Feeling the pain and joy from Costa Rica
I don’t have a picture of the exact location but i have a picture that reminds me of it. Looking at this picture reminds me of some of the pain and joy I had. I look at the picture I see homes. It may be people’s homes but they aren’t houses. This past summer I went to Costa Rica with my church. We played with the children and did a lot of labor work but. But I have one memory that sticks with me more than the rest.
All of us walked in a single fill line down the street. We were entering what they called “ the very poor community” I really didn’t know what to expect walking down that street. I didn’t know that I would be forever changed after seeing what I saw. Before entering the community there were these shacks selling things for avery cheap price. Behind those shacks was another one with a group of boys in them. Hollering and whistling at us. I knew from that moment that i was about to feel and see things i’ve never experienced before. We had to walk up these concrete stairs leading up to an opening spot of ground/grass. Surrounding the stairs were once again these shacks where people lived in. The shacks did not have doors or windows. Just openings with blankets covering them. They did not have a roof more rather than plastic covering the top. Walking half way up these stairs I lost it. I couldn’t control what i was feeling and i just started to cry. I didn’t want to villagers to see me crying and make them feel bad. So I had my friend calm me down. I was able to calm down once we reached the opening. I remember just looking around, soaking everything in with what i was seeing. We have it so good here and at the moment I realized it first hand. We went to the opening to play with the children. The children who live there are use to only seeing gangs, violence, prostitution and drug abuse. We were going to show them that there’s more to life than that. So we brought snacks for them and games. While everyone was playing with the children, my leader brought me and this girl Sami into one of the homes. There was no carpet, no hardwood floors, no painted walls, no fancy doors, no tv or any close to what we have. There were three, small, and dirty rooms. Two beds for two small families at the time. The women there said she received about $6000 a year for her and her family. But she was so proud of herself. I learned two things from that day. I learned that we have it so good. We have more than we could even imagine. Maybe we have too much even. But I also learned even though those people had close to nothing they were probably the most joyous people. They were so welcoming of their homes and proud of them. That even though they were struggling they managed to put a smile on their face and laugh. This memory holds on to me like it happened yesterday. It touched me so much, but now I’m learning what to do with it.

