Right Where I Belong

by Krista McGee

  The hour went by far quicker than Natalia wanted. She took so many notes, she was writing on the margins of her paper. Everything she heard made her want to know more, made her question if she was really seeking to understand her purpose from God’s perspective or using human wisdom to make decisions.

  Decisions like dating?

  Natalia jumped as the bell rang.

  Where did that thought come from? Natalia was sure she shouldn’t consider dating. Of course that’s what God wanted her to do.

  Right?

  Natalia gazed over as Brian walked to the front to talk with his dad. Her heart pounded as he turned and caught her eye. In less than twenty-four hours, they’d be leaving for Costa Rica, spending a whole week together. Natalia hated how excited that thought made her.

  “All set for our week in paradise?” Spencer’s cologne greeted her before he did.

  “I was just thinking about it, actually.” Of course, Natalia wasn’t about to tell him who she was thinking about. Although it might do Spencer good to know she wasn’t thinking about him.

  “We can have a lot of fun down there.” Spencer’s smile was big. He was certainly growing bolder in the last few days. “Think about it.”

  He walked off before Natalia could answer.

  I’ll think about it, all right. I’ll think about how I’m going to avoid you for those seven days.

  Chapter 39

  ¿Qué?” Natalia asked. Again. Since they’d departed the airplane in San José, Natalia had had to ask the Costa Ricans to repeat themselves several times. Once, while going through Customs, the official actually switched to English so Natalia could understand what he was saying.

  “Their accents are so different.” Natalia rubbed her temples. Pastor Brian was beside her, helping to organize the group.

  “It’s all right, Natalia. You’re doing fine.”

  After a few more difficult conversations, Natalia was able to find a phone and call their contact in the city. Luis would pick them up and drive them to the house where they’d be staying.

  “He’s on his way.” Natalia hung up the phone and looked at the group. “We’re supposed to wait outside and he’ll be by in a large blue van.”

  Natalia followed the signs to the exit. The glass doors opened and the smell of exhaust fumes filled her nose. This is not paradise. She looked at the dirty sidewalks and far-as-the-eye-could-see pavement. Where’s the rain forest? The monkeys? The waterfalls?

  “Isn’t it wonderful?” Lexi’s grin filled her face as she stood beside Natalia. “I’ve missed this place.”

  “It’s . . . not what I expected.”

  “I was thinking the same thing.” Spencer scooted next to Natalia, his shoulder touching hers. “I hope the place we’re staying is decent. If it isn’t, I have my dad’s credit card and his permission to stay at a hotel.”

  “We’re all staying together,” Pastor Brian spoke up. “This is a mission trip. We are here to serve, to get out of our comfort zones.”

  Lexi turned to Spencer. “I felt the same way when I got here last year. But this place grows on you. It’s amazing.”

  He rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Natalia.

  “Is that our van?” Pastor Brian pointed to what looked like a cross between a minivan and a school bus. It had a high roof and a rack on top.

  The van pulled up beside the group and a muscular Costa Rican stepped out.

  “Luis.” Brian grabbed the man and hugged him. “I missed you.”

  Luis patted Brian’s back. His English was much better than Natalia had expected. “Good to see you, little Brian. Ready to work?”

  “Of course.” Brian grabbed a suitcase and hefted it on top of the van.

  “Hey, what are you doing with that?” Tori yelled. The petite sophomore put her hands on her hips.

  “All the luggage goes on top.” Brian lugged another bag on top.

  Spencer put a hand on Brian’s arm as he reached for Spencer’s designer suitcase. “No. Mine goes with me. The bag alone is worth four hundred dollars. What’s inside is worth three times that. It does not go on a roof.”

  “There’s no room inside for luggage.” Pastor Brian lifted Spencer’s bag. “But don’t worry. It’ll be fine. We tie it down with bungee cords and put a tarp over it in case it rains.”

  “At least put mine on the bottom,” Spencer grumbled. He sat on a bench as Brian, his dad, and Luis loaded all the luggage on the van’s roof.

