Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Recently, my family went on a 1-week trip to Costa Rica during the Christmas holiday.  The trip started out great, with beautiful drives through lush green rainforests, a hike to a stunning waterfall in the middle of nowhere and really friendly local people who were very helpful along the way. 

Then we got to the beach resort where we would be spending our last 4 nights and this is where things changed.  The staff at the resort were so rude, there weren't enough pool towels or deck chairs for guests to use each day and service was terrible.  By the second day we decided things just weren't going to get any better so we just accepted things as they were and tried to enjoy ourselves despite the resort. 

Then one morning at breakfast, my mom noticed a lady in the corner who was making fresh corn tortilla-like bread on a large clay skillet.  She asked Jessica, one of the waitresses, where to buy one of those skillets from, as she had many wonderful ideas on how she could use it.  Jessica took my mom to the cook, translated her question and said that the cook bought it at a market in Santa Cruz.  As my mom walked back to the table she was telling the waitress she wouldn't be able to make it there since its 2 hours away, but thanked her for her help. 

Jessica asked my mom what day we were leaving and my mom said Monday early morning.  Much to our surprise, Jessica said she lived in Santa Cruz and commuted to work at this resort everyday so she would look that evening for the skillet and bring one for my mom the next day at breakfast.  We were all stunned -- she was willing to do such a random favor for a complete stranger purely out of the goodness of her heart!  So my mom smiled and told Jessica we would all meet her at breakfast the next day, but the rest of us were pretty sceptical as to whether Jessica would have actually bring the skillet. 

The next morning, as we walked over to sit down at our table, to our surprise, Jessica came walking over and brought the skillet she had bought for my mom.  You should have seen my mom's face -- she was delighted!  Jessica initially even refused to accept any money for the skillet.  Then my mom thanked her profusely for her kindness and gave her a whole lot more money than I'm sure the skillet actually costed, with hopes that it would go a long way for her and her family in Costa Rica. 

They both hugged each other as if they were long lost friends -- we all had huge smiles on our faces just watching them.  Jessica even came along to say goodbye to all of us at 6 a.m. on Monday morning as we were leaving .  She was truly a gem of a person amidst all of the darkness we had previously experienced at this resort.  This memory from our trip to Costa Rica will definitely leave an impression on our hearts forever and I'm sure every time my mom uses that skillet we will all remember this story and send good wishes Jessica's way.