Bus adventure part 3

Sliding into a seat on the bus yesterday, Leah pointed to a hole in the floorboard beneath our feet and warned me not to fall through. The hole came in handy when I discovered an old dried up flower in my purse that needed to be discarded. I have a habit of picking bright flowers and carrying them with me for the day, but this one had had been with me for about 2 weeks. I simply let the shriveled flower fall from my hand, and it slipped through the hole beneath my feet, and onto the street. Those buses are so helpful.

A call to live big

I was listening to a sermon today from a friend's church in Seattle. The pastor ended his sermon with a quote by Sophie Scholl. She was a college student who produced and distributed anti-Nazi literature during WWII, for which she was killed. This exerpt from her diary is a profound challenge to me,

"The real damage in this world is done by those millions who want to just survive. Those honest men who just want to be left alone in peace, who don’t want their little lives disturbed by anything bigger than themselves. They’ve got no side, they’ve taken no cause, those who won’t take measure of their own strength for fear of antagonizing their own weakness. These are the real problem. Those who don’t like to make waves or enemies, those for whom freedom and honor and truth and principles are only literature. Those who live small, mate small, die small. It’s this reductionist approach to life. If you keep it small you will keep it under control. If you don’t make any noise, the bad guys won’t find you. But it’s all an illusion because they die too. Those people who roll up their spirits into tiny little balls so as to be safe. Safe? Safe from what? Life is always on the edge of death. Narrow streets lead to the same place as wide avenues. A little candle burns itself out just like a flaming torch. I choose my own way to burn, fidelity to Christ."

I don't want to live a small life. But there are many moments when I find myself pulling inward to try and stay safe. I am like the people Scholl describes who, "roll up their spirits into tiny little balls so as to be safe." When I do this, my spirit becomes stifled and constricted and I don't know what is wrong. Thankfully I serve a Lord who came to set the captives free. Through Scholl's words, He has reminded me once again not to live a life suffocated by the pursuit of safety and dulled by an absence of risk.

Omnipresent

The Bible says to mourn with those who mourn. Today I have wept over difficult news encountered by a friend.

The Bible says to rejoice with those who rejoice. Today I rejoiced with another friend who had great news.

It is incredible to encounter both extremes in one day. And yet God is intimately acquainted with both stories. He is present. He is involved. For Him, the tears of one do not cast a shadow on the celebration of the other. And the one rejoicing does not trivialize the one in pain. How beautiful it is that He can be with both of my friends at the same time...offering comfort or joy.

lessons learned in Spanish class

A few weeks ago in Spanish class my professor handed me a slip of paper with this scenario. "You are in a restaurant and when it is time to pay for your meal, you realize you forgot your wallet at home. Tell your waiter what you will do to solve the problem." In class, my prof was the waiter and I had to resolve the issue with him. What to do? In my broken Spanish I asked if I could go home to get money and return to pay my bill. No. Could I wash dishes to work off the bill? No. It was hard to come up with a solution. Finally I said I would call my dad and have him bring me money.

I had no idea I would eventually need that solution in real life. Tonight I went to dinner with a friend, and my credit card didn't go through. Always an uncomfortable situation, but I was prepared. I immediately called my teammate Jared, and he and another friend brought money down to the restaurant and then walked Leah and I home. Thanks Jared!

And that is why I am in a Spanish class.

An Unexpected Sermon Application

Tonight I was hanging out in my little office/studio/quiet room listening to a sermon that I downloaded from Imago Dei church entitled “Why did Jesus have to die?” As I listened, I was challenged by the many and beautiful meanings of Jesus’ death. Over time the pastor’s voice was being drowned out by the voice of my upstairs neighbor who was yelling and swearing at someone...in English. As the yelling continued for 30 minutes getting louder and more animated, I just wanted him to shut up so I could enjoy the sermon. How could he be so rude and self-centered to not realize his voice carries through the central air shaft and right into my apartment? Why doesn’t he just give me what I want…some quiet? Angrily turning up the volume on my computer, I was struck by my own self-righteousness. I understood in an instant why Jesus had to die.

Bus Adventures part 2

Last week was Holy Week and for the first few days we visited some friends in a town 3 hours south of San Jose. We returned home on Thursday morning, taking the last bus back to the city before transportation services ended for the Easter holiday.

