This week had been planned to be one shared in ministry with Bart and Sandy Sheridan here in Costa Rica. Bart and Sandy have been friends of ours since the early 90s, and currently (among other responsibilities) Bart serves as an elder in our sending church in Cedarville, OH.
So all the plans were made: Bart to preach one Sunday and share in a pastor's conference, and Sandy to present in a ladies' seminar at our church here in San Francisco de Dos Rios.
But close to the last minute, God switched things around on all of us, and due to exposure to COVID, Bart and Sandy were unable to travel.
The pastors' seminar carried on as planned out at a camp in Atenas, with 14 pastors from around Costa Rica attending. The focus was on edifying and encouraging, and afterwards, several pastors shared their gratefulness and how they had never experienced such practical encouragement and teaching before.
At the same time, at church, the ladies' had put their plan B (God's Plan A) into effect. Instead of Sandy presenting the Bible study method One-to-One in person with a translator, she joined the ladies via Zoom. Sandy shared her testimony of using this particular Bible study method, and Bethany Amaya translated. Then Tia presented Sandy's teaching outline in conversation style with the pastor's wife, Vivi. All together, 28 women attended from a variety of local churches. The women had the opportunity to learn, to contribute their ideas, and to practice the method together. Overall, we were all blessed through fulfilling God's plan for the ministry yesterday! And we look forward to the Sheridans coming another time to minister.