To those of you who said you couldn’t read the blog in its new format, I’m very sorry! From now on it’ll be in the old format, where you just need to click on the link to go directly to the site.
I’ve been back a week, and still I’m praying for my new friends and family in Costa Rica, remembering them and our time together. We had a lot of fun!
A few days ago I told you about our team’s hosts, Pastor Marcos and Ira. They introduced us to a member of their congregation, Jose and his wife, Andrea, who are incredibly talented artists. Here’s a sample of their work:
Jose and Andrea love the Lord with all of their hearts. He is the focus of their work, their lives, their family. And they are passionate about His creation. People from all over the world send Jose a picture of endangered creatures and he creates a clay piece in the shape of the bird. With the help of his employees–who are extended family and represent 6-7 distinct families–they send out thousands of these birds a week to be sold in markets. Their work not only decorates people’s homes, but it draws awareness to the importance of protecting the environment and these endangered species.
Besides the fact that seeing the process of making these birds, meeting the artists themselves, and seeing the workshop was super cool– the best part of all was hearing their hearts for the Lord, for each other, for their work, and for their community. When the five of us– Marcos and Ira, Connie and I, and Jose prayed together, separated by a common language, it was the most perfect, holy moment. What an awesome God we serve– that in His Body even culture and language can’t divide us!
On our last day there, Jose and Andrea invited Connie and I to their house for coffee. There we met their two sons and spent hours laughing and sharing together. We felt like family. Towards the end of our time together, they drove us out into the country to show us the beautiful green hills of Costa Rica (we spent most of our trip in the city). At one point we stopped so Connie and I could take pictures. There was a horse on the side of the road, and some cows walking towards. The man walking with the cows herded them past us, went into his property, and returned with a baby goat. He handed the goat over to us to play with, then walked away. Turns out the goat was only 13 days old. Around that time, we found ourselves surrounded by several friendly dogs.
A few minutes later, the farmer came back for the baby goat, disappeared, and came back with an older goat. This one managed to head-butt Connie and make us all laugh a lot. Then the farmer disappeared again with the older goat.
A few minutes later, he emerged with a horse. He wasn’t satisfied with us just ooh-ing and aah-ing over it– he insisted Connie climb on top of the horse!
When he finally left with the horse in tow, I half expected him to return with a lion or something. That afternoon was so much fun. The boys loved seeing all of those animals, and we had a lot of fun talking and laughing with them. We all kept exclaiming over the connection we have through Christ and how it binds us. They told us that other missionary groups have come but that it was different with them, that with us it felt as if we are sharing the same heart.
It was such a blessing to meet Jose and Andrea, their sons, and see their work. Please pray for them– for people to come and buy these figures, not only so they can make a living, but so awareness of the danger to these creatures is spread. I don’t know when God will bring me back to Costa Rica, but I hope it’s soon! And I look forward to a continuing relationship with Jose and Andrea, Pastor Marcos and Ira. I am so thankful God brought them into my life!
**Pics of me by Connie Rock. Final Photo is of me and Andrea, who painted the portrait behind us.
