Toryn Triplitt shares spiritual, relational growth while serving in Central America

This is part one in the Hearts to Serve series, dedicated to displaying how students serve others in the community or on mission trips.

Serving others does not mean having to travel on a plane to a third world country. It does not mean having to leave your city and family behind. Serving God and others can be done in any and every neighborhood.

In July, I got the chance to travel to Costa Rica with my home church, The Well Community Church. Our team was made up of nine members, including my mom and I. We went to serve with a company called Students International that permanently serve in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. They welcome short-term teams to help them in their ministry, but they stick around long-term to make sure that the spiritual growth continues on.

We traveled to Desamparados, which is in the province of San José, Costa Rica. Desamparados means “helpless” or “forgotten.” Our office (the central meeting point) and all of our host family’s homes were in this area. The colorful houses and bumpy and crazy streets provided a very different physical atmosphere.

Emotionally and relationally, it was completely different; the people were friendlier and more welcoming. When you were asked about how your day was going or how you were doing, people genuinely wanted to hear your responses.

The following podcast features some of my favorite moments from the trip.

We served in the poorer communities around Desamparados: Los Guido, Las Fuentes, and La Capri. The higher level of poor living conditions than in the U.S., is what set them apart.

The team was divided up between multiple sites, including sports, creative arts, boys and girls clubs, and many more. Each site hosted its own unique programs and outreaches.

I was placed in the Education Center, which was located in Los Guido. I had the opportunity to serve alongside site leaders Lily Azofeifa and Marina Chagoya.

I got to help the kids study for tests or complete their homework, and even got to participate in some English lessons with them. It took a lot of stumbling around my awkward Spanish and their limited English, but somehow, new beautiful relationships were born.

It became evident that even with a language barrier, love is universal and can be shown in many different ways. I really bonded with the younger kids, as the boys were feisty and loving. They always wanted my attention to either tease me or hug me. The little girls always had something new to show me or teach me.

The older girls were a little more distant. They are at an age where they know we will only be there for two weeks. They didn’t want to get close to us just to have their hearts hurting when we leave. On the last day, I got the opportunity to spontaneously share some of my story and what I have learned with them. Two of the most distant girls ended up sharing their hearts with me and how grateful they were for us to be there.

The amazing instructors, Azofeifa and Chagoya exhibited beautiful hearts for these kids and it is amazing to watch them interact with the kids. The respect and appreciation the kids show is heartwarming.

While there, we were not just serving at our sites, we were being served too. Our host families made us three meals a day and provided us with beds and constant love. My mom and I, as well as another girl on the trip, were placed with Leda and Abuelita. Two women who knew absolutely nothing about us but cared so much about our days and our food and making sure we were full and content. It was beautiful.

In our host homes and at our sites it became evident that Costa Ricans are all about relationships, they want to pursue relationships and make them a priority. The kids taught me that love has no language.

It became clear that being immersed in an only Spanish-speaking culture for two weeks will teach you more than you can learn in your high school Spanish classes. The kids love to teach you new words, even some they should probably not be teaching you.

The staff at Students International showed us how to be dedicated servants of God. They were willing to uproot their comfortable lives to live in a foreign country. Our host mom showed me that hospitality is a good way to show love. I learned that serving takes many shapes, and each form is unique and beautiful.

For more articles, read Looking back on the 2018-2019 school year and COLUMN: Journalist shares struggles, triumphs despite hearing loss.

Toryn Triplitt can be reached via Twitter @toryntriplitt and via email: Toryn Triplitt.