I left home nearly 2 weeks ago. I landed in Costa Rica Wednesday, Sept. 12 and my squad began settling into pur house. Having 53 people in one house has been a constant growth curve of figuring out scheduling showers, lining up for meals, and everyone trying to string their clothes up on the same days.
Living in community is a large part of my day, but during the weekdays we walk 30 minutes away to a local church whre my team has had many diverse opportunities to serve. We work with children for about an hour- playing for 20 minutes and putting on a skit for 10 minutes in a rotation. After that we take on manuel tasks such as: cleaning rocks for around a flowerbed, cleaning the sanctuary, working construction on apartments for single mothers, painting cribs, and sweeping.
Being able to step alongside the local church and serve them has been a beautiful way to encourage the Ticos(Costa Ricans) because the work that 10 men can provide has exponentially sped up the process that their limited workers would have spent weeks trying to accomplish. In our service we have had amazing opportunities to attend a local home group prayer vigil and share scripture and testimonies with our brother and sisters in Christ here. As well as the prayer vigil we have gotten to have conversations with the men we are working alongside and have been greatly encouraged in the retrospective works of God that we can see in their lives.
Pura Vida is the Tico phrase that has saturated our lives this past week. Used as a greeting, a farewell, a description of personal health, and coined as the slogan of the entire country, pure life is said in almost all circumstance. For the next 9 months my squad has the opportunity to strive after living life purely for God and the Kingdom, and it is only fitting that our first stop calls us accountable to that with every interaction.
I aim to get in a rhythm of posting a new blog every week, that you may continue to see how God uses us in Costa Rica and beyond. God Bless!
