Day 6 (2/27): We’re Gettin the Band Back Together!

   Thursday in Costa Rica was bittersweet for the group.  It was our last day at the work site which meant we were almost done with our projects but it also meant we were only one day away from leaving this amazing country and amazing culture.  We showed up to the site ready to give all we had, and also to say goodbye to our Costa Rican brothers who have been a source of inspiration for us this week.  A group was sent back to the first bunkhouse to finish the stucco, another group was assigned to help form the roof of the second bunkhouse, and some others were cutting rebar.  The larger group from the perimeter wall continued to shovel and spread gravel for the concrete floors.  After communion, we had started back on our morning tasks, but moments later we heard shouts of joy coming from several of the grown men who had previously been working on the perimeter wall.  A truck had pulled up with tons of new panels ready to be installed and you would think that it was an ice cream truck by the looks on the mens faces.  The job that they were doing was completely abandoned as they ran for “the wall”, as can be concluded from these wheelbarrows full of gravel that should have been emptied out.  

  

To give them credit they did finish the wall before the end of the day and its one thing that the group can look back on and feel a real sense of accomplishment from.  I mean just look how happy these guys are about a Wall!  

     During lunch we got a chance to learn more about Wil and his background and how he ended up leading this mission.  We learned about his spiritual journey and how God and certain individuals in his life had helped to get him where he is today.  It was very helpful and uplifting to learn about how his vision developed and where he hopes it will evolve from here.   We had tons of questions for Wil and he answered a lot of them but it was getting late and we had to be back at the job site to finish the days work. 

     Once we finished the perimeter wall, the stucco walls, laying the roof of the 2nd bunkhouse, and all the other tasks, we were ready to leave the site but not ready to leave our new friends.  We had an emotional round of goodbyes with the workers and packed our things to get on the bus.   

After an early dinner we got on the bus and headed to the church that we usually eat lunch at to participate in worship with some Costa Ricans close to the mission (and close to Wil and Yolanda).   As we gathered in the small 1 room church to sing, pray, read scripture, and take communion (all in Spanish), we remembered something that Wil had said to us at lunch today.  He said that sometimes church needs to be "4 walls, a roof and God".   We shouldn't try to make Hayes Barton anything like Costa Rica worship but we should understand the differences in our churches and appreciate the simplicity.   Our team is extremely thankful for our church back home and all it has to offer, and at the same time have a new respect and love for how other brothers and sisters in Christ worship almost 1700 miles away.  

Day 5 (2/26): Back Down to Earth

“Those who exalt themselves shall be humbled.”  ~Matthew 23:12 

     Wednesday was our 3rd day on the job site and it was only a half day since we had to be at a church in Pavones after lunch to put on vacation bible school for the local children.  We arrived at the job site well rested and ready to serve in whatever capacity was needed. We would soon find out that our hearts would be humbled in several different ways.  The wall work that we were getting used to had to be put on hold today since we had run out of panels.  Many of us were given new, interesting tasks such as erecting the trusses on the 2nd bunk house and cutting rebar.  

 Most of the perimeter wall team, which consists of the more experienced builders in our group was moved to a project involving leveling the floor for concrete slabs (which was mostly shoveling and dumping gravel one wheelbarrow at a time).  They admitted that this “lowly groundwork” was humbling to them since they were used to building up structures that reached to the sky. Their success at building walls had likely inflated their egos, and when they realized they were only average at best when it came to "groundwork", it gave them a much needed new perspective.   


We took a short break for communion at 10am as usual and were humbled once again by the local workers and staff that took part.  Fanny’s father (97 years of age) joined us with a vibrant, youthful spirit that could only come from knowing Christ.  Rick asked one of the workers to assist in giving communion and as we broke bread and ate, we all started to feel like an extended family of Christians instead of Americans and Costa Ricans.  Much of the rest of the day on site was spent getting to know our new friends and brothers in Christ as we worked on our projects.  

After lunch we went to a new church in a part of San Isidro called Pavones.  The ladies in our group had prepared some great activities for the kids with a bible study theme of “Noah’s Ark”.  The event was a huge hit.  Other groups have done this before but never had as big of a turnout as we did today.  Over 50 children were in attendance as well as some of their parents.   The children warmed up to us almost immediately.  

We started the event out by giving each kid a piece of candy and having them do arts and crafts.  Once they had finished there we sat them down for a reading of the Noah’s Ark story in Spanish, in which we ended up acting out each scene for them (with limited props, costumes and acting ability).  We then played several different games as a group and the whole event culminated with a huge water balloon fight.  The kids loved it and we each felt so blessed to be able to bring them such joy despite language and cultural barriers.  They probably identified with us more since most of us speak Spanish at the level of a 2 year old Costa Rican.  To say we were humbled by the experience would be a huge understatement. 

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).  

     

Day 3 (2/24): Pull/Slack

     Flexibility has been an underlying theme for our trip so far and we were told up front to have a positive attitude and be as flexible as possible.  Numerous examples of our team members being flexible were shown on our first day on the worksite.   Rick started the morning out with Holy Communion as we forged a makeshift altar atop the mound of concrete bags that are destined to become the floors in the buildings in the missions center.   Another example was Jack showing up to the worksite with no belt, but for some reason he had a neck tie with him, which he then tied into a rather fashionable double-Windsor knot belt.   Almost everyone else had to make due in some way, but we all kept our spirits up and minds focused on the tasks of the day. 

