God's Love is at Work

I can't believe how fast my trip has gone. I only have a week left in Shiroles and I'll be home in less than two weeks. I have loved living here and experiencing a slower paced way of life; working hard and spending lots of time with friends and family. I have loved living in a culture where the main priority is relationships, rather than busyness or tasks that need to be completed as the main priority. 

I have enjoyed getting to know my host family and being absolutely blessed by their friendship and how they take care of us. 

I've very much enjoyed living life with them. Going to church with them, going to a birthday party, a funeral, their bible school classes, swimming in the river with them and just hanging out at home, playing Uno, chatting and watching tv together. 

I have learned so much while being here, but I've also been wondering if we have made any lasting impact on the people around us. I've been wrestling with this question during the past week or so. 

In a letter that I got from home from my grampa, there was something he said that was really encouraging. He said, "Plant the seed. You might never see the fruit, but the seed is planted. The Holy Spirit will do the rest." This was a huge comfort to me. 

As I thought about what my grampa wrote, I was reminded of 1 Corinthians 3:6-8 where Paul says,

"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gives the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor." 

Sometimes we plant the seed and other times we water the seed. This does not guarantee us that we will see the fruit of this seed. There is much growth that happens under ground before the seed sprouts, matures and bears fruit. This is true for people as well. God could be doing a great work in a person's heart, but we may not see the fruit of it. This doesn't mean that nothing is happening, but rather that growth is happening under the surface, in the heart and soul. 

This is comforting to remember, especially on short term missions trip, where we aren't necessarily going to see what impact we have on the people around us. This is something that I've been thinking a lot about recently and has become a great comfort to me. Because even though I may not see how we are impacting the community around us, I know that I can trust God.

Psalm 71:5 says,

"For you, O Lord, are my hope,

my trust, O LORD, from my youth."

I can trust Him that He is at work. And I know He is at work in me. As well as hearing the stories of the families that have been hosting us, I know without a doubt that God is very active in this community. It has been such an honour to be able to see a little glimpse of what God has been doing in these people's lives. Many lives have been changed by God's grace and power. And I know that we've made a difference in our host families. The relationships that we have them make that evident. 

Even though there is a difference in culture, language and world view, God is the same God and His love transcends all of these differences. Because we are all His children, and He loves us all with a furious, jealous love. And it's God's love that is at work in all of us, if we allow Him. 

A Thankful Heart is a Happy Heart

(I am thankful for the rain and how it cools everything off... Even if it floods like crazy! Haha) 

I've been thinking a lot about thankfulness over the past week or so. What I think it incredible is that something so simple could be so powerful. 

I looked up the word "thanksgiving" in a concordance and there were a whole pile of verses, but these were some of the ones that stood out to me: 

Ephesians 5:4, "Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving."

Philippians 4:6, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

Colossians 2:6-7, "Therefore as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving."

It is clear that living with a thankful heart is very important. It's important in what we say, and in how we pray and in how we walk as a Christian. I think it's safe to say that in everything that we do, whether word, thought or deed, we should do so out of thanksgiving. When we give thanks to God, we put our attention on God and all that He has done for us and is doing for us. It helps to give us a right perspective. Once we start looking for what we can be thankful for, we start to see more of how God is providing for us in the day to day things. Things that if we're not looking for them, can be easily over looked. 

I also looked up the word "thanks" in the concordance and was given many reasons throughout the Bible to give thanks to God. Here are a few: 

1 Chronicles 16:34, "Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!"

1 Corinthians 15:57, "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Ephesians 5:20, "Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ"

Colossians 3:17, "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Sometimes I catch my thoughts drifting to worries or to things that have made me upset and it is so easy to just sit in that place. But what lifts our eyes from our inconvenient or uncomfortable situation is thankfulness. Fixing our eyes on Jesus with a thankful heart produces in us joy. That's what I want in my heart! Joy in abundance. 

