Costa Rica Campaign--Monday

We spent Saturday and Sunday with the team in Guatemala and then flew to Costa Rica early Monday morning.  We arrived about 10:30 and Pastor Rodolfo was there to pick us up and take us to the hotel.  A walk to Subway for lunch was just what we needed; after which, we met with Pastor Steve to share info on the Guatemala trip and learn what had been happening in Costa Rica.  He flew to Nicaragua about 3:30 p.m., but we were our paths crossed if even for a short time.

The team in Costa Rica is one person larger than Guatemala--47.  They came from Murrels Inlet Baptist Church, Murrels Inlet, South Carolina; First Baptist Church, Foley, Alabama; Ridge Avenue Baptist Church, West Monroe, Louisiana and Woodland Park Baptist Church, Hammond, Louisiana.  As always there were both familiar faces and new faces--just the way we like it.

Last year and again this year we spent August 1 handing out tracts and praying for all of the people who were making the journey to the national cathedral in Cartago, Costa Rica.  Here's a recap of what this pilgrmage, called the Romeria, is all about:  

In August the Basilica of our Lady of the Angeles is the object of extensive pilgrimage and visitation by about 2.5 million believers throughout Costa Rica and other surrounding countries, many of whom join in the celebrated 22-kilometer walk to the basilica during the Romería. Though many people start the pilgrimage from locations all over Costa Rica, some, as a demonstration of their piety, choose to crawl the 22 kilometers on their hands and knees.  (Click here to read more about it.)

We started by forming small groups and praying together and then for thirty mintues we walked along with the group and passed out a tract called "The Words of Mary,"  after which we walked against the flow (still passing out tracts) until we returned to the park.  Because we want to be sensitive to the event, we only stop and share the gospel with people who are not participating in the walk.  

Something out of the ordinary and a great Sunday morning worship

Instead of having a regular family festival on Saturday evening, Pastor Rodolfo explained that we were going to walk along with the people on their pilgrimage to the Catholic church in Cartago, Costa Rica.  Here is a bit of information about the pilgrimage.  

In August the Basilica of our Lady of the Angeles is the object of extensive pilgrimage and visitation by about 2.5 million believers throughout Costa Rica and other surrounding countries, many of whom join in the celebrated 22-kilometer walk to the basilica during the Romería. Though many people start the pilgrimage from locations all over Costa Rica, some, as a demonstration of their piety, choose to crawl the 22 kilometers on their hands and knees.  (Click here to read more about it.)

We joined in with the walkers at a point inside the city and walked (and prayed) for a distance of about a mile and a half.  We then turned around a walked back to the park where we started.  While we were going against the flow, we passed out tracts called, "The Words of the Virgin Mary," to all who would take them.  It was definitely a bit intimidating to be going the other direction.  

I probably write a post about Sunday morning worship almost every time there are gringos around for a campaign.  I think it's because it is so impactful to worship together.  Sunday morning at IBVN San Jose was no different.  

Depending upon who is leading the music, occasionally we sing the worship songs in both Spanish and English.  However, this time it was a bit different.  Instead of changing the slides from Spanish to English for each verse/chorus, where they were able to they put the Spanish words and the English words for each line of the song.  As a result, the gringos were singing the English words while the rest were singing the Spanish words.  It was very cool!

Pastor Chris Sprires from First Baptist Church, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, gave the message, with Vladimir translating.  

Goodbye KC, Hello Home, Goodbye Home, Hello Costa Rica

For some reason I couldn't bring myself to shorten the overly long title because it really tells the story.  We said goodbye to Kansas City and the family/friends we'd been visiting for the last two weeks and about 7:45 p.m. last night we landed in El Salvador.  The flights (KC to Houston and Houston to San Salvador) were smooth and on-time.  Unfortunately, the delays started once we landed.

Although the immigration line wasn't as long as I've seen it, it still takes time to get through it.  Normally, by the time you finish that process your luggage has been circling the belt for a bit.  Last night wasn't the norm--it took forever for it to come.  We had four checked pieces--two suitcases and two boxes.  Two of our pieces came out in less than stellar shape.  Two of the four wheels on our big suitcase were pushed inward and it was impossible to roll.  Stephen was finally able to push the sides back out (like the dented bumper on a car) and it seemed usable, if not fine.  We also noted with some dismay that the larger of the two boxes was somewhat crushed.  Of course, this is after we signed a "limited damage waiver."  Who knew, the airlines didn't cover "boxes."  Eventually, everything showed up (a definite blessing) and we worked our way to the customs line.  As we feared, the boxes drew the attention of the agents--nothing magic about boxes, just didn't take our extra suitcases so it was our best option for bringing the Peruvian drum and pressure cooker!  They didn't make us open the boxes, but did make us run them through the x-ray machine again.  

One of the challenges of getting out of the airport is that the carts that hold your luggage are limited to the short-term parking lot.  Of course, we were in the long-term parking lot.  Stephen went to get the truck and he was gone so long I actually had a passing thought that he forgot me and the luggage and was on his way home.  But no, the news was, "the truck wouldn't start--dead battery."  Just what you don't want to hear at that hour.  Eventually, a parking lot worker took pity on me and maneuvered the cart around the pylons and over to the other lot.  We loaded the suitcases in the back seat and the boxes in the bed of the dead truck.  He and Stephen pushed it out of it's parking spot and I was able to get it started by popping the clutch--thank goodness for manual transmissions.  We were finally on our way when about 10 minutes out it started to rain, albeit lightly.  Yep--two cardboard boxes in the back and it's raining.  I decided the best solution was to pray!  Thank the Lord, it never rained harder than a light sprinkle even though the roads toward the city were soaked.  We pulled in to our townhouse about 10:00 p.m., backed the truck in to guard against it not starting and unloaded.  I left everything to be unpacked in the morning, but Stephen unpacked his suitcase and found that one of the liquids had completely leaked out and soaked some of his clothes.  Enough for one day!

Today has been quite busy with the cable/phone bill to pay at Plaza Merliot and the rent and water bill to pay at Banco Agricola.  Washed the dirty clothes and unpacked the food we brought back.  Tonight we are packing for Costa Rica and after less than 36 hours in the house, we will head to the airport in the morning at 6:00 a.m.  

Tomorrow night we will start the campaign by visiting Cartago--the site of annual pilgrimage called the "Romeria" to the Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Los Angeles.  You can read the story of the apparition of the "La Negrita" and the tradition of the pilgrimage here. We will be sharing the gospel with the people who are there to see the spectacle of the pilgrimage.  

 

The rest of the week will progress like a normal campaign, school visits in the mornings and family festivals in the evenings.  Please pray for the teams coming from the states and our team from El Salvador who started their 26+ hour drive at 3:00 a.m. this morning.  We are taking the easy way with a flight that's just over an hour.