Costa Rica - Day 6

Monday gave our team a chance to learn a bit about local culture. We visited a small coffee roaster's workshop, walked through an active volcano's crater, and met with a missionary who first came to Costa Rica in the early 1970s. Still being sick, I was determined to make it through the day. I have now started a regimen of Advil and Pepto-Bismal tablets. It has helped, plus I'm getting better.

Helping Roast Beans

Costa Rica - Day 5

Yes, I am sick. I spent the night tossing and turning with the joy of navigating a dark hotel room back and forth to the bathroom. I'm not the only one sick so it might have been something we ate. But there was no way I was going to miss the church service that had been hyped all week so I toughed it out. It only got worse as the day went on.

After a lighter than usual breakfast we made a quick stop at the farmer's market. Very cool! All kinds of interesting fruits, vegetables, lottery tickets, and fish.

Gringos* in the Market

Costa Rica - Day 4

Saturday started with a relaxing morning. Our team was able to do some bonding and getting to know each other better. Until it was time for lunch and we were zoomed off to another lunch in the home of a church member. This church family has been so welcoming to us (probably a big part of the culture). We have been doing lunches and dinners in homes which has been a great way to build stronger relationships with those we are here to help and learn more about the tico culture. I'm hoping to do a blog post all about food soon.

Typical Lunch: Carne con Arroz y Frijoles

After lunch we headed back to the church for another open house. We had a better turnout today than Friday. A few class members showed up to get specific advice. I was able to meet with one young man hoping to start a business targeted at the church's young population. Sounded like a great idea. It is so encouraging to hear how excited these Christians are to serve fellow Christians and non-believers. Our North American churches could really use a lesson. They are passionate about spreading the gospel and serving others.

Something that I believe to be unheard of in the States is youth (teenagers) going to church, becoming Christians, then bringing their PARENTS to church with them. For starters I don't think parents in the States have enough respect for their own teenagers to do this. These teens are exemplifying a "born again" lifestyle so strongly that their parents want to know what it's all about. So they go to church with their kids.

My final class was exhilarating to say the least. We started with some boring dialogue delivered by me then allowed one of the students to share some of the work he has created. He had logos, videos, and pictures that he just made on his own. No one asked him and no one really knew about them til now. Another huge encouragement. These were high-quality, multimedia products. Then I set the team to work: come up with a plan to get your church online; assign parts of the work to individuals on the team; and most importantly, hold each other accountable for getting their part of the project done.

Classwork: Day 3

I also shared a bit more of my testimony with the students. Specifically how through Matthew 28:19-20 (Go and make disciples of all nations...) God has been encouraging me to get out of my comfort zone and really start spreading the gospel to new places. It was the primary driver for my coming to Costa Rica. Then applied it to them and their work on the church website and how they can reach more and more people. Plus, some day God may want them to go some where else. I explained to them that this verse isn't about some Christians receiving a "calling," this is a command to all Christians.

Then dinner, at another house, and finally....sickness.

Costa Rica - Day 3

Would you buy a battery here?

Day 3 had an interesting start. Our first stop of the day was Super Baterias| Los Especialistas en Baterias. Our wonderful driver, Tony, has been having car problems and only got his Mazda MPV back Friday morning. The alternator was just fixed but the battery was still bad and needed to be replaced. So, Tony had a "battery specialist" replace the battery. Battery number one must not have had enough amps because the car still wouldn't start. The battery specialist then used two aluminum pipes to connect the +/- terminals of the battery installed in the car to a second battery that his helper held up next to the installed battery. Still not enough power. Instead of going to a catalog of batteries to match the car to the right size battery the "specialist" proceeded to take batteries off the shelf and try them one by one. Trial and error. He finally found a battery that could start the MPV. Yippee! Then he proceeded to tell Tony the cost was $200. That's a LOT for a battery, double what a reasonable battery should cost. Tony was able to talk him down some.

Tony

The unscheduled stop made us a little late to our first appointment of the day but todo bien (it's all good) because we're on tico time. After the battery adventure we went to the home of Brian and Cathi Duggan. Brian is the International Leader for ReachGlobal in Latin America. The gentlemen on the team from Indianapolis are not from an Evangelical Free church so Brian gave a quick history of the EFCA then dove in deep to his team's goals for Latin America in the next 10 years. The focus is on discipleship and training locals to spread the gospel. There are a lot of new, energized evangelical Christians but they don't have any training. The culture is that of the Catholic Church and complete obedience to the church's hierarchy. This is not the case with evangelicals. The senior pastor does not have absolute power over his congregation. Josue, and other church leaders in Latin America, need church attenders to help co-lead the church. Contact Brian if you'd like to help out. They need experienced church leaders and Christians to come alongside these new believers and disciple them. It's all about relationships.

