Woohoooo! I made it a week! (The rest of the 3 years are all downhill from here right?!) I can't believe that it's been a week already--it has gone by so incredibly fast, and it's truly been a whirlwind of emotions and adventures. My mind is exhausted, simply because it is constantly engaged, constantly processing and learning new things: language, customs, culture, geography, people...it turns out that learning how to live in another country can be both tiring and amazingly sweet at the same time.
This week has been composed of quite a few things: I've been going to orientation at school each day this past week from 7:30 to around 1 (actual classes start tomorrow) and meeting LOTS and LOTS of amazing people (both Ticos and gringos). I've also been trying to figure out my way around this area of San Jose called San Francisco de Dos Rios where I live (it's beautiful), practicing my Spanish, going to the first WyldLife Club of the semester (it was a "Frozen" club, so naturally, we had a snowball fight with shaving cream!), working at the Young Life Garage Sale fundraiser on Saturday, visiting a new church, and spending time with my Host Family. I'm living with an unbelievably sweet and generous Tica woman named Olga and her two kids, who are 28 and 15 (side note about the Latino culture: you don't leave home until you're married, so, unlike in the U.S., it is not weird to be 30 and living at home with your family; in fact, it's seen as "unusual" if you leave home before you are married!). Olga has taken incredible care of me, and my absolute favorite time of the day is "cafecito" time: around 4:30, Olga makes some delicious Costa Rican coffee (so good, I don't even add sugar!), and we spend about 30 minutes to an hour talking, laughing, drinking coffee and eating cookies. It's restful, joyful, and so very sweet.
This past week, as a whole, has been full of joy; I'm simply in awe that I have the incredible opportunity to live in this beautiful place. It has been an amazing adventure so far, and although it's so different from my life in the States, and although I miss my family in Athens so very dearly and think about them every minute of every day, I feel so joyful, so content with my life here in Costa Rica, that right now, it feels so natural to be here, and I know that that is nothing other than the grace of God.
Yet, amidst all of this whirlwind, I've been trying to be still, to rest, and to process through this move and somehow wrap my mind around the fact that I live in Costa Rica now. I read this quote from Charles Spurgeon today in my morning devotions, "A sense of our own folly is the first step to being wise, when it leads us to rely on the wisdom of the Lord...go in strength straight to the throne," and as I was thinking about it, I realized that I've never had a stronger conviction of my own folly, of my own lack of wisdom, than during this past week in Costa Rica. I've never been so completely out of my comfort zone, so convinced of my lack of control and of my inadequacy. There is just so much that I simply do not know, and I'm not just talking about all of the intricacies and rhythms of the Spanish language (which I'm constantly trying to grasp), but also the way people live life each day; from sleep schedules to food to relationships, I'm continuously observing and learning how the Ticos view life, what they value, how they interact, and what they believe about the world around them. It's a process that, similar to learning the language, will probably never end. But as cross-cultural relationships are formed, as the Lord knits us together in all kinds of ways, it's also an incredibly beautiful process: it's a process of humbling myself before the Lord, acknowledging how much I do not know, looking to Him for wisdom, living in the throne room, trusting in His provision and protection, and gaining a deeper understanding of who He is and how He created us to be, all through learning to love, sympathize with, and deeply respect people who are completely different from myself. I mean, these are people who don't even live life in the same language as I do! But what better way to grasp an incredible picture of heaven, of the all-inclusive love of the Father, of His sovereignty and grandeur, than seeing Him work in a new place, with people who live life so differently? It is realizations such as this that always convinces me of my smallness in this world, and of His majesty, and I'm praying that He grows my trust and faith constantly throughout this whole process.
Gracias a Dios.
P.S. Thought you might like some pictures of my room! I absolutely love it--and it has a great tin roof that sounds so wonderful when it rains!
<3
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