combines of my lovely apartment and get a little fresh air and find a world map for my wall (I’m going to get all my visitors to mark their country and sign it, it’s going to be brilliant!). The trek was successful! When I came back home, my neighbour (married, 2 young kids) was out and he invited me in to have a chat. I was happy because then I could let him know that his children have been terrorizing my plants and I am none to pleased! The conversation was fine, he asked if i was going back to where I’d been with the team I said yes and then we talked a bit about my upcoming travel schedule. I mentioned that I should be heading to Canada The conversation then took an awkward turn heehee!…wait for it…!“so do you have a boyfriend then?”
“Nope, they’re overrated”
“Ah, friend’s with benefits then” – with a glimmer in his eye
“aahahauuum…nope!”
He gives me a weird/confused look “but you have guy friends?”
“Sure do! And none of them have benefits!”
he then just kind of looked at me like I’m missing something or like my response is completely crazy! It makes me laugh how people assume that just because one is single they’re either super depressed/desperate or are just living it up getting with anything that moves. They couldn’t possibly be content with what they have! I have had someone tell me (here) that if she was my age and wasn’t married (like me) she would kill herself….Yes she was serious! I literally burst out laughing and reminded her that boys are not the ultimate goal. It’s better to be single, with the occasional loneliness, than to feel alone, stuck in a crappy marriage/relationship!
*** *** ***
Anywho, enough about that! The real reason you’re all here and on the edge of your seats, I know, you want to hear how it went with MY FIRST OFFICIAL TEAM!!!!! Yes, I have received and returned my very first team 9 for 9! Well technically 3 of them are still here, I’ll ship them off on Friday morning, hopefully in one piece…or should I say 3 pieces…?
Okay so let’s break down my 3 weeks of being responsible for 9 people, well 10 including myself. So April 4 I show up to the airport to pick up the team (majority of whom were from Scotland, and the rest from England) and realize that I got the time wrong…I was an hour and a half early!!! Which made me feel completely incompetent and ridiculous – great way to start off! So after about 10 minutes of questioning my life choices and why I suck I decided mistakes happen and it’s better to be early than late! Then the bus driver and I went and got a snack, food solves all problems!
A few hours later, I got the team to Valle Verde in one piece and split them up into their host homes. The first week was good, we did some orientation, meet and greets, and they started on some of the physical projects.
On the Saturday we walked to a nearby waterfall, which was a great bonding experience (some of the locals came too). We were wrapping up and heading back when one of my host brothers got a phone call saying that their dad (who is also the local pastor and our key point person for the project) was in a motorcycle accident. We immediately rushed back, only to find out that the he had passed away (from a heart attack)……
My world went blurry… he was my friend…my host dad…my project partner. I made it back to the house and Maria (the Pastor’s wife, my host mom) just looked at me solemnly and said “Kayla, God has taken my husband.” Earlier that week Maria had gone to the hospital with severe back pain, she had been sick most of the week and this was the cherry on top. My heart ached, I was grieved for the family- whom I consider part of my family, I have also never lost anyone close before, let alone while hosting my very first overseas team. To say I was overwhelmed is an understatement!
A few hours later our home started to fill with people, family members, neighbours from all over coming to help out – I struggled with knowing my place. Should I find somewhere new to stay? I don’t want to leave them? Am I intruding?…. I had a million things going through my head. I asked one of the family members if they wanted me to give them some space and my question was met with a look of ‘what?! are you crazy?!’ and was told to stay! Sunday came and the house was still flooding with people, the body would be coming to the church later that evening (things move very quickly when it comes to funerals here – kind of ironic) . Sunday we prepared for the Vela (viewing) which is an all night event. This one started around 7pm and I had no idea if I would be able to go to bed or not. Fortunately, at about 12:30am a cousin came to let me know my bed was ready and I could go sleep! At 4 am someone came knocking at the door to let us know that the body was turning purple and we needed to go back to the church right away. So we got up and started getting ready. The funeral was at 9 am and the service was lovely – it was very evangelical at one point the preacher said that the Pastor/body was not important to him because he has already won the game - he is with Jesus. What really mattered to him were those people in the audience who didn’t know Jesus. It was encouraging too because he went on to say it doesn’t matter what religion you are (catholic or evangelical, etc.) the key point is do you know Jesus? Is he your personal saviour? I was so delighted, it’s very rare to hear that! Usually, it’s more an “us” and “them” type thought process. Afterwards, we moved on to the cemetery and put the body in the tomb. Immediately after the cement had been set everyone who had come, left for their homes. It was a bit shocking to me at the quickness of everything. We got back to the now empty house – which only that morning had been packed wall to wall with people – and began to reorganize and put the place back together.
