Day 1: rolled out of my top bunk around 6 am, showered, got dressed, and headed to breakfast at 6:30. Squad devotionals at 7. By 7:45 we are out the door, and on to the bus. Are ministry is about an hour and 45 minutes away, located in the slums of Carpio. About an hour and 20 minutes in we get off one bus, and hop on another which drops us off close to our ministry site. From there we walk, and are greeted with warm smiles.
The building has a daycare center, a bakery, classrooms, a science lab, and running water. Out back there is a soccer field, a playground, and a basketball court, all located in the middle of one of the poorest places In Costa Rica.
We are given so much freedom here at this ministry. This ministry is for those who live in Carpio who are refugees from Nicaragua. Everyday new faces appear in this town, the only thing they bring are the shirts on their backs. The Nicaraguan government is corrupt, many tell their stories of missing family members, and scary incidents that led them to flee. They are unable to bring the things they own, because If the Nicaraguan police see them with bags they are arrested, punished, or sent back home.
Everyone on my team of 8 was given a choice, we could work with women, teenagers, or children. I chose women, I’m not really sure why because I’ve never done women’s ministry, and I feel like I would be able to connect better with teenagers, or kids, but I could clearly sense that God was calling me to women’s ministry. Like I said before, we are given complete freedom here. We create the lessons, we chose what each day will look like, we get the supplies, we plan the activities. Its a lot, and its scary. The language barrier has already shown to be a problem, but I have complete faith God will work it out. Most who have immigrated from Nicaragua do not speak Spanish, or English, they have their own language.
Ministry is from 9:45 am to 4 pm, but the bus ride back home is 3 hours, because we pick up two other teams along the way. And I will admit that when we got on the bus, and I found out the ride was 3 hours long, I was angry, I was impatient, I wanted to complain, and I did. After a long day of ministry I was furious that I had to spend three hours on a bus, I was hungry, and very tired. I WAS SO IMPATIENT.
Day 2: This morning, during devotionals I went back to what I wrote yesterday. And I was shocked when I read the verse I wrote down. Proverbs 16:32 “Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self control than one who takes a city.” PATIENCE!! I had literally wrote about patience yesterday before the bus ride. Next to the verse I wrote “Ive always wanted to be a person of patience, but instead I am short tempered, and quick to lash out. I want understanding, I want patience.” God has given me the opportunity to grow, from now on I will cherish my time on the bus, I will spend time talking to the Lord, and I will remember to bring a snack for the ride home:) Also today we were able to explore part of the slums here with Susan, a missionary nurse who has been here for almost 50 years. She brought us down to the river where there are many tiny shacks. We met a group of women and children who just got here from Nicaragua 48 hours ago. The only reason they were able to cross the boarder on bus without documentation is because one of the teenagers was 8 months pregnant, and the other had a 8 month old baby. All 18 of them lived in a 1 bedroom shack. We invited them to our ministry, and they agreed to come. Before meeting this group, we had been lesson planing, trying to figure out how to incorporate Jesus into all the lessons, but now its obvious all these people need is love. They will learn about Christ through the love we give them. Please pray for my team and I, for we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit so we will have the words to say to these women, teens, and children.
