Una vida, una diferencia
jueves, 19 de abril de 2012
First 2 Weeks in Scandinavia
miércoles, 21 de marzo de 2012
Support Letter
Hi,
I hope you are doing well! After completing the first year at the Vineyard Leadership Institute in Columbus, Ohio, I came back to Costa Rica with a desire to plant a church. As God has been growing that desire in my heart I’ve been getting to know and working with other ministries here. Right now I’ve been working with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) helping to translate some of the classes while also investing in these students lives. I also have been meeting new people with great ministries who reached the unreached. One that I was drawn to is LightForce International Ministries. They work doing ministry in the streets, building relationships with prostitutes, transvestites, and men prostitutes. They share God’s love with them and also provide English classes and a “cafe” place where they can come and hang out and share with them. And on top of all this, I started a group with a friend at the Vineyard Church that meets every Monday night where people can come and worship. We wanted to create an intentional time to hear God’s voice and give the the Holy Spirit a space where He can freely move. I also started a prayer ministry on the streets with the Vineyard, where we go out and pray for sick people or anyone who has a need. It’s amazing how God’s love is pursuing these people through His desire to heal and do miracles. In the midst of this God has opened the doors for me to go on a missions trip to Sweden, Norway and Finland with YWAM´s
School of Worship. The purpose of this trip is to build relationships with the churches there and train worship teams in every church in the simplicity and profoundness of a worshipper´s heart towards God. There is a huge need in Europe for knowing God in a very intimate way. We are taking 10 students from this school that have been getting equipped in this area. It is a privilege to be part of this team that is going to serve others in these countries for all of April.
I’m writing to invite you to partner with me in of these amazing things that God is doing in His kingdom using common people like me and others with whom I´m working. You can partner with me in two ways: prayer and financially. I have learned that everyone gets to play an important part in God’s kingdom and that’s why I want you to be part of all these amazing things He is doing.
Right now I’m raising support to keep doing this work and dedicate all my energy to do ministry. First, I have a need to cover living expenses (housing, utilities, cellphone, car, gas, food, etc) and to cover all this I need $900 at month. Second, I also have to pay my flight ticket to Norway that cost $1300 (I already have $400 and need the rest in 10 days). The rest of my living expenses there are going to be covered by the churches we’re working in. You can give through the following ways:
Chase QuickPay (jono.calvo@gmail.com)
Paypal (jono.calvo@gmail.com)
I appreciate all your support in this new season of my life. I hope that we can partner together in building His Kingdom!
Sincerly,
Jonathan Calvo (jono)
https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.calvo
miércoles, 15 de diciembre de 2010
Testimony
Hi! My name is Jonathan Calvo, a 26 year old missionary from Costa Rica. Ever since I was a teenager I had this great feeling to seek God in a deep way. It was not enough to solely hear about someone else's experience with God, but I wanted to experience Him fully. I wanted something else, something personal.
When I was 14 years old, my friends and I had this ritual of going alone to my parent's vacation home. One night while we were at this house, we felt this great fear and deep scary presence. We decided to pray and take authority on this presence. After the prayer, the presence fled, and we began to pray for each other. The presence of God than began to envelope the room and my friends and we were drunk of the Holy Spirit, laughing, and falling down all because of His presence. That's something that marked our life. Nobody was there to tell us how to pray, how to worship, or how to cry out to God, but we just did and God met us that night. I wanted to fall in love with Him. I wanted to serve Him.
I grew up in a Christian family. My family yearned to to love Jesus and surrender everything to Him, but when it came to money and my future, they taught me that I should study, get a good job and secure my future. I did. I graduated as a Software Developer and I worked for 4 years in the industry. After those 4 years I fell into depression. My mom told me I should visit a psychologist, so I did. I had this thought about how the Bibles talks about freedom and joy and about a Father that takes care of His children. However, I was working a job I didn't like, and the only reward I was receiving was money. I was slowly dying. my dreams were dying, and my purpose was dying.
I said to God, "If this desire to know you more and serve comes from YOU, I'm going to take 3 months and give them to you." I talked with a wise missionary couple that I was helping once a week. I asked if I could work with them long term without any pay. I was desperate, I could no longer let the fire inside of me harbor. I needed to know if it was from God or if it was just a nice thought about serving Him. The missionary couple told me that they were praying for someone to help them with the language and the culture, so they offered to pay for my basic expenses. Those 3 months blossomed into 1 year. After a year I had this feeling that something else was missing. Things were going well in that ministry, but I felt like I needed to take another step of faith. I prayed and talked to my pastors and the missionary couple about my new desires. God answered by cutting off the budget that had been supporting me.
