in the short walk from the black sand beach to town, I meet a man who speaks 7 languages, a group of friends in their mid 20’s from England, an Australian drug dealer, and a woman who only speaks German. The Spanish speakers asking if I need a taxi as background music to an array of languages around me is home to me now. I’ve been in the tiny town of Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica for about two weeks now doing ministry and living life. We are staying at a YWAM base in the jungle with our awesome hosts, Rasta and Elci and their other staff members, Sammy, Kisha, Jordy, Connor, and Steven. I dont quite know exactly what I was expecting coming here, but I do know it wasn’t this. Rasta told me on day one, “50% of this town has never heard the name of Jesus. The local church has 5 attenders. Our biggest problem is not human trafficking or anything of the sort, its drugs. People come here to vacation and never leave. The local middle school teacher told me she has 17 countries represented in her one class.”
As I begin to walk around town and become familiar with the locals, business owners, and even different vacationers, I am only slightly surprised to see how many similarities I can find:
Everyone is looking for love.
This place is a catalyst of escape. Culture is rich, the beach is nice, and monkeys serve as your alarm, but beyond all this, it’s one of the emptiest places I’ve ever experienced. We, as a human race, have fallen victim to the concept of worshipping ourselves. I talked with a new friend who moved here from New York in December. I intently nod as I listen her explain to me that she’s here because she needs to figure out how to love herself. She says the nature helps because it is a reflection of her image. We swap beliefs and plan that our next meet up will be her birthday celebration and she tells me that she is God, her own God. I meet an Italian man on the beach, he’s grown up here because his parents met here on vacation. A squamate and I walk down the beach with him as he explains that his life is “simple” and “free”. He tells us that he’s been to church once in his life to impress a girl, but he only needs God to thank him for giving him a simple life anyways. I then meet a hostel owner. He wears a cross necklace but when I ask if he’s a christian he gives a fast, “no”. He shows me his garden of plants for teas and wellness. He tells me that plants are the only thing he needs to be healthy. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in tea and in self-care. But I can’t help but wonder if my new friends wonder if there’s more than good vibes from the ocean.
Culturally, this place is different. They take 3:30 coffee breaks and you can leisurely walk in the middle of the road. But, friends, this is no different than us. I see emptiness and brokenness here as people look within to find a broken purpose. As people look toward healthy food and good energy to fill not just a piece, but a gaping heart void. I feel fragile, that God would entrust someone as broken as me to carry this remedy. This truth, that our bodies ARE our temples but our Father is still our savior. But I see hope. I see searching in these eyes. I see opportunity to grab these people by the hand, and say, “me too. I’m there. I was there. I get it. But there’s hope on the other side of the cross.”
Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
I see the opportunity to look these people in the eyes and say, “I looked for that too. We all do. But I’m a new creation now. Do you want to see?” Because of Christ, I have the honor to be in the business of reconciliation!
2 Corinthians 5:17 “therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting the trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us.”
Isaiah 43 “Behold, I am doing a new thing.”
our hearts are restless until we find rest in You, Jesus. Please, pray for divine appointments and cultivation of friendships I’ve already made here! Pray that we are able to dig deeper into scripture and His character everyday. Pray for overflow of love! Pray for sanctification!
As I write this, I’m sitting in the second floor of a coffee shop in the middle of town. I’m watching the busyness of cars and construction workers but the slow walk of vacationers and backpackers soaking in the beauty. I watch this and all my heart can find to pray and proclaim is
The enemy will not win here.
