Unexpected

I’m about 3 days removed from my 8th trip with globalX, second trip with InsideOut and some of the 429tribe. We wrote sparingly but posted a ton of pictures over on the other blog. One of the guys in our group, and on the trip put an incredible highlight video I want to share.

With 59 total people on the trip, we had to split in half for the work days at the schools, then at night we had to break it up in smaller groups of 8 and 9 people. Each night we met in those small groups to debrief a little and then break up into pairs to share our stories. On the last night, I posed the question:

What were your expectations going into the trip, and were those expectations met?

With a special song from Savannah and Jared setting up our small group time not 30 minutes prior to this, I had them all go around and share. Most of them talked about the impact this trip is going to have within their life, and how they all feel like they’ve made lifelong friends. You know, the usual stuff. Then it came my turn and I tried to pass, but they wouldn’t let me.

Going into the trip I had normal expectations of watching a bunch of high school students experience their first mission trip. I expected to work hard on projects so they could focus on bonding with each other as well as the children. I expected possibly getting a little emotional because of seeing the pure joy on all of the children’s faces as they played with “the gringos.”

These were my expectations.

When we found out we were going to an elementary school I felt like I could finally get into “go mode.” I was ready to focus and concentrate on getting our students to learn how to balance between being organized, working on projects and spending time with the kids. Here’s the thing though, the students tasked to our half were machines. They finished the first two projects by the morning of the 2nd day, so they had to keep piling stuff on us to keep us busy, and for one of the projects I was pulled aside with several other people to go to a separate location on-site to do more sanding and painting. Our foreman (Juan) walked us through a gate, we went inside and began to work.

Along with work beginning, my expectations also began – to diminish.

The area we were in consisted of kindergarteners, the very age group I was trying to avoid on this whole trip. I thought I wasn’t going to have to worry about being at a kindergarten and thinking “I wonder if this is the area, and if He could be our Tico,” but God had something different in mind.

I think the reality of where we were located, and how the situation came about made the reality of our adoption all the more real.

At the end of the last day, I expected the tears from the students to start flowing. I expected the guides from Costa Rica Quest to start saying all of their thank you’s, as well as receive some hugs and maybe a small gift from the little kids. What I absolutely did not expect was to walk on to the property and break down in tears, thinking God may have just allowed me to meet our future son, but not allowed us to take him home just yet.

It’s not fair, but it’s perfect.