I’m Emily Werness and I cannot believe it is the 4th of July!! Three weeks from today L Squad will board a plane back to the States where we are celebrating Independence today. But that’s three weeks away. Let me tell you about yesterday and our adventures in Costa thus far.
God has angels watching over En Fuego. The day before leaving for Costa Rica we are notified that because of historic flooding we are not able to get to the ranch, our ministry site with 6:8 Ministries. The plan: stay in San Jose, our bus will get in around 3pm or so. After an unexpected 11 hour bus ride we arrive in San Jose, night has descended, we have no food or money, but have an address of somewhere we can stay. My squad leader, Lynda, is with us this month and she studied here in Costa for a semester 2 years ago, so by God’s grace we got directions, got taxis, and were welcomed into a beautiful home with the sweetest woman taking care of us. Almost immediately she made us rice and beans, eggs, bread…a feast! She kept bringing out more blankets and pillows as well. We all flopped down on our mattresses on the floor, in awe of how good God is and how he always provides.
Fast forward to Thursday night, after we were able to go to dinner with most of Lynda’s old friends and after she was able to meet her old host Mom, we find out bridges are open and we can head to the ranch on Friday! Praise God for his perfect timing.
I shower Friday morning because the living conditions are uncertain – we know there’s a river, a kitchen, and some dorms. We embark on our journey and after one bus that left not on any schedule (classic), a downpour, and boarding another bus with all of our packs and gear we meet Alex, a British Tropical Ecologist who lives here in Costa, and helped translate for us to tell the bus driver where we needed to get dropped off at. An angel.
Then the bus driver shuts off the engine and announces the bridge is impassable by car and the pedestrian bridge is out as well, so hurry up and wait. After about 30 minutes we get the green light to walk across the bridge, so we pack on our gear and our raincoats and haul it over the bridge on foot. That river was flowing like class 6 rapids. Praise the bridge held up. Next, more waiting on the other side of the washed out bridge with a crowd of other stranded passengers all praying the buses are able to make it across. While we were waiting with Alex, a sweet lady at her fruit stand offers us each a rambutan (feel free to google it). A delicious and sweet gesture! Miraculously, the bridge opens to vehicles and buses start coming across, first one bus, then another, and another. Crowds of people push and shove to just get on any bus. I was starting to worry as the sun was sinking fast and we had an unknown hike ahead of us yet. We stopped and prayed out loud for another bus to come now and literally two minutes later we were fighting our way to the front door of a bus to show the driver our tickets. Praise! We get the go-ahead to shove our packs under the bus and get on, but with all the people it was frantic and rushed! All of our packs made it under the bus, but none of us did!! We start shoving and clawing our way to the front of the crowd. All I remember is Lynda yelling, “Go Werness go!” and me shoving and yelling, “PERMISO!” By God’s grace and our elbows we made it on that bus.
Whew.
Now it’s dark. And we cannot see out of the fogged up windows to look for our signs/landmarks. We communicate with the bus driver where we need to go and we missed our first sign so we stopped the bus and got out in the middle of nowhere on the side of the highway. The bus driver followed us and we thought he was going to ask for money because of all the trouble but he just wanted to warn us, “Peligroso. Cuidado con sus moletas!” Basically, it’s dangerous and stay together and watch your bags. Disoriented and sweaty we once again don our packs and daypacks and begin walking through the darkness, our way lit by headlamps. We have directions from our host and we try to follow them the best we can…about 1 km later we reach the landmark grocery store to grab food for dinner. We still have another km or so to go at this point and we are tired, hungry, and it’s dark. In that moment the Lord sends us another angel. Lynda and Nick just walked over to a van across the rode and out of the store walks the SAME fruit lady from the washed out bridge! It is no mistake she was there and it is no mistake they had a huge van that fit all of our packs in the back. They offered and insisted to drive us the rest of the way and to come back for the rest of the team.
Again, we set off into the darkness of this little town, and come to an old metal suspension bridge. Old and sketchy…immediately Vanessa and I start praying nonstop as we slowly roll across it with bated breath. The driver gestured to us to keep praying!! When we hit the other side we all breathed a huge sigh of relief. Having just walked across that thing in the daylight it is a miracle and only by the power of the Holy Spirit that bridge held us up. Thanks God!
We finally make it to what we think is the front gate of the ranch, but it is locked, so the driver, one of our angels, and me go around and start walking across the property yelling the only name we had, “Mauricio?!” We’re walking in the dark, my feet getting bit by crazy ants and we hear a response…it’s him! PRAISE. We made it.
We finally made it. Not only did God bless us with angels the whole way to keep us safe, we have real bathrooms with showers, real beds…a REAL TOWEL…and fans!! It’s like a 5 star hotel to us world racers and I think we all were ready to cry. Needless to say after more sweat and that crazy travel day, I indulged in a second shower for the first time on this World Race. We get to use them until a group of 30 high schoolers arrive on Tuesday. Then it’s tenting time. Praise God for the little things!
I am so excited and thankful to be here in little Horquetas. I am pumped for the high school group to get here and for the sweet opportunity the Lord has given us through them – to love them, be a witness, to serve, and just have fun with them. Today, we’ve mowed the lawn, weed wacked, raked, cleaned up the yard, and gotten attacked by ants and bugs. We might go jump in the river later too…who knows! What an Independence Day! Right now we have burgers on the grill, papas in the frying pan, and country music blasting.
Praise God for crazy travel days, little comforts, Mauricio, an adorable dog named Sadie, and our freedom.
I’m Emily Werness and there’s no place I’d rather be…well, maybe down in that river 🙂
