Right Where I Belong (27 page)
Natalia looked at her phone. “I promised the girls I’d give them a Spanish lesson. Do you guys mind if I run over to the chapel? I should be able to catch them before they leave.”
“Go right ahead.” Lexi gathered the blindfolds in a heap. “I’m going to lie down right here and take a nap.”
Natalia ran up the steps to the chapel. She spotted Alayna through the window. The little girl smiled and waved. When Mr. Younger finished his Bible lesson, the kids filed out. Alayna ran to Natalia.
“You came.” She hugged the older girl.
“Of course I did.”
“I invited some other friends. Is that all right?”
Natalia looked at the eager faces. “Are you girls ready to learn some Spanish?”
“Yes,” they all squealed.
“Excellent.” Natalia felt her hands being grasped by two of the girls. They dragged her to a covered patio with plastic tables and chairs.
Natalia was surprised at how much Spanish the girls knew. Some had only been in Costa Rica a few months, but they were soaking in the language. They moved past the simple songs Natalia taught them and begged for more. They loved performing, and when Natalia suggested they sing some of their songs on the last day of Vacation Bible School, the girls clapped with joy.
“Yes, yes, yes!” Cassie twirled around.
“Miss Natalia.” Alayna tapped Natalia’s shoulder excitedly. “Guess what? I asked my mom about Loja, and she said it’s the music capitol of Ecuador.”
Natalia’s heart warmed at the excitement in Alayna’s voice. “How exciting. Maybe you can teach your new friends some of these songs.”
Alayna’s eyes grew wide. “I could!”
Natalia didn’t even feel her feet touch the ground as the group walked back to their house. She had never in her life enjoyed anything as much as she enjoyed being with the kids today. It was even better than helping with the ESL class, and she loved that.
Mrs. Younger put a hand on Natalia’s shoulder. “I saw
you with the little girls today. I think you’ve found your calling.”
Natalia stopped on the sidewalk and stared at the pastor’s wife. “My calling?”
“You are a teacher.” Mrs. Younger nodded. “And a very good one. God has given you a great gift.”
A teacher?
The thought was as terrifying as it was thrilling. She couldn’t imagine anything as rewarding as working with children every day. But there was no way her parents would ever agree to that. She was raised to be a successful businesswoman. That’s what her parents expected.
“I think you’ve found your calling.”
Mrs. Younger’s words replayed in her mind.
Your calling.
Could it be?
Natalia remembered Brian’s words,
“God gives you the desires of your heart.”
She remembered the Ecuadorian woman she was able to help. Little Alayna’s face lit up when she learned songs she could share with her friends.
God, this is my desire. To teach. But how will I ever be able to convince my parents of that?
B
rian watched Natalia and Spencer deep in conversation. Again. Ever since Spencer’s blowup on the van three days before, he had been monopolizing Natalia’s time.
Is this just a trick?
Brian’s gut clenched as Natalia leaned over, her hair brushing Spencer’s shoulder.
He couldn’t get her with his looks and charm, so he tries to manipulate her by acting like he’s suddenly interested in spiritual things.
Brian moaned. How big of a jerk was he?
I fly thousands of miles to tell people about Jesus and get mad when a guy from my backyard wants to know him?
“She’s just being a good friend.” Mom put a hand on Brian’s knee. How did she know what he was thinking?
“No.” Brian stared out the window. “I wasn’t looking at them. I’m just zoning out. Tired.”
“Brian.” Mom squeezed his knee. “You’re not fooling me. I know you’re jealous. It’s better to admit it and deal with it than live in denial.”
“Not in the mood for one of your shrink sessions, Mom.” He turned away.
His mother sighed. He hated hurting her. But this was his problem. And admitting—out loud—that he was in deep like with Natalia would do no good for anyone. If Spencer became a Christian, any hopes Brian had with the beautiful Spaniard were out the window.
Spencer has a whole lot more in common with Natalia than I ever will.
Dad stood at the front of the van. “Remember, folks, this is our last day at the church. Let’s get everything done and leave them with a beautiful surprise on Sunday.”
Brian looked out at the church. Being here had been fun. He really connected with the pastor—despite Brian’s terrible Spanish. Guillermo had enough English that, between the two of them, conversation could happen.
Guillermo was just eight years older than Brian. His father was a pastor too. They had great conversations about that life. Even in different countries, expectations of pastors’ kids remained the same. His dad’s church was large and fairly affluent. Brian was surprised to learn there were churches like that in San José. But when a man from this church contacted his father about their need for a pastor, Guillermo felt called to take the position. He was finishing his degree in engineering at the time. Because the church was so poor, he worked for the government and preached for free.
“Brian.” Guillermo pronounced his name the same way Natalia did—BrE-ayn. “My friend, I was thinking about you all night. God has a message for you.”
Brian stopped what he was doing. “A message?”
“Is that not the right word?” Guillermo pulled out a pocket Spanish-English dictionary the men had used to help communicate.
“No, that’s the right word. But it just sounds weird. A message from God? Isn’t that what the Bible is?”
“Come with me.” Guillermo walked toward the back of the church. Exotic plants and trees with fruits Brian couldn’t name spread out before him. “You have a calling.”
“I know.” Brian plucked a fuzzy green fruit and turned it over in his hands. “I’m a pastor’s kid, remember? We’re all called to serve God and honor him.”
“That is . . . how do you say?” Guillermo flipped through the dictionary. “General. I am speaking of a specific calling.”
“You know what I am supposed to do?” Brian didn’t like where this was going.
“God has designed you to be in ministry.”
Brian threw down the fruit in his hand. “Come on, Guillermo. You, of all people, should know how annoying that is. My dad’s a pastor, so I should be too?”
