After this morning's church service, while I was waiting for Fede, I sat and talked with a woman from the congregation. This woman is in her late twenties and is married to the church's worship leader (who Fede has a father-son like relationship with). We talked in both English and Spanish so I practiced my speaking but also was able to have a real conversation with her.
Some how we landed on the topic of Catholicism, Christianity, and "strictness" or rules. I shared with her that I thought Catholics lived more restricted lives. She just looked at me in shock and said, "Not here." She went on to give me examples from the previous week's Dia de San Ramon festivities and the response of many Christians in the community to secular music. I found this all very fascinating. Catholic church here is more about history, culture, tradition, family, and knowing of God. There is a sense that attending church and simply knowing who God is will let you get into heaven.
I responded to her honestly and told her that I believed many Catholics live by rules. Because the relationship with God is less often personal, followers of this religion must abide by rules and believe that as long as they stay within the bounds, they will be okay. In contrast, we as Christians are in continual pursuit of God's heart. We follow as he leads and do not simply follow rules. I explained that this is part of the fun, joy, and freedom in following Christ. At this, she bowed her head and covered her face. In a moment she looked up at me and said, "You are right."
Shortly after this, Fede came out and was ready to leave. She just smiled at me and said, "Now I know you."
It ended up that we gave her and her husband a ride. When we arrived at their destination, she came around to my side of the car. I rolled my window down and thanked her for talking with me. She smiled, looked past me, and said something to Fede. After our goodbyes Fede told me what she had said...
"All the Gringos are nice, pretty, kind, but she is the first one that has spoken on behalf of God."
Wow! All I had done was speak from my heart about the truths of the gospel.
Leila | September 12, 2011 at 11:05 PM
Amazing! This story brings such a smile to my face. God is using you! How beautiful. Keep chasing His heart, sister :-)
Anonymous | September 13, 2011 at 9:36 AM
Hey Hannah!
I just read your article and I thought I could clear some things up for you. Catholics do not believe that they can buy their way into heaven by their rules. That would be silly to think that any one could have power over God's grace. Unfortunately, many people who are not in the Catholic faith have misconceptions, along with some who are in the faith, because there is a lack of knowledge about it. Some Catholics who do not fully understand their faith may think that we do what we do for no reason. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Like a child obeys a loving father, we obey our grace-filled Lord by doing the many things he's asked for us. Since we know that we are so loved, we want to do as much as possible to serve him. It is out of reverence and love that we do what we do. The bible says how it is not easy to be a Christian and I believe that Catholics are a great testament to that. Though, it might be difficult at times, it is what God has asked of us and we want to do anything in our power to serve our Savior!!! We also believe that Jesus wouldn't have left this world without leaving a good shepherd behind to lead the way. This is the pope for us. There are quotes in the bible that support the papacy that I can share with you if you'd like. We believe that without being one in unity as we are, there would be hundreds of thousands of different churches who teach different things about Christianity, which is evidence of what today's world is. I'm sorry to hear that you believe those things about the Church, but if you, or any person(or Catholic) that you come upon, is unsure about the Catholic faith, I would be more than happy to clear it up or reference some books for you. Many people leave Catholicism because of their little knowledge on the fullness of the faith. The more that I have learned about my faith the deeper I fall in love with the Church Jesus Christ left behind and how blessed I am to be a part of it! The bible also states how great we will be persecuted, Catholics are persecuted for their believes all the time.
In God's love,
Grace :)
"There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be."
— Fulton J. Sheen
Mary Mohler | September 14, 2011 at 4:56 PM
Hannah - this is so great. Its so awesome to see how God has been confirming why He sent you to Costa Rica. Love you and miss you!!!