Healthy FamilyHave you ever considered taking your children on an international trip? Here are five reasons why we are taking our kids to Costa Rica this summer!
On Monday, our family embarked on an adventure we had been dreaming about, saving for, and planning for a very long time: We are currently in Costa Rica for five weeks, and we couldn’t be more excited.
Transparency with this blog is huge for me. I’ve built The Humbled Homemaker with the intentions of showing my own imperfections in everyday homemaking, learning the ropes of natural living, navigating life on a low income, and transitioning to helping support our family financially as a work-at-home mom.
A few years ago, we would have thought a trip like this to be unattainable. And I know some of you are there now: You can barely manage to make ends meet, much less take an international trip with your family.
My goal is always to encourage you, so I thought about not blogging about our journey in Costa Rica. But then I realized it would be inauthentic of me to do so.
You precious readers have walked with me through so much these past four years, and I want to give you a window into our family’s life wherever we are.
Costa Rica is dear to our family for many reasons. We did not haphazardly choose this location for our summer trip.
At one point in time, my husband and I envisioned spending our entire lives on the foreign mission field–somewhere in Latin America.
He and I actually met each other in Costa Rica in 2003. I served as a missionary there for a year after college, and he served there for two years.
What to expect on The Humbled Homemaker During Our Costa Rica Trip
Over the next few weeks, I hope to give you a glimpse into our Costa Rica journey, but I don’t want to bombard you with overly-personal posts. I always want you to feel like you’ve read something that you can take and apply to your own life–wherever you might live!
So, with that in mind, I will be posting about our Costa Rica trip no more than twice per week (and sometimes less). I hope to have one content-rich post on Costa Rica per week–creating something that will either inspire you or encourage you. My mind is already spinning with ideas like how we paid for this trip (it’s not with credit cards!), how we are navigating the trip with food allergies, Costa Rican ministries you all can pray for, ways to instill a love for missions in your children from home, and more!
The second post I hope to publish will be more of an update of what we have done during the week. Those will go live on either Fridays or Saturdays.
I hope to publish some other regular content as well and will be welcoming some more guest posters who have some amazing content to share with you!
I will be updating my social media accounts daily, and you will be able to see more about our Costa Rica trip via Instagram and Periscope, especially! You can find us via the hashtag #odomsincostarica. As for Periscope, I got it JUST for this trip. It allows people to LIVE broadcast video feed, so I though that might be fun to try!
Without further ado, though, I’d like to dive into five reasons why we are taking our 3 young children (age 7, 4, and 2!) to Costa Rica for five weeks this summer. Some people think we are crazy for doing it, but I can assure you that we have been very intentional with bringing out children along for this journey!
5 Reasons Why We Are Taking Our Kids to Costa Rica
1. We want to get our children out of their comfort zones.
Let’s be honest: The American culture can be very child-centered. We frequently tell our girls that the world does not revolve around them, and we mean it.
We do not want them to grow up thinking that the most important thing in life is their comfort–because it is not!
Traveling to another country removes the comforts of home, language, culture, food, and so much more. With only a few days into the trip, our girls have had to learn:
- not to flush toilet paper (but to throw it away instead)–our newly-potty-trained one is learning this the fastest!
- to take showers even though they prefer baths (bathtubs are a luxury here, and we do not have one!)
- to eat rice and beans for breakfast–every single day
- that, sometimes, going to the bathroom on the side of the road is the only option when you are on a side of a mountain with no public restrooms are in sight
- that, sometimes, we have to go without toilet paper altogether!
- that even though our apartment has a swimming pool, that doesn’t mean we get to swim every day
- that all of the cartoon characters on TV speak Spanish (our 2-year-old asked us: “Why do they just speak Spanish?!”)
- that sometimes we will have to go without carseats if we are riding on crowded public transportation–like buses and taxis
- that once our snacks from the U.S. are gone, we have to eat the types of snacks we can find here–and they might not be favorites
All that said, we are taking strides to make sure our girls get proper rest and nutrition. After feeling like we overdid it the first day, we have decided that we must keep to a good rest time each afternoon.
2. We want our children to love other cultures.
Many parts of the United States can be very mono-cultural–even though it’s a country that is made up of so many different cultures!
We want our girls to grow up with a knowledge of and appreciation for cultures outside of their own. We feel there is no better way to do that than to place them inside of those cultures.
As we have been traveling around the San Jose, Cartago, and Alajuela provinces the past few days, we have been in constant conversation with the girls about what is the same and what is different when comparing the Costa Rican culture to our own.
3. We want to immerse our children in the Spanish language.
Will they retain it? Who knows, but we feel like any language learning is an advantage.
More than become fluent in Spanish (which is pretty impossible during a 5-week trip), we want to whet their little appetites for learning other languages in the future–whether it be the Spanish language or another language altogether.
I first came to Costa Rica as a 19-year-old college student. I had enjoyed learning Spanish in the classroom, but I didn’t love it.
After the one-month study abroad trip to Costa Rica that summer, I was hooked.
