Day
4: July 16, 2012
I
got up bright and early and got ready to walk to church. I made sure I had my umbrella,
because as usual it was raining. I helped set things up for breakfast and made
sure everything was where it needed to be. A lady and her daughter came into
the rancho where breakfast was being prepared. This lady greeted me in Spanish
and I did my best to greet her back. Then I heard her speaking in good English to
another team member. She then said something else to me a little later in
Spanish and I was having a hard time understanding her. I apologized in English
for being out of it and not understanding. She was confused, she thought I was
a Tico! She thought I was the daughter of the woman that was cooking. I guess I’m
glad I blend in rather than stand out. It wasn’t long before it was time for
church to start.
Everything
was translated into English because so many of us are from the US. Worship was
pretty cool. The Ticos are so much more excited during worship! There was no
holding back from many of them. The pastor of the Victory church mission team
gave the message and preached on the Holy Spirit and its importance. It was
definitely a very different church service than I am used to, and not just
because it’s in a different country. But it was still good and it will help me
to learn more about other churches and customs.
After
church, we rushed off to a small restaurant with the team. We all ate there and
I enjoyed practicing some Spanish with a girl from the church, Nati. She also
speaks English so it was helpful to practice with someone that understood my
mistakes and helped me correct them. Like when I said, “Voy a Texas en enero de
dos mil once.” She said, “Fui? Fui a Texas?” Then I realized that I had
previously told her, “I go to Texas in January of 2011.” Oops!
After
lunch we hurried to “Zamora” which is a pretty rundown area. The Costa Rican
government made the people there move their homes so they could make them nicer
ones but the government isn’t helping them to rebuild the homes the people had
to move. But the houses seem to be made out of anything the people can find. I
didn’t think Christine’s house was super nice, the walls are pretty thin and it’s
a small house with a lot of ants in the kitchen. Not to mention the only way you can have a hot shower is if you keep the water pressure really low and you can't flush toilet paper, you have to throw it away. Compared to a lot of homes in
the USA it’s not a very nice house or place to live. But compared to some of the other houses I
have seen, it is a really nice house. After all, it has tiled floors and a fence and electricity and running water. I guess it all just comes down to
perspective.
We
took the team there to start making relationships with the people in that area.
Some of played with the kids for the hour and half that we were there. Others
went door to door to get to know the people and there were even some
salvations. We played with sidewalk chalk and did hopscotch and four square. We
had jump ropes and balls to play with the kids. We had bubbles (burbujos) for
the kids to play with too. “Es un regalo?” One of the girls asked me wondering
if it was a gift. “Si, es un regalo pero necesita compartir con los otros
chicos.” (Yes, it’s a gift but you need to share with the other kids.) I had
fun just walking around and blowing bubbles and taking pictures. It started off
that there were more team members than kids. But it wasn’t long until the kids
outnumbered us.
Since
we had a limited number of translators and many of them were playing with other
kids, we often had to try to understand what was being said to us on our own.
What was really cool was that I got into a situation where I was the only one
in one area of the place we were playing that spoke some Spanish. So I was
translating at one point! Yes! You heard me right! I, me, Lindsey, was translating!
I had practiced saying, “El otro grupo viene la proxima semana.” (another group
is coming next week) to a guy that was standing there with the kids. And it
just so happened that some of the members of the Victory Team wanted to ask him
some questions.
“How
are you?” someone asked.
“Como
estan?” I asked him and the woman standing next to him.
“Are
these girls your daughters?” a woman asked.
“Sus
hijas (Your daughters)?” I said pointing to the little girls.
“No,
son mis sobrinas. Soy sus tio. (No, they’re my nieces, I am their uncle).”
The
conversation continued and some of the team was asking him questions like what
his favorite kind of music was. He told us that he was a reggae singer but he
sang only for Jesus. He even had business cards and he passed them out to us.
Then he sang us one of his songs. It was really cool. I translated for about
five minutes or so before I got stuck and needed help. It was definitely a
confidence boost for me. I really enjoyed Zamora. I can’t wait to go back next
week with our next mission team that’s coming.
After
Zamora we went back to the church to have dinner and then get ready for the
free movie night the church was hosting. We all started by playing games
outside the church. We had free temporary tattoos and other ball games going
on. Unfortunately we didn’t get very far through our movie. The projector kept
overheating and shutting off! So we called it quits on the movie and
improvised. Christine did some goofy songs with the kids in the front. They
were songs like Father Abraham and others with the same concept. Then the
Victory Team put on a drama and one of their leaders gave a little gospel
presentation. So I think everything still worked out. Plus everyone got free
popcorn and drinks. It was definitely a good reminder that you have to be
prepared for anything in ministry!
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