One Week More

Saturday marked 14 weeks of Costa Rican goodness, and tomorrow marks 1 week until we fly home to the people we deeply love and miss.

The emotions are mixed... there is a certain sadness to saying goodbye to our new families and wonderful friends, but an certain joy in returning home to our loved ones.

Herein lies a beautiful truth- the love of God transcends space and time. He is above all that goes on here, all that we do and hope for and wait for. God was here before we were in Costa Rica, and will be here long after we have gone. It is the same in our homes in the US. We will return to the arms of our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and dearest friends- a homecoming that has long been anticipated and will be a sweet reunion.

One of the truest blessings of this experience is that we have grown to learn how truly we appreciate the people we have spent the first part of our lives with. And now, our families have expanded to include the people of Costa Rica- an incredible breed that God created with the most loving of Spirits.

The question has been continually ask in the last few weeks- "What is the first thing you're going to do when you return?"

my response:

run into the arms of my mother and Trevor.

take my shoes off and dig my toes into the carpet in my bedroom.

then eat a frosty with my mom.

GO TO CHURCH and worship the Lord.

lindsay jo's response:

i'm going to hug my parents!

and go to church.

cole's response:

eat chik-fil-a.

after i hug my family (of course).