Meet the Family: first week in Costa Rica

Alright, so here we go for another round of blogging. Week one in Costa Rica is in the bag. Pura vida! Monday night, we (Jim, Michael, Emily, and I) we flew into San Jose to meet Dan Puttcamp, our intern director, and Ben, eMi-America Latina's returning intern. Tuesday morning, we went to the office in Atenas and were given a crash course in how to survive in Atenas with a host family for six months without being kicked to the curb (although they would never do that - they're very hospitable). This was the beginning of a week long, cultural specific (Costa Rican) orientation after the general orientation in Colorado Springs. Furthermore, we start language school this next week, which will last for two weeks. So you may be asking, as I asked myself, "That seems like a whole lot of orientation. When does the actual work start?" Dan answered that question before any of us interns asked. He said that it really may seem like you're not doing anything for the first three weeks or so, but it is part of having an effective ministry in Central America. And he's right on. We have to assimilate the culture. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:20-22, "To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews...to the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people,that by all means I might save some." So along those same lines - to the Tico, I became as a Tico. Ok, so if it seems like I just threw a fastball past you for strike three when you were looking for that off-speed pitch, sorry about that. Let me explain myself. Here's how it works around here: native Costa Rican = "Tico" and awkward American oblivious to his surroundings and possibly sporting a fanny pack and continually saying either "donde" or "bano" (usually together) = "Gringo".

So, time for this Gringo to assimilate the culture. On Tuesday afternoon, I met my Tico host family - the Gamboa's. eMi interns are assigned to host families by the eMi staff.
Let me introduce you to my family.
My Tico dad is Giovany. He works in the management department at MegaSuper, which is a supermarket here in Atenas. (On a funny cultural side note - I've noticed that the Costa Rican marketing is big on English superlatives: MegaSuper, Big Mega Cola, etc.) Giovany is a hard-working man who takes his responsibility of being the provider for his family seriously. He works long hours and isn't around the house much, but when he is, he's busy fixing something. When I arrived, he was busy making my bed frame to sleep on that night. In the week I've been here, he has fixed-up a second bathroom with a functioning shower for me and my Tico brothers to use. The man knows how to get things done! But he knows how to have fun as well. He and I had a good time watching the Argentina/Costa Rican soccer game the other night.
My Tico mom is Kathya. She is one of the most gracious and giving persons I have ever met. She continually asks me if I need anything or is offering me something, which is often accompanied with the phrase "si quiere" ("if you want"). This has become the phrase around the house. The first night, she asked me what my favorite food was and I tried to tell her that Tico food was my favorite, but she didn't believe me. So I told her steak and sweet potatoes, which I felt a little bad about telling her because I knew it was not at all common in Costa Rica. But the next night, we actually had steak and sweet potatoes! I don't know how she pulled that one off. (I had a good time explaining sweet potatoes as papa dulce and have now been jokingly called ¨sugar daddy¨ by my fellow interns). She has such a sweet and giving heart. Her love for Jesus is evident and contagious. And she is very patient with my Spanish! I feel very blessed to have her as my Tico mom.
I have three Tico brothers. Ariel is the oldest at 17 years old. He is currently going into his senior year of high school. Costa Rica is currently on break from school, but will start back up in February. He is a very talented musician in both the guitar and keyboard. He actually leads worship at the church we attend. He loves hard rock - The Almost and Chevelle are two of his favorite bands. The church that we attend is missions minded and he will be attending a missions conference in Guatemala in February. Ariel can also speak English pretty well, which has been a big help for me at times. He has taken a couple years of English at school, but he said that he didn't learn much. He said he's learned the majority of his English from chatting online with Americans and watching movies in English, such as Twilight. How about that?
Daniel is the middle child at 11 years old. I didn't get to see much of him during the week because he was at a church camp. However, we were able to hang out over the weekend. He's really curious about American culture and now his new favorite saying is "That's legit." It's pretty awesome and yes, I'm to blame. He has a really funny personality and is always smiling - which is pretty "legit".
Gabriel is the baby of the family at 4 years old. He is a wild little man who is always laughing and looking for fun - and trouble. But it's impossible to be upset with him because he's just too cute. He loves having a strange looking Gringo around to play with. And he loves to eat natilla (sour cream) by the spoonful.

Sorry if the description of my Tico family was a little lengthy, but I wanted to share with you my Tico home, which is where the majority of my life outside of the office will be spent. Hopefully, I will be able to put pictures up soon of my family. The Gamboa's love Jesus and it is evident in how they "do life" with those around them. An awesome example of Jesus being worshiped cross-culturally has been at the dinner table. Before dinner, they pray in Spanish and encourage me to pray in English. How cool is that? One of the biggest concerns that I had going into the internship was the interaction with my host family, but I know that it will be a great six months in which we all learn how Jesus bridges cultural gaps. There really hasn't been much of a cultural shock. Yes, it is different. Yes, there are some adjustments to be made, such as communication barriers. But I really haven't sacrificed. I'll admit, in the selfish pride and systematic, controlling nature that I can tend toward as a sinner saved by grace, I thought that putting "my life" and "my plans" of a high-paying engineering job on "hold" was a big sacrifice. And although there's nothing inherently wrong in wanting that kind of job - God can definitely honor that and use it for good - I know that this is exactly where God wants me at this moment. And it is no sacrifice to delight in God.

