11/15/2019
I am posting a key note from our missionary in Costa Rica. Please the entire message...a great history of God working through ordinary people.
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Hi! Judith here. This will be my last entry here in this group. Some of you may have already received the following letter sharing our news, but just in case, I’m putting it here as well…
You have been our friends, our family, for the past three decades or more. That is why you are the ones with whom I wish to share some important news. But first I want to talk to you a bit about Kingdom legacy.
As I look back on the Kingdom work that Rick and I have done throughout the years, I think about the idea of Kingdom legacy: the way in which things we have done hopefully will outlive us. The challenge is to build something that leaves the world better than we found it, to really make a lasting difference for the Kingdom of God. This is usually not accomplished in some awesome, spectacular instant, but in the many years of dedication to the small and ordinary things, the day-to-day choices and decisions that we make, all strung together leading us to where we end up.
Rick and I have served the Lord since 1981 (when we first came to know the Lord), first in the smaller things and later, as we proved faithful, in the greater things of the Kingdom. Recently I have been looking back on our story and realizing what an amazing journey we have walked. I believe we have left a legacy such that God will one day say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servants.”
I want to take a little bit of time to remind you of some of the highlights of our partnership with you, because whatever we have done is your legacy as well.
So please look back with me at the adventure that has been the ministry of Rick and Judith Grossman. It all started back in 1981 when Rick and I came to know the Lord through the ministry of Calvary Community. Within 6 months, I joined the staff at Calvary and within a year, Rick and I were leading Steps to Maturity groups for new Christians and persons exploring the claims of Christ. Because of our personal experiences in life before knowing Christ, we had a burning passion to reach the unchurched, a passion fueled by the Oaks of Righteousness vision of Calvary and the wall of names of those that we as a church wanted to reach.
When Pastor Mark Steele joined the Calvary staff as a church planting pastor, we asked him to tell us what it meant to be a church planter. He invited us to join his team to start the Crossroads Community Church in Camarillo. Crossroads was our first church plant and the place where we came to understand that church planting and evangelism were our calling. Crossroads has continued now for 35 years as a shining testimony to the love and power of Jesus Christ. Many people’s lives have been changed for eternity through their ministry. That’s Kingdom legacy.
It was during this period that the Lord opened our eyes to the greater world beyond Thousand Oaks and Camarillo. That was when we told the Lord we would go wherever He sent us, never expecting that our call would come so soon and take us so far. We had a ten year plan to prepare ourselves for the ministry, but God had another plan. And we left our home in southern California in 1987, totally dependent on God’s preparation for the things He had planned for us to do.
Our first foreign church plant was in Amsterdam, Holland, where we teamed up with Linus Morris to plant the Crossroads International Church. This church is still thriving thirty years later as one of the largest churches in the Netherlands. More than a thousand people from all over the world worship there together every Sunday to this day. That’s Kingdom legacy.
During our time in Amsterdam, Rick and I aided in the planting and/or mentoring of numerous churches in Europe, churches that are ministering still today in cities like Barcelona, Lisbon, Dublin and other major cities across Europe. That’s Kingdom legacy.
In 1996, the Lord called us to Brussels, Belgium, where we spent the following nine years planting the Cornerstone International Church, Rick as senior pastor with me as worship leader and caregiver. It was in Brussels that our eyes were opened to the important role young people have in the ministry and we began a strong focus on children and youth.
At the same time, more and more people came to me for counseling and guidance. The Lord led me to receive advanced training for this role in my ministry. I began my university education as a freshman, taking classes at night, and eventually obtaining my Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology.
We gave much of our time to mentoring the men and women at Cornerstone, helping them discover their gifts and passions and releasing them to take risks in the service of the King. I think particularly of one man, a high level executive in a multi-national corporation. Rick saw the preacher within him and gave him the opportunity to regularly stand at the pulpit. This man went on to retire early and go to seminary to become a pastor. There are many stories of how Rick inspired lay people to go all in for Christ… That’s Kingdom legacy.
Our commitment to the Cornerstone was coming to a close, so we began to seek the Lord for our next assignment. Much to our amazement, God called us to what seemed like a radical transition, from urban church planting in Europe to a rural community, the Orosi Valley, in Costa Rica! So in 2005, we set out for Costa Rica.
By this time, Rick had been sick with Multiple Sclerosis already for a few years. But that would not stop us from planting the Bridge of Hope Church where he preached with translation until we found a local pastor to take the lead. Rick went eventually from using a cane to being wheelchair bound quite rapidly but together we continued to head up big outreach events for the children from the poorest part of our community, and mentoring the leadership team of the church.
That church is still ministering today, 14 years later, reaching out to the unchurched in Palomo, a poverty-stricken area with serious social problems such as drugs, alcohol, gangs, prostitution and the sexual exploitation of children. That’s Kingdom legacy.