“I no say you should be pastor.” Guillermo’s English got worse as he grew more passionate. “But ministry, yes. You have pastor’s heart. You care for people.”
“I can do that in any job.”
“Trust me.” Guillermo motioned to the church. “You unhappy in another job. I know. I tried. I no take this church right away. I no want it. Pastor. Me? So I work. Good job, good money. But I was
muy
miserable.”
“Muy miserable?” Brian grinned.
“You laugh at my English?” Guillermo slanted one eyebrow.
“Señor ‘No hablo Español.’”
Brian laughed at Guillermo’s impression of his terrible Spanish. “I really sound like that?”
“No changing subject.” Guillermo shook a finger in Brian’s face. “Do not run from God’s calling. To run only makes the time spent doing his will shorter. Many regrets in that.”
“I don’t want to be in ministry.”
Guillermo breathed deeply. “Yes, you do. But you are scared.”
Brian tensed. “It isn’t fear. It’s . . . I don’t know. I don’t want people criticizing me all the time. I don’t want my phone to always be on or my door always open. I want a normal life.”
“What is normal?” Guillermo spread his arms wide. “There is no normal. There is God’s way and your way.”
Brian hated how right this man sounded. “But if I’m not a pastor, then what?”
“Missionary?” Guillermo smiled. “Many churches like this need pastor.”
“Right. You’ve heard my Spanish.”
“Language school.”
Brian thought about working at a church like this one. He hated to admit it, even to himself, but the idea was appealing. He loved being in Costa Rica. Loved working at the church. But could he live here? Or in another country? Away from his family? He looked across the grassy yard to where Natalia was helping his mom pull out the decorations they purchased the night before.
If I had someone to work with me. Someone like . . .
“Natalia has a calling too.” Guillermo smiled.
Can everyone read my mind?
“Natalia is way out of my league.”
“Out of your league?” Guillermo began flipping through the dictionary.
Brian shut the book. “Never mind. I need to get back to work. But . . . thanks. I’ll think about what you said.”
“I pray for you.”
Brian hugged the man. He spent the morning painting the outside of the church and thinking about what Guillermo had said. The more he thought about it, the more excited he got. Was it a coincidence that he’d been working with the ESL ministry? That he felt more at home with them than with his own friends?
A missionary?
Brian had met a few as they had come through church. Some had lived in jungles and eaten strange foods. That didn’t appeal to him at all. But living in a place like Costa Rica, pastoring a church and maybe doing something else on the side?
Surprisingly, the thought wasn’t nearly as repulsive as he thought it would be.
A
nd now we have a very special presentation.” Pastor Brian stood on the stage in the gym and motioned for Natalia to bring up her group of girls.
Cassie and Alayna led the way with six other girls following behind. Natalia wiped tears from her eyes as she stood to the side and led them in their first song. “La Cucaracha” was a favorite, and many in the audience joined in. After that the girls sang a jump rope song, complete with jump ropes. Natalia thought she would burst with pride. The girls had worked so hard, and their pronunciation was perfect.
They will be just fine in their new countries.
Alayna, especially, had come a long way. Natalia had taught her several phrases to help her get to know girls in Ecuador. The eight-year-old practiced them everywhere she went, and she told Natalia that morning that she couldn’t wait to get to Loja and meet her new friends.
When the girls finished, Natalia led them down the stairs and back with their group. Pastor Brian began to dismiss the crowd when one of the teachers at the school stepped in.
“Boys and girls, we want to give a big thank-you to the folks from Tampa. How about a round of applause for all their hard work?”
The room erupted in cheers and clapping. The children stood, as did their parents. The teacher at the front waited for a minute before urging the children to sit back down. “As you can see, they are very appreciative of all you’ve done. And during class the last few mornings, we have been working on something very special.”
One of the fourth graders handed a stack of construction paper, tied with ribbon, to the teacher. “These are notes from every boy and girl in here. Please take this back to your church with our gratitude, and know that we will never forget you.”
Pastor Brian accepted the papers and wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. “Thank you all. We have been the ones blessed by this trip. We are so proud of all of you. You are going out into the world to spread the gospel, and we are honored to have been a small part in helping to encourage you in that ministry. Each one of you is treasured by God and treasured by us.” Pastor Brian couldn’t go on. Natalia cried with him, and the children, urged by their parents, ran to hug the nearest member of the Tampa team.
The walk back to the house was the quietest it had ever been. Everyone was thinking about their good-byes.
“Do we have to go sightseeing tomorrow?” Lexi, of
course, was the first to break the silence. “Can’t we spend another day at the language school?”
Pastor Brian shook his head. “I am not going through that again.”
“They are such sweet kids.” Mrs. Younger nodded.
“Most of them.” Addy cocked her head.
A few of the kids were unruly—running out of lessons and talking back to the teachers. Addy had an especially difficult first grader in her Bible story time. Little Jacob would stick his tongue out every time he saw her. When she tried to teach, he would grab the papers from her hand, crumble them up, and throw them at her. Pastor Brian had to be brought in to sit with the boy.
“It was amazing,” Addy said. “But I’m ready to get back.”
“Tomorrow will be amazing too.” Brian pointed toward the mountains in the distance. “Wait until you see the rain forest. And the volcano.”
Natalia could see that Brian was falling in love with this country. She had seen him speaking with Guillermo the day before. She didn’t know what they had discussed, but it had kept him thinking the rest of the day. Being here had affected Spencer too. Natalia couldn’t believe the changes that took place in him in just a few short days. He had worked harder than anyone at the little church, and he even played with the missionary kids on the playground, giving them piggyback rides and playing soccer—not even caring that his expensive shoes were caked with Costa Rican mud.