Finding Joy in the Rain.

        I'm on an emotionally roller coaster. This morning I laid in bed wishing I was back in Texas. This afternoon I teared up just thinking about leaving. I think back to the moment I first arrived in the CR. In orientation, they talked to us about different "stages" of adjusting to a different culture. The ones I remember are "honeymoon stage", "rejection stage", and "adjustment stage". There were definitely a few in between those... but the point is that I think I'm between the rejection stage and the adjustment stage. I never thought I would get out of the honeymoon stage... I guess that was ignorance on my part. My work at the orphanage booted me out of that happy little wonderland after about the third day here. The last week and a half was tough. I've been exhausted-really exhausted, felt unwanted at work, gotten ticked off because I had to eat when I wasn't hungry, and gone to one to

Today I am thankful. I am thankful because I am looking back on every single moment that God has been undeniably present in my life in Costa Rica and I am realizing more and more I am exactly where I am supposed to be.  I look back to the moment before I turned in my downpayment to come here. I remember sitting alone at a coffee shop crying because I was so terrified I would get here and everything would fall apart. I remember praying and giving this semester up to God. I look back at that frustrating moment where we weren't allowed to board our plane to Costa Rica and how it turned into a series of opportunities that lead to me spending a weekend in the Indigenous region of Talamanca, and reading Bible stories to the beautiful little kids. -One of my favorite memories here. I remember everybody asking me before I left how they could be praying for me and I remember telling them that I just wanted to have a girlfriend to do life with here. Thanks for praying. God definitely answ

       Sorry this is a tad depressing... (:         It's crazy how in one week your strength can diminish. It's crazy how much culture shock I feel like I'm experiencing right now. I literally feel like I'm in a different country.        I'm exhausted, worn out, run down, and weary. For the first time since I got here in August, I want to go home. The most frustrating thing is that I'm not sure why. Nothing bad has happened and I adore my family, but my head is so overwhelmed and I can't seem to find peace. I don't even know what I need. As I sit down and think about it, I can think of a few things that would make me feel this way. First off, I'm used to having a break from Spanish. For the past few months I've been with my gringo classmates at some point almost every day, and when I didn't understand something with my other family, they would know the word for it in English. The second thing would be my job. I really love love love the ni

You know those moments in your life where you expect to have a really really hard time with something and then out of nowhere God gives you the strength and things turn out rewarding and quite manageable? I am thankful to say that's how my last month in Costa Rica is turning out so far. I arrived to this smaller town of Cartago, the first capital of Costa Rica, on Monday morning at 8:30am. I remember sitting in front of Colegio de San Luis Gonzaga (a high school) realizing that I was about to go home with the next stranger that knew my name. I didn't really think that things could get any better than the last few months were, so I came with no expectations. My family is absolutely one of the biggest blessings I have received since I got to Costa Rica. I say the same thing about my last host family. They have both been so wonderful, and are %100 different. My family here consists of my parents (50is), 3 daughters, Jocelyn (26), Marian (23) and Andre (18), and Jocelyn's

Tomorrow. Tomorrow is the day I head to Cartago, Costa Rica and spend a month working in an Orphanage. Such a real, scary, and exciting truth. In essence, I'm starting over. Everything. I'm going from familiar, home-ish Costa Rican comfort, to a new family, a new city, a new job, and no gringos. My way of dealing with things is avoidance. I don't want to think about it. I don't want to say goodbye to the family that has become my own. I don't want to leave everything and everyone I have met and poured my heart into the past two and a half months. I'll be back in the States a month from tomorrow. Weird. I don't know what else to say about that other than weird. I don't really have anything in particular to blog about. I think my brain is too full to try and unpack things here and now. Nicaragua and these past few weeks have been my favorite. They have been full of crazy and exciting stories that I am not planning on sharing with everyone that has ac