Contentment

I don't even know where to begin with this blog. I was debating whether I was even going to keep one, but with the new experiences and strong emotions, I thought it was a good way to share what's going on in a little beach town in Costa Rica.

This may come as a shock to you, but as you're going on living your everyday life, there are people in the world that are suffering. Kids that go to bed hungry and people that are running out of strength as they grasp on to any bit of hope they can find for their lives. These are the people that we are working with this week, and these are the people that have changed my life. A massive piece of my heart is in Jamaica but the past few years I have had the opportunity to be a part of missions in other countries. This is where God really takes me out of my element to slap me in the face and remind me what He wants for my life (and for yours). Leaving business and familiarity, giving up technology and instant connection to the outside world to really look into the lives of these people and love them as we should is something that I wish for each and every one of you. Not only the people in my life or even just the people in the church but every single person that has a solid roof over their head and a pillow to sleep on at night. In under 24 hours I feel as though my life has been changed for the better and all it took was a little bit of an open heart.

After a looong overnight trip from Vegas to San Jose, I arrived around 11:45 and was through customs and outside by 12:15. I didn't see anyone with an IsleGo sign so I walked around...sat around...walked around some more and after being approached by many people offering a phone, I pulled out my papers that had phone numbers and somebody took the paper and made the call. I reached Pamela, who called the driver and said that they didn't know I was arriving on a different flight. It was after 4:00 and I was instructed to find a "safe cab" to get to Jaco, which is almost two hours from the airport. At some point in the afternoon, a thunderstorm rolled in and certainly didn't settle down on the ride over. Now, this is going to sound a little loony and mom...if you're reading this...I'm sorry, but there was never fear in any of this. Climbing into a green beater cab (after being told that the orange cars were the legit ones) alone with a man in the middle of a thunderstorm in a foreign country may be what some people consider a "bad idea." Not this time. Having 4 hours to myself I was able to reflect on the months leading up to this trip and it consisted of many "are you REALLY sure you want me going there?!" conversations with God that truly just confirmed that my heart is in the right place, so I had all of the confidence in the world that He had everything under control. The fact that he had paperwork and a company just gave him street cred.... I already had comfort in knowing that I was in his car for a reason.

I took spanish classes for almost 6 years and studied abroad here in Costa Rica, but will be the first to admit that I don't always understand everything that is being said. There's only so much you can know with having a limited background in a language, which makes it a miracle that there was not one minute of silence on the car ride to Jaco. After learning that I was here to meet a missionary team, he told me about his church and his pastor in San Jose. He shared the story of his life and how he came to know the Lord when his wife left him, taking everything...including his children. He went from being an angry man, a regular drug abuser and somebody without real happiness to the man that I met: a Christian man that is so full of joy he is overflowing from the ears. His wife is still gone but he sees his kids and has found a new focus in life. He turned on his CD player and there was a Christian mix, in spanish of course, that he would start dancing to (as we hydroplaned through the mountains). He couldn't stop expressing his happiness and it was contagious! We both laughed and shared stories all the way to Jaco. It was truly convicting to meet him and realize how much time I spend worrying about situations and people. It was like sitting with somebody that has come to know Christ for the first time... free of anger, worry and judgment while full of love & happiness. At one point on the ride I told him I liked his music and he told me that he would never have to worry about a temptation again if he could sit in his car all day with his music and give all of his thoughts up to God. Once we arrived at the hotel, he took the CD out of the player and gave it to me saying, "I want you to know that you always have a friend in Costa Rica. If you ever need anyone to talk to, a church, a friend for anything... I am your brother." It was really, really beautiful.

Last night when I arrived I met the team of 10 from Circle Community Church in Florida. They were informed that I wouldn't be arriving until Wednesday and were trying to figure out how to find groceries. We spent the evening getting to know each other, having orientation and visiting Radical Life Ministries church in town for our VBS orientation. We met David and Pamela, the missionaries IsleGo has worked with for many years, and they gave us an overview of how the week would go. This morning we woke up to an INCREDIBLE breakfast at the restaurant here at Estrellamar and spent the earlier part of the morning taking care of renting the cars, grocery shopping and getting settled in at the villa. There's another team here from Santa Barbara, CA and they have 63 people, all staying and working alongside our team. It always humbled to see so many young people coming together with open hearts to serve in any and all ways. There's not a boundary between the teams, no judging and always a welcoming attitude... something that isn't always seen in the hallways of your typical high school. I love seeing and hearing a constant "what can I do for you?" when the common attitude in our society is "what can I do for me?"

Around 11 this morning, David, Pamela and Gustavo came to show us the worksite for the week. Dusty has told me a bit about the ministry here but this is another one of those situations that is literally unimaginable until you've seen it. 36 families living in shacks along a river, 76 are children under the age of 18 and one baby on the way. The baby on the way has a mother who is 23 years old and will be born with six older siblings. You can do the math on that but 23 years old with 7 kids is something that is incomprehensible. Regardless of what anybody thinks, those kids deserve a chance and a safe place to live. This week our team will be working on the house that she's currently living in and trying to create a safe(r) environment before the baby arrives. While Josh (the team leader/pastor) and David were talking logistics about materials and construction (not my thing...shocking, I know), I stood looking out with Pamela and Dawn, another adult leader on the team. I watched as kids walked with bare feet, crossing the river to get to their friends on the other side, mothers sat and giggled as they talked on their porches, a place that many of us wouldn't touch without a bucket of bleach and rubber gloves. More and more kids came out of the houses and joined in as the other team brought balloons and toys. Each and every person in this place that has been named "the hole" had a smile on their face, despite the condition of their house, clothes or life.

I keep thinking about when I was studying here a few years ago. We visited schools and met people, but never really went too deep into the heart of Costa Rica. I feel like a light has gone on for me as I've realized that we were going into schools and looking at different areas without a real concept of the need in this country. The part that really hit me the hardest is that there is so much business, even in areas surrounding "the hole," nobody even knows that they're there. I'm realizing that I know there are very similar conditions in the States that we may choose to ignore, which isn't okay but at least we are aware of the situation. The most unfortunate problem of all is that this is not the only community in the world that is suffering and undiscovered and I think that there is a lot more we can be doing to reveal and help those people...even in our own communities.

It's about dinner time and we'll be going straight to our first night of VBS afterwards. Please keep the IsleGo teams and the Costa Rican people in your thoughts and prayers!