Aug 05 2008
concrete for the kingdom
I’m making an executive decision to combine the last two days into a single post. Both were work days at the church in Los Guidos, and we had very similar experiences each day. Really, it’s because I want to catch YOU up on our trip so that I don’t feel so behind. -RB
We had a vague idea about what work we were going to do when we got to Los Guidos. Visiting the night before for church was beneficial to at least get a mental picture and prepare for our next days of work. In our meetings over the last few weeks, we had actually already prepared some craft activities for the children. So, along with our service projects, we would be spending time with the children during lunch and again in the afternoon.
When we arrived, Pastor Edgar greeted us and took us into the sanctuary for what we THOUGHT would be a brief introduction and prayer before we started our work. What transpired was Edgar’s story about his call to service in Los Guidos. Once again… we didn’t know we needed to bring a handkerchief!! He is such a passionate and methodical man that you can not help but feel God’s glory in his presence. Edgar did this each day. On the second day, he gave us his own personal testimony on how he came to commit his life to Christ and then enter the ministry. This man has great plans for expanding his mission of feeding the children into other countries, and he asked for US to pray for him. We were honored to stand around in a circle and lay our hands on him while Adam prayed over him.
Each meeting we had with Edgar to begin the day was a truly moving experience. It also expressed to us that Pastor Edgar was well aware about what we were REALLY called there to do — to join in community with those in other countries, races and cultures to further the kingdom of God. We were not there to pick up shovels and wheelbarrows out of the kindness of our hearts, but we were there to create a relationship with a church in a small suburb of San Jose, Costa Rica that would normally never have crossed paths with a Methodist church on the northwest side of San Antonio, Texas.
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After we met with Pastor Edgar, it was time to get to work. The projects that were in progress were these:
– building a dormitory for future visitors to Los Guidos
– digging a trench outside this new dormitory
– clearing a path and laying concrete for a wheelchair ramp
There was a distinct divide of men and women when we found out what kind of work was involved in the wheelchair ramp. The women opted for the shovels and spakels (sp?) for the dormitory, and the men picked up the hammers, chisels and breaker bar to do the major grunt work of breaking away existing concrete for the wheelchair ramp. We knew already that we had some major manual labor ahead of us.
As the work progressed it seemed to regress as well. The language barrier was quickly becoming a point of frustration. Mario, the man that Charlie has placed in charge of these projects, was our source for explanation and expectations. However, Mario no habla ingles! We needed Rebecca, the intern, to translate for us every time that we needed to communicate with Mario, or vice-versa. As a result, the information seemed the change almost every time that Mario would evaluate our work and give us new directions. Nonetheless, we got the idea and were not doing anything wrong, we just seemed to have to fill-in the gaps with our own interpretations and experience.
Remember the rain? That added a second degree of difficulty. Digging in and walking around in dirt is not so much a problem. When it becomes thick mud and caked on the bottom of your shoes is when you realize that some projects here take much longer than normal just because of the weather and its impact.
During lunch break, the children came into the dining area where we served them their food and a drinks. They were required to wash their hands before sitting down. This was likely the ONLY place where they were able to do so, but many were actually reluctant, so we had to enforce it more firmly. The most heartwarming part of the children’s lunch was certainly the prayer before they ate. A single child, usually one of the oldest, would call out the prayer, line by line (by memory) and the entire group would repeat it out loud. In their prayer, they always thanked “Señor Charlie”… it was truly precious!!
After feeding the children, the adults would sit down to a meal prepared by Pastor Edgar’s wife. She had place settings down on a long table in the sanctuary where we gathered for a time of fellowship and a home-cooked meal. Simply amazing!! She always left us extremely full and wishing we had time for a little siesta back in our dorms.
The afternoons for the men, was more back-breaking concrete busting and mixing. The women, however, had more time with the children. They actually set aside time in the afternoons for the children to practice the choreographed dance moves that we saw exhibited in church on Sunday evening. The airwaves filled with praise and worship music that many of us could recognize by the sounds, but had to learn them again in Spanish. (Adam insists that they were doing some of them incorrectly)
After dance class, the children had arts and crafts. Our team was aware of this and had prepared some crafts in advance during our pre-trip meetings. One of them was to take these foam picture frames and glue a Polaroid picture of each child in it for them to keep. It is ironic that these children have seen MANY digital cameras, but have never seen an actual picture of themselves that they could hold in their hand — they were in awe. Needless to say, this craft spread like wildfire and there were many children showing up the second day just to have their pictures taken!!
At the end of the second day, the wheelchair ramp concrete had been laid and the end of that project was only a few hours away. We did not have time to stay an see it through, but rest assured that our backs will not let us forget the work that we DID accomplish.
Our farewell was another heart-wrenching experience. Pastor Edgar and his family has treated us so well and been so welcoming that our second day there was like it had been our second week. I can say personally that it was not hard to leave, but it will be impossible to forget. Edgar’s family and the children that remained when we left were waving goodbye as our bus left down the muddy dirt road.
We truly believe that this is not the last time we will see Pastor Edgar. If his dream comes true to extend his ministry to other countries, he must first come to the United States and learn English in order to communicate in most other countries. What better place than San Antonio, Texas to learn the English language, but have the familiarity of the Hispanic culture?! We know that if we do not see him again in this life, we will certainly see him in the next.
With God, all things are possible.
-RB