Hello Everyone!

Well, not a whole lot has happened since my last post. I’ve been working on designing a brochure for the Children’s Homes, which is much harder than you would think it is. And I got to babysit an almost two y/o little girl twice last week. She is such a doll! I’ll have to get a picture to show you.

This past Saturday was Mother’s Day in Costa Rica, so my entire host family with all the kids and grandkids came over for a big lunch. It was fun and delicious but also an interesting experience. I don’t know about you, but when my entire family in the States gets together for a holiday we’re usually talking or playing games for a couple hours after we eat, and we take our time eating. Well, I’m sure that my host family stayed at the house for an hour and a half, tops. It took me by surprise. But I think it’s just because they see each other literally every day.
And I finally got some pictures of them all! So now, I introduce to you my Tico (Costa Rican) family:

clockwise from lower left (forgive my spelling): Marcelle (tica sister-oldest), Isabelle (Marcelle's daughter), Doña Olga (mama Tica), Jennifer (tica sister-23 y/o), Don Carlos (papi Tico), Michelle (tica sister-2nd oldest), Charlie (tico brother-18 y/0), Glorianna (tica sister-16 y/o), and me.
Macelle's husband, David, was taking the picture.

That little guy in the corner is Felipe (Michelle's son). He's at the house every day while his parents are at school and work. Jeffrey, Michelle's husband, was visiting his parents that day.

Don Carlos spent days marinating this huge hunk of pork for the lunch.

I think this is one of the most entertaining things for my family, Isabelle's handheld PS2. :) Everybody plays it (except my tico parents).

In other news, what has God been teaching me lately? I think that one of the most significant things was when I realized that I was a terrible missionary. A good missionary should assimilate to the culture, build good relationships, and know how to do their job. Right? Well, God could have sent tons more people more qualified than I am. Really! I’m not the perfect person for the job. So I was wondering, “Father, why me?”

Then He brought to mind the verse that He had given me at the beginning, when I was writing my first letter about my trip. It’s 2 Corinthians 12:9—“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” … God’s plan may not make sense to me because I can only see as far as right now, but He sees all the way to the end of my life. He even knows how His plan for me affects His plans for other people. Nothing is a surprise to Him. When He became Lord of my life, He knew that I would not be perfect. Yet He desires perfection in His children; He said, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)” And I am constantly in the process of being made perfect.

He desires my obedience. “This is love for God: to obey his commands.” (1 John 5:3) So I continue in obedience, trying to always keep my eyes on Jesus who is “the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2)”. I know beyond a shadow of doubt that I am here for a reason, and God has a plan for me here whether I know what it is or not. Have you heard this saying: ‘God doesn’t call the equipped; He equips the called’?

So I am anxious to know what God’s plan is. He always surprises me with more than I expected.

Prayer Requests:

-continue to pray for relationships to be developed

-pray that I would live daily in the ‘joy of the Lord’

-pray for patience and peace

Thank you all for your prayers and the notes that you send me. I love hearing from you as it always brightens my day! I am praying for you, too, as God puts you on my heart, and I would love to know how I can pray more specifically.

Be blessed!

Happy August to you all! It’s so strange to think that it’s already August… Summer is winding down and people are getting ready to go back to school. As for me, I can’t really tell the difference. The weather is quite mild here all year round. Although it is the rainy season (winter), I am told that it is the driest it has been in many years. Everyone keeps saying it’s like summer because that is dry season here—warm, sunny, and windy...

I have had quite a few interesting cultural experiences in the past few weeks. I went with our last team to Orosi Valley and visited the oldest church in Costa Rica that is still in operation. Our bus driver said it was built around 1750, and all the original artwork is still there! There are no guards, gates, or bars, yet it is all in excellent condition.

And today, I experienced a taste of the judicial system. I had to go to the main police station to get fingerprinted because I am applying for temporary residency here. Well, I waited there for 2 ½ hours, but I am now officially in the system… that’s a scary thought. I should be able to submit my paperwork on Monday or Tuesday!

