First week of outreach

Here’s some information to catch you up on the last 2 weeks…
Our final week of lecture phase was spent traveling, cleaning, and teaching.
Wednesday -Friday each of us prepared a message or shared a testimony with the team. It was really neat to see how each of my teammates has grown in the last 3 months. I felt lead to speak on “The power of words.“ We looked at several scriptures in Proverbs and a few in the new testament and Psalms. The overall theme verses were Proverbs 12:18 and Proverbs 18:21. The first one says,
“Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”Proverbs 18:21 says,
“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”I shared with my group that I was preaching to myself about this. I struggle with my mouth so much, and even here have said unkind words to people. Whether we are surrounded by Christians or non -Christians, we are all prone to speak harshly with people if we don’t guard our mouth. I used to pray Psalm 141:3 over my mouth on the way to work the last few years, but for some reason, I stopped doing so until a few weeks ago here. It says, Set a guard over my mouth O Lord, and keep watch over the door of my lips.” Another Proverbs says that the man who guards his mouth, keeps himself from calamity. AMEN ! We actually had a huge change of plans for the last week of our lecture phase.
A few weeks ago, our survival camp ( known as NIKO) was cancelled. We were supposed to leave 12/15 for the camp for 5 days. Most of us were super excited about going to the jungle together, but a few are happy that we don’t have to go without showering for 5 days! I was actually excited about NIKO, and was prepared to have a great week even though we would not be able to shower. I was told it was a pretty exhausting experience, so I think God worked everything for my good. We are all really excited about leaving for Germany tomorrow, and we will arrive there late evening on New Year’s Eve.
First week of OutreachOur first week of outreach was amazing and full of great ministry. Most of our group had to renew our visas, so we made a quick trip to Nicaragua. We arrived Monday night, and left Tuesday morning. It was pretty hectic getting across the border both times, but we managed to get in and out, pay our taxes, and get back to Liberia safely. We were staying with some friends of our leaders there in a house that was empty. We were all going to sleep on the floor in our sleeping bags. I spotted a huge scorpion on the wall in the bathroom and thought I was going to have a panic attack! There was no way that we were going to dinner and leave that thing in our home! So, we knocked it off the wall, beat it with the curtain rod, and then I took it outside where we dropped a few rocks on it. Praise God, I got to sleep in the home where the family stayed, and on a bed! I don’t think I would’ve slept that much in the other house, knowing there could be more scorpions! We waited about 2 hours to get back to Costa Rica because of the holidays. I enjoyed myself by dancing and singing with some other teammates to the loud music that playing nearby. We took a bus back to Liberia, and met up with the rest of our group at the church we were going to be working with for the week. The girls stayed at another pastor’s house, while the guys stayed at the church. Two of our leaders are from this town and church, so it was neat to meet their families and friends. We ate dinner and a hour or so later, we were on our way to our first kids ministry in Liberia. We typically do a few fun dramas, games, and maybe a story with the kids. My favorite moment all week was when a little boy ran up to me there, and just gave me a big hug! He took me by surprise, but I wrapped my arms around him quickly, and hugged him back! We also did kids ministry with the pastor who opened her home to the girls one night, passed out cookies with bible verses, and did some evangelism in the park our last night in town. I made some connections with a few little girls and they asked when we were going to return. I told them that I didn’t know when we were going to come back, and you could tell they were bummed. I love how kids just hold your hand and hug you when they first meet you. They don’t have any shame in showing that they just want love.
We also hosted a dinner for the homeless in Liberia on Christmas Eve. What’s neat about this dinner, is that we partnered with the government, and all we had to do was show up. We did a little more than that though to make it a special night. We bought soap and some other toiletries to pass out, and since it was at the local soccer stadium, they had access to showers. We also were able to collect some clothes and shoes, in addition to serving them a tasty meal. Some of our group even washed their feet! The government was going to provide vehicles to go pick up the homeless, but it didn’t work out. Our guys went to pick them up in our van, and brought them back load by load. I think we had about 15 or 20 folks show up. Some of our girls met a lady in the park the day before and invited her to come. She said that her birthday was on the day of the event, so we all pitched in a dollar or so, and bought her a cake. It was so awesome to see her face when they brought the cake out to her, and we all sang happy birthday. Some of the people were drunk, but for the most part, they were very attentive, and we had great conversations with them. We performed a funny drama and a serious drama while they were eating.
We will spent Christmas Eve with one of our leaders family, and it was such a special time for our group. It was so nice to meet Rossela’s family, because in addition to being my leader and one-on-one, she has been an amazing friend to me here. She and her mom cooked an amazing meal for us, and we exchanged gifts with our Secret Friend.
We spent Christmas day on 2 different beaches. We have one day off each week on outreach, and it was optional to go. I was tired, but I knew I could rest there. The beach has always been a place of rest for me, and a place where I feel close to God. The beaches were gorgeous, especially Conchal Beach, where the was no sand, just fragments of shells. The water was clear, and the tides were strong enough to carry you back and forth, so I just let the water take me with it!

More to come... getting on the van!!
　

Weekend in Nicoya

Wow! It’s been too long since I have been on the blog. I have been busy trying to finish up the lecture phase of my Discipleship Training(DTS), and it’s been super hard to sit still at night without falling asleep!
We had a long weekend, as we traveled to a wedding about an hour away for 2 of our fellow YWAMer’s on Saturday, then drove another 4 hours to Nicoya. Heidi just completed her DTS, and Isaac is on staff but just finished his Children at Risk School and Outreach. The wedding was so beautiful, and it was really neat to see how God brought these 2 faithful people together. There were about 250 people there, most of whom were YWAMer’s.
Nicoya was wonderful, even though it was considerably warmer than the weather we are used to here in San Jose. We went from wearing beanies and jackets, to tank tops and shorts. It’s been pretty chilly here, and apparently it’s never this cold at this time of the year. One of my teammates mentioned that he believes that God is preparing us for Germany with the weather here in San Jose. Some of the German missionaries went home for several weeks and have returned saying that it is very cold there.

I really enjoyed this weekend in Nicoya which is in the Guanacaste province. It was absolutely beautiful as we were surrounded by huge mountains. We were out in the middle of nowhere, like out in the country, but with hint of jungle. For the first time ever, all 3 YWAM bases here in Costa Rica got together to fellowship for the weekend. There were a ton of kids, and since there were so many of us, some folks camped on the property in tents. We had a BBQ Sunday for lunch where the choice dish was pork smoked to perfection and deliciously seasoned. I rarely eat pork, but I decided to eat some to get full. They bought the pigs from a local farmer and slaughtered them the day before ( gross, I know).

A group of locals came by Sunday morning to take us on an optional hike, so I decided to go to get some good exercise. I was tired, as I had to be up at 6am to help with breakfast prep, I but knew it would be a great experience. I had no idea how hard the hike would be, but discovered later that the mountain was incredibly steep. I have never been on a hike for that long and on a mountain that steep, and I honestly was afraid that I was going to fall and hurt myself. We had an option to not go further at the first lookout point, and the guide told us that he had to go to work and needed to finish with us quickly, so he said we would not be able to stop the next leg of the hike. He warned us that it was really steep, but I wanted to go anyway. Well, I wasn’t prepared to hike fast and steep since I am not an experienced hiker, nor am I in great physical shape. However, I really wanted to take on the challenge, and almost had a heart attack a few times when I slipped, but… I made to the top!!!!!!! (The guides had machetes, and one cut me a good sized stick to give me some leverage. It was super helpful, but your legs are still doing a lot of work.) The view was amazing, and totally worth the trip! As Pedro (teammate) and I reached the top of the mountain, one of our friends said, “Vale la pena!” ( worth the pain!) I took a few pics, but they don’t compare to the live view! What a blessing to see God’s handiwork from the top of a mountain that we climbed!

 I was also totally stoked to see monkeys for the first time here on the way to the mountain. They were just sitting on tree branches way up high, and once we started making some noises, they talked to us. They were really cute, but too high up to get good pictures. While we were hooting and hollering at the monkeys one of the ladies on the hike yelled at us from up ahead to be quiet, as the locals heard bees. They told us to walk quietly past the area where they believe they heard African Killer Bees! I immediately got quiet and my heart jumped to my throat!! I have spent way too much time watching Animal Planet, and I knew these bees are extremely dangerous. Thanks to God, we left the area without seeing one bee.
 


