On my first trip to Costa Rica, I was surprised at how many people had tattoos! Even teenagers as young as 12 had tattoos up and down their arms. Although there are laws about how old you can be to get a tattoo, with a parent’s consent there’s really no limit.
On my second trip there, a few of us had semi-seriously planned to actually go get tattoos! Some of our local friends were prepared to schedule us appointments with their artists. Designs were even drawn up, and plans made, but for some reason it didn’t work out. Something about letting a few gringo college kids take a bus to another town they hadn’t been to before to get a needle and ink injected into their skin wasn’t sitting well with the mission trip leader.
So now, on my third trip to Costa Rica, my friends Sara, Cyndi, and I were committed to trying again to see if we could get new tattoos. We weren’t sure with who, or where, or how. But we technically weren’t “on the mission field” yet, so we had the time. We had arrived a few days early to take care of some business and prepare for the mission team to arrive. So with the help of another friend and the hesitant approval of la jefa, we made an appointment, sent in our designs, and drove ourselves there.
Our tattoo artist, Jhammy, walked out of her home studio to greet us wearing scrubs and gloves–a good sign! Her studio was full of artwork in all different styles. It was clean, orderly, and we could immediately tell we were in good hands. Any hesitation or nervousness about entrusting our bodies to the care of someone else in a developing country dissipated! Finally, it was going to work out! We were getting tattoos!
She showed us what she had drawn up based on the ideas we sent in. We loved her designs! So one by one we sat or laid on her table and got our tattoos. Sara got a sea turtle. Cyndi got a semi-colon, cross, and “faith, hope, love” symbol. I got a ship with flora and foliage. And our local friend Allison who connected us to Jhammy got “fuerte como mamá” which means “strong like mom.”
We had so much fun together! And Jhammy was quick! I had never seen someone so confidently and quickly apply the stencils and begin to tattoo. We knew the actual tattooing would be fast–none of our designs were particularly intricate or with much shading. Line work is simple, straightforward. But even setting up the station between tattoos and wrapping the fresh ink seem to take a really long time in the states. Not with Jhammy! Without feeling hurried she got us in and out in 20-30 minutes each. For four people to get six tattoos and a touch-up, including design tweaks and payment, it took just 2 hours time. She wasn’t rushed; she was confident.
As we each took our turns on the table we did our best to ask more about Jhammy’s experience as a tattoo artist. With the help of our friend Allison translating, we learned Jhammy had been tattooing for 23 years. She was the first (and maybe still the only–I can’t remember for sure) female tattoo artist in San Ramón. She and one other woman were the first two to get trained and certified in all of Costa Rica! Jhammy had built a successful following over the years, and during COVID when she had to move from a shop into her home studio, her business continued to thrive.
I never cease to be amazed at the coincidences that come only from God. The mission trip that Cyndi, Sara, and I were there preparing for wasn’t an ordinary trip. We were there leading a women’s mission trip and retreat, focused on pouring into the women of the community, the women’s ministry leaders, and the women from the U.S. mission team. It was a week full of empowering women, both ticas and gringas, to thrive in the areas of their passions and giftings! And without knowing it, we were getting tattoos from one of the first women in Costa Rica to be able to give them! To be able to support a woman-owned local business was exactly aligned with our purpose there. But we didn’t plan this part! We just wanted tattoos. And God graciously invited our desires to align with our purpose.
So if you ever needed permission to (safely) get a tattoo on a mission trip, I hereby grant it to you! And to my mom reading this, yes, she switched gloves, needles, and re-wrapped her machine between each person. I even saw her sharps container for our used needles! Tattoo Jhammy is the real deal.
