The Chimes - June and July

THE POWER OF HUMAN CONNECTION
Written by team member Jackson Howard, age 16
Being honest with ourselves and vulnerable with others is at the
root of all human connection. Building relationships with others
in Christ drives finding our own godly purpose and also helps us
grow in our faith. Being seen as you truly are is one of the most
courageous and difficult acts that anyone can accomplish, but it is
absolutely necessary for us to develop as Christians.
Over spring break, I had the privilege of going to the town of
Quiriman de Nicoya in Costa Rica and serving the local church
and community. What I saw there was a group of people who
had almost nothing compared to us, yet they displayed a level
of hospitality and overall joy that is rarely seen in the States. They
opened their arms to us and loved on us in a way that is almost
shunned in countries and areas of affluence. It’s almost as if their
focus was solely on the people with them in that moment and not
on any of the monumental issues surrounding them.
Contentment in Christ is something the people of Nicoya have
mastered. They don’t wish for more things, a better life, a nicer
house, or a newer car because they understand that won’t bring
happiness. In all of their poverty and struggle, they understand
something that a large portion of us Americans may never grasp.
Happiness will never come from more of anything except Christ
and Christ-centered relationships.
An example of this connection in Christ could be seen through
the group who went to help one of the church members
demolish a concrete floor and move nearly 10,000 pounds of dirt
from inside of her house. The house was only partially covered by
a tin roof, and it had a very uneven part-cement, part-dirt floor,
open sewage draining from the side of the house, and four very
small rooms. Despite this, she completely opened up her home
to us with all of its flaws and imperfections, and we accepted the
challenge to improve it as much as we could. Through our work,
we developed relationships with a people in the local community
who came to work alongside us and the family who lived in the
house.
Another fantastic example of building lasting relationships
through vulnerability was when, after a long day of work at the
church in Quiriman, the foreman in charge of coordinating all
of our work at the church gave his testimony during the service
later that night. He talked about his mother dying in childbirth
and dealing with his anger towards God, and he shared his issues
of growing up with 18 siblings without a mother. This testimony
moved most of the crowd to tears, and it gave many of us a
different perspective on the people living in this town. We were
able to understand these faithful and strong people through
their willingness to be vulnerable and seen despite the language
barriers.
The work that we did was not the most important part of our
mission journey. The relationships we built throughout our work
in the community matter far more than any number of issues
we could have solved. We were able to experience a beautiful
culture centered around simply being present, connecting with
others, being content with the present situation, and centering
life around faith instead of material things. I learned a large
amount during this amazing week through deep-bellied laughter,
heartfelt testimonials, backbreaking work, and amazingly faithcentered
people.
#concretecrew out (mic drop).
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