Sunday, June 12 •
It’s been a couple days since I’ve written, but oh has today been a day.
On Friday, we had an adventure day at the beach, and I got to relax and read by the ocean with a passion fruit smoothie-a pretty great day 🙂
Saturday was a partial sabbath, where we rested and prepared a children’s ministry lesson for the afternoon. However, the lady who typically leads the kids ministry already had a lesson plan, so we took a backseat and got to play with the kiddos after the lesson. That night, there was a local concert of marimba players and street meat that was a blast, even if we did walk home in pouring rain.
However, underneath these fun and lighthearted experiences, tensions have been rising as we have yet to do anything in the community that would bless them or leave a lasting impact. On our trip, there are 3 guys and 19 girls, just for reference. Over the last couple days, I’ve had some conversations about frustrations that led to a conversation with our leaders this morning, and then a whole squad meeting to let all the frustrations into the open.
I genuinely believe I understand each perspective, and I won’t get into the details of it, but I left the conversation feeling hopeful that it was a step in the right direction, but also confused. It’s hard for me to understand why this conflict is occurring in the first place, and really really hard to let go of my expectations for what I thought this trip would look like, especially with the things outside of my control.
This entry may feel really vague, but I just want to guard my words so that I don’t share anything that is not my place to share. I’m really hopeful for the next two weeks, and I’m thankful for the conversations and the openness of our leadership today. That being said, two girls on the trip have flights booked to head home early, and I’m a little nervous to see how things move forward.
On a more positive note, I may get to help dig a trench tomorrow!! Also, I have made some really sweet friendships with some really cool girls. I’m loving hearing everyone’s stories and playing cards and laughing in the rain. It’s not what I expected, but it’s certainly panning out to be impactful in my life.
Monday, June 13•
There is something about leaving your home, leaving your friends, and leaving your comfort zone in order to cultivate a relationship with God that just breaks stuff down. I miss my mom a lot, and I miss my shower and my bed a LOT. Today we got to dig a trench which was a huge win. We also said goodbye to the two girls who are leaving early, and that didn’t feel like a win.
Honestly I think about this blog a lot— like when we got to dig a chip delivery truck out of the mud and as thanks they gave us a whole box of off-brand Doritos. Also when we didn’t do any tangible ministry for two weeks, I thought about everyone who gave me money that felt like it was sitting and doing nothing. But somehow, I’m learning so much about God, about leadership and it’s challenges, and about myself too. I’m even learning some Spanish, which is really really fun. Marisol from down the street talks like I know Spanish even though I clearly don’t and it’s the sweetest thing. Hopefully I have not been rude.
I’m really really glad we got to start our ministries today. A group went door to door with the pastor doing house visits, another went through the streets cleaning trash, and my group got to expand two trenches by the homes of some families who were experiencing flooding, since it’s the rainy season. By the end of the day, i had no idea if the moisture i was feeling was sweat, rain, or mud from the trench, but it felt so good to get our hands dirty for a purpose.
Between the stuck truck, the flooded trenches, and a zoom call with leadership in the states this evening, it was a productive day. It’s what we’ve waited for. Yet, I feel so strongly that the last two weeks were in no way wasted. I imagine I can relate now to the disciple who were impatient with Jesus and his ministry, and I feel very American with my schedule and expectations and time slots. Yet Jesus moved slowly, was often interrupted, and was never never in a hurry.
Day one of ministry looks closer to what I thought this time would be, but I’m also expectant for the pieces of this trip that will still be out of my emotional and physical comfort zone.
Wednesday, June 15•
These past two days have been a whirlwind of amazing experiences!!
Yesterday morning we continued digging a trench for water runoff, and we had lunch at the wonderful Marisol’s home. After lunch, we came home to rest for a bit before we headed to an elderly woman, Juanita’s, home for a Bible study with pastor Basilio. This was likely my favorite part of the trip so far, because Juanita was so kind and ecstatic that we were visiting, and even though she spoke no English at all, we talked and laughed the whole time. Once the Bible study was done, it had started to rain, and so far in my experience of Costa Rica culture, rain means it’s time to sit inside and wait it out. So we sat, and sat, and sat. Two hours after we were supposed to leave, it had grown dark, and we finally decided to brave the rain and make the quarter mile walk to the road, and then the 5-10 minute drive in the back of a truck to the church. We tucked our Bibles under our clothes and ran! On the drive back, I sat with three other girls from the trip in the back of the truck and yelled and laughed to distract ourselves from the sharp darts of rain that pelted us.
Even as I came inside, sopping wet and freezing cold, I started to understand how grateful I was to be in Costa Rica, with these people, experiencing this trip. Juanita loves the Lord, and so does Pastor Basilio, and so do the young adults I’m on this trip with. There’s no measuring tool for what impact we leave, or how much hospitality we are shown, and I think that’s a good thing. For yesterday, it was just enough to sit on the porch and wait out the rain.
Today, Wednesday, has also had some fun encounters. I opted for trash pickup team instead of trench digging, and the three men who were leaders in the church who came to lead the different teams did not speak any English at all. We piled into the truck, but made a pit stop at an old guys farm, and we spent an hour walking around learning about the plants and herbs that this man grew on his jungle of a property. We all ended up with green tongues from some root that I couldn’t tell you the name of, but we picked up that it was good for inflammation and stomach pain!
After the garden farm a group of four of us headed to trash duty and collected trash with Melvin until it started to rain and a kind woman invited us into her porch to wait it out again. Another random old man who we’d talked to on the road bought us a 2 liter of fruit juice and gave it to us before he walked off without saying much! We got to pray for the lady who’d welcomed us, which was a sweet encounter.
The rain ended in time for lunch, so we piled back into the truck, ate, and spent a few more hours in the afternoon picking up trash along the road. The afternoon was squad time, and we talked about how we were feeling as a team and studied Ephesians one, which is a beautiful picture of the way God has vision from before time began until its fulfillment in Him.
I’m still speaking the most broken Spanish imaginable, like “no mesa!” (“No table!”) when a soccer ball got kicked into the dinner table. However, every so often I’ll speak a phrase or understand a sentence and feel very proud of how far I’ve come!
Other highlights include seeing a herd of cattle run past the workout station at the park. Also the tarantula that ran out of a suitcase at 5:30 am today and the way I’ve fallen in love with the cold PVC pipe shower that I have go through the guys room for. The hospitality is also flooring me, and the sleeping pad on the ground seems to get comfier every night.
I’ve got lots of questions for Jesus right now and maybe I’ll get a chance to share some answers in future blog posts, but this trip is the coolest way ever to unplug and see the world through very new eyes.
Hello Lady, Thank you for the update. Sounds like you are learning so much – waiting on God and His timing is never easy and you are in a steep learning curve. Keep looking and waiting for His nudge. I heard a veteran missionary once tell us about the value of being int eh community before coming in to “fix” things. He learned the hard way that just being with the locals was of much more value because it showed so much respect for the locals and allowed them to gain a sense of trust – which is what they needed to have in order to be heard. Praying that you will continue to be at peace with waiting and listening. The definition of accomplishment is upside down in God’s kingdom…He practice “waiting” with us every day in every way…..