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The Word of the Lord.
"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being likeminded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father." Phil. 2:1-11 The days come and go, and there is some semblance of sameness: the study, the grocery shopping, the meal preparation, the little things that keep a home going, the practice of Spanish, the visiting with others. Oh, and the email, which is wonderful. At times it is easy to lose sight of what I think is my "goal": to be a missionary in Lima. The preparation phases are not always easy, but are necessary! There are days when I can actually sit down and have a (basic) conversation with someone in Spanish. There are other days when it seems my brain and tongue have no connection at all! And then there are the stretches of days when I wonder if I was ever really intelligent when I lived in the States! Many of us in Language School have laughed about how badly we want to explain to the nationals here in Costa Rica that we are, in reality, not stupid, and used to hold jobs and be useful and were able to express our feelings !! One day (during one of these stretches) I went to buy groceries at the small store down the street, and the girl behind the cash register greeted me: "Como le va?" (How does it go?). In my brain I worked through the process of translation.... Let's see, in English, I would say, "It is going fine", or "It is going well", which would be the verb "to go", which is "ir", an irregular verb, in the third person..... or I could just say "It is good" which is the verb "estar" in the third person..... so what came out of my mouth was: "Esta bien". Pretty simple, eh? She burst out laughing. And I stood there like I had been slapped in the face. "? Que?" , and she just laughed again, almost hysterically, and I was going back over my translation, thinking, okay, what did I say, I think that was right,... and I ask her "?Rie a mi Espanol?" (You laugh at my Spanish?), and she nodded "Si" . Well, maybe in an isolated incident this wouldn't have been too hard. But it hadn't been a good week! I felt so crushed. And I could feel the walls start to go up, and I thought, fine, I won't speak Spanish in here. So I got my things, picked up the few pieces of my dignity that were left, and headed home. With all that is going on in the world, this doesn't sound like a big deal. Even as I look back at it, it doesn't sound like a big deal. But it FEELS like a big deal! This is the type of experience shared over and over again by the many students in Language school here, (and I'm sure, by many international students in our own communities in the States). In a world where there is war against terrorism, and friends who have family members with life threatening illnesses, "just learning Spanish" isn't a big issue. But there are days when the corrections get old, and communicating at a 4 year old level just isn't all its cracked up to be. All this just to say, when I think of coming into a new culture and learning a new language, I know that at this point (but hopefully, only for a time) I am giving up something that is basic to me: communication. I love communicating. I love it on every level: email, telephone, one on one, small groups. I love "connecting" with people. And I love talking to people about Jesus. As I was reading Scripture the other day, I read this familiar passage in Philippians, and again had to laugh at myself. The second person of the Trinity, Jesus the Son, "who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." Jesus gave up all of his rights, dignity, and the glory of being God to come into this world and be like me. I am so thankful he did, and I ask your prayers for me as I continue to learn the language and the Latin culture, that it will be God who is at work in me, doing his good work in me, through me, and in spite of me, and reaching people for Christ. Pray for me to be humble in spirit.... It does not come easily. A Good Perspective. One of my friends in Language School told me that every day, he goes home, turns his TV to the Chinese channel for one minute, and then says "Gracias a Dios, that I am only learning Spanish." !!!! Street Kids are everywhere. One of MTW's interns is in San Jose until December, looking at opportunities with Street Kids in this country. The church he attends had an event for some of the kids on the street that they have been building relationships with during this past year. They shuttled them to the church in a van, brought them into the church gym, fed them, played soccer with them, showed a movie in Spanish, had a short Bible study, and attended part of the evening worship service. It was a 6-8 hour event. I went for the last 3-4 hours. I did talk to some of the kids (which was difficult, since they only speak Spanish), but mostly observed, as a stranger who had walked into the room but did not have relationships with those particular kids. After some time, I asked my friend about some of the kids and their stories. He told me that one of the girls I had been talking to the most, a quiet 15 year old, was a prostitute. I can't begin to describe the feeling of helplessness I had at that moment. I could give her the law, and tell her how harmful her choice of survival profession was in every way: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. What good would that do? If she doesn't understand her worth and value in Jesus Christ, it will not do any good, at least not for any length of time. I had just been thinking that I was getting tired, and hungry, and wanted to go home to my apartment. I stood with my friend, and looked at these teenagers, and thought, they have no place to go back to except the streets, and they don't know where their next meal is coming from. They don't have education, job skills, or the love of a family. Most of the stories are the same: either getting kicked out of the house at an early age, or leaving the house because being on the street would be preferable to being in an abusive situation. Their life is a life of survival. Satan would love to overwhelm all of us with the task at hand. The war against terrorism: who can fight such an elusive enemy? Kids on the street: who can change their hearts and turn them to Christ? The answer is the same: God can do it, and he will do it. You and I are the hands and feet, but God changes the heart, God does the work from the inside, God accomplishes his work. Remember?? Ezekiel chapter 36: Not for your name sake, but for HIS Holy Name's sake!!! A quick note. I have become aware that I am not receiving all of my email. The Berrys are having a similar problem. We believe it is the local internet service, but they say it is our configuration. Regardless of the cause, for the remainder of my time in Costa Rica, if you send me an email and I don't respond within a week, please write to me again or resend the original. I am pretty good at responding, and chances are in that case that I never got it!! Prayer is essential. Thank you all for your continued prayers!! I like to joke with a friend of mine that I am giving him a wonderful opportunity for growth and service by having him pray for me! And likewise, what an opportunity I have had to pray for many of you and what you are going through in the States. Please continue to pray for my total dependence on God. I keep this prayer request at the forefront of the list because it is crucial. Please also continue to pray for my language learning. I love communicating, and it will be critical when I get to Lima and begin to develop relationships with the nationals there. Praise God for my team, and the time we have been able to share together here in Costa Rica. The Berry's, Sean and I have been able to spend fairly regular time together, getting to know one another and praying together. Again, Satan would love to tear this team apart, but I am asking you to pray that he will have no power against our team. Please pray for the rest of my team: for Julie Murphy, who should arrive in Lima toward the end of this year and be my housemate, and for Frank and Suzanne Matthews and their twin sons (not quite a year old!). Frank is going through the process of ordination in St. Louis this month!! Please pray for their entire family during this stressful period. Frank and Suzanne plan to leave the States for Costa Rica next fall, and come to Lima in the spring or summer of 2002. Please continue to pray for President Bush and his advisors, our government, our military, and the CDC. The list could go on and on. "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you (US!!) will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Phil. 1:3-6 And oh, by the way, I learned that I should have answered the question "? Como le va ?" with a simple: "Bien, gracias." !!!
Laura Deadwyler Date - October 29, 2001
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