Leaving the Ol' Comfort Zone

As humans, we are amazingly adaptable & new situations quickly become routine.

In Costa Rica, we have found our normal. We live on the Seminary grounds where we volunteer. We leave to go shopping & to go to church. For three months, we taught English off-campus, one night a week. But we have our routine, our normal.

A few Saturday nights ago, Lucas & I went to a youth group meeting to share our testimonies. The morning of the meeting, we found out when we'd get picked up for that meeting (5pm). In the early afternoon, we found out we'd actually be picked up that afternoon (2pm). Our plans shifted as we rode with a couple from our church to an errand they had, for a visit over coffee, to a guitar lesson by a praise band member, and then to the youth group meeting.

The meeting was outside my comfort zone, for many reasons: 
1. Of my husband and I, I am the less social one.
2. My dinner was delayed until 7:30pm (instead of 5pm)
3. I was very nervous giving testimony in Spanish (even though my head knew that I was among friends).
4. We joined the youth group in sharing about our weeks & prayer requests in Spanish.
5. We joined the youth group in participating in a game.

The next day, my husband & I jumped in a taxi & headed to an area of Costa Rica we had never been to before to see the baptism of a friend's baby. It was new. It was different. It was a little intimidating.

These two events were a good reminder of how normal life in Costa Rica has become. It was good to remember that we need to leave our comfort zone sometimes, and when we do, it's not always that scary.