Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Sharing the Christ with Costa Rica

Today was my favorite day by far. To immerse myself into the culture like we did today  was the heartbeat of my life. I was in my sweet spot. We made sack lunches last night at Jason & Kerby's that included: 1 black bean and butter sandwich, a granola bar, a bottle of water, and a Spanish/English tract that explained the plan of salvation.
Diego, our wonderful bus driver, dropped us off several blocks from the market and we spent the better part of two hours passing out lunches, and sharing Christ with the folks while they ate. There were many that grabbed their bags eagerly and ran off like a starved puppy, while others just quietly told us thank you. The few we got to "chat" with were such a blessing  to us.
Before going today, I prayed several times to God to please show us who to give the bags to, to put the people in front of us. One in particular was a shoe shiner. This little bent old man works hard all day for pennies on the dollar, is looked upon as dirt, and often dismissed in society. He was wearing a tattered white button down shirt and some dirty brown pants, and white tennis shoes, the wrinkles on his face were deep, but his eyes still had a sparkle to them. He was so thankful, he grabbed our hands and just kept saying "thank you, an answer from God." That was so cool! I wondered had he prayed for someone to come to him today? And if he did, was that our purpose? Oh my!
My hurt bursts for these people. I have been around many nationalities, and yet the Costa Rican people just touch my heart. I find myself in tears often as I feel their burden. The streets were busy today with people all around. Each with their own purpose and goals for their lives. I wish I could come back to Costa Rica and work downtown the whole time. Just walking the streets and sharing Jesus.  Oh my heart is heavy.
Due to our safety we were not allowed to bring our cellphones or cameras. I wish I had my camera several times, not to take photos of the poor, but to capture the heart of the city, the architecture, the beautiful flowers being sold super cheap, and the masses of people.
To all that read this blog that partnered with our family to serve on this trip, I humbly and gratefully tell you, "Thank you!"
On a lighter note, I also wish I could have captured the boys feeding and chasing the pigeons in the center of town square, the whole team enjoyed watching the carefree, joy of two boys just enjoying the day.

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