Shhhushhh…listen to the strange birds calling; watch the people passing
by. See the fat iguana crawling across the roof top, or team-mates running
to pull rain-flies over their tents. Feel the heat of a sunburn coming off
your face, or the tropical breeze passing through your hair. Flick a
grasshopper off your foot and scream! Better yet, ask a local to kill the
tarantula in your bathroom! And just know that if this is your surrounding,
then there’s a good chance you followed the call and found yourself in
Costa Rica!
My team and I landed here late on Friday night. We arrived with our squad
of fifty-seven and went to different locations. My team’s destination?
Jaco, a colorful little city on the beach. Some time after midnight, we
pitched our tents at a ministry and called it a day. And–side note–it was
WEIRD to wake up with a tent over my head and nothing but Costa Rica behind
it!
On Saturday night, some kids and teens came to the ministry house to
skateboard and have a Bible study. I loved that they were hearing the
Gospel and seeming to enjoy it! Yesterday, the woman who runs this ministry
said something fascinating; when asked what her vision is, she said that
she wants to teach Latinos to minister to “M-s-m’s” in other countries,
because she says they are well-received. Of course, my ears perked up! We
are helping her clean the yard, and it inspires me to know that our
weed-pulling and painting is taking a load off her shoulders so she can
focus on this vision.
At church on Sunday, a woman asked me about our group. When I told her that
we’re going to eleven countries in eleven months, she was fascinated! But
then I told her that we were on day two, and she replied, “Oh my goodness!
Let me give you my number! You’re gonna be alright”. It was funny that she
switched from fascinated to sympathetic. Adjusting to the new lifestyle is
happening, slowly but surely. Our team is growing in ways I never
imagined. Mostly we are learning how to prefer one another and to take care
of each others’ needs…on top of that, we’re learning how to pitch our
tents away from tree roots and not on hills. This trip is entirely
different than anything else I have ever experienced because of constant
community and each day looking so different from the last. It’s like
watching a painting in progress, wondering the outcome all the time–until
the final stroke.
Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks through Him to God the Father. (Colossians 3:17)
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