2013 Sports Evangelism Mission Trip Day Two Update May 27th Seth Davey Day 1 is complete and what a day it was! First we woke up to a wonderful Costa Rican breakfast at the Nazarene Seminary, courtesy of our missionary guide, Danny. It consisted of Rice and beans, ham and eggs, delicious tropical fruit, and cereal. Oh, and they have a “special sauce” for the rice that is nothing short of life-changing! As we ate, Danny asked us all to share our own personal reasons for coming on the trip, and afterward he gave us a much-needed reminder that we aren’t here for ourselves nor even for other people; rather we are here for God’s glory. Danny’s devotion prepared our hearts for what we were about to do. Before travelling to a local public school consisting of around 1,200 students, we stopped at the market place, which was a long, tight corridor of vendors pressed together beneath a tent. We all bought different things during our short 30-minute walk-through, and some of us were even able to share a little of the Gospel with the people in the tents. For instance, I bought a beautiful painting from a man named Max. He was an ex-professional soccer player who played for the Costa Rican national team in the early 90’s. I asked him about his reasons for retiring and whether he wished he was still playing. I thought it a bit odd to find a professional soccer player working as an anonymous vendor. He was a very nice man and open to talk. I was able to share with him a little of why we came. Then, his friend, Vladimir, came over and began to talk as well. Vladimir was an American from the Bronx who had moved to Costa Rica with his father a year ago. He immediately told me that his father died 4 months ago and that he was still trying to pick up the pieces of his life. I was able to tell him I would pray for him before I left. He wasn’t a religion man – according to him, but he really appreciated the conversation. As did I. We then hopped back on the bus and drove to Mexico College. In Costa Rica they name their high schools after different countries, which we found very interesting. As soon as we walked through the doors we felt like celebrities. People stared at us and whispered to each other. It was surreal. We sat down in the cafeteria and ate a delicious school lunch of home-made rice and beans, some kind of natural fruit drink, and raw vegetables. Public school food in Costa Rica is miles better than public school food in the US. After we were finished eating, we made our way into the gymnasium to play against 3 of the school’s teams. We walked by 200 high-school kids who sat in the bleachers, anxiously awaiting the match. Again we felt like celebrities. First we played a 30-minute game against the freshmen and sophomore boys. The crowd was going wild! Next we played against the high-school girls team and I had the privilege of being their goal-keeper! That was certainly a highlight of the week. Last we played the Junior and Senior guys in a very competitive match. Amazingly, all 200+ spectators stayed the whole time, even though it was technically an after-school event. We then took a pause in proceedings and broke up into small groups with the kids. Each of us sat at a different point in the gym and kids came and sat next to us! Though our Spanish was often suspect, we were able to carry on a decent conversation in our groups. Danny then called me up to the microphone and translated for me as I gave a brief Gospel presentation to the whole assembly. Afterward some of the kids said they thought the words were beautiful and they questioned whether we “really” believed in God. Though we didn’t see any conversions on day 1, the seeds of the Gospel were definitely planted and we pray some will take root. After the proceedings were over, we said our goodbyes and headed back to the seminary to rest before dinner. We were exhausted! But when Danny told us the Seminary had in indoor pool with a basketball goal inside, we decided to forego resting and play a hard game of no-holds-barred pool basketball! It was the most fun we’ve all had since our Chucky Cheese days! Unfortunately, Nathan cut his head on the rim at the very end of the game and left a trail of blood from the pool to the bathroom! Fortunately it wasn’t deep enough to need stitches. Mr. Wiggins played the role of nurse and honorably kept his son from bleeding to death! We then hopped back on the bus and ate at an awesome restaurant called La Casa De La Dona Lela. Everyone needs to put that restaurant on their bucket list. Now. Do it… right now. It was great. We also bought fresh mangos on our way home and they were unbelievable. Costa Rica is a tropical paradise and the fruit is straight from Eden. As we look back on the day’s events, we are humbled by the reminder that God loves everyone. Whether it’s a retired soccer player in a marketplace or kids at a random school in a poor part of Costa Rica, God sees them and wants us to share His great Gospel with them. His compassion is amazing! When we were playing soccer with the kids, no one cared about the score. We had become friends with those kids in such a short time. They listened to the Gospel and respected us for coming. God gave us favor in their eyes and we’re incredibly humbled by that! We can’t wait to wake up tomorrow morning and do it again. Thank you so much for your prayers and I ask that you continue to pray that we’ll individually stay close to Christ this week so that we won’t be afraid to share the Gospel. We’ll be playing a lot of soccer this week and our flesh is weak. The language barrier is draining at times and can get discouraging. So pray that we won’t focus on our weaknesses but rather on God’s strength! Thank you! Seth Davey
Posted on: Fri, 21 Jun 2013 17:53:30 +0000
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