Hey everyone! I know it’s been a bit since I’ve posted a blog, but I promise you the Lord has been working here!! Life in Costa Rica is incredible, and I thought I’d give you a little rundown of what my days look like!
Monday-Saturday, I get up at 5:45am and go for a quick run, usually a couple miles. We can’t go anywhere alone, so I go with a few of my squadmates, depending on who’s awake. We typically get back and do an ab workout, then off to the showers around 6:45am.
Our showers are three outdoor stalls. The guys have a separate bathroom, so the stalls work well for us 20-some girls. The showers are soo nice, and they ask us to limit it at five minutes of water to keep costs down. There’s also two indoor showers, but I’ve never used them.
After I shower, I try to do a little load of laundry. With hand washing, I found it’s easier to everyday wash the clothes I wore the day before. I have more patience for 10 minutes doing laundry each day than an hour or two on the weekend. Plus, this way I never run out of socks since I apparently only packed three pairs.
At this point, it’s around 7:15-7:20. Once or twice a week our team is in charge of making breakfast, so that’s around when we’ll start. On other days, I’ll go spend some time with the Lord or read my book (I’ve read five since being here!!) until it’s time for breakfast at 8am.
Ah, breakfast. Our daily dose of gallo pinto, which is rice and beans mixed together. It doesn’t sound amazing, but I’ve yet to get tired of it. We have eggs with our gallo pinto, which makes for a delicious breakfast. On Monday’s we are treated with pancakes, but I’ve honestly reached the point that I’m craving gallo pinto after the weekend eating our own food.
On the weekends, we are given a budget of $5 per day for food. We combine our team’s money to meal plan, grocery shop, and make all of our own meals. This is our chance to make home comforts like french toast or pasta, compared to the traditional Costa Rican meals we eat during the week.
So after breakfast, what comes next changes weekly. We either have morning or afternoon ministry, and we alternate every other week. Each week, our team is assigned to a different area at ministry, whether it’s Waves of Grace, House of Raw, the Refuge, or just hospitality. The rotation is a bit confusing, but it gives all of the teams a chance to get to know the different areas and people at the Hope Project. No matter what we do, we spend about five hours each day at ministry, pouring into others and allowing them to pour into us.
Before/after ministry, we come back to the base and just hang out! There’s almost always a game of Dutch Blitz or Skip-bo being played, or a worship session going on somewhere. We have team time each day, an hour dedicated to loving on our teams and bonding with each other. We also have daily chores, such as dish duty, taking out the trash, or cleaning the bathrooms. We learn a lot about what it means to take care of a house, especially one with 30 people living in it!
The weekends are our chance to go out and get wifi, explore the city, or do some shopping. As long as we have a buddy, we can pretty much go anywhere (within reason). To reduce Covid exposure we aren’t allowed to take public transportation, so Uber has been our best friend. We took a trip to a National Park last weekend and went to a beach, but I was sick and didn’t get to enjoy it as much as I’d like to.
So there’s a bit of what life looks like here in Costa Rica! I know I’ve been slacking on blogs, but I’ll try to post a few more before we leave here in less than a month. That being said, I am so excited to announce that we found out where we’re going next!! Our squad is going to the Dominican Republic!!!!
I don’t know much yet about what this will look like, but I do know the Lord has great things planned. I’ve fallen in love with this country and it’s going to be tough to leave, but I have every intention of coming back someday. We still have a few more weeks here, though, and I’m going to make the most of them! The Lord has been teaching me lots and I’m sure will continue to do so, so I’ll try to give y’all some insight into what I’m learning in my next blog.
Until then, thank you for all of your support, and feel free to reach out to me with anything at all!
I love all of you beautiful people!!
Brook
