Dear Costa Rica,
Thank you for being home for the past three months. Thank you for teaching me patience, gentleness, boldness. Thank you for showing me the youth movement towards His heart taking place here. Thank you for the memories.
And now I say, “Puravida, ciao”.
I started out Costa Rica with high hopes. I fled from the darkness in Malaysia and welcomed your light and life with open arms. I knew you would be a season of rest. What I didn’t know was that I would have to fight for that rest. I realized at halfway debrief that my heart had become a desert. A desert of bitterness and a desert of grudge. I looked at my teammates and begged God for change because I just couldn’t deal with another 5 months of conflict resolutions and problems. I left the mirror in Malaysia and began to only see them as the problem. But on the mountain, I got tossed a reality check.
Going back and forth between La Montaña and the base was a tough situation during the second month. I loved your mountains and I loved your cities, but I was never allowed to put down roots in either. Like a child torn apart by separated parents, I packed my bags and left my home to go to my other home every week for three weeks. Walking into a battle field whenever I went home to the base, I had to come home to one less squad mate twice. Dealing with loss time and time again, my squad harbored so much pain and frustration. It wasn’t for another few weeks before He finally gave the squad peace and perspective.
The last month, I found my home. I taught at one of your International Schools and got to call a class of kindergarteners my own. Even though one of them bullied me, I loved every single one of them. I got to play with them, chase them around (screaming, “soy una monstrua!”), and teaching them how to write their names. They are stinkers and little nuggets, and they are His beloveds. Please take care of those crazy 12 children and all the teachers at Love at Work.
Saying goodbye was a welcomed time for so long because of the tough circumstances, but now that it’s here I wish it weren’t. You are beautiful and kind. Your people shine your glory with every smile they share. Thank you for opening your doors to me. I love you, Costa Rica. Till next time,
-Amy
