Gates surround every home in our ministry town of Barva, Costa Rica. That can be pretty intimidating when your ministry task for the month is to love the community. From the outside looking in, it looked like the community wanted to keep people out. The gates were tall and locked, crowned with spikes. They didn’t exactly scream “Welcome” or “Bienvenido.”
This month was different because we didn’t have a set schedule – our ministry wasn’t to teach or complete manual labor within certain hours. Nope.Each morning we would pray and ask God what He wanted us to do. He was setting our schedule.
I was excited to build relationships within the community. I enjoyed the fact that this month would resemble ‘real life’, but my initial thought was – who is going to let us in? I’ve been away from the American culture for 8 months now, but my thoughts often revert back to the – “who wants to talk to a stranger?” Who has the time to invite us into their homes? The gates are there for a reason, and that reason (I thought) was to keep people out.
The first few days I was stuck in my American mindset. Per usual God started rattling the gates that enclosed my perception.
Well PTL for TT….We had our squad mentor, Teresa aka TT with us for the month. TT is a fearless evangelist. She’s bold, very bold and invites everyone to listen to what the Lord has to say. She’s obedient and fights for us and anything else I decide to type here will not do her justice for the kind of shepherd she has been.
Teresa was setting the example. On her morning run, God told her that we needed to be in the local school. Turns out the school doesn’t let people in – typically. The gates were tall and locked at this school. TT didn’t put God in a box and a group of us went and tried anyway. The next thing I know we were teaching a class in the school the next day.
We met a teacher, Heidi at the school who came to church the next Sunday with her daughter. Worship brought her to tears. We invited her and her daughter to our Beauty for Ashes women’s event where her daughter gave her life to Christ. Wide open gates.
The Beauty for Ashes event not only opened gates to conversations with women of the community, but it gave me an opportunity to open my own gates and let people in to a place that I had kept people out of for so long. The week prior, my squad mate Laura and I set out to plan the Beauty for Ashes event. We knew that someone should give a testimony to lead the night with vulnerability. We prayed about it and I did everything I could to ignore a voice telling me that it was time to unlock the gate (gulp).
The night came and I had so much peace giving my testimony and sharing parts of my life that not even some of my team knew.
I witnessed freedom. Not just newfound freedom for myself, but in the ‘me too’ and encouragements from other women.
We saw a Domino effect of God’s work happen throughout the month.
Walls were falling. The story of Jericho coming to life right in front of me. (Joshua 6)
Left and right gates were opening. Chandler got a ‘job’ at the smoothie shop and began to encourage the owner, Jose. Jose was on board with our evangelism endeavors and he encouraged us all month. Chandler and Teresa got to talking to Jose’s son and by the end of their conversation he accepted Christ.
We had a translator who didn’t have a relationship with God and he seemed mad at the church. After a day of translating for us he wanted to know more. Teresa, Madie and Chandler answered his questions – he accepted Christ.
Teenagers at the church’s youth night were letting us in. Showing us the scars and wounds the enemy was leaving. We got to know them and listened in prayer with them. Youth that walked through the doors confused and hurt left with the reassurance that they weren’t alone.
The horse stables next door caught my eye and I felt like this was a door God wanted me to knock on. Colleen and I went and Juan opened the stable doors and greeted us warmly. Through our best attempts at Spanish we got to know Juan who lived above the horse stables with his wife and two daughters. Juan was a believer who was hungry for more. He told us that he never completely learned to read, but God was giving him the ability to understand the Bible. After spending time at the stables a few times a week, Juan’s 10 year old daughter Genesis became my best bud. She always greeting me with a 100 wat smile and a loud “SUSANNAH!!”
We encouraged them in their faith and they did the same for us. We spent Juan’s birthday with him and prayed alongside him and his family. After we prayed, Genesis told us that God told her that we were all blessed…Wow. My initial friendship with Juan made me realize the gates I was putting around God. Now Colleen and I can call Juan and his family – our family.
I can say I’ve definitely underestimated the power of simple questions and intentionally getting to know someone. When people feel heard and connected they’ll let you in. So many people are just walking through life and get caught in the shrapnel as casualties of other people’s hurt. We forget that a simple, “hey, what’s your name?” And remembering that name can help someone feel seen. A simple key to a padlocked door.
One open door that I’ll never forget was the bakery owners, Eduardo and Mary. We were intentional in getting to know them and continued to be consistent in visiting the bakery (the coffee and pastries weren’t too bad either). Within a week of getting to know them, they invited us into their home and said their home was ours. They invited us over for a worship night and we got to pray and sing in two languages worshiping one God.
Rachel and I got to help them plant a garden and they washed the dirt off our shoes. They showed me how to serve others with a home and I told them that I hope one day I’m able to open my home to others as they did to me.
The list of amazing people we got to love goes on – the butcher, Uber drivers, fruit stand owners, gym workers, and neighbors. We made ourselves a part of a community and did our best to love the way God intended.
As the end of this 11 month adventure comes closer I can’t help but think about what life after looks like. I could give you a list of things that I want to do, but I still have no concrete answer (#hireme). I do know that I want my ‘real life’ to be about loving people the way Jesus did. I want to do my best to leave all my God confining gates behind and pursue that wall shattering love He has for me and for others.
Don’t underestimate yourself and what God can do through you and don’t let intimidation close you into your comfort zone. We can’t let fear of rejection rule over our ‘real life’. Wake up and ask God to set your schedule for the day.
For He has shattered gates of bronze And cut bars of iron asunder.
Psalm 107:16
