It was an experience unlike any other.
We have been going to and supporting this local coffee farm near Cachi for a number of years. We take teams here so they can get a tour of the farm and to see how coffee is made. At the end of the tour, we give them an opportunity to purchase the locally grown coffee. Combined, we probably purchase close to 100 bags of beans.
Ernie and Linda are still up and running, even with some of the challenges they faced with the pandemic. They graciously allowed our team to come and serve. We got to work out in the actual coffee fields. In the mountains. In semi jungle climate. In Costa Rica.
Let me paint a picture for you.
We were told to pair up, look down the 100 meters of rows of coffee fields, and walk in. Now this isn't like short plant stubs where you walk down a row and see another pair of people working 5 rows over. This is a you-go-in-focus-on-your-row-and-hope-you-see-people-along-the-way. If you have ever seen The Hunger Games, it felt a little bit like that.
Huge trees. Stick to your lane. Hear voices but can't see anyone. Don't die from poisonous creatures.
Our mission was to pluck up all of the weeds around each coffee plant so that it could continue to grow and they could keep harvesting coffee. We were on the ground, in the trees, digging up dirt and weeds with our bare hands, gloves, and/or big sticks if you could find one.
Every once in awhile I'd hear an "OH MY GOSH!" from a couple rows over and I knew that was never good. Especially coming from the gentlemen on the team.
The 1st "oh my gosh": Snakes. Yes plural. It happened more than once. With the help of Pastor Alfonso and his advice of not to move, I believe they just slithered away. Pastor said, "it's no problem" with a smile on his face.
The 2nd "oh my gosh": Tarantulas. Yes plural. Again. My absolute biggest fear in life is to even just SEE a tarantula; to be in the same proximity as one. And here I was. Being told to come look at this semi huge, furry, poisonous spider. I asked if we could kill it with Pastor's machete but the response was the same. "It's no problem." I died a little inside and kept pulling weeds.
The 3rd "oh my gosh":
Wasps. A whole nest of 'em. Some of our girls didn't even notice the nest and they were picking weeds right under the tree it was located in. No one got stung. Only literally because of the protection of the Father. We left the nest where it was and worked around it.
That morning, I prayed every time I heard an "oh my gosh!" That is not an exaggeration.
The Father protected our every step in those 100 meters of coffee plants, and we all got to see some creatures most of us had never seen up close (except maybe behind glass at a pet store). We got to serve those who own this coffee farm, support their business, and continue establishing a relationship with them.
It was one of the craziest things I've done and also the most fun. Doing it alongside a team of students who found joy in the small things. Like picking weeds at a coffee farm.
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