Costa Rica: Home Away From Home

Time for my monthly country update!! COSTA RICA!! A country that holds a very special place in my heart. The first place I ever visited/lived outside of the United States. How cool that I got to go back for another month. Here are some fun facts & stories from my most recent time there!

Location: Penshurt (near Cahuita), Costa Rica 

Arrival: April 7

Departure: May 4

Days: 26

Team: Zeal – Ericka, Sarah, Kayla, Steph, Emily, Me, Alayna (TL), Khurry (SQL) 

An all girls team this month! I had a blast with them & we made some incredible memories together, laughed SO much, played bananagrams pretty constantly & sang the doxology more than a few times. This team was only for one month so we were intentional about soaking up all of the time we had together.

Ministry: The overarching ministry we partnered with throughout this month was Global Teen Challenge, which for us was Dorcas Mansion (the Women’s rehab center) & Taller Del Maestro (the Men’s center). My last blog post talked a lot about who we spent our month with & the lessons I learned from it. The ministry was pretty irregular & sporadic, & we just did whatever was needed within the ministries. 

Living conditions: We had a half of a house, the other side being where the women’s center functioned. I shared a bunk bed room upstairs with my 5 teammates & then we had a downstairs with no furniture. All of our meals were prepared by the ladies who were in the program, as they took turns cooking anyway, so we enjoyed eating over there with them.

Weather: We were in the JUNGLE. The weather? You guessed it. Muggy & hot & often cloudy. Literally could not stand still without sweating. Plus there was no breeze. Yikes. 

Memorable day: We had the opportunity to visit an indigenous tribe where a ministry is in it’s beginning stages. It’s called “The Nest” & will be a refuge home for women & children of the tribe who are trapped in a culture of incest and sexual abuse. It was incredible to hear the story of how the Lord has brought all of the pieces together & used Karina & James to establish this place.*
The location was insane & getting there required this: the crossing of a river by canoe, a 15 minute walk down a dirt road, cutting through a banana farm, walking across a plank bridge over a stream, another path through the woods, & finally a climb up a steep path before arriving. We went twice & both times, did some manual labor helping in the building process. Right now, they are building the bathrooms & they are about to start constructing the little homes that will be scattered around the property. 

*One of my teammates interviewed Karina & James & when she posts the video I will share it!! 

Best food: An iced caramel latte at a coffee shop called “Aroma” that we visited a few times. Not food, I know, but it deserves a place in this blog. I still haven’t stopped thinking about it. 

Worst food: Really oily rice on several occasions. 

A person: Armando (or Tito)!! He he director of the men’s center & an incredible one at that. I simply want to tell you that he impacted me in the humble & loving way he led the men there. In no way does he seem like a leader & that makes the best kind. He gets on your level & you feel instantly welcomed in his presence. I’ll never forget Tito & all of the memories we have with him!!  

Fun fact: While in Costa Rica, I reached the 365th day I’ve lived there over the past 2 1/2 years. Pretty cool moment. Called for a lot of reflecting on the many memories I have in this beloved country. Along those same lines, Costa Rica just feels like home to me which was special in this VERY unfamiliar year of constant newness in every direction. 

Alright fam, that’s all I have for today!! Thank you for reading my blog & following this journey I am on. 

(Also, if you can think of any more fun categories I should include in these country recaps, let me know in the comments!)