Day 4: ...and then I cried!
Which is kind of a big deal, but we'll get to that later.
Today started like a day; I woke up, I spent some time with God, I got up, I had breakfast, I helped clean up, I made a total fool of myself in front of a stranger...
While I was helping Maru (our cook lady) clean up, she asked me, "do you know how to drive? Can you help me?" Of course, I said yes, because those two questions are like the two most triggering questions ever for me, lol. Maru couldn't leave the kitchen because she was still making pancakes, but the electrician needed to get his work car into the driveway. So, she asked me to back it out and pull it back in. Somewhere, my mind said, "Hey! Wait!" but I didn't. As I walked up to the car, I realized why it was so weird for her to ask me if I could drive. It was because she probably drove stick-shift.
She did.
Now, I technically know how to drive a manual, theoretically I learned once. But, you see, her car's shifter was so worn down I couldn't read it. Somehow the car ended in reverse. Maybe she had even left it in reverse. But I got it out of the driveway and it died in the middle of the road. So I started it back up and it got all the way out of the way and the electrician pulled in. Then, for the life of me, I couldn't get the dang thing to go forward. It. Just. Kept. Dying. There was a little old man just standing there watching me try time and time and time and time again, to no avail. So I asked him, thus random guy, to help me put a car back in the driveway. It took him like 10 seconds. I went inside. Maru thanked me. I told no one. Just me and the electrician and the random guy know of my failure. And now all of you.
Today had many multiple parts. We started at 7 AM and now it is 1 AM and our day has just finished. Campus. City part 1. City part 2. Team.
Campus
Today we got to start our outreach to the students. A professor on campus who knows what our church is about has invited us to do a cultural exchange time with all of his classes, even though he is not a believer. It's awesome to see how God grants favor to his people! We got to talk to two classes, one of younger students and one of older students, all on track to be English teachers. We were very upfront with them about who we were and what we were about. It was a really diverse mix of reactions. Many students were really excited to talk to us, but then would quickly change the subject when religion came up. Several students were open to talking about what they believe and what we believe, but were unwilling to dig in. They just said "hmm, that is very nice for you." Some students were interested in digging in and we have high hopes for them to get connected to the church. Be praying for our new friends!
Between classes we ate snacks and talked and for lunch we bought them all Subway and sat in a big circle and talked. I got asked if I would ever have kids and got offered marriage (jokingly, probably), so that was a strong start to our interactions with the students here. The people I got to talk to are fascinating; I'm trying to get my mind around tico culture, but I can't really get there. Suffice to say, it's awesome and you should come and you should be praying for the people here.
I got to have a fantastic conversation about slang and curse words and linguistics and teaching language. My little communications-degree heart was very pleased in a deep way. I learned one new slang word and one new meaning of a slang word:
-Tuanis: this is awesome. It get used for anything that's good or cool, but it comes from the English "too nice."
-Al chile: it can also mean, "I'm serious" or "for real"
City Part 1
We crammed into an Uber and drove into the city. We met Carlos Gomez at a park near where GranCo meets (they don't really call themselves GranCo here, I think that's a regio thing). Anyways, we walked over to Taco Bell where we talked a little about what we were doing and then we went. The plan was for us as the weird-looking visitors to be an ice breaker and to ask questions that might be culturally weird for the church to ask, but that are important for the church here to serve the city well. We primarily prepared to talk to the people who live in the streets (99% are stuck due to alcohol/drug addictions and/or lack of work due to immigration policies), but were also told it was ok to start up conversation with the various sex-industry workers scattered around the park and neighborhood. The church's plan is to start a second service geared specifically towards ministering to this people group, this "Urban Tribe" as Carlos Gomez calls it.
They are also taking steps to help small local businesses in the neighborhood to improve the economy and to provide jobs for the people who are having trouble getting hired elsewhere. There are some amazing, wise, long-term strategies in place here for real change.
Anyway, the group I was with started out talking to a lady who was on the edge of the park to find customers, but we weren't sure how to talk to her, so the conversation was very incomodo. We eventually prayed for her and bailed. I remember feeling that if this was how our conversations were going to go, this was going to be the worst few days ever.