Meeting with Brian on the Duggan's Veranda

I think we might have had our first fail of the trip today as well. We had an open house at the church for participants of the seminars to come and ask questions one-on-one. No one showed up. It is a Friday though and most participants were at work or school. We are doing the same thing Saturday afternoon and many have indicated they plan to attend. The time was not a complete waste though. The team was able to share with Dan and Josue what was working and what was not working on the trip so far. We were also able to discuss some specific questions that participants had brought up the night before. It was good to come up with some culturally-relevant responses. We were also able to spend some time in the city center of Tres Rio relationship building with Josue, Tony and one of the interpreters (Johan).

View of the school we are using for our sessions from the city square.

Catholic Church in Tres Rio from the city square.

Class time this evening was great. The "kids" in my class really started opening up and I shared a bit more of my testimony. I shared with them how Rebecca and I daily raise our kids up to God and commit our family to serving Him. I told them the story of Joshua when they enter the promised land and he asks the Israelites who they're going to serve: Yahweh or the gods of the Canaanites. Then quoted one of my favorite verses, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!" (Joshua 24:15) We spent a good deal of time scouring a couple of my favorite websites for ideas on how their church can start a web presence: Mars Hill, The Resurgence, and Desiring God. I shared with the class, and those of you who know me will laugh at this, that I frequently refer to these blogs when discussing spiritual matters on a day-to-day basis. A popular website for them is Hillsong. I was able to encourage my interpreter, Ricardo, to learn more about Christian hedonism as well.

"Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up." - James 4:10 

Take particular notice of the word "will." It's not "might" or "maybe." "He will lift you up." I challenge you, if you haven't already, to fall to your knees and give everything over to Jesus. Humble yourself in His presence by bowing and letting it all out.

Costa Rica - Day 2

Maybe I'll end up making blog posts a higher priority after all. It's an effective way for me to accomplish multiple things at once: telling my family/friends about what I'm doing, journaling (I know...I know), and documenting what I do each day. It's a win for everyone right, as long as my posts aren't lame?

We went to the church building today and met with the senior pastor. He told us about his long term plans for the church and how they really want to start changing the culture of Ticos. People live paycheck to paycheck and are hesitant to invest in their futures, which causes them to be stuck in the rut of living paycheck to paycheck. Interest rates are so high, they can't afford to get loans to start a business or purchase a home. A loan to start a business requires a detailed business plan and collateral. If they can even get those things they are looking at interest rates of 25%. Credit card interest rates are 45%.

The church is also struggling financially. Talk about putting things into perspective. They have come up with some innovative ways to keep their building though! They have given up their classroom space in the basement of the church to allow a bakery to move in. The bakery is not affiliated with the church, so they collect a fair rent. But still provides an opportunity to witness to the business owners and patrons of the paneria. You'll never guess what else they're doing to provide cash flow and job training for a few church members. Seriously, you'll never guess. They use their sanctuary as an automobile repair shop. Yea, I know! A few guys from the church work on cars in the sanctuary and divide the income among themselves, church staff and the building costs. Leaving a small portion to be reinvested into the business for tools, etc. Would you do that with your sanctuary? Last time I checked, most churches in the US don't even allow food or beverages into the sanctuary.

A Church Sanctuary?

We also took some time driving around San Jose to see the varying lifestyles: lower class, middle class, and upper class. There is quite a contrast even with minimal separation. One road had squatters (people who just built a home on some vacant land) on one side and middle class, decent looking homes on the other. I also discovered the United States' greatest global export: materialism. We walked through a mall where we saw signs advertising financing....at a Payless Shoesource. Ticos will get store financing, with a very high interest rate, just to keep up with trendy fashions.

After dinner at a parishioner's home we headed to the school to start our training. It got off to a slow start but in the end we had a great time. This evening I met with about 10 teenagers to discuss technology today. Our intention is to get them excited about using technology for ministry. More specifically, supplementing their church. They all have Facebook pages and use Twitter, Tumblr, and YouTube. One young lady is evening training to be Cisco certified. We played a fun game that maybe I can share with my Sunday School class someday. Tomorrow we meet with our classes again in the evening. The team will also be available at the church all afternoon for participants to ask individual questions and dig deeper.

My Class

When I woke up this morning God was laying on my heart some Scripture that I needed to share with the students. It was about how we all spend our time online. What we say. Pictures we post. Do they represent us as Christians? First I shared what God commands us not to do in Ecclesiastes 5:2-3 and Ephesians 4:29. Then what He commands us to do in Colossians 4:6, "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." I explained to them that what you say online needs to reflect the life of a Christian. We must not allow non-Believers to call us hypocrites based on how we treat others online anymore than how we treat others in person. Prayerfully consider what you have representing yourself on the web, if God was looking at your Facebook page would he approve? Because he is.

