I’m in Costa Rica, Volunteering
posted at 8:32 pm
on Apr. 27, 2013
Previous entry:
All the Yoga I Can Eat
I’m in Costa Rica, volunteering at a Christian mission on the eastern outskirts of San Jose, the capital city. The mission is called YWAM San Jose (Youth With a Mission), and it’s my home for the next three weeks.
I’ve been given a small, minimal room with a shared bathroom, a bed, a chair, some clothes hangers, a bench, an alarm clock, two towels, a candle and some matches.
It’s quiet time from 10 p.m. onwards, and the wifi is turned off at 11 p.m. Breakfast is at 6:30 a.m. and so far I’ve made it up every day for fresh pineapple, guava, toast and jam, burnt coffee, and the oddest breakfast cereal I’ve ever seen.
The plan is to stay here until mid-May, volunteering. Mostly on the Web site but also on other tasks that need doing.
You might be wondering, what the hel—heck I mean, what the heck I’m doing here. Good question.
I’m not Christian. I’m not religious at all, really, and though I describe myself as having Taoist philosophies, I’m an atheist. And yet here I am, sitting next to a fellow at lunch who just got back from distributing Bibles along the western coast of the country, as part of an audacious project to put a bible into every house in Costa Rica.
Well, here’s the story.
About two months ago, I decided I needed to get out of Vancouver, and my own head, and soon. I wanted to do something positive, something for other people, some volunteer project. I looked at some of the tourist volunteer programs, but nothing seemed to match, nor to be affordable, either. I also wanted a personal connection to the charity work in some way.
It happens that several friends of mine in Vancouver were or are affiliated with an organization called YWAM, which is a loose but huge network of “international, inter-denominational, non-profit Christian, short-term” missions around the world. My friends in Vancouver recommended that I come to this base, because a) it had good Internet, which I need because of Hop Studios, b) it was far enough away to be a new headspace, but close enough that a short stay (three weeks) was worth the travel and not TOO expensive to fly to, and c) they needed the skills I had there.
I wanted a chance to focus on other people in a non-selfish way, to do something purely for others, because I felt like I’ve been pretty deeply wrapped up in myself for the past 6 months… or longer. And in a way, this is about as selfless as I can be—I’m volunteering for a cause I don’t believe in for a group I don’t belong to.
Which isn’t to say, I disagree with what they do—or even why they’re doing it—just that I’m not on the same page with some of their beliefs around, you know, God and stuff. However, this mission is involved in a number of worthy causes. They help bring medical and dental services to some of the poorest areas of San Jose. They build homes for those who are in need; they are also involved with exposing and challenging some of the human trafficking going on in San Jose.
And while I have been an atheist most of my life, there’s a reason I’m questioning some of my rather big base assumptions lately, as you might know. I think this is a healthy process—a scientific process, in fact, to revisit established truths and re-verify what you think you know. The last time I went to church regularly was back in the 20th century, and it’s entirely possible I will look at it differently now.
In preparation for this trip, I’ve gone several times to a gospel-centric, Mennonite-based, new urban church in Vancouver. The church itself is a recent “planting”—it’s been around only about 5 years—and it’s significantly different from the United Church I went to as a kid. I’ll explain how in another post, though, this is already getting long.
But in the mean time—I’m breathing tropical air in a very quiet and still room tonight, preparing to experience something brand new with a group of people that seem pretty darn happy to have me here. I’m really looking forward to it.
