There is so much from Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Colombia that I will take with me.
There’s something special about being a black Latina.
In the States I blend in well, in which no one would know if I speak Spanish unless they knew me.
In Guatemala I felt identified because I had grown up with Guatemalan’s all of my life in my hometown. I felt identified by their culture of hospitality and it was beautiful seeing consistency in that.
In Costa Rica we were in the jungle for awhile where most of my interactions were with my squad, my hosts and their son (who are Costa Rican), with our amazing cook (Nicaraguan) and the 2 Costa Rican men who worked there. I felt so identified with our cook, named Maria, in which I gained understanding and became aware of the culture and why there are many Nicaraguans living in Costa Rica. She really took time to talk to me and helped me make the connection in my mind with how politics, poverty and other circumstances drive people in out of their country to make a living for themselves and their families.
In Colombia we were in Medellin most of the time. I didn’t realize how at-home I felt being in Cuidad Refugio not because of the culture necessarily, but more because of the Kingdom culture. The mission is so focused on outreach to the most vulnerable and “broken” and “hopeless” that it literally was life-changing to see how actually, those people that we reached out to aren’t too far gone. God is fighting for them and His goodness is running after them in so many ways, including Him sending us their to minister to them. We were in Cartagena for a little over a week where there is a higher population of black Colombians. I also had an at-home feeling as a black Latina, which was a sweet feeling. Where ever I turned, I honestly felt like I was walking the streets in the Dominican!!!
As a woman who has grown up with multi-cultures not only including my cultures (Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico), it was interesting taking on the role of interpreting for 6 months. In my next blog, I will express my gratefulness for those 6 months and my excitement for these last 2 months of the Race.
Until next time and hopefully not too delirious from our 3-day travel trip to South Africa,
J <3