Buenas noches! Hopefully we can do this again tomorrow night.

Costa Rica - Day 1

As some of you know, I found an opportunity to serve the Lord in Costa Rica this summer. Well, I'm writing this from Costa Rica on my first day. We (a team of 3 from Indianapolis and I) arrived early this afternoon in San Jose, Costa Rica from Atlanta where we met for the first time at gate E11.

See Costa Rica in the southeast corner?

We were able to find our host, Dan, among a very large crowd of eager-to-help Ticos (Costa Ricans) and went for lunch, which consisted of 2 chickens that were cooked on a spit in a fire oven, fried plantains, french fries, and tortillas. With lunch I had a glass of guanabana fruit, it looked like milk mixed with lemonade but tasted delightful. (For pronunciation watch this.)After lunch we stopped at a large market/mall to get some colones (dinero) and a few things from the supermarket.

Guanabana Fruit

After some downtime for unpacking and resting after a morning of travel we tried some Brasilian pizza. Which was also very good. With that meal I tried some watermelon juice, good but not as good and the guanabana. I assume you are familiar with watermelons. I know, I know....you're in Costa Rica and you get BRASILIAN pizza? Oh well, Costa Rica IS closer to Brasil than Minnesota.

Some of you might be wondering: what are you doing in Costa Rica, Sean? Well, I'm glad you asked! Our team is going to be teaching business classes to, what I think, is a primarily Christian audience. A couple guys are going to be teaching about how to start a business, like creating a business plan. I am going to be talking to young adults (late teens, early twenties) about starting a career in technology and using technology to enhance a ministry. Young ticos are very interested in technology, especially anything from the United States. Some large US tech companies have been expanding to Costa Rica. We are working with interpreters that have been paired with us based on their backgrounds and the topics being taught.

As I write I am reminded of Romans 8:31 where Paul asks, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Before coming to Costa Rica, Dan reminded us frequently to "be flexible." That's how I'm heading into this week. I'm not at all nervous or fearful, which as most of you know is unusual for me. I've given every part of this trip to Him, His will, and His glory. I'm sure we are on Satan's radar, so if we do encounter his ilk I will remember that our suffering today is nothing compared to the glory that will be revealed in us. (Rom. 8:18)

A few weeks ago Dan, our host, felt God laying on his heart Jeremiah 33:3 specifically for this team, "Call on me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." In reference to receiving wisdom from God. It struck me how God communicated this verse to Dan while our family is going through some intense searching of what the Lord would have for our family. Big things can happen when you give your life, and everything in it, over to God. Just remember, He's the one that created the earth from nothing, parted the sea (and a river later), rained food from heaven for 40 years, crushed the walls of Jericho, and even created a rock He couldn't move! Do no limit Him in your life. Allow Him to do great things through you....for HIS glory and your reward.

I would love to make you lofty promises of a new post every day but I just can't commit. The sessions that we're teaching are in the evening and will likely go late. Our days are quite full. Tomorrow we're spending the day at the church preparing for our presentations: meeting with church leaders, touring the facility, prepping the translators. Friday and Saturday we're having open forums for session attendees to learn more and get some one-on-one time. Sunday is church, followed by a gathering of approximately 16 church leaders over lunch. Hopefully I can get you some real pictures too.

I started reading a new book yesterday on the plane, Date Your Wife. Husbands, if you feel like your marriage is losing steam - read this book. Wives, if your husband isn't leading you - buy him this book (and make him read it). Friends, if your friends' marriage looks like it could use a boost - buy them this book (and ask them everyday if they've started reading it yet). I can't give it enough kudos.

Just Pretending

We haven't gotten much sleep the last couple nights and the sweet little girl in the picture above is the reason. Maybe God is just preparing us. In a few weeks we'll be back to no sleep, but it will be because of a newborn, not a 3-year-old.

Elise has been waking up several times after we put her to bed and, up to this point, we haven't been able to determine the cause. Bathroom break? Nope. Cold? Hot? Nope. And usually when we ask, she can't answer us. I have gotten a "I don't want to sleeeeep!" a few times at 1:30 in the morning. Night terrors? Maybe, but it's so hard to tell.

This morning we tried a new tactic: ask her why she's waking up when she hasn't just woken up. Really, can any of us form a coherent thought after waking in the middle of the night? Turns out she doesn't have much recollection of the previous night's events. We had to remind her that she woke up several times. Then we asked her again why she was crying in the middle of the night. Her response? I was only pretending.

Sigh...too bad we can't "only pretend" to respond.