2/22/20
Saturday was adventure day, and it was honestly one of the greatest days I’ve had here on the Race. Just because I loved the relationships I’ve built with my team and the people here in Costa Rica.
Love can make incredible things happen.
Love makes a man named Alfredo invite your team for breakfast and to go dancing out in the hills of the cow pastures with his dog.
Love makes a special bond between an exchange student and her host parents last years after the trip ends. And love is when you get to be invited to be part of that relationship.
You see, we did go have breakfast with Alfredo and it was indeed one of the greatest experiences I’ve had. And then I did go with my good friend Hannah to the nearby suburb of Heredia to visit the host family she lived with for 4 months 2 years ago when she was an exchange student here in Costa Rica.
She, Bethaney, and I navigated the buses and city streets of San Jose because that family is so important to her life story that she felt so blessed to be physically close enough that she could go visit them.
And I felt so loved in Hannah’s willingness to share that part of her life and her story with Bethaney and me. I loved seeing the mall where she spent her afternoons, I loved taking pictures in her favorite San Jose landmark, I loved the joy radiating from her with every step closer to Heredia and her host home, and I loved watching her light up as things slowly became more and more familiar and she worked through the little things she could remember from her time here 2 years ago.
Being a part of someone’s story, being welcomed into something that is an important piece of their identity is a privilege and an honor.
That’s how I spent my adventure day.
And I got to meet a wonderful family that tells me now that I’m one of their kids too. That tells me I’m welcome in their home any time I’m in Costa Rica. That shows hospitality that is truly unseen in the States but that is just normal here.
I love experiencing Costa Rica. I love experiencing relationships with the people here. I have loved everything about my time here in San Jose.
So, the 3 of us made it safely out to Heredia and safely back and home by dark. And then we relaxed together and watched a movie and spent time with the rest of the group when they returned from their own adventures and just that day never seemed like the love was going to end. I was blessed with a marvelous adventure day because there was so much love in it to share with the people I’m on this World Race adventure with.
Some things about this adventure were unique to Costa Rica and to being in a different country and to learning and experiencing things for the first time, but the love was not unique to being on the World Race. Love is something you can experience, share, and build anywhere.
Love people well and I don’t think you can imagine the adventures that are in store for you as you learn their stories and share life together.
