Jam-packed, fun-filled California visit

As I am sitting in the LAX airport waiting to return to Costa Rica, I have some time to reflect on the last three weeks that I've spent with friends and family in California.  (Thank you, LAX, for your free wifi!)  Since I had not returned to California since I moved to Costa Rica in March, I wasn't sure how the visit was going to be.  Would I feel really strange seeing familiar people and places but knowing that I don't live there anymore?  Will I be able to really connect with people or will it all feel very rushed and more surface level?  I had been praying before I left about not having extremely high expectations about my visits with people in the sense that I would take what I could get and not be disappointed if our chats were shorter than I would have preferred.  

In less than three weeks, I spent time in Huntington Beach, San Diego, Merced, Shafter, Visalia, and Pismo Beach.  I hardly ate a meal on my own but enjoyed so many delicious delicacies I had been craving for the past few months.  (Costa Rica is great for a lot of reasons, but in my opinion, not for it's fantastic cuisine).  It was as though my brain flipped a switch and I was suddenly in "California mode."  I realize I have not been gone that long all things considered, but I was still wondering how driving here and speaking only English would go.  I was so blessed with every dear friend and family member that I was able to love on and catch up with.  A lot of the questions were the same- "what's your favorite thing about Costa Rica?  What do you do, exactly?  How long do you think you are going to be there?  When is your next trip home?"  And what a blessing to hear that people actually read my blog and feel like that's been a good way for them to keep up with me! :)

I would ask that you would pray for me as I go back because I anticipate that transition to be a bit of a challenge.  These past few weeks have been full of all the people I love in California, and my life in Costa Rica contains much less of a community of people.  I pray that I will continue to invest in the community that I have there, in my students, and that I also will be brave and step out of my comfort zone a bit in order to make more friends in Costa Rica. 

Something that is kind of strange to say but that encouraged me while I've been talking to friends and family is the realization that everyone has challenges in their lives and I'm glad to know that I am not alone in that.  Sometimes I can get in this mindset that "so and so" has it all together and that life is so much easier/happier/whatever for them.  That is simply not true.  And I was reminded that a life without Christ is a life that is dark and hard and without hope.  So the grass is NOT greener on the other side, and these are the challenges that I have in my life.  My friend has her own.  But we are not alone, we have the Lord.  And we have family and friends who love us and want to walk alongside us through the trials and joys.  Thank you to all of you who do that for me.

Here are some highlight photos from my CA tour (don't have any photos from Visalia uploaded, sorry!):