Costa Rica, te extraño.

If you know me, you know that I have a love affair with Costa Rica that started in 2003. Between 2003 and 2009, my passport was stamped 7 times para entrar my second home. Now that I've started working on my graduate studies, I have had to put Costa Rica on hold. And I'm not sure what that looks like or when I'll return. I only hope that God will lead me there by the hand one day and that I'll have enough courage to listen and follow Him. But ultimately, it's in His hands...si Dios quiere...and I'm willing to go where He wants me. I know Costa Rica is just one part of the story God is weaving through my life. And I'm thankful for it. Tengo tanto para agradecer.

Every once in a while I have a day where I miss this dear país.

Today is one of those days.

I miss waking to rice and beans for breakfast along with the best cup of coffee.

 I miss getting caught in a flash storm and ducking into the Catholic church to wait it out, "forced" to pause and to pray and to interpret Biblical stories through stained glass windows.

I miss catching myself thinking in Spanish.

I miss thinking "what the heck?" along with a healthy dose of reality check that the Western World is a minority in so many ways.

I miss mi familia.

I miss nights the power goes out.

I miss living with 16 people in one house (did I actually just admit that?)

I miss knowing and loving God in a foreign place, in another culture, because it shows me how united we all are and gives me hope.

And so, mi estimado Costa Rica, know you are missed today...along with a lot of dear people who share my affection and have had a love affair of their own.