Wind Report – Costa Rica Men’s Retreat

By Brian Kirby:

It’s hard to believe that over 5 years have passed since my wife, Donya, and I last visited Talamanca on a medical team from FBCA.  Things have changed a bit since those trips in ’03 and ’04.  Back then, upon arrival in Vesta, we’d strap on our backpacks, cross over a river via swinging Cable Bridge and some creatively affixed planks of wood, and then hike all the way to Boicancito. Oh, and we did it uphill, in the snow and we liked it that way…  Ok, no snow.  Just got carried away with the nostalgia…  This time around, the bridge had obviously undergone an “extreme makeover”.  We easily made our way across the now all-metal foot-bridge to an awaiting pickup truck that carried our packs (and us) to our destination.

Our campsite was located right next to Pastor Pablo’s ”Soda” (small store selling hot food, coffee and cold drinks) on some land he recently purchased.  Night falls around 6 p.m. in Costa Rica so when we arrived around mid-afternoon, we wasted no time setting up our tents and water filtration system.  The rest of the evening consisted of getting reacquainted with some familiar faces from past trips and having a bite to eat.   The main dish at every meal was beans and rice (Gallo Pinto) combined with other sides.  Since Pastor Pablo was leading a worship service in Boicancito the evening of our arrival, we’d have to catch up with him the next morning.  For now it was off to tent for an early bedtime, because just as the sun goes down early, it also comes up early!

Thursday morning we gathered together with Pastor Pablo to discuss plans for the upcoming workshops, community projects and worship services.  I was surprised when he immediately greeted me by name after having been absent for so long.  It’s a real testament to how much our friendship and support means to our brothers and sisters in this community.  They don’t take our presence for granted and in fact have commented on various occasions how much our consistency means to them.  In one person’s words, “we haven’t been like meteorites; coming in fast and furious and then disappearing.”

Workshops were scheduled to begin on Thursday afternoon upon the arrival of our partners from San Jose.  Flexibility however is always the default setting on any trip of this nature, so when they were delayed due to a pot-hole instigated flat tire, we started the first workshops without them.  We ended up having a healthy, small group of men from the surrounding communities in attendance.  Topics ranged from God to spouses to kids to community.  As Curt spoke and translations were given for those in attendance, I noted something interesting.  Whenever questions were posed to the group for individual responses, the Cabeccar men were just as unlikely to answer in front of their friends as most men I know locally (including myself).  It just made me smile to see that for all our differences, we still have certain things in common.  Eventually, a brave soul would get the conversation rolling for everyone.  By the end of the day’s workshops, Pastor Alfredo even had everyone participating in some team-building games.

Friday morning, two of our team members gave English lessons to several children at our campsite, as the rest of us made our way to the local elementary school where we would be painting the tin roofs on two of their buildings.  Carefully negotiating the bamboo ladder with its thin wooden rungs, we climbed to the roof where we would spend the better part of the morning brushing the silvery tin with a terra cota colored coating of paint.  At one point, I ended up working close to Juvenal, one of the Cabeccar men who was now leading a small congregation in Bajo Cuen.  As we painted, I asked him to tell me about how he came to believe in Christ.  He spoke about some of the struggles he and his neighbors had been through and how they had returned to God.  I shared some of what it was like for me growing up on the mission field in Venezuela.  He paused from painting for a moment and straightened up.  “So you’ve been taught about God your whole life,” he said.  “That’s what I want for my children.”

After finishing up the school around noon time and enjoying some soup in the school cafeteria, we headed off to paint some other area roofs.  On our way, a man passing by smiled and thanked us for the work we’d done on the school that morning.  We were encouraged to know that the project had been well received and that the local church was well represented in the community.  Now I’ve got to be honest here and add that I did not do anymore painting with the rest of the guys Friday afternoon.  Pastor Pablo had requested that I give his son some computer lessons at their home, so I had the pleasure of spending the better part of the afternoon visiting with two of his terrific children.

