I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go on one of these trips two years ago as a summer staffer with the Timbers team to Costa Rica. This was our first year to partner with the church there, La Iglesia Nazareth, and my first time to ever go abroad! I had high expectations and a few preconceived notions, but all were radically changed after encountering another country and culture for the very first time. As the blog title eludes, I experienced hospitality that was both unexpected and humbling. This southern hospitality was not the kind that can be found here in the southern states, it was better. The Lord allowed the people and places on this trip to leave a huge impression on my heart that I will never forget. As I begin to share this new journey with you, I would love to share with you a few excerpts from my journal as I was reflecting on my trip two years ago:
"Wow, I don’t even know where to begin. Every time I attempt to sit down and re-cap our journey to Costa Rica I am still brought to tears and stirred with strong affections for the relationships I was able to build, all of the work that God did, and the sight of His wondrous creation! We arrived in Costa Rica really late the first night...
I was a little nervous when we were told we’d be staying alone in a host home, but was highly relieved when the girl I would be staying with, Silvia, spoke very good English! I was welcomed with open arms by her parents (at 11:30 PM) with jugo de uva y galletas (grape juice and cookies). We talked a little bit (with Silvia as our translator because her parents spoke no English) and I felt myself feeling more and more at home with every passing minute. The biggest thing that I took away from the people in Costa Rica was their hospitality. I never felt like I was inconveniencing them at all. I went expecting to give, give, give to them, but ended up actually receiving, receiving, receiving.Every time I came “home”, Silvia’s mom had something new to give me. She called me her daughter and continually expressed how thankful she was to have me in her home. She cooked for me and even hand-washed my clothes without me asking! On my last night at the host home (we stayed three nights: the first, middle, and last nights) I truly felt like part of the family as we sat in the living room watching futbol, talking, laughing, and just hanging out in our pajamas. I have no doubt that if I ever went back to Costa Rica I would be welcomed, once again, with open arms by Silvia, Elisabeth, and Moises...
Even though Silvia spoke English the language barrier was still a significant obstacle to tackle. I couldn’t ask her to translate everything, so there were many times that I felt absolutely useless. I had nothing to contribute. After being a counselor at Pine Cove, intentionality has been drilled into my head. I wanted to make every moment with these girls intentional, but how could I do that though if the most I could say in Spanish was “hello” and “where’s the bathroom?”. Later I realized though, this was a lesson in humility. God didn’t need me to contribute anything but love, and that was all I had to give. It wasn’t my place to be the one building relationships with these girls because I am not the one that was going to be there the next week or year when they needed someone. That was Silvia’s place. I wasn’t sure what was being talked about in bible study, at meals, or at night before lights out, but I just had to trust that God was in every moment and was revealing exactly what He wanted to those girls."
This is just a small glimpse into the huge lessons I learned from the people in Costa Rica through their incredible hospitality and overcoming the language barrier. The biggest take away that I am still applying to my life today, especially as we prepare to go back to Costa Rica, is that I will never have anything of real value to offer anyone apart from my Lord, Jesus Christ. Without Him, my words and actions truly are useless. Sometimes my pride allows me to think that there is something that I can do to help someone or that I need to always have something to offer. The bible talks a lot about love, but the few verses that come to mind for me are 1 John 4:7 and Matthew 22:37-39, which both talk about how love is from God and we are called to first love God and then love our neighbors as ourselves. I invite you to look these verses up for yourself and instead of striving each day to see what you can do or what you can offer someone, to simply put on love and seek to love and serve others out of the love you have received through Christ. That is what I will be praying that our team does as we spend 10 days with the people of Costa Rica!
Follow us on our adventure here: Timbers Take on Costa Rica!
Follow us on our adventure here: Timbers Take on Costa Rica!