Vida Abundante

"Still waiting for anything but now." This is a lyric from a Stellar Kart song that has come to mind this week. I think that this kind of thinking can plague our minds if we're not careful. Always waiting, always striving for what comes next. Always trying to get to the side that has the greener grass. "Always waiting for tomorrow" as the songs goes. Unfortunately I find that I am guilty of this a lot of the time. In the months leading up to this trip, I couldn't wait for it. I thought about it a lot and just wanted to fast forward those months so I could go to Costa Rica. I found it hard to be content where I was and hard to live in the moment. Now that I am here, in Costa Rica, I find that when I have time to think, my thoughts often drift to the future. I think about what it's going to be like when I get home, I think about seeing my friends again and finding a job and starting school. I think about all the good things that I get to go back home to. 

Thinking about the future in and of itself is not bad, but when it consumes your thoughts and mentally takes you out of the present, then I think it can be bad. 

And so, I am faced with a choice. Everyday I need to choose to be in the moment. It comes back to choosing to be intentional; I need to chose to live in the present and keep my mind in the present. The time for me to go home will come soon enough and living here is a once in a life time deal. And honestly, I love it here in Shiroles. I love the way of life and the people. I love the food and the community. So why is it so hard to live in the present? I think because from a very early age we (in North America) are conditioned to never be satisfied. Just watch tv for a few minutes and you will see commercial after commercial of products that claim to make your life better, more fun or easier if only you buy the product. We live in a nation of materialism and consumerism. Where abundance and extravagance is always better. (I am speaking in general terms, I know not everyone thinks like this, but this is what I see that is largely portrayed through media) This is where North America largely differs from rural Costa Rica. 

I have learned so much through living here. I've gained a new perspective on what it means to live in abundance and to live in the moment. 

At first glance you probably wouldn't say that the people in Shiroles live in abundance. Most houses are small and simple, built out of cement or wood, with a tin roof. The main street is very small with only a police office, a grocery story, a book store (that has no books... I'm not sure what they sell) and a small restaurant.

Yet once you spend time here, in the community and with a family, you will see that they aren't lacking. Rather that they do live in abundance, just not how North America would define abundance. There is not an abundance of money, or stores, or shopping, or electronics, etc. There is an abundance of something much greater. Here in Shiroles the people live in an abundance of genuine relationships and community. There is also an abundance of joy and faith. They may have less things, but they have an abundance of what truly matters. They live with intentionality. They're not in a rush, constantly running and busy, so they take the time to stop to talk to friends when they're walking somewhere. Time spent with family is a high priority. I have also seen an abundance in faith here among the Christians in Shiroles. God has been working here in great ways and it is incredible to see how He has been working in individual lives as well as in the community as a whole. I know I have a lot to learn from this community. To be content with what I have and where I am at. To be intentional in my friendships and to not allow busyness to drive me.

Living here has given me a lot to think about. 

Let My Life Be the Proof

(This is my little 8 year old host brother)

I think now I'm starting to understand more about the idea of "living your mission." It made sense to me when we talked about it in training and I understood it on an intellectual level, but I hadn't experienced it before, so I didn't know how it felt or what it looked like practically. 

Earlier this week I was thinking about our time here and what we've done and it didn't seem like we were doing a whole lot. We had just been living with host families and helping at the school with yard work and in the kitchen and the chocolate factory with cleaning the foyer because the factory part was closed all week. We haven't done kids programs or building projects, which are activities you would normally associate with missions trips. So, I found myself asking the question, what is the purpose of our group being here? And, what is my purpose in being here? 

In one of my previous blog posts I ended with this statement: 

"So instead of asking "What will I do?" now I'm asking "How will I live?"" 

I was reminded that we are here to live. And the "what" that we are doing is not as important as "how" we are doing it. 

As Paul says, 

"If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all His mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love." (1 Corinthians 13:1-7 The Message) 

God continues to bring this passage to my attention again and again and again. The more I read it, the more it sinks in. Love is the lifeline of Christianity. Without love, our churches, our organizations, our bible studies are nothing. Without love I am bankrupt, no matter what I do, what I say, or what I believe. 

This is why we need God to work in us and through us, because He is love (1Jn 4:8) and apart from Christ we can do nothing. (Jn15:5) We need Him working in us and through us to complete that which He has called us to, because apart from Him I can do nothing. 

So, Why is my group here? 

To allow God to work in us and through us; to love others, to listen, to learn and to be open to His work. 