 

Another group wasn’t so lucky later that day. A large group, including several kids went to see some local waterfalls. I wanted to go, but was wiped out after hiking for over 3.5 hours. We were on our way to eat dinner, when we were informed that the group had encountered a hive ( still not sure if they were bees or wasps), and several people were stung, including a few that were stung over 4 times. I think one little girl got stung 7 times! Evidently it was pretty scary, because the kids were the ones who came upon the hive first and started screaming. Their parents immediately ran ahead, but once they got there, they yelled for the rest of the group them to turn around and run the other way. It was really a dangerous situation, and apparently they group had to split, because they were not able to pass by the hive again since the trail was so narrow. Then, one group got lost, had to cross a river, and finally were able to find the other folks. As far as I know, everyone is ok, but are dealing with some swelling and itching. One of our staff here at the base was telling me today that she has some major swelling, so she may go to the doctor in a few days if the swelling doesn’t go down. Another staff member was going to take her kids, but at the last minute decided not to go. She was so glad that she listened to the Lord when He said not to go because she is highly allergic to bees and wasps.

The weekend was tiring (traveling by car makes me sooo tired!), but worth every minute! We had worship around a bonfire both nights, and the sky was absolutely gorgeous as we could gaze upon all the stars. We even had smores on Sunday night! God seemed to be aware of our songs, as we saw shooting star after shooting star. One of our teammates said she saw 33 shooting stars between the 2 nights! I enjoyed spending time with people, but I was so tired after the hike Sunday, I spent most of the day by myself. In addition, God was dealing with me about something( and loving on me too) , so I just wasn’t in the right mindset to be with people the whole weekend. That is one thing that is really hard about being with people 24/7. I love people, but sometimes, I just don’t have the energy to be with them. It’s hard to choose between God and people, especially here. Please pray that I would have a good balance of time with God and time with people.
More to come…

Getting ready for outreach

I have been so busy enjoying life here that I haven't blogged in a while...sorry! There is always something going on around here, not to mention all of the awesome people here on the base from all over the world! I am doing great for the most part, and trying to enjoy this season of my life to the fullest measure.

Friday night was really neat because I spent so much time in prayer. We are gearing up for outreach, so each night during dinner (from 6-7pm) we have prayer to cover our trip to Germany. I was so full of joy after praying Thursday and Friday night. We can either fast the nights we pray, or have the kitchen save us a plate and eat later. We have different stations including tables where we can write notes of encouragement to each other, and write down our fears for outreach, and then tear them up at the foot of the cross. There is also a station with a map of Germany and a map of Costa Rica where we can write prayers or scriptures for the perspective nation. We have an Operation World book at the station that gives several facts about the country and also lists some specific ways we can pray for the people there.

I also prayed with my both of my prayer partners, Carol and Ryan. Ryan is praying for me until we go on outreach, and Carol is my new partner until we complete outreach in Germany. She and I share how our day has gone, what we we are struggling with,what our praises are, and then pray. Then I had tea with my South Korean friend, and we prayed for each other. She prayed for me in her native tongue, and it was awesome!

This week is our last full week of classes, and we are learning about Evangelism. We learned today that evangelism starts with places of closeness with God ( i.e. hearing His voice). We have several teachers this week, 2 YWAM German missionaries from our base, one volunteer YWAMer from Switzerland, and and we are Skyping (webcam stream) with John Stenson, a YWAM staff member from Wisconsin.

Please pray for our team to be unified as we head into outreach. The enemy is trying to come between us in small ways, so pray that we see his schemes and talk our frustrations out with each other instead of gossiping, and becoming bitter.

That's all for now...

Relationships and kids ministry

Last Sunday 11/21

We had another busy week and weekend, and on top of that, I’ve had a sinus infection for about a week now. I was in bed most of the day today, and by the grace of God I managed to get some good sleep. My 9 roommates were not in the room most of the day, so I was so grateful for them allowing me to rest.

We had a great week on relationships with Marjolein, and really enjoyed the truths she shared even though I was convicted of my lack of humility and patience repeatedly. We discussed ways to cultivate humility, so I can reflect back on my notes and try to walk more humbly before God and people. We also talked about lustful desires, and I’m not just talking about sexual desires. If we do or want something all the time, that’s lust. Lust is a selfish decision, and it is not normal. I was convicted when she said that God takes it personal when we resist sin, or when we don’t. Also, by denying our lustful desires, we express our love to Him. Now, how was I to eat that Snickers candy bar in my room after that? I know that’s funny, but in all honesty I really struggle with food. It’s been hard here because if I’m not happy, chocolate is the best answer, right? Well, I want God to meet my needs, and for Him to be my Portion. This is just one of the many lessons I’m learning here.

We had a great time( my favorite thus far) working with kids last Thursday. We drove about 30 minutes to a school that was turned into a shelter for the last several weeks. You may have heard about the severe flooding and mudslides here about a month ago. People lost their lives and homes, so the Salvation Army is helping these families here in San Jose until the end of the year. I’m not sure where the families will go after that, but they cancelled classes at this particular school until then. Most of the parents were at work when we arrived, so the kids were ready for fun. We did a few skits and played several games with them. We also painted their sweet little faces, and one of my teammates gave the moms hand massages. I was asked to paint a teens nails because Jody was busy with massages. I can’t even remember the last time I painted someone’s nails or even my own for that matter. I didn’t have the option of saying no, and I was glad that I didn’t. It was such a simple thing to do for this sweet girl who had lost her home, and I wanted to make her look pretty. I didn’t want to paint her nails because I wasn’t going to do a perfect job. God told me to get over myself really quickly, and told me that she didn’t care if I didn’t do a perfect job. Both of us walked away smiling, having been blessed by one another.

I was amazed at how affectionate the kids were with us. Kids of all ages were hugging us and held our hands. They didn’t care who we were, they just wanted love. I was so touched by several kids, but one little girl asked if I could be her friend, and I just wanted to melt! She was just too precious! She took me to meet her baby cousin in one of the classrooms where we they were sleeping. I got to hold the baby and meet her mom and aunt. They said they lost everything, and didn’t know where they would go after the shelter closed. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what it was like to lose your home and have a 4 month old to care for.

Friday night we were supposed to leave for Jaco, a beach town, but leadership said they felt we not to leave until the morning. Just as our meeting was ending, we heard a loud noise outside, and then a woman started crying. She was on a motorcycle and evidently tried to pass a truck, and he hit her. She broke her leg, and was in immense pain. I will never forget the loud smack, then her crying. Several people from the base went outside to help. We have a nurse on base temporarily and she went out to give aid with another missionary who had been on a mercy ship with YWAM years ago. Our guys ran out and immediately started directing traffic around the accident. We all started praying when we heard her crying. Several students and staff stayed with her until the ambulance came, and even long after that to direct traffic. I went outside and could see her face, but I just couldn’t bare to view her leg. Some of the folks here spoke to her aunt and were able to pray with her. She was leaving her aunt’s house which is across from the base when the accident happened. We don’t know how she is doing at this point, but have a card for her, and a few people on the team are going to give her the card in the next few days. The aunt said she was so grateful for our people being there for her niece and for praying with her.

Our ministry Saturday in Jaco went well too. We had a blast playing with kids again. We went to an area of town where some Nicaraguan folks lived off a little river. We actually had to cross the river in our flip flops to get to the area where the kids were. The homes were just little shacks, but the people we met that lived there were full of smiles.

We got to go to the beach for a few hours after the kids ministry. It was so beautiful and sunny. I really needed this time away from the city and was able to relax in the sun. I rested in the shade too because it got quite warm and read a little of our last book during lecture phase called The Book that Transforms Nations: The Power of the Bible to Change any Country.

We left the beach and went to a small youth service about 4pm. We mingled with the teens who were mainly under 18, and listened to one of them preach for the first time. The pastor and his wife were super nice people, and they were excited for this young guy to give the message that night. We left there and went to a YWAM missionary home for dinner, then drove home.

Radical giving and Germany update

Sunday we went to Heredia (about 45 minutes from the base) to bring our skateboarding ramps and host a mini-skate contest. A new outdoor mini-theater opened that day, and the community had a several acts, including singing, dancing, martial arts. We just chatted with people that came out for the event, and I got to talk to several teens. I had a great and lengthy conversation with 2 girls who were cousins. There were a few Christians passing out tracts, so we talked about a tract they had received. I was able to share that they had to know Jesus personally, the options of heaven and hell, and how God had worked in my life. One of the girls found me on face book before I could request her as a friend, so I was stoked about that yesterday!!! We even met some guys from the USA who were a part of another missions organization called “Pura Vida Missions.” One guy was from Houston, and we found that we lived about 5 minutes away from each other! Small world, huh? We even have a mutual acquaintance in Kingwood, TX. He was trained as a paramedic by one of the science teachers in Humble ISD that was in my science collaborative!

I’m super excited to share about today, which was simply incredible! We had our 2^nd day of lectures on relationships with our teacher for the week, Marjolein ( also co-director of our base). I always perk up my ears when someone is talking about relationships because I don’t think you ever arrive at a point in your life where you don’t need wisdom in this area. We will always have to be around people, even if we live alone. We have to work and go to the store, don’t we? I for one have been challenged by living in community here, and sometimes feel like screaming! As most of you know, I love people, and spend a lot of my free time with people, especially teens. I am developing more patience with people than I ever thought I would, but I have also had to ask for forgiveness after I have snapped at some folks here. I really miss my apartment and was so blessed to have a home where I could rest, read, worship, pray, and just recharge in peace. However, God wants to purify me, and in order to get all the junk to bubble out, He has to turn up the heat! Ouch!!!!