      Wil gave us a tour of the facility, which at this point consists only of bunk houses and the foundation for a kitchen and dining hall.  After he explained his vision for the site and exciting new possibilities, the group was divided up into 3 teams to work on 3 different projects.  The first project involved putting concrete panels in the perimeter wall.  The second group was making and pouring cement into the columns of the retaining wall.  The third group was preparing and applying the outer stucco for walls in the bunk houses.  

     The first and largest group was taking 200lb concrete panels and guiding them into place using a pulley system.  Trevor was in charge of getting them lined up and would constantly be yelling “Pull! ....Slack!” to the team members hoisting up the heavy panels.   Most of the team couldn’t hear him and they thought he was saying “pull, you slackers”.  By the end of the day, they say he was “speaking in tongues” and impossible to understand.  But regardless they worked together well and finished their project on time with a total of 60 panels completed.  It turns out they only installed 14 fewer than the last crew, a group of retired women Ma-Jong enthusiasts from Del Boca Vista Phase 4. (joke)  

     The second group got to work with Hugito and Pedro who had been preparing columns on the retaining wall to get filled with the fresh cement mix.  This group had to do a lot of shoveling, lugging cement bags and cement mix buckets, and hammering.  Most if not all of the hammering was done by Connie who must have had some practice before coming to Costa Rica.  

     The third group, who was applying stucco, was busy doing a lot of shoveling and sifting of sand.  This team worked so hard they completely wore out one of the sifters.  (Unfortunately, no shark's teeth were found in the process.)  The sand mound that they were using did yield a nice harvest of iguana eggs, which had to be moved to a safer location in an attempt to preserve the natural surroundings and ecosystem.  (Breakfast tomorrow?!)

     After a long productive day on the job site we were all in desperate need of a shower and late afternoon snack.  The ladies from the church, who cooked us lunch, sent us on our way with a huge plate of empanadas in an unexpected gesture of thanks and hospitality.  We got back to the church in high spirits, feeling grateful for what we had witnessed during the day at the worksite and looking forward for a fun evening of food, devotionals, conversation and much needed rest!  We all looked forward to Tuesday morning, where we would pick up where we left off and continue serving and being served.  

Day 2 (2/23): More Rice Please

     

     The team from Hayes Barton started to emerge from their rooms around 6:30am and congregated in the dining area for coffee and orange flavored rice milk.   We had to be at the church in our Sunday best by 10, but since we had plenty of time we decided to wander around the town for an hour or so soaking up the sights and sounds.  This did not take very long so we ended up being some of the first people in the pews when it came time to start the Sunday service.  Felipe warmly greeted us as we got seated and after a short round of introductions the service began with loud hymns full of energy and love.  We got a quick few sentences in English, but after that we realized most of us would not be able to understand any of the words to this service.  Never the less, the group enjoyed the music, the prayers, and especially the energy and enthusiasm the local Costa Ricans had for the Lord.  “Christo” was praised and embraced by every participant in the small, humble audience of believers. 

     Once we got back to the hotel we started loading the bus to head out on our next leg of the journey, the drive through the mountains to San Isidro.  This drive was the only thing planned for the day so we took every opportunity to stop for meals, bathroom breaks, scenic vistas and souvenir shopping.  

We got into San Isidro around 6pm and were greeted by Wil and his wife, Yolanda at the gate, for some of us a wonderful reunion of sorts, and some of us a first time introduction.  The group unloaded and unpacked everything at the church and picked our room accommodations for the week.  We enjoyed a delicious rice dinner and afterwards gathered around the table to plan our upcoming week of fun, fellowship, and of course hard work!  

Day 1 (2/22): John Michael Johnson

     As the Costa Rica team met early on Saturday morning at the church with family and friends gathered around to send us off, we were given the unexpected news that our group of 16 missioners had become 15.  The 4th John in our group, John Phillips had a death in the family and decided his presence would be needed back home.  We were sad to hear the news but also excited to be heading out to the airport to get 3 Mikes, 3 Johns, a couple of Johnsons, a few troublemakers and 27 bags to Dallas Fort Worth.   This would be the first but not last minor setback of the journey.   

“So the last will be first and the first will be last”.  (Matthew 20:16)  

     When we all boarded the plane to our layover in Dallas, we noticed Pastor Rick had been assigned the very last row of the plane, right next to the bathroom, right over the engine with a spectacular view of the wing.  Once we got to Dallas and Rick got his hearing back we assured him that this was not done on purpose.  

     Our next minor setback occurred as we were waiting on our connecting flight to take off to San Jose.  It was almost 20 minutes past scheduled takeoff time, the pilots and stewardesses were preparing the plane to leave but our entire group was not yet on.  As it turns out, Mike Trexler’s slightly worn passport was deemed “damaged” and “unpresentable” by the American Airlines ticket counter supervisor.  Mike was told he and his luggage could not fly to Costa Rica and would have to wait until Monday when he could get a new passport.  As the doors of the plane started to close and the wheels began to move, the remaining 14 from Hayes Barton started to panic, worry, and pray.   Moments later we see the doors opening and the whole plane erupts in applause as Mike hurries aboard.  Cooler heads prevailed and Mike luckily found a supervisor to the supervisor who agreed that stopping someone in the middle of their trip for a semi used passport was not the greatest idea.   We were finally on the way to San Jose!

     After a long day of traveling we arrived at the Hotel 1915 in Alajuela, Costa Rica around 10pm.  We got our room assignments, got checked in and were finally able to relax and enjoy each others company knowing we made it safely to our destination.   As we admired the accommodations and shared some laughs, the trip was taking on a new more comfortable tone.  We felt God’s grace and His presence, and began to look forward to a Sunday of worship, fellowship, relaxation, and a little more traveling.