Now it’s time for the part of the story where my feet made it into the Caribbean.
We left Mighty Rivers to go to Puerto Viejo, where there is a skate park ministry called Concrete Jungle. The young couple who runs the ministry opened their home to us and we passed an amazing few days. Jeremy and Kirbi’s home is a ways into the jungle, about a 30 minute walk to the beach. Early in the morning we could hear the howler monkeys passing through the trees outside our window. Macaws and toucans flew around the treetops as well. Many of the trees around the house bear delicious fruit. There are even cacao trees, so we were able to taste the flesh around the cacao bean. Delicious and odd feeling.
One afternoon and evening we went to the skate park and watched young kids and teens learn/practice skate boarding. I even got on a long board and skated a few feet. The kids who go to the skate park are a large mix of cultures. Puerto Viejo has Ticos (from Costa Rica) and Afro-Caribbeans who came up the coast from Panama, as well as expats from all over the world. A theme of the people we met is that they came to Puerto Viejo on holiday and never left! The couple with whom we stayed uses the skate park as a platform to get to know the youth and then lives life with them the rest of the week. No matter where we went, Jeremy and Kirbi ran into a few of their kids. They also have gotten to know many of the local shop and restaurant owners. A couple of their friends grow cacao trees, process the chocolate, and sell it in a cafe. We had the chance to take a tour of the property and see the process. As well as taste lots of chocolate, including a chocolate drink that would have made Montezuma proud.
Jeremy and Kirbi also host a house church for believers in the town. Since we were in Puerto Viejo for Easter weekend, we participated in a beach side sunrise service. And by sunrise I mean we started at 8. After that service we went to Canyon Creek Church in Hone Creek, about 5 km away. The pastor and his wife are friends of our hosts. We had a delightful time worshiping with them. After a potluck lunch we sat down with Ron and Tammy to talk about future World Race teams coming to work alongside of them. They thanked us for coming and said that they had been praying many years for our arrival. When would the teams arrive? Ha! I love how God works, providing the chance to meet contacts we had not even anticipated meeting. The woman who accompanied us to the church, Suzannah, is another friend of our hosts. She has an established reputation in the orphanage about an hour away in Limon. She has the vision for a team to partner with her and visit the orphanage a couple of days a week.
We had not only great fellowship with a couple our own age, but also the chance to taste all the stages of chocolate, to visit an animal refuge and see monkeys and sloths, and to swim in the Caribbean. It was a delight!
Our last stop before returning to San Jose was to Jimenez, where we visited Central American Ministries. CAM is a retreat center for churches, organizations, and schools. We spent time talking with the family who runs it about their dreams for the ministry. They are a sweet couple, Lovett and Alex, with 2 young boys and several dogs. They welcomed us into their lives for 2 short days and were gracious enough to work with our flexible schedule. While with them, we were able to help them start a bamboo fence near the edge of a cliff that went down to the river. Hopefully it prevents smaller people from getting within falling distance. Something I learned from the experience: post-hole diggers are fun!
I had so much fun traveling around Costa Rica for the month, meeting ministries and seeing what God is doing in different cities. When can we do it again?!
