may ask? You can check it out at the link I just provided, but in a nutshell, it’s zip lining, but zip lining on steroids. The most intense rush ever!!! And, I wanna go again, and again, and again!

The whole time you’re immersed in the lush green forest in the high mountains. ‎12 different zip lines of different lengths and heights, and you go from 1, to the next, and the next, until you’ve done all of them and you’re back to where you started from. This included 1 free swing they call “Tarzan”. You swing out 3 times over the tops of the trees, with the guides catching you each time and pushing you as hard as they can back out again. About 150 feet below you is a river and you’re swinging out from the mountain side, from between trees, and then over the tops of trees. It made the old rope swing you might have had in your back yard or maybe one that you used to swing out over a lake look pretty small. Then the tour concludes with the ultimate zip line that they call “Superman”. You’re strapped into a special harness and you’re going HEAD FIRST! The line is about 350 meters long (almost 4 football fields), and you’re about 300 feet above the canyon floor. Yes, you read that correctly. From the platform, you shoot out off the mountain side, between some trees, and then it’s like the whole valley opens up below. There is nothing but you, that line, and maybe some birds flying around. Just unbelievable! I still can’t get the view, from that high up, out of my head. It was like flying. No amusement park I’ve ever been to even compares.

I’m thankful that we had a day that we could just have some all-out, adrenaline rush kind of fun today. I’m thankful that God gives us those experiences. It was a thrill seeing the smiles on my kids’ faces, listening to their laughter and yes listening to their screams as they were flying through the trees. It was fun doing that myself. We now share that experience, that thrill, and no one can ever take that away. I’m sure we’ll always look back at this and tell stories about it. Today, we created some memories.

Caskey Costa Rica Mission Trip Update 2

Friends,

We have entered the “Home Stretch”, the last ten days before we leave on our mission trip to Costa Rica. Still, I stand amazed at what a wonderful God we serve. I am so thankful for all of those that He has surrounded us with, who are supporting us with their prayers and/or supporting us financially. It is truly humbling to watch His hand move in this way. I look so forward to see how He is going to use me and my two kids for His purposes in Costa Rica, and to see what He has in store to teach us. Our hearts are open and ready to serve however He sees fit, and ready to learn what He wants to teach.

As we enter these final ten days, please consider giving of your time and pray for us leading up to our trip and during our trip, and I also ask that you prayerfully consider supporting us financially. We still have a gap in our funding to close, but I’m confident that God will provide.

Praise our Lord God Almighty.

Rick

 

Re-post of our mission trip letter:

Dear Friends,

I am so excited to share with you an opportunity I have to serve the Lord this summer. I have been invited by The Brook Ministries to work with them for a week, helping at one of their pastor training conferences.

On June 19, I will fly to Costa Rica with my oldest daughter, Ariel, and my oldest son, Austin. Together, we will serve for a week at a pastor’s training conference working behind the scenes to serve the pastors from numerous Costa Rican churches. Ariel and I will return home at the end of one week, but Austin will stay on for another two weeks, helping with the beginning stages of the construction of a youth center called Casa de la Cultura. It will be a place for teenagers to come for discipleship and fellowship. Lord willing, it will help keep teens out of trouble and reduce teen pregnancy.

I am writing to ask for your support in two ways:

1. We need a prayer team to support me and my family. We will be sending out regular updates from Costa Rica on my blog at https://thereasonsedge.wordpress.com, Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/rick.caskey and Twitter at http://twitter.com/rickcaskey, and I need a team of people who will be faithful to pray for me.
2. We need help funding the trip. Time is becoming critical and we need to have our funding secured in the next couple of weeks. The total is made up of $1,500.00 for Ariel and I, each, and $2,550.00, for Austin. We’ve made it very easy to make donations directly online to The Brook Ministries (www.thebrookministries.org). Click “Donate Online” then select “Caskey Mission Trip” where it says “Please direct my donation to.”

Thank you for any support you can give. We are grateful for this opportunity to serve the Lord, and we would love to have you on our team.

If you have any questions, please e-mail me at rickcaskey@tx.rr.com or message me on Facebook.

