“you’re going to have so much fun!”
“have fun on your trip!”
“you’re living a dream!”
as i’m hearing these words while i’m getting ready to hit the field in Costa Rica with my squad, i am unsure if the only thing people can picture me doing is going on some vacation to a tropical place with my feet in the sand surrounded by palm trees and a beautiful body of water. yes, i will agree, this place is all kinds of fun, dreamy and tropical. it’s paradise for sure, but vacation not so much.
right now paradise looks like having 30 mosquito bites all over my body, constantly being sticky from the mixture of mosquito spray, sweat, and humidity. it looks like waking up to monkeys and exotic birds making a joyful (joyful to the Lord) noise right outside my window, and learning to break a habit of putting toilet paper in the toilet. paradise looks like raking up 11 acres of rain forrest, taking a machete and chopping up logs, and finding a few of one of the worlds deadliest snakes. it looks like cutting up bamboo, digging up dirt and using recourses found on the land that we live on to build a compost and path to walk on to avoid muddy feet as much as we can.
paradise also looks like spending time in the kitchen, making meals for 30 people. its looks like salsa dancing with the base staff, singing and lifting up our voices to the Champion. it looks like having conversations in spanish with the very little vocabulary that i sadly know but thankfully the people here are so patient in their teaching and desire to learn more english. and of course, paradise looks like going to the beach when we’re free to soak up the sun and swim in the beautiful black sand beach or exploring the town and buying all the fresh fruit.
this way of living is a partnership with the Lord to help make a way for others to experience His Kingdom. whether it’s manual labor on the base or face to face conversations filled with prayers and life testimonies, it’s all for the paradise we get to experience in eternity. paradise here could never compare to the paradise that the Lord promises us.
paradise? yes. vacation? no. i am living in paradise. this paradise is relational, constant, kingdom bringing, praise filled, holy, life giving. this paradise is a touch of heaven.
POR EL REINO
