A Couple Hundred Colones Short of a Dollar

It has recently occurred to me that many of you, even those very close to me, may not know exactly why I'm here. I'm writing this as much for that purpose as I am for my own benefit and clarification. As I know my explanation will contain much talk of God I fear coming off as self-righteous or, on the other hand, with an air of false humility. Neither is my intention, only to recount the story and give credit to God where it is due. Keep in mind my tendency to do what is easy and my inclination to do what is expected, the logical next step that most people take if you will. This is a story of obedience and breaking that tendency.

I transferred to the University of Missouri (Mizzou) my sophomore year and quickly became involved with a church called The Rock, comprised mostly of college students. About a month or so into the school year came the Fall Retreat. This is where we spend a couple days out in rural Mid-Missouri away from Columbia and school to spend time with our church community and focus on god with less distractions. I knew there would be an opportunity available to be baptized. This was something I’d been thinking about since I started taking my spiritual life more seriously and gave my life to Christ a few years earlier. I'd been presented with the opportunity several times each accompanied with the inner conviction to go ahead with it. I always had an excuse ready and said I'd do it next time. (How many next times do you need?) I finally decided to obey that inner voice but only at the last minute as we were about to head to the lake, and only after talking the matter over with people like my mother and a friend I'd only known a few months (who would eventually become one of my best friends and most trusted advisors.)

This small act of obedience opened the door to more of God's requests. After years of only being asked one thing, I started to feel God's urging towards other things. One of those was to go on a mission trip to Honduras, and this time without much convincing, I attended the information meeting. I was trying to trust and follow God's tug a little better. This was maybe the first off the wall out of the ordinary thing I've done and once again god proved my obedience worth while as I was blessed with an amazing, eye opening, life changing experience.

It wasn't until after we boarded the plane and were in the air on our way home that I idea came to me that I didn't quite feel was entirely my own. What could I do to help the problems and poverty I witnessed? I mean, I study grass for Peat's sake! Well, pretty convenient for me grass is a plant and my classes have given me pretty good knowledge of plants as a whole and how they work. What if I was to go to an impoverished country like Costa Rica and start a business, a farming business perhaps? (Sounds perfect in a place where any kind of high tech business would be out of place next to houses without walls much less anything else.) I could use this business to provide jobs and pay decent wages, something that's almost unheard of in certain parts of Honduras. Build relationships and use that as a basis for sharing the most valuable thing I have, a relationship with Jesus.

Well, that was a nice idea. Not really sure what to do with it, I stored it in my mental archives revisiting it and dusting it off from time to time. I went back to Honduras in January and shortly after returning, the experience still fresh in my mind, one of my classes was visited by a man talking about study abroad. He talked of Thailand, Ireland, Australia, and Costa Rica (a country the distance of only a few states from Honduras). Study Abroad? That didn't fit into my predictable plan of high school, college, job... but again came that quiet voice. If I'm ever going to do something with this idea, this may be my best/only chance to really find out what it'll take. I picked up a brochure at the Ag School's study abroad fair that outlined the 2 and 6-week summer programs. 2 or 6 weeks, that sounds comfortable enough and I could say I looked into it and made an effort no matter how feeble.

I read about the summer programs, neither of which were really what I was looking for. When I normally would have given up there, I decided to talk with the study abroad advisor and find out if either trip was worth my time or money. After telling him about the idea I'd gotten on the plane, this eyeglassed curly haired man excitedly started telling me about a place in Costa Rica called EARTH University (sounds a little corny to me). He then continued to throw out things like semester...5 months...classes in Spanish...HOLD UP! This is more than I asked for! But in his ramblings however, he mentioned EARTH's 3 main principles of entrepenuership, community development and betterment, and sustainable agriculture. The fit was a little uncanny. All 3 things lended themselves perfectly to the idea I had waiting patiently in the file cabinet of my mind.

After taking some time to think about it and talking it over with several people, I decided that it was obvious what I needed to do, no matter how crazy or difficult it sounded. I'd be taking 4 months of classes in Spanish when my previous experience consisted of a few years of mediocrely taught Spanish from ages ago in high school that I had no problem letting slip my mind once finished with a test. After all, I was never going to need it again. Nevertheless, I decided to trust God once again and obey.

So that brings us to where I am now, a 1 month Spanish crash course, still scared of the task ahead of me, still dealing with leaving the security of friends and community back home, still trying to figure out how to depend on God fully. I don't want to make this sound like Hell, however. This is a blessed opportunity that few get to experience and that many covet. I get to be immersed in a new culture and learn a new language, even if the process sucks and is hard sometime. God has given me the opportunity to see some of his most beautiful creations from paradise-like beaches, to towering waterfalls, tropical rainforests, and the powerful awe inspiring fireworks of active volcanoes. Being a nature lover and feeling God's presence most convincingly through that creation, I could not ask for more.

As to what God's ultimate purpose behind me being here is, I can only speculate at this point. What I can do though, is to try to be fully where God has me at this season in my life, and continue to trust and obey him the best I can, no matter where that takes me.