We are here to share and experience life with the people in Shiroles. To experience God in the daily things like doing chores, helping our host mom make supper, and playing with our host siblings. We are here to love and to learn. We are here to live our mission. 

Living Intentionally

(This is my house in Shiroles. I love it!) 

I wasn't really sure what to expect with living in host family in Shiroles. 

It's not as "remote" and "poor" as I thought it was going to be in Shiroles. They live simply, but are not poor. They know how to live with what they have. The contrast between here and home is huge, though. While they live simply, largely in North America we live excessively. I have been enjoying living more simply. 

We are staying with one of the pastor's sons and his family. (Dad, mom, 8 year old son, and 14 year old sister of the mom). It has been so good living with them. Any expectations that I had have been completely blown out of the water. Their house is nice and clean and simple. I'm sharing a room with a girl from my team named Kelsey. Much to our surprise, our host family set up bug nets around the beds for us! Which was a relief because I wasn't sure how I was going to set up my big net since it didn't come with anything useful for hanging it. 

They are so welcoming to us and have told us that if we need anything we can just ask and they have really emphasized that we are a part of their family. 

We have been living with them for 5 days now and it's been interesting and a little challenging finding our place in the family. Slowly it's been becoming better, I think as we all become more accustomed to each other. Since we haven't started our volunteer work yet, we've been home all day just hanging out. Throughout the day I ask our mom if she needs help with anything and I've been able to help with cleaning the house and preparing meals with her. I also just ask her questions about she's making it about other things. Sometimes it can be a little awkward with the language barrier, but it keeps things interesting! 

We've gone on little adventures with our family, like visiting the school, going swimming in the river, and picking mamóns which are a type of fruit. 

(This is a mamón. Once you peel it, it looks and tastes like a large peeled grape.) 

On Saturday they brought us to a house where there were a lot of different families and kids. We were there for close to four hours. We ate lots of food and talked and laughed. Kelsey and I thought they were just hanging out, having some good community time. It wasn't until about a half hour before we left, they started singing "happy birthday". Then we realized we had been at a birthday party the whole time. Me and Kelsey had a good laugh about that, because it took us almost 4 hours to figure out why we were there! 

The other day our family told us that they were going to the church and we could come if we wanted to. So we went expecting a Bible study or something of the sort. We arrived at the church to find out that they had come to do yard work at the pastor's house. It turns out they are missionary pastors and we had the privilege of speaking English with white people who weren't on our team. I was very excited about this! While our host family helped them with their yard work, Kelsey helped the missionary daughter with her geometry and I helped Kathy (her mom) with frosting cupcakes. I was very happy with this arrangement since I am absolutely terrible with math! It was really good to spend the afternoon with them and to hear how God had called Kathy to be a missionary. 

These last 5 days with our host family have been really nice and relaxing, but I'm looking forward to starting our volunteer work! We will be helping at the public school, working in the kitchen and doing some gardening as well as helping at the local chocolate factory called "La Casa de Mujeres". 

Since we have had a lot of free time, I've also been able to do quite a bit of Bible ready and praying. God has been teaching me a lot! One of the big things that he has been teaching me is about being intentional. I've found that this is really important when you live with a family who doesn't speak the same language. It is true that my actions speak louder than my words and I am learning more about the importance of loving others with my actions. 

James 2:18 says, "But someone may well say 'You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.'" 

If I believe that we need to love our neighbour as ourselves, then that should be seen through my actions. I want to reflect God's love through my actions and right now that means being ready and willing to help with anything, whether it's pulling chicken meat off the bones, cutting up vegetables or sweeping and mopping the floors. It's not always easy for me to have a ready and willing heart to serve others. I've had to ask God to help me with that, because often times I want to be selfish and don't want to help. But I know that this is important and it's something that I want to grow in. So it's a good thing that our Father is the ultimate teacher and he is just waiting for us to ask him to teach us. 

In short, the jungle is great and in learning lots! 

As always, thank you for reading and thank you for your prayers! 

The Beginnings of Jungle Life

(This the where have been staying at the church in Shiroles and where we will be staying on the weekends for debriefing and team time.) 

