The Cure

It has been over 7 years ago now that we first were called to the mission field.  We went to Costa Rica to learn the language and the culture, but we learned so much more than that.  We had many people ask us what was it specifically that made us feel the called to missions.  I can honestly say before I lived cross culturally I did not really have a very good answer.  I could only describe it as a feeling like it was something God wanted us to do.  All of that changed when we found ourselves face to face with the people.  

Although the Latino people are very relationship oriented, many of them do not understand what a relationship with God looks like.  For them religion is a part of their culture and heritage.  They view the rituals and ceremonies as a means to an end, a way to earn their healing, meet their need, or even earn their salvation.  Grace and mercy are foreign to them as they have encountered so very little of that in their own personal lives.  This was never so apparent as when we experienced the day celebrating "La Virgen de Los Angeles".  Here are some insights from a post I wrote then.

"On August 2, 1635, Costa Rican folklore says that the Virgin Mary showed herself as a small, black doll to a young girl named Juana Pereira. After the doll disappeared and reappeared several times at the creek where Juana had found it, the Catholic Church agreed that the Virgin wanted a cathedral built on that spot. The Basilica is today considered the holiest church in Costa Rica, and every August 2, the faithful make their way from all over the country, many walking for days on the side of the road, to pay homage to "La Negrita", the little black statue of the Virgin Mary found by the little girl over 380 years ago. The statue can still be seen today on the same rock it was supposedly found on.

People come to the Basilica in hopes of redeeming their loved ones from purgatory. You can purchase gold charms in front of the church to receive a healing. You can purchase charms in different shapes like arms, legs, stomachs, hearts, etc... Holy water runs from a spring there at the church and many people believe that it has special healing powers. Just about anything can be purchased in front of the Basilica... charms, holy water, rosaries, toys, even lottery tickets. I wondered if Jesus would have cleared the place like the temple 2000 years ago."

Probably the most impactful experience for us when we visited years ago was that of people coming to the steps of the church and immediately dropping to their knees to begin the long slow procession towards the front of the church on their hands and knees. Many are petitioning for healing of an illness. Some are pleading forgiveness for past sins. Sadly, many are making this painful crawl for loved ones that have died in hopes they will be released from purgatory. All of this moved me to tears then, and still creates in me that urgency to go and share the true story of Jesus.  I remember explaining to my oldest, Connor, why over 1.5 million people each year made this pilgrimage to Cartago, and why they were crawling on their hands and knees to the front of the church, and how none of their sacrifices would bring them healing, remove their suffering, or save them and their loved ones. 

This video I made explains our answer of why we go. It is His grace, His mercy, His blood that saves, and we cannot keep it to ourselves.  To not go would be like being a physician with the cure for cancer, but never sharing it with others.  We bring with us the cure to all of their suffering.  We bring them the hope that is eternal, His name is Jesus.

"Crimson" by Nicole Nordeman