Life update:
We made it to Costa Rica! For a little over the past week we have been in Costa Rica at the Whitworth Center taking an intensive class with a retired Whitworth professor. We spent a lot of time learning about world views and how our world views shape the way we think and interact with the world. We focused on thinking about policy, especially as it applies to our current context in Costa Rica.
We had the opportunity to learn from some really amazing guest speakers! It felt like a time when a lot of things were shaken up inside of me - in challenging but good ways. I’m so thankful I got to learn from some really amazing people!
I seem to keep finding myself at a loss for words with all of these experiences - it doesn't help that I think I also take 10x longer to process things than the average person lol. During our time at the Costa Rica center, we had the opportunity to hear from a guy named Jim. He had lot of wisdom and perspective to share with us on the Gospel and justice. He also happens to be the son-in-law of one of the most prominent Latin American theologians, Rene Padilla, who passed away a couple years ago. I recently read a speech that Rene Padilla gave at a conference in 1974. Here were some of his points that seem to put words to some of the things I’m processing through. I hope they challenge you, as they are challenging me.
These are some of the points that I took screenshots of, but I'll link the speech here too. Definitely worth the read! https://lausanne.org/content/evangelism-and-the-world
We moved in with our host families on Sunday afternoon. I have a host mom and dad, three host sisters who are 24, 23, and 15 and a host brother who is 8. My oldest host sister just had a baby in the beginning of January. It’s a full house! I started my internship with Voz de Libertad today and will be getting oriented and acquainted with the ministry this week. More updates to come.
The last couple of days have felt like the biggest transition of this journey so far - definitely experiencing some culture shock and language fatigue. I would love and appreciate prayers in this season of transition!
En la paz de Cristo,
Elena
Praying over you, internal processor!! Thanks for sharing, Elena <3!!!
Elena, Thank you for sharing your experience and reflections with us. Praying for you during this transition time. I know you are a great blessing to your host family❤️
Elena, we are praying for refreshment and God's presence for you. Thank you so much for sharing René Padilla with us. He is so wonderful and challenging to read. It inspired me to go back and refresh on his writings. I love where he defines the church in #5, "The greatest contribution that the church can make to the world is to be all that she is supposed to be." His emphasis on the church being a community of reconciliation, personal authenticity and serving and giving is so good!
Love your updates Elena. Thank you so much for sharing. praying for you!