This morning we spent a few hours in worship and giving. I have never witnessed such Spirit-led and sacrificial giving. One by one, staff and students in my DTS, gave away items such as chocolate, purses, scarves, t-shirts, cologne, money, and even a laptop and camera!!!! Some folks even offered to do another student’s work duties for the week. I was just amazed at how each person walked in radical obedience.

One our brothers had his camera and iPOD stolen on Sunday. He had a such a great attitude, even though he was bummed about losing 2 of his most valuable possessions. He had been praying with a staff member for the last 2 days for God to provide a way for him to buy another camera. We also had 2 prophetic words, one for him and another for a staff worship leader. Well, the girl said that God was going to give him the money to get a new camera, and the within 30 minutes or so, he was given a camera!! One of girls had a really nice camera like the one he had, but she gave him a second camera she brought. She left the room again, and came back with the professional camera, and said God gave me a dream about giving him that camera instead!! We also had a young gal give her laptop to an older lady on our team. She went up to her room, and as soon as she walked though the door, God said give her the laptop! She was like, what??? Well, she gave our sister the laptop, and of course, a big hug. Our sister was crying, and was so shocked. She told us later that she had a laptop of that same brand, but it was stolen in Spain years ago. She said she actually wanted this which was a little smaller than the one she bought. Several people gave money towards outreach, and within minutes about $6,000 was donated!! We now need just over $13,000 for Europe!!! God just blew us away today and there were a lot of hugs, praises, tears, and shouts of joy!! He continues to out do Himself here, and He is growing our faith by leaps and bounds.

Personally, I received a bag of plantain chips with a little note on it. The giver received a verse from the LORD for me and it was Deuteronomy 28:12-14. It talks about how God will open up the heavens and bless the work of my hands. Look it up, it’s awesome!!! I was also blessed by a sweet guy in our group when he said he wanted to pray with me everyday. He told me “ I know how much you like for people to lay hands on you and pray for you.” He’s the guy who had his camera stolen, and I’m so impressed by this 18 yr. olds heart. My last gift was the best! The married couple on our team said they would give up their room at 7pm once a week so I can go to bed early! I have been so tired here, so just blew me away, and I know that God has heard my cries for more sleep!!! YEAH!!!!!!!! I will get to sleep in their room every Tuesday, except for this week, I’m going to sleep there tomorrow night! ( she will sleep in my bunk, and he will sleep in a bunk with some of the guys who have an extra bunk in their container.) This couple has been such a blessing to our team, and are wonderful young people of service and faith! I had bought a purse from the July DTS fundraiser the first week we were here, and one of the sweet girl here, said it was beautiful. I felt like I was supposed to give it to her at the end of our training, but I was asking God what He wanted me to give todya, and He reminded of the purse. I gave her the purse, but she had also received a purse from another girl right before I handed her mind. She was so overwhelemnd and cried and hugged me tightly. I know this is not the only thing that I am to give while I'm here because the Lord has been speaking to me about being generous despite the fact that I have no job. Now that's living by faith, right??? I know He will provide for me when I run out of funds, or He may just mulitply my bank account so I never run out!  He does math a little bit differently than we do, and someone out there can testify to this with me!!!!
We found out today that we are going to Jaco this weekend, probably Friday night to so some ministry there that night and Saturday. We will be leaving for Germany on Dec. 30^th and return to the base on 2/7/2011, the day after my 32^nd birthday. I am so excited to spend my birthday in Europe! We will spend our first week in Frankfurt, but don’t have set plans for the rest of our time there yet. We may stay in Germany the whole time, or travel to another country if God opens a door.

I am excited to get to travel a little more next month. We will get to go to 3 new places in the country, one of which is NIKO camp in the jungle. I’m excited to go, but heard that it’s a super intense week. I will remind you for more prayer that week!!!

God Bless and thanks for your prayers! I forgot to share the verse God gave me at McCafe last Saturday when He wouldn’t allow me to access the wi-fi. Psalm 57:2 says, I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills His purpose for me.

PRAISE HIM, FOR HE HEARS OUR CRIES, AND DESIRES TO FULFILL HIS PURPOSES IN OUR LIVES!!!

May His peace be with you!!

His Masterpiece

To begin, I want to share my Facebook post from this evening ( sorry for the repeat FB friends, but some of my followers don't have facebook). Go ahead, laugh, it's funny. But really think about how jealous our God is for us. He's jealous for us, not of us.( Oprah is confused on this) Why, you ask? Because He knows nothing else we seek will satisfy, nothing else will do. He alone is our portion. ( Psalm 73)

I went 2 McCafe yesterday 2 use free wi-fi & work on my journal. A group from my team went
there a few hours before me, came back, & said that God was telling them 2
spend time w/Him, so He wouldn't allow them access to wi-fi. They said if u need 2
spend time w/ God, then the wi-fi will not work for u. The wi-fi only worked for 1 of the girls on our team and other random customers. So, u guessed it, wi-fi didn't work for me either, but it worked for other customers? I had a great time with my God, & when I returned, we all laughed. Our God loves us so much that He would mess up our pc's so we would have 2 spend time with Him! You gotta love it!

Destiny by Design

This week we had the privilege of going through the “Destiny by Design” workshop with a very enthusiastic YWAM missionary here in Costa Rica by the name of David Wright. I was super excited to hear what God had to say through David, and was hoping to have a better idea of what God wanted me to do after my training here. The first day was the most eye-opening for me. David gave us time to ask God about what we were inclined to do when we were little. I was able to remember some of my inclinations as a child, and they brought a smile to my face. I remembered that I loved to play with Cabbage Patch Kids, Barbie dolls, and anything I could love on. My mom also reminded me that I loved Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy this weekend. The desire to love deeply is still so much a part of me, and I love to love on people and animals. I was created to nurture and care for people, and want to work with children in some capacity next year.

David said that so many times we make our calling complicated, when we can just look at what we liked to do as kids. Winston Churchill enjoyed developing strategies and playing war games as a child. As we know, he became the Prime Minister of Great Britain during WWII, and is known as one the greatest military strategist in history.

Each day, we went through the acronym “DESIGN.”

Dreams
Experience
Soul print (personality)
Identity
Gifts
Networks

What’s next?
I’m praying about working for about 3-4 months( thinking about substitute teaching) when I return in February, then working at an orphanage in Central or S. America for the summer. I would like to return to Costa Rica, or attend a YWAM Bible Core Course in another location in the fall. Then in 2012, I would like to work full-time as a missionary with orphans or children at risk. I will be praying about these plans to see if they are just my dreams or God’s dreams for me. Please keep me in your prayers about this and feel free to ask me any questions.

I will sign off for now, but wanted to leave you with this poem I wrote inspired by Psalm 139 and this week's lectures. God Bless!

His Treasure

God said, “You were created special by Me.”

I said,“So why can’t I see?”

Then He told me, “You are precious in my eyes.”

I replied,“ Why can’t I see that I’m a prize?”

He said, “You are my beloved, one of a kind.”

I replied, “ Please Lord, help me to understand this in my mind.”

God said, “I loved you before you were born.”

I said, “Even before the first morn’?”

“Yes, my darling,” He replied.

I smiled at Him, then sighed.

I really am a treasure.

Then my Creator replied, “Yes, your worth is beyond measure!”

Destined for great things

Trying to catch you up...

I wanted to share a few things about our week on the Father heart of God which was 3 weeks ago. We had the privilege of being taught by a very godly man with an amazing father’s heart. Jack Kody lives in South Carolina and travels to teach for YWAM mostly in Central America. We got to meet his wife who came with him for a week before our lectures to teach a marriage conference. They have 4 kids and I loved the way he talked about them. He was like a big teddy bear, and was our dad for the week. He not only taught us the Father heart of God, but he demonstrated it. He took our who class bowling and then for ice cream. Yes, he paid for all of us, staff and students. He also had ice cream brought in for us the next day during one of our lectures. He said his goal for the week was to touch our hearts, and he succeeded in my book! It truly is amazing to think about how much our Father loves us. We talked about how we saw God because of image of Him will impact the way we: read the Bible, talk to Him, treat others, treat the devil, etc. One key thought I will always remember is the Bible is a book of relationships, not formulas. He is huge, and he sits on His throne and puts His feet on the Earth! Why is it that we think we can use formulas on God? It’s kind of like us taking orders from an ant. Pretty funny huh?

