¡Bienvenido a Costa Rica!

If you didn’t know already… IM IN COSTA RICA! My squad & I have been here for a month already, and it is nothing short of great! The people that we have met here in Turrialba have been loving us so well. It has been such a sweet time with them; that honestly it is going to hurt my heart to leave. However, we don’t really have an idea of how long we will be here, so we are just getting started! 

Here are some of my Costa Rica favorites —

In my opinion, there is just something about looking down a long street; seeing the cars parked on the street, the way the road leans & dips. The bright pinks, greens, blues, yellows; a literal rainbow made by the unique homes. It amazes me how each street has its own story to tell.

Each week in Turrialba there is a food market & an art market. The market is under this huge pavilion in town. Such a great community of people selling their freshest fruits, veggies or their creative products. One of my favorite vendors is Marina Clay co. Our first day in town on our own we came across the art market & saw the CUTEST jewelry. All made by hand out of clay. We ended up buying one of everything almost & we have been back every week since + we made the sweetest relationship with the owner/maker, who is such a cool gal! 

My team & I do planned ministry five days out of the week. Most places we walk but when our ministry is not in a practical walking distance… we bus! Our bus rides are anything but ordinary. No matter how early it is, our normal bus quickly becomes a party bus. Everybody singing and dancing in their seats. Music blaring. Windows down. Our hands are waving. Fists pumping. Seriously nothing better. 

This delish masterpiece is called a Chocobanano aka. a chocolate banana. It is far from healthy, but OH MY GOODNESS, IT’S SO GOOD. A frozen banana dipped in chocolate covered in whipped cream, sweetened condensed milk, marshmallows, M&Ms, chocolate chips and vanilla ice cream. There is a lady that sells ice cream out of her house on the street behind ours. It is very typical here that people sell ice cream out of their homes. I absolutely love all ice cream, so the fact that it is basically sold on every corner is the best thing ever.

Our front porch. The place we gather. Where community is shared.

Not much to say about it, I just really love this spot. 

So far, being in Costa Rica has been such a learning experience on how to find favor in the little things. There are a ton of new & happy moments that happen throughout the week that honestly, it is so easy to overlook the little things that remain the same. This last photo is one of my favorites because these are the same flowers that lie along the same street every single day. My hands swollen and beginning to turn red from hours of walking; I held these flowers admiring their beauty. Thinking that these are literally here every single day, why do I continue to pick them, carry them, only to drop them later. Later, I realized that me doing that same little sequence everyday with the same random flowers that line the same street was my little thing that the Lord wanted me to appreciate. I found favor in those flowers. Our days here are slow, but life still seems to be moving so fast that sometimes you just gotta thank the flowers for remaining there.