None of this turned out to be true.
It was after we spent about 15 hours on a ferry, a short little cruise down a river on a canoe-type boat, a bus ride out to the middle of nowhere as the sun went down, and a very crammed trip with 13 of us and our 2 contacts in a little 4WD Isuzu further into the middle of nowhere that night that something hit me – we were going pretty far from civilization.
In the JUNGLE. We’re surrounded by trees, jungly-type trees, with bugs that you hear constantly all around. We’ve also experienced the “mystery” invisible insects that you never see but leave funky looking red bites on skin. The road to get here is probably more traveled by cows than by people…it’s a muddy, rocky dirt road that looks slightly dangerous if you’re not too careful.
We’ve also found out that the rehab center doesn’t exist. Not yet, anyway. It’ll start in January. So what’ll we be doing?
Part 1: Putting on parties and events for little children in Los Chiles.
And sharing the gospel with possibly up to 1500 kids and their families.
Was it what we thought? No, definitely not. But it doesn’t really matter does it? I signed up to serve…and that’s what I’m going to do. It might look like playing kid songs on the guitar. It might look like acting in some skits or singing some songs or playing some games. All of those are a little out of my comfort zone, but I’m quickly learning that my “comfort zone” got destroyed a long time ago.
Part 2: Farmwork.
And I’m serious about this one…my team’s got the skills. At least, I think we do. Milking cows and making cheese may require some more knowledge, but as far as using machetes and leveling land by hand and transplanting things like trees? We’ve got this. (disclaimer: I do in fact realize that farmwork may include more than just these things, however, Team Brady’s farmhand skills also include more than what I listed – just some examples!) Anyway, manual labor might be a big part of this month. That’s the gist of it.
So. Unexpected? Oh yes. We´re sort of stepping into a whole lot that we didn´t expect to. But I’m ready to serve. And willing, too. Debrief was great – you can read about it HERE – but now I’m just all the more ready to keep going and keep honoring God and loving His people. Right now I’ve been placed in Los Chiles, Costa Rica, and I will be here till the end of the month – and God has plans to use Team Brady and Team Arrow, and all I have to do is be willing.
That’s that! Just to let you know, internet will be more sketchy this month than the last 2 months, mainly because we’re out in the middle of a jungle and it takes a good amount of effort to get to internet – so updates may be few and far between. Pictures, I want to post them but have been having issues, so bear with me. They’re coming.
Love and miss you all a lot. I really do mean that. When I sit down and write these blogs, it brings me great joy knowing that when I post them, someone’s out there reading it. Hope all is well! Till next time 🙂
