God’s Timing

When it was time for our son CJ to be confirmed, he was given a special dispensation from our bishop to have this sacrament administered by our parish priest. We hadn’t officially started serving in a different country yet, and we thought it would be easier for CJ to have this sacrament at his home parish. CJ’s confirmation was intimate, beautiful, and exactly perfect for him. When we asked if Jonathan (our other son) could do the same, we were denied. The reason was that the bishop believed this beautiful sacrament should be celebrated in the community. We had no qualms with that. We agreed, knowing full well the importance of community. However, we were frustrated with the timing of everything. 

We usually come back to the States every December and July, and no confirmation was celebrated during these times. Finally, our deacon in Santa Rosa asked us why Jonathan hadn’t received his confirmation yet. We told him the reason, and he said, “Your family is part of THIS community. Get him (and Job) into classes now.” And so, we did.

Our family was given another chance to enter into our community more than we already had. We began communicating with even more people and recognized more faces at mass and in town. When Pablo, one of our missionaries here in Costa Rica, administered a retreat for Jonathan’s class, we had the opportunity to help, and we connected even more. The guys at the rehab center started asking if they could go to Jonathan’s confirmation mass. When we had clearance from Umeke, the director, we decided to have a small party to celebrate. 

We asked our friend Denita to help with the cooking and decided we should invite her too. We also invited Elida, and other families and friends we have connected with over the past couple of years. Then we invited the nuns, the priests, and the catechists. An extra blessing was that our brother, Daniel, flew down from the States to witness his confirmation as well! The boys kept asking how many we should expect, and we weren’t sure. Confirmation is celebrated here, but we weren’t sure exactly how much.

The day came, and the mass was FULL—116 people were confirmed! Many people had to stand, and some brought their own chairs to sit outside of the church. We knew the church would get crowded quickly, so Chris and our brother went to pick up the guys from the rehab center early. It was a good thing they went at that time because the van broke down along the way. They all eventually got to the church right as mass was beginning! (Needless to say, our brother had the FULL experience of missions!) When mass was over, we congratulated one of Jonathan’s friends, Alondra, who told us she had no plans after mass, so we invited her too.

Our house was packed! We were speaking Spanish and English. We ate, played games, and a speech was made by Chris on the meaning of confirmation and how grateful we were to have this moment in time. It was vibrant, beautiful, and perfect for Jonathan! In all actuality, it was a perfect “upper room Pentecostal moment’ for all of us. We know that Jonathan’s confirmation would have been great anywhere, but to be honest, we feel that God’s timing was perfect for this experience. Praise God in all His providence!