Today was HOT HOT HOT with no rain for the second day. This was great because the men were able to finish the cement work on the support columns for the new church, but not great because there was no respite from the heat.
The day began with a typical breakfast of rice and beans, eggs with some type of squash (?) mixed in, fresh papaya and homemade corn tortillas, along with a super sweet fruit juice of some kind. We are well fed! After breakfast we all gathered in the church for morning devotions led by Timothy and Candace (each day a different team member has led devotions). They gave us a challenging and timely word from the Lord about breaking the sin of pride in our lives. They talked about how God can use circumstances and trials to break our pride in order to use us His way, instead of us trying to get God to do things the way we think they should be done. These last few days we’ve experienced many trials such as a hail storm and delayed flight, multiple vehicle breakdowns, rain and more rain, and injuries. All of these things interrupted our plans and our “ideal” agenda, but God has shown us He has a perfect agenda if only we lay down our own first.
Just one example- As Jose and Robby were going to pick up the car from the mechanic’s shop, they passed by three people, one in a wheelchair, waiting for a bus. As they drove past, Jose felt the Holy Spirit tell him to go back and pick them up, so he did a u-turn and stopped to talk to them. They were trying to get an older man with serious health problems to the hospital but had no money for bus fare. They were amazed when Jose offered to take the trio to the hospital and said nobody had ever done anything like that for them before. On the ride Jose was able to talk with them about the love of Jesus and what He did for them on the cross. By the end of the trip, all three had decided to give their lives to the Lord and Jose prayed with them! I know our agenda did not involve our car breaking down but God had a more perfect one in mind….
After a huge lunch, Evvie and a bunch of the men (Costa Ricans and Americans) decided to start a friendly game of “football”, more commonly known as soccer in the US. I didn’t see the game, but from the photos I can say it was intense with some great athletic prowess shining through the sweat! Somehow all managed to have a great time and avoid heat stroke.
Did I mention it was hot? My dad, John Kirk, is the oldest member of our team and did suffer some heat stroke/ dehydration issues today. Thankfully Robby and I were there and able to help and after getting some cold Gatorade and a ride in the air-conditioned van he was much better. We were so glad Kris Canfield was available to help Dad and make sure this episode didn’t turn into something more serious. Lesson learned: drink, then drink ,then drink more!
The sewing room continues to be extremely popular, with Susan Kirk, Tracee Canfield, Amy Merchen and Melissa Metcalf (between massages) continuing to teach the women and girls how to use a pattern and sewing machine to make an apron, totebag, or cell phone holder. There are probably close to 30 people crammed in their little workspace with 3 sewing machines constantly in use. The classes don’t “officially” start until 3pm, but by 11am people start showing up for sewing lessons! Many have also learned to knit and make little knotted bead bracelets. They are very eager to learn and are really beginning to teach each other, which was one of our goals.
Today I spoke (through our most wonderful interpreter, Tim Stairs) with several women and teens from 2 different churches in Ortega about how to plan and teach Sunday School. One of the women, Gloria, had been teaching for 25 years and I felt a little intimidated, thinking what can I possibly tell her that she doesn’t already know? But after I began talking for a while they really began to open up and started asking good questions and we had a great discussion. We went over the materials I’d brought and how to present it and different approaches they could use. These ladies were very receptive and talked about the challenges they face in Ortega. One of the biggest is that they have almost no money for supplies, even paper and crayons. I gave them some ideas for games and activities that don’t take any supplies and they were eager to learn more…if only I knew more to tell them! We also left them with a cd player and several children’s song CDs with suggestions for actions. Yesterday I did an hour long children’s service with Grace Canfield during which we taught them the song “His Banner Over Me Is Love” in Spanish with actions (very funny for 2 white girls who don’t speak Spanish!), then presented the gospel message using the Romans Road verses. The service began with a short skit by Sophie, Evvie and Audrey showing how there are only 2 choices in life, to live for Satan who only wants to hurt you, or live for Jesus who loves you. They did a great job and best of all, it was a mime so no translation was necessary. The kids kept coming in through the whole service so I ended up repeating myself a lot so that everyone got the whole message. And since the only song Grace and I could sing in Spanish was, “His Banner Over Me” we sang it at least 10 times! I told them we had to keep singing it until they taught me another one, but it turns out they don’t actually know any! There were at least 53 Ortegan kids there and about a dozen parents and grandparents and all loved the song, did the actions and listened intently to the stories. I only wish I had been more prepared– I didn’t know about this little service until day before yesterday. Next time I’ll know better…. thankfully God’s grace will cover my shortcomings!
This evening Pastor Jeremiah spoke at the church for the third sermon in the couples training series. His message was on parenting and he asked several members of our team to share as well. Kris, Tracee and Evvie Canfield all spoke and Scott Mooney also gave his testimony. Sarah Mooney talked about the importance of praying for our spouses and trusting God to draw our husbands to himself and raise them up as the spiritual leaders of the household. Many members of the church in Ortega were there as well as some people from the community not involved with the church, but all heard the Word of truth spoken tonight.
Those of our group who did not go to the church service (heathens!) may have been involved in a cutthroat Uno tournament at the outdoor dining table. One of the most fun competitors was our new friend Grant who came last night to help with interpreting today. It was a great help to have 2 interpreters when we had so many different ministries happening at the same time. I’m sure Tim Stairs appreciated not being pulled in quite so many directions at once. Anyway, we had a blast with Melissa’s Uno game and even taught Vehilio, an Ortega chuch elder, how to play. Audrey and Sophie played games like “Bear”(?) and other loud, active games with the local kids that no one appeared to know the rules to. Somehow the language is not a barrier when we just sit around laughing and playing games!
It finally cooled down a few degrees at around 9:30 when we each headed to our host homes, exhausted by the best kind of work we’ve ever done. As the Ortegans say, “Glory a Dios!” : Glory to God!
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