Central America- A Time for Lessons and Lice

For I Squad the new year comes with a new continent. Although our time in Central America has come to an end, the lessons and highlights will remain. Here is a brief recap of my first four months:

Month 1

Location: Chiriqui Province, Panama (Portarillas Arriba and the mountains of Tugri)

Ministry Contact: YWAM Chiriqui

Type of Ministry: Various- Included multiple VBSs, prison ministry, old folks home, door to door, cleaning and manual labor around base, events for children, and working with the indigenous Gnobe children

Interesting fact about the area/culture: There is a mountain in the Chiriqui province where, from the top, you can see the sun rise over the Caribbean ocean and set over Pacific Ocean.

Highlights:
– Hanging out with the women at the prison- hearing their stories and seeing the joy they have for God despite their situation
-Having a conversation with a woman at the old folks home in broken spanish. It didn’t matter that nothing was actually communicated, the woman was so kind and grateful.
-Having the kids pick a region on a big world map and watching them pray for people and situations in other parts of the world

Lessons learned:
-You can ride a horse and carry a chain saw at the same time!
-It is important to doubt your doubts with the same scrutiny that you doubt your faith.
-Questioning faith is normal and is ok. Faith is a constant choice and struggling with the hard questions is part of growing into a mature faith.

Day off Highlight: Whale watching and actually seeing a whale!

 

Month 2

Location: Los Guidos, Costa Rica

Ministry Contact: Christian Light Foundation

Type of Ministry: Taught English and Bible lessons in the Sector 3 School in Los Guidos, helped with the day care in the afternoons

Picture from the sector 3 school:

Interesting fact about the area/culture: Gallo Pinto is the normal meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The name means spotted rooster and the dish consists of rice and beans.

Highlights:
-Being baptized in the Pacific Ocean
-Looks of pure joy while dancing and singing worship music with the kids
-Seeing a boys dream come true by gifting him a Passport
-Watching my idea come to life and putting on a 5K in the slum of Los Guidos. The result were lots of confused looks and opportunities to pray for people

Picture from the 5 K:

Lesson (s) learned:
-Small ideas can make a big impact.
-The lack mindset makes you fat.
-There are conscious and unconscious belief systems that we buy into that dictate our actions in very real ways. I realized I was buying into the myth that Christianity was for the intellectually naive and as a result was afraid to share my faith.

Day off Highlight: Pops Ice Cream

 

Month 3

Location: Rivas, Nicaragua

Ministry Contact: Bethel Center of Hope

Type of Ministry: Manual labor to construct a community garden in the mornings and working at the feeding center with the kids in the afternoon. On Fridays we would go to the dump to pass out sandwiches and juice.

Interesting fact about the area/culture: When you pass by someone on the street you say Adios (goodbye) instead of Hola (hello) because you are leaving while you greet them.

Highlights:
-Developing real friendships with the amazing Nicaraguan women who run Bethel
-Getting to know the kids at the center, learning about their dreams
-Putting on a (modified) Thanksgiving dinner celebration for the families who work at the dump- seeing them take some time to relax and get served a meal until they were stuffed (in true Thanksgiving fashion)
-A not modified Thanksgiving dinner with the whole squad

Lesson(s) I learned:
-Normal bowel movements are a luxury and something you should thank God for every day!
– We have a choice: We can either play the victim or choose to trust that God has a bigger plan. Sometimes it seems easier to play the victim but it is neither helpful nor fun.
-Doing is what is most important- It is better to be obedient in the small things and actually accomplish something then to have great intentions but never actually do anything.

Day off Highlight: View from the Christ Statue in San Juan Del Sur

Month 4:

Location: La Ermita, Honduras

Ministry Contact: Heart of Christ

Type of Ministry: Working with the 16 children at the ministry (victims of sexual abuse, children of incest, and children with mental disabilities), wrapping and delivering over 4000 gifts for children in the nearby areas, and decorating and baking for Christmas

Interesting fact about the area/culture: Honduras is the murder capital of the world.

Highlights:
-Delivering 2 live chickens by foot to families with disabled children in the surrounding neighborhood
-Watching the mission children open their gifts from Santa on Christmas Day
-Riding in the pila of the truck blasting Christmas music and handing gifts to children in the neighborhood

Lesson(s) Learned:
-How to comb hair for lice
-Shame is a big obstacle that keeps a lot of people from having a faith. God loves you even if you don’t fit a perfect mold.