Local Outreach
I have enjoyed the local outreaches we have done in the last few weeks. We went back to the University of Costa Rica and talked with some students about the Gospel. I went with a girl in our class named Valerie and we met some really sweet girls and had great conversations. I like to start talking to the students by asking them if they are from Costa Rica, what they are studying, how old they are, etc. About 7-10 minutes into the conversation, I ask them if they go to church. Most have said they go to Catholic church. We then talk about salvation and I ask them about the way to heaven. It’s pretty cool to hear some of the students, most of whom were freshman, say they go to church. They actually agree with us on doctrine, but may not have the personal relationship with Christ. The neat thing about talking to people here, is that they are open to talking about spiritual things, but the key is to be relational first, not just start talking about God.
We also did homeless ministry a few times, once with the Salvation Army, and once on our own. We got to serve the homeless breakfast at the Salvation Army, talk with them, and pray with some of them. When we went downtown last Thursday and took bread and coffee. We split up into groups of 3, and went to find a homeless man or woman to invite back to the park for refreshments. My heart just breaks for these people because most of them are so far removed from society. I did speak with some (at the Salvation Army )in English however, and was able to really understand their situation. One man spoke really good English, and he mentioned that he had a job, but was afraid he would lose it. He said he was involved in an accident at a previous job, and has minimal usage of one of his hands. He is in a position where he has to type and works with a lot of young people, and he was afraid that they would replace him with someone who could work faster. He was super nice and I got to pray with him before he left. When we went downtown my group found an older man, and talked with him for about an hour. He was quite the character and told me that I was a good person and said he wanted to marry me. I would love to marry a Costa Rican, but he was old enough to be my grandpa!!! I smiled and thanked him, and we all just laughed! He talked about many interesting things, but I think he was happy to have someone listen. He told us he was an angel too! Wow! I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when talking to him.
This week our lectures are on Destiny by Design. I am really excited about receiving insight into my God given purpose here on planet Earth. I have been praying about what to do after this school, and I think this week could give me the guidance I need to take the next step into my destiny. I will share more at the end of the week, but at this point, I feel led to work with children in some capacity. Tonight I’m excited about my small group with our teacher for the week. He is trying to help us process the material and we can ask him questions to get a better understanding of how God designed us.

Prayer requests

* My body needs healing. I think the lack of sleep, change in diet, etc. have finally caught up with me. I’ve been tired, but now all the changes are manifesting themselves in many ways in my body.

*That I would hear God’s voice and have time to seek Him the next several months on His purpose for my life.

* Our team needs over $20,000 for our outreach to Europe. I have all of my training and outreach paid for, but staff and students still need their support. We are working on some fundraiser ideas right now, one of which is with a local restaurant.

Thanks and God Bless!
Please e-mail or FB me your prayer requests!

We are in a war.... really!!!

We are learning about spiritual warfare this week. Our teacher for the week, Terry, is from a base here in Costa Rica. He is a really neat man, and actually lived in Texas for several years as a rancher with his wife. I went up to shake his hand today, to give him a nice Texas welcome, and he went to hug me. I told him I wanted to shake his hand first, then received his hug. He is super sweet, and a very godly man. He has done a great job this week, teaching us about the battle that is being waged 24/7 here on earth and in the heavenlies. We discussed the nature of satan today, because he said if we don't know our enemy and how he operates, we can't fight him. We looked at several scriptures that showed just who satan is. He is a deceiver, liar, full of pride, an accuser, a destroyer, a murderer, a thief, and well, you get the picture. I look forward to the last 3 lectures for the week to gain a better understanding of the war we are all in,whether we realize it or not!


I went on a long jog/walk today, and ate lunch later. It always feels so goo to exercise, and I take the opportunity any chance I get.

Today for our small groups, the 2 groups of girls were combined for a fun time at Vanessa's house(full-time missionary here on the base & my favorite teacher so far). It was nice to be in a real house and enjoy some fellowship with my sisters here. It was super relaxing and refreshing to chat and get to know people here better. Vanessa shared that almost all of their furniture was given to them by another missionary couple who had been here about a year, then were called back to the USA. They have a nice little apartment a few minutes from the base.

Prayer requests

*That I would get good sleep here. It's hard to sleep when I have so much to read and do, and then when I want to go to sleep, everyone else wants to chat right outside my room!. I really don't like being old sometimes!

* That I would build deep relationships with my team

*Team unity

I will post more later... sleep calls!!!

Sleep or Blog?

Okay, so I have been super busy, and I’m sorry for not posting. If it comes down to sleep or blogging, I will choose sleep 99% of the time! I do want to finish telling you about the most powerful week here so far, and then I will share a little more of what I have been doing for the last 2 weeks in the next several days. I also want to give you a disclaimer for the next few paragraphs. If you don’t like to hear about vomiting, then have someone read this, and tell you about it. I didn’t mention any details, just the word a few times. I don’t mean to offend you by telling details of my life here, I just want to be real with you.

2 weeks ago…
We cut soul ties as a group around a campfire. We wrote down the names of people who hurt us, said their names aloud (some also said what the people did to hurt them) and broke ties with the hurt they caused us. I don’t think it was a coincidence that just minutes before class, I started to feel sick to my stomach and I felt like I was going to vomit. It came out of no where, and I sat in class until I thought I was going to hurl. I can’t remember how long its been since I have felt that gross. I told one of the staff that my stomach was upset, and that I may have to leave. She said that it might be spiritual warfare, and it made sense since it came on so quickly. I really needed to cut soul ties, and experience freedom, so I know the powers of darkness wanted to “take me out” at that time. I left class and went to the restroom where I didn’t even know what end to put near the toilet, but I decided to sit. After my RR visit, I went to the fridge to get the Sprite I had bought the day before when I kind of felt some uneasiness in my stomach. Another coincidence? I don’t think so! I took the Sprite up to my room and sat near the trash can on a roomie’s bed, and prayed that God would heal me. I went to the RR again, and still felt awful, and at this point, I had the chills, and was shaking a little. I decided to tell Mar, one of the base directors, that I was not feeling feel, and would be in my room if the DTS staff was looking for me. She asked me to sit down next to her in the dining hall, where she was listening in on a marriage conference that our base was hosting for the week. They just went on a break, so she asked me what was wrong, and asked if she could pray for me. I said yes, of course, and she immediately began praying intensely for me. I told her I felt like I could vomit any minute, just so she would know that I might be running to the RR, even in the middle of prayer. I told her that I didn’t want to throw up, and she prayed that I wouldn’t. She laid hands on me and asked for the sickness to leave my body in Jesus’ name. About halfway through the prayer, Anabel, one of my leaders came in and was praying for me as well. She moved a trash can next to me, at Mar’s request. Mar said that she normally doesn’t tell people what she was about to tell me , but she felt very led to do so. She said something along the lines of, “I think you need to confess something, and you will feel better.” I can’t remember exactly what she said, but it was really good. I told her I think I need to forgive my family for past hurts, even from childhood, but I didn’t know how. She encouraged me to start praying, so I did. I was crying, and it was difficult to let go of those feelings of hurt and rejection, but as I did so, I felt better. After I prayed for a few minutes, she said, I think you need to be with your family ( DTS team), and she walked me outside to the campfire.

 My family had already written down the names of the people they wanted to cut soul ties with, and were confessing them aloud in front of our group and leadership. I borrowed some paper and a pen from a teammate, and began to write down all the names of people who had hurt me. The more names I wrote down ,the better I felt. Mar asked me if I was okay, and I said yes, “ I feel so much better”, and she went back inside. Within a matter of minutes, I felt completely normal, and the sickness had left my body. ( By the way, I never threw up!!!!) The real freedom moments came, though, as I cut soul ties with those who had hurt me including family, friends, and boyfriends in front of my team. When I cut soul ties, I just cut the bad ties that I had with people, it doesn’t mean that I’m never going to talk to them again. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of me, and it felt great to be free. Most of us went in front of the group more than once, and after we said the names and offenses aloud, we threw the paper into the fire! YEAH!!! Each of us was told to say this as well: I AM FREE or SOY LIBRE!
　
We finished the week of Plumb Line with a bang, as another of our family members was delivered from an evil spirit. I did get his permission to share his testimony, but I won’t mention his name. He is from Central America, and is 20 years old. I could not believe what my new friend had been through, and my heart just broke as he shared his story. His older brother was a homosexual and sexually abused him for years. This brother had even allowed his friends to sexually abuse him. His brother told him that he was gay too, and as result he was sexually immoral with other men. He was made fun of at school and beaten up by bullies. He also grew up with a father who never told him that he loved him, because he wanted to have a baby girl instead of a boy. My new friend had suffered so much rejection and injustice in his life, and we would all agree that he had every right to be angry. He even met with a witch at some point and made a pact with Satan to get revenge on all of the people who had hurt him However, by making the pact with Satan and the sexual sin he committed, he had opened a door for a demon to possess him. We discovered later that he had been inhabited by a spirit of death, and desperately needed to be set free and healed. He even mentioned that he was being tormented by this demon while he was here. The demon told him to go to the pharmacy and buy some pills. He said he didn’t have money to buy the pills, but when he went inside the pharmacy, the exact amount of money was on the floor. WOW! This demon was really trying to kill him!!! He said he kept hearing the demon tell him to take the pills, but he eventually threw them into a ditch and went back to the base. Like the other demons, this demon was throwing him around, and the demon yelled several times, “El es mio” ( he is mine). My friend finally had his deliverance about an hour or so later he vomited, and the demon was released. I know this sounds really crazy, but I witnessed everything. I’m not trying to freak or gross you out, but I am sharing this story to show you 2 things:

1) the power of our Risen King in dealing with the power of darkness!!!!
2) the power and reality of the spirit realm
If we are in Christ, we have no need of worrying about anything like this happening to us. We are sealed in Christ, if we have received Him as Savior AND Lord(Ephesians 1:13-14, John 10:28-29). We have to give Him full reign over our lives, not just believe He's God. If you are not sure you have done this, ask me or your local Christian who is sold-out for Jesus! My e-mail is boudreaux97@hotmail.com

More to come soon on local outreaches, etc!

