The Keywi Goes to Costa Rica

     Years before launching the Keywi project, I traveled to Costa Rica with my church for a short-term mission trip.  I had just finished graduate school and I was anxious to be out of the classroom and immersed in an overseas adventure! Nevertheless, despite the change of scenery and long-distance location, my studious habits still traveled with me. In preparation for the trip I made up a ring-bound set of flashcards with Bible verses in Spanish. I wanted to have some familiarity with God’s word in the Costa Rican native tongue.  All my years in Spanish classes had focused on practical things like where to find the bathroom or directions to a hospital... but if someone were to ask me about Jesus or to pray for them, I wanted to be prepared for that too! 

One of the girls at the school who
 helped us paint during our mission trip

While on the trip, we had a blast visiting orphans, painting churches and schools, and hosting an outreach at a new church site complete with face painting and live music.  We even traveled to Ometepe, an island on Lake Nicaragua.  While on the ferry there, an American woman informed me that the island was not only volcanic, but one of the top active volcanic islands in the world! 

"Oh yes," she told me "back in 2004 we had to evacuate the island because of all the smoke!"
A little unnerved at the news, I tried to suppress my imagination of bursts of flames flying through the air and molten lava careening down the mountainside.  Fortunately, the volcano was not really an immediate threat.  Instead, it was the scorpions in the end which terrorized our group. Late one night, I was elected to venture out of our little bungalow to find a doctor for our friend who was continually throwing-up. En route, a scorpion stung me in the dark, causing my entire arm to swell for a few days! Later on, one of our companions discovered a pregnant scorpion in his suitcase...apparently, "Bertha," as he affectionately named her, had just given birth to a dozen tiny scorpions in his socks.  

Michael and David sharing experiences with 
Teen Challenge over dinner our last night in Costa Rica

     Besides discovering what type of home remedy to use on scorpion stings, I also had the opportunity towards the end of the trip to encourage David, a new friend from San Jose.  David had recently been through Teen Challenge and delivered from addiction. He expressed that he was going through a difficult time in his life and feeling very attacked and discouraged. I translated a conversation between him and an American friend of mine, Michael, who had also been delivered from addiction and had gone through the Teen Challenge program. Michael encouraged him to stay strong and faithful to the Lord even in the midst of doubt and discouragement. Mike quoted Revelation 2:4-5 where Jesus admonished the church at Ephesus: "you have forsaken your first love...repent and do the things you did at first."  He urged David to go back to doing what he first did when he met Jesus. I could tell that David was truly inspired and blessed by Mike's words as well as the fellowship he felt with someone who had met and overcome similar challenges. 
Before leaving, I gave David my pack of flashcards with all the Spanish verses I had memorized. I hoped it would encourage him to stay committed to God’s truth and inspire him to continue on the path God had prepared for him.

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