Although I do enjoy the grammar and phonetics of the Spanish language, it wasn’t those things that motivated me to learn it fluently. It was seeing how knowing Spanish built a bridge for me to communicate with a whole new world of people!
Although I was once near-fluent in Spanish, it has gotten very rusty over the past seven years since I do not use it! We will spend two weeks of our trip studying Spanish at a Christian language institute.
It will be a refresher for my husband (a Spanish teacher who still is very proficient in the language!) and me, and our two older girls will take beginning Spanish classes. Our youngest will stay in a Spanish-lanugage nursery while the rest of us are in our classes each morning.
4. We want to expose our children to international missions from a very young age.
I was over-the-moon excited when Samaritan’s Purse invited our family to participate in an Operation Christmas Child distribution here in Cartago, Costa Rica on Tuesday! (Yes, they actually distribute the boxes year-round!)
We have been putting Operation Christmas Child boxes together as a family since our firstborn was 2, so when we told our girls about this opportunity, they knew exactly what we are talking about. They were so excited to see gifts like theirs physically reach the hands of the recipients!
In addition to this opportunity, we will be partnering with a ministry in the same town as the language school we will be attending.
This ministry is set up for families who want to come learn the Spanish language and Latino culture in order to reach others with the gospel. Families learn Spanish in the mornings and minister together in the afternoons.
We want our girls to realize that mission work is not reserved for grown-ups with a special calling, but sharing about Jesus is something that everyone can partake in, even little children like themselves!
Can we teach them that back home? Yes. But we want to make both domestic and international missions a normal part of their childhood.
5. We want to expand our children’s worldview.
I have no idea if we will be able to take an international trip as a family again (I sure hope so!), but regardless of if we can do it again or not, we want to start now with fostering a worldview that is much bigger than the Lake Norman area of North Carolina.
We want them to grow up with a strong sense of the world as a whole and an appreciation for people who are different from them.
Costa Rica is a good place for us to start because my husband and I are already comfortable in this culture and with the Spanish language. We feel we can meet these five goals because we already know the country fairly well.
Thank you for sticking around as I blog a bit about our Costa Rica trip this summer. I hope we can learn through it together, as I seek to share with you what God is teaching us by being here.
What is your family doing this summer? Have you ever considered taking your children out of the country?
Claire
What a great opportunity for your family! I am particularly looking forward to hearing about how you’re navigating this with food allergies, as my son has numerous allergies (dairy, eggs, nuts, seasonal/environmental), and even domestic travel can be challenging.
Erin
Thank you so much for your support, Claire! I am planning on that post as I am discovering more every day!
Angel
I am curious too, I have so many allergies that I feel like I have to give up doing missions, can’t wait to hear about it more.
Lisa @ This Pilgrim Life
I am really looking forward to reading more about your trip. I spent a year after high school in Argentina and loved it there. I have so many wonderful memories and can’t imagine how excited I’d be to get to bring my husband and kids back there one day.
Hope your trip keeps going well!
Erin
Thank you so much, Lisa! That is so cool that you spent a year in Argentina! My sister has lived in Resistencia, Argentina for about 6 or 7 years now. Her husband is from there! My brother’s wife is also from Argentina! My husband and I went down there with my entire family about 8 years ago! We loved it! I hope you get to take your family there one day!
Katie Bennett
I love this Erin! I hope to be able to do the exact same thing with my kids one day, and I’m SO happy for you and your family to be on this adventure. Traveling to other countries for missions and study abroad had a profound impact on me as a college student. I think it’s very helpful for the reasons you mentioned above. Enjoy!
Erin
Thanks so much, Katie! I hope you can too!
Sarah Koontz | Grounded & Surrounded
My blogging partner Sammi was just asking me about your trip to Costa Rica. We knew you were going, but not the reasons for the trip. Thank you so much for sharing with us….we are super excited for your family and looking forward to your updates. I am going to have to check out periscope….I’ve been hearing a lot about it lately.
Erin
Thanks so much, Sarah! That was so sweet of y’all to think of us!
Mallory Rodriguez
You blog has become so awe inspiring for me. I am financially where you once were. I quit my full time job when my second daughter was born. That cut our families income by just over 50 %. Since then, we have started 2 businesses, both of which didn’t work out but have been major learning experiences, shaping us into far better people than we once were. Now, we are making less money than ever before, supporting more children than ever before (4 daughters including a brand new baby, and my 14 year old nephew), paying more debt than ever before, but our dreams, goals, aspirations, and goals are ALSO BIGGER THAN EVER BEFORE. I just started Norwex as a hopeful supplemental income to help us get from month to month, and am starting my own blog in hopes of learning the ropes enough that I too can share my experiences, motivate others, and inspire people the same way you have for me, while earning a much needed income from home.