After a series of events, I decided to embark on a 5 month discipleship training school with Youth With a Mission (YWAM). I was excited for this new season of my life, but for YWAM I needed to raise support, something that I had never done. My country of Costa Rica is not accustomed to supporting missionaries. We have many missionaries in Costa Rica, but there are few Costa Rican missionaries. I was living with my parents at the moment and I had to face my dad about my future. The first time I quit my job to do local missions he had not approved of my decision because he had paid for my studies and he wanted me to have a good job, a good pay, and a house like my brothers. He wasn't very supportive of my decision to do local missions, but he respected my decision. This time it was a little different because I had no pay for it all. However, something changed in my dad. While I was anxiously explaining my next endeavor with YWAM he asked me if I would receive pay. I told him that I would need to raise all of my own support and I would need to trust in God. He said that if this is God's will then He will provide. I was in shock! Something had changed in my dad. Praise God!
While I was in YWAM I was praying for my next step after the school. My pastor told me about VLI in Ohio. I began praying. I knew no one from Ohio except a pastor that had done mission's in Costa Rica. Pastor Brian had brought his church to the community that I used to work with. I sent Brian an email asking about the area and where his church was located. To my surprise the church was only 10 minutes away from the VLI and not only that Brian was praying about starting a ministry with the Latino community in the area and he hadn't found the person or people to start it. During that week God showed Brian 3 different things that he should keep thinking about starting the ministry.
To me, all of this sounded perfect! I had to raise support, talk to my dad again, apply to VLI, and find a place to live, a car, and connect with the right people in the area to make this dream happen. I prayed for a flight and God provided me with a stand by ticket. Brian, the pastor at New Life church invited me to stay at his house for a week in December so I could connect with people during that week. I sent my application to VLI, raised the support for my ticket, and for some extra living expenses while I was going to be there in December and here I am trusting God. I know He has my life in his hands and I know He listens to my prayers and He answers them. I'm experiencing Him personally.
I don't know the future, but one thing I know is that I want to know Him and make Him known. I have a passion to inspire Latino people to believe in themselves and to walk by faith. I also feel challenged to reach the people who have everything that this world can offer, but they don't have Christ. They have heard that the gospel is for people that are sick and in poverty, but they haven't heard about a relational God. I also have a hunger to see people healed by God's grace, see miracles, and see a new generation with a real passion to make a difference in this world not only inside a church building, but in society, government, schools, and family.
I'm ready to walk and believe. Peter said to Jesus "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." Matthew 14:28
I want to walk on water.
sábado, 4 de diciembre de 2010
An end, a new beginning



Last week I graduated from a 5 month DTS with Youth With a Mission, San Jose. God made incredible change through my fellow students and I and the people we were able to minister to.
I thank God for His love, for the cross, and for dying for me. Even when I am imperfect and a sinner He still calls me to sit at His table and enjoy His presence. Thank you God for your grace!
A new beginning starts when we wake up and make the decision to follow Christ, to make His dreams ours, and to surrender our rights at the cross to live according to His will. Leaving everything that this world has to offer can be difficult, but it's the only way that we can really live purposefully.
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you where you go." Joshua 1:9
Let's go. Let's do. Let's walk on water, and by golly let's make a difference.
New Seasons from jonathan calvo on Vimeo.
Un final, un nuevo comienzo



Un final, un nuevo comienzo
La semana pasada me gradué del DTS en Jucum (Juventud Con Una Misión). Dios hizo cosas increíbles en este proceso, mostrando su amor con muchas personas a través de mis compañeros y yo, quienes al final también fuimos cambiados en esta escuela.
Doy gracias a Dios por su amor, por la cruz del calvario, por morir por mí, porque aun siendo imperfecto y pecador me llama a su mesa a disfrutar con El y conocerle más. Gracias por tu gracia Dios!
Un nuevo comienza hoy, cuando nos levantamos y tomamos la decisión de seguirlo, de tomar sus sueños y hacerlos nuestros, a rendir nuestros derechos en la cruz y vivir esta vida con Cristo como nuestro Señor y dejar todo lo que este mundo ofrece para tomar lo que realmente genera vida en nosotros, lo que genera propósito. ¡Sé fuerte y valiente! ¡No tengas miedo ni te desanimes! Porque el SEÑOR tu Dios te acompañará dondequiera que vayas.
Vamos sonemos, hagamos, caminemos sobre el agua, marquemos una diferencia!
New Seasons from jonathan calvo on Vimeo.
domingo, 7 de noviembre de 2010
Street Love
It's so incredible how much need of love this world has... How a mother of 4 children is so hungry to find her identity in God and not in what this world tells her... And what brakes my heart is that we are the ones who should show that love to them and sometimes we just don't take the time to see someone in the street who is begging and say good day to him, or an addict that hasn't had a meal in who knows how long... and give him a sandwich. I don't know if that is gonna solve the problem, but I don't know if that is what God wants to use to touch there hearts at that moment like a love song did for 4 women on the streets that night...