Those kinds of waits are the norm in Costa Rica, especially at more official places like banks and government buildings. Everyone takes it in stride and with a good attitude though because there is nothing you can do about it. It’s just part of life.
On the way there, I also got to see the first ever mall in Costa Rica! How exciting! ;D

In other happenings around the Project, we got a new intern on August 1st, and he’s a surfer! I think he really liked our excursion to Playa Hermosa this past Thursday and Friday. A world surfing competition took place there, and I, along with four other Americans and four Costa Ricans, got to be right there in the action! We not only got to spend time by the pool, in the ocean, and watching the competition, but we also helped the Christian Surfer's Association with security detail. I had a great view of the competition surrounded by teams from all over the world! But praise God because we arrived at the beach only minutes after the storm that we drove into caused a tree to fall on a transformer just a few hundred feet behind us. I watched the transformer explode and live wires fall onto the highway! As far as I know, no one was hurt though.

I am very excited about the next four months because I was asked to help out with a couple kids who recently accepted Christ and are going through a course about basic Christianity in preparation for baptism. One is a 9 y/o girl from one of the Children’s Homes at the Project, and the other is the son of the couple who runs one of the homes. I will be attending the class with them on Sundays and helping them with their weekly homework. I can’t wait to be a part of their walk with God as they learn who Jesus is and who they are in Him.

Prayer Requests:

-Continue to pray for humility as I continue to learn about the culture, form relationships, and integrate myself as a part of my host family.

-As I start my job as a publicist for the Children’s Homes, please pray for a clear and organized mind. This is new ground for me, and I know that anything good that is achieved is a result of God’s grace. The first step is seeing what needs to be done and coming up with a timeline of goals to achieve it.

-Please pray that our pastoral group would be able to form into more of a cohesive community of believers despite the constant work that needs to be accomplished. The people in this group are: Steve & Georgiana (admin. of Children’s Homes), Brauny & Ingrid (House parents of 1st house), Isella & Gerardo (House parents of 2nd house), Candace (intern coordinator), Johanna & Tim (fill-in house parents and ‘grandparents’ to the children), Jonathan & Amy (short-term missions team coordinators), and me (publicist).

An evangelistic activity at a local elementary school where professional martial artists integrated karate with sharing the gospel and their testimonies

The July interns (L to R): Me, Clay, Donnie, Jennifer, Nick.

Clay and Jennifer left at the end of July, and Nick leaves on the 20th.

Be still and know that I am God. ~Psalm 46:10

Hello All!

Thank you for waiting so patiently for my next update. I really wanted to write an update a week ago, but I promise you that I had nothing to write then.

Most importantly, I have internet access at my host family's house now! Ok, I'm kidding about that being the most important thing. But it does mean that after next week, I'll be able to keep in touch with all of you better...hopefully.

As far as what I've been doing lately... Last week I was working in the daycare, helping teach English to kids, and also doing construction. This past week, we had a small team from Tennessee at the Project, and we all had a blast together. I got to work with a few of them doing something very interesting indeed. We stripped the paint off of a crib using shards of broken glass. Let me tell you, that is not an easy thing to do. The whole project--stripping, sanding, varnish--took two whole work days. But it looked beautiful in the end. Although the foreman at the Project said it wasn't worth the work and would be much quicker to just make a new one (which is what they decided to do in the end), they will now be able to give this to someone else who needs it instead of just throwing it in the burn pile. We're fans of re-using things here.

What I've been doing for fun...playing Monopoly, Uno, and Rook. :D No, really. Last night, I got to play a partial game of Rook and a partial game of Monopoly with a couple interns, one of the intern's host parents, and one of their brothers. It was really fun. I've enjoyed getting to know the other interns here, and two of them are already leaving next week. So sad!

On another note, I want to share how God has been working in my life more specifically. I want to be honest with you all so you can praise God with me and also know how to pray.

Up until this past Monday, I was really struggling with a lot of things. My host mom and I were not getting along at all, and I barely talked to anyone else in the family. The following is an excerpt from my journal, in retrospect, about how things were going for the first 2 ½ weeks:

I think I felt very confused about everything… What was I doing here? Why
was I away from the place I was thriving in so much in Madison? Why was I in
this house where nothing was going well? I didn't feel useful. I didn't feel
like I was keeping busy. I didn't know where I would be serving, like in the
church and in the Project. And I just felt so confused about everything, like
none of it made any sense at all to me. And I just kept getting more and more
confused about things and more and more unhappy. But that's what the enemy likes
to do, right? He's the master of confusion. Where God wants to put things in
order, the Enemy wants to confuse them. God is not a God of confusion but of
order… and the stupid thing is I was totally blinded to it. I guess I thought
this confusion was supposed to be kind of normal or something… you know,
everything's changed… new country, new language, new life, new purpose.

