Monday, November 30, 2009

Neighborcide


“Did anyone ring the doorbell while I was gone?”
“I thought someone did at one point, but when I went to check nobody was there.”
“I am just asking because the neighbors were held up at gun point just a few minutes ago.”

I do not think I could stand to live in a city like San Jose for more than a year or two. The streets of San Jose are packed with people, the air smells of diesel fuel, and every street crossing is a gamble with your life. Sometimes it is hard for me to see why anyone would want to live in a place like this. On the other hand, as I browsed the aisles of the farmers market in San Jose, I began to better understand the culture of the city, as well as the access to resources and jobs that would make a city attractive to many people.


As I spend more time in the Delta, I am slowly beginning to learn the needs of the mission, and how I can fit into those needs. As much as I love hunting and fishing, gardening, making dugout canoes (more on that later), and building desks and beds, the real reason that I am here has to do with people. The school in Delta has 14 students and no teacher. Because there is no teacher, the students do not come to school and we cannot begin a bible study there.

Please pray for me, because Juan and I are strongly considering talking to the board of education in Delta to see if we can begin teaching English, math, and reading to the students there. This could be a great opportunity to get more involved in the community, to open doors for sharing the gospel, and to serve people as we are called to do by Christ. Juan and I are hoping to talk with the school teachers this week so that we can quickly begin Bible studies in the schools in Jobo Costa Rica, Jobo Nicaragua, Zapotal, and the Delta school.






Interesting things I have done to this point:
Built a desk and shelves
Started construction of a dugout canoe
Started learning how to drive and repair a motor boat
Attended an all Spanish church planting through story telling conference
Stepped on a rust nail
Bathed with a bucket
Hunted multiple creatures that I wont list
Fished a Central American river
Had fresh delicious churros in the farmers market
Shelled fresh grown coffee beans
Visited a Spanish church where 50 strangers sang happy birthday to me