It’s been really good. Life here is just a series of ups and downs (way ups and far downs), and lately it’s been an up time. When I wrote my last couple of posts, I was working through some really hard stuff in my mind and heart, struggling and thinking through a lot of things and emotions. But I’m feeling better now, confident in where I’m at and what I’m doing, and lots of good stuff is going on.
So I want to start by saying a little something about Saturday night’s Spanish worship night down in the community, because it was one of the best yet. I’d been freaking out a little bit because all of the people that normally lead these worship nights were gone. Les in the States, David at a wedding, Nanis doing I don’t know what. Thus leaving me all by myself to lead the whole thing, when I have a weak voice (because I rarely sing), tender fingertips (because I rarely practice), and a limited selection of Spanish songs I know by heart (because I rarely sing). However, turns out that the wedding was over in time for David to make it, and Nanis ended up being able to as well. Sigh of relief.
Anyway, things went beautifully. The flow of music was lovely and conducive to worship, people were lifting their hands, praying for one another. I got in my music zone and sort of checked out, just enjoying the music and basking in the worship and prayer…until Nanis broke a string and his whole guitar went out of tune. He tried to fix it, to no avail, and finally just said, “will you take over?” and went to go pray for someone.
So I did. And really, it was amazing. I just let my hands take over, improvising and toggling between songs, so completely in the zone like I don’t think I’ve ever been before. The music became secondary as people fell deeper into prayer and communion with each other and God, and I was part participant and part onlooker, just taking in the glory of it all and being thankful. It was a great time.
So Sunday was two things: the last time I got to see David, and the day we went to the beach. I’ll get to David in a minute; let’s talk about the beach first.
We went to Esterillos, West of here on the Pacific coast. It was HOT. But so beautiful. The ocean was stunning, the surf spectacular. There was an abundance of cool shells and sand dollars, macaws soaring through the air, iguanas creeping around in the yard, big fat frogs sneaking into the house at night. Hammocks strung between palm trees, fresh coconut, scorching-hot sand under my feet, glorious beach sunsets.
I spent lots of time walking on the beach, and lots of time reading. I also got a nice tan, although for me a tan is actually just a slightly darker shade of freckly pink. I also attempted to learn to surf, although my bad shoulder made it difficult. On my first try, the motion of paddling with the wave combined with the roughness of the whitewater proved too much for my weak shoulder. I was in so much pain I had to get out of the water because I couldn’t swim. I spent the rest of the night in excruciating pain; though I felt somewhat better the next morning, I thought it wise to pass on the surfing for the rest of the trip.
But that was only a small blip on an otherwise fabulous and amazing beach trip. From early-morning beach walks to afternoon mojitos (non-alcoholic, don’t worry, mother) to late-night games of charades, it was as relaxing as it was exciting, and just lots of fun. I’m so thankful that Rodney and Cindy were so kind to take us out there–it was so nice.
Now for David’s big news. He’d been trying and trying for ages to get a visa to travel to USA, and a month or two ago, it was
granted. So arrangements were made for him to fly to Ohio, to work with New Life church (one of the churches that’s most involved down here in Anonos) for a couple of months. So that happened today, early this morning, and he was already long gone by the time we got back from the beach.
Which meant that Sunday, when we left for the beach, was my last chance to see him. As luck would have it, he gets back from Ohio the very day after I leave Costa Rica for good in June.
I wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet. I thought I still had two months before the goodbyes would come. Especially this particular goodbye, possibly the biggest one of all. I’ve grown so close with David over the ten months I’ve known him. With him living at Rodney and Cindy’s house, I end up spending lots of my time working side by side with him. Not to mention leading worship together, hosting teams together, translating together. I learned most of my Spanish from him, even to the point that I’ve been told I speak it like a Nicaraguan (he was born and raised there). And even though he could be annoying (wink), and we would butt heads at times, I’ll miss him like crazy. I cried when I left, when he hugged me and thanked me and said he’d miss me. I love that guy…miss him already. And what’s even scarier is that the pain of saying goodbye to David is only a glimpse of what I’ll feel when I have to say goodbye to everyone else, to this country.
Anyway enough of that. So in USA he’ll be visiting the people we partner with, as well as working with their bilingual Hispanic ministry. I’m so excited for him and I hope to keep well-updated about what’s going on with his life up there.
So this weekend I expect to be super busy, between my various classes and preparing for the Mechanic Falls, Maine team to arrive on Monday. I’m ready for another team to get here. I like having them spaced out like this because I have time to breathe between teams; it makes me more excited when they do come. Plus I’ve heard this team is super cool. They’re from Rodney and Cindy’s home church, and almost all of them are musicians, so we should get on well.
Also I’ll be staying down at Rodney’s house while this team is here. It’s just easier that way, being right there in the midst of everything instead of living in between the two houses. Should be fun.
Also Monday is the day I find out whether I’m accepted into the nursing program for this Fall! I’ll try to have time to update my blog when I get my answer. I’m super excited. It’s kind of the rest of my life we’re talking here–sort of a big deal.
Here we go!
Cartas de Amor 