I love going to the fruit stand up the street here in Costa Rica. I usually walk up in the morning to grab some green beans, an apple, or a pepper to take with me for the day. The other day when I went to the stand, an old man was there buying his own produce. I did the friendly (socially acceptable) thing- I smiled and then looked away. This man, however, did not. He smiled, but then stared at me for a good 2 minutes or more. All I could think was, "how rude!" and "this is NOT polite." I did my best to ignore him and turn my head so he couldn't stare. I know my pasty white skin is a rare sight around here, but this was getting ridiculous.
It was at this moment of me thinking the worst of this man that I realized he was trying to pay for the apple I wanted to buy. Embarrassment overwhelmed me. How dare I think the worst of this man when he was attempting to show me love?
John 7:24 reminds us, "do not judge by appearances, but with right judgement."
Far too often I make assumptions. I make assumptions based on appearances, limited knowledge, and biased judgments. And far too often these assumptions are wrong.
Things are not always as they seem. Maybe I shouldn't jump to hasty conclusions about my pasty skin attracting unecessary attention. Maybe I just shouldn't jump to conlcusions at all. Maybe I should leave that up to God and mind my own business.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Confessions of a Clueless Costa Rican
Because time on the internet is limited here, I don´t have a funny anecdote to tell and then relate to a Biblical truth. But I am sure those will come later... when I have more time. But for now, here´s an update on my Costa Rican happenings:
1. The food here is incredible. The Costa Rican ladies make dinner for us every night and it is AMAZING. Lots of beans and rice, vegetables, and good meat.
2. The people here are so kind. My first memory here is walking out of the airport to see a man who was smiling, greeting us and guiding us to our bus. It was a good feeling. I felt welcome.
3. I do not care for the tarantulas known to grace this area of the globe, including the kitchen where we are staying.
4. The carnecerias (meat shops) here are not like the ones in the United States. The smell is less than appetizing, along with some of the cuts of "meat" (cow stomach, chicken throats, sausage made from pig blood, etc.). However the two people who work there every day are so kind.
5. Soccer is HUGE here. I think I have watched more soccer in the past 3 days than I have watched over the course of my 21 years of existence. I tried playing in a little practice game back when we were at training camp. It was fun, but laughable on my part.
6. Previously mentioned soccer watching has resulted in awesome opportunities to talk with the Costa Ricans. Yesterday I talked with a family, one of the members (names Rossy) is suffering from cancer. They asked me to pray for her. Would you pray for Rossy too? Pray for healing, for comfort, for finances, and for the doctors´ wisdom.
7. Costa Ricans are not familiar with mint life savers. We shared some with them and they had no idea how to eat them. I tried not to laugh, knowing that I have done some fairly ridiculous things since being here as well.
8. The stray dogs here are like guard dogs. "Sophie," who has been here for the past couple years, waits for me to go get bread every morning. She runs up to me and follows me all the way to the panaderia (bread shop).
9. If you think of it, please pray for our team. Pray for unity, courage in sharing our faith, pray that the language barrier would not hinder our testimony, pray for safety and health, and pray that God would prepare the hearts of the people we talk to here in Costa Rica.
1. The food here is incredible. The Costa Rican ladies make dinner for us every night and it is AMAZING. Lots of beans and rice, vegetables, and good meat.
2. The people here are so kind. My first memory here is walking out of the airport to see a man who was smiling, greeting us and guiding us to our bus. It was a good feeling. I felt welcome.
3. I do not care for the tarantulas known to grace this area of the globe, including the kitchen where we are staying.
4. The carnecerias (meat shops) here are not like the ones in the United States. The smell is less than appetizing, along with some of the cuts of "meat" (cow stomach, chicken throats, sausage made from pig blood, etc.). However the two people who work there every day are so kind.
5. Soccer is HUGE here. I think I have watched more soccer in the past 3 days than I have watched over the course of my 21 years of existence. I tried playing in a little practice game back when we were at training camp. It was fun, but laughable on my part.
6. Previously mentioned soccer watching has resulted in awesome opportunities to talk with the Costa Ricans. Yesterday I talked with a family, one of the members (names Rossy) is suffering from cancer. They asked me to pray for her. Would you pray for Rossy too? Pray for healing, for comfort, for finances, and for the doctors´ wisdom.
7. Costa Ricans are not familiar with mint life savers. We shared some with them and they had no idea how to eat them. I tried not to laugh, knowing that I have done some fairly ridiculous things since being here as well.
8. The stray dogs here are like guard dogs. "Sophie," who has been here for the past couple years, waits for me to go get bread every morning. She runs up to me and follows me all the way to the panaderia (bread shop).
9. If you think of it, please pray for our team. Pray for unity, courage in sharing our faith, pray that the language barrier would not hinder our testimony, pray for safety and health, and pray that God would prepare the hearts of the people we talk to here in Costa Rica.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)