Being in a different culture, doing full time ministry, and being on the World Race, my life looks crazy different than it ever has before. So here’s a glimpse of what my squad’s day to day looks like during the week here in Costa Rica.
5:30am: Every Thursday morning I have breakfast prep with my teammates Annie and Alex. Jordy, one of the staff members here, is in charge of the kitchen duties Thursday mornings and we always have dance parties while I am usually frying plantains or cutting pineapple. On some of the days during the week that I don’t have dinner prep, a few of my teammates and I will leave at this time to run 2 miles to the black sand beach and take a sunrise swim in the ocean.
7am: Breakfast! The classic breakfast we have a few times a week is gallo pinto. It’s a mix of seasoned rice and beans, fried sweet plantains, and fresh eggs from our hosts chickens. The best part is the natilla that is served on the side (basically sour cream but way better). Other breakfasts are pancakes, crepes, french toast, and cereal on the weekends. And there’s always fresh coffee in cute little mugs.
7:30ish: Not a planned time, but I usually find a spot upstairs and sit with the Lord by myself. It’s a good time to ask God what He has for me that day and read my Bible.
8:15am: Every morning looks different at this time. Everyone, including staff, gathers on the dining patio together. Monday’s we worship, Tuesday’s we are led in a Bible study, Wednesday’s we intercede on a certain topic, Thursday’s we do deep dive on verses in Galatians, and Friday’s we have this time off. There’s always someone translating to Spanish or vice versa.
9:15am: Rasta, our YWAM host and leader, announces what we are going to be doing that day. We usually split up into groups for work or assign what things need to be brought to wherever we go that day.
On-Base Work Day!
9:45am: You can always catch a group grabbing rakes and machetes and walking out into the jungle that needs acres to be cleared for a new kitchen and future soccer field. Some days we hand mix and pour concrete, or work in the garden, or shovel wheelbarrows of dirt around, or mix compost, or rake piles of leaves to be burned, or paint bathroom doors. There’s so much upkeep and new building to be done because of the lack of teams that have been able to stay here due to the pandemic. This work is really tough and most of it is ministry we won’t ever get to taste the fruit from. But we have the opportunity to bless the future missionaries that stay on this base with the work of our hands.
10:30: The four people that are on lunch prep that day will join a staff member in the kitchen to cook lunch for the squad. Cooking for the squad is also serving the squad.
12:30pm: The squad gathers together in the dining area to eat lunch together with all the staff on base that day. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day here. We often eat some sort of meat and potatoes, rice, lentils, beans, or some sort of soup. And there’s no doubt there’s plantains on my plate cooked in some sort of way.
1:00pm: Siesta! My favourite part of the day! It’s cultural to have around a two hour break for lunch, so the rest of the time we get after lunch is usually spent napping on the cool hardwood floor of the deck outside our rooms.
2:00pm: We continue the manual labor work that we started in the morning.
3:30pm: Coffee break! Another cultural break in the middle of the day for fresh coffee and sometimes a few cookies. We drink coffee out of the cutest little mugs. I am a black coffee drinker in the morning and add a little cream and sugar for the afternoons.
4pm: Usually we clean up all the tools for the day or finish off the last few details of a project.
Off-Base Work Day!
9:30am: We make our sandwich’s for the day. My usual includes a pj&j with pineapple or guava jelly and a cheese with lime mayo.
9:45am: We pack our backpacks for the day and hop onto the squad bus.
10-10:15am: Arrive to our location for the day. Off base ministry days have looked different almost every time. We’ve done in town evangelism, public Bible reading, soccer ministry in multiple communities, beach worship, and sat in coffee shops to get to know the locals and make signs to hang around town inviting people to church. Sometimes we split up into small groups and other times we do ministry together as one big squad.
12:00ish: Find a place to stop and enjoy our sandwich’s. If it’s in town, my fave spot is the beachside!
3:30-4pm: Finish our day of ministry up and walk back to the bus meeting spot to be taken back home.
4:30pm: Four people are on dinner prep ready to serve the squad by helping make dinner that night. The rest of us take time to rest our bodies, shower, spend time with the Lord, read, or whatever until dinner time.
6:00pm: Dinner is ready and we eat in the dining patio. My favourite dinners are bean and cheese empanadas, arepas, and whenever they serve a side of seasoned tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers. Dinner here is culturally a smaller meal than lunch.
6:30pm: Dinner cleanup and an hour of free time until team time. There’s a family owned ceviche stand that is a five minute walk down the road that we all love to get bagged ice-cream and cheap snacks from.
7:30pm: Team time starts and my team of seven girls gather in our bedroom. There are four teams on my squad of 25 people. My team’s name is fervent. These are the people we intentionally get close with, because in a group of 25 people it can be hard to have close community. Each night is a different theme for team time. Monday is Bible study, Tuesday is fun time, Wednesday is Spanish class/ family night (not technically team time because these are squad activities), Thursday is feedback, and Friday is when we debrief the week. We have an appointed team leader, Gracie, who leads us every night.
9:30pm: Our team times usually go long cause were pretty tight and after we finish we almost always just hangout and laugh a lot. This is the time that I usually crawl into my top bunk because I am so exhausted that I can barely keep my eyes open.
Writing our daily schedule out made me realise that our days can’t quite be captured like this. God shows up in new, random, wild ways daily. Some days are draining and hard and I am reminded of my need to depend on the Lord’s strength; some day’s are joyful, and full of celebration, and I am reminded of the way’s God overflow’s us with more of himself simply when we ask; some days are unplanned and spontaneous and I am reminded that each day undoubtedly carries new mercies.
Thanks God that there is always more!
It seems you are pretty busy most of the days and it would be hard to not feel tired st days end. I hope you are feeling excitement and accomplishment in your service to God and community.
Thank you so much for the peek into “a day in the life”. I know it can’t really be captured because every day has it’s own joys and challenges, but I love that you tried. For all of us back home, this helps us understand just a fraction more!
Blessings!
Meg