To Encourage the Enduring by Gianna

May 28, 2026

To Encourage the Enduring by Gianna

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me," because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. - Luke 4:18

Well, I'd say that verse above pretty much sums up a missionary's motto, mission, and well, their life. Today I'll be telling the story of how we brought ''glad tidings'' to the poor through a woman named Doña Ana.

Doña Ana is a single mother living in Coopevega, a town about an hour away from our house. She lives in a shack (not even) with no indoor plumbing, and no electricity or water. She has to walk to a neighbor's house and haul water for drinking, cooking, and bathing.

Soon after our arrival in Costa Rica, we were asked if we would like to participate in helping Doña Ana pay and legalize a new plot of land that she and her daughter could move onto. We were blessed to be able to help through the support of our generous mission partners. Unfortunately, the process took over seven months, and, during that time, someone had the nerve to steal what little she had from her dilapidated home.

We went to visit Doña Ana in early 2026, and we were shocked by the rotten smell, and the living conditions that were her home. We were told that she had gotten an “upgrade” to her outdoor toilet, which used to be a hole in the ground, but was now a broken toilet set over the hole. But she was so overjoyed that we came, even just happy by our presence.

Though she cried as she told us of her story of her hardships, we were able to pray with her, and try to encourage her the best we could.

I am glad to say that we were recently notifed that Doña Ana finally has official ownership of the land! The new land is a very small plot, but big enough to build a government home on, which will definitely be a big upgrade from what they had. Please pray the government home will be approved and built quickly. Especially because Doña Ana wants to have us over for coffee hour after they move in!

La paz sea con tutti,

Gianna