Our two week mission trip to Costa Rica has come to an end but we firmly believe our work there is just the begining of wonderful changes that are yet to come in the village of Finca 2.
Being back in the US is bittersweet in many ways. We certainly missed our families and friends and we certainly are spoiled here in this country. When you spend any length of time on a mission trip, you encounter a sort of confusion when you return home. How is it that people who live in such simple nothingness can be overflowing with love and appreciation for total strangers who descend on their village? How is it that a $2 jump-rope or $3 playground ball could bring such joy to 90 children? How is it that they didn't fight over them but took turns and waited patiently to play with them?
Our team was the first mission team to ever come into this village. In missions circles they call this a "virgin" village. Some missions groups focus on building projects only, some focus on giving away toys, clothing, etc... All are necessary but our missionary leaders, Ted and Graciella Quiocho explained that if groups come into a village one after the other, year-round, the people come to expect things to be handed to them without obligation. (It is that way in the US too.) Our leaders believe that once this happens, the people see missionaries as material providers and they don't receive anything that is lasting or life changing. As difficult as it was, we made a decision ahead of time that we weren't going to give away things but spend our time building relationships.
Ted and Graciella live in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. They recently discovered Finca 2 after a family who lost everything in the January earthquake, relocated there. After working with this family, our leaders identified them as spiritually and morally sound people. They followed them and invested in them so as to draw out the leadership gift this family has. Once arriving in the Finca, the family settled on their parent's land joining with their siblings, neices and nephews. Eighteen people share one lot and one outhouse.
Our leaders are committed to training this family but the family and the leaders were not connected with the community yet. This became our team's mission. We were to be the bridge between full time missionaries committed to the village and its people. The village is actually part of the Dole Bananna plantations. The plantations are divided into sections called Fincas(farms). Between each finca are small communities where most of the workers live. There are few cars. Most of the men walk or ride bikes to the plantation each day. The homes are small, concrete homes with very little furniture and no clutter. The women cook and clean all day. We saw women waxing concrete floors. Their standard of cleanliness is high despite not having anything.
The first way Ted and Graciella decided to break into this community was to contact the director of the local school. They feel, as I do, that change starts with the children. Coincidently (not) the school's educational focus of the two weeks were there was "values." They said we could come talk about values for 40 minutes a day only. We planned values lessons for each day and before we even started, the director asked us to teach five classes a day! Although exhausting, the personal satisfaction was great as we saw the kids "get it". After the two weeks of lessons, we invited the parents into the school, introduced them to Ted and Graciella and their ministry and did one of the lessons with them. This truly built the communities confidence in our leaders.
Teammembers who love sports played soccer with the kids while others did all the craft preparation and assisted in the classroom. We held a ladies afternoon scrabooking party for the neighbors one afternoon and as they created their very own page, the pride of family burst out of them. While they were doing this, another teammember did hand massages with seasalt followed my a manicure for each lady. Later in the week, without language, one of our teammembers broke through the frozen heart of a troubled 9 year-old girl who has been abused bringing both laughter and tears to her eyes. They developed a bond that can not be broken.
Larry and Ted (one of our leaders) spent the days building a full service outdoor bathroom on the land of the family of 18. Although simple and small, it had a working toilet, sink and shower. This family was truly blessed by such an enormous act of love and how their lives will improve. They worked with the husband teaching him as they went so he would have the ability to build another one someday. Again, it wasn't just giving them a bathroom. It was teaching them a skill that they can multiply.
None of the things we did were huge, monumental feats and it may all seem so mundane to readers who have not been on a mission trip. But by us staying in a house right in the finca with the rest of the community, our leaders assured us that we accomplished above and beyond anything they could expect. By the time we left, we knew most everyone at the school *(kids and teachers) and all of our neighbors. We established trust between the community and our leaders who will continue the work for years after we have come home. (They plan to lead workshops on business, parenting, sexual abuse etc..) They hope to start small groups of bible study beginning first with the family they trust.
For the last week, I have been trying to reconcile in my mind the quantitive sucess of this trip and God showed me, it isn't anything you can measure. The effects of our team serving this community may never be seen by us in this lifetime. God cleared it up for me on the 4th of July as I lay in the field with my family watching fireworks and listening to patriotic music. As the song says, "at least I know I'm free," God has shown me that freedom is not necessarily an outward position but a position of the heart. Our friends in Finca 2 never leave that community and don't have cell phones, internet access or cars but they give love freely and they accept and share what they have, freely. Others there are not free in their hearts due to abuse but they long to be.
As I watched the fireworks go off, God reminded me that as missionaries, we are the light of the world and He likened the different fireworks to the mission actions we do. Some were small and low and graceful like the little things we do for each other. These may be forgettable or seemingly insignificant, yet beautiful. Some were the colorful and showy fun type like other ways we have served in the past by giving needy orphans large amounts of toys, clothing, etc.. and still others were the sonic kind with not much color but a huge explosion. God assured me that everything we did during our two weeks is neatly packaged in a shell ready to be set off in the time that He chooses. We may never know the complete effect we had on this village but in faith, I will look toward the sky in hopes of seeing fireworks coming from a small finca in Costa Rica!
I love serving, I love our leaders Ted and Gracie and I love our team. We sincerely appreciate those who made this trip possible. Please understand that your contribution to this work of God will multiply back to you in the coming days.
For a photo slideshow please visit: http://zinerfamilymissionscostarica.shutterfly.com/#n_19
Love in Christ
The Ziner Family and Team