When we caught up with the rest of our group later that afternoon, they were still busily slathering paint on rooftops.  Finding them was easy, as the sound of grown men walking on tin is fairly loud.  The kids decided that we could take a short cut across their back yard and through some dense foliage.  They were great guides and warned me of all the hazards to watch out for such as their ornery Turkey and thistle-bearing leaves on some plants along the pathway.  Just as calmly as I would read a street sign, they casually mention, “Keep your eye on that Turkey, he’s mean.  Just turn toward him and stomp a couple of times.  And oh yeah, see this plant?  Don’t touch it or you’ll have millions of tiny splinters in your hands, arms and legs.  The red whelps won’t go away for a long time.  Just step on it like this and you’ll be fine”.  This was no big deal, every-day stuff for them.  I couldn’t help but admire their cool street smarts they had earned living here.

Friday night’s worship service was coming up next, so we headed back to camp to clean up.  Being able to attend a worship service in Talamanca is a real treat to me because of how different it is from what I am used to.  It’s not just the obvious physical differences of open-air worship, few or no benches to sit on, dirt floors and the sound of light rain hitting the plastic tarp draped overhead.    It’s also the style and flow of the service.  There’s always a lot of on-the-spot congregate participation.   Pastor Pablo might say, “Brother Juvenal, come on up and take this guitar and lead us in some songs.”  Then Brother Juvenal would invite his whole family up to help him lead the congregation in singing.  After those songs, “Brother Leopoldo, come on up and lead us in a prayer.”  As he prays, the congregation will pray aloud with him.  After that, “Ok, all the kids come on up and lead us in some songs” or “Who would like to come up and share a testimony or a word of encouragement that God has given you?”  It feels kind of like a good old fashioned church potluck, except instead of food people share praise.  Several of our team members took advantage of this opportunity to share during the course of the evening.

Saturday morning I was especially excited because the weather was beautiful and we were going to get to hike to Bajo Cuen (the newest church site being led by Juvenal) and then to Boicancito (the church site we had started with in 2003).  Most of the day was spent hiking on trails, which made for the perfect opportunity to get to know the person walking closest to you.  As it turns out, the conversations I had with my hiking neighbors did more to build friendship than any other activity on our trip.

When we arrived at Bajo Cuen, there was already a group gathered at their church site.  After a brief worship and prayer time together, Pastor Pablo shared the vision that God had given him for this and other areas in Talamanca; recounting the ways that God had orchestrated events and encounters along the way.  As he had been faithful to seek God’s guidance and timing, God had proven capable of opening any door.  Listening to Pastor Pablo speak, I realized again how the testimony of God’s power in the lives of His children is a wonderful tie that binds us together.

Saturday evening, Pastor Pablo invited us to attend an evening worship service/birthday party that another congregation was having in a nearby village.  The hour-long hike to and from the church site would have to be made in the dark and would take us through several river crossings (thankfully only knee-high at this time of the year).  He wanted us to appreciate some of the experiences that the Cabeccar go through on a daily basis.  As we made our way along the trails, I thought about the families that had attended our worship service the evening before.

We arrived at the church to a candle-light service (there was no gasoline for the generator) and took our seats on the log benches.  The service, typical of the area, began with various individuals and families leading in several songs followed by prayer.  While we sang, one of the church leaders approached Oscar, one of our partners from San Jose, to ask if he would provide the night’s message.  Talk about on-the-spot congregate participation!

The hike back to our campsite that night was beautiful as the full moon broke through the clouds, providing enough light to cast our shadows on the ground.  We turned off our headlamps and enjoyed a landscape so well-lit, even the rocks at the bottom of the river were clearly visible.  It was like having a special, after-hours pass in God’s garden.  I forgot all about being tired from hiking all day.  All I wanted to do now was enjoy the view and reflect on our experiences from the past few days.