Abuelo ha regresado! (Abuelo has returned!)

When I got here two weeks ago (I can hardly believe that it has been two weeks!) the grandfather of our family was not here because he was in New York with one of his daughters. He had been gone for 3 months when I arrived here. However, Thursday he came back to Costa Rica! What excitement there was in my house for his return. However, the same day he arrived, was the last day that our friend Rob from England was going to be here. He has lived in my house for a year and is part of this family! Rob left Friday morning, and so Thursday night was full of mixed emotions.

In Costa Rica they celebrate everything with a "fiesta", especially when someone is leaving, or when someone is returning. Abuela made the same soup that she made for Rob's birthday, the day I got here, and they grilled meat. The soup is made with white beans, carrots, meat, and potatoes. It's quite good.

So because of all of this, we had upwards of 20 some people in our house, with lots of music and talking. It was great to finally meet Abuelo, and when he arrived, Abuela was instantly a million times happier than she had been for all the time I had been here. They still love each other so much and what a beautiful thing it is to see them together!

And through all of this, I have discovered that the beauty of Costa Rica lies in the hearts of the people here and how deeply they value the relationships they have with the people around them. This was shown to me on Friday morning when we all got up at 5:30 am to say goodbye to Rob. It was like someone died... there were so many people in our house and everyone was crying. They love Rob as their own child, brother, and friend, and how sad it was that he had to leave!

What a blessing though to live with such a family and I look forward to the connection that I will form with this people and to the things that God has planned. It is sometimes difficult to know how to share Christ with these people, because I am still working on knowing their language, but God provides abundantly and I have been reminded to not worry. I also am reminded that sharing Christ with people doesn't always mean talking exactly about Christ, but is demonstrated in the way we live our lives, the way we love, forgive, and share of everything we have. This is a life lived on Christ's behalf, to bring Him glory and share His love.