Our second guy, David, was amazing. He is from Nicaragua and fled for political asylum. He was given paperwork that says he is in good standing and has no criminal record and is eligible for work...but no one cares. He has a wife and child back in Nicaragua, but he can't go back to visit them and can't bring them to Costa Rica until he gets a job. He has managed to avoid falling into drugs or alcohol abuse, but he just can't get work and he's stuck living on the street. David introduced us to Jorge, who is from Cuba and also is clean, but can't get work. These two men are important and were a God send.
David and Jorge came to get coffee with us and we talked and talked and talked. They talked about their faith in God and how much he has done in their lives, they shared that the only things that mattered were having God's Love and Salvation. They helped us to understand more of the culture of the streets and which things were helpful and which were not. They both desire to get connected to the church and are excited for the church's mission to the city.
City Part 2
I'll probably be pretty vague here in order to respect everyone and everything that happened tonight.
After getting coffee and talking, our group re-grouped to plan what was next. Carlos Gomez had to leave to do some Pastory things, but we went with some friends of the church to go see the dormitorios where people can stay for a night to get off of the street and to see more of how things work in the city and to meet more people.
There were several things about how that whole process went that felt disrespectful to the people we are wanting to serve and that seemed like they could have been done in a way that was better for the people, better for the team, and more in line with the church's vision.
There were some moments where I would have felt very unsafe if Jorge had not been with us and looking out for us. He is a real person of peace and a God-send. I can't express how grateful I am for him.
In all of it, there were a few moments that I should have stepped up and re-routed us as the team leader, but I didn't. That did not feel very good to me. We did have a few more good conversations, and had Taco Bell for dinner (always a win), and then got back to our hostel around 10.
Hector was on fire today. God did a lot through him, including reaching out to our Mormon Uber driver on the way back home.
Team
We took a couple of hours to pray and debrief as a team. It was really, really good for us all to walk through an incredibly long and difficult and powerful and intense day.
I apologized to the team for the times I failed them by not stepping up and shared how proud I was of each of them. This team would literally fail if any one of the team was not part of it. Each person is so crucial and so obviously hand-picked by God for this team. And, as I was sharing, I started crying, Like, real crying. Which I haven't done for...probably 4 or 5 years, shoot.
God's really good y'all, please please please be praying for us.
Today started like a day; I woke up, I spent some time with God, I got up, I had breakfast, I helped clean up, I made a total fool of myself in front of a stranger...
While I was helping Maru (our cook lady) clean up, she asked me, "do you know how to drive? Can you help me?" Of course, I said yes, because those two questions are like the two most triggering questions ever for me, lol. Maru couldn't leave the kitchen because she was still making pancakes, but the electrician needed to get his work car into the driveway. So, she asked me to back it out and pull it back in. Somewhere, my mind said, "Hey! Wait!" but I didn't. As I walked up to the car, I realized why it was so weird for her to ask me if I could drive. It was because she probably drove stick-shift.
She did.
Now, I technically know how to drive a manual, theoretically I learned once. But, you see, her car's shifter was so worn down I couldn't read it. Somehow the car ended in reverse. Maybe she had even left it in reverse. But I got it out of the driveway and it died in the middle of the road. So I started it back up and it got all the way out of the way and the electrician pulled in. Then, for the life of me, I couldn't get the dang thing to go forward. It. Just. Kept. Dying. There was a little old man just standing there watching me try time and time and time and time again, to no avail. So I asked him, thus random guy, to help me put a car back in the driveway. It took him like 10 seconds. I went inside. Maru thanked me. I told no one. Just me and the electrician and the random guy know of my failure. And now all of you.
Today had many multiple parts. We started at 7 AM and now it is 1 AM and our day has just finished. Campus. City part 1. City part 2. Team.
Campus
Today we got to start our outreach to the students. A professor on campus who knows what our church is about has invited us to do a cultural exchange time with all of his classes, even though he is not a believer. It's awesome to see how God grants favor to his people! We got to talk to two classes, one of younger students and one of older students, all on track to be English teachers. We were very upfront with them about who we were and what we were about. It was a really diverse mix of reactions. Many students were really excited to talk to us, but then would quickly change the subject when religion came up. Several students were open to talking about what they believe and what we believe, but were unwilling to dig in. They just said "hmm, that is very nice for you." Some students were interested in digging in and we have high hopes for them to get connected to the church. Be praying for our new friends!
