I don’t really have much to say.

 

But, I feel so disconnected from home that I thought I should write something that I can post to the internet. So, here I am…writing something…

Hmmm, how about I just do this:

This month in a nutshell:

-Trees, grass, bees, the lack of supplies, snakes, mud, tarantulas, scorpions and cows are no deterrence for 11 machete swinging Americans on a mission to clear a field, nor do they stand in the way of “mowing” (yes, with a machete) and fertilizing an overgrown garden of fruit trees.

-Showers at 5:30am in the Costa Rican jungle are cold and frequented by large spiders. Large spiders don’t swim, but do climb. Quickly.

-It is possible to be bitten multiple times by small bugs and not know it until the evidence of the bites – a small drop of blood – begin to show up all over your legs. In the days following, this drop will become nothing more than a pin-prick-sized red dot, but will be surrounded by the white puffy skin that foretells of red itchy skin later.

-13 Americans can successfully entertain roughly 1500 Costa Rican kids with music, games and skits while spreading the “best gift ever” (uh, that’d be Jesus for those of you who’ve not been in our audience) to them and their families.

-Fried plantains in Costa Rica are not the same as the ones in Nicaragua. Tucans like to perch on plantains (unless you’re trying to get a picture of them).   I’ve yet to see them so much as look at Froot Loops, though. 

-Becca has now been to the hospital in all three countries we’ve been in so far, though she’s never been the patient. Keryn, our champion patient, passed that title on to me this month. …looks like I’ve got a kidney infection of some sort. Donde estas banos?

So, yeah. As I stated in an earlier post, our ministry this month looks completely different than what we were anticipating.   Instead of building relationships with at-risk teens, we’ve been deforesting one field, “mowing” another one, fertilizing some fruit trees and – this week – throwing Christmas “parties” for some of kids and their families in the surrounding cities. It’s been a good month and I have been reminded that it is not my responsibility to “convert” anyone to Christianity. My duty lies in following the Lord, listening to His instruction and obeying it. And whether that instruction is to deforest a field by hand in preparation for a future sugar cane field, sitting with Him in the stillness of the mornings or standing at the front of a room, wearing a jacket covered in rolled up pieces of scotch tape so that multiple kids can race to attach “ornaments” to you, the point is still the same: trust Him. Trust Him to teach you something, to sit with you or to water the seed that you planted in another’s heart.
 
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!  Miss y’all more than you know!!
 
[p.s. pics’ll come later!! ]