Being in another country can be world shaking. You’re unsure of cultural practices, blown away by new sights, and at a literal loss for words when it comes to speaking to locals. Coming to Costa Rica was all of those things, but my world was not shaken. While I did not know the cultural practices, I was able to join in the same rituals with my church family here at ZOE International. Though the landscape was completely new, I was able to awe at God’s creation and easily find my way around the neighborhood despite these differences. Although I did not know the language, my teammates as, for help when we are unsure of directions and our hosts are patient and teach us small phrases. Coming here I expected to feel homesick or anxious because I generally fret about big changes. I prepared myself for heartaches and challenges. But God had other plans. I have never felt so peaceful in a foreign place.
I slowly came to realize that I was at home wherever God was present. The same God I prayed with at my home in Minnesota was alive when our hosts sang worship songs in Spanish. The God of the nations came with me. Or shall I say, I came to another part of God’s home. He cannot be contained by countries, cultures, or languages. He is big enough for all of us to be diverse, but good enough to heal in the same ways. I was astounded at how big He was.
On one of our first nights here, we attended a healing service. The pastor spoke and asked the Holy Spirit to come and heal those who asked, but the entire service was in Spanish and there was no translator at this specific service. A little girl was unable to walk correctly and after prayer she was fully healed. One prayer. That’s all that God asks of us is to invite him in and he will make good things. Even though I could not understand the parent’s prayer or what the pastor spoke, I was able to understand God’s heart and what he was doing in the community here. In a way this was a blessing. I wasn’t hindered by the way the pastor spoke, or if they said the “correct” prayer, I could literally only understand how God was moving. It was incredible.
Being here a month now, I don’t feel any different. I see how God moves consistently despite my own mental borders and boundaries. By bringing me to a completely new place, God is challenging those barriers that constrain His power and His grace by showing me new bits of Himself through the different ways that Costa Rican’s understand Him. While I might be at a lack of knowledge, my God is a provider and has all the knowledge and words I could need. For so long I depended on my emotions to give me direction in my life. In Costa Rica I have been learning more and more that emotions do not change the Father’s love for me. However, because I am so aware of my emotions, I am so grateful that He has granted me this comfort and rest in my new home here. I am much more free with worship, much more bold in speaking, and unafraid of exploring and adventuring because I know He is there and has made a place for me.
And I feel at home.