  “All right,” Luis called out as the last bungee cord was secured. “Everyone in.”

  Natalia stepped into the van. The bench seats were clean but faded from the sun. The faint scent of pine cleaner lingered in the air. She sat by a window and Spencer squeezed in beside her.

  “It’ll get tight in here.” He put his arm around the back of her seat. “We’ll have to sit pretty close.”

  Every seat was needed, so Spencer’s unwanted proximity only increased when three more were added to their row. His side was plastered against hers, from shoulder to ankle. “Maybe Costa Rica isn’t so bad after all,” he whispered in her ear.

  Natalia refused to answer, choosing instead to look out the window as the van lurched out of the airport. Poverty competed with luxury as slums existed on one block and high-rise apartment complexes on the next.

  Farther in, the streets were lined with houses that shared walls. Tall gates stood sentry in front of each.

  Lexi leaned over from the end of their row. “People have gates in front of their houses for safety. Look at the top. Folks plaster broken glass up there so no one will try to climb over the gate and get in.”

  Lexi was right. Some places had razor wire instead of broken glass. “So are robberies common?”

  “I don’t know if they’re common.” Lexi shrugged. “But they happen. A lot of streets have guards on them for added security.” She pointed to a tiny “house” on the corner as they were stopped at a traffic light.

  “Is that guy holding a gun?” Natalia saw a huge rifle slung over the guard’s shoulder.

  “Yep.”

  Natalia glanced at Spencer. He seemed to be growing paler by the second. “Are you okay?”

  Spencer straightened. “Of course. I just thought . . . this is supposed to be a more developed country. We’re working with missionaries.”

  “It is more developed,” Lexi said. “Ever seen pictures of Haiti? This place is like the Taj Mahal compared to that.”

  “Whatever.” Spencer’s eyes were glued to the window. Natalia got the impression that he was more upset than he was letting on.

  Half an hour later Luis pulled up in front of their house. The bottom floor was the headquarters of a local ministry. The second floor could be reached from the interior or exterior. Natalia chose the latter, walking up the narrow concrete steps behind Mrs. Younger.

  The door opened into the living room. It was fairly large and sparsely furnished. Three mismatched couches sat on a brown tile floor, and a large wooden table filled the side of the space.

  “There’s no TV?” Spencer moaned from behind Natalia.

  “No, I’m afraid not.” Mrs. Younger pointed to her left. “The boys’ room is down that hall.”

  “Room?”

  “Yes.” Mrs. Younger laid her suitcase on the floor. “There are several bunk beds in there. Looks like you get first pick.”

  Spencer, not appearing terribly thrilled with the arrangement, made his way down the hallway.

  “Natalia, the girls have two rooms, over to the right,” Mrs. Younger said. “I’d like for us to head out to the grocery store once everyone is in. We have the van for a few more hours, then Luis has to leave.”

  “All right.”

  Natalia walked into the room and claimed a bottom bunk. Not the Ritz-Carlton. She surveyed the room. But it’s very clean. And we have our own bathroom.

  Addy and Lexi joined Natalia and Mrs. Younger on the grocery run. The store was different from what Natalia expected. It was qui
te large and sold everything from hamburger meat to hardware. There was even a shoe store and a pizza place on the property.

  “Each of you should grab a cart. We have twenty people to feed, after all. And the more we can get this time, the easier it will be.”

  The girls did as they were told and followed Mrs. Younger down the aisles. Natalia had to interpret the names of the items on the list as Mrs. Younger called out what she needed.

  “Wait a minute.” Addy put a hand on Natalia’s arm as she reached for the milk. “This isn’t refrigerated.”

  “So?” Natalia looked at the box. It was perfectly fine. Not too different from what she used back in Spain.

  “Milk in a box?” Addy grimaced. “That can’t be healthy.”

  “Says the girl who spent the first six years of her life in a jungle.” Lexi rolled her eyes and grabbed two more boxes from the shelf. “It tastes really good with cow tongue.”

  “What?” Natalia and Addy said at the same time.

