Jesus with skin on

It was our first meal in Cachí (the village where we stayed in Costa Rica) when we met our friend, José.  As we finished our meal, I looked out the window to my right and saw a little boy’s head peeking around the corner.  I waved and he smiled back.  After a good 5 or 10 minutes of staring in the window, he decided to come inside with his own permission.  The group was receiving directions for the day when this boy began walking around, giving hugs, waving “hello,” and making himself at home. 

I tried to ask José how he was, “Como estás?”  No reply.  Then I tried to ask him his name, “Como se llama?”  No reply.  As a last resort, I simply tried to say hello, “Hola?”  Still, no reply.  It turns out that José is deaf.  It broke my heart that I couldn’t communicate with this little boy who was so excited that the gringos had arrived in Cachí.  How would I build a relationship with him?  How would I get to know him?  How would I share with him about Christ? 

The fact that we struggled to communicate with José didn’t deter him from visiting us daily.  Everyday as our bus would return from our village ministry, José was standing in the road awaiting our return.  He wore the biggest smile, waved his arms, and ran alongside of the bus as we pulled up to the church.  José was a common sight to see among our team.  He loved to take our cameras and have paparazzi photo shoots, he loved to clap to the music we played, he gave daily hugs, and was our biggest fan at futsal games. 

By the end of our stay in Cachí, it was apparent that we had all built a relationship with our new friend.  As we said our goodbyes as we loaded the bus to leave, José gave out his famous hugs (this time a little longer than normal) and shed tears to see us go.  It broke my heart.  But I was joyful in knowing that we had managed to show love to José (and he showed love to us) regardless of the fact that we could not talk to him.  We had shared Christ with José. 

Our ministry in Costa Rica was with the ticos there.  For the most part, they did not speak English, or only spoke a little.  This made ministry difficult for many people on the team who did not know any Spanish.  How could we share Christ if we couldn’t speak the same language?  Where do you begin? 

Just like with José, sharing Christ does not need to come from words alone.  Of course, we were equipped with Spanish pamphlets that explained the Gospel, but the main way we shared Christ was through our actions.  The students were often sent out to be “Jesus with skin on.”  This was a time for students to go out into the villages and do things Christ would do: pick up trash, buy treats for kids, wash cars, strike up conversations with lonely people (even if these conversations only consisted of ‘como estás?’), clean someone’s shop, LOVE PEOPLE. 

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”  (John 13: 34-35)

That’s what we are called to do: love people.  So find ways to love.  How can you love with actions?  How can you share Christ in all you do?  Go and be Jesus with skin on.