The Students Speak: What's it like to spend the night in a Tico home?

Every time we have students here for ministry, whether it be over the course of the 9 month GAP program or just for a week of short term missions, we like to divide them up and send them out to spend the night in homes of different families from our congregation. It's a great experience in having to step [sometimes struggle] across the language barrier and experiencing another culture (for both parties involved!), all the while enjoying in Christian fellowship and celebrating the beauty of diversity in the Family of Christ. This is what our students this year have to say about these experiences:

BETHANY WALLEY
“Staying in Tico houses are a great opportunity to get out of your comfort zone. When you don’t have any other English speaker with you, you are forced to depend on the Spanish you know and use charades for the rest. This humbles you a lot but you also end up learning new words and Tico phrases! From my experience, staying in Tico houses are kind of like being “adopted” for a weekend. My host families have always been so welcoming, sharing with me about their lives, and making me feel like a part of the family. More than anything, host homes are also a great ministry opportunity to tell them about what God is teaching you and by learning more about their needs, you are able to better pray for them.”

HUNTER KALER
"Something God has personally been revealing in my life through this GAP year is the importance of intentional relationships. Spending time in a Tico home has been one of the coolest and most eye-opening experiences of this year. --- You can learn a lot about someone by spending the night with them and in my case I got a lot of one on one time with Andrea. Both times I spent the night with her it was just the two of us in the house and so we really got to know each other, our families, stories, and struggles. I’ve also loved just learning about the Costa Rican culture through my time. For example, Andrea taught me how to make my favorite Costa Rican drink: limonada con hierbabuena. She knows how much I love it and asked right away if I wanted some the second time I spent the night at her house. In building that relationship, I noticed that I am becoming more intentional with her on Sundays, not to mention, I now know how to pray for her. Overall, it is super neat to see and experience how God is at work in the life of those in the church and to get their opinions and thoughts on the things of the church.” 

STEVEN PEDERSEN
“For me host homes have jump started my relationships in the church. Since I came to Costa Rica not knowing any Spanish, I had no formal introduction to some of these families. But when I go and stay at their homes it helps all of us get names right. Since being in several homes for a night it has been fun to experience the hospitality side of Tico culture. These people love getting to know other people and starting relationships. So it’s been cool now to feel like a church member and not the quiet gringo that can’t talk to anyone.”