A little over a year ago, my family and I took a trip to Costa Rica for vacation for the first time. Costa Rica is a beautiful Central American country with one of the world's most diverse ecosystems. They have volcanoes, beaches, jungles, deserts, and mountains. This place is beautiful. We went and fell in love.
We fell in love with the natural beauty. The waterfalls, natural springs, white beaches, black beaches, and mountains are all easy to fall in love with. The culture fit our family as well, very laid-back and casual. My mom and I like to joke that we are hippies, and Costa Rica is definitely fitting of this culture. The people are so incredibly kind and welcoming. They appreciate the beauty of their country and encourage tourists to appreciate it as well. The people take great pride in their gorgeous homeland.
The last time we went was in December and we visited San José, the capital city of Costa Rica. This is where there is a lot of poverty and homelessness. This is where it is very evident that the people are hurting and need help. It was easy to fall in love with the beauty and glamorous side of the country. But seeing the city, where people were asleep in the streets, children didn't have shoes, and the disabled were begging for money, made it more difficult to fall in love. Yet we still had this heart for these people and our desire to impact their lives was only enhanced.
When we got home from our first trip, we decided to start organizing a mission trip, which started out as just a family mission trip and quickly escalated into a team of over 20 people going to serve these beautiful people. Many of the people on our team have never been to Costa Rica or even out of the country, yet they chose to invest their time, hearts, and money into this trip.
My heart for Costa Rica is huge. There is nothing I want more than to impact the people there and to show them love and compassion. I want to help and change lives. Our current schedule consists of 13 hour work days, two services, and a festival, all of which we are hosting within a week. Although I am spending a week on the front lines, I know that it won't be enough to satisfy me. It isn't enough to satisfy me now, so once I am there and in the middle of everything, I know one week won't be enough. We are already talking about another trip, and we don't leave for this one for another month and a half!
If you have ever been involved in missions, locally or internationally, you know what it is like to have a heart for those people. You have experienced the deep yearning to impact them more than you can possibly imagine. You want your short time there to last forever. By this I mean, you that you want to make such an impact that it lasts even after you have left. If you have a heart for a specific country or people group, then you pray and think constantly about it. It never leaves your mind, and if it does, it isn't long until it comes back to you. You know what it is like to feel like what you have to offer is never enough because you want to give them everything. You want to tell every single person you know about this place, not because you want attention or glory for serving, but because you know how it has impacted you and you want them to be impacted too. You want to utilize every resource you have to minister and change lives. And you cannot wait until that next trip back.
When you have a heart for missions, those people whose lives you changed have changed you just as much.
I have traveled to several different countries, but I fell in love Costa Rica. It is the most beautiful country I have ever seen. Something about the culture and the people there made me want to make a difference. Some people have a heart for Africa, some for Haiti, others for China. For me, my heart is in Costa Rica. And I, like many other people who share my heart for missions, want nothing more than to change lives for generations to come so that more followers may be made and the gospel reached further.
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations." Matthew 28:19