Things had gotten to the point with my host mom that I was preparing myself for the worst…moving out, which would not do anyone any good. There was a big fiasco on Sunday night, and we both ended up angry with each other.

Well, there is a lot of detail that would make this story really long, but that’s not the point so I’ll try to make a long story short. Basically, we ended up getting together—me, Dona Olga (my host mom), and Candace (the intern coordinator)—on Monday evening to try to straighten things out. After talking, it turned out to be one huge problem of communication and cultural misunderstanding. The thing is, none of us realized that until we got together and talked about it. It was really amazing how God turned the whole situation into something good. Apparently, all of us had prayed about what to do on Sunday night and felt that we needed to talk together. And on Monday afternoon, God reminded Dona Olga that He had told her I would be coming to her house before Candace called her to ask if I could stay at her house. For me, that is a huge confirmation that He has a purpose for me right here, in this house.

I believe that God has big things planned, but I also know that Satan will try to mess with that any way he can. Take this situation as an example. How could it have happened? I know the language quite well. I’ve been here before for two months and have already experienced the culture. Dona Olga heard from God that I would be coming but conveniently forgot about it for the first few weeks I was here. And we both are “prayer warriors” as Candace calls it. (See my last post for more on this.) This family is also quite prominent in the local church and could provide me with many opportunities that I may not have had by staying somewhere else. This is a fantastic situation, and I shouldn’t have had problems with communication. But, Satan likes to mess with a good thing so… communication is the perfect thing to mess with. Why would he want two “prayer warriors” in the same house praying together? Praying together is a unifying thing, as I’ve experienced in the past. And a unified body of believers is powerful and effective. I praise God that we are no longer having problems. In fact, at the end of our meeting we prayed together, and I believe we gained freedom from what Satan had been trying to do. I certainly felt a lot of freedom after that, even down to feeling more comfortable and at home in the house. But there is still a lot that needs to happen.

Please pray for the following:

-Continued development of relationships with my host family… relationships founded in Christ.

-Alertness against the Enemy’s schemes and protection in all areas that might be vulnerable to attack.

-Pray against loneliness, as I have been feeling very far away from my friends and family from home. Along with this, pray that friendships would be formed here and that I would find a community to be a part of.

-That God would show me my purpose here and that I would be listening when He speaks… I am definitely re-learning how to listen to Him and am making it a daily practice to spend time doing just that.

Be blessed! I think about you all very often and so wish that I could call you up and talk to you at any time! I am praying for you so please let me know if there is any way I can pray more specifically.

Steve, the coordinator of the children's homes, and I wore the same t-shirt on the same day...twice :D

One of the views from the second floor of my home.

Out the same window but in another direction

My first week in Costa Rica

Hello Everyone!

I'm sorry for the lack of updates, but this is the first time I've been able to spend any time on the internet. It has been an extremely full week, and I can't believe I got here just last Wednesday!

For a rundown on things I've been doing:
The project hosts short-term missions teams from the States, and one came down the same day I did. And because this month is very busy with teams, Candace, the intern coordinator, asked me to help out with them during this month. So I've been busy, busy, busy since day 1. We did construction on Thursday, half of Friday, and this Tuesday. From Friday through Monday, we went to the tico/gringo (Costa Ricans/Americans) camp that the youth group organizes every year. The city we were in, Orotina, is in the countryside and our first night there we saw a tarantulla! Talk about being worried about all the other rainforest creatures we might see! But we all warmed up to the place in the light of day. There was an outreach activity to kids and their parents in a community called Barrio de Jesus on Saturday. We had devotionals and teaching times every day. And we all built great friendships through hanging out in the pool; competing in games where we got sweaty, muddy, and wet; sharing testimonies; and participating in a talent show on Saturday night.

To share a fun story, we went hiking through the rainforest to go see a waterfall as the management of the camp had hacked a path through the brush just for us! The path went up and down steep hills, and I was wearing flip-flops because I didn't bring tennis shoes to camp. Well, of course it started pouring after we arrived almost at the end. I and another group decided to turn back, and it was quite the adventure trying to get up and down those slippery, muddy slopes in my flip-flops. We arrived soaked and muddy, but one of the men who keeps up the camp told us we were "muy valiente" (very brave/valient) and took our picture.

