Ok our schedule here is pretty much set in stone. We are up and gone by 7 so that we can get to the Church by 7:15 for breakfast. We then start the activities for that day and continue until lunch at 12. At 1:30 we start the afternoon activities. At 6 we have dinner and the gospel meeting starts at 6:30. So we are pretty sure what our routine will be in Costa Rica.
As I said before we are on an evangelism campaign here in Buenos Aires which is in the southern province of Puntarenas. Wednesday we were door knocking a lot. Now I don’t know how you feel about door knocking but I have mixed feelings about it and kinda hate it (I guess that’s not really mixed feelings). I’ve always viewed it as ineffective in the States and can’t see why people still do it. I mean really, how many times have you driven by the Mormons or Jehovah Witness guys and said, “Glad I’m not going to be home when they get to my house”. You know you’ve said that before. I’ve said it a lot. I give them a lot of credit for courage and dedication but I just don’t want someone coming to my house and giving me their opinions on the Bible or really anything if they aren’t invited, I don’t like it. I especially wouldn’t like it if a bunch of Chinese people, Central Americans, Africans, Germans or any other kind of person came up in my yard with a translator that they talked to me through, plus taking pictures of me and my house and family and yard and on and on. I might meet them at the door with my good friend Smith and Wesson. So I put myself in the shoes of the people here and I just don’t think people here like it very much either. So what did I do Wednesday? I went door knocking. There is a difference of the cultures, ours and that of Latinos. They are more community oriented than those of us from the States are. So maybe it isn’t quite as bad to door knock here but I still don’t really like it. I’ve done it here before and it just wasn’t that effective. So Wednesday morning I went with a few people and watched as the gringos used broken Spanish to invite the locals to the gospel meeting. But then something cool actually happened. This one lady invited us into her house to have a Bible study so we went in. I pretty much sat there as they talked in Spanish, catching a word here and there. Jose, my personal translator J, told me afterwards what all was said and it seemed like they had a good discussion. Then after lunch another cool thing happened. Jose, Leah and I went with a preacher to invite people to the meeting and we came upon this one lady sitting on the side of the road holding her kid. The preacher started talking to her, invited her to the church, and then asked if he could have a Bible study right then and there with her. She politely declined but the preacher kept insisting, like over and over. She kept saying no and no and no for like 5 minutes. I was sitting there the whole time thinking about how wrong this was and maybe it was wrong, I don’t know. So she finally says yes, maybe just so he would stop asking, but the four of us follow her down a path to her house. It’s a small little shack, maybe 10x15. Now the houses in Costa Rica are usually block houses, they aren’t nearly as bad as the Honduras housing. But this one was completely different, it was small and run down, had a dirt floor and wooden walls with spaces between the planks. So we sit down and the preacher starts talking with he and like 5 minutes in she starts saying how thankful and happy she is that we are there. She said that most people ask to talk with her but leave when they see her house or that people just pass completely without talking to her once they see her living conditions. She was so happy that we had taken the time to come to her house and study with her…… So that was pretty cool. Door knocking actually had an impact. That lady then came to the gospel meeting that night. Through door knocking, about 5 Bible studies were set up and they all went really well. So here is my new thought on door knocking. I still don’t like it BUT I don’t hate it. There is some good that comes from it. It may not be the most effective thing in the world but you have to put yourself in a position to talk to someone, to have a discussion. There are 5 people who would not have had Bible studies with us this week had we not gone to their door. Yes you are going to have doors shut in your face. Yes you are going to have people look out the window at you and when you knock on their door they just don’t answer. Yes you will have people pass you on the street and say, “Man I’m glad I’m not going to be home when they come to my house”. But it isn’t about reaching everyone through door knocking. Some people who will not respond well to door knocking may respond to something else. It’s about reaching those that will receive you into their homes and take time to study with you. It’s a method where you will reach some but not many but if you save one then it’s worth it. Paul said that he wanted to be all things to all people so that by all means a few might be saved. So Wednesday I was a door knocker and a few people responded….. And I still don’t really like it but good things happened. What do you think about door knocking? I’d like to hear other sides of the coin and the comment section seems like a good place.
So we had the first meeting Wednesday night and it went really well.
Thursday morning the men’s and women’s Bible class started and we didn’t knock on doors in the morning, we sat in the classes which were good. In the afternoon we started our VBS. The first one was in a local school with about 120 students. This year we are doing the story of Paul’s conversion. The kids really seemed to like it. We split them into groups afterwards and played games with them. All in all it lasted just over 2 hours and we had a lot of fun.
Today, Friday, was quite possibly the most fun I’ve had down here so far. In the morning we went to another school of about 80 kids and performed the VBS skit again as well as split them into groups for games and story time. This is where I saw her. I never asked her what her name was but if it wasn’t Dora the Explorer then I will be shocked. SHE IS REAL!!! This little chica made my day. The VBS went really well and we were back at the Church for lunch at 12. During lunch it started raining, It turned from a hot sunny day to a hot humid rainy day. So after lunch the VBS team went to another school, I didn’t go this time, while the rest of us were supposed to go door knocking. I had this feeling that the rain wouldn’t stop and we’d just get to hang around the church and maybe play with the kids, my gut feeling didn’t lead me astray. So we just sat for like an hour while the kids were having their classes and playing their games. We just kept sitting until the kids ran under the big tent we were at. They kept saying will you play?! Will you play?! We were like uhhh we’re tired but I guess, what are we playing? That’s when we saw a glorious sight. It was pouring down rain, thunder and lightning everywhere and the Costa Rican teacher is coming towards us with a box full of water balloons. HECK YES WE’LL PLAY!!!
So there are these little berries that fall from one of the trees near the church. A couple of the kids and I have been picking them up and throwing them at some adults and the other kids. Almost to the point where people no longer look up at the tree when they get hit by one of them, they look at us.
All the kids get in a circle under the tent and the gringos too. The young teacher starts handing one balloon to each kid. At some point she said go because I turned around and saw like 100 water balloons heading my way. Payback! Within seconds I was soaked. So I threw my balloon, I only had one, then did the next best thing. Chased kids through the rain, picked them up and threw them into water holes and ditches full of water. After the first one was out in the water wet, it was a free for all. It was like a herd of water buffalo jumping into the water to get away from a lion. So for the next 45 minutes we ran around barefoot in the torrential rains and thunderstorms sliding on the ground and rubbing mud on each other and tackling each other. There may also have been a water hose and buckets involved. It was great. I know of a 3 year old back home that would’ve had a blast today. It was an awesome day and hopefully I’ll get some more pictures posted on facebook soon. I heard the VBS team had another great performance and the Bible studies that were held today went really well. It was a day I really needed after feeling useless as a door knocker and worn out from a bus ride. I can’t say my attitude has been great this week because I’ve felt like I really haven’t been doing anything useful but a little bit of VBS and little bit of water fun were just what I needed.
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