Missions Minded

What makes a good volunteer? Is there something in a person’s DNA that makes him or her predisposed to doing “behind the scenes” work for little praise and less pay? Are they super-human do-gooders? What makes them tick?

In my opinion, there’s not a “volunteer gene” and they don’t wear capes either.

The key ingredient of a volunteer — no, the only ingredient — is a servant’s heart. It’s their spirit. They live to serve. They help, they pitch in, they do the “dirty jobs” that no one else wants to do. They never get enough credit. But that’s not important to them.

We’ve had the wonderful privilege of knowing some incredible volunteers here in Costa Rica. We get a lot of compliments from people about what we’re doing here. But what most of you don’t realize is that we could not be doing what we’re doing — and we surely would not be getting as much accomplished here — without an army of helpers.

I want to introduce you to Gary and Debbie. They have been living in Orosi for the last several months. They are wonderful Christians and wonderful people. For months now they have been helping us at El Jardin. Many, many times Debbie has worked with Amber on cleaning the cabins, the kitchen, and the bathrooms in preparation for church groups and mission teams. She’s even pitched in with cooking and cleaning in the camp kitchen. Gary, despite having bad shoulder problems recently (which we hope he’s getting taken care of right now!), has helped with yard work, building and maintenance projects, and has been known to pick up a broom or a mop as well. Gary and Debbie are two of the most giving people we’ve ever met. They’re wonderful helpers with hearts of gold. They are in the States now for a couple months, but we can’t wait for them to come back to Orosi!

Next, I want to tell you about an answer to prayer. As you know, Amber and I are planning to go to Guatemala next month for a week-long medical mission trip. We posted here last week that we were praying for someone to help with my airfare for the trip. Notice I said we were praying. That’s right, someone contacted us through the Blog yesterday and is paying for a round-trip ticket! William from Alabama “stumbled” across our site on Google. (By the way, no one “stumbles” across this website. We’ve had too many divine appointments to believe that. God’s hand is definitely behind this.) Now, thanks to the generosity of a stranger, Amber and I are going to Guatemala next month (where we’ll be serving with more A+ volunteers: Katherine, David, Christiam, and Rosana!).

When I think about true servants, I think about Marta. Where do I begin? Marta has helped us with so many things. She’s translated for medical clinics, organized a Christmas party for underprivileged kids, cooked, cleaned, and just about anything else you can think of. She has been instrumental in every single outreach we’ve done so far in Costa Rica. Let me give you a typical day for Marta when she’s here helping us with a mission team. First, she leaves her home in Heredia (and her three daughters and one son) to stay with us for the week. She gets up around 4:30 a.m. to go to the camp and help cook breakfast for the team. After cooking and serving the food, Marta gets on the bus with the medical team to go to the day’s clinic. She serves all day at the clinic — translating, ministering and praying with people. When we return from the clinic, she goes right back to the kitchen to help with dinner. By the time Marta is finally done for the day, it’s 9 o’clock at night. She does this for no pay, she never complains, and she always goes above and beyond what’s expected. She’s truly a servant. Marta is the epitome of a “Proverbs 31 woman.”

There are so many other people I could mention here. Chris and Lisa from Georgia visited us in the midst of their vacation. They brought us medical supplies for future mission teams and encouraged us tremendously. Jon and Kellie from Texas — and their three kids — are making plans to come to El Jardin to serve this summer. Jessica, a college student from South Carolina, is doing the same. Kevan and Claire are bringing a donation of soccer equipment for underprivileged kids living in Costa Rica’s precarios. Mom and Dad, Christian and Lisa, Bill and Katie, Farah and Michael, and Mary Alice have sent awesome care packages. Andi is stepping up to lead her first mission team this summer.

I could go on and on.

As I said, one of the qualities of a volunteer is that they don’t do what they do for praise. So I hope I haven’t embarrassed anyone with this post. But Amber and I want to say THANK YOU to all of you for your help…including our support team back home. You’re incredible. We look up to you. If there were more people — more Christians – like the ones listed here, the world would be a better place. What makes a volunteer tick? The heart. The heart of a volunteer is worth its weight in gold.