I have a love/hate relationship with public transportation here. I love that it is cheap…$3.50 for a 3 hour trip. I love that I get to be with all sorts of different people…old people, children, etc. But I don’t like that I have to travel by someone else’s schedule. When the last bus leaves that means I have to leave, even though it is 6 hours before I wanted to. And I don’t like that it’s not always pleasant to be around people who are different from me.

It became clear right away that the person sitting in front of me on this journey was different. The person looked like a woman with long black hair, thick makeup, a yellow halter top, and platform heels. I realized quickly it wasn’t a woman… “she” was too tall and too muscular. It took the first hour of the trip for him to get settled in his seat. The settling in process included re-applying makeup every 5 minutes, and leaning over to fling his long hair into the aisle. It invariably landed on my knee. With my huge backpack under my feet my leg had no escape from the cascade of hair that fell on it.

I was free from the hairfall during the second half of the journey. He turned around in his seat so that he was facing backwards on the bus. The situation was incredibly awkward as I couldn’t look up without meeting his gaze. To make matters worse, he played music out loud and sang along for everyone’s entertainment. I wasn’t amused.

According to one of my Costa Rican friends, I am a magnet for unusual people and circumstances on buses. In all his years of riding the bus, he hasn’t had any experiences that compare to mine. Stay tuned for the next bus adventure…I’m sure it’s about to occur.

Bus Adventures part 1

I boarded the bus on a Friday morning at 6am and prepared for the trip to Monteverde, a forest and small town 5 hours away. My backpack was cumbersome and wouldn’t fit on my lap so I did what you are never supposed to do…put my pack in the overhead compartment across the aisle from me. Every time someone got on or off the bus I kept an eye on my pack…even waking out of sleep to do so.

About two hours into the trip I noticed the guy who was sitting across from me…right below my pack, looked back to someone and made specific hand signals. He had been on the bus since San Jose and for 2 hours he acted like he was traveling alone, so I thought it was odd that he suddenly communicated with someone…using code. I thought, “Something is going to go down the next time the bus stops.” As the bus slowed, the guy stood up and grabbed my bag. He quickly handed it back to another guy a few rows behind him who was headed for the back door while he walked to the front door. I jumped out of my seat and chased the guy with my bag. Just as he turned to get off the bus I grabbed his shoulder with one hand, and my bag with the other. Thankfully he just handed it over without a fight or I would have had to pull out my Tae Kwon Do moves.

Upon returning to my seat, I discovered that my bag fit nicely under my feet and I slept peacefully the rest of the trip.

another day...another embarrassing moment

It's bad enough when I try saying "I had a nice trip" and I actually say "I had a nice old woman" (viaje/vieja). But then I have all sorts of other embarrassing things happen.

Last Friday my team and I visited downtown San Jose. As we walked through the pedestrian shopping area admiring the buildings, shops, and Tico's, I was approached by a very large "person". They walked straight towards me with their arms outstretched and suddenly I was enveloped in blue foam. My team turned around just in time to see me being released from the arms of a person dressed up in a foam costume that looked like a credit card. You know...the kind of costume that is usually found at little kid's birthday parties. Although I don't know why anyone would advertise credit cards to little kids. I tried to play it cool, but my team started pointing and laughing and describing how red my face was. They were joined by about a thousand Tico's who were within a 10 foot radius of the scene.

On Saturday Carlos and Tati hosted a welcome party for us. The guest list included the local CCC board of directors. Towards the end of the night I noticed that my friend Juan and his wife were saying goodbye to everyone. I approached Juan to give him a kiss on the cheek and say goodbye but he blocked the kiss with his hand and said, "No." I was shocked because Juan is usually so friendly.

Carlos yelled from across the room, "Juan is giving you, Leah, and Jared a ride home." I didn't need to say goodbye because I was actually leaving too! Again I heard the laughter and derision of my team.

car alarms and wrong numbers

This morning my roomie and I went on a walk around the neighborhood. We passed by a teal green car with it's alarm going off. Not so unusual because car alarms are as common as birds chirping. But what was unusual was a parking attendant who nonchalantly and thoroughly washed the car as it was beeping and blaring and trying to get someone's attention that it was being violated. At least I think it was a parking attendant. Maybe he was a car thief who was trying to throw me off with his "good samaritan" spirit.