I recently read an amazing statement by David Livingstone, pioneer missionary to Africa: "People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa...Away with the world in such a view, and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us [Romans 8:18]. I never made a sacrifice."

I am by no means David Livingstone, but I completely agree with his statement.

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PRAYER REQUESTS
Please pray for...
-the eMi staff and volunteers in Haiti, specifically Micah Florea and Josh Ayers, who are on staff with eMi-AL. Pray for their safety and their wives as they're away.
-my relationship with my host family, that cultural/language gaps would continue to be bridged.
-language school, that I would soak in as much as possible in two weeks.
-the upcoming project trip to Guatemala with Tim Clem (project leader), Michael Baden (fellow intern), and volunteers. We leave Feb. 5. I will explain more about this later.
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By the way, store names around town can be pretty funny. It makes me wonder what funny Hispanic store names there must be in the US.
Here are a couple fun examples:
-Soda Tio Mano - literally "Soda Uncle Hand"
-Pollo Jeffrey #1
-Pizzeria 2000
As you can see, the clash between Costa Rican and American cultures can have some pretty funny and awkward results. Hopefully this gringo (me) isn't another awkward cultural casualty! haha.

Costa Rica, here we come!

This post was written before I arrived at Costa Rica. Another post regarding my first week in Costa Rica at eMi will be written at a later time.

Well, the time has come to start my internship with eMi in Costa Rica! But before I begin my time in Costa Rica, I must try to summarize my week of orientation in Colorado Springs, CO. This orientation was with 23 other eMi interns and full-time staff who were sent all over the world - Egypt, Uganda, India, and Costa Rica - or stationed at two of the three sending offices - US (Colorado Springs, CO) or Canada (Calgary). The orientation ranged from the technical to the relational in the nature of discussions. The discussion included a brief history of eMi; God's heart for the nations and our role in that; cultural training; tricks of the trade, which involved architecture/engineering design considerations in developing countries; and God's workmanship, which involved an in-depth look at Ephesians 2:10 - "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." The training in God's workmanship throughout the week focused on how God has graciously gifted each one of us with certain strengths - not for internal self-actualization (as much of the secular world will teach) but for external Christ-exaltation.

One highlight of the week was many new friendships that I have formed with the staff and interns of eMi. Our orientation group was made up of individuals from a variety of majors - interior architecture, architecture, architectural/civil/mechanical engineering - from colleges all over the country - UC Davis, MIT, Texas, LSU, Colorado School of Mines, Texas A&M, NC State, Kansas State, Hope College, UW-Madison, and even Oxford (yes, by jove, that prestigious school in England). Through various team-building exercises, activities (ie: rock-climbing, hiking, visiting Garden of the Gods), testimonies, and simply living together for a whole week, we got to know one another at a personal level and hopefully develop friendships that last a lifetime. Although we came from many different backgrounds, we all have one purpose in mind: To see God glorified in a practical way through the application of architecture/engineering. That is the heart of eMi - designing a world of hope for the physically and spiritually poor. The recent catastrophe in Haiti was a very real reminder of the need for organizations like eMi in countries that are hurting. On Friday, eMi sent two teams down to Haiti to provide short-term solutions - creating clean water systems - and long-term solutions - assessment of structural damage and restoration possibilities. One of my roommates during orientation, Josh Canez - an architecture student from Texas A&M - had visited Haiti a couple weeks before the earthquake and has family living in Haiti. His immediate family is safe - praise God. Please pray for the safety of his family with the current state of chaos that Haiti is in.

Today, I am traveling with three other interns to Costa Rica. Our group is made up of Emily, Michael, and Jim. Emily is a civil engineering grad from Texas A&M. Michael is an architecture grad from NC State. Jim is a civil engineering grad from Cal Poly - just like this guy (me). The funny thing is, Jim and I never knew each other even though we both graduated in December. Pretty crazy, huh? We will be joining Ben, an engineering intern returning from the fall semester for 6 more months in the Costa Rican office. I'm looking forward to how we will mesh together as a group. The intern group from last semester (including Ben) actually created their very own full-length (yes, 25 min.) episode of The Office - eMi-America Latina-style! Needless to say, we have a lot to live up to!

This next week will involve intern orientation in the eMi-America Latina office and meeting our "Tico" (local Costa Ricans) host families. After a week of orientation, we will be put through two weeks of language school. Which brings me to a point on language. During the flight, I was able to finish reading "Spectacular Sins and Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ" by John Piper. The book is totally legit and demonstrates Piper's intense, all-in passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ. In the book, Pipe discusses the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1-9) and how God confused their languages because of the pride of man in building a tower to make much out of himself and not God. How does God use this "spectacular sin" and it's resulting consequence of many languages for the glory of Christ? Piper believes that it guards us from pride. "Humans are far too evil to be allowed to unite in one language...The gospel of the glory of Christ spreads better and flourishes more because of 6500 languages, not in spite of them." I will definitely have to remember these words when encountering language/cultural barriers!

Well, that's it for now. I'm excited to give these next six months of my life to "building" God's kingdom...hopefully it becomes a habit.

PRAYER REQUESTS
Please pray for...
-physical/mental stamina during these next three weeks of orientation and language school
-Josh Canez and his family in Haiti, as well as all others affected by the earthquake
-eMi staff/volunteers on their current trip to Haiti
-the integration of us new interns with the staff at eMi-AL
-a good first impression/relationship with my host family
-an open mind and a humble, servant's heart around my host family and in the office