Celebrating a birthday, Costa Rican style

Drew: Today is my birthday, so thanks for giving me life, mom (if you are reading). Today was also unexpected. My birthdays have been usually pretty chill. A small dinner with a couple of friends, maybe a barbeque, but never really a party (I'm looking at you, Mr. White). However, Costa Rica does not do "low key"... and it is a birthday I will never forget.

In the morning I was serenaded by my team, a group of 50 year old people from Florida, and the staff here at Portantorchas. Twice. After they sang in English, someone yelled out, "otra vez en espanol!" and they did it again. It was chaotic and funny.

Then we had our morning devotional about the parable of the wineskins and the old/new cloths, and there are some thoughts on that that I will probably share at another time. Just need to process it. Good stuff, though. Afterwards, we drove over to the orphanage, and as we started working, we put on some music (like we always do). Next thing I know, all the girls (including Tia) are dancing to NSYNC, chanting "Otra! Otra! Otra!" which slayed me. Never thought I would have a dance party listening to "Bye Bye Bye" three times in a row, but hey... when in Costa Rica...

(Just FYI... we are almost done with the house. Double coats on all walls, 11 different colors... it has been an enormous task that I don't think any of us really expected coming in, but it is gratifying looking at how different things are. There are two more rooms we have to do plus the roof, but after that, we should be able to hang out with the kids more and visit the rehab center)

At around 2pm, Jorge (our contact at Portantorchas and guide on our trip) told us to go over to the school (which is next door) because the kids were going to play some games. Not really thinking about it, I walked over to the school and as I walked in I heard "SURPRISE!" A pinata. Blue and gold streamers. A cake. Tons of hyper kids rapidly asking, "Hoy eres tu cumple?" Overall, stunned. Definitely was unexpected, but feeling very blessed. When it was time for the pinata, someone suggested that I spin around a couple of times, but with 50 eager kids around, we decided this was not a good idea.

A great party. I actually can't remember the last time I had a party. Thank you Lord for helping me realize that birthdays are celebrations. Tonight we are going to go see Toy Story 3, and apparently Alba our wonderful chef wants to bake me a cake, so basically... best birthday ever. Thanks to the team for being super secretive and going behind my back... I will never trust you again. Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes. And thank you Lord for Costa Rica.

In closing... I wanted to just touch on one aspect of the trip that Wilson had mentioned previously. Yesterday, I found out that a member of Invisible Children had passed away, and I was in shock. Not really sure how to feel... but one unexpected feeling I had was a sense of guilt. I hear and see stories everyday about people passing away from conflicts around the world, and I change the channel or switch websites... and the only reason why this one hit me was that it was somehow related to my life. It was a sobering reminder of how self-absorbed I can be. In addition, while feeling anger and frustration over what had happened in Uganda, the thought of "love your enemies" crossed my mind, and I almost started yelling. I did not want to love those who bombed the country, killing so many and devastating much more. I did not want to pray for them... I wanted revenge.

And yet, the one thing I have been learning about God the most here in Costa Rica is that God's love is not just for me and my friends, or for people in my country. God's love is for all... international, without bounds, as is His grace. So even though it was difficult, and it broke me down, I prayed for those who caused the devastation in Uganda... not for vengeance or revenge, but for love. That He would draw them towards Himself, and somehow be able to use this for good.