　
　
　

The Divine Plumb Line

I have to offer my sincere apologies for not posting all of last week. I know that some of you really like to know what’s going on here, but last week was the most intense week of my training. We were busy all day, and then 3 of our weekday nights we had something scheduled as well. I don’t even know where to begin, but I’m going to start with last Sunday.

I have been trying to go to Auto Mercado here for a while now, and I finally got a friend in the other school here to take me. This store sells a lot of American brands, so I was curious to see if I could find any gluten free items. Amanda and I walked there and it’s about a 15-20 minute walk to Plaza del Sol, so we had some great conversation on the way. The super market was nice and extremely pricy, but I found some new things to snack on. We had a great time at El Panino, a little restaurant that serves great coffee, tea, and sandwiches. Amanda had coffee and she recommended an all natural tea with fruits and spices for me. The tea was delicious, and it was nice to get off base and have a deep conversation with a new friend. I was so blessed by her, and enjoyed getting to know her a little better.
As for our classes last week, they were based on The Divine Plumb Line, Forgiveness, Soul Ties, and Authority. The Divine Plumb Line teaching is based on Amos 7:7-8, and it was developed years ago by a YWAMer. When constructing buildings, builders use a plumb line to see if they are building straight. In the same way, God uses a plumb line to see if His people are lined up with His word. We are either living passively in sin (rejection) or actively in sin ( rebellion) The only way to “line up” with Him is humility.
As a part of this teaching we discussed many lies we believe, and sins that we have committed as a result of those lies. We spent the last 3 days of our week in public confession, cutting soul ties, and forgiving others. The public confession started on Wednesday, and it was a little awkward at first, but it was so good. Our primary teacher for the week, Vanessa, led us in the public confession. Basically, she would say if you have ever …, then stand up, and repeat after me. We did this first in English, then in Spanish. We got though the first two on the list Wednesday, only confessing sexual sin and sins having to do with the magic arts, witchcraft, new age, palm reading, horoscopes, etc. It was very humbling for me to stand up in front of others, and I was surprised at how many of use struggle with the same things. Well, we didn’t get very far because 2 of my teammates really needed some additional time of repentance, including one girl who had been housing a demon for quite some time. She was fighting this demon, and trust me, it was quite the struggle. After over an hour, I heard this demon say, “what about the others?” It was hard for me to believe that this sweet little girl had something that ugly living in her. I can’t imagine how much she had been tormented by these demons, and we kept worshiping, praying, speaking scripture over her, and a few primary staff spoke to the legion of demons to come out of her. The really awesome part was when some of our team picked her up and carried her to the cross. You guessed it, the demons didn’t like this at all, and they fought them tooth and nail. If you have never seen someone possessed by a demon, you may not know that they can violently throw the person all over the place, so several people had to stay with her, so she wouldn’t get injured. The girl said she only remembered about 20% of what happened, but she had to make a decision to accept Christ as Lord to fight this legion, and that’s what she finally did. Praise God, after much prayer and quite the battle, she gave her life to Christ, and the demons had to flee. Praise God for her deliverance, and new birth. That afternoon we baptized her and several others in a canoe that we filled with water outside our classroom. Vanessa wanted to baptize her that day, and the canoe was the best option to do so. She even told Toni, our DTS leader, that she wanted him to buy a cake and have a birthday party for our new sister, and have a “birthday” party for her and the others that were baptized. As you can imagine, Wednesday was a super tiring and emotional day. We even danced some Salsa and Merengue, and played games. Latinos really know how to party and that is just one of the many reasons I love it here!

I will post more later!

Busy girl!

This is just a quick note to let you know that I have been super busy the last few days! I'm sorry for not posting, but this week is an intense week for us, and I will post some new stuff soon. I'm not going to promise a certain day, because I may not be able to post until things let up around here. Sleep and God take priority! Be praying for us as we confess literally all of our junk and bring it into the light this week! Let the healing begin!!!

The Secret Place

I can’t believe I’ve been here for 2 weeks! Wow, how time flies when you are having fun and growing in Jesus! The last few days have been great, and it’s been beautiful here! Thursday morning we had a some instruction time, and then our teacher let us process what we have learned in groups. We really are receiving so much information in a given class period that my brain hurts! We are hearing English, then Spanish, or vice versa, so that probably doesn’t help my little brain that is trying to translate and learn God’s Word! It was nice to be able to take time to reflect on my notes, then hear what a few of my teammates are learning too.

Thursday afternoon was our first local outreach ( cruzada in Espanol). We walked to the University Costa Rica to chat with students. I wanted to go to the school of education because I figured I could relate to students who want to teach. We were in groups of 3-4, but most students in that area were in groups of 2 or sitting alone. I stayed in the general area of my group, but went to talk to 3 different ladies who were sitting alone. I wasn’t about to miss an opportunity because my group was shy! I love witnessing to random people in the USA, even though sometimes I get really nervous. I spoke mostly in Spanish except for my last conversation. Most students learn English in HS here, but they don’t have anyone to practice with, so they lose it. They have some English in college, if they go, but again, they don’t practice it often enough to retain it. I had some great conversations and one lady I met was Melissa, a 30 year -old pre-school teacher, who was expecting her first baby. She was really nice, and we talked for about 15 minutes. I found out she was Catholic and attends church regularly. She said she even did a weekly bible study typically, but was just too busy right now with work, doing school, and was tired from the baby-to-be. She said that it was hard to find a teaching job in Costa Rica and the pay wasn’t very good. I talked with one girl (forgot her name) who was very nice but it was obvious she wanted to study, so I let her do so. The last girl I met was named Susana. She was by far the friendliest girl I met. She is 22 year old, and is studying English and Nutrition, but she was waiting for her cousins outside the Education building. I asked her how long it had been since she came to this area, and she said it had been about 6 months ago. I smiled, for I knew she was a divine appointment. I asked her if she thought that it was a coincidence that we met today, and she said “Yes.” I told her I didn’t think it was a coincidence. I didn’t go straight for the Gospel with her because I felt I was supposed to build a friendship with her first. She spoke excellent English, but she was really hesitant to speak English at first because she said was embarrassed. I told her not to worry, because I feel the same way when I speak Spanish. I told her we might come back to that campus and asked for her phone number. She wanted to give me her e-mail instead, so I took that down. I’m going to invite to her and maybe her cousins to our family night on Wednesday. Please be praying for all of these ladies, that they would come to know Jesus personally, if they don’t already know Him. Especially be praying as I will be e-mailing Susana tonight or tomorrow.

I had my first one-on-one with my staff partner Rosella at lunch Thursday. She is so amazing and is genuinely interested in getting to know us. We will meet weekly, and it can be for as long as I want. She asked me how I’m doing, how things were going with my roommates, what I was learning, etc. I really am going to enjoy meeting with her, and have wanted a consistent mentor/friend/accountability partner for a while now. I just love YWAM and how they do ministry. No wonder they are all over the world, changing lives for eternity! I love that YWAM is so biblical, and operate in excellence.

Friday we learned about the Secret Place. Where is the Secret Place? I’m so glad you asked!!! It’s in your heart! The Secret place is a place of transformation! Did you know that you are the only one who can come between you and God? You are a powerful person! God gave you the free will to make decisions. God could have just made us love Him, couldn’t He? He is our Creator after all? Who wants someone to be forced to love them? God is the same way, He wants us to choose Him.

Some notes from Thursday &Friday that you might enjoy:

* You are a spiritual house that needs to be filled with God’s Spirit, so that He can fill you with all the treasures from His heart.
*There is power in the spoken word, and those words create faith. Don’t speak words over yourself because we destroy our own faith by declaring it over ourselves. The enemy cannot hear your thoughts, so don’t say negative things aloud.
* How to Experience Intimacy with God- Have Faith, Radical obedience- awakens your heart, brings life, Holiness
* The purpose of intercession is relationship!
* When you look down on intercession, you look down on the very job that Jesus is doing!
* Vanessa said that if she has learned anything from the Christian life, it’s that we need to become professional repenters! “Repentance produces life!!!!


