One of my favorite quotes by Bob Goff says, “I especially see evidence of God in other people’s lives. What’s beautiful about them always looks an awful lot like God to me.” During my first week in Costa Rica, I have seen the Lord’s love, grace, and creativity exemplified so much through the lives of others, and it’s taught me a whole lot about who He is and the way that He loves us.
When my team arrived at the airport in Costa Rica, we didn’t know where we were going or how’d we get there. We had been receiving emails from our ministry contact in Spanish, and had trouble with the translation. We stepped onto the streets of San José with nervous hearts and no idea of what was to come. Luckily for us, members from the church were waiting there to pick us up. They took us to a church in San José, where we met Pastor Marcos who told us (through my broken Spanish) that he spoke zero English, the wifi at the church was broken, we wouldn’t have a translator at all, and tomorrow we’d be taking the bus home by ourselves to our ministry site.
Once he left, we voiced our frustrations and anxiousness to one another. We didn’t know how’d we communicate with anyone, how’d we get to and from our ministry site, how long we’d be in San José, or how we’d contact our leaders, family, and friends. This was falling really short of the expectations that I didn’t even know I had.
But God is a God of provision, and He is constantly making all things work for the good of those who love Him (even when we doubt Him). Our first day at the nursing home, we met sweet Grace who loves The Lord with her whole heart, and to our relief, spoke some English. She introduced us to Ana, who’d we be working under for the week. After our first day of work, Ana walked us to an ATM to get bus fare, walked us all the way to the bus stop, and then made sure we got on the right bus. Later that night, Pastor Marcos showed up to the church with Esther, a member of his church who has the kindest, most giving spirit and a great grasp on the English language. She translated for us, and we were able to get all of our questions answered.
God answered all of our prayers, and then some. And He did it in the form of sending us people. We grew to love Ana and Grace so much in just one week, and Esther, who is now our lifelong friend, took us on so many adventures that we wouldn’t have had without her as our guide. The beautiful relationships we formed in just our first week so clearly demonstrated to me the relationship that God longs to have with us. God’s great love for me brought me here to Costa Rica, and He has already placed so many people in my path to give that love back to. I see His kindness and His compassion and His mercy so clearly when I see those traits in the people I meet. Over this next year, I can’t wait to meet more amazing people, and through those people, learn more about the Lord I love. This week was so beyond good , and I am so thankful for what God has already taught me.
My team is in Sarapiquí for the next three weeks, and our time here is already so sweet. I eat way too much pineapple and speak really bad Spanish and grow deeper in relationships and play fútbol and hang out with kiddos and attend four-hour church services and sit by a barbed-wire fence to sponge wifi off a nearby school and snuggle with the puppy I befriended and discover more aspects of God’s character every single day. And I love every second of it.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me up to this point. I have already learned, loved, and experienced so much. I would appreciate prayers for clarity, discernment, and boldness. I still need about $3,500 dollars to be fully funded, and if you feel called to support me financially and help me continue on the world race, you can donate right here through this blog.
For the Kingdom,
Ellen
