Last week, I spent four days in the jungle of Costa Rica, staying at a church in an indigenous community. My squad and I are the first people from the States to ever come to this town. The name of the town is ‘Namu Wökir.’ It means ‘Lions Head’ in Bri Bri, the indigenous language they speak. 

The week of our visit was so special and beautiful. We were welcomed with open arms and loving hearts. The church family and their dynamic is really cool. They are like one big family there!

The first day, when they were telling us what our ministries would be for the week, they asked me to paint to name of the church on the outside of the building. To be honest, I was kinda shocked that they would trust me - someone they don’t even know - to paint such an important thing for them. I felt so honored and trusted. 

I immediately said yes and was excited to work on it! I love art, but sometimes when someone asks for a specific thing, I get a little nervous that it won’t be exactly what they want. In saying ‘yes,’ it was also a step outside of my comfort zone and into a vulnerable position. 

The next day was spent writing notes from the Lord and giving them to the people in the community and inviting them to church. I thought about the painting a lot. I’m not gonna lie, I was kinda stressed. However, I was also excited to begin!

I was finally able to start on Friday. I drew a mock-up design to show to the pastor and his wife and they loved it! I asked for a level and a pencil (I have no idea what I would have done without them) and got to work! I positioned letters where I wanted them to be and sketched out the name. In the middle of this process, it was break time! I enjoyed some ice-cold papaya. I’m not a super huge fan of papaya, but on this day it was the best one I’d ever tasted! 

Then it was time to paint! They requested it to be painted in white and then outlined in a maroon/brown color. I started filling in my sketches with the white paint. 

At this point, some of my squad mates were finished with their work for the day. My friend, Elijah, came and asked if I needed any help. I invited him to come paint with me and we had some really good quality time and deep conversations while painting.

When we were done with the white portion, it was time for lunch! We ate real quick (it was delicious) and then started the outlining. This process was kind of tedious and a little bit frustrating when we made mistakes. But it wasn’t about how perfect this would look: the most important thing was giving each other grace and serving out of a heart posture of love. 

About two hours later, we finished! I’m really happy with how it turned out! It isn’t perfect and that’s okay! 

There is a lot of love and life on that wall: something people will walk under every Sunday!

So, if you’re ever in Namu Wökir, make sure to go check it out for yourself!