Today was filled with rest and work. I was up earlier than normal because I took a friends weekend duty. A group of folks were going bungee jumping today, and she wanted to go. They actually didn’t go today because the tremor( mild earthquake) created a mudslide in the area where they were going. I felt the tremor as I was talking to a German missionary here last evening. I didn’t know what it was, until she said it was an earthquake. I just thought someone was shaking the couch I was sitting on, or doing something crazy downstairs. I was totally ignorant of what was going on, even though I felt a tremor when I was here in March. I just love to feel the power of the tremors. It reminds me of how small I am, and how big God is. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, I just think they are freaking awesome! Praise God the plates below us are releasing some stress every so often, because if they didn’t do that, we would have a major earthquake here. From what I understand, the last big earthquake in this area was in January of 2009. My church did some work in the “earthquake zone” when they came last year, and when we came in march, we traveled to the earthquake to help paint a church there. The earthquake was devastating, so there was still some damage we noticed as we traveled there
.
Other things I did today:  took a nap after my morning duties, spent some good time with God (a group left for another city for the afternoon so it was quiet...yeah!) went for a jog, then did more dishes for dinner.

Well, it’s getting late, and I am going to get ready for bed. God Bless and let me know how you are doing and how I can pray for you!
Love,
Stephanie

Eternal Destiny

Ok... sorry I didn't post this last night! The wi-fi shuts down at 11pm, and I didn't have time to post.
To change things up a bit, I am going to start out on a more spiritual note. Don’t fret, I will be funny later! J
The last 2 days of classes have been full of profound ( at least to me) revelations. I have discovered that I know so little of God’s love for me, and for the world. I took some time to journal and meditate on my notes last night, and still feel that God is moving them from head knowledge to heart knowledge. My prayer is that He would continue to transform my mind, and then ultimately my heart during this time.
One thing we discussed was eternal life. What is eternal life? Is it something we only experience when we die? Eternal life is simply to know Jesus. This is straight from the Son Himself. John 17:3 says:“ And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. Eternal life is about relationship with the lover of Your soul. So what is our eternal destiny then? Your eternal destiny = unbroken communion with God. As Beth Moore says, we were created out of fellowship( of the Trinity) for fellowship ( with God and others).We are smack dab in the middle of the Trinity, the most incredible relationship…ever!!! The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit live and love in perfect harmony. Each is a lover and a beloved. Think about that! The angels are God’s servants, and don’t even get to enjoy the benefits of this relationship. I love what Vanessa said today about the reason behind the Trinity. There is so much in His heart and mind, He had to divide it up! We also learned today that just as God has 3 identities, so do we. Each “person” of the Trinity has a specific function, and each have specific gifts to give. With God as Father, we are His son or daughter. With God as Son, we are His lover/bride. Finally, with God as Spirit, we are a minister of reconciliation. We are called to reconcile the world to God, just as the Holy Spirit is reconciling us to God! WOW!

A few noteworthy quotes from today’s class:

*God is more interested in You and your character, than what you do for Him.

*We need to keep worshipping, because worship brings revelation.

I could share so much more, but I would be typing all night! I’m sure that you will be chewing on these truths for a while anyway, just like yours truly! As you can see, I’m so blessed to be here, learning more about our infinite God. ( Please note all of the truths above were imparted to me from this week’s teacher, Vanessa.) This is only the second week of classes, and I’m already being challenged incredibly. Can you imagine what’s going to happen in the next 4 months? I can’t!!! Just pray that I will have an open heart, open ears, and an open mind to receive all that God has for me. I don’t want to miss a single word!
So I picked up my laundry yesterday, and it appears that the cleaners did a great job.
I haven’t tried on all of my clean clothes yet, but I’m hoping they didn’t shrink too much. I rarely dry my clothes all the way, so I am afraid that some items shrunk. I guess I will find out later. I was a itching quite a bit last night after putting on some clean clothes, so I hope I’m not sensitive to the detergent they use. I could’ve touched something or ate something that didn’t agree with me either. I was talking to Val, one of the staff here, and she said if I had to do my laundry here at the base ( considering the washing machine was actually working, it‘s broken more than it‘s operating), it would have cost me about the same amount. She said I would’ve done 2 loads in the washing machine and 2 in the dryer, because overloading the washing machine is what makes it break. I felt better about spending a little over $7 on my laundry after talking to her.
I had a crisis happen today that I thought you should be aware of: I ran out of peanut butter! I went to my favorite store ( so far), and they hand a small jar of peanut butter, so I read the label to check for gluten. Sure enough, there was “harina de trigo (wheat flour)” listed in the ingredients, and I became frustrated. I asked my friends with me, is there really a reason to put wheat in peanut butter? I couldn’t believe it! I’m going to try another store this weekend, and if I can’t find GF peanut butter, I’m going to ask someone to please send me some!

I was excited yesterday because we had our first small groups yesterday. Since there are 11 ladies, we have 2 groups, and the guys (8) have 1 group. Our leaders took us to a nearby park where we talked about our feelings about the first week or so, what God is teaching us, etc. This is not a structured time, so it will be nice to get away every Tuesday afternoon, and chat with my sisters. Next week, they said we will go for ice cream or coffee. It’s good to get off the base every now and then, according to the staff here. One of the leaders mentioned she was just emotionally exhausted. The other leader, Rosella, said it was so good for her to talk with us. It amazes me that no matter how spiritually mature we are, we still need each other. We are here to meet their needs too, it just didn’t occur to me at first. Rosella is also my “one on one.” We will meet each week for a brief time to talk about what is going on in my life, what God is teaching me etc. I’m really excited to have a “mentor”, and spend some quality time with her. She is a super sweet girl, and I look forward to encouraging her too.
Additionally, I have really been enjoying reading the YWAM story, Is that really You, God, by Loren Cunningham. His story is truly amazing, and God spoke so clearly to him about every aspect of this ministry. I am blessed by how biblical this organization really is, and even though it’s been a difficult transition, I’m slowly getting used to life here. My team is becoming my family. Please continue to pray for me as I transition to life here. God is so good to allow me this time to get to know Him, to rest in Him, and to be healed and restored. I wish you all could see God’s work in my Houston friend Kevin. He is truly a miracle, and has been healed incredibly from his messed up past of drugs and alcohol. God is doing mighty things in this place, and I’m not going to be the exception! Amen!!

The weekend & Intimacy with God

This weekend was nice and relaxing. We may have activities or ministry some Saturdays, but this weekend we had free time. I originally planned on doing laundry on Saturday, but the washing machine is still not working. I wanted to go for a walk as well, but a friend on the base said, " oh just say pura vida" ( pure life), and worry about it later. So, I did, and went to eat Mexican and hang out with some girls on my team and one of the cool staff girls, Anabell. We had fun, and it was nice to get off the base and see the city. I am still a little hesistant about eating here on the base, so eating out worried me just a tad bit more. Praise the Lord, I haven't had any issues that aren't out of the ordinary for a change in diet. The beans eventually catch up to most folks here, if you know what I mean. :)

 I ended up taking my clothes to the cleaners up the road today. It is a little more than double than it would cost doing it here on the base, but I do not want to wash clothes by hand again. I washed my clothes in a bathtub all summer in Spain 7 years ago, and I for one, enjoy technology, and don't want to do that ever again in this lifetime! I am going to wash some items by hand, but I think I can make better use of my time but having someone else do most of my laundry. I did not give them my favorite jeans because I want to see how they do with my t shirts and shorts. I am also all about supporting local businesses here.

Church was nice yesterday. We walked to church, and it was so beautiful to see the mountains surrounding the city on a clear day. It took us about 8 minutes to get there and we were there about 2 hours. The pastor spoke on prayer, and one of our teammates is a former HS Spanish teacher, so she translated for us. It was a good word, and then he wanted us to practice, so we got into groups and prayed. I prayed with the translater, Jody, and a native named Janet. She was getting married for the second time next year, so I got to pray for her and her upcoming marriage. I ate a protein bar once we got back from church and then got ready to go for a walk and to the store. I got some good exercise in, then went to the store. As I posted on Facebook yesterday, the store was busy, just like it is in the U.S. on Sundays. I found some tuna that said it was gluten free in Spanish, so that was exciting. I bought some bananas, tortillas, yogurt, mayo, lactose free milk, and a few of my new favorite sweet cakes made from corn. The little cakes are not very sweet at all, but they hit the spot, along with some milk, when I want a little something sweet.
  