  “You heard me.” Lexi grinned. “Costa Rican specialty. Almost as good as my grandma’s specialty.”

  “Don’t tell me.” Natalia closed her eyes.

  “Mondongo.” Lexi licked her lips.

  Natalia groaned.

  “What is that?” Addy asked.

  “Cow stomach.”

  “We won’t be having any of that.” Mrs. Younger shook her finger in Lexi’s face. “Unless you choose to order it on one of our out-to-eat nights.”

  “Oh, you’re eating it,” Lexi said.

  The girls continued to have fun as they filled each of the four carts with food, drinks, toiletries, and snacks for their week.

  When the total came to over two hundred thousand, Natalia’s breath caught in her throat.

  “It’s all right.” Mrs. Younger pulled out her credit card. “That’s in colones. It is actually about four hundred American dollars. Pretty cheap for all this.”

  Luis was waiting outside to help them load all the groceries. The sky was dark by the time they arrived back at the house. Empty pizza boxes were scattered around the vacant living room.

  “Where is everyone?” Natalia asked as Lexi brought in the last of the grocery bags.

  “Brian probably took them out for a walk.” Mrs. Younger placed a large watermelon on the counter. “He likes to get a look around and prepare them for the walking we’ll be doing the rest of the week.”

  “We probably walk, what, twenty miles every day?” Lexi put a box of cereal in a cupboard.

  “Not quite that much.” Mrs. Younger laughed. “But we do walk a lot.”

  Natalia heard yelling from the first floor. Spencer’s voice carried up the stairs. His word choices were not ones she would expect to hear on a mission trip.

  “No way am I staying here,” Spencer was saying. “I either get a hotel room, or I’m on the first flight home. I did not sign up for this.”

  A horrible smell followed Spencer to his room. Brian, his face red and his eyes dancing, came up behind Spencer.

  “What happened?” Mrs. Younger whispered.

  Brian walked out the door to the front stairs and began laughing hysterically. The women joined him on the small landing and shut the door so Spencer wouldn’t hear.

  “Spill it,” Lexi said.

  “Spencer jumped into this soccer game at the park,” Brian began, once he stopped laughing. “All these guys are playing. And they’re good, you know? I mean, soccer is their sport. But Spencer is sure he can teach them a thing or two. He gets out there and they just run circles around him. So he gets mad and starts to stalk off. But he walks right into this huge pile of . . .” Brian’s laughter took over again. But having smelled Spencer, Natalia had little doubt what the rest of the story was.

  “He stepped right in it?” Lexi asked.

  “And it was a big dog.” Brian wiped tears from his eyes. “I mean big.”

  “These are three hundred dollar designer leather shoes.” Spencer looked out at them from a window they did not realize was just down from where they were standing. “It is no laughing matter.”

  The rest of the group came through the gate, most laughing. Spencer disappeared back into his room.

  “Oh yes.” Lexi shook her head. “This is going to be a great week.”

  Chapter 40

  What do you miss most about the States?” Addy asked the group of elementary-aged missionary kids. She, Lexi, and Natalia sat at the lunch table with them, taking a break from their morning of preparing for the Vacation Bible School lessons they would begin the next day.

  “My Aunt Jeannie.” A fourth grader named Alayna pulled out an iPod and showed the girls a picture. “We used to go to the park every Saturday.”

  “I miss my dog,” Cassie, in third grade, said. “We had to leave her with some friends when we moved here.”

  Natalia wanted to join in the conversation. I miss Jamón Serrano. Carmen. History that makes sense.

  “Where will you go when your parents are done with language school?” Addy asked.

  Cassie sat up straight. “Buenos Aires, Argentina. It’s called the ‘Paris’ of South America.”

  Natalia smiled. “I’ve heard that. Are you excited?”

  “Yes.” Cassie leaned forward. “I’m already Skyping with a girl my age who lives there. Her parents are missionaries too.”

  “That’s great,” Lexi said.

  Natalia noticed Alayna was staring into her lunch box. “What about you, Alayna?”

