If you know me then you know my love for coffee. So, believe me when I heard that in Costa they have a whole time devoted to sitting with your people, catching up, and drinking coffee, I was sold. All the cups of coffee I have had make up for the hundreds of ant bites.

Coffee time has also been a fun way for us to connect with different people in the communities we have been serving, as they invite us over for coffee.

This past month and half at ministry we have been working all over Turrialba, Pejibaye, and Tuis, with some of the best people! They have been welcoming and gracious hosts who have been shining the kind of biblical hospitality the Lord calls us to.

After ministry on Thursday, Karen, one of the family members of our host family invited our teams over for, you guessed it, coffee time! It was such a great time of community for the girls on our teams. We got to share stories, talk about future dreams, and pray over each other.

This coffee time and the dozens of others we have shared with each other and the people we do ministry with constantly reminds me of the goodness of God. The desire He has for us to live in a community where He is at the center. A community of people that constantly push you to be more like Jesus.

The Bible is full of community, whether it is examples of what community looks like in Jesus and the 12 disciples or instructions on what community should be, Proverbs 27:17 says “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. 

The Bible is calling us to live in community, but just not any community, to live in a way that reflects Jesus in our groups, creating spaces where the Spirit dwells and the Lord rejoices when we gather. That even if it is just a movie night, a basketball game on the court in the Centro, or a dance party, the Lord rejoices because His children are gathering to love each other in a way that was first shown by Him.

The opportunity to sit in community with one another is a gift, one that we should constantly use to point back to Jesus, to steward a group of people who in the everyday point towards Jesus.

I’ll keep getting used to the black coffee here and appreciating the moments that the Lord has created in coffee time and community, and whether it is with a cup of coffee or not I encourage you to seek out that community.