Faith

Faith in Costa Rica from what I have experienced thus far is very different than what I have experienced in the United States. In General, Tican families have faith, when they pray they know God is going to do something, they have experienced his provision. American families have a religion, when they pray they are following the motions expected of them. Tican families are in need, they often times can’t make ends meet and trust in the Lord to provide for them through others.  American families have everything they could ever want or need and more, yet they are never satisfied. Tican moms give up everything for her children, they live very simply so that they can care for her children. American moms give of themselves for their children, but don’t know what it means to live simply or in want. I feel God and see him here in my Tican house, in how I am living, and in what I am doing. I feel very far from God in my life in the United States. My faith is being challenged, my religion is being challenged, my beliefs are being challenged, and I am currently a very different person than I was when I arrived in Costa Rica.

            The other night my Tican mom told me story after story of how God has provided for her and her family, how God has given and taken away, and how life is so hard, but that God is in control of everything. What is amazing to me is that she can say that the Lord is in control of her life with such belief and true faith. In the American families I know and in my own, we like to say that God is in control, but I don’t think any of us actually believe it without any shadow of a doubt. Faith in my Tican family is real and life giving. Faith for me and many families in the States is a hobby.

How is it possible for a twenty year old to be inspired by a six year old’s faith when she has attended church her entire life? I honestly think that it is because for a lot of people faith is a hobby. I can honestly say that a lot of my faith has been a hobby, a way to make friends, something to do with my time, another class to take, but I don’t think it has ever been real to me in the same way it is real to my Tican family. I thank God for this time in my life in Costa Rica with such an inspirational family and the way he is truly changing me and showing me that in order to continue growing closer to him, I must live differently. Honestly, that scares the crap out of me because it is not going to be easy but my Tican mom’s life is not easy. Most women in the United States live an easy comfortable life but don’t truly know God. How do I want to end up? I can honestly say I would rather live differently and according to my beliefs growing closer to God than have an “easy” life. I don’t think I could have said the same a month ago. Like Archbishop Oscar Romero said, “The great need today is for Christians who are active and critical, who don’t accept situations without analyzing them inwardly and deeply”. This is the kind of Christian I want to become and the kind of Christian I want to teach others to become.

            However, what is hard for me to see is that the church here is not that much different than the churches in the United States. In the three different types of services I have been to in Costa Rica the only difference I have seen is the language. The Catholic Church is very similar to the one I went to in the States, the Methodist church was very similar to my Grandmothers, and the evangelical church was very similar to my own church back home. It is no wonder to me that so many Costa Rican people are drifting away from the church since it is not constructed to suit their needs and beliefs. In the article “Faces of Latin America” Duncan Green says, “In Guatemala, as in most of Latin America, old belief systems are breaking down, producing a kind of religious supermarket where worshipers shop around between Catholicism and the different Evangelical churches”. I see this reality more in the United States then I have here, but I can see how the consumerism church is present here in Costa Rica as well. In our culture of materialism and consumerism, church is becoming another thing to please me rather than being a place where I commune with God, encourage others, and learn. What is hard for me to see is that as the world is becoming more globalized, the people are becoming more selfish and disconnected from others. Green stated, “[The church] can offer both a supportive community and a strong sense of purpose and identity”.  The church is a place where we are to commune and live life with other people, but it sadly has become a place to encourage me and please me without my doing anything for it in both the United States and Latin America. It is interesting to me to see how the value of consumerism is affecting our entire lives, in my opinion for the worse.

One of my goals in life is to realize that the church is not just a place I go to in order to grow in my faith and feel better about myself, but that the point of the church is it is a place for me to serve others and use the gifts God has given me for the good of the church. That if I don’t like something about the church it is my job to go about making a change. While the church should give to me, I must go in with the mindset that I will make a difference in the church. I am tired of church hopping and continually being unsatisfied with church. It is time for me to pick a church and know that I can do something to change it to make it better.

            Lord, help me to live a simple life grounded in you always so that I may have true faith. Lord may I live my life according to my beliefs and actually do something to go against this consumerism culture. Even though I know I will stand out and probably seem stupid or crazy at times, it is really is important to me to live in every way according to what I believe. God help me to be the person you created me to be, help me to impact the church with the gifts you have given me, and help me to continually live according to your will. Thank you for this time to step away and realize that my faith is a hobby. Help me Lord to see you for who you truly are and to truly believe in you. Help me Lord to rely on your provision and your direction. My life is completely in your hands. Let me truly live as Christ.