Before arriving at our ministry site in Costa Rica, I heard a rumor of being close enough to Panama to hit a golf ball across the border. I figured that would be with a big driver, but I soon realized it could be possible with a sand wedge.
This month, we’ve been on the border in so many ways.
For starters, we’re living in Paso Canoas, a town that literally straddles the Costa Rican and Panamanian border. It exists in both countries and residents are free to visit both sides without fees or an immigration line. A busy road runs straight down the border and plenty of shops line both sides, happy to accept payment in Costa Rican Colones, Panamanian Balboa, or even US Dollars.
Our contact for the month is Pastor Marvin, who works with pastors on both sides of the border, especially in indigenous mountain communities. Marvin is Costa Rican and his wife, Vielka, is Panamanian. They have two children; Geral is fourteen and Krystal is nine. The family physically resides on the Costa Rican side of town, but their house is a combo of both cultures. Also, nobody speaks English, which enriches our immersion experience. Only Ryan G. and I speak Spanish, so I have found myself translating a lot.
Marvin has never hosted World Race teams before, in fact, he had never even heard of Adventures in Missions before we came. Originally, we were mistakenly assigned to another contact in Nicaragua, but that person oversees various ministries in Central America and put us in touch with Marvin’s family. They have no idea what to expect from us and without previous gringo hosting experience they have a strong desire to connect and share their cultures. This gives us a closer bond with them as family and makes our experience a lot less mainstream.
(Also, being a treasurer has become exciting again. Instead of cookie cutter costs and billing for everything, we have to figure out a new budget of how and where to spend our money. I’m documenting purchases in three different currencies as well: Panama’s Balboa is dependent on the US Dollar, but the Costa Rica Colon gets exchanged at 1:500 and you get change back at various rates.)
The other way we’re living on the border is being on the last month and tail end of our trip. Very soon, we’ll find ourselves at home wondering how the heck we can process the year behind us and move forward into the future. Honestly, the last two months have been difficult for our team to stay present and not fade out too early while we still have time to serve. In a trip this long, senioritis can be typical, but we feel rejuvenated to finish the trip off with Marvin and his family.
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By the way, our team was not in the USA for the Fourth of July, but we brought the celebration down here. Our team prepared an American BBQ feast of burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, corn on the cob, baked beans, devilled eggs, chips, watermelon, and no-bake cookies. We invited our host families, neighborhood friends, and the Panamanian pastors who were visiting.
Back in the US we would have celebrated with our family and friends, but we were grateful to have new family and friends to celebrate with. None of them had ever celebrated the Fourth of July, and most were unfamiliar with the concept of American food. (The indigenous Panamanians could not figure out how to eat the hamburgers and ate their buns like dinner rolls.)
USA, we’re coming back for you soon!
