Hi friends & family! I apologize for the delayed updates- but I am writing to you safe & sound from Colorado! as I said in my last post, we spent the second half of our trip in a tiny town named Vigia, in the Guanacaste province. (don’t bother looking it up, it doesn’t really show up on any maps :)) I could write pages & pages about my time there & how wonderful it was, but here’s just a short review!!
My squad was greeted in Vigia with open arms & loving smiles as the entire town gathered at the church for our arrival. We spent 45 days living & doing ministry with the pastor & his family, who quickly became some of our closest friends. Little English was known, so we communicated through our mostly broken Spanish, & a lot of hand gestures & laughs. Vigia left me with some of the sweetest memories & relationships I’ve ever experienced. The pastor, Basilio, & his family are hilarious, loving, & extremely caring. They took us on many adventures & loved us like family. During our first week there, Basilio herded us onto the dirt road, strapped with his antique sword & what we like to call his “adventure hat” & he led us down the street, the destination unknown to us. The first thing I noticed & a memory I’ll remember forever was watching Basilio walk throughout his town. Basilio walks down the street in the same way I imagine Jesus would. He walks slow, his eyes see everyone, he shouts “bendiciones” (blessings) over ever fence, into every door. Everyone gets a smile & a wave, & a glimpse of his peaceful presence. From that moment on, I knew our time in Vigia would be a special experience.
From overloading our adventure day bus with the entire town, to filling the church with praise & worship, stacking our white lawn chairs, painting the hot tin roof, sharing testimonies, hearing stories, & loving on that sweet town, not a moment was wasted, & it was never boring. The Lord gave us a taste of simple life, afternoon coffee, card games, mangos from the trees outside & just good old fashion slowness. Which scared me at first, but taught me a lot. Vigia filled my soul & gave me a greater appreciation for the art of being present. For being okay with not having the next plan, or the next thing on the schedule. A sweet phrase I repeated to myself a lot was “I’m in no hurry, because I’m right where you have me, close to you & confident in your perfect will” Jesus walked slow, his love is steadfast, he’s in no rush. We’re in no hurry, really. & Vigia was an earthly example of this. Our time here was short, but full of life, full of the Lords goodness.
If you’ve made it this far, I just want to say thank you for supporting me, caring about what I have to say, & taking time to read these little blogs. You mean more to me than you could ever know!! I truly couldn’t have done this without you guys, thank you for the support, encouraging comments, texts, & prayers, & everything else. This was a life changing experience I wouldn’t trade for the world! If you have any questions about my time in Costa Rica, I LOVE talking about it, so feel free to reach out, my number is 719-207-0508!!
I just wanted to extend a final thanks to all of you & express my appreciation & gratitude for your support.
Con amor,
Lou <3
