Nicoya

The sunlight streaming though the van window gently prods me awake. Through my mosquito net, the green mountains and pastures filled with grazing cattle invite the day in, along with the sounds of running, playing children in the large lot we’re parked in. I wiggle out of my sleeping bag, the heat close to unbearable already, and soak in the peace of quiet countryside.


The last few weeks have been a blur of classes, homework, and writing an intense 40 page Final Project demonstrating an application of topics covered. With topics as varied as resource stewardship, community health education, microenterprise, and church planting, still God has brought a couple recurring themes out: transformation starts with me and development must be wholistic. Then there is the question of what comes next simmering on the backburner of my mind. I smile at the thought of upcoming Christmas trees and family. And God. He’s pretty cool, actually. Guiding me through the waiting on direction, using the teachers to speak truth into my mind and about issues that much of the world faces daily. I’m enjoying this intimacy that is beginning to flow in our relationship as he challenges me on compromising and strengthens me in the inevitable spiritual resistance to obeying that challenge.

But today, the final project is handed in, it’s a long weekend, and decisions can wait for another day. After the cold weather, constant traffic, and cement landscape of mountainous San Jose, the sunshine, grass, and blue skies of the Nicoya YWAM base unthaw the stress. All of the bases in Costa Rica have gathered here for a weekend of casual fellowship, complete with a South Pacific style pig roast, campfire worship, a soccer game, and long bike rides on bumpy back roads. Thanks Jesus, for a weekend to experience your peace on a tiny farm in Costa Rica.