Blessed

It’s hard to know where to start writing when I’ve been in a constant state of speechlessness. There are thoughts and feelings that can only be expressed through tears (of joy, empathy, frustration and sadness for the people we’re working with) and I’m struggling with knowing how to put them into words. My heart feels like it’s being squished and pulled in so many directions that my brain isn’t sure which way to follow.

Thursday was another powerful day of kingdom building that started with a long, much needed walk on the beach. We are abundantly (understatement) blessed with these meals but holy cow I need time to digest! We could cut the portions into thirds and be okay between meals. We had our morning prayer and I shared a devotional that has continually come up for me over the past few months. It’s the idea that God’s given you a passion for something that will intersect with the need of the world, and following that passion will keep you on the right path in your faith. The team worked throughout the morning as I came back to the villas to make sandwiches with Dawn. Although I’ve gotten better about it, I don’t always like being away from the team because I really love seeing how they’re being used at the worksite and getting to know the people in the area. This morning was pretty special because I had Dawn back with me and the two of us were able to talk for hours! Her and I share similar beliefs about faith, missions and education, topics that provide more than enough to talk about!

Yesterday afternoon I was able to go out to the river for the afternoon and finally got to love on some kids! I was really touched by a little girl Jasmine, who wanted nothing more than to be near somebody. I couldn’t help noticing how happy she was and thought about how she would react to a classroom in the States. I know that there are plenty of things that I haven’t seen and I know that kids, in all aspects, are universal, but I felt like I wanted to keep her down by the river where she is free to smile, despite the circumstances. I wouldn’t be worried about the kids she’d be surrounded by but the adults. I’ve seen a lot of criticism from parents and it’s generally contagious to the children and I wouldn’t want her to ever worry about what she’s wearing or who is talking about her. Maybe I’m being too critical but every ounce of me wanted to find a way to protect that little girl and give her safety for the rest of her life. I know that that’s not up to me, she has a mother and none of that is up to me…but I was able to see a glimpse of how God feels about us.

The entire afternoon was spent watching the two teams from California and Florida working together, playing with kids and giving away their love. I stood for a while watching one of our team members, Nick, and a little boy skipping rocks. The little boy was probably 2 feet tall and still in diapers but the two of them looked like they’d been buddies for years. The little boy would disappear under water (fully clothed) and come up 30 seconds later, winded, with the perfect skipping rock. I watched the process over and over, laughing hysterically each time the boy’s head rose to the surface of the water. The water was dripping down his face, he could barely open his little eyes and each time he was able to find his balance against the flowing water he’d proudly hold up the newly found rock. Once he threw it and the rocks disappeared, the process started over. It was one of the many times I wish I’d had a video camera. Video games are enabling kids to miss out on the real fun in life.

Last night we had another successful VBS and an even more successful debrief. Everybody was exhausted at the end of the day, as they’ve been constantly working both physically and mentally from 8:00am-9:30pm each day. The beginning of every night’s debrief starts out a little bit silly before getting into the serious stuff, but last night was downright hilarious, and I can’t even tell you what was funny! Okay, I could… and it has something to do with somebody getting locked in a shower… but it was more so the relief that came from laughing. It felt so good to let go of all of the thoughts of the day and just laugh. Our devotional for the day was about being the light, and it really helped me connect a lot of what we’ve been talking about and seeing over the past few days. I really liked that Josh said that being the light doesn’t eliminate the darkness, it pushes it back. I saw a connection to yesterday’s devotional and realized that if we’re being mediocre in faith, we’re actually protruding darkness versus light. We, as Christians, are even permitting “worse” darkness than that of the non-believing sinner when we’re not consciously living our beliefs because it reflects on Christianity as a whole. If somebody is interested in beginning a relationship with God and they see us living hypocritically, we’ve ruined an opportunity.

This morning I had the chance to sit down and talk with David about the ministry here in Jaco. I’ll include details later but that testimony is more than enough to make an atheist believe and humble the righteous. Him and Pamela were two missionaries starting with nothing who decided to ask God to use them as He wanted. They got in a cab, asked the driver to take them to the absolute worst area in Jaco and they arrived at “el hoyo.” The driver wouldn’t even take them down the street due to the recent machete murder of a person that approached the area. They’ve now seen the growth of the area and recently received a $200,000 donation, in the name of God, to buy the land needed for their church and missionary training center. There is no other church that’s established a permanent residency because of the price of the land and because of this they are literally changing the history of Christianity in this country. When I walked away from talking with David, I could not understand why anybody would want to do something other than be a missionary. They have front row seats to the miracle show and I want tickets!

The team has another day of work and tomorrow will be their free day where you’ll find us zip-lining through the rainforest and exploring waterfalls.

The team from Santa Barbara left this morning for the next part of their journey but one team member, Landon, was on his way to the hospital with symptoms of appendicitis and he’s likely going to have his appendix removed. Please keep him, his family and the team in your prayers!

K