Believe it or not, my team and I just started our “official ministry” last Tuesday! You see, we’ve been serving all over the country this entire time, but all of our ministries so far have been relatively short. It wasn’t until this week that we settled into our consistent ministry that will last until The Awakening which will be the first week of March (just days before we leave for Ecuador).
We’re working at an International Christian School Called Love At Work and making preparations for students to begin school on Monday. The place is under construction and so the majority of our work has consisted of cleaning, doing dishes, cleaning, moving books, and more cleaning. The staff is nice (especially the chef:), there’s plenty of opportunities to practice Spanish, and I’m being daily challenged in my walk with the Lord.
This might sound like fun and games, but I have to admit that the work has been quite monotonous and exhausting. It’s hard to see the fruit of our labor when we’re re-sweeping the same sidewalk for three hours that we swept the day before or picking up leaves that we know will magically reappear the next day from the overhanging tree.
To be completely honest, I’m tired, drained, and greatly lacking in motivation. While I didn’t sign up for the Race expecting to receive luxurious, healthy, homemade meals, I didn’t expect to be fed hot dogs, potato chips, and other things of that ilk every day either. Hey, it’s food so there shouldn’t be any complaints, but I just know that it’s what’s robbing me of my energy. For breakfast, it’s either sugary cereal, Gallo Pinto (a rice and bean mixture), or fried tortillas with eggs. For lunch, it’s hotdogs, PB & J, or ham and American cheese sandwiches. For dinner, it’s rice, beans, and some sort of heavy main course. The kind of food you consume is obviously an important component of an active and healthy lifestyle, and so shoving who knows how many carbs in my face every day has undoubtedly taken its toll on my body.
Prayers for motivation, energy, and joy throughout my day would be greatly appreciated! I really want to be excited for this awesome new ministry opportunity and dream of giving it my absolute all, but that’s just not where i’m at currently. I greatly slacked during ministry hours this week and quite frankly, did not want to be there. I’m praying for change to come because the last thing I want is to leave Costa Rica with regrets of having wasted precious time and opportunities.
With gratitude,
-La Grina Loca