In other news...I have found that every time my house phone rings I get nervous. Will I answer right? Will I be able to understand the person? Will men keep calling and asking for a someone named Alexis? Every day a different man calls and asks for Alexis...it's starting to make me wonder about the woman who was the previous resident. I've finally figured out four simple words to communicate she doesn't live here. "Ella no vive aqui".

I end up talking to random men on my cell phone too...
Today I answered my cell phone and after a volley of "hello" between me and the caller, I finally heard him say ...."mi amor". That was my cue to hang up. I don't know who this guy is but I'm certainly not his love. It's at moments like these that I am glad I don't understand much Spanish....

My apartment is quite secure

I think I found the most secure apartment in all of San Jose. Today the security was so tight that I couldn't even get in.

I went out this morning to run a quick errand. I headed to the mall where there is a bank that I can exchange money at. On the way, a friend called and we chatted for 30 minutes. Then I got to the bank and it was closed...it doesn't open until 1pm. Well I thought I could at least grab a quick coffee at a great Italian coffee stand in the mall. Only it took me 5 minutes of butchering Spanish before I could understand how much it cost. The guy next to me shouted out the cost in English...so I paid exactly what he said...and received money back.

Anyway, I digress from my secure apartment. After returning from the mall I walked through the iron gate and then up to the door. I don't have a key to this door because the guard who is on duty 24/7 is the one who opens the door to get into the building. After I am inside, I use 2 keys to get into my apartment. Typically the outside door buzzes open automatically because the guard is outside in a little box and he sees me approaching. But if I need to get his attention, there is a doorbell to ring. So I rang the doorbell and waited....and waited...and waited. I rang again and waited. This scene repeated about 10 times. A mixture of frustration and hilarity overcame me. And I walked across the street to the Crusade house to get some work done.

Three hours later I returned, hoping to penetrate the iron clad security. The same thing happened. I determined to wait a full 5 minutes before I despaired. Finally, the guard, Eddy, poked his head out the front door and there I was. It was at this moment that he decided to enlighten me about ANOTHER doorbell to ring if he doesn't hear the first one. Thanks Eddy.

STINT...where less happens in a day than I thought humanly possible.

So I've been in Costa Rica for a week and I have been reduced to having the capacity of a 10 year old. Actually, when I was 10 I think I was able to accomplish more in a day than I am able to right now in Costa Rica. Yesterday I took the bus with a friend, and he had to show me the exact coins to use to pay because I didn't understand when he told me how much it was. I find myself following my friends around like a lost puppy because I don't know how to even take care of basic things in life. Well, that is what this blog is for...to help me tell all of you the crazy things that happen on STINT. And maybe in a few months you can celebrate with me when I understand how much things cost.

The "Best" chain letter I have seen

"My name is Billy Evans. I am a very sick little boy. My mother is typing this for me, because I can't. She is crying. The reason she is so sad is because I am so sick. I was born without a body. It doesn't hurt, except when I try to breathe. The doctors gave me an artificial body. It is a burlap bag filled with leaves. The doctors said that was the best they could do on account of us having no money or insurance. I would like to have a body transplant, but we need more money. Mommy doesn't work because she said nobody hires crying people. I said, "Don't cry Mommy," and she hugged my burlap bag. Mommy always gives me hugs, even though she's allergic to burlap and it makes her sneeze and chafes her real bad.

I hope you will help me. You can help me if you forward this email to everyone you know. Forward it to people you don't know too. Dr. Johansen said that for every person you forward this email to, Bill Gates will team up with AOL and send a nickel to NASA. With that funding, NASA will collect prayers from school children all over America and have the astronauts take them up into space so that the angels can hear them better. Then they will come back to earth and go to the Pope, and he will take up a collection in church and send all the money to the doctors. The doctors could help me get better then. Maybe one day I will be able to play baseball. Right now I can only be third base.

Every time you forward this letter, the astronauts can take more prayers to the angels and my dream will be closer to coming true. Please help me. Mommy is so sad, and I want a body. I don't want my leaves to rot before I turn 10. If you don't forward this email, that's okay.

Please help me. I try to be happy, but it's hard. I wish I had a kitty. I wish I could hold a kitty. I wish I could hold a kitty that wouldn't chew on me and try to bury its turds in the leaves of my burlap body. I wish that very much.

Thank you,
Billy "Smiles" Evans

p.s. You can send money to the person who sent you this because that person is very trustworthy. Make it tens and twenties, please."