  “We’re moving to Ecuador. Next month.”

  “Are you not looking forward to it?”

  Alayna’s eyes were sad. “I have to leave all my friends here. And I don’t know anyone there.”

  “What about Karla Cotter?” Cassie asked. “She moved to Ecuador this summer.”

  Alayna shook her head. “She’s in Quito. We’re moving to the Loja Province. That’s really far away from Quito.”

  “I’m sure you will make friends there, Alayna.” Natalia hated the sadness on the little girl’s face.

  Alayna’s hazel eyes filled with tears. “But they all speak Spanish. I’m not very good at speaking Spanish. I try, but . . .”

  Natalia put a hand on Alayna’s shoulders. “How about if I give you some lessons?”

  “You know how to speak Spanish?” Cassie asked.

  “Sí. Soy de España,” Natalia responded.

  “You’re from Spain?” Alayna wiped her eyes.

  “Look at that.” Natalia put her hand up to give Alayna a high five. “You know more than you think you know.”

  “Will you give me lessons too?” Cassie asked.

  The other girls in the group echoed Cassie’s request. Natalia promised to meet with the girls after Vacation Bible School the next day.

  She wanted to begin right then. Ideas for lessons and games were flying through her brain, but a teacher stood and announced lunch was over.

  “Will you guys eat with us again tomorrow?” Alayna asked, her voice soft.

  “You better believe it.” Lexi gave Alayna a hug. “And I want to hear all about the Loja Province, okay? Tell me something cool about it.”

  Alayna’s eyes lit up. “All right. I’ll ask my mom.”

  Natalia, Lexi, and Addy walked to the gym. The rest of the group was there, putting together the pieces for the week’s crafts.

  “Nice of you to join us.” Spencer had been cranky all day. Being in charge of the glittery “Jesus Loves Me” door hangers was probably not helping his mood.

  “We were having lunch with some of the kids.” Lexi put her hands on her hips. Natalia suspected her friend’s infatuation with Spencer was beginning to fade. “You were invited.”

  “I’m not exactly a kid person.”

  Pastor Brian walked over to the foursome. “A few more minutes and we need to head out to the church where we’ll be working.”

  “More work?” Spencer stood.

  “We’re going to meet the pastor and see what supplies we need to get.”<
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  “Is Luis taking us?” Lexi asked.

  “No.” Pastor Brian waved to a group of children walking to the playground. “We’re taking the bus.”

  “Public transportation?” Spencer groaned. “This just gets better and better.”

  “Give it a rest, Spencer,” Lexi said. “We’re here to serve.”

  “All right, guys.” Pastor Brian placed a hand on Spencer’s shoulder. “Just think of it as an adventure.”

  Two hours later even Natalia was exhausted by the “adventure.” Maps of the bus routes only helped so much. Natalia tried to translate and help navigate, but the latter was made more difficult because most Costa Rican streets had no names. The church they would be helping was located twenty meters north of the pharmacy by the Japanese Park. Parks were as abundant as pharmacies in San José, so locating the right park with the right pharmacy wasn’t easy. To compound the difficulties, the sky opened up and dumped water on their heads. Florida had heavy rain, but this downpour was unlike anything Natalia had ever seen.

  Finally finding the right park, the group exited the bus and began the twenty meter walk to the church. Natalia soon found the flimsy poncho she pulled out of her backpack was no match for the storm.

  “I’m singing in the rain.” Brian kicked the water from the puddle up into the air as his surprisingly good tenor voice sang loud enough for the locals to look out their windows at the odd gringo.

  Lexi joined in, her voice not quite as pleasing as Brian’s. Spencer stepped in beside Natalia. “Just when I thought this trip couldn’t get any worse.”

  Natalia’s Bible study had focused on gentleness the week before. She bit back a sharp reply and tried to remember what she had learned. “I have always taken having a car for granted. So I’m kind of glad to go through this. God is showing me more ways I can be thankful for what I have.”

  Spencer stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I guess. But I still say we go find a nice hotel and a driver.”