Aug Update - A Growing Family
- Aug 11
- 4 min read
Hello!
We are blessed to be sharing another update with you. There continues to be so many reasons to praise God and His faithfulness here in Costa Rica. We have been learning what it looks like to balance ministry and family responsibilities with our new son. God has gone before us in this season and we have seen His blessing.
Family:
We are so blessed with our little son Elijah. He is now already a month old. I say already, but it is hard to even remember life before he was here at this point. Chloe and I are learning and adjusting to new rhythms. For those of you that are parents, it is all the normal things. Sleepless nights, constantly doing things, laying down any expectations of what the day will look like. But these are the days we prayed for. So we continue to rejoice. In the sleepiness, we rejoice! In the struggle, we rejoice!
One of my favorite verses is Romans 8:18. It says "I do not consider it worthy to compare present struggles to the future glory to be revealed in Christ." There is a part of this truth to parenthood. That even though it is hard. Even though you can't really realize how hard it is until you are actually in it. How could the struggle compare to beauty of our child? Our little boy to call our own.
Thank you so much for your prayers in this season. We deeply appreciate it. Elijah and momma are both healthy and well. Elijah has been able to go to church 3 times already! This past Sunday we got to celebrate with him some new graduates from our program. And some baptisms of the growing family of God.
Graduates:
I am blessed to share that we have three more graduates from our discipleship program. Three more men that have given their lives to Jesus, and seen the transformational power of Christ in their lives. Men who are seeking after Jesus and making disciples.
This makes 23 men that have graduates the year-long program. The amazing testimony of these men is that only one of them has relapsed. Meaning over 95% of graduates have remained sober since their graduation. Praise God that the one who relapsed is now doing better as well because the Word of God does not return void.
A general statistic is 40%-60% on average of those who complete a rehab program will be sober a year later. We believe in our success rates because we seek the only answer. Jesus Christ. It is not about behavior modification. It is not about trying harder. It is not about reducing the danger of drugs by giving out clean needles. The world's answer to addiction has become so broken and sad. It has gone from "don't do drugs" to "do drugs safely." It is enabling, not empowering. It is keeping people in the cycle of sin and helplessness. The chains need to be broken. The cycles of sin broken. Jesus Christ our savior is the breaker of chains.
Baptisms:
We were able to celebrate 6 more men joining the family of God this past Sunday! 6 men who have publicly proclaimed that they have given their lives to Christ. It is amazing to see the transformation. That we get to be a part of seeing these men come to know Jesus, and then teach them what it means to be His follower.
Light in the darkness:
It is no secret that the pains of drugs and alcohol have left so much despair and brokenness in this world. The familiarity of addiction has become far too common no matter the country, social class, or gender. As I mentioned in this blog, the way the world approaches addiction is saddening. But the beauty of our program is that the success can't be ignored.
The government has taken a great respect for our program. Even though we do not operate at all like a traditional center, they have seen the lives of these men be changed. Our center has not only become a testimony to our students, or to their families, but it spreading across the country. The fruit of these men can't be denied. Therefore, the testimony of the power of Jesus is on full display. Please continue to pray for this program. This is the Great Commission at work.
Support:
Thank you to all those who are or have supported this ministry. It has been such a joy to serve God through this discipleship program that it excites me to invite others into it. To be a part of the blessing. We invite a prayerful consideration of becoming a partner in ministry. Check out the link here to get involved. Your giving goes towards...
Reaching men on the streets with the Gospel of Jesus
Baptizing men into the family of God
Making disciples of men who were once broken, but now walking as Godly men
Expanding the impact of our Kingdom to families, communities, and the nation.
Blessings,
Samson
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