Not One Chapel, But Four

 “I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20

What comforting words Jesus speaks to us in the Gospel of Matthew. When I’ve had a hard day or feel over- whelmed, I’ve always been able to seek God out in the tabernacle and feel His real presence with me. Especially in college and in my adult years, I could go to a chapel and pray or just sit there, knowing that even if there were no words, I was still in His presence.

Sadly, almost all of the communities we served in rural Costa Rica lacked this opportunity. They are outlying settlements in the rainforest near the Nicaraguan border, so rural that sometimes a priest only comes once every three months. If they are fortunate enough to have a chapel, it is a structure that sits empty and locked most of the time. Some communities who have no chapel use the school building for occasional Mass.

Chorreras is one such community with only a school in which to celebrate Mass. The Catholic community is large and active. Many children are prepared to receive sacraments and awaiting the next time a priest visits.

One day Nick and I were approached by Mario and Marlene, business owners in Chorreras. They own the only restaurant and hotel in this tiny town, and from the restaurant window one can look out at the San Juan River separating Costa Rica from Nicaragua. Many immigrants and refugees cross that river, coming in search of work. They asked us for help to build a real chapel. Mario was even ready to donate the land and sell a calf to see the chapel was built.

The chapel in Chorreras would be a beacon of hope to those coming and going between Costa Rica and Nicaragua a place to rest their weary bones and sit with Our Lord, where Our Savior could fill them with His consolation and hope.

We convened a chapel committee in the town and start- ed making plans. Thanks to the generosity of our mission partners, within a couple of months we had hired people to flatten the land, dump four trucks of rock and sand, and had a beautifully designed plan donated by an architect friend in the U.S.

The chapel in Chorreras would be a beacon of hope to those coming and going between Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

The priest had been fully supportive; now it was time to write the bishop and share the good news. Unfortunately, his response was not what we expected. He regretted to inform us that the building site was within two kilometers of the border, and according to Costa Rica law, it is illegal to build there. Although an entire town is constructed there, it seemed there was no way around it. The towns- people insisted that the law was never enforced, but we trusted that God would work through our obedience.

The Lord indeed turned this bleak situation into some- thing better than we ever would have conjured up on our own. The bishop had encouraged us to look for an opportunity somewhere else. We learned of three other communities in our zone who were eager to have their chapels secured in order to bring in a tabernacle and have Jesus present in their communities. Men and women there were ready to be trained as Eucharistic Ministers so that they could have their own Communion Ser- vices without relying on missionaries each time.

Using our remaining chapel funds, the three chapels were secured within a few weeks. Fellow missionaries John and Penny Geerling generously offered to train Eucharistic Ministers and faith leaders, and those classes quickly began. We purchased sacred vessels, and the priest is selecting tabernacles which we can purchase. Moreover, Chorreras informed us that they will continue constructing the chapel on their own, investing their own resources.

Jesus changed our plan to build a chapel and replaced it with His plan to be present in four chapels! Additionally, faith leaders have been raised up in these communities. Thanks to our supporters back home, we had the funds available to do these projects quickly and successfully. Whatever sufferings and joys the people of northern Costa Rica are experiencing, they can now share in a special way together, in communion with Jesus in the chapels, and in communion with the Body of Christ.

Jesus changed our plan to build a chapel and replaced it with His plan to be present in four chapels!

I really look forward to the day when the people back home will encounter in Heaven the people they have helped in Costa Rica through their gifts. In Nick's and my opinion, this was the greatest gift God and our supporters gave to the people during our time in Costa Rica.