Dear Loved Ones;
Hot showers,
I miss you more dearly then I could tell you. Here in Costa Rica I miss your warm embrace, your consistent water pressure, and the promise of cleanliness every time we met. Back home, people say that you find out how much you love someone when they’re gone and it’s true. Now I truly understand the depths of my fondness for you. You have my love; I will miss you these long nine months but I know our reunion will be full of joy only the Lord can provide.
To mac’n cheese, chicken nuggets, green beans and apple pie,
Sayonara. No offense, but there is an abundance of food to replace you and my pallet is over-saturated with delicious choices. Every market place and food truck is an adventure that I can’t wait to experience!
To wifi,
This was a hard break up. This first month I think it would be better if we took some time to focus on ourselves and then maybe we can be friends again. It’s not you, it’s me. Really. Well me and my squad leaders. This first month it’s really important for me to build the culture of my squad and be able to process ministry and the opportunities God is calling me into without distractions. And wifi, we both know you’ll be fine. You were cheating on me anyway. What, you didn’t think I noticed when your signal was weak?
To My Parents and My Sister,
I LOVE YOU. I wish I could tell you about everything thats happening here.Being unable to call you is hard. But as you read above, wifi and I are on a little bit of a time-out. I want you to know that you have prepared me well for this- your never ending love and encouragement has given me the foundation I need to enter into this culture and try to love these people like I know you would. Mom, your “Spanglish” would be so helpful here! The locals (especially the ninos) are very forgiving of our minimal Spanish experience and would have a blast showing you proper pronunciations and vocab. And I would love to hear you laugh with them. I miss your laugh. To Dad, you would be such a source of strength for me here, the transition is hard. It’s hard not fully comprehending the language and its hard to meet my community within the walls of my home(my squad) at the same time I’m meeting the Costa Rican community. But Dad, you have a way of making anyone feel at home and I’m trying to channel you here as I grow to love my squad and community more everyday. Also, as we do “team time” and feedback I’m channelling the thousands of discussion questions that you invested into my life with. Thank you for teaching me and loving me so well. Chloe, sister sister, where do I start? I’m reminded of your love of flowers in every gorgeous tropical plant lining the streets. I hear your voice in the morning as we worship because you love to sing. I feel you as I seek quiet time with God and with myself as I weave out of crowds. I see your artistic style when I pick up my pens here. I love you and I can’t wait to hug you and dance with you again. Go rock your freshman year, I’m rooting for you.
Timmy,
You have had such an impact on my life and on my heart. I saw some young boys skating down the street earlier today and I instinctively held my hand out in a Shaka towards them. Don’t worry, I won’t pass up another opportunity to skate, I’ll be out there shredding with them soon. I can feel your presence when I do kids ministry in the morning. At our ministry site in San Jose (about 45min from our house) one side of the street is reserved for the church and the other is the residential slum for many of the gang members in the community. It’s a rough neighborhood to say the least. I was afraid at first, I’m not going to lie. The men in the community look very intimidating and as I followed our Pastor, an incredibly strong and willful women known as Bella Florre, I remembered how you would look at the people I passed. You would immediately see past their outward appearance of hostility and you would love them. You blanket people with compassion and accept them just as they are. We played futbol (soccer) with the kids in ministry today that are also apart of Bella Florre’s feeding program. It was so much fun! Between jump rope, futbol, feeding kids lunch/cleaning up, and teaching small bits of English my team was exhausted. But I love investing in these kids, I can see Jesus working through this ministry and impacting their community and I can’t wait to see the amazing opportunities He provides. You would feel so fulfilled here Timmy, you’re so good at teaching and investing in kids. I miss you everyday and I love you so much. I’ll talk to you soon baby.
To Emily,
Girl, I love you. I cannot believe that you are getting married in December! I wish I could be at your wedding, you have no idea how badly I want to take a flight back to you for your special day. But God has called me here and provided the way so I will have to stay in Costa Rica for now. (which I am also INCREDIBLY thankful for) I am however, totally face-timing into your wedding and I can’t wait for that! Also, I know nursing school is stressful, beyond that even. Know that not only me but my team of seven and my squad will be praying for you as you go through these crazy momentous transitions of life! I love you so much and I miss our late night talks and our coffee devotional time. You have been such a pillar of faith for me, I will always be grateful for you. I couldn’t have made it through this last season of life without you! So just know that you have my heart, my prayers, and my faith in you in every aspect of your life. We’ll catch up soon.
To Everyone Supporting Me,
Thank you. I can’t say it enough. Thank you. My heart is overwhelmed and overjoyed to be in Costa Rica and I couldn’t have done it without you. God is so present here in this country and I have already been so blessed by His presence through locals and through my Squad. I will be blogging weekly to update you as my ministry and my life here in this beautiful country develops. Right now, I am truly just adjusting to language barriers, culture, grocery shopping in Spanish, budgeting, and loving on the Costa Rican people with everything I have so that maybe they can see Christ in me. Please keep praying and encouraging my squad and I as you prayed and encouraged us throughout my fundraising. Every prayer and encouragement makes us stronger. I love you all, thank you for everything, I’ll be updating you soon!
