One of the hardest things for us about living here is that we have no blood-related family. Everyone else on staff has family in the country. When I see and hear our staff members get together with their families for different events, I think, ‘What are we missing out on with our own families?’ But God faithfully reminds me of two wonderful things that grow out of the absence of family:
1. Our family times are so rich! We love being with our family in the U.S. and Canada. We try to see each side of our families once a year. Every time we do, I go with the expectation and longing to squeeze every precious moment out of each trip, spending time together, enjoying one another, and building the bonds of friendship.
2. We have a greater understanding of the family of God. Because we are “alone”, we are free to build bonds of friendship in our own nuclear family, with staff, church families, and with our students, of course! (And do you remember who I met at the little store in San Jose?) We even make friends with strangers: some of our closest friends are missionaries that Tom met while standing in line at the Immigration Office!
These past two weeks we added new members to our Christian family: the Mission Team from our home church NewSong. Each of the 6 members of the team has blessed and encouraged every member in our family. We spent time with them in the midst of their ministries to a local orphanage and our own students. It was nourishing to have meaningful conversations and to learn from them in so many areas of life. We already miss them, even though they just left on Sunday morning. The team also found family here: please visit their website to see what they did on their mission trip: www.costaricatrex.blogspot.com
I hope this is an encouragement to those of you who are away from family, maybe away at university, maybe away from your home for the first time. God has a family for you wherever you are. You will find joy and love in that family, just as we have.