'Pure life' abounds in Costa Rica

Shelbyville Times-Gazette: Story: 'Pure life' abounds in Costa Rica

'Pure life' abounds in Costa Rica
Sunday, July 20, 2008
By John I. Carney

(Photo)
This is Marlon's church in San Josecito, a mission church of his father-in-law's much larger congregation in San Isidro.
(T-G Photo by John I. Carney)
[Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]
SAN JOSECITO, Costa Rica -- According to the Lonely Planet phrasebook Costa Rican Spanish, the phrase ¡Pura vida! "embodies Costa Rican life. Meaning literally 'pure life,' it is really a more profound concept encompassing well being, positivity and harmony. It can variously be translated as 'great,' 'cool,' 'right on,' etc."

"Pura vida" has become Costa Rica's informal motto, a sort of Latin American version of "hakuna matata" (which was a real Swahili phrase long before "The Lion King"). You see it in advertising, on souvenirs, and you hear it in casual conversation.

The relaxed atmosphere in Costa Rica was part of what made my LEAMIS International Ministries mission trip there such a delightful experience. There were times I felt a little guilty for being in what was a much more pleasant atmosphere than some of my previous mission trips. This particular trip turned out to be more about spiritual partnership than poverty relief, although we made a few contacts that might lead to future mission trips in more remote areas of the country.

Team leader Frank Schroer, Megan Siegrist and I left for Costa Rica early on the morning of July 5. Because our flight was so early in the morning, we'd spent the night of the Fourth at Megan's parents' home in Nashville. I met Megan (and her mother, Margaret) when they were part of our 2006 LEAMIS trip to Kenya. I've known Frank for years, through LEAMIS and before that through a domestic missions group with which I'm involved and for which Frank used to be a staff member.

LEAMIS is a small interdenominational missions group based in Marion County. I've been taking foreign mission trips through LEAMIS since 2003.

Our work was based in the communities of San Isidro and San Josecito, in Heredia province, in the hills overlooking Costa Rica's largest city, San José. Our hosts were a pastor named Eduardo from the Iglesia Cristiana Jesucristo Es El Señor (Jesus Christ is Lord Christian Church) in San Isidro, Heredia province, and his son-in-law, Marlon, from a smaller mission church which the large church sponsors in San Josecito.

As soon as we arrived in San José, we were taken to Eduardo's church for lunch -- rice, ham, salad, and peaches.

Marlon, 33, is young, enthusiastic, and has a great sense of humor -- but then, again, his father-in-law is also upbeat and congenial.

The Hoosier and the Tica

Each of the LEAMIS team members would stay in a different household. I stayed with Dan and Melissa Shockley. Dan is from Indianapolis; he was on his second visit to Costa Rica when he fell in love with native Costa Rican Melissa. He was at the end of his visa and had to return to the U.S., but he promised he would return for her as soon as he could. He returned, and they were married. Not surprisingly, there's been more of a need for him to learn Spanish, and so his Spanish is better than her English. But her English is a lot better than my Spanish. We managed to communicate fairly well, although my lack of Spanish turned out to be frustrating from time to time.

The Shockleys are happy in Costa Rica -- they talk about moving to the U.S. someday, but then again they're also looking at a couple of hilltop lots in the San Isidro area where they could build if Dan gets a hoped-for promotion at work. One night at church, they came forward and asked for prayer for the job situation. I couldn't tell what their prayer request was -- that particular part of the service wasn't being translated -- and I was panicked that there was some sort of health issue or other crisis which they hadn't told me about and which I'd been too dense to recognize. Melissa had told me earlier in the week that she was on a three-day fast -- why hadn't I asked her more about it? I rushed up to them after the service, only to have Dan tell me about the prayer.

Dan works from home some days -- he has a home Internet connection -- and goes into the office two days a week. San José has implemented a system where cars are only allowed into the city on certain days, depending on the last digit of their license tag. It's meant to reduce gas consumption and traffic. Sunday, the power was out in San Josecito and Dan had no choice but to work from the office. Melissa drove him into town, with me in the car, and then we returned home. On the way back to the house, she asked me if eggs and toast would be OK for breakfast. But the gate was locked, and Melissa realized she didn't have the key. So we had to turn around and head back into town to get the key from Dan.

By the time I got to the church, it was technically service time. But things don't always start "en punto" (on the dot) in Latin American culture the way the do in U.S. or Northern European cultures. When Marlon found out I hadn't eaten breakfast, he had Max, a church member, take me to a little cafe a few yards away. I ordered a ham sandwich and was delighted with it -- it had been heated in a sandwich press, just like the Cuban sandwiches I've been lucky enough to try a few times.

No hablo Español

It's funny how you have to catch yourself from being condescending towards someone who speaks a different language. I'd like to think I'm a relatively smart guy, but I'm sure I sound like a toddler in Spanish. And yet, when someone else tries to speak English, it sounds -- humorous. Max's attempts to cross the bridge and speak with me made me think of a mariachi sidekick character that Horatio Sanz used to play on "Saturday Night Live," and that's not at all fair to Max, who -- for all I know -- could be the most well-spoken man in San Isidro.

