Greetings from San Jose, Costa Rica!
It’s been hard finding words to describe my time here so far (I hope you enjoyed the video I posted in my previous blog) but here it goes!
Today is our 12th day in Costa Rica. We have been living with a couple who are an integral part of Conexion Ministries (our ministry for this month), Bryan and Beth Tatum (I included a picture of them in the video I posted). Bryan and Beth are two incredible individuals who are completely in love with Jesus are truly living boldly and authentically for Him. They have been such a blessing to my team in so many ways. Added bonus: Bryan was formerly a chef at Disney World so we have been eating like queens every day! Another perk we’ve all enjoyed is getting to ride around in this totally awesome 2002 Land Rover everywhere we go (with the exception of Jherson’s van).
There are a few other vital members of the Conexion team we have been closely working with so far: Jherson, Jhonny, Jhosel, Jonathan, Edith. The love of Jesus shines through each member of the Conexion team and it has truly been a privilege to work with each and every one of them. Conexion Ministries was founded by Jherson and a handful of other people. Bryan and Beth came to Costa Rica six years ago to join the Conexion team. Conexion ministers to the community in a variety of ways including workshops at schools, prison ministry, painting and other manual labor for partnering churches, kids Sunday school, and also through their own Conexion band that plays worship for different churches across the San Jose area.
Here’s a little overview of what the first week and a half has looked like.
Day 1:
We arrived in San Jose on September 9th around 9:00 PM. After waiting around for about an hour while our logistics team was sorting out our phone situation, we finally were able to go through customs and meet Bryan outside the airport. Beth was not able to come pick us up because she was in the hospital due to some complications following a procedure she had undergone a few days previously. Fortunately, we were able to meet her the next day.
Day 2:
The next morning, we got up early in time to be ready to leave for ministry at 6:30 AM. Our first ministry experience (there are a few clips in that video) was at Manuel Mana Gutierrez School in San Pedro De Coronado, about 20 minutes away. My team assisted the Conexion team in putting on a workshop for the kids. We mostly played games and Jherson had a Powerpoint presentation about unrest in other parts of the world.
After ministry, Jherson wanted to show us one of the oldest cathedrals in Costa Rica, so we dropped by for a few minutes (video and photos in my last blog post).
When we got back to the Tatum’s home, Brian had lunch ready for us. Seriously, the food has been such a blessing because as many of you know, I love to eat! After lunch, Bryan drove us to the hospital to see Beth. She basically had to wait around in the hospital all day for no reason. It was very apparent right from the start that Costa Rican’s don’t really understand the concept of schedules. I was impressed with both Beth and Bryan’s attitude toward it all; they always just seem to smile and take it all in stride. Seriously, you can’t help but see Jesus in these people. We had to wait in the hospital for a few more hours for the doctor to come in to release Beth, but it was a good chance to just be together and start to get to know each other.
Day 3:
Again, we got up in time to be ready to leave for ministry at 6:30 AM. We went to the same school as the previous day to hold another workshop. In addition to the games, my team spread ourselves around the room and were each sent our owngroup of kids so we could attempt to converse with them in Spanish. At first, it was a little overwhelming being by myself with a group of about eight Spanish speaking kids. I felt painfully underprepared and inadequate as I struggled to converse with them in Spanish. My one and only semester of Spanish was about six years ago so needless to say, I’m a bit rusty. Thankfully, Beth came to my rescue with the first group (it was pretty obvious I was struggling, ha ha), and I was sure to jot down a few simple phrases and questions to use for the next round, which went much better (and was actually even fun!). I was encouraged to know I was not alone in my struggle; it’s worth mentioning that one of my teammates accidentally told her kids she had 21 butts when she was trying to say she was 21 years old. The kids were literally falling on the floor with laughter.
Back at the Tatum’s home, we enjoyed another “cafe cito.” This is a Costa Rican tradition that occurs each day between two and three o’clock in the afternoon; basically everyone takes a break from whatever they’re doing to enjoy a cup of coffee in community. Sounds pretty great, right? [I can just see you shaking your head no, Dad ;)] This goes back to the Costa Rican ideal that relationships are more important than schedules. There’s actually quite a bit that North American’s could stand to learn from Costa Rican’s in that regard. Also, it should be noted that Costa Rican coffee is everything I ever dreamed of and more. I may have a problem by the time we leave the country (heh heh).
