Day 4 (2/25): The Wall Does Crazy Things to a Man!

     As the team from Hayes Barton got off the bus at the work site, ready for work day number two, nothing felt out of the ordinary.  We were separated back into 3 teams to continue working on walls.  One team back on the perimeter wall putting in panels, one team preparing the retaining wall, and a third team applying stucco on the walls of a bunk house.  As the perimeter wall team congregated at their location and started assigning tasks they noticed something different and it wasn’t long until they realized they were missing a certain dynamic and presence that was with them the day before.  It turns out that Jack Lloyd, somewhat of a germaphobe, had been meticulously washing dishes while everyone was boarding the bus and lost track of time.  We had left him locked in the church all by himself.  We were able to have him picked up and brought to the site just in time to get some work in on the wall before communion.

     During our previous nights devotional we had discussed the fact that so many people had walls or fences built around their houses here in Costa Rica.  Even the church we were staying in had a perimeter wall and gate that seemed excessive and overbearing.  As we continued to work on building more walls it made us wonder if all these walls were actually a good thing for the people of this country, and if it was sending the right message to have us put them up.  

  Our mindset and position on the topic of walls began to evolve as we spent more time on the job site speaking to Wil and the other crew members.  There are two main reasons that walls are in Costa Rica are for private property as well as churches.  The first is that petty theft is a problem, and having a wall or fence can be a great deterrent.  The other reason is that ownership of property and protection of family is a source of great pride for the people here.  Pastor Rick made an excellent analogy to the land of Israel that to the Israelites is the “promised land” and since both countries are somewhat small in size they consider their land precious in similar ways.  Wil assured us that having walls around buildings is the norm down here and he believes they will not have a negative impact on the commission Christ has given him to transform this community.  

     After our day of hard work in the Costa Rican sun we all came back to the church we are staying at and cleaned up for dinner and a church service led by the local pastor here and our very own Rick Clayton.  Rick gave an amazing sermon that Wil translated for the local church members.  The message was about the hardships of life, that we let burden us every day, and how we can allow Christ to give each of us relief and redemption.  Everyone enjoyed the service and we stayed a few minutes afterward with Wil and his family to give them a baby gift for little "Izzy" (Isabel).