2026: June

June was one of the fullest months we’ve had on the books, with River and Windsor finishing 5th and 2nd grade, hosting two back to back mission teams, and transitioning back to the States for a few weeks this summer! We have been packing, shifting gears and welcoming guests to our property and more.  This June we hosted 23 Americans on the property staying and serving in Herradura!  

We started the month finishing up Family Camp at La Montana Camp in Costa Rica.  Our church, Horizon Church, sent over 100 members to church camp for a long weekend of fun, fellowship and time away.  It was restorative and wonderful for all involved.  The children roamed the mountains with freedom, off wandering with friends and exploring.  The worship was life-giving, the messages impactful.  We are reminded of God’s provision of community in Costa Rica and thankful for such a wonderful church.

River and Windsor wrapped up the school year with wonderful grades and memories.  Our church just laid the foundation for their new school building.  They put a Bible in the cornerstone of the foundation, a mark that represents how we hope to raise our children here, changing a generation and hopefully making a major change for Jaco!  Horizon Church has an English-speaking Awana Program and our children both graduated from Sparks and T&T classes!  River gave a speech about what it’s been like to be in Awana the past six years.  He’s completed every level and every book.  He’s showing such fruit of hiding God’s word in his heart!  Windsor is following in his footsteps.  We are very proud of them.

We started NOW Costa Rica in 2020, September of the global pandemic year.  After moving to Costa Rica just six weeks before the pandemic, with little to no Spanish, it felt like a daunting task to start a ministry in a new land.  I began praying about who to ask to help guide me through this process and the Lord reminded me of a dear, wise woman named Nancy Dillingham, who was serving as a missionary with Wycliffe Bible Translators when I was serving as Director of Mission at Manassas Baptist Church.  Quickly, almost immediately, Nancy became my prayer warrior and advocate.  She helped me form my first Advisory Council which later grew to 10 people.  She helped me form our first Board of Directors, now that we are our own nonprofit.  We will have our first official board meeting on July 20th!!! She has listened and prayed fervently for the cross-cultural challenges we have faced in presenting the gospel here to several lost and broken families, mothers and girls.  This past month she came to help us on the ground, in person, navigate the largest mission team we’ve hosted. I do not know where I’d be without her guidance, listening ear and support.  Here she is with a few of the girls and women she has impacted over the six years caring about this community on her third trip to visit us.  Nancy, we love you and we thank you for your ongoing commitment.

June 8th, fifteen members from Jordanna’s mother’s church arrived in Herradura to serve for a week.  Dale Mitchell fearlessly led a Woman’s Conference for over 35 women in our new teaching classroom.  Her team of women from Beale worked well in advance to prepare even the smallest of details for these women to feel loved.  It was incredible to see.  They each received a Bible, small tokens of appreciation and love, many crafts and most importantly the message that God loves and sees each mother, especially when life is hard.  It was a highlight of the week as many women left with joyful tears, remembering the body of Christ and that they too can persevere with Jesus!  

Other projects the team helped with were two bunk beds for two families in our program, a VBS and a swing set! They visited The Finca and gave out burritos in Jaco.  The impact was mighty and we are still seeing the ripple effect.

June 18th, seven folks from Yulee, FL came to put on a basketball camp.  The Bazill family has been longtime supporters of NOW Costa Rica and dear friends to the Ailors from their days living in Manassas.  Mark Bazill has ensured each of his three boys goes on missions during their high school years and this year was his youngest son Micah’s turn.  Micah brought three other high school basketball stars with him, Godly young men, who poured into the lives of so many during their stay here.  They put on a 3-day basketball camp for over 30 local boys.  The messages were focused on being Godly husbands one day, God’s design for the role of a father and how to navigate life with respect according to scripture.  Our students were all ears when these boys, men and even Micah’s mom, Jordanna’s dear friend Amy, spoke their testimonies of how God has provided peace, protection and vision for their families.  A big highlight for our family was when River’s Horizon Knights Basketball team was invited to do a morning basketball clinic.  River felt so proud to have this mission team meet his basketball team.  Many of River’s teammates said how wonderful it was to see “super cool athletes also think following Jesus was cool”.  We’re thankful for mission team members who uplift our children and the children of other missionary families in our area.  What a victory all the way round!  We ended their time here with an afternoon of basketball for The Finca guys.  It was pure joy that afternoon, to see the redeemed set free from addiction but also alive in Christ and free to enjoy basketball with the Body of Christ. Sometimes I wonder, is there anything better to witness!

