"We have no mission but to serve
in full obedience to our Lord,
to care for all, without reserve,
and spread his liberating word."
-- Fred Pratt Green
in full obedience to our Lord,
to care for all, without reserve,
and spread his liberating word."
-- Fred Pratt Green
Time has flown by in the 8 months since I last wrote, and to be honest, I don't know why it took me so long to return to this blog and finish what I started. I think in some small part it was re-entry culture shock; I managed to return to the United States at possibly the worst time in history, and found myself struggling to readjust to the pace of life here without the anchors of employment and routine that I needed to keep myself in line. It has been a tough period of acclimation, but I finally feel like I am returning to normal.
Lots of exciting things happened in the time after my last post- things that should've been documented, although they remain so clear in my mind that it feels like they only just occurred. First of all, my Godson Jhemyel Jsharu Jara Murray was born in mid-April. Although she doesn't have regular internet access, Latoya sends me pictures when she is able. He is a beautiful boy, and very large as well. When he was born, he was so light skinned that many people in town believed that he was my son, and that caused quite a bit of embarrassment as I tried to explain in Spanish that I had not been in a relationship with any of the locals.
That's not to say I didn't have the opportunity, though. In late March I began teaching English at CUNLimon, the local university. Being of roughly the same age as many of the students meant that I was frequently invited out to hang out in town with them, and although at times I was nervous about accepting, I can say that I really had a wonderful opportunity to live as a true Limonense during my last months abroad. The experience of being accepted as Tico was something I would never trade, and I still think fondly about the friends I made and the silly things we'd do for fun.
Our students really made remarkable strides during our final months as well, with the girls from Harvest Tabernacle performing a concert in May to their congregation. They performed solidly, and I hear now that they are actively performing in the praise team at church- truly making our mission a reality. They are the first fruits; I can hardly believe that I had a hand in helping them become truly functional musicians.
Even now, it seems like a dream. I relish every newsletter I get from Debbie Suarez (the new teacher) and Sally. Each dispatch brings back memories of the city, the warmth of the country, and a feeling of homesickness I never anticipated feeling. Sometimes the news from Limon is same-old-same-old, but other times it is truly exciting.
Most recently, Sally wrote to tell me of a mission trip she had taken to Tasmapaouni, Nicaragua. She went to preach one service, but Hurricane Ida struck before they could leave the small island community. They spent the whole night gathered with the citizens and praying. In the morning, the village was destroyed but the church had been spared. Later that day, as if the story could be more extraordinary, the small boat they were taking back to Rama capsized and they had to swim back to a neighboring island to wait for help. See what I mean? That's the Moskito coast for you; it makes me miss it, even as I am glad that I didn't go through it.
In the time that I have been home, I have been lucky enough to have Ninfa and Keila visit me. It was a pleasure to show them my home and to have my parents meet two people that had been important to the school and had been surrogate family to me in my time there. I have maintained close contact with some of my coworkers from the call center thanks to Facebook. The social networking site has also helped me stay connected to Ninfa and several other girls I met at a womens retreat in San Jose in April. Isn't the web amazing?
Personally speaking, I have just barely scraped through a tough semester of school, and am having trouble finding the motivation to continue, even despite the lack of jobs available to me right now. I know I need to do it while I still can, but I am often stuck in this world where I'm not really here, nor am I elsewhere. I don't really know what I'm doing, and I have a tough time looking ahead and seeing any real course for my life. I miss not being tied to anything and not getting mail or phone calls. We're too attached to things here in the US, and it's bringing me down!
Well, at any rate, something good will happen soon, because if there is one thing I have learned, it's that God never breaks promises- you just have to continue to put one foot in front of the other and trust that you're walking in his general direction.
Lots of exciting things happened in the time after my last post- things that should've been documented, although they remain so clear in my mind that it feels like they only just occurred. First of all, my Godson Jhemyel Jsharu Jara Murray was born in mid-April. Although she doesn't have regular internet access, Latoya sends me pictures when she is able. He is a beautiful boy, and very large as well. When he was born, he was so light skinned that many people in town believed that he was my son, and that caused quite a bit of embarrassment as I tried to explain in Spanish that I had not been in a relationship with any of the locals.
That's not to say I didn't have the opportunity, though. In late March I began teaching English at CUNLimon, the local university. Being of roughly the same age as many of the students meant that I was frequently invited out to hang out in town with them, and although at times I was nervous about accepting, I can say that I really had a wonderful opportunity to live as a true Limonense during my last months abroad. The experience of being accepted as Tico was something I would never trade, and I still think fondly about the friends I made and the silly things we'd do for fun.
Our students really made remarkable strides during our final months as well, with the girls from Harvest Tabernacle performing a concert in May to their congregation. They performed solidly, and I hear now that they are actively performing in the praise team at church- truly making our mission a reality. They are the first fruits; I can hardly believe that I had a hand in helping them become truly functional musicians.
Even now, it seems like a dream. I relish every newsletter I get from Debbie Suarez (the new teacher) and Sally. Each dispatch brings back memories of the city, the warmth of the country, and a feeling of homesickness I never anticipated feeling. Sometimes the news from Limon is same-old-same-old, but other times it is truly exciting.
Most recently, Sally wrote to tell me of a mission trip she had taken to Tasmapaouni, Nicaragua. She went to preach one service, but Hurricane Ida struck before they could leave the small island community. They spent the whole night gathered with the citizens and praying. In the morning, the village was destroyed but the church had been spared. Later that day, as if the story could be more extraordinary, the small boat they were taking back to Rama capsized and they had to swim back to a neighboring island to wait for help. See what I mean? That's the Moskito coast for you; it makes me miss it, even as I am glad that I didn't go through it.
In the time that I have been home, I have been lucky enough to have Ninfa and Keila visit me. It was a pleasure to show them my home and to have my parents meet two people that had been important to the school and had been surrogate family to me in my time there. I have maintained close contact with some of my coworkers from the call center thanks to Facebook. The social networking site has also helped me stay connected to Ninfa and several other girls I met at a womens retreat in San Jose in April. Isn't the web amazing?
Personally speaking, I have just barely scraped through a tough semester of school, and am having trouble finding the motivation to continue, even despite the lack of jobs available to me right now. I know I need to do it while I still can, but I am often stuck in this world where I'm not really here, nor am I elsewhere. I don't really know what I'm doing, and I have a tough time looking ahead and seeing any real course for my life. I miss not being tied to anything and not getting mail or phone calls. We're too attached to things here in the US, and it's bringing me down!
Well, at any rate, something good will happen soon, because if there is one thing I have learned, it's that God never breaks promises- you just have to continue to put one foot in front of the other and trust that you're walking in his general direction.