It's an ugly truth, and I'm sure it probably goes both ways. At least, that's what I tell myself.

(Photo)
On our last morning in San Isidro, Megan Siegrist chats with Eduardo, center, and Marlon (holding 9-month-old Nathaniel).
(T-G Photo by John I. Carney) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]
Megan, who came on the trip to function as our translator, speaks great Spanish. She learned in Spain and has also spent time in Chile. She was great translating for us in personal conversation, but she's a little hesitant about public speaking, and her in her first attempt at translating a sermon for Frank, she was soft-spoken and not very emotional. In mid-sermon, she yielded the job to Marlon, and I'm not sure that Marlon's grasp of English is as good as Megan's grasp of Spanish, so I hope that Marlon's translation matched Frank's intent. In any case, it was more enthusiastic than Megan's translation had been.

Frank and I, both of whom have been on several different trips to Spanish-speaking countries, both agreed we needed to get more serious about trying to learn the language.

Prior to Frank's sermon, a newborn baby was presented to the congregation. Marlon asked me to come up and pray for the baby. I'm not sure why; I suppose it was because he knew that Frank and Megan would have the morning's main spotlight and thought that this would give me a way to feel involved as well.

A real pizza Costa Rica

Lunch was served right after church -- but I had eaten right before church, and wasn't very hungry. However, when we left Pastor Marlon's church Melissa had to stop by Pastor Eduardo's church (which I think is where she and Dan actually attend) to look in on a sort of after-church bazaar raising money for a women's retreat. While we were there, I stopped by the booth that was selling a sort of gooey, snow-cone-like confection. Roughly crushed ice was topped with fruit-flavored syrup, but then sweetenened condensed milk and powdered milk were added as well. It was actually much better than it sounded, and really refreshing.

That night, Dan and Melissa offered to take me out for pizza and to the mall in Heredia. It was this night when it really hit me that Costa Rica is better off than some of the other countries I've visited. The mall had several of our traditional U.S. mall merchants.

The pizza really took me by surprise. It wasn't the pizza itself, which was fine. It was where we went to get the pizza. We went to PriceSmart, a Costa Rican chain which is, for all intents and purposes, a virtual copy of the Sam's Club stores here in the U.S. And, like Sam's Club, there's a snack bar selling pizza.

PriceSmart is owned by a U.S. company, but not the same one that owns Sam's Club.

Going to the mall and watching cable TV at Dan and Melissa's house made me feel like I wasn't really in the same kind of mission field as in my previous trips. But that's not to say there's not poverty in Costa Rica. On one morning, as we drove to a different church where I would speak to a meeting of pastors and their spouses, we passed through a slum every bit as bad as places I'd seen in Kenya and Nicaragua -- tin-roof sheds, vendors selling their wares from little booths made of branches and plastic tarp, and what have you.

The slum -- and I promise you I'm not making this up -- turned out to be on a hill with a great view of the shopping mall.

I hadn't noticed it up there during our shopping trip.

MONDAY: Corn starch plus water equals leadership

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I'd like to do more,too.

Somehow,I always seem to get more than I give when I try to be "altruistic".

But,maybe that's partly due to my becoming more aware of what all I have and how inadequate I'd be to try making things better all by myself.

It could have something to do with the fact that what those who have "nothing to offer" give freely is more valuable than silver or gold.

I've found it a bit easier to confine my do-gooding to a "lick and a promise" that lets me give myself a pat on the back and leave those I've helped (and more diligent servants) behind to take care of things 24/7.

I envy those of y'all who have taken up the challenge of learning real skills,doing real work and coming back to do it over and over again.

I'm grateful to those of you who give according to others' needs instead of according to what you can spare.

Some build cathedrals and set up t.v. networks and universities.

Some offer basic literacy,clean water and teach how to make soap.

Some don their Sunday best so they can fund neutering and feral colonies or Habitat homes at a party.

Some donate used clothing,furniture and books,put on roofs and build playgrounds,give blood,put out plants,clean kennels,play with the animals in the shelter,groom them and train them for new homes.

I think it's easier to give and accept help among strangers than the people you live and work with every day.

John,you do great work when you go on these mission trips but I hope it refreshes your spirit for what you do here.

I don't think we thank you enough for how you daily and consistently minister to your own home town.

When someone gives information,makes people think,gives people a voice and sets an example,it can make a world of difference.

Maybe,if the rest of us start where we are,do what we can and let ourselves grow into the challenges before us,we can make a difference,too.
-- Posted by quantumcat on Mon, Jul 21, 2008, at 6:39 AM

I really enjoyed this alot...You are a very lucky person to beable to go out and help others...God Bless you and keep it up....I would love to beable to help some of our people here...But right now the best I can do is give my time to the pets here that have no homes...I start wed. walking them and getting them out of their cages for a while....
-- Posted by rebelrose on Sun, Jul 20, 2008, at 9:23 AM