A Week of Joy

It has been several days since I've had the time to stop and write and there is lots to share! God is faithful!...

The month of September here is the month that they celebrate their independence, and Tuesday was "Dia de Independencia". Myself and some of my family went to Heredia which is one of the bigger cities near where we live in Barrio Jesus. We got really lucky and got on the bus right before a huge crowd of students... it was insane, the buses were so packed! Usually in Costa Rica the celebrate Independence Day with lots of parades and parties, but this year the government cancelled everything to prevent the spread of the flu. BUT, it wouldn't be Costa Rica if they didn't have the parades anyway... When we got to Heredia, there were people everywhere. It was crazy!!! I really didn't know what to expect, but we started to walk toward the parades and began to hear the sound of music. There were children walking down the street carrying flags, playing drums, dancing, or playing bells. It was SO beautiful and reminded me of all the parades we marched in, in high school. I really enjoyed being able to see people in another country, participate in something that I have only even seen in my own country. The people here love their "mother land" (if you will) and they are all about celebrating extravagantly. The people of Costa Rica are also very passionate and it shows in the way they play, talk, drink, walk, everything.

I think the most interesting part of the day was trying to maneuver through the crowd. Insanity! There are some great pictures on facebook that will enhance what little I have tried to explain here.

Then on Wednesday morning, I had my second week of volunteering at the Elderly Home. It was my first day taking the bus by myself and I caught the first bus to Santa Barbara at 7:00. Needless to say, I was a little freaked out about going by myself, especially because I didn't know which bus I needed to take from Santa B. to San Juan. But as always, God is incredibly faithful and I found a nice bus driver that knew where I was going and reminded me when I needed to get off. I definitely looked like the white "gringo" girl, at 7 in the morning. When I got to the home, I helped the cook, Carmen, wash the dishes from breakfast and then we began to prepare lunch. I am learning to peel potatoes with a VERY large (sharp) knife. The first time I tried this, I got laughed at, but i'm finally getting the hang of it, and I haven't cut any of my fingers off (yet!) Just joking.

Many of the people that live there are very very old and unable to move very much. Because of this they sit for most of the day in the same spot, which just breaks my heart. There is one little lady in particular, named Luisa, that I just adore. She is 92 years old and sits in wheel chair, eyes closed and unable to move on her own. I had the absolute delight of sitting with her for a little while and holding a carton of apple juice for her to drink. As I looked at her and smiled, it was a though God was trying to remind me to love her the way I would love my own grandmother. It was beautiful. She was able to talk to me, which absolutely made my day, and I could tell that the longer we talked, the livelier she got. Praise God! Sharing joy is so humbling and God burdened my heart for these people before I even got to Costa Rica... I pray continuously for an avenue into their lives, and God has given me a peace that He is there and as my heart is opened up to love them, their hearts receive that love.

Yesterday (Friday) we spent the day in the capital city of San Jose, learning about the churches, the parks, and the homes, and shopping in the street markets. It was a lot of fun to be on our own in such a busy city and we enjoyed finding all sorts of neat things! For lunch though we decided we needed some American eatin' and so we ate at Pizza Hut. I'm not sure I've ever enjoyed the taste of pizza so much. Ha! We were starving after a 4 hour tour and so it just hit the spot. Tomorrow (Sunday) we're going back to San Jose for a production of "Romeo y Julieta" at the Teatro Nacional. It's going to be wonderful!

On the way home last night I had a beautiful encounter on the bus with a woman named Annie who sat down next to me with her two-year old son Stewart. She and I talked for the 25 minutes that we were on the bus together, and as we were riding, she told me about her life, and about her child. Stewart, who is 2 years and 7 months old, looks like he's about a year old. He was born at 6 months and has lots of health issues. I realized as I sat there that I needed to tell this woman that I would be praying for her and her son, and I didn't know how. Wow. Somehow we managed to communicate that and there was such a joy between us. It's amazing to me that when God calls us to share with someone, He always provides the right words, even in another language. She really ministered to my heart and for one of the first times I felt like I was really doing what God sent me here to do- to love the people of Costa Rica and pray. I can't really explain why this situation was different from any of the other encounters I've had... but it really touched my heart.

I am reminded again this week that our purpose here is to glorify God, whether through cutting up potatoes, walking through the streets of a busy city, or taking the time to speak a few words of kindness to the people around us, we are called to quiet our hearts and listen to the voice of a God that wants to use us to love the world. If we would only just slow down long enough to stop and realize that HE is Lord of all and we exist to glorify.