Roman Brady: 2009

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

FOR LIFE

It has been quit a while since coming back to the States and getting re-adjusted to life here. My experiences in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica have inspired me to devote any and all spare time to the uplift of anyone and everyone around me. Through out the entirety of my life I will post here for anyone who wants to follow which missions I am involved in because a "lifelong mission" and being Christ like everyday is what we are called to do.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Easter sharing in Costa Rica

The Lord has risen….the Lord has risen Indeed. In my SHARING today I will tell you about a couple of my holy week experiences. First I want to SHARE with you about my Palm Sunday experience, with playing at church and Rev. Perdita’s preaching during the announcements. I will also SHARE a little about our expedition to Parismina with Ninfa and a few friends. On Maundy Thursday we had our holy week reading and a communion service that I will also tell you a little about, as well as Easter Sunday.

Well on Palm Sunday I SHARED my time and talents at the “organ”, which I fumbled through the Hosanna (that mess ain’t easy.) Before I contributed my part Rev Perdita SHARED the announcements. She thanked me on behalf of the church for sharing everything I had with them. Then she asked “What are we going to do when you are gone?” After she had a few more announcements and a little preaching about said announcements Pastor Fernando SHARED with us the story of the palms. He told us that the people greeted Jesus as a King. Some waved palms and some striped and threw their clothes into the street for the donkey to walk on upon the entrance to Jerusalem. So the people SHARED their love for the King of Kings in this way.

On Wednesday Ninfa, Fernando, Alma, Morgan, me, Jordy, Kerry, and a list of other people SHARED a van that only fit 14, but somehow we had 20, on a two hour ride to the boat stop. Once there we SHARED a boat the short distance to the small village of Parismina. This village is SHARED by about 150 residents. The kids had a blast on the black sanded beach. The adults mainly enjoyed watching the kids have fun while sporadically enjoying the sun. After a small soccer game, and burying each other in the sand, and chasing the waves and sand crabs, we SHARED a small meal of rice with Chicken. Then after completing the task of a little more sunbathing and soaking up a few hours of fun, everyone changed back into their traveling clothes. We then concluded our trip to God’s wonderful beach with the SHARING of another small meal. This small meal consisted of bread and grape juice as a symbol of the body and blood which was the sacrifice Jesus made for us. This reminded everyone why we had this week off of school and work. Then we hopped back on the panga, to get to the bus/van, to get back to Limon.

On Maundy Thursday I got to church 15 minutes before 5:00pm so that I could practice a little bit before the holy week reading. When I arrived, to my surprise, were already SHARING the word. So I took my respected place at the “organ” (Keyboard set to Organ sound) and jumped right to work. After the holy week reading all the children left and everyone that was stayed were all SHARING in the fact that the were ALL dressed in white. A memo that was not SHARED with me…lol. We then had a small communion service that was mostly music so I tried to play, and participate. After SHARING the elements we were asked to SHARE a bible verse with the person beside us in our small circle. I was to give a verse to Rev Perdita. The verse that came to mind was:

Ephesians 6 : 19-20 (19)Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth words may be given to me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel (20) for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly as I should.

She loved the verse and hugged my neck thanking me for being here and lifting up everyone around me.

After the service we talked about how at the end of the week instead of having the same feelings as they had on Palm Sunday, all the people now SHARED their desire to have him Crucified. We also talked about that when we SHARED communion on the beach it was the first time that most of those kids have taken it because here they have to be confirmed before they are allowed to partake. I was/am very surprised. Who am I to deny someone who has been baptized into the body of the right to the elements, regardless if they don’t quite understand it? I think when they are old enough to decide for themselves, they can determine if they want to remember him this way. Then again that may just be a culture thing. So…after conversing I SHARED a cab with Elsa and her four children back to their barrio of Corales 1. The smallest of the four children is Angelina (5 months) and two weeks ago Elsa SHARED with me an invitation to be Angelina’s God Father, to which I excitedly accepted.

When time came for Easter sunrise…I was up, and dressed, and ready to go at 5:00am. The cab driver I had hired the night before was supposed to come at 5:15am because the service was to start at 5:30am. I waited until 5:30 before I tried calling him, but there was no answer. There were no cabs out in the street or passing by the local corner grocery…so I SHARED with myself a few more hours of sleep. Upon waking and redressing I SHARED a cab with Morgan to our two separate churches. Because it was Easter I took my trumpet on this Sunday. I have played my trumpet at Faith Moravian two or three times, but this was the first at Fuente de Vida. Everyone was excited to hear as I played along with hymns. When I tried to veer away from the melody and attempt to play some harmony everyone seemed to lose their place in the music. It was like trying to separate two colors of play dough that have been smashed up into one big ball. So I decided to stick with the melody. Then I SHARED in a small Easter meal of Rice and Beans, Chicken, a vinegar Slaw, and Beats which I respectfully shared with someone more willing to ingest such a vegetable.

Over all it has been an amazing two weeks here in the mission field. This week we are returning to our normal schedule from our holy week remembrance. From here on we only have three more weeks of class and then mini-courses in May along with reroofing Fuente de Vida with members of Raleigh Moravian Church that will arrive on May 11^th. So realizing that we only have a small amount of time left makes me reflect on all the time and experiences I have SHARED with the people here, and that the people here have SHARED with me. Although when I leave at the end of this mission it will not be the last time I SHARE with my new friends here. But it will be the beginning of my SHARING with the rest of the world, of the things that were SHARED with me here in this beautiful place.

The front of Fuente de Vida Moravian Church

This is Elsa and her daughters Stacy, Stephany, Nisha, and Anglina.

That is her visiting friend there on the end.

Little Anglina will soon be my God Daughter..Exciting I know!!