On the Saturday we walked to a nearby waterfall, which was a great bonding experience (some of the locals came too). We were wrapping up and heading back when one of my host brothers got a phone call saying that their dad (who is also the local pastor and our key point person for the project) was in a motorcycle accident. We immediately rushed back, only to find out that the he had passed away (from a heart attack)……
My world went blurry… he was my friend…my host dad…my project partner. I made it back to the house and Maria (the Pastor’s wife, my host mom) just looked at me solemnly and said “Kayla, God has taken my husband.” Earlier that week Maria had gone to the hospital with severe back pain, she had been sick most of the week and this was the cherry on top. My heart ached, I was grieved for the family- whom I consider part of my family, I have also never lost anyone close before, let alone while hosting my very first overseas team. To say I was overwhelmed is an understatement!
The rest of the trip, thankfully, was less eventful. Things moved slower than the team would have liked, communication sometimes left much to be desired and while at some points it was frustrating, I thought it was a great cultural experience. Relationship orientated (locals) vs. task orientated (western culture) . The goal of the trip was to encourage the community. Each team member made a great connection with their respective host family, there were many remarks on what a joy it was to have the team and many tears were shed on departure day - I would say the goal was met!
***If you would like to read the team’s blog updates (3 in total) click the link below: ***
http://bit.ly/costaricaeaster
So on the whole I would chalk the experience up as being super successful. Did I mess up? Oh yes! Are there things I should have done better? OH yes! Is there room for improvement? ooooh YES!!! But now! I have a team under my belt, I’ve gotten a ton of experience – while the death is not funny - there is joy in it and you almost have to giggle, i mean think about it, what are the odds of that happening – let alone during my very first team?! I’m aware some of you may think that is http://bit.ly/costaricaeaster
offensive but it’s like the family says “We will miss him, but do not be sad for us, he is in a better place and we are excited for him!” It’s okay to be joyful, laugh – that’s the pro side of being on Team JC! Aside from experience I’ve also made new contacts, learned a ton about myself AND made new friends! One of whom is actually the daughter of the pastor, she lives quite close to me here in the city. The other day she texted me and said she’s been lonely and has no Christian friends here…or I should say had because now she’s stuck with me! Muahahaah! In reality, I really connected with all the members in my host family, immediate and extended. It’s pretty cool, a lot of them want me to come visit them (they live all over Costa Rica, hello more connections! AND majority of them aren’t believers – can i get a wITness!?) – I’m sure that makes no sense because you can’t hear the funny voice I read that in, but it was funny to me, so it shall stay!Praise!There is so much to put here, I think that the entire post is a testament to God’s faithfulness, His loving nature, His patience, kindness…..ah I could go on and on! They say God works in mysterious ways and it’s true. I knew the team needed to go to Valle Verde; why? I did not know. Now I do, we were there to encourage a community during a big loss, He let us be apart of that! ~ if it hadn’t happened I would have never met Nela (Pastor’s daughter) ~ The community of ValleVerde ~ The adorable STEP team ~ Everyone who prayed and continues to pray for the community, family, the Team, for me…aaaah!!!!
Prayer!Please continue to remember the family of the Pastor (all the documents and formalities that need to be completed) ~ Maria’s health ~ Safety for the 3 group members making their way here to my home on Thursday and then back to England on Friday ~ The team as they transition back into life in the UK ~
This is the verse the team painted on the front wall of the church in Valle Verde:
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Yo soy el camino, la verdad y la vida – le contestó Jesús –. Nadie llega al Padre sino por mí.>> Juan 14: 6“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Amen! Have a great week!
xxx
xxx