Between classes we ate snacks and talked and for lunch we bought them all Subway and sat in a big circle and talked. I got asked if I would ever have kids and got offered marriage (jokingly, probably), so that was a strong start to our interactions with the students here. The people I got to talk to are fascinating; I'm trying to get my mind around tico culture, but I can't really get there. Suffice to say, it's awesome and you should come and you should be praying for the people here.
I got to have a fantastic conversation about slang and curse words and linguistics and teaching language. My little communications-degree heart was very pleased in a deep way. I learned one new slang word and one new meaning of a slang word:
-Tuanis: this is awesome. It get used for anything that's good or cool, but it comes from the English "too nice."
-Al chile: it can also mean, "I'm serious" or "for real"
City Part 1
We crammed into an Uber and drove into the city. We met Carlos Gomez at a park near where GranCo meets (they don't really call themselves GranCo here, I think that's a regio thing). Anyways, we walked over to Taco Bell where we talked a little about what we were doing and then we went. The plan was for us as the weird-looking visitors to be an ice breaker and to ask questions that might be culturally weird for the church to ask, but that are important for the church here to serve the city well. We primarily prepared to talk to the people who live in the streets (99% are stuck due to alcohol/drug addictions and/or lack of work due to immigration policies), but were also told it was ok to start up conversation with the various sex-industry workers scattered around the park and neighborhood. The church's plan is to start a second service geared specifically towards ministering to this people group, this "Urban Tribe" as Carlos Gomez calls it.
They are also taking steps to help small local businesses in the neighborhood to improve the economy and to provide jobs for the people who are having trouble getting hired elsewhere. There are some amazing, wise, long-term strategies in place here for real change.
Anyway, the group I was with started out talking to a lady who was on the edge of the park to find customers, but we weren't sure how to talk to her, so the conversation was very incomodo. We eventually prayed for her and bailed. I remember feeling that if this was how our conversations were going to go, this was going to be the worst few days ever.
Our second guy, David, was amazing. He is from Nicaragua and fled for political asylum. He was given paperwork that says he is in good standing and has no criminal record and is eligible for work...but no one cares. He has a wife and child back in Nicaragua, but he can't go back to visit them and can't bring them to Costa Rica until he gets a job. He has managed to avoid falling into drugs or alcohol abuse, but he just can't get work and he's stuck living on the street. David introduced us to Jorge, who is from Cuba and also is clean, but can't get work. These two men are important and were a God send.
David and Jorge came to get coffee with us and we talked and talked and talked. They talked about their faith in God and how much he has done in their lives, they shared that the only things that mattered were having God's Love and Salvation. They helped us to understand more of the culture of the streets and which things were helpful and which were not. They both desire to get connected to the church and are excited for the church's mission to the city.
City Part 2
I'll probably be pretty vague here in order to respect everyone and everything that happened tonight.
After getting coffee and talking, our group re-grouped to plan what was next. Carlos Gomez had to leave to do some Pastory things, but we went with some friends of the church to go see the dormitorios where people can stay for a night to get off of the street and to see more of how things work in the city and to meet more people.
There were several things about how that whole process went that felt disrespectful to the people we are wanting to serve and that seemed like they could have been done in a way that was better for the people, better for the team, and more in line with the church's vision.
There were some moments where I would have felt very unsafe if Jorge had not been with us and looking out for us. He is a real person of peace and a God-send. I can't express how grateful I am for him.
In all of it, there were a few moments that I should have stepped up and re-routed us as the team leader, but I didn't. That did not feel very good to me. We did have a few more good conversations, and had Taco Bell for dinner (always a win), and then got back to our hostel around 10.
Hector was on fire today. God did a lot through him, including reaching out to our Mormon Uber driver on the way back home.
Team
We took a couple of hours to pray and debrief as a team. It was really, really good for us all to walk through an incredibly long and difficult and powerful and intense day.
I apologized to the team for the times I failed them by not stepping up and shared how proud I was of each of them. This team would literally fail if any one of the team was not part of it. Each person is so crucial and so obviously hand-picked by God for this team. And, as I was sharing, I started crying, Like, real crying. Which I haven't done for...probably 4 or 5 years, shoot.
God's really good y'all, please please please be praying for us.
Ćrale!!!! Praying like crazy from here šmuchas cosas que El esta haciendo aquĆ tambiĆ©n
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