I am so glad that I finally have the chance to sit down and tell you all about what ministry looked like this past month in Costa Rica! As most of you probably know, I spent the first part of the month sick/in the hospital with Dengue Fever. While that was definitely not how I envisioned spending my time in Costa Rica, there wasn’t much I could do about it but wait. I really hated that I was missing out on ministry with my team, but the cool thing that God showed me was that the hospital was my ministry. I got to show love to every single person that set foot in my room.
I laughed with a nurse about the fact that we both spoke only “pequito” of the other’s language. I got to share with my doctor about what I was going to be doing for the rest of the month and tell him about my trip. He made sure I knew not to participate in any contact sports for a while haha. I made sure to say “gracias” to the cleaning lady and help her to feel seen and appreciated. I joked with the infectious disease doctor as she told me that unfortunately hospitals in real life are nothing like on TV. She also got to use my case as an example for her students who were currently learning about Dengue. I got to greet my nurses with a smile when they would take my temperature and blood pressure twice a night. Ministry is life. It’s not simply a project on our schedule we can rush through.
Thankfully, I was released from the hospital after four nights! (Shoutout to everyone who was praying for me!!!) When I finally got to rejoin my team the next day, I had the opportunity to be a part of street ministry that night with another organization called Face of Justice. They reach out to those who have been sex-trafficked and/or have turned to prostitution. I know they have a house where they are able to provide women with a safe place to stay, and they truly do so much good in the community. We started off the night with worship and prayer before we all packed into a 15 passenger van with cookies, coffee, and iced tea to give to the people we met.
We would stop whenever we saw someone standing on the corner, offer them the cookies and drinks, and just have a normal conversation with them. Typically before we left, we would ask if there was anything we could pray for, and then we would pray right there with them. It was so difficult to see the desperation that each of these people held onto. One woman would talk with us, but she was so desperate to get the attention of every car that drove by so that she could make some money. Another was so desperate for the love and conversation we brought that she sat down the whole time, keeping the conversation going by asking questions. We drove past another who declined our offer for cookies and drinks, but she wouldn’t let us drive away without praying for her. After we were done we would debrief the night and Uber home by 1am.
At Transforma, our ministry partner for the month, day to day life looked different every day. Their purpose is to empower women who are stuck in the lowest level of poverty by teaching them valuable life skills that they will be able to use to provide for their families. Each week the women would take classes to learn skills such as massage, mani/pedi, or sewing. During our time at Transforma, many of us took on administrative projects in order to help further grow Transforma. We also would regularly visit the women at their homes and check in with them throughout the week. For me it was a bummer that I didn’t get to build stronger friendships with the women since I was in the hospital. However, I did get to bond with the niños!
The number of kids we had depended on the day. One day there were probably 20 kids, so it was all hands on deck lol. Another day we only had five, so we got to give the kids more individual attention. The most shocking thing to me was that I actually got babies to stop crying. Usually I’m the one who makes a kid start crying no matter how hard I try. My favorite was getting to see some of the kids more than once. It was such a privilege to watch the kids while their moms were in class every day!
Overall, last month taught me a lot about identity and how we see ourselves. I could see myself as the sick girl who couldn’t do anything OR a daughter who is being pursued so unconditionally by my faithful God who loves me. I could feel alone and that I was missing ministry OR realize how many people I had by my side and that I got to experience such a unique view of ministry. I could see myself as not being able to make a difference on the streets OR see that one conversation or prayer for one person could make all the difference in the world. I could see myself as a babysitter OR realize the opportunity I had to pour into the lives of the next generation. It’s all about perspective. What’s yours?
-Catherine Choquette 🙂
P.S. Thank you guys for all of your prayers! I’m already so excited to share about what we’ve been doing in Panama! (I’m just a little behind on blogs haha) Also, thank you so much to everyone who has financially supported me as well! I am only $4,910 away from being fully funded! So if you feel led to donate, just click the orange “Donate!” button at the top of the page. I love and miss you all! Thank you for being a part of my journey!