Because He First Love Us,

Rick Caskey

She Can’t Be Turning 18 Already

I almost can’t bring myself to say it. It just doesn’t feel right coming off the tongue. But, I guess I have to get use to it because time doesn’t stand still. It marches on at a rapid pace. Sometimes, so fast, that inside I’m screaming, STOP!!! I feel like that right now. On Tuesday, June 22nd, my oldest child, my wonderful oldest daughter, my first baby girl, the one that it seems like just yesterday I was calling “Pumpkin Face”, turns the magical age of 18. There, I said it, or wrote it in this case. Either way, it still doesn’t feel right.

Once again, like I always do, when coming up on these major milestone birthdays, I tend to do a lot of reflecting on the time that’s passed. The first thing that I think about, is that the wonderful day that she was born, was the day AFTER Father’s Day! I never let her forget that I had to wait a full 365 days before I had my first Father’s Day. Ok, sorry, enough of that. This is supposed to be a happy post. Actually, that day was one of the most exciting days in my life. One of the first things that I always think about is the little baby girl with the little red “Pumpkin Face” that I held so carefully in my arms. I remember how my wife would let me give her her last feeding of the night and how that precious little baby girl would drink until she had her fill and would fall asleep while still drinking. But then, I’d still have to take her on what we called the “Magic Daddy Ride” to get her to go to sleep and stay asleep. I look back on the first soccer game, first day of school, first basketball game, first time driving by herself, first Homecoming dance, first Prom, and the many of “firsts” that have come and gone. As many of those things were firsts for her, they were also firsts for my wife and I as parents. Through it all, I see the girl that has grown and matured into a wonderful young, adult woman, who continues to melt her Dad’s heart every single day.

Now, as I think of the present and look forward, the thoughts of just how little time we have left with her weigh heavy on my heart. I think of how little time there is to see her each day, to hear her laugh at any time, to give her all the necessary advice for adulthood (she’d say I’ve given too much), to tell her I love her, that I’m always here for her, that I’m sorry for the arguments we’ve had, and to ask for forgiveness for the mistakes that I’ve made as her father. This is when I want to yell “STOP”, “WAIT”, “DO OVER”!!! But, I know that’s not possible. We all have to move forward with our bumpy road in our past, and learn from it. It’s very strange though because even though all of that does make me sad and nervous, I still have this great sense of joy, excitement, and peace, because I know the young adult woman that she’s turned out to be.

There are exciting times ahead and I’m excited for her. I look forward to watching her continue to grow and mature, and take on, and conquer, the new challenges to come. I’m confident that the Lord will guide her steps. I’m confident that she is ready to make this leap into adulthood. I’m confident in HER.

So, I celebrate this day, June 22, 2010, and say HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY to my baby girl.

Daddy, You Waste My Time

Kids. Sometimes, many times, some of the funniest things I’ve ever heard come out of their mouths. Some kids are funny because they’re trying to be and they just are. Others, while being as serious as they possibly can be, are funny because of the way they say something, or because of what they say.

My wife and I were reminded last night of one episode that happened a few years ago with our youngest child. I forget what we were talking about that lead up to us talking about it, but somehow it came up. And, as usual, it made us laugh as hard as it did the first time I told her the story and every time that we talk about it. So, I decided I should share it here and hopefully you’ll find it as funny as we do.

It happened a few years ago when our youngest was probably 7 or 8 years old. He’s usually a very up-beat kid that likes to have fun. But, at times, he can be very serious, impatient and easily frustrated. I guess this was one of those times that he ended up being the latter.

Anyway, we were at his basketball practice one night. The boys had been practicing hard for the first half of their practice, when the coach decided to give them a water break. When you’re 7 or 8, at basketball practice, the practice is Ok, but the water breaks are what you really look forward to. Because, if you don’t want to get a drink or don’t need a drink, then it’s just shoot around time and goof off time. So, as the team breaks some of the boys run to grab their basketballs to shoot during the water break. This, of course, includes my son. But, at that time a little girl happened to have picked up his basketball and was playing with it.

My son asked me to get his ball for him. But, like any good father (pay myself on the back here), I wanted to teach him to be a little self-sufficient. So I told him that he should ask the little girl to give him his basketball back. For some reason, he wouldn’t. I was surprised because normally he’s not too shy. But, this time, he decided he was going to be. He asked me again to get his ball, but I kept trying to coax him to ask her himself. We went back and forth for a little bit and then finally, he asked the little girl for the ball. I was glad he finally did it and he was happy (big grin on his face) that he had his ball. But then, disaster struck. As soon as he turned around to run out on the court to shoot around with his buddies, the coach told all the boys to put their basketballs down and huddle up. My son’s shoulders slumped over, his head dropped down, he slowly put his basketball back under the stands, and then walked back out on the court to huddle up with his team. The rest of practice, he just didn’t have the same enthusiasm, but, I didn’t think too much of it.