Me being cool...."I like you necklas sir".."why thanks you I made it myself"

So you want to know how. I once went to a baptist church where they handout the pocket crosses and I thought what good is doing in my pocket. So I put it on my neck...and it has been there for about 4 years.

This is Kerry. I allowed Kerry to take a guitar home but somehow his "Homework" load is sometimes too large for him to havetime to practice.

Group of us standing at the pulpit.

Our communion cups at the beach. They are a bit big but they got the job done.

Me in my Phi Mu Alpha T-shirt and Watermelon on the Beach.

The children doing what we have all done as children. (or adults)

The kids chasing the waves.

This was funny. I went to take a picture of Ninfa and she put her hands up and then I said "awww" likeI had missed the photo and she started laughing because she thought I had only gotten a picture of her hands. Then I showed it to her and she almost fell out of the hamock she was laughing so hard.

The group of 20 on a panga (boat) heading out to Parismina. Unfortunatley we did not get to see the crocidiles that usually infest this canal. However I did see where they usually lay in the sun.

The picture of one of the Boats.

The Two hour drive on this most wonderfully bumpy road was the best part

(can you hear the sarcasam....even though you are reading???)

This is COSTA RICA!!!!!

Every where you look. Bananas, Bananas, and more....you get it.

2.2 million metric tons of bananas in 2005 alone.

Our little markets. These little markets are all over the side of the road

pretty much everywhere in Central America.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Ashley E? Setzer

Ashley...

How awesome are you!!!!

Very

How lucky am I?????

Very

Praise God for the Gifts he has given us!!

To God be the Glory! Great things he hath done!!!

Sitting in Reflection

It always seems that we are constantly looking forward to the future and the things that are yet to come. Whenever we sit for a moment we have the time to take it all in and reflect on the things that have come and gone. As I sit here in the perfect Caribbean weather, warm but not too hot. When the breeze blows through you can almost taste the salt in the air. As I feel the wind on my skin it is almost like I’m in bed with the fan going on one of those mornings where it is just so easy to sleep in. I think about the time when I came to the decision to come to Costa Rica and how uncertain I was. I took a leap of faith and being in this place has been so rewarding, not just because I live in the heart of the Caribbean, but because of all the beautiful and loving people I have met along the way. It is hard to believe that in two months I will be back in Winston-Salem. But once back I will be willing to share my story with anyone and everyone.

The amount of time here has shown me the things that are really important, and pointed out the things that I take for granted. Have you ever thanked God for smooth roads? On the roads here in Limon you can’t drive 20 feet without having to swerve to miss a ditch or pothole. Have you ever thanked God for your mobility? Here in Limon it is hard to get around. A personal car is a commodity only for the rich. Most people here take taxis and the bus daily. Have you ever thanked God for Honest law enforcement? Here in Costa Rica there are SO many corrupt public officials that to get a fare shake may be hard. Someone that calls for medical assistance may receive it an hour or two after the call. Its not like that states where in a matter of minutes someone is there to help. People lose their lives because of simple complications that in the states are not problems because of the response time. I often think about the “American dream” and I can see why people would risk their lives for even a small chance at making it in America. Because just being in the USA means they are immediately better off than where they were, even if they choose to live 15 to a house. With the current economy some people should do the same thing. Maybe buy a house with two other families and share the cost of living. Just the small things/choices that we all take for granted are missed opportunities for people around the world.

Over the past couple of weeks Morgan and I have done a few different things I want to talk about. We helped celebrate the life of a friend’s father in law by playing a few songs at a funeral service and grave side service. We also got the chance to attend the Moravian church of Costa Rica’s yearly assemble. I also took the chance to get a few friends together for Morgan’s birthday at the local Pizza Hut in town, after all she did arrange a surprise birthday party for me in December.

Funeral is a entirely different experience than it is in the states. When you go to a funeral you should not have anything scheduled for the rest of the day or even weekend. We arrived at the church right after lunch on Saturday, and already the church was packed with people of the community to pay their respects. Morgan and I got the opportunity to offer our songs to the family and friends. To God be the Glory was one, Abide with me, and helped accompany on a number of other selections. There were easily over 300 people there which is one of the biggest crowds I have ever performed in front of. Then at the grave side service we played a few more hymns, me on the guitar and Morgan playing versions of melody and harmony on her violin. After which we were told to come to the house for something to eat and to mingle with the family, which we happily obliged. This is the same family that we got to spend Christmas day with, a very loving family that accepted us and received us with much thanks. I thank God for having met all of them and being able to share in the celebration of life for him.

After teaching the Harvest Tabernacle group on Saturday morning we went to town to be part of the yearly assemble of the Moravian church in Costa Rica which was taking place at the Methodist church because it has a big fellowship hall and a fully functional kitchen. Maybe after we get the school built next to faith we can have it there next year. There were quite a few familiar faces here at this assemble because Back in October we were guest judges for the Friendly Bible Competition in the Capital San Jose. It was 7 hours of nonstop Spanish which was helpful but aggravating at times because I am still learning and could not catch everything they were saying. I also met this guy Will Cothbert who has been to Laurel Ridge back in the day and knows Chris Puryer, also he is going to try to come to Laurel Ridge this summer for like Junior High 2 and Senior High. It was awesome to see everyone come together and work towards progress.

After the Assemble we walked towards the park..and I happened to mention that “I am soooo Hungry” so we saw that Pizza hut was still open so we walked up and wouldn’t you know there were people there that we knew. It was a great little surprise for Morgan on her 7^th anniversary of turning 21. Well I will let all the pictures speak for themselves.

Hope everyone is doing well…..feel free to Email me anything…just to say hey. Love you all even the ones who read and have no clue who I am. Adios.