Lead Me, Guide Me - Part 1

Jeremiah 10:23 - O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

This verse is so loaded with meaning. But its meaning is so much clearer when you are in a difficult situation. We were reminded so many times during our trip that the Lord is faithful and that he is a very present help in trouble. But it wasn’t necessarily our trouble that was used to remind us of this.

When we arrived in the town of Atenas we settled into our accommodations and went out to find something to eat and explore the town. Atenas had not been on our original list of places to visit so we knew nothing about it. (Actually there were a lot of things that were not a part of “our plan”.)

While we were eating we met a nice American family that had recently moved to Costa Rica. Our conversation with this family was overheard by another person sitting behind us. As we were about to leave the restaurant this lady initiated a conversation with the girls. That encounter changed the whole trip.

Her name is Kathia. She was born and raised in Costa Rica and is married to an American from California. She asked why we were there so the girls explained the purpose of the trip and offered our assistance if she knew of opportunities to help. We then learned that Kathia is very active in her community and spends a lot of her time trying to help those in need. At that particular time she had plans to visit a family of Nicaraguan refugees that were in desperate need of food and clothing. She was scheduled to see them in a couple of days and asked if we would like to help. We jumped at the opportunity and made plans to call her in a day or so.

When we called her she said there had been a change of plans. Kathia’s sister, Virginia, lives in the nearby town of Alajuela, about twenty minutes from Atenas. She had recently had a person knock on her back door and ask for cardboard or any kinds of materials that could be used for shelter. This individual lived down the hill on the river in what is basically a squatter village. Virginia learned from her visitor that there were several families living in this village and that their living conditions were not good.

Kathia believed this was a more pressing need based on the number of families affected and we agreed. We made plans to meet her at the city park and follow her to Alajuela where we would have breakfast at her sister’s home before going down to the river.

As we followed Kathia through the city streets we made several stops to pick up clothing and other supplies that people were donating to the effort. Once we arrived at Virginia’s home Jeremy and David went with Kathia to the hardware store to order some supplies that we might need. I went with everyone else to help with breakfast. At each stop along the way it seemed like these were the people that we should be helping, yet they were the ones donating clothing and items to help others, or making a huge breakfast for us.

While we were at Virginia’s she motioned for me to follow her (since Kathia was not present, there was no one available to translate for us). She took me through the back of the house and out the door to the back yard. She pointed down the hill and, from the little we could understand, she was telling me this is where her visitor had come up the hill looking for help.

Breakfast at Virginia's house

Kathia's nieces

After eating breakfast we brought all of the donated items that had been collected so far and began dividing them up by gender and size. Once this was completed we loaded everything back into the cars and headed to the river.

We were so humbled and amazed by this family. Sometimes it seems we think about giving from the perspective of doing what we can. We may give what is convenient. This family demonstrated to us what it means to give beyond what is convenient, like the widow in Luke 21. They were such a blessing to us and to the families we visited by the river in Alajuela. Yet if things had gone according to our original plan, we would most likely have never met Kathia. We probably would not have learned about these precious families in such great need. As Jeremiah 10:23 reminds us, it is simply not in us to direct our own steps. This is the great lesson in leadership that the Lord wants us to understand. His leadership is sufficient and it is good.

Posted by John and Heather