Monday April 7th
So, today I was getting ready to go do the cardboard testimonies (we are putting together a video of everyone holding up cardboard with their testimonies on them) in San José. I didn't want to it because I didn't want to go out on my rest day, and I didn't sign up before cause I didn't even know everyone had to do one. I was just going to try to be positive about it though. I got dressed all cute, put way too much make up and one of Myra's dresses and waited for a group to return to the villa so we could go. It was sunny and beautiful the whole day until we were about to leave then it got kinda cloudy which was a bummer. Of course it would get ugly and cloudy as we left. Oh well. So, me, Danita, Chris, Hope, Allysa, JT, and Christy head out then the other group was going to meet us there. So we get to San Jose and me, JT, and Chris finish videotaping our testimonies then it begins to sprinkle! This was very upsetting considering it hadn't rained in months. Then we walk past Hotel Del "Rey" (find out more about Hotel Del "Rey" here: http://costarica14.blogspot.com/2014/04/hotel-del-rey_2.html ) which I already felt weary about, but then Christy said she wanted hers done there. I was already feeling fear beginning to cripple me when a drunk beat up white guys starts talking with her and JT. I am standing across the street and freaking out on the inside. There are men standing all around and could do anything to any of us little white girls all dressed up in our brightly colored dresses. I want to get out of there as soon as possible. I look at Christy, and she has no sign of fear which was the Holy Spirit in her. JT tries talking to the guy and he is not listening so we walk away and I am thanking God for it. As we are walking it is being to pour. I am thinking great what an awesome day to try and do this. I didn't even want to come in the first place. I got all dressed up for nothing. I shouldn't have gone in the first place. I feel all gross now, and my feet are getting dirty. These are my thoughts. So, we run under the closest place of shelter a giant gazebo in the middle of the park where all of the people that were in the surrounding areas are now gathered. So now, not only are we all soggy but now we are breathing in fumes of smoke. Allysa expressed how uncomfortable she is being around all the people, and at this point in time, I didn't care ‘cause I was dry and I didn't feel threatened but I still had some fear holding onto me. Then we decide as a group to go to a grocery that was near by to stay dry and come up with a plan of action. We start making our way to the grocery store, and I am walking as fast as I can with wet flip flops which is not very fast. I am getting more angry and fearful with each step. I was very thankful to have Christ behind us and JT in front of us. We make it to the grocery store, and my makeup is smeared so much that JT comments on it, which just makes things even better. Hope calls the other group to tell them how bad the weather is but they were already on their way. Great. Now what? At this point in time I am holding back tears. I am so flustered and can't even put into words exactly why. Later, Christy, unknowingly, answers this question for me. So, I state how I just want to get on a bus and go home and so do Chris and Christy so we make our way to the bus. It is still pouring rain and fear will not let go of me and I am frantically moving through crowds of people trying to find the bus we need to get home. Finally, we find the bus and get on it. *Sigh* finally. The bus doesn't even begin to move for maybe 15 minutes, so Christy and I begin talking. I express how overwhelmed and upset I am about the whole situation and she prays for me like the wonderful young lady she is, and I had also been praying throughout the whole fiasco. Christy then goes to tell me how even though things didn't go as planned, God works everything for His good whether it seems good for us or not. Then she went on to say how happy she was to hold up her sign in front of Hotel Del "Rey" because people might have read it, and it would be a testimony of what God has done. Then she goes on to say she believed God had us come at just that time for those purposes and maybe even more we didn't even know. Wow. I wasn't thinking of it like that at all. That was when I realized why I was so up-set. Things didn't go the way I wanted or imagined they would and I was only thinking of myself. I didn't trust that God had a plan for this even though it just seemed like a big mess to me. That was convicting, but it also made me feel a lot better cause God does use everything for His good. Just a little after that discussion I noticed a young man signing a little bit in front of us. I told Christy I saw him signing then she went on to show me all of the sign she knew. The guy in front of us turned around saw her signing. Oh great. I thought. It's not really that I didn't want to talk to him, but I didn't know if I would be able to understand his signing or if he would be able to understand my signing either. All I knew was American Sign Language, and I was in Costa Rica. I knew for sure I wouldn't be able to fingerspell cause I couldn't spell out English words for him. Well, I don't have a choice now so let's do this. That's what I was forced to think at that point in time. He asked if I knew sign and I told him I knew ASL. He nodded in understanding. Hey! I understood everything he said and he understood what I just said! Maybe this will work out! I continue to tell him I am from the USA and know English. He asked me what my name was, and I finger spelled it using the ASL alphabet because that's all I knew. He understood then told me his name was Francisco using the same alphabet. That meant that not only were the signs the same so far but also the alphabet seemed to be the same too! This was great news for me because that meant that I could communicate with the ASL combined with Spanish to communicate with him. He asked me why I was in Costa Rica, and I told him I was in a program called GAP and was here learning Spanish and Bible. I told him I learned sign from my deaf teacher in my school in the states. He thought that was cool. He asked how old I was I said I was 18 and he was too. He told me I was beautiful and I said thank you. Then he asked if I had a boyfriend and I said, “no.” Later, people told me I should have said yes, but I didn't even think to lie about that and I wouldn't have either. Then he told me he didn't have a girlfriend, which made me laugh part out of embarrassment and part just because it was funny. He smiled. Then he told me about how his girl friend had broken up with him (not sure how recent the breakup was) after they had been together for 2 years. She was hearing and could sign really well. He said he cried a lot. I wasn't sure what to say, but I did feel bad for him and I told him I was sorry it happened. He said it's whatever. haha Normally it takes about 15 to 20 minutes to get to San Jose from the villa, but because of the weather and an accident that had happened it took almost 2 hours. So, I was able to talk with Francisco for about an hour and a half. Christy introduced herself, which was about all she could sign, but she did help me a few times with trying to read his finger spelling and helped me spell words out in Spanish too which was a blessing. I learned he was currently attending a university to study sign, I believe. Both of his parents are deaf and he went to a deaf school growing up. He had been to the states before in 2010 to learn sign, I believe. He went with his cousin who is also deaf and who lived in the states. He said he loved it and thought it was beautiful there. He couldn't remember which state he went to though. He said he was going back in May. Then I told him that was when the students in my program were going back to the states as well. He asked what days and I said the 4th and 5th. He told me he was leaving the 4th. He said, “I might see you there then and I'll tell you, ‘hi.’” I told him that would be cool. Then he had to leave because the bus hadn't been moving for a while, and he needed to go home and study. We said our goodbyes, and he was on his way. Everything God was speaking to my heart when we got on the bus became even more clear. It was clear that God had a plan for this wild night in San José even when it seemed nothing had gone right at all. Everything went exactly how God wanted it too. My brain was fried, I was tired after what seemed like a very long day and wanted to be in my bed, I was hungry since I hadn't eaten dinner, I was still damp from the rain, and roasting in an over packed bus, but let me tell you God is good.
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