Well here I am in Costa Rica… a land of lush rainforests, beautiful pacific shorelines, pina coladas, and REALLY good coffee…More importantly I’m among some of the most wonderful people on the planet - ITeams missionary team leaders from around the world. That’s just my opinion… but I think you’d agree if you were in my shoes (or sandals, in this case).They would say the only wonderful thing about them is the work God is doing through their lives… and that is precisely the beauty of it all.God is clearly the one in focus throughout the last couple days of this gathering. We’ve heard several stories illustrating the beauty of God’s love working in peoples’ lives… add to that the encouraging reports of teams working all over the place… the Middle East, Greece, and the Philippines just to name a few.

This year’s ILF drew team leaders from all over the place - Costa Rica, Canada, Zambia, France, Russia, Philippines, Japan, the UK, Mexico, Colombia, the Middle East… the list goes on! Standing in the same room with all of them gives me such a great perspective of how truly global this thing is… how God is raising up people from all over the world to proclaim his Gospel to all nations.

I spent some time during dinner last night talking an Iraqi woman who left her country about seven years ago and settled - along with her family - in Canada… she’s a passionate follower of Christ… and working as part of ITeams Canada to build God’s church in Iraq. At first I wanted to flood her with all my questions about the current situation in her country: “Do you think the US should have invaded Iraq??” “What should the president do about this whole thing?? “What do you think about… Iraq?? terrorism?? democracy?? middle east?? Islam??” I mean, she is actually the first Iraqi I have ever talked to… her perspective on these issues could really help me process all this stuff!

As we began talking, however, I quickly sensed that the bigger picture did not beg for these questions to be answered… instead, the bigger picture involved a movement of God spilling out across Iraq. Clearly my questions needed to take a backseat to something much bigger…

So I asked about her typical day living and serving in her city…

She prays, she communicates with believers in Iraq via the internet, she prays, she loves and encourages her children, she works a couple part time jobs, she prays. On the weekends: she prays, she attends and serves at a couple local churches, she prays, she continues contact with believers in Iraq… and she prays.

What I’ve been hearing most at this year’s ILF gathering is that it is God who is at work among the people of the world… and he chooses to involve us! …and prayer is just the place to start.

(I’ve uploaded some photos that I took around the hotel. The beauty of this place is amazing… it could only be God’s handywork!)