Week 9 Ant another thing...

¿Pura Vida?

What a week it has been. I think. I really should bring my journal on P day because I'm not great at remembering things.

First thing is that I must apologise. My 3 weeks assessment of Costa Rica I shared last week was based entirely on my experiences in my current area P____, which is not the most opulent of neighbourhoods. As it happens this week I spent three days on a companion exchange in E_____, a slightly more well-off district, albeit with a strange obsession with witches. To the extent, in fact, that one features on the district coat of arms.

I was partnered with two Zone Leaders, Elders S and M, from Colorado and Panama respectively. Elder S is the typical American Missionary. Cheesy Utah smile, walks around with a BoM in the hand, loves salad. Elder M makes cat noises at stray dogs.

One evening we found a woman preparing to cut the grass outside her house with a long machete. After assuring her that his life in Panama had trained him well in how to cut things, Elder M took over using the machete, leaving Elder S and me to discuss the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with her. I will have to follow up with them how that goes, since I have returned to P____ and Elder A.

And despite the hot shower, the larger house and the less difficult terrain of E_____, I am glad to be back. In the exchange I almost felt like I was new again, I didn't know where anything was and I kept asking what we were doing. Also E_____ is very hilly and taxis are scarce, so I every day was a real hike. But what I'll remember E_____ for is the population of Golden Orb Spiders. 

These funky friends build giant communal webs, the largest of which I saw could have engulfed me entirely. A small bird could not have made it out the other side if it tried to fly through.

Elder M poked one.

Here in P____ I feel my confidence growing every day, as I become more familiar with the area and remember names and families. Picking my way over the rubble beside a railway track in the pouring rain after sunset I feel more alive and energised than ever. On the other hand, walking in the sun makes me want to hide under a rock.

The water cycle in Costa Rica, at least at this time of the year, operates on a 24 hour rotation. In the morning the sun beats down so relentlessly that every bit of exposed moisture evaporates. By midday the giant clouds have formed, so close that they shroud the tops of the mountains nearby. Then in the afternoon it starts to rain, for a variable amount of time, but the pavements and gutters often become rivers.

Before I leave I would like to share with you the Parable of the Ants. (I made it myself.)

Ants that I see outside are industrious and adorable. They walk in single file, carrying bits of leaves to edify and prosper the nest. They ignore the world around them, but perform their labours with “an eye single to the glory of God.” (D&C 4:5.)

Ants that I see inside are slothful and covetous. They scuttle around on the surfaces you work hard to keep clean, constantly seeking "that they might glut themselves with the labors of our hands;" (Mosiah 9:12.)

I'd like to hear what you think we can learn from this observation.

Adios mis amors

Elder Godivala

(Not Elder Godivala's hand! All stock images.)