Later in the evening, Jherson came over to fill us in about a few things. He told us that the principle of the school (where we had been ministering the past few days) had called him earlier that afternoon to not only thank him for everything we did but also apologize for her attitude when he first met with her about Conexion coming to the school. This was the first time they had gone to this particular school and when Jherson had first met with her about coming, she had been extremely skeptical and rude towards him. She continued to explain how after we left the kids kept asking when we would be back. In the end, she was so impressed with our team that she invited us back again. We were all encouraged to see how already we were being used to bring the light of Jesus to others. It was so exciting to see how the Lord completely opened up doors for Conexion to go back to that school to share the love of Jesus.
Day 4:
We went to la feria (the market) this morning before ministry. I had my first fresh coconut and it was seriously a dream come true! The coconuts here are mostly used for water inside them instead of for eating, but I did both.
Brittany Patten AT
This afternoon, we sorted through and folded 3,000 sweatshirts at a local church right next to Edith’s house. Yes, you read that correctly. The sweatshirts had been donated by a gentlemen who shut down his business and was never able to sell this particular order. They had been stored in a room for a few years so we had to go through them to sort out all the ones that were either too dirty, too moldy or too bug eaten to be given away. We cheerfully passed the tedious hours by playing and singing along to various Disney songs.
Marybeth AT Brittany
Liz Patten
Edith made us some delicious food to go along with our cafe cito. Everywhere we go, the people we meet have been overwhelmingly generous; they may not have much, but what they do have, they share generously. Edith’s house sits on a hill with a breathtaking view. Her family has built up a section of the house into a lookout tower of sorts. This is what you see from the top.
Day 5:
We went to church at the same little place where we sorted sweatshirts yesterday. The Conexion band did worship and it was wonderful despite everything being in Spanish. I recognized some of the songs and knew the English words so since they were sung at the same tempo, I was able to do a sort of Spanglish version of the songs (basically when it was too hard to say the words in Spanish, I would revert to the English words). It was pretty neat to see people of all different cultures, backgrounds and even languages coming together to unashamedly worship the same God: a little taste of Heaven, I think. I will probably upload a video of some of the worship at some point; it’s just too good not to share.
After worship, we went up to the loft area with the kiddos to teach Sunday school. We read the story about Jesus recruiting the disciples and colored fish with them.
After church, we went to do a prayer walk at the arena where the Conexion band will be playing a concert on October 3. Be praying for no rain that day (it rains a lot here).
AT and I also started running today. Let me put this in perspective for you: This girl had a full ride to Belmont University on a basketball scholarship but for some reason she’s intimidated by running with ME. Yeah, I laughed too, but I’m super thankful for a workout buddy.
Day 6:
Today was our first “free” day. We spent most of it at a local park and literally “hung out” in our hammocks. It was nice to have such a relaxing day.
Day 7:
Free day #2. We celebrated Costa Rica’s Independence day by going to watch a parade.
Brittany
I also spent a good part of the evening learning how to play chess from AT.
Day 8:
We were all up and ready to go by 6:30 again this morning. We drove to a church in Puntarenas, about two hours away. For the next two days we repainted a large portion of the church. The heat was pretty extreme (sweat was not only dripping down my entire body and into my eyes but more than a few drops made it into the paint pans each time I replenished the paint on my roller). Needless to say, the cold outdoor shower felt wonderful.
Left to right: (me), Kelly, Patten, Marybeth, AT, Liz, Brittany
The first evening we were there, we had just begun to settle in for the night with a group of kids showed up. Our plans for relaxation were put on hold as we quickly pulled things together to minister to these kids. We weren’t initially planning on kids ministry at this location, but for some reason, Beth felt the need to pack a few kid friendly activities in a bag and we were so glad she did! We read a Bible story to them, played games with them, and broke up into individual groups again to converse with them in Spanish. I’m fairly certain my group was just laughing at my terrible Spanish the entire time.
Day 9:
Day two of painting. After finishing up, we stopped by the beach on the way home to enjoy some views of the Pacific Ocean.
Patten Kelly AT
Left to right: Brittany, yours truly, Patten, Marybeth, AT, Liz, Kelly
AT and I also tried a churchill for the first time. This is a mixture of fresh fruit, pudding, and snowcone and apparently is something you simply have to try when you’re in Costa Rica. I know it sounds weird but it was delicious.
We have been enjoying some more rest these past few days. I’ve been so thankful for time to sit in His presence.
Prayer requests:
– That my team and I would continue to absorb the language so we would be better able to communicate with those we are ministering to
– For discernment and direction in how to share my story with inmates at a local prison this coming Tuesday
– For continued protection for my team and Conexion Ministries
– Physical health for some of the Conexion team members and their families
– For continued openness and vulnerability between myself and my teammates
– For my homesickness (really been missing my family both in NY and NV)
– For the light of Jesus to continue to shine through us as we bring His love, hope and grace to the people of Costa Rica
Blessings,
Emily