I forgot to mention that we just lost a few classes on the base because the Bible Core Class just finished, and the July DTS team just left for NIKO camp. We will do this camp our 12^th week here. It’s interesting not having all the folks around here like we did the first week. I made some friends, and then they left. I have made friends from all over the world in a little over a week! I have friends now from Norway, New Zealand, Germany, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Mexico, Canada, and all over the USA. I met one sweet girl who was living in Pittsburgh, PA, and we discovered this as we were on the computer. She is 21, and her name is Debbie. Most of the girls on base are 18-24, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know many of them who are quite extraordinary for their age. I hope to love on and mentor these girls in the coming months.

Today we started classes along with the only other school on base right now on the topic of Intimacy with God. WOW! Vanessa is staff here and she is a very charismatic and passionate teacher. (All of my classes are in Spanish and English by the way.) I am so excited about learning more Spanish! I learned so much about the love of God that I can’t even begin to process the information. I came to the conclusion today that I don’t know anything about the love of God. I really look forward to learning more this week, and then hopefully sharing what I can comprehend! I pray that this is one of many topics that will totally redefine the way I think about the attributes or things of God.

Please keep me in your prayers as my teammates and I are still not on the same page as far as when we go to bed. This has been really frustrating for me becuase I want and need my sleep.

More later...

Thoughts on first week of classes and more of God

I can't believe the first week of classes is over! Yesterday was so amazing! We met at 8am and had worship lead by 3 of our guys. We didn't finish class until almost 3pm! We normally would retire at 12:30 for lunch, but God had other plans. Carole, who has just received the gift of prophecy this week, was up praying late again with 2 other girls from our group. As she prayed, they wrote on the board gifts/abilities that God was showing her that each of us had received. We had this great time of commissioning our gifts and they were spoken over us in both Spanish and English. The following were spoken over me: clarity, loved by God, and faithful.At the beginning of our time together, Carole came and sat down by me, and asked if she could share something with me. I said yes, of course, and she proceeded to tell me that there was a lot of confusion in my life. Guess what, she was right on. Yesterday and a few days this week, I was thinking, " why am I here"? It felt like my mind was being invaded, and all the things I knew and believed were being questioned.I've wanted to do something like this since I returned from Spain in 2002. Additionally, God had obviously ordered my steps so intricately to get me here and had provided more than enough funds to take care of me during this training, So why am I doubting His plans, His ways? No doubt, it's the enemy and his legions trying to distract me from the awesome things God wants to do in me and through our team.

The staff here have never seen a DTS (Discipleship Training Class) quite like ours. God has been moving in our hearts, tearing down idols and breaking us, and healing us incredibly all in such a short time.We have only received about a lecture and a half that was planned by staff this week, because God just told them to step out of the way.Yesterday was beyond words. The guys were commissioned first and our leader Toni, told them that they were our shield, our brothers, and they were going to help heal wounds in us that were from our childhood. They were going also be like our fathers, and love us deeply while we are here. As Toni was speaking, 2 girls started weeping and they were crying hard and loud, in a matter of a few minutes. Before long, several girls, including me, were crying, but I was crying because of the other girls pain.We all have hurts from our past, and Toni was being used bu\y God to just bring some healing to those wounds. I was hugging girls and praying for them as they cried. But it didn't take me long to cry about some of my past hurts, and Toni came up behind me and prayed for me. He prayed that I am accepted by God, just as I am, that I am beautiful, and many other things that I can't remember, but my heart can. He also told the guys on our team to come give us hugs, and just affirm us. So when I turned around, I just embraced him and he embraced me as well. He held onto me so tight, and I could truly feel God's love affirming me and healing me. I cried hard, and Toni didn't let go. I am just amazed at what God did with many of us, and how brave our young guys are. We prayed for them, that they would be brave warriors, and be leaders. The girls all got in a circle, and they surrounded us, and prayed over us.WOW, heh( we have several young people from Canada on our team so I'm saying "heh" more and more)?

God wasn't finished yet. One of our young girls, I believe she is 18, was crying so hard, she eventually was on the floor. Then, she started to move very abruptly, and aggressively. I am pretty sure she was being possessed by an evil spirit, and that the demon was throwing her around. I talked with another staff member, and he said that she was possessed by a demon as well. We prayed that evil spirit right out of her, and in several minutes, she was calm, and a few ladies were holding her, and continued to pray over her. As a side note, I believe that no one truly in Christ can be inhabited by a demon. Anyone possessed by demon cannot say Jesus is Lord. The Bible is clear about this & here are a few scriptures to back this up. Ephesians 1:13 says ," having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit". If God's "seals your salvation", ain't nobody getting you from Him ( bad grammer, I know)! John 10:28 says, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. I ran and grabbed my Bible, but I can't seem to find the other verse I wanted to share. I will post it later. I also wanted to say that I may be wrong about whether or not this girl was actually demon possessed, so please don't think I'm "sister super Christian" as Joyce Meyer says, and that I think I'm all that. I just call it like I see it. Praise the LORD, nonetheless, for so much healing and deliverance in our group. We also prayed over the staff and commissioned them with the gifts they received. We sang some more, and started dancing in a train around the room. Be assured, The kingdom of darkness was not celebrating as we were. Yesterdays score: God 1, Then Enemy 0. Alleluia!!!! ( And yes, we finally ate our cold lunch at 3pm!!)

Last night was more relaxed. We had a graduation ceremony for our Bible Core Class students and some praise and worship. That's one thing I love about this place: someone is always praising God. Pretty much all day, you here people singing in small groups or individually, or the worship team is practicing.  I ate dinner later since my stomach was upset, but they had already begun to sing, so I just ate and sang and danced all at the same time! I went to read a little in the prayer room, but the worship was still going on the next room, so it was great to still be able to listen. At one point, I heard "Happy Day", and came out and was watching from the second floor. Then one of my team mates motioned for me to come down and dance with them. So a whole bunch of us just jumped up and down and went crazy for Jesus! I love the freedom that I have in this place to just worship God and get excited about who He is, and what He has already done in my life and in the lives' of others, and what is He is currently doing here!

We also had a great time in our room last night as girls just giggling, listening to music, dancing, and chatting. We are truly becoming family, and it feels so good to have some family around in a foreign country when you don't know anyone.Well, I guess I kind of know one person. Kevin, a guy from my church, is here doing a second training, and it has been fun having a familiar face around. He came on the spring break trip in March as well with First Baptist.We have been trading food, because he is hungry all the time, and I can't eat the pasta, bread, sausage, etc.He gives me his salad, and then I eat some fruit and peanut butter when I don't get full. He even let me use his skpye account last night so I could call my folks! It was so good to talk to them after a whole week. That is difficult since I called home everyday when I was in the U.S.

Okay, I'm calling it a night on here. We are going to watch a movie as a team, so I want to get ready for bed before we meet.
PS Sorry about not posting pics, it's just been too crazy, and I have been so tired! I hope I can find time soon
!

