The Costa Rica Mission: Not So Different

Day 11: July 22, 2012

My day started off with church. I’ve decided that one of the biggest differences between church in the USA compared to church in Latin America is that in Latin America, the congregation can actually clap on beat. Pastor Rene has been taking some time off to get healthy and get some rest. So instead we had people from the two different teams share with us. It worked out just fine in the end.

After church I came home and skyped with Karli. She’s a friend of mine from high school that has been such a blessing to me in the past couple of years. She is an inspiration to me because her faith is so strong. Karli is leaving on a plane at 6 am Monday morning for Haiti. She’s going there with her youth group but when they leave to come home, she will be staying. She doesn’t have many of the details yet, but she has told God she would go without all of the details because she knows he has called her to this. I was so glad I got the chance to talk and pray for her before she leaves. As you are keeping me in your prayers, also keep Karli in your prayers. She is living a radical life for Jesus and she needs the prayer as well!

After a nice nap I left for the church again to begin helping out with dinner. I was the only one other than the cooks there to help because everyone else had gone with the team. So I had to try to communicate with these Spanish speaking cooks to see what I could do. It was a little rough but we eventually got the point and got things set up.

After dinner, I went with the team on some house visits. I have seen the outside of many houses, but I had yet to be inside any of them other than Christine’s house. It broke my heart. This family, a young couple and their baby girl, didn’t even have flooring. The walls were made of patched together metal that is typically used on roofing here. They didn’t even own the house, it was a back room of another house. They don’t even have a bathroom or a kitchen. The living room, dining room, and bedroom are all the same room. And there was one other small room where some other things were stored. The only reason there were two rooms is because they had hung curtains up to divide it. Their home was similar to a large shed in the US. And on top of the very little they had in their home, they have to move out in about a week because the person that was renting them their home was subletting. They need a new home and they have no where to go. They don’t know what they’re going to do.

It puts things into perspective, we get upset when our air conditioning or heating isn’t working. We worry about dust bunnies being visible on our hard wood floors. We get upset when sometimes stains the carpet. We may be less likely to buy a house if the bathroom is too small or if there’s only one in the house. And yet there are so many people in other places that don’t have the luxury of worrying about those things. They’re more concerned about keeping a roof over their heads than anything else, they’re not so concerned about the quality. I don’t realize how blessed I truly am.

The wife goes to church and is saved but her husband has fallen away from the church. We talked to him about Jesus and he basically said that he wanted to get other things right in his life before he came to Jesus and committed. But he wants to set a good example for his children, he’s just not sure he’s good enough to come to Jesus. It’s amazing that even in a third world country, someone who basically lives in a shed has many of the same questions, doubts, and misconceptions that people living in mansions in the USA have. It’s just another reminder to me that we’re all not as different as we think we are.

And that connects with my devotions from today. I was reading in Acts 10 today and it’s the chapter where God reveals to Peter that after Jesus’ death, nothing is considered impure anymore. Peter realizes that God doesn’t show favoritism and now even gentiles can come to Christ and be filled with the Holy Spirit because they had been made pure through the death of Jesus.

And that can apply to us today as well, whether it’s someone living in the states or in Costa Rica or anywhere else, God doesn’t choose favorites. We’re all his children and he loves all of us the same. That means that everyone needs to know about Jesus because the gift is offered to all nations. And as Peter also says in Acts 10:42, we have been commanded to share the gospel. It’s not a calling or just something we do if we feel like it, it’s a commandment from God, not an option.

I am enjoying Costa Rica and I am getting a lot of good experience and learning so much here. I am so glad I came. But during the time I have spent here so far, I find that my heart has been aching for the condition of my own country. It’s amazing how God has given me such a heart for ministry in the states when several years ago I was sure I’d be overseas. I’m not sure if this means God has called me to be in the states, but it’s a definite possibility. But no matter where I am, I am commanded to share the gospel with all nations, that means overseas but also the one I was born in.

Isaiah 6:8 “Here am I, Lord send me.”