One Step Becomes a Three-Day Walk

Three men stepped into the forest at dusk. They knew the risks. Pumas and venomous snakes, rivers with no bridges, and ravines below slippery paths.

Carlos, Rodolfo, and Elver carried backpacks brimming with shoes for climbing mountains, and tall, waterproof boots for crossing rivers. Also, a soccer ball and Bibles, hardcovers and solar-powered audio Bibles.

They hiked into the night. At times they felt heroic, at times afraid. Their thoughts centered on Jesus. Their purpose hinged on Jesus.

Past each landmark, each mile of safety, the men breathed gratitude. Walter, their trusted guide, accompanied them, and he knew the jungle. They would reach the hillside village in three days, crossing Costa Rica’s forests and mountains, territories of the indigenous Cabécar people.

In Cabécar villages, small churches multiply. One neighbor tells another, “God’s kindness and grace have appeared in the person of Jesus Christ.” Soon the talk stretches to another village. The people begin searching Scripture to answer questions like, who is God? What’s the story of Jesus?

When people are compelled to extend God’s love, the church has always grown. People share what they deem to be good news. Carlos says it was his grandfather who first shared Jesus with him. His grandfather received a Bible when missionaries brought copies to Honduras decades ago—a backstory which drew me to investigate Carlos’s missionary work.

Last year I wrote about Carlos in an article for our church denomination, and this year, he asked me to help document the three-day walk. While I’m challenged by the length Carlos, Rodolfo, and Elver carried Bibles so people could know Jesus, I’m also encouraged to recall how Carlos began with one small step.

Carlos first connected with Cabécar people when he walked into one of the indigenous tribe’s eight territories. A friendship formed over the game of soccer. Carlos would hike back to his home in nearby Cartago and return to the Cabécar village again with his soccer ball. Now, with Cabécar friends Rodolfo and Elver, Carlos travels to their expanding churches.

For the first part of the journey, Carlos and his friends climbed aboard a ferry of planks bolted to a recycled pallet. The boat stayed upright and kept them dry. They walked all night, and at sunrise were greeted by Cabécar church members who took turns carrying the backpacks. After a full day of hiking, they camped by a riverbank, cutting banana leaves for bedding and cooking chorizo alongside a pot of coffee over a fire.

In the morning, the group crossed the river on foot. People drown every season attempting to do so. That day, while walking, Carlos and the travelers’ backs were sore, their feet blistered. At one point, their guide, Walter, stepped on a snake. Providence and his tall boots kept him safe. They went on, stopping briefly for lunch. As they walked, the shadowy forest interfused with portals of sunlight—a place both dangerous and delectable for foot travelers determined to carry good news.

When Carlos first visited a Cabécar village eight years ago, there were no thriving church communities. Rather, the region was a mixture of syncretism. Some practiced witchcraft or participated in drug trafficking. As Carlos got to know people in the village, they discussed spiritual things. The people asked questions. They wanted to understand God’s character. Carlos slowly began explaining God revealed in Scripture through Jesus Christ. Today, these Cabécar people are neither still nor quiet about their beliefs. The terrain prevents them from road travel, and helicopter access is costly, so they walk to share Jesus with other Cabécar villages.

The last part of the journey was a steep climb for three hours, then a summit with views of forests unfolding in every direction. When they reached the village, people from the church greeted them and immediately went out hunting. They wanted to feed the visitors the best food they could find.

That night, Carlos, Rodolfo, and Elver sat on tree stumps and ate a generous meal. The church gathered in an open-air house with a thatched roof and a dirt floor, and after the meal there was music.

The people understand Spanish but prefer to converse in Cabécar. Rodolfo and Elver include Carlos who is learning their language. In Cabécar territories, children read and write in Spanish when they go to school. The Bibles Carlos and friends brought are in Spanish, and the solar-powered audio Bibles contain the New Testament in Cabécar.

More Cabécar people search the Scriptures and encounter God. Christ’s life, death, and resurrection is a story for all people, a story of good news bursting into the context of the Cabécar people’s lives. Carlos and friends walked three days to visit a village where people who once practiced witchcraft now sit together to hear the Bible read. Many in the village who formerly grew marijuana for income now plan to grow edible crops to divide between families. 

During the visit, Carlos worked alongside the villagers, men and women of all ages, lifting beams to frame a structure for a church building. People from this church say they want to go to neighboring Cabécar villages to share, and Carlos wants to continue making more trips.

In the end, I thought of the soccer ball Carlos packed with the Bibles he carried. A soccer field sits adjacent to the newly framed church building. There, Carlos connected with villagers, same as he did with the first Cabécar village close to his home in Cartago. What started as a simple sharing of a soccer ball has become a partnership with Cabécar people who agree Jesus is worth sharing.

And isn’t this true and possible for Christians everywhere? Connecting with others begins with something small, like a game of soccer. Sharing happens organically among people with common hobbies and neighborhoods. Extending God’s love may look like crossing a jungle on foot for three days, or, more specifically, like crossing the street to chat with a neighbor on their driveway.  

Carlos says this verse reminds him of why he crosses the jungle on foot:

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” Romans 10:14 ESV.

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(Photo by John Rechin)

The Cabécar people are the largest indigenous tribe in Costa Rica, with a population of around seventeen thousand.