here I am, I’m going to taco ‘bout my time in Jaco, Costa Rica.
An absolute gift is how I would describe the month of May. I lived in the middle of town, had my own bicycle, and had the beach at my fingertips. Dreamy right? It gets better.
I partnered with Ocean’s Edge and I got P O U R E D into this month.
This ministry knows how to pour into people. We had amazing mentors. Women who took time to lead us in separate small groups, morning stretch and devotions, and instant friends. The women there are intentional, brave, loving, and beautiful.
Being on the race, obviously I came to serve those around the world, but to be served for a piece of my time aboard was truly refreshing and so unexpected. It is crazy how day to day life happens here on the race and you forget what it is like to be poured into by your ministry hosts. By default, we are expected to do whatever we our asked, which is an honor, but you forget what its like to be fully seen by those who you aren’t traveling with.
Coming out of month seven and into month eight, to be honest I felt a little defeated. I had great experiences during my time in Nicaragua, but not knowing Spanish made me nervous for the next four months. I love relationships and meeting new people, love it. I love hearing stories and encouraging people, that is more difficult when you can’t speak more than a couple of broken phrases to people.
I had taken this fear to the Lord and asked Him what the rest of the race would look like with a language barrier. Although most countries I have visited don’t claim English as their primary language, most people can hold conversations in English really well. After asking the Lord about the rest of the race, He told me He was proud of me, that I have invested well, and that if all I am here for in the next four months is to invest in my team, He will be proud of me. I appreciated this but also wasn’t satisfied with the answer. It took pressure off, but I want to make friends while I am abroad!! I was clinging to my idea of what the rest of my time abroad should look like. Soooo I humbled myself and walked into month eight with sweet expectancy of what the Lord would do… and won’t He do it.
SO BEYOND SWEET.
There were three women at Ocean’s Edge that lived on the property with us. They were from the states and I went to college with two of them. It was so crazy conversing and building friendships while being able to relate over what back home looked like. God is so cool and had us wait to meet one another until we all lived in Costa Rica! I have talked about my community back home to my teams but to speak to people about a place and they know exactly what I was talking about is so foreign but so sweet! It was truly a gift to make thee friends and have a taste of what being back home will look like.
Along with amazing community, we partnered with their local churches helping with cleaning, teaching, and offering a hand wherever needed. We also got to play a part in surf ministry. It was indeed a dreamy month. Thanks God.
