Let’s start from the beginning…
On December 18th, after many sad goodbyes, I checked-in 100 pounds of luggage and boarded a flight headed for the U.S., thus closing the chapter of my life entitled “Costa Rica”. Words can’t describe the feelings that I experienced that day – it was truly surreal. The journey seemed to be going in slow motion as I gradually acclimated into U.S. culture. My first flight landed in Atlanta and I quickly squeezed my way off the plane. As I pushed through the people, I said the first words that came to mind: “perdon, compromiso” then it hit me - I can’t speak Spanish anymore, I’m in the U.S.A.! I finally got off and walked onto American soil for the first time in four months. I looked around and everyone looked so different. Instead of seeing variations of black hair, tan skin, and dark eyes, I saw red hair, different shades of brown, white, black, and BLOND! And the people were so big! Not fat parse, but just tall and overall bigger. All at once I fit in. I was no longer a foreigner. No one was staring at me - I wasn’t drawing attention whatsoever. I talked and no one noticed anything strange; I smiled at men and didn’t get any unwanted attention. Everyone was speaking English, even children! After going through customs, I located the nearest Starbucks and ordered my favorite white chocolate mocha, which I had been craving for so long! I was so excited to be there, to be in my country, and to be drinking Starbucks! I sat at my gate and soaked it all in. Everyone seemed to be so busy and preoccupied in their own little worlds, yet I looked around and felt as though I loved and understood all of them on such a deep level. There were children nearby that were playing; they were chasing each other while speaking English and filling the gate with laughter. I saw many armed soldiers and I wanted to run up to each and every one of them and give them a huge hug and tell them thank you and how grateful I was for what they do, for the freedom that they fight for. As I sat there, singing broke out and quickly drew my attention to a traveling black gospel choir at the gate next to mine. They were all singing songs about Jesus together and drawing quite a crowd. I could have cried I was so overwhelmed with happiness!
As my last flight was preparing to land in Louisville, I was experiencing so many emotions at such extremes. I was so excited that I was almost anxious! The anticipation was killing me! As I looked out the window at the setting sun, and tried to wait patiently, I thought about how great it will be someday when I finally get to go home to be with Jesus! If I was having such emotions and excitement about going to my earthly home, I can only imagine what it will be like someday when I will finally leave this world and go to where my true home is! I thanked God for the incredible blessing of “home”, both my earthly home, and my heavenly home.
God gave me a true treat when I landed, that I was not at all expecting! Katie had been studying abroad in England all semester and I dearly missed her. I often felt like
she and I were journeying together, although we were separated, because we were experiencing
similar life circumstances. She was scheduled to arrive about 50 minutes after me and I was planning on waiting around to see her. However, I had received word from a friend that she may not have made her flights due to extreme weather in England. When I got off my flight, her mom texted me and told me that Katie should be landing at that moment as well! As I walked off the plane, I told God how incredible it would be if I were able to see her when I got off and asked him for that treat. I looked around and didn’t see her, but quickly headed toward the end of the gate where I knew my friends and family were waiting for me. Suddenly, 
from afar, I saw her backpack! I shouted: “KATIE! KATIE!!” She turned, and surely enough, it was her! We ran towards each other just like you would see in a movie, both of us pushing away tears as we embraced! We were then able to walk through the gate together where our families were waiting to greet us. I’ll never forget anything about that moment! I dropped my bags and embraced my family, first Olivia, then Gabe, Isaac, Josh, my mom and dad, Zach, Cathy, Katie and Matt! We then headed home where a wonderful home cooked meal made by my very own mother was waiting for us. Although it all felt like a dream, it wasn’t… I was HOME! I was really home, and it felt so sweet. ☺ The days that followed were full of wonderful encounters with friends, sleeping in my own bed, showers in my bathroom, eating delicious food, worshiping at my
favorite church in the whole world, and acclimating back to my life. The first few days felt weird, really weird. It 
