This past month I had the opportunity to live in Costa Rica. Each day looked a little different. In the beginning of October we flew into San Jose, I had this impression that the ministry would be tropical and we would be by the ocean or by volcanos and waterfalls because that’s what all my friends who have been to Costa Rica have to say about it. So when we flew into San Jose what I saw was much different, it was a city, there was traffic, there were hundreds of buses and people lining the streets to get to their jobs or schools or their corner store or wherever else they were going. It was what I imagine New York City in a third world country would look like. The ministry I was placed with was about 1 hour outside of San Jose in the town of Desamparados. The streets weren’t quite as busy as San Jose but we had to quickly learn the bus routes around the town. Our host June is from the United States, she is living permanently in Costa Rica, so a local family ‘adopted’ her as one of their own. Our first day of ministry foreshadowed the rest of the month. We were painting.
On day one of ministry our task was to paint her Tica families home and build friendships with their family. Both tasks were accomplished and I preferred the latter of the two. Their family was very generous and provided many local meals and treats to my team. They welcomed us every morning with warm hugs and hot coffee aka cafe con leche and even taught us a few words in Spanish. We all learned to trust and love each other. We painted their home and they painted a picture for me of what life looked like for most Costa Rican’s. A week or so in we had accomplished a lot, we painted the living room, the dining room, the kitchen, the stairwell, the bathroom, the garage and the outside of the garage.
We had a new mission at hand for the following week. We were painting a women’s correctional facility. We were hand in hand with men from the men’s correctional facility cleaning and painting cement walls that made up the school area of the center. It was initially intimidating but as soon as we got there my team and myself felt a sense of peace and so we worked away. We learned the stories of some of the women who were in classes, we prayed with the women for justice and safety and health and many of their other needs. We painted their school and they painted for me a picture of how they were not just labeled as inmates but they were women who desired love and affection and desired to learn in school and play silly games with us when we had down time or couldn’t paint because it was raining. They painted a picture of what internal freedom looks like, they were confined to stay at the center each for a different amount of time but they had freedom within them.
When our painting there was completed we had another task, paint the local church. We painted the bathrooms and some of the classrooms and yet again we met the locals who worked there, they worked with us and they showed their gratitude. In the beginning of the month I thought painting was mindless, it was something you can probably teach a monkey to do and so we were just the body’s they needed to finish the job. But by the middle of the month I was learning it was so much more then that. We were painting areas where hundreds, if not thousands of lives would be impacted. It started pretty easy in a home, where a family can come together, then in a prison where women are sent for their choices, but can find a future through education and counseling, then to a church where people come to gather in fellowship and love. With each of these jobs my perception of just being there to paint was changed. There were also a few jobs here and there that had nothing to do with painting, those jobs were no more or less significant than painting but it felt as if we were painting everyday…. I think that’s because everyday we were painting but it wasn’t always physically. We were painting a little bit of our hearts in each place we encountered. We were painting a little bit of our pasts with each new relationship we built. We were painting a little bit more hope for those who didn’t have any. I always believed it would be easier for people to see the face of God in humans who loved well, and from that would start asking questions. Why do they love well. Where does it come from. I think that it sounds silly but we painted with love. My hope is that each time someone sees those areas where we worked and painted they ask why would 7 crazy gringos take a month out of their lives to paint Costa Rica. I think that when they ask that question it will be answered differently for each of them but the bottom line is love and I hope they know where it comes from. We painted everyday and we were given so much gratitude for the seemingly small tasks. That gratitude and my change in perception of the difference between a small task and a very meaningful task really painted my mind with new colors of insight.
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:
My team and I are very efficient painters with or without adequate materials. We can paint for you when we return, we will be re entering the USA in September 2017. We will not work for free but we will take most forms of payment including but not limited to snacks, candy, hugs and CASH.
Just kidding….
But seriously 😉
I love you all so much! 