Once practice was over and we were leaving, I began to realize that he was being very quiet. Too quiet for him. As we drove home, the silence continued, which was strange. Usually, he would be talking about practice and all kinds of stuff. But, not tonight. So, finally I asked if something was wrong. Then from the backseat came this little boy’s sad, sad voice saying “Daddy, you waste my time”. He was as serious as he could be. I immediately realized that he felt that I wasted his time during the water break because I had made him ask for his own basketball back. We talked about it and finally everything was Ok. I didn’t dare laugh at that time, but I wanted to, badly because it sounded so funny.

After getting home and after he went to bed, I told my wife what happened. We both laughed hysterically for a quite a while and we still do to this day whenever we think of that.

“Daddy, you waste my time”.

Best Christmas Present Ever!

I’m sure you all saw the TV commercials leading up to Christmas this year, where there was a kid thinking back on a Christmas past, where they had received the best Christmas present imaginable at that time, like the Big Wheel, or the Christmas present that made their cousin so jealous. And, then they fast foward to the present, where the kid is now in their 30s or so, and they’re looking at their brand new Lexus, with a red bow on top, as they say the words “the best Christmas gift ever”.

I’m sure you’ve all had those Christmases over the years where you thought, this was it! This was absolutely the best Christmas, where I received the best Christmas gift ever! Nothing can ever top this! Come on, think about it. What Christmas gifts conjure up those memories of a Christmas so unforgettable? I know I have mine from the past. Mine was a bike I received as a kid, then a motorcycle at age 12, or the great watch that I received last year that I’ve worn just about every day since. There have been others as time has moved on.

But, yesterday, Christmas of 2008, all other Christmases, all other Christmas gifts will forever pail in comparison. For yesterday, I received the ABSOLUTE best Christmas gift ever.

It was Christmas morning and we had just finished opening the presents under the tree. At that time, my oldest son said that he had something else for everyone and he ran upstairs to his bedroom. In a minute he came back downstairs with 5 hand-written letters in his hand. One for each of his sisters, his little brother, his Mom, and me. I was already surprised and touched that he actually took the time to write 5 letters to us all. We asked him if he wanted us to read them out loud or to ourselves, but he didn’t care. So, we gave each other the option to read it out loud or not. My youngest daughter chose to read hers out loud and so she began. I was so pleased and moved by the love and care for his little sister that poured from the words that she read. I know that that had to really touch her heart knowing that she had a big brother like that. To be honest after that, I can’t remember who read theirs next or what it said because my wife and I had already begun to get choked up. Each letter to his siblings expressed, love, appreciation for them and him asking them for forgiveness for things he had done against them. Wow!

Then, I decided to read mine out loud. Needless to say, it wasn’t long before I couldn’t control my emotions and the tears began to flow. I’m not one that’s easily moved to tears and it has to be something that really hits me and hits me deep. It’s such a rare occasion that I had to endure the chorus from other members of the family saying “Oh my gosh, he does have emotions”. I actually had to laugh when that was said. Do you know how weird if feels to be laughing and crying at the same time? I actually had to have my youngest son finish reading the last couple of sentences because I couldn’t continue. Anyway, I was so moved and blessed by the things he had written. His words are and will be an encouragement to me. As a Dad, I often wonder am I doing things right, am I teaching them correctly, am I raising them right, am I spending enough time with them, am I making a difference in their lives? Well, by God’s grace, and by God putting it on his heart to write these letters this year, I have received an affirming answer. I never really expected to read anything like what I read in that letter yesterday.

Too many times in life and especially at Christmas time, we’re too focused on the material gifts that we get. We don’t see the great gifts that are right there all the time in front of us. Our relationships with our family members (kids, spouse, brothers, sisters, Mom, Dad, etc.) are more important than any material gift could ever be. Fortunately, I was awaken to that fact this Christmas. And, in the same fashion as the Lexus commercials, I think back to Christmases past and the times I have said “this is the best Christmas gift ever” and then I fast forward to Christmas present, and as I hold the letter from my oldest son in my hand, I can truly say with tears in my eyes and without a doubt, “this is the ABSOLUTE best Christmas gift EVER”!

I will be finding a frame to put it in.