Fifteen years ago, I travelled to Costa Rica for the first time.
I was a wide-eyed,
eager-to-see-Jesus-work, energetic 20 year old. (To be fair, I still think of myself this way.)
I remember getting off the plane,
the humid air catching my breath, and knowing that this experience would be
special…but really having no idea what I was in for.
“This stuff ruins you for the
ordinary,” DeLynn (my ministry leader for Vida Missions) would often say in the years that followed, as we witnessed
God work in incredible ways.
He was right.
Year after year, I returned to
this dear place. We developed relationships with local churches, welcomed
summer staff who stumbled through hard days and rejoiced together in the good
ones, and hosted scores of youth who returned home to try and apply what they
had learned in a foreign, yet familiar, land.
I developed sisterly ties with my
own Costa Rican family. I learned a ton about the way in which God speaks and
reveals Himself. I learned how to speak Spanish (roughly), and lead in a new
context. I had to adapt, I had to have plan B’s, and I had to ask for a lot of
grace. I made incredible friends.
Iron sharpened iron.
In 2009, I said good-bye to Costa Rica. After much soul searching and prayer, I had decided it was time to pursue my MA studies, which meant releasing my time down south…and choosing to stay in Canada.
And then, as only God can, the story changed. In 2012, a coworker and mentor approached me, about a new idea he had for a program at our beloved Columbia Bible College. He was (and continues to be) a man of vision. A man who empowers the next generation. And so he gathered a few of us younger staff members, and we began planning.
It would be a leadership
certificate.
First semester in Canada, second
semester in Costa Rica.
As it launched, I felt my own
story with Costa Rica was coming full circle.
I thought it had been a good-bye,
but it was really just ‘hasta la proxima
vez…’
The LEAD students would be
working in the community of Shiroles, Talamanca, alongside students from the
mission program I had volunteered with all those years. Their own ministry
would coincide with that of my friends Raul and Kimi.
After a couple of very successful
years with our LEAD program, the vision continued to deepen and expand (as it
often does). Through many brainstorming sessions and a few kicks-at-the-can,
this coworker/mentor of mine eventually revealed his longer-term dream: that us
younger staff would move into the leadership positions he had held, as he
lessened his involvement in his retirement. (It
is important to note that this meant 100% loading instead of 200% loading; as I
said, he’s a visionary…)
And so, this last year, Matt
Kaminski (our Athletics Director) and myself became co-directors of our new Applied Leadership program at Columbia.
As we re-worked this program from
the original LEAD design, we knew that the Costa Rica piece was still an
incredibly vital experience for students who desired to learn in a new context.
Glenallen, a student who had served as the Costa Rica Coordinator for the two years
prior, agreed to continue to serve in this role. In the time that had passed,
we had seen Raul and Kimi’s ministry grow. We knew that while our students
would go and serve with them, they would learn a great deal from these friends
about what we are seeking to teach our students: the authentic,
transformational, servant leadership that our friends exemplified.
This leads us to today.
On April 24th, six of our Applied Leadership students along with Glenallen (who is about to be an Applied Leadership BA graduate!), are travelling to Costa Rica for 10 weeks.
They will be serving, learning,
and sharing their gifts with the ministry that Raul and Kimi have been leading
for the past 10 years, Esperanza.
Esperanza’s ministry involves
teaching and caring for local children, meal delivery and visiting with the
elderly, craft time with women (which has evolved into a sewing enterprise for
the women to build an income), soccer tournaments, ongoing home builds, Bible
studies, worship nights…and this ministry continues to expand into other remote
locations in the local jungle. This year, the local leaders are continuing to
grow their ministry as they plan a missions trip to Thailand. Many of the young
adults have participated in discipleship training, and, through Esperanza, are
continuing to develop their gifts of leadership.
In addition to all of these amazing things, one of the opportunities that our
students have in this context will be to connect with these local young adults
and share with them about what they have been learning in classes at Columbia
thus far. I am beyond excited for our students to journey with these dear people.
I cannot wait for them to go and learn more about leadership in this context.
 |
| The wide-eyed, eager-to-see-Jesus-work, energetic team of 2018. |
In Canada, we can dangerously
believe we know “the way” to do leadership, as if we have cornered the market;
I long for these students to be ruined for the ordinary…as they share their
learning, I am confident it will be refined. They will see Jesus at work. I believe they will return home
with new understanding. Their leadership will be stronger, their impact
broader, as a result.
In the next few weeks as our
students prepare, would you join me in supporting them?
We need your prayers! There are
many details to still finalize, Spanish lessons to work on, cultural
preparedness to consider, and finances to raise. These students are full time
in their classes, and doing all this work on top of their current schedules, in
anticipation of what is coming. If you are willing to be added to a prayer
list, comment below or message me.
We also need financial support!
As a project of the college, these students are raising the costs; would you
consider helping us by making a donation? You can do so online by following this link, select "other" for the designation, and note that it is for the project “Applied Leadership Costa Rica”.
I love seeing how God knits our
stories…I am reminded tonight as I write this, that He uses all together for
His glory, and our good, and we don’t always get to see how it comes together. I
am thankful for the glimpse I get into His work in Costa Rica, and the
opportunity our students have to be part of it for this season in time. You never know what the next full circle will be for them in this.
Thanks for reading, friends.