On another note, it has been a pretty smooth adjustment to my new diet, my host family, the culture, and language. I am staying with Doña Olga and Don Carlos. They have three children living with them: Jennifer, Gloriana, and Carlos--who we call Charlie. We have been getting along well, and Jennifer and Olga are both fantastic cooks! There have been only three meals, I think, where I have not eaten rice and/or beans. But I love them both so it has been quite alright with me.

Prayer Update

~I have many options for ministry opening up to me, and it has been wonderful to see where I may fit in here, but it is also difficult to decide where to invest my time. Please pray for discernment in this area.

~God has also been speaking to me a lot to invest more time in prayer. I wanted to, but was busy with other things and so used that as an excuse not to pray. I know that sounds strange, but prayer, especially intercession, is something that I just need to sit down and do sometimes, make a commitment to doing and not just sparsely throughout the day. During the camp I was convicted to make an intentional decision to pray.

~Also continue to pray for favor with the Ticos (Costa Ricans) as I continue to develop relationships and friendships with them.

I have much more to share, but hopefully I will be able to post more frequently in the future. Thank you for your prayers and continued support. May God bless you all richly and show Himself to you every day.

T-minus 42 Hours and Counting

Well, there's not much time left until I'm on a plane headed closer to the equator. There is a lot left to do: last-minute shopping, packing, picking up my passport, and final good-byes. No, I don't have my passport yet but will have it in my hands by Monday evening, praise God!

Everything has been on hold for the past week because I had a full work week at the bank and spent half my evenings doing things for my cousin's wedding which was all day yesterday. It was extra fun because I was the Maid of Honor. I loved holding the bride's boquet and straightening her train. :)

The plan now is to finish up the last details and spend some time with my family before heading out. Financially, I am a bit behind my goal at 60% and would still like to be at 85% by Wednesday. If you would like to contribute financially, please see the information under the 'How to Give' section in the sidebar at the right.

Thank you all for your continued prayers! When I write next, it will be from Costa Rica!

Be blessed!

How God said "Go"

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have
received it, and it will be yours."

-Jesus, Mark 11:24

I was reading Mark 11 today, and it reminded me of how important faith is. The context of the above quote is from a time when Jesus cursed a fig tree because it wasn't bearing any figs. Later the disciples and Jesus walked by the same tree and the disciples noticed that the tree had withered. Jesus used it as an illustration to teach them the power of faith. A passage in James expounds on this idea when talking about asking God for wisdom. He says:

"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea blown and tossed by the wind. Those who doubt should not think they will receive anything from the Lord." -James 1:5-7

I thank you for your prayers prayed in faith. Be encouraged by this testimony:

Fundraising went extremely well the first week in June. I was amazed at how quickly everything was coming in. I thought for sure I would be at 100% by the end of June. Then the second week of fundraising came; I was at 42% and on track to meet my goal of 50% by the end of the week. My plan was to buy my plane ticket when I reached 50%, but that week things slowed down a lot. I couldn't make calls because I was already over my minutes on my cell phone, so I received only a few responses from different people. I was becoming worried that I would have to postpone my departure until August, and on Thursday I gave in to disappointment and worry and let myself be dragged down further and further. You see, on Friday I was leaving for a vacation with my family--out of range of phone service and away from my laptop--and I wasn't returning til late on Monday. If I couldn't buy my ticket by Friday morning I would have to wait til August to leave. But on Thursday evening, I sat down, in despair, determined to meet with God as I did not know what to do, and I was hopeless.

Lesson #1: Keep my eyes fixed on Him all of the time. For some reason, I have to continually re-learn this. When will I learn?

I spent time in prayer and wanted to spend some time in His Word as well but did not know what to read. I asked God to show me what to read, and He told me Psalm 34. I wasn't sure if I had made up the number I saw in my mind but knew that I would regret not reading that Psalm. So I turned there, not expecting much, but everything in that Psalm spoke to me very clearly and precisely. I love those times when God leads me to a part of the Bible, and it's like a lightbulb goes off in my head. Things become clear, and I am reminded that God knows everything, loves me, and sees the big picture even when I can't see past my present circumstances. Psalm 34 was no exception, and I was encouraged as my confidence (faith) in God was restored. I came away with confidence that what was or was not happening with my finances was no mystery to God. I just needed to remember that He was meeting all my needs and would take care of everything.