took about three days until I really felt like I was HOME and reality truly set in. In some ways, I felt like a fish out of water, everything about my life was different again, and it seemed that much had changed since I had left – not only had people and aspects of my life in the U.S. changed, but I had changed. The first week went by very quickly especially because I wasn’t even coherent
for a few days that week. The Wednesday
after I arrived, I had my wisdom teeth removed (yes, two days before Christmas). I even experienced culture shock through that procedure. After I woke-up from the anesthesia, my level of awareness was very off and I felt like I was drunk. I was having extreme difficulty and frustration talking because all my thoughts were in Spanish! Through the gauze stuffed in my mouth and the ice packs around my cheeks, I kept saying to my mom: “What’s going on? Solo puedo hablar español!” (I can only speak Spanish!). Christmas was magnificent. We passed Christmas just like we do every year;
my immediate 
family stayed home together and we completed our family traditions. It was very peaceful and a
great time to reflect and be with my family. Being away for so long has made me so thankful for everything in my life, even the smallest things. It was as if I experienced Christmas through a new lens this year, and it was very joy-filled. ☺ 
After Christmas, I headed to North Carolina for the annual CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ) regional conference called Encounter. Spiritually, going to Encounter was like being in a desert without knowing it and then suddenly waking-up and finding myself lying in a hammock surrounded by freshwater pools! I was able to see many of my friends from Western, which was indescribably wonderful! I’ve missed them all so much and it
was great to be back together and to catch-up on what God has been doing in their lives and at Western! The first night of Encounter, we all gathered together (about 1,000 students total) in one room and worshiped. Although I had gone to SECC once since coming home, the worship was short. That night, I looked around and there were hundreds of other Christians all worshiping beside me, many of them my friends. All of us singing together in adoration and love to Jesus, the one true king and love of my life – AND in English! This again was another defining moment that I will never forget. I was so overwhelmed, that I found myself pushing back tears. In Costa Rica, in my day-to-day life, I often felt alone spiritually. I would worship Jesus by myself, pray by myself, read the word by myself etc. When I would go to church, it would be in Spanish and usually not my preferred worship style. I was in a desert so to speak, and all of a sudden, God had placed me back in community and it was overwhelmingly extraordinary. God did a lot in my heart through the teaching, worship, and fellowship at Encounter. Mainly, He rekindled my love for Him and my passion for what He is doing around me. He showed me some areas of my heart that needed to be cleaned-out, areas that needed the light of His truth to wash over them. He called me out of some mediocre living patterns and invited me to join Him in his work afresh and reminded me of the depth and intimacy that He desires in my relationship with Him. The Holy Spirit and power of Christ showed-up in huge ways and I’m really excited to see and be a part of what God has in store for Western this next semester.
After Encounter, my dear friend Ellie flew in for a visit! I hadn’t seen Ellie
for a year, and it was wonderful to spend a few days with her! I love her genuine heart for the Lord, and always feel encouraged in my faith and excited after spending time with her. Some of the fun things that we did included: late night hot-tub soak, making our famous orange/honey shakes, hanging-out with Shelby (her roommate!), reliving the past through watching our classic home-made movies,
staying
up late talking, shopping, jamming to some pop culture hits, being old ladies and napping, and girls night which included dinner at Hard Rock Café, dessert at the Homemade Pie and Ice-cream Kitchen, and an extensive photo-shoot. I was sad to see Ellie leave, but for the first time in years, I know I’ll be seeing her again soon now that I am in the U.S. and she is only a few hours away. ☺ Well friends, I have much more that I could share with you, but this blog post is already
dreadfully long! I’ve been home for a month now, and it has flown by as it has been filled with all the blessings of being HOME. There is no place like home. My Costa Rica journey is truly over and with the start of this New Year, a new chapter has also begun. I’m not quite sure what the Lord has in store or what adventures He will be taking me on next, but I’m excited, as I know it will be great. Our Lord is ever faithful and will complete the work that He started long ago in my life and in yours. He’s up to something big, bigger than me and bigger than you. ☺“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. “ 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
No comments:
Post a Comment