Hey everyone! I can’t tell you how excited I am to be using this blog page again, it’s time for a much needed update!
I’M IN COSTA RICA!!
I know I know, I told y’all I was headed to Nicaragua. But it turns out the Lord had something different planned! Before launching, we learned that due to some border issues, we were unable to get into Nicaragua. So after a couple weeks of training in Georgia, our squad launched to Costa Rica, where we’ve been living for a few weeks now! When we arrived, our squad of 30+ people was split into three different groups. My team and my fellow team leader Matthew’s team have been living and doing ministry together in Turrialba, a cute little town nestled in a valley right in the center of the country! Life here is slow and sweet, and being here with my team has been such a gift.
We are staying at a church just outside of town, and man are we treated so well here! The room we’ve been living in is where everything (and I mean everything) happens. It’s our bedroom, our kitchen, our living room, and everything in between. With just enough room for 13 people to lay out our sleeping pads, we’re never more than a foot away from another human, haha! We share meals sitting in a circle on the floor, and our sleeping pads are beds at night and “community couches” during the day. While sometimes the living so close together can be frustrating, even more than that it is such a blessing! It’s been so clear already that our time here will be full of intentional time to grow in relationship with one another and with the Father!
Our host and the people who work at our church are some of the most incredible people I’ve ever met! Pastor Armando lives here at the church with his family, and he has been so kind to plan our adventure days, help the team learn more Spanish, and help us with whatever we need, whenever we need it! We are truly blessed to know him! Then there’s Hugo and Manuel, the men who have helped us with our ministry! We’ve been working on various projects on the church property, like paving a sidewalk, building a roof, and now painting the outside of the church! Hugo and Manuel are a lot of fun to work with and always make our ministry days so enjoyable. And last but certainly not least is our kitchen staff! Julio, Mari, and Greta have treated us SO WELL by making all of our meals for us! Having someone to cook for us is never a given on the World Race, so we are extremely grateful for how hard they work and for all the yummy foods they make us! Here’s a sweet little story just to show you how well they care for us: With every meal the kitchen staff makes us a fruit juice of some kind. How kind is that first of all!! But I am allergic to a few of the fruits they use, so most of the time I just stick to my water. But it turns out that Julio was super observant of which juices I was and wasn’t drinking, and without me even having to ask, he brought out my very own drink on a night where I couldn’t drink the juice. He made a separate kind of juice just so that I could have one! How sweet!!!
I decided that the best way to kick off another season of blogging would be to outline what my schedule here typically looks like! Of course every day looks a little different, and I’d be lying if I said we actually stuck to our schedule… Again, life in costa is super slow and not like the US at all haha! But we love it a lot, and I’m excited to share what I’ve been up to!
First of all, Saturdays are our sabbath days, and Thursdays are our “adventure days” where we have the opportunity to go do something fun together! But because ministry takes up most of our days, here’s what those days usually look like!
We wake up around 6:45 in the mornings to the sound of Julio finishing up our breakfast (the kitchen is in the same room where we sleep), and as soon as Mari yells “LISTO!” we are all up and off our sleeping pads to grab our plates. We’ve kind of made a little joke of how rough and tired everyone looks sitting up at the second “listoooo” is yelled across the room.
All of our meals contain rice, beans, and usually something else added in! Sometimes it’s plantains, sometimes it’s some kind of chicken or fish, and sometimes it’s a vegetable! But no matter what, for breakfast lunch and dinner, we are guaranteed to have bellies full of rice 🙂
After we eat breakfast we have about an hour before we start ministry. So this is when we sit and spend time with Jesus! This is definitely my favorite part of the day and it’s so sweet to look around and see everyone reading their Bibles and praying over the day ahead.
Then it’s time to start ministry, which like I said above has involved a few different projects around the church! This past week we’ve been painting the entire outside of the church a new bright color, and it’s been so cool not only to have fruitful conversation with each other while we work, but also to talk to the people who stop while walking past and want to see what we’re doing. We’ve been able to use this as a means to invite members of the community to church, and seeing them show up for service and getting to pray with and for them is such a beautiful thing.
Around 10, it’s time for a fruit break. Yes, you heard that right. We all get a little snack before getting back to work! And then we work again until lunch time. There’s not exactly a set time for anything here, so we wait to hear Mari yell “LISTO” again, and we all put down our tools and paintbrushes for some more rice and beans. And after another tasty meal, you guessed it, back to work! We finish up our work for the day around 3:30pm, because at that time we have a COFFEE BREAK! Coffee is a huge part of the culture here, so every afternoon we end our time of ministry with a cup of coffee and sometimes a snack!
From that point on, we are free until dinner. So the next few hours are spent doing anything and everything! Some days that means going into town with my team to make a run to the market, buy fruit, or get wifi. But some days it means taking a much needed nap or spending more time in the Word. Sometimes this time is also used to take a nice ice cold shower, or hang up wet laundry on the clothesline outside. And no matter what I’m doing or where I go, good conversation with my team and always fills this time too. I couldn’t be more grateful that we have so much time to pour into each other here!
“LISTOOO!!” It’s dinner time! Rice and beans!! 🙂 And after dinner it’s time for TEAM TIME! Team time looks different every night, but whether it’s worship, lifting one another up in prayer, giving feedback, sharing testimonies and munching on pizza, or doing something fun with the other team, this time is always a blast and a great way to end the day.
And then it’s back to the sleeping pads and time to go to sleep, to the sound of crickets and the cool breeze that blows through the open windows of our room.
The days here are slow and so beautiful. In some ways this is the most physically uncomfortable I have ever been. I love the way we live here but it is always a big adjustment being in a new place that is so different than I’m used to! But although it’s uncomfortable, this is the closest to the Lord I have probably ever felt. His presence is so evident here through every single hour of the day and in every single conversation.
Now here’s some honesty for you. Every time I have tried to sit down and write a blog, I get frustrated because I don’t have the “right words” to even come close to sharing how the Lord is moving. But all I really need to say is this: This life is very far from easy. Being on the field again, this time as a leader, is draining and at times feels pretty lonely. But the Lord is reminding me CONSTANTLY why I’m here, and of the gifts that I carry to give away to these Racers. It hasn’t been easy but I wouldn’t have it any other way!
I also just wanted to say thanks again for all of your support, whether financially or in prayer! Not having to worry about things like fundraising while on the field is such a blessing. While I am currently fully funded to be here, a few of the men and women on my leadership team are still fundraising. They are some of my favorite humans and I know they would greatly appreciate it if you checked out their pages and considered giving. Here are the links to their blogs!
Eva Helf:
Drew Davidson:
Hannah Acevedo:
Hannahacevedo.theworldrace.org
Sam Osuna:
And that’s a wrap for now! Thanks for taking the time to read this blog. This post was a pretty general introduction to life here, but I can’t wait to share more with y’all about our ministry and introduce you to my wonderful team! My instagram has stayed somewhat updated with what life has looked like here, so feel free to check that out too! (@reagan_polcyn)
See you next time friends, sending love from Costa! 🙂
-Reagan
