Hey Everyone!
We made it to Costa Rica! I am so excited to be here, and I am looking forward to the things God has planned for us here. Costa Rica is so beautiful. The mountains are gorgeous and the weather is amazing. I love the Hispanic culture, because it reminds me of my own family. It almost feels like second nature to me. One thing about the culture that has been challenging is they are relationship oriented, which means the they highly value investing time into one another, even if that means putting the things off they wanted to get done that day. We in the U.S. are very task-oriented and strive to get everything done that we scheduled for that day and we don’t always make time for relationships. It has been a challenge because it has been pushing me to be intentional with the people around me, which is something I have been wanting to grow in and trying to become better at.
Our first ministry for this month is at a church in Heredia, which is just outside of San Jose. Our main focus is creating relationships and serving the people in the community and church in any way we can. So far, we have been painting the church, helping with maintenance on a nearby farm, and been building relationships with people here in the church. It has been so great to be here and we are so thankful for the opportunity to be here. It brings us all so much joy.
God has been recently teaching me the value of relationships. I am such a task-oriented person and I get so consumed with trying to get everything on my list done for that day, that I miss out on getting to create relationships with those that are around me. When I started the race, I thought that getting as many things done as I could was what being a witness to others was. And yes, serving others is a great way to share Christ, but He also wants us to engage into conversations with people and seek them out. For me, that has always been a struggle. In my passivity, I would rather chose to work on something and be busy, rather than ask someone how their day has been going.
In my team’s first ministry, we were sanding tables and I was becoming discouraged because we weren’t getting many done. I remember talking to my team leader, Will, about it and he told me, “It’s not about how many tables you sand, but the relationships you get to build while sanding them”. I didn’t start to understand what he was saying until recently. On average it takes a person around seven experiences with Christ before He or she may chose to have a relationship with Christ. By seeking others out and desiring to have a relationship with people, Christ can work through me and it may be the the 1st, 3rd, 5th, maybe even 7th encounter someone has with Christ. And that is what missions is all about. Building relationships with the people around you and letting Christ’s light shine through you.
I am so excited to see what God is going to continue to teach me in these next three months here in Costa Rica. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support and if you feel led to donate, I would much appreciate it. I am still about $4,000 away from being fully funded and I need to be fully funded by mid January. Anything helps, $20, $10, even $5. I am so thankful for all of of you and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
CJ Shiner
