Riley Covington: Costa Rica Update #2

Today was a wonderful day of dreams fulfilled, hopes dashed, relationships deepened, and praises sung. Just an FYI before I launch too deeply into this tonight – Sorry, but I don’t plan on launching too deeply into this tonight. It’s past 10:00pm and the all-day pastor-training seminar begins at 8:00am. So, I’m going to do my best to keep this short and sweet (as all the members of my congregation snicker behind their hands at the thought of me keeping anything short and sweet).

Zac working the Ferrari

Dreams Fulfilled:

· Today was Canopy Zip Line Day. Most of the team spent the morning harnessed to cables ripping at lightning speeds through the jungle treetops. Zac was given the one set of rigging they called the Ferrari (with a name like Diamanti – who else would they give it to?). It turned out to be a very apt name. Overall, it was the adventure that many had been waiting for, and it lived up to expectations.

· Two words – Más Café (this is a personal dream that I seek to fulfill every time that I am down here, and one that I hope to repeat each morning, afternoon, and most evenings).

We were fine until we saw the coatimundis and kinkajous
going by two-by-two

Hope Dashed:

· We all hoped that the torrential rains would wash away the pancaked, gut-purged bullfrog that we have to pass every time we walk through the parking lot. Alas…

· Actually, that’s pretty much it for this category.

Relationships Deepened:

A little pre-breakfast family worship

· Our team (and by this I mean Americanos y Ticos alike) has blended together like a delicioso plato of beans and rice (which just happens to be one part of what we are served at most every meal – and is so ridiculously good that we couldn’t be happier!). We have truly become family in every sense of the word (well, not in every sense – for instance, “The Family” can refer to the mafia and we’re not like that; “Family” can be used in a taxonomical hierarchy as that classification which lies between order and genus and we’re not like that; “Family” can also be used in an etymological sense to denote the wider relationships of like words and we’re not like that. Instead, I use “family” more in line with the Sister Sledge declaration of having “all my sisters with me” [a phrasing which opens a whole new can of worms that I’m really loathe to delve into at the present time]). That family-making, my friends, is a God-thing.

· There are many other examples of relationships deepening, but it is now past 10:30pm. So…yeah.

The Youth Pastor/Worship Leader getting his dance on
(so much so, it was impossible to get a non-blurry pic of him)

Praises Sung:

· We had our first church service tonight. One thing I’ve found as I’ve traveled many places is that you don’t have to understand the language in order to worship. Worship is so much less about the words that come out of our mouths than it is about the focus of our hearts. So, together we praised God as our hearts sang out the adoration that our minds couldn’t verbally comprehend.

· By the way, the bassist for the worship band makes Geddy Lee look like an amateur.

· Oh, and the lead guitarist ain’t no slouch either.

Here are a few things to be praying for:

· Pray for the pastor training that Mike and I will be leading tomorrow 8am-4pm (by the way, we’re mountain time zone down here). Especially be praying for Mike – he’s never done anything like this before. I’ve got so much respect for him stepping up and going way out of his comfort zone in order to fulfill this call that God has given him.

· Pray for the ladies as they spend most of the day planning and preparing for the VBS.

· Pray for Zac as he speaks at a youth service tomorrow night. God’s given him such an amazing gift for connecting with kids and speaking on their level. Ask the Lord to use him to share His truth.

That’s it for me tonight. I’ll add some extra pics at the end to make up for my lack of flash and polish tonight. Thanks so much for your prayers!