Week one was an incredible week that laid a strong foundation
for the rest of the summer. Roberto, Susie, and I picked up our first group of
15, the youth of Morgan Hill Presbyterian Church. We (hopefully) won their
hearts from the start when we greeted them with fresh bananas! Our leadership
team felt confident and excited for this first week, and the Lord faithfully
blessed us with a team that was open-minded and flexible. Our daily schedule
starts off with personal devotions, a morning devotion which I lead, a morning
construction project, an afternoon kids club, and an evening program that
includes worship, a message, and a time of debrief. All week, our team worked
extremely hard to construct church bathrooms for Pastor Indalecio’s church. It
was a stretching experience for some of the team leaders, who have experience
with construction and had to face the slow process of the Bribri. We are in an indigenous
culture after all, and construction isn’t as easy as a quick stop at the Home
Depot. To make cement we had to dig up sand, transport it to the worksite, sift
the sand to remove the rocks, and mix it with water. It was a humbling experience
that helped many of us to better admire the homes and buildings of the Bribri;
those which are wooden are literally chopped down from the trees of the
surrounding forest. There were a couple of students who really devoted themselves
to the construction, and through their hard work formed relationships with
several of the workers from the community who had partnered with us. One
student created a strong bond with our construction partner, Victor. They
barely said a word to one another, but working side by side every day formed a
strong friendship that impacted them both.
Many of our students really enjoyed
Kids Club, where they found the kids of the community were much more open and
loving than what they were accustomed to in the states. It was beautiful to
watch the students form relationships and give affection to the kids despite
the cultural difference and language barrier. I get to lead the evening small group/debrief
time and it was incredible to hear from each of the students, what they
struggled with and what God revealed to them. We had five themes throughout the
week: dignity, relational-focus, motivation, mutual influence, and long-term transformation.
Many of the students realized the importance of community, not just by the
close-knit collectivism of the Bribri but also by the support and encouragement
of their own unified youth group. Others realized how relationships are so much
more than words, but are found in actions. It was awesome to hear how God was
revealing Himself to each person in the group, but what touched me even more
was to hear the impact the group had with those in the community as well. Both
Sara and Victor talked to our leadership team throughout the week about how
happy they were from this first group. Sara loved the way we got the team
involved in the kitchen and said for the first time she was able to step back
and watch as the team members offered so much help. Victor, who never cooks,
made our group a special chocolate cake on the last night to show his
appreciation. This act of gratitude touched me so deeply, and after the group
left we went to Sara and Victor’s and rejoiced in how quickly the Lord had
bonded us together, how happy we were to genuinely trust and love one
another. Kimberley, one of the little
girls from kids club, wrote on all of our papers “Kimberley <3’s [insert
name]” on the last day of the week. It was so beautiful to see that both the
members of our short-term missions group AND people of the community were
impacted by the week. Even between our leadership team and our first group,
relationships were made quickly. A tearful goodbye at the airport left us
joyful and aware of the power of the Holy Spirit who can form deep friendships
so quickly by His love.
Of course, not everything was perfect and easy. There were
several points in the week that I thought I would have a panic attack. For me
personally, the Lord taught me MANY things with every passing day. Upon this
week of rest I’ve had the opportunity to reflect and pray over these
revelations, how I can apply them to grow in a life of righteousness. I
formally apologized to my teammates yesterday, convicted in the way I was
trying to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders, meanwhile taking out
my impatience and stubbornness on them. I prayed deeply over the spiritual
warfare I’ve experienced here, overwhelmed by culture shock and attacked by the
Devil. With much responsibility comes the desire for much control- but it
shouldn’t be this way. With more power should come more reliance on the Lord
and I will humbly admit that I have fallen short in this, allowing myself to be
overcome with worry and attacked by my perfectionism. How wonderful is His Holy
Spirit, which brings new wisdom every day and which reveals our biggest
weaknesses. I realized how I have come here open and flexible to learn the ways
of the Bribri and to love and serve them… only to turn around and have low
tolerance and patience for the American Christians that are part of the short-term
mission teams. The Lord revealed this to me the first night: my tendency to
select those who I extend grace to. God does not call us to love and serve only
those who we choose to or those who may be comfortable to, no; He calls us to
love and serve ALL others. This is so
much easier said than done, which brings me to my next revelation: talking
about poverty is so much different than living in poverty. We can talk all we
want about the reality of world hunger, the need of orphans, the horror of sex
trafficking so on and so forth; but it is a whole other ball game to be living
and seeing it. I am uncomfortable here; it’s not a surprise to me… I wanted to
be uncomfortable, I PRAYED to be uncomfortable; but living it out brings so
many other hardships and personal battles. It’s an awesome experience and I am
so happy that the Lord has allowed me to be uncomfortable for the sake of His
Name. That might sound weird, but I’ve realized how unfortunate it is to be a
comfortable, American Christian. We pride ourselves on our Christian books,
radio stations, quotes and other paraphernalia; but we miss out on the radical
transformation of the Lord. We are so distracted by “stuff,” by our constant
strive for success, money, or whatever else we think the purpose of life rests
on; while millions around the world have never even heard the name of Christ,
or who serve and fear a god of judgment, or strive to remain in harmony with
everything that has mass and therefore also has a spirit. If not the
distraction of material, we may also get caught up in our compassion. Christian
ministries often get wrapped up in social work- feeding the hungry, caring for
the orphans, ESL classes, etc. but they fall short in spreading the Gospel. All
of these things without the mention of Jesus are just social work, which on its
own does nothing. None of these things are wrong of course, but what kind of
message does that send? We spend years and years caring for physical bodies
without ever mentioning Christ, what is the point when our bodies will return
to dust one day anyway?
Last night, we had the chance to visit a local church
service. Those in the congregation praised the Lord with such genuine passion
and love, the presence of the Holy Spirit was undeniable. How many times have I
visited American churches and experienced spiritual dryness rather than
contagious worship? I don’t mean to bash American Christians, but the more I am
here the more I feel the desire to share the name of Christ and lift people out
of the sin that keeps them from ever experiencing true life. If the Bribri, who
have nothing, can experience Christ genuinely and passionately; what does that
tell us about where our truth lies? Surely, not in the stuff we have or the “success”
the world believes we have attained through money. Many in the church here tell
us “what is mine is yours, for everything in this world is the Lord’s.” May we
be challenged to give more, sacrifice more, for while we live in spiritual
apathy, millions around the world and right next door die without ever hearing
the hope of salvation that only comes from Jesus Christ.
I just finished reading Revolution in World Missions by K.P.
Yohannan and it has really struck a chord in me and how I view missions. “The
lesson from the mission field is that meeting physical needs alone does not get
people to follow God. Whether hungry or full, rich or poor, human beings remain
in rebellion against God without the power of the Gospel.”
Please be praying for transformation, mutually within the
lives of the community, the members of the teams coming to serve, and within
myself, Susie, and Roberto. This summer is part of the Lord’s holy plan; please
pray that we will learn to rely on His Holy Spirit for complete guidance.
Please pray for this upcoming week as a group of 46 come to Shiroles, and may
all glory go to the Lord, always and forever.
“Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds
among all peoples” Psalm 96:3