Our time in San Jose has come to a close. I was so blessed by our host family! Our host mom made sure that we felt like we were at home. She always asked us if we needed anything or if we needed a change with something. She had a true servant heart. 

On Saturday we travelled by bus to the jungle. There were a number of hiccups along the way, but God never ceased to amaze me in how He provided for us all the way to Shiroles. 

Our journey started off with our group being dropped off at the wrong bus depot. We ended up asking a series of very helpful people along the way for directions. We eventually made it through a very sketchy part of town to the correct bus station. I was so relieved. It was a lot easier to find the other bus station than I thought it was going to be! We then went to buy our tickets, only to discover that the bus we needed to take to Bribri was already full! Thankfully there was another option! We ended up buying the last 7 tickets for a bus that went to Puerto Viejo first and then to Bribri. Although this was a minor set back, Puerto Viejo was right on the beach, so we got to have some beach time! It all turned out great; we were all so excited to go to the beach that it didn't even matter that we had to wait an extra hour! The beach and the ocean were beautiful. It was a really nice time to just be able to relax and marvel at all the beauty. 

After about an hour in Puerto Viejo, we took a bus to Bribri where we waited for two taxis to happen to drive by so we could make it to our final destination, the church in Shiroles. It seemed more likely that one group would have to go ahead of the other, while the second group waited for another taxi. This would have been interesting because only our leader knew where the church was. But much to our delight a taxi truck stopped for us and agreed to take all 7 of us at the same time! We all made it to the church together, safe and sound. It was really awesome and reassuring to see that all day God was providing for us. 

Yesterday we went to church and I was absolutely blown away. The little congregation is filled with a passionate love for Christ. It was amazing for me to see this and to be a part of the body of Christ in the little village in the jungle. I am among people who know God and are being romanced by His great love for them. 

Tomorrow we will be moving in with our host families! I am very excited to start living with them and getting to know them! I am looking looking forward to all that God will be doing in me, in my team and in the people in the community!! 

Pura Vida!

With this being my first post from Costa Rica, I have so much to tell! First, the country is just as beautiful as I remember. Everything is lush and green with mountains in the distance in seemingly all directions. 

Second, I am loving the Spanish. Even though my brain feels over loaded at times. We have been taking Spanish classes at the Costa Rican Language Academy and it has been excellent! I have a great teacher and I have been learning a lot as well as taking fun classes like dance and cooking! We have three weeks of Spanish classes in total and next week is our last week. But before I get ahead of myself, let's go back to the beginning of my time in CR:

 

We started our Costa Rica experience by being picked up by our team leader and promptly going to McDonalds. Once our hunger was satisfied, we went to a hostel where we stayed for two nights. Shortly after arriving at the hostel, we realized that all 7 of us would be staying in the same room... there's no better way to get to know your new team than that! Our first full day in CR we explored the downtown area of San Jose. It definitely feels good to be back! In the beginning I couldn't believe that I was actually back in Costa Rica. Even today I was thinking about it as we were riding the bus to the language academy. I had the whisper of a dream tucked in my heart that I might return to Costa Rica. And now I am living in the reality of that dream. What I had hoped would one pass, is actually happening right now. Because God is a good Father who loves to give good gifts to His children. 

As I have been reading my Bible and spending time with God over the past few weeks, I have seen lots of patterns and connections. (Please read John 15 and Romans 15:1-7) 

God has been teaching more about the importance of loving one another as Jesus loved us as well as the importance of accenting one another. I think to have a unified community it is essential to love one another as well as accept on another. This frees everyone to be who God created them to be, instead of constantly feeling like they need to justify themselves. By loving and accepting others, we affirm the truth that they have value and worth and that who they are and what they like matters. When we love one another well, we are also looking out for their best interests and putting their needs ahead of our own. I love Romans 15:2. "Let each one of us make it a practise to please (make happy) his neighbour for this is good and for his true welfare, to edify him [to strengthen him and build him up spiritually]." 

It is my prayer that God will teach me how to love well. It is also my prayer that Psalm 63:1 will be the posture of my heart. 

"O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; my soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." 

Feel free to email (jayda.hooge@gmail.com) or message me in Facebook! 

God bless you and thanks for reading! 

Jayda