Well, on Friday morning, I still needed 2.5%, and I was not going to buy my ticket until I reached 50%. I was determined on that. As I checked my e-mail for any more responses I wasn't worried anymore, just waiting. One e-mail from a friend brought me up to 49.5%. As I realized this, I was amazed because I had not really expected to receive any responses that morning. Then I checked my inbox again, and there was another e-mail, my first from my sending agency with a summary of the support that had come in so far. An unexpected donation brought me to exactly 50%! Praise the Lord! I could have tried to explain this rationally and totally missed recognizing a blessing from God, but I have been learning that when God says something, to take Him at His word. There is NO other way this could have happened, exactly when I needed it and exactly as much as I needed, so I thanked the Lord for His provision and the miracle that He had done for me; then I bought my plane ticket.

I thank God for allowing me to leave in just two weeks from today. I am beginning to realize that I am really leaving, and soon, too! But I can't wait to see what God will do in July that He wanted me to be in Costa Rica for.

Date of Departure: July 1, 2009

Assignment: Mission from the King, to be revealed

God is so faithful!

Here I am, updating much sooner than I thought I would, but I have news to tell and want it to be made known.

My byword lately is faithful, specifically when used in reference to God being faithful. Yes, He is. Do you know how I know that? Because I have seen it. I have seen His faithfulness in my friend's lives and also in my own. He really does answer prayer, people. And when you are desiring and praying for the things that consume the heart of our Father, you will see Him fulfill those prayers and desires. When He promises something, He always accomplishes what He promised.

Take for instance, this trip. I have known where and for how long I was going since September/October 2007. For a young college student, that's a long time out to have concrete plans that will stick. Just think about the average number of times a college student changes their major. I know for a fact and am completely assured that it was God who told me His plans for me to move to Costa Rica after I graduate because: 1) going back to CR wasn’t even on my radar at that point 2) I was listening for God to tell me what His plans were 3) I’ve heard Him speak to me before and understand when He is telling me something, especially when He speaks this clearly 4) everything has worked out so far despite many glitches in the planning process.

Right now I am in the process of raising financial support, and though there are only 2 ½ months until my planned date of departure, I can be confident that God will provide exactly as much as I need whether it is above or below what my budget says I should have. He holds ALL things in His hands. My finances for fifteen months are nothing to Him. I praise Him today because I have needed to contact both my sending agency (NHIM) and the intern coordinator (Candace) at the Abraham Project. I had not been able to get in touch with them for two entire weeks, but I was able to talk to both of them over the phone just this afternoon. Now I can finalize my budget and continue on to the next step.

God is so good! Don’t ever doubt it or forget. Earlier this semester I read Deuteronomy 4, and I was reminded how important it is not to forget God and the things He has done. You see, Israel was a nation that God had chosen to be ‘His people’. He wanted to bless them by using them as a witness and testimony to all other people of His love and desire for them. But the Israelites constantly turned away from serving and honoring God even in the face of obvious miracles and blessings, such as freeing them from slavery to Egypt and miraculously providing manna (a type of bread), quail (when they complained of not having meat), and water on their journey through the desert from Egypt to the fertile land that God had promised them. And even in the face of denial, betrayal, and wanton disobedience, God fulfilled His side of the covenant with the people of Israel by not only punishing them when they were unfaithful and disobeyed but also by not staying angry. He really wanted them to understand how much he loved them, and still does, by showing them mercy over and over again.

In Deuteronomy 4, the Lord warns the people not to turn from Him and worship false idols. Moses, the author, reminds them of God’s awesomeness and distinction from human beings because He is the ultimate being: perfect, the originator of ALL power, and the creator of all things. Even though this passage talks specifically about the covenant that Israel had with God thousands of years ago, His character in light of that covenant is consistent and unchanging to this day. Therefore, I understand that the following verses apply even in the present time, and that anyone who has a part in the ‘new’ covenant—having accepted forgiveness from our imperfections and rejection of God by acknowledging His existence, love, and truth which was displayed by the Son of God, Jesus, who, though being God, humbled himself by taking the form of one of us and died an unjust and painful death though he did nothing wrong in His life and displayed His power by raising himself from death just to prove that He is who he said He is, and He does what He says He will do, and He loves you very much—should understand these truths.

“What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him?” vs 7

“Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the LORD your God has forbidden. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” Vs 23-24

(Following a discourse on what would happen if they DID turn to idol worship…)
“But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you (consequences of breaking the covenant), then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him. For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.” Vs. 29-31

*All scripture taken from the New International Version (NIV). Emphasis and parenthetical notes are mine.

My hope is in Christ, in whom I live life to the fullest. Blessings!