Hey everyone! I'm writing this blog after about 4 days of no contact with anyone…our team ended up kind of "going rogue" for a couple days. Not intentionally, I promise! We're literally in the middle of the rain forest and traveled alone to get here. We don't have internet, nor anyone's number. I hope and pray we didn't cause too much worry from your end. We are all fine, and safe!
This month I've really been praying that I will be able to communicate better with people back home, and even though I will probably only have internet two or three times before final debrief (our last "celebration" as a squad for finishing this crazy experience), I'm going to work on writing blogs the way I did in India, God willing, so there should be a ton of blogs from the month. Our ministry is absolutely crazy (I think they were expecting men…but they were blessed instead with five hardworking women), and I'm excited to tell you some of our stories. I've also been trying to take a picture or two a day, and Amie has been taking videos about our experiences, so expect some pretty funny videos at some point too.
As for my blog titles , when I was a senior in college my friend Keara labeled all of her picture albums “The One with…” as a reference to how the television show Friends labels each episode. Friends is a hugely popular show on the Race too, so to kind of transition my two lives together, this is how my blogs this last month will be. This month is also kind of looking like a “Best Of” World Race month, because the things we do are so crazy, so there’s been something new and ridiculous each day to make it memorable. I hope you enjoy it too!
Our ministry is on a farm in the middle of the rainforest, but it is a mission as well. It's kind of a refuge for people from the bigger cities in Costa Rica, and is a place people often go to detox and recover from drug addiction or life on the streets. Some parents send their kids here on their school breaks just for them to learn what hard farm work is, in a Christian environment. Some people who work in the city come here because farm life is deep in their hearts. Some people come here because it's a place where God is put first in all things, even before coffee breaks. We have devotionals in the word each time before we eat, to spiritually feed ourselves before physically feeding ourselves.
I can't speak specifically about what our typical daily schedule entails, because it's always changing, but a typical day on the farm starts at 6 AM with devotional. We then eat breakfast at 7 (all meals are homemade, with produce from the farm). At about 8, we start work outside. We work until noon, which is lunch. Then from 1-3 we work, stopping from about 3-3:30 for coffee, and then work until about 6-7 for dinner. It's a LONG day, but I can't tell you how much I love falling into bed after a day like that and just sinking in to sleep. Food tastes better, sleep is deeper–I love it. It's just sometimes hard in the moment (of course). I'm also learning a lot more Spanish, because for the second month we're talking in Spanish for almost the entire time. Building relationships with the people here is so much easier than I thought it would be, and I'm so thankful for everyone who has been praying this for me! I absolutely love the people I'm with this month.
Our contacts' names are Tony and Rosita. They're both an older couple (but only like late-fifties old), and you can tell they are still head over heels in love with each other. It's precious. Tony is go with the flow, steady, and has long crow's feet around his eyes because he's ALWAYS smiling. He always leads devotionals, and his face lights up when Rosita speaks English. It's what brought them together (he was her English teacher). Rosita is more particular and detailed-oriented, but is also very caring. She was a nurse and university administrator before they dropped everything and started the ministry here on the farm, but she says she doesn't regret one minute of it. Her spiritual gifts are wisdom and counseling, which are mine too, and she's going to teach me more about walking in my gifting.
There are a few regular faces on the farm, and then some people come in and out after a few days or a week or two to help out. Carlos and Omar are two of Tony's friends, who just come in to help out and help mentor the boys who come through. They're really hard workers, and love to add their wisdom to our bible studies. They help us carry things and show us how to do things around the farm, and I'm really thankful they're around. Yolanda is one of those people I've bonded with instantly. She is from Costa Rica, but she's traveled a ton. She told me all about what it was like to go to Cuba one night, and also about stories about her life. She talks about things I would talk about normally or would be interested in, so it's been really easy to connect with her. In addition, there are normally about 2-3 boys who are around to help work. They've all been super hard workers too, and always answer and ask questions from the study, even though I know not all of them come from Christian homes.
We also have three dogs, who I decided don't have fleas this month (I've been avoiding basically all dogs and cats on the race because I don't trust their hygiene). These dogs actually look clean, and they are so cuddly and sweet. So we've got some great companions this month :).
It's still one of the harder months, and could potentially be one of the hardest months on the race. I know I'm only getting through it because of everyone's prayers, because God has given me a ridiculous amount of strength for this last stretch of the Race. It helps to think of the good things, but there are so many things that can weigh on you and become too much to take if you let yourself think about them for long enough. Little things like not having dryers and your clothes smelling like mold, bugs swarming around you constantly, not having food you're used to for the past year, etc etc. There are big things too, but sometimes the little things are the ones that add up. So thank you for praying because I KNOW they make a difference. I have barely gotten sick these 11 months (aside from a 4-day migraine in Swazi and scabies last month, which are GONE whoop whoop!, and some minor stomach issues/a fever a few days ago). I know I've had extra favor and protection because of people at home :).
Hope you're all doing well ! See you sooooooon!!
(Ugh, I'm sorry about the lack of pictures…I have a ton, but of course today the website to upload pictures is down!! Next time!)