We are ending our month at yet another camp, but this time Stateside.  We are at Camp Crossroads in Lowesville, VA, with our dear friends from The Porch Church who host a 4-day camp each summer.  River attended last summer and absolutely loved it.  This year Windsor is just old enough to attend, so we made it a family affair and hunkered down in the camp hotel.  Jordanna accepted Jesus at Camp Crossroads 32 years ago and hasn’t been back since, so it’s special to now see her children at the very same camp!  You can pray for an impactful few days for all 49 campers here, especially sweet Windsor who’s not only adjusting to new cultural components here, but also just an attempt to be more independent.  She just turned 8 and we are seeing the Lord stretch her in new ways.

While away, there have been dozens upon dozens of students still gathering for classes on our property and meeting during the week to gather at church for youth activities.  We are consistently reminded of the Lord’s provision, even when we are absent.  It’s such an amazing testimony to the Lord’s mighty call to see a full staff of local leaders running things while we’re gone.

Saturday there were over 50 girls and Sunday over 30 boys! We also had simultaneous English/Bible classes for the mothers!  Please be praying for these leaders:Merary Serrano: Summer Director/Girls Bible Teacher

Doneira Chavaria: Administrative Assistant/Tech Support

Ariana Delgado: Health Teacher/Translator

Jennifer Durland: Missionary Intern/Health Teacher

Marcela Fernandez: Walking Escort from Neighborhoods/Cleaning Support

Amanda Serrano: Girls English Teacher

Bill Peace: Parent English Teacher Saturdays

Grethel Chavez: Administrative Assistant/Parent English Teacher SundaysDany Chavez: Boys Bible TeacherKenneth Villaalta: Boys English Teacher

Andy Elkins: Youth Group Driver

We will conclude by sharing FOUR Upcoming Ways you can support!

1. Jennifer Durland has been serving as a long term missionary in Jaco for over a year now and has officially signed on as a NOW Costa Rica Intern.  She has been a true asset to our team, teaching our girls faithfully on Saturdays, attending camps as a counselor, helping with mission teams and serving with youth at church.  She is half way to her goal of reaching her monthly support needs.  We are seeking more faithful and generous donors like you to come alongside Jennifer as she’s just beginning to learn how to raise support.  If the Lord is touching your heart to mobilize Jennifer to work alongside us please consider giving at www.nowcr.org and click the green Donate button, then select Jennifer Durland in the drop down menu.  She has just enough funds to keep her in Costa Rica for a few more months, so the stable monthly givers would really help her have long term stability!

2. Our Annual Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser is happening in one month!  Women’s Connect Ministry is putting on another fundraiser for NOW Costa Rica alongside other church supporters like Beale Memorial and Howertons Baptist.  We are so very thankful for these two churches and others who come alongside us summer after summer to help us reach the next goals the Lord gives us.  Jordanna attended Beale as a little girl and Howerton’s as a teenager, so it’s yet another example of the Lord’s provision for His ministry through His people.  If you are free Saturday August 1st to attend the event, let us know.  You can dine in to hear an update from Jordanna or carry out.  The video update she shares will also be posted in the August Newsletter.

3. New Bonfire Shirts available now for purchase.  A portion of the proceeds go to benefit our work and you get to wear a shirt that folks may ask about, bettering your chances to be our advocate!   Order here, my favorite color is the Heather Sage! https://www.bonfire.com/now-cr-vintage/ 

4. Instructional Pool Project plans are underway. We are working hard to provide a space for our students to learn to swim in hopes of preventing tragedies related to flash floods and rip tides, both extremely common in our area.  Would you help us reach our next capital campaign goal?  Perhaps we can share via zoom to your missions council or church?  Let us know, Jordanna is just an email away jordannaailor@gmail.com or if you would consider a one-time gift, just give to “Area of Greatest Need”.  All one-time gifts given will go to this project for the remainder of this year.

What a long, but full newsletter.  If you’ve made it to the end, THANK YOU!  We are so appreciative of all the many, many supporters, prayer warriors and advocates we have on the ground Stateside.  You mean the world to us and God sees you!  Just as the women were reminded from Dale’s wonderful conference, you too are seen and loved by the Almighty Father, who has come to give us all life abundantly.  Let’s live today remembering that.  How can we pray for you?  Please let us know!

With love,

Jordanna, fam & team