The Last Time Through the School Gate
August 12, 2010
It's hard to believe that Linda and I arrived in Costa Rica one year ago to be Spanish students at the Instituto de Lengua Española. As the graduation speaker said, this was the longest introductory grammar course in the world. The title of our main grammar book was "Introduction to Spanish Grammar". I can honestly say I am happy that it is done. The process of learning is not done at all but having to sit in classroom and be tied to the school way of life is done. As the 40 years of students before us can attest to, learning a new language to an in-depth cultural level is one of the hardest experiences one can have in your life. It personally attacks your pride, your sense of cultural entitlement, your understanding of personal discipline......the list goes on.
It is also so enriching when you can (sort of) communicate an idea important to yourself, to know you can actually live within another culture, but most importantly knowing that God has had you in a place for a reason and He has been able to work in you and through you as you experienced many hardships. It is humbling to know that after a year of hard work, we are not perfect Spanish speakers. We still have trouble communicating some ideas and even using correct sentence structure. We know we have lots of tutor time in our future. But it is amazing to hear the stories of the many missionaries sent from the school to all over Latin America and use whatever level of ability they had to God's glory. C&MA Canada is sending 3 other families next week to be students in preparation for their overseas ministry. We will be "Big Brothers" as we help them adjust and get them going in the right direction.
It is also so enriching when you can (sort of) communicate an idea important to yourself, to know you can actually live within another culture, but most importantly knowing that God has had you in a place for a reason and He has been able to work in you and through you as you experienced many hardships. It is humbling to know that after a year of hard work, we are not perfect Spanish speakers. We still have trouble communicating some ideas and even using correct sentence structure. We know we have lots of tutor time in our future. But it is amazing to hear the stories of the many missionaries sent from the school to all over Latin America and use whatever level of ability they had to God's glory. C&MA Canada is sending 3 other families next week to be students in preparation for their overseas ministry. We will be "Big Brothers" as we help them adjust and get them going in the right direction.
So, the next chapter of our overseas mission story is about to start. Linda and I move out of student housing to our own place this weekend. Our base of operations will remain in San Jose, specifically Salitral de Santa Ana. Our ministry of Crisis Response (CCRT - Caribbean Crisis Response Team) will begin to grow as we now will plan for future ministry options. I liken it to a baby being born and growing. Please pray that God will go before us as we seek to go in the direction that He desires us to. During this time of being full time students, there have been many needs of people desiring help and of people needing the local church to respond because of both disasters big and small. I think of Haiti, Chile, Nicaragua, Honduras....the list goes on. In the news today, Pakistan and China are facing huge needs from flooding. People are being displaced from their homes with no access to clean water, sanitation, adequate housing, food, counseling, feelings of safety/hope.... The images are so troubling. The needs are great. This is where the local church has to step in. We need God's direction. We need your help in whatever manner to be the local church and serve to accomplish what God has asked us to do by way of humanitarian aid and Biblical social responsibility. As our ministry grows, we will keep you informed. Since I last blogged, our kids came down for 2 weeks and then my parents came for a 2 week break. It was a great time of visiting and some sight-seeing while school continued on for us. Lots of memories were made. If you feel you want to stop by Costa Rica for a visit, we would love to have you here. As our ministry continues to form, we will inform you of how you could possibly help. It might be as part of a response team, or being on our prayer team, or even contributing financially directly to our ministry account or supporting Alliance missions generally through the GAF account. We know that we have been prayed for during this year of studies. Thank you all for that you do.
Posted by Curtis Doell
I am feeling guilty about not posting in the last couple of weeks. We just got back from attending church. It was a good service, a strong missions emphasis having someone speak having just come back from a medical mission in Nepal. As usual, it was all in Spanish so I caught some of the main points but missed alot of detail. But to hear the pastor close emphasizing the need to reach out to other around us to the neighborhood and out to other nations was not something that I think the peop...
