Costa Rica~ I will never forget the day we first met. All I could think about was how to get away from you and go home. I will never forget that feeling. I have thought at times about why it was that our meeting was….. less than magical. :) Perhaps it was all the bars. The trash in the streets. The people and animals in the streets. The language that sounded like gibberish to me. Those first sights, smells and sounds are still vivid in my memory. All I wanted to do was run.
I am pretty sure that I cried more in those first few weeks than I thought was humanly possible. Scared. Intimidated. Lost. Those are the feelings I remember. Slowly, I began to settle. In my spirit and in my new home. Over and over again, I learned to trust the Lord. It became so much more than just words. It became a way of life. I learned lessons. Hard ones. But I would not trade one of them in for my old comfortable life.
Eventually, life in Costa Rica seemed almost normal. I learned the language. I made relationships. I learned how to grocery shop and cook with ingredients that I had never heard of. I got lost more than once. I always found my way home though. I traveled your roads to places so beautiful that words cannot describe them. I saw physical poverty and spiritual wealth. I saw what it looked like to put people before things. How to slow down and enjoy each day. And at some point along the way, I fell in love with your culture and your country.
So, I will leave you with a much different view than the one I had of you when we first met. You changed me. I am wiser and more at peace because of you. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my relationship with my family and my Lord are stronger because of you. I am better for having landed here and for having stayed.
6 comments:
Beautifully written my friend:) I could have written this myself. We are praying for your family as you set out on your next adventure:)
As I am in bed Ron says "hey did you see what Tina wrote?" Well no, I'm in bed. So, of course, he read it to me. How absolutely beautiful!!!! I had tears on my cheeks halfway through. We will miss you all so very much and Costa Rica will too. We are better people now because we know you all. We are praying for an easier adjustment this time since you are all Pros at it now. Thank you for your friendship and the time we have all spent together eating pizza at Paulistas, eating food we really couldn't afford at Inka Grill, pancake and omelet nights and just pigging out. Of course, the many nights of Wii Golf (had to burn those calories somehow)!!!! Thank you all!!! Meredith Droke
I, too, remember those early tears and fears. God obviously put you in a place that required you to trust completely in Him. Thanks for continuing to inspire and bless our family. We love you and we know that Costa Rica is a better place because it was touched by the Louderbacks. I can't wait to see what God has in store for you in Panama :)
Tina, thank you so much for sharing with us. Your life is truly an inspiration to those of us back "home". Thank you for being obedient and faithful to what the Lord has called you to do.
Thanks for sharing so beautifully. I just wish I could have experienced it while you were there.... Maybe in Panama. I love you!
Jami
We have come a long way :) Hard to believe that it has been a year and a half! I am so proud of you, friend. I hope settling in Panama is a great experience for you and the fam. We hope to see you soon soon soon :)
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