Rick’s health continued to decline. He became bedridden and started a slow progression toward dementia. Sadly, about seven years ago I could no longer physically handle his care and we had to move him to a residential care facility. After forty years of teamwork, of doing everything together, I was left to try to understand how I was supposed to minister alone.
The first six months I spent every day with Rick, trying to help him adapt to this radical change. The second six months I spent in Holland with our daughter Sabrina who had Stage Four Cancer. After that, while visiting Rick three or four times a week (the facility is nearly an hour away), I struggled to understand how to live and minister alone.
Then five years ago, in a miraculous way that only God could arrange, I came into contact with a ministry for at-risk girls, and I knew what I needed to do! My training, my experience, my passion, all that I am, was made for this work. Rick and I spent a lifetime together starting things from scratch, I was ready to do so once again.
I looked at Palomo. I looked at young girls who were living with domestic violence; who were being abused and exploited or at the very least neglected; whose view of the future came down to dropping out of school at fourteen, and being pregnant at fifteen. And I asked myself, “What happens if nothing happens?”
I couldn’t let that “nothing” happen, so I decided to start a ministry called Semillas de Esperanza (Seeds of Hope). I think you already know what this ministry is about and how it functions. It’s a clubhouse for girls age 8-13 and it is designed with a goal of preventing girls from falling into the broken patterns of their small, dysfunctional world.
I work with a team of locals to offer weekly classes throughout the week after school and on Saturdays. The core and only required class is Bible. The mostly unchurched girls are taught about Jesus and given many opportunities to make decisions that matter for eternity. Other classes include healthy lifestyles, English, vocational classes and classes for personal development such as dance and art.
It is a great undertaking and requires a very big commitment of time and energy, but young girls’ lives are being changed as they begin to understand their own worth in the eyes of God, and the many possibilities to create a better life for themselves.
My commitment to Rick always comes first, of course, and I am getting older so I anticipated that I would need to take a less demanding role in time. With that in mind, I began training a young woman who I believe was called by God to eventually take over Seeds of Hope. Marilyn is now prepared to handle the Director’s role. I have watched her blossom and grow into this role and have allowed her to take the lead for most of the past year.
With this young woman in place, Seeds of Hope will continue to make a difference for young girls for many years yet to come, and have a real and vital impact for God’s Kingdom in the Orosi Valley. That’s Kingdom legacy.
I’ve worked myself out of a job, just as Rick and I always did… believing that each church plant, each endeavor for the Kingdom, must in the end be turned over to local leadership. It’s time for me to let go, but I don’t believe God is done with Seeds of Hope. I believe it is meant to be a lasting legacy and that’s why I have asked our two supporting churches, Calvary and Crossroads Community, to take funds previously designated for Rick and me and begin to support the Seeds of Hope Clubhouse for Girls instead.
All of the above Kingdom work is not just our legacy. It’s your legacy. Without you and your faithfulness in prayers and finances, none of it would have been possible. We are so grateful. You are firmly planted in our hearts.
Now, though I sincerely hope you will continue to pray for us, you can stop funding us as of January 1, 2020 (unless God specifically leads you to continue). Then I will begin living on Social Security alone. I hope you won’t forget us and I hope you will forgive me if I reach out once in a while for help (we have no pension or savings).
I would be very grateful if you would consider sending a final gift before the end of the year to provide us with a bit of a cushion against health emergencies, car breakdowns, major repairs for the 35 year-old house, etc. Gifts can be sent to Word on the Street: P.O. Box 1918 • Mt Juliet, TN 37121 • Tel: 615.379.2121. Be sure and tell them it’s for the Grossmans.
We have been in ministry for nearly 40 years. I’m 67(!) and I am indeed tired. I feel I should use the energy I still have to take care of Rick and see that his final years are peaceful and worthy of the great man of God that he is. Rick always said his desire was to finish well. It’s my job to daily remind him that he did just that. By reading and rereading our many years of prayer letters to him, and talking to him about how beloved he is by so many people all over the world…. By speaking with him about all the lives he touched and the difference he made because of his love for God and the flocks entrusted into his care…
These musings don’t only fill his soul, they fill mysoul as well. I feel so blessed and grateful for the journey Rick and I have walked together with you for all of these years.
We will always cherish and be grateful for your friendship, prayers and support. We thank God for the opportunity to know you and share with you as friends over these many years. It’s hard to believe we’ve known each other for so long. We have built a Kingdom legacy together. We hope it has been a blessing for you as you have been a blessing to us.
Thank you so much for all the years of building Kingdom legacies together. God bless you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We love you!
Judith (and Rick)
PS – Just as in the past, you can send gifts as the Lord leads you to:
Word on the Street, P.O. Box 1918 • Mt Juliet, TN 37121 • Tel: 615.379.2121. You can stay in touch with me via Facebook, Messenger, Skype, Whatsapp or phone +506-8532-7978, email [email protected] or post at Apartado 141-7100, Paraiso 30201 Costa Rica. I would really love to hear from you.