The Presence of God

I never know where to start these posts, so I'm just going to talk about the weather! It's the rainy season here, and it really does rain a lot! Today, we had a really cool storm, and the thunder was super loud! It was awesome, but it really came down hard, and I was glad we went to the store after lunch!It definitely keeps it cool here, and it feels great! We don't have central a/c or heat here, so whatever is going on outside, we feel it. I think it was the 2nd or 3rd day I was here, and it rained super hard, and it got really cold! I wasn't expecting to sleep in my fleece here ( brought them for outreach in Europe), but I'm glad I have them! I went to the cheap store Pali today with some friends here, and it was a neat experience. The store is about 15 minutes away on foot. The corner market that is a bit closer, is called AM PM, and it's just like a mini mart/gas stations store, and it's really expensive. I was looking for some laundry soap, apples, bananas, and totally forgot to get yogurt! I just remembered that...AHHHHH! I can't eat the breakfast here most days, except the fruit. I brought some gluten free granola and was going to eat that with yogurt instead. I will have to go back I guess!!! We are pretty busy during the day, so it's hard to find time to go to the store, except after dinner maybe. By that time, it's dark, and usually raining, and Pali is closed. Work duties are hard, but I'm glad that I only have mine during the week, and I have the weekend off! We have more free time on the weekends, and we are already talking about checking out the beach. I have had such mixed emotions here, and it is driving me crazy. One minute I want to go home, and the next minute, I never want to leave! We have felt the presence of God so much in the last 2 days, it has been amazing! We didn't even have a lecture or sport time today, because He had another plan for us! Carol, the only married girl on the team, was awakened at 2am to pray for all of us. She left her room, and went downstairs to our classroom and prayed over every seat. She said the Lord spoke to her about idols in our lives, and how He wanted to fill us with His Spirit and His gifts, but He couldn't do so, until we cast down our idols. So after she shared this with us, we were told to go spend time with God, and ask Him to show us our idols. I told Him I wanted to lay down these idols, but it may not all happen right away. My idols are: The right to be married & have a family, impressing people, sexual desires, obsession with food, judging people,and I'm sure there are more that He will show me later.I was so impressed with one our young guys, as he was writing all of his idols on the board, when I walked in. For a moment, I thought we all had to do that, and it freaked me out for people to see my sin. We ended up called out our idols anyway in a circle, so Satan cannot get a foothold. We had an amazing time of worship, prayer, and hearing from God. There have been so many tears in the last 2 days,and not only from me. I believe that God is breaking down walls and idols in many of our hearts, so we can be free, and be filled with Him. We also had our first time of intercession as a base, and as a team yesterday. As a base, we prayed in groups for another YWAM base in Central America. My group prayed for the Panama City, Panama base. In our team time, we prayed for God to show us where we are going for outreach in Europe. I thought this was settled, but we are still waiting for God to speak. We are going to Germany for sure, and possibly Norway as of now. Please pray that God would show us where we are to go. We had our first family night last night, and we worship God for about an hour. Then we fellowship and eat! Our snacks were: a cake with no icing, have fruit, bread, and popcorn. This afternoon we had our first small group as ladies, but next week we will split up into 2 groups, and begin discussing the lectures. Today we talked about several things, but we set a time to turn the lights off in out room and be quiet.Lights off at 11p & we start to get quiet, with whispers, at 10:30 We had a hard time deciding the time, because I want to go to bed early, and the older lady, and younger girls want to chat half the night. Satan already tried to divide us on this issue, so please pray for us. I am a night owl typically, but here I am really tired, at least until I get into a groove, and want to get my rest. We go non stop here and breakfast is at 6:30, as I mentioned in my first post, so getting to bed early is key to staying awake in class, and receiving what God has for me. We were given the night off today, but we will normally have a bible study on Thursdays. About the food, I think I'm going to have a hard time losing weight, because all we eat is rice, beans, chicken, and salad. I am trying to not eat seconds, even though I'm hungry. I plan to eat an apple as a snack after dinner, and not eat a second helping.  My favorite meal so far was a lasagna made with plantains(bananas) instead of pasta! Wow, it was so good!!!The food is delicious, but I can't even eat all of it. We had pasta at lunch and dinner today, so I ate a snack from the store I bought. I found a little cake thin, made from corn instead of wheat. It's not very sweet, but it will hopefully agree with my insides, and I can have a treat when the others are eating are the sweet breads here. I brought some Gluten Free protein bars, and peanut butter as well to eat with a banana and tortilla if I get hungry. My friend Sarah wanted to know what books we are reading, but I only know about the first book at this point since we were only given that one. It's called Is that really you, God?: Hearing the voice of God, by Loren Cunningham. He is the founder of YWAM, and is 75 years old now. What a godly man he is, even from a young age, he heard the voice of God. I'm really enjoying the book, and can't wait to read more! I will close for now, because I want to get ready for bed, and read a bit. Bye for now.... I love you all!

First day of classes , family contributions and more

Yesterday was our first day of classes and we received a lot of info. I think I'm going to learn a lot here, and will have many things to ponder daily. We received a journal yesterday and were told to decorate it and make it our own. We will take notes from our speakers in it and also we have to write about a different attribute of God weekly. We received our first of three books to read as well ,and our first book report is due 10/18. We have the last 2 books to read and do reports on by the end of November. I will stay pretty busy, but I'm looking forward to learning and growing in Christ these next 3 months of the lecture phase. All of our team finally arrived and we have already formed some great bonds. I am feeling more and more comfortable each day, and this is because the staff , my team, and the other students here are so incredible. These people are so loving and truly extraordinary. I was a little emotional yesterday and then I found out that my family contribution was to clean the ladies bathroom and showers.Somehow I knew that I was going to get this work duty", and I am a total germ freak, so touching nasty toilets is not my favorite duty if you know what I mean! I do however, have much experience with this task because of my closing duties at HEB grocery as a high school and college student. Also, I was the only one assigned that duty, but 2 of our guys are cleaning the mens facilities. So, I didn't want to complain and God is soooo good, because today I got help, and the staff  told me that they were going to look at the schedule again to get me permanent help. What a humbling job, but we are learning to be servants here after all. So, when I first started cleaning, a girl named Amy came in, and I just shared a little with her about how I was having a hard time adjusting. She mentioned that she struggled as well upon arrival here, and we had a good chat while I was cleaning. Then she offered to pray for me, and of course I said yes! Ever since then, I've had a such a peace, and I had a great day today. I am so sorry for not mentioning this next sentence in the last 2 posts, but I was struggling and couldn't see this experience for what it really is all about. I AM TRULY BLESSED TO BE HERE, AND LOOK FORWARD TO WHAT THE LORD HAS IN STORE FOR ME AND THROUGH ME AND MY TEAM. Most of the people on the base, including staff, are younger than me, but they are so full of the LORD Jesus Christ, and His wisdom, love, mercy, and kindness. IT IS A PRIVILEGE TO BE HERE! While I was cleaning today, 3 ladies who came to use the restroom thanked me for serving them! I was so blessed to hear that I was being a blessing by scrubbing funky toilets!!! I have to share this as well from Sunday morning. We did not go to church this weekend, but will visit 3 churches in the next 3 weeks. We will then select a church to attend for the next 2 months. We all shared how God brought us to Costa Rica, and I was amazed at all of my teammates testimonies. I was already emotional, and then Pedro told about how he has had a dream to be a missionary for 15 years. He got to the point where he couldn't talk anymore, and he just wept. I could totally relate since I wanted to do missions since 2003 so I just broke down crying with him. I have cried so much the last few days, but it really feels good to just release my emotions. On Monday, I cried all during worship. Like I said in my first post, I can't really explain why I'm crying so much, but I knew one reason as to why I was crying yesterday. As I looked around during worship, I saw many nations represented here, and they were all worshiping my God, our God.I was just completely overwhelmed at what God is doing is doing in peoples' hearts all over the world. Okay, I 'm really tired, so I'll post more later.

More details from the last few days

Okay... so I have alot to say, everyday, and I want to share as much as possible, so I apologize for the long posts. And... some days I may not post becuz we are busy and I'm too tired. Also, I will be pretty transparent on this blog, and I would love to answer any questions that you may have. I want to start out with a few funny things. The first night I was here, I'm in my top bunk, and heard a loud noise below. I look down, and my bottom bunk mate, Jody, has her flashlight and her shoe & she killed a bug. It looked liked a bee so I was glad she killed it. I had my earplugs in so I didn't hear a thing. I was totally freaked thinking that bee could've stung me while I was sleeping!!! Okay , I'm cutting this short because I'm on my cell using wi fi& it's too hard to type. My pc went crazy earlier as I was posting and I can't get it to re boot. Oh well, it will just have to wait until tomorrow. Chao amigos!! Luv ya!!!

My first few days in Costa Rica

It is hard to believe I'm back in Costa Rica! It still seems so surreal that I'm here, and will be here longer than a week or two. It has been great to see everyone that I met in March, and to meet my team. The transition has been more difficult that I expected. I'm not sure why, but I have cried a alot, especially today. I can't explain why I'm so emotional, but I think I had to let go of loved ones & the comforts of home for one thing, and I also believe that God is breaking me already. Please pray for my transition here so that I can focus on what God has for me and wants to do through me. I can say that God knows me so well, because we have been giving lots of hugs on our team yesterday & today. The people here are so full of God's love, and they have made me feel so welcome. Our Discipleship Training School will have 19 students, but we are still waiting for 2 Guatemalen students to arrive. Most students are under the age of 24, so I feel kind of old. I think I'm the 2nd oldest in the group, but I'm too shy to ask how old Jo Jo is just yet. The last few days have been pretty laid back, as we are getting accustomed to our new home and life on the base. We took a bus downtown yesterday so they could show us how to take the bus downtown. We live in an area of town called Santa Marta, and the ride is about 30 plus minutes with traffic. We went to the Central Market, a huge indoor market, where you can buy just about anything. I bought an empenada with chicken, and it was delicious. Since I can't eat the sandwiches for lunch on the weekends, I was looking for a gluten free pupusa or some other snack made from corn. As it turns out here, they use corn to make empenadas ( they probably have flour ones too), which I thought were only made from flour. Today we had orientation and learned the rules and expectations here on base, as well as our schedule. We rise early, and breakfast is served from 6:30a to 7. From 7a-8a, is our personal devotion time, from 8a-9am, is either praise & worship as an entire base or school, intercessory prayer, group devotions, or sport time. Class is from 9-12:30pm, with a break. Lunch is at 12:30, and then from 2-4pm, we either have small group, class again, outreach, and on Friday, we have free time. From 4-6p during the week, we work on the  base in our assigned area, but I won't find out what I'm doing until tomorrow. And after dinner, we will either have more class time, bible study, free time, or family night ( every 15 days). Fridays are fun nights. Sorry for the long post, but I'm tring to bring you up to speed. Please let me know that you will be on my prayer team, by posting on my blog that you will do so.  Goodnight for now...