My husband’s family is from Puerto Rico. Not technically “international” but really a whole new world. We took our daughters there when we only had 2 for a 3 week stretch and have goals of taking them there again as soon as financially possible. We do what we can from home but feel it’s so important for them to retain their Puerto Rican culture. My husband also served a two year mission in Honduras where his eyes were opened to a more humble way of life that we are anxious to expose our children to. In our society where we struggle with entitlement, it’s easy to forget what’s truly important, and how many people in the world live without so many of the things we take for granted.
Thank you for sharing your life with us and being such an inspiration!
Erin
Mallory, your comment was so encouraging! I love your attitude. I know it’s hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel when you are having a hard time financially, but I absolutely love how you are remaining positive through it! I am a big believer in entrepreneurship, and I believe that we learn so much through “failures.” I hope your big business break is right around the corner!
I spent a summer in Puerto Rico when I was in college! I absolutely loved it! I think it’s a great first place to experience another culture since they use U.S. dollars and many of the people are bilingual. I really hope you get to take your kids back sooner than you imagine! Have a great week!
Liz B.
So excited for you and your family! What a wonderful opportunity! I can’t wait to hear all about your trip. 🙂
Erin
Thank you so much, Liz!
Dona Haggerty
Oh, I think this is so wonderful and such a great opportunity for you and your family!!! Praying for you guys and looking forward to reading about your adventures!
Erin
Thank you so much, Dona! I really appreciate your support!
Ddaria
We currently are on a 10 week trip to France with our three children ages 4,2 and 9 months and we hope it will be advantageous as well!
Erin
Oh that sounds so wonderful! I hope you have a GREAT rest of your trip!
Jules
Just reading your blog for the first time and really enjoying it! I live a couple hrs away from Lake Norman…small world. What a great opportunity of yu and your children. I have cousins who were missionaries to China for about 5 yrs. They are back in the states now, but all 4 of their small children have been to China. It wasn’t long after baby #4 was beorn that they moved back. They take them every summer on a mission trip. I think it is great to teach children about other culture and if you can do so by taking them to another culture altogether…then that is an added bonus! Enjoy your summer. Looking forward to your future posts.
Erin
Welcome to the community, Jules! Thank you for sharing about your family’s experience with China! My husband and I went on a 2-week mission trip there before we had kids. I wouldn’t trade that experience for the world! That is so neat that we live so close to each other!
Carolyn Moore
So far we have spent three plus weeks in Costa Rica this year and hope to go back once more – it’s our fave place to be. Love the Tico breakfast of Gallo pinto and rice for breakfast. Looking forward to reading about your journey and praying for traveling mercies and safety for you and your fam. Blessings and Shalom.
Erin
Thank you so much, Carolyn! That is so neat that you have traveled here too! Isn’t it wonderful? Gallo pinto is a favorite!
Beth Anne
I love, love, love this post! And I’m so excited that you all are in Costa Rica! I had no idea that you were a missionary there during college! I spent 2 months in India during college and it changed my life forever… it’s the reason we wanted to adopt and the reason Holden is our son. I’m so excited for everything your girls will learn and experience. Your reasons for taking them are spot-on! (Can’t wait to take Holden back to India someday!)
Thank you for your honesty here. It’s awesome.
Ashley
I opened this blog post as soon as you posted it and have had it open on my computer since then… I finally got around to reading it and I am so glad I did. When I was in middle school my parents decided to start taking our whole family (Mom Dad Me and My two sister) on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. Every year after that we either went to the DR or Haiti. We always went during the school year and thankfully our school was really understanding and onboard with it. It took a lot of fundraising and letters to family and friends asking for financial help and prayer but it always worked out that we were able to go. Those trips shaped my life in so many ways and really changed the way I viewed things. I have always known I wanted to take my girls (ages 3 & 6) on trips but never thought about doing it at such a young age! Thank you for sharing your story and encouraging me to make this dream happen for my family sooner rather than later 🙂 I know a lot of parents are so fearful to send even their teenagers on trips but I feel like everyone needs to experience it at least once!! So life changing!
Liz G
Is the ox cart at La Paz Waterfall Gardens? I love that place!!!!
Kimberely
Hi! Thank you for sharing! Love it!! Did you have friends/family/church that you worked with while in Costa Rica or did you just go to a familiar area without knowing anyone etc? I would love to take my family on a trip like this one day . Blessing!
Kristen Nunnelly
Hey Erin, I came across this post while researching for our family trip to Costa Rica this summer- yes to all your points!! I’d love to get info on the language school y’all attended and had some other questions too- any chance we could connect over the phone or email?
Rebecca Snelson
Hi Erin,
My family and I have talked about going to Costa Rica for years. Our daughters are 6 and 4. We just can’t narrow down where to live while we are there. Any advice? If we went for a month in June or July, would the coast be too hot?
Erin
Hi Rebecca,
I absolutely love Costa Rica, and I think you will too! There are SO many places you can go, so it really depends on what you want to see and do. If you want to see the coast, I recommend the Manual Antonio area. You can see the coast but also experience local life and go to the rain forest. It will not be as hot in June and July as it would be in the rainy season. April is the hottest month there. I hope that helps!