ive been home for almost 2 weeks now, and i cant believe how quickly its flown by. the day i got home i had to move into my apartment, and 3 days later i started back to work at the after school program. but its all been really amazing. for the first time ever in my travels, i didnt feel depressed at the idea of returning home. i know that was completely a god thing because its something i have always struggled with; especially after being gone for an extended amount of time. the week before i came home i had a lot of time to spend alone with jesus, as anna had to leave a week before me. i felt him preparing my heart throughout that week to come back. there’s a quote by jim elliot that i read a few years ago and has always been really convicting to me because ive never been able to master it. he said: “wherever you are, be all there. live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of god.” i realized about myself that no matter where i am, i am consistently wishing and looking forward to being somewhere else, and i am convinced that this in an area of sin in my life. paul said in philippians: “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.” jesus intends for us to live life day by day, making the most of it, because we dont know how many days we are given. and he has really been faithful in changing this in me. i know its him doing the work bc, like i said, i have never in any of my travels, in of my trips, been able to come home with an attitude of excitement at what was awaiting me. in the 2 weeks ive been here, he’s allowed me to build up new relationships with amazing people, as well as work on, better, and strengthen old relationships. he’s given me an amazing job with amazing kids. he’s given me a ballin roommate. he’s given me direction for what he wants next for me. and for the first time, i can truly say that my heart is completely invested in columbia- in my every day life- in the people around me right now. thank you jesus.
partner in crime. June 12, 2009
im going to be traveling with my favorite travel partner ever. ever. anna and i were roommates when we studied abroad in costa rica 2 years ago, and have since been to nicaragua twice, panama, and back to costa rica. our travel stories are endless and i’m excited to add to them. she’s great. she’s keeping a blog as well- check it out: www.ifonlyforaday.wordpress.com
where it all began June 9, 2009
this morning i went to look at the website of mark and meg,< www.kuzdas.com > the missionaries in costa rica who i visited every year for 5 years. i was looking at pictures of all of the kids and updates from all of the recent teams who have visited and i found a video from a team that went in december. i cried the whole way through it. i still miss it every. single. day.
its been 6 years ago this summer since i went to costa rica for the first time. i know it sounds dramatic to say, but that trip changed everything about my life. god used it to spark a passion for travel that has since continually grown. he used it to show me that he wanted to use me in missions, that he wanted to use me with children, that he wanted to use me in foreign languages. he revealed to me the passions that he’s given me and began to shape my life around them.
when i tell people how much i love costa rica i know that their first thoughts are of beaches and mountains and volcanoes. and they assume that i sat on a beach day in, day out, every trip i ever took. and i do love those parts of the country- they are undoubtedly the most beautiful places i’ve ever seen or will ever see in my life. but its not the beaches and the mountains that my heart misses- its my kids- my family in costa rica. my alexa from the orphanage, my mauricio, ruben, james, anyoleth, & nicole who have kept in touch with me for 5 years- who have pictures of me in their family album- who included me in their family for birthdays, baptisms, and baby dedications. i miss them.
it was through my travel to costa rica that i also met my friend brittney. we both felt god calling us to missions at the same time. the summer after we traveled together, she and her family were killed in a plane crash. god used that to teach me about heaven, about his glory, about how his plan is so much bigger than our own, about trusting him, about the realization that our every breath is in his hands. a camp was later started in her memory. hundreds of children who live in the slums of costa rica are able to go there throughout the year to escape the violence and poverty in which they live and to learn about the love of christ. < campbrittney.com >
this is where it started. this is why i travel. jesus has put it deep inside me and perpetually uses it to flip my life upside down. costa rica will always be the love of my life. i hope jesus leads me back there one day to stay for good. it is in my heart every single minute of every single day. but for now, he’s leading me to other places. and i know he has huge things to teach me there too.
why i’m going June 8, 2009
“”No, life cannot be understood flat on a page. It has to be lived; a person has to get out of his head, has to fall in love, has to memorize poems, has to jump off bridges into rivers, has to stand in an empty desert and whisper sonnets under his breath… We get one story, you and I, and one story alone. God has established the elements, the setting and the climax and resolution. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn’t it?”
-Donald Miller,”Through Painted Deserts”
