We made it to San Jose, Costa Rica! It’s only been a handful of days but we’re thankful to be loving and living alongside such an amazing family. When I say “family” I’m referring not only to our hosts (Beth and Bryan Tatum), but also to Jherson, Jhonny, Johnathan, Jhosel, Edith and the rest of the Conexion Ministry squad. We’re here for their ministry. They have an agenda and a certain way they do things and we are here as tools for them to use wherever possible.
We ride around in this 2002 Land Rover everywhere we go. Also, this is Beth and she rocks.
The first few days we were at a public school in Coronado working with some of the youth. Jherson spoke to them about turmoil in other parts of the world using a PowerPoint presentation. Another day we prepared a skit for the kids with a theme of being respectful to others. Each day after the lesson we did relay races using jump ropes, dizzy bat, ring toss, and hula-hoops. The last day we were at the school Beth had all of us spread out around the gym and sent us a small group of kids to ATTEMPT to chat with. I remember more Spanish than I thought I would, but it’s definitely still a struggle. I actually told a group of kids I had 21 butts instead of 21 years the other day, and they all fell out into the floor laughing.
We also went to Edith’s house a few days ago to sort and fold 3000 sweatshirts. Yes, 3000. Yes, it took hours! We sang Disney songs to pass the time and Edith made us a cafecito so I was pumped about that. My favorite part of the day is 1-4pm because Costa Ricans believe you should stop during this time and have a snack and coffee (called a cafecito). Their coffee is EVERYTHING I’VE DREAMED OF.
Yesterday, we all went to church at Edith’s house. She has a tiny room attached to her house where the church service is held. The Conexion band did the worship and it was amazing. There is nothing quite like worshiping in another language. It was full of jumping, clapping, dancing, and chanting. We are different from the Costa Ricans in many ways, but we experience and worship the same God. After worship we took the children upstairs to do an activity. MB read them the story of Jesus calling Peter and Andrew away from their nets to follow him, and then we colored “pez” (fish) and ate goldfish to go along with the story. After church we did a prayer walk at the park where the Conexion worship band will be having a concert in early October. Be praying for no rain here on October 3rd!
We went to the feria (market)
Random Stuff:
– The lights on the police cars in Costa Rica stay on all the time. I thought we were in a high speed chase when Brian picked us up from the airport until he informed me that they’re always on.
– Jhosel – this dood doesn’t speak a lick of English, but he’s my favorite. I rub his bald head whenever I see him and he rubs my fro. I’ll post a pic w/ him in the next post.
– Before you enter someone’s home you always always ask permission to come in (con prisimos). Even if you’re close to them.
– When you greet or say goodbye to people you touch cheek to cheek and make the smacking sound with your lips. You do this with both men and women.
– Brian (host Dad) used to be a chef at Disneyworld so we’ve been feasting! Had chocolate gravy for the first time the other day with homemade biscuits.
This month I decided not to use any screens for the first 3 weeks (aside from my Kindle, this post I’m currently typing, and an email to my family so they know I’m alive). I want to give God more of my attention and more space to move in my life. And I want to be more aware of when those movements occur. With that being said, I probably won’t post again for a few more weeks. I hope you all are well!
Also, here is a little video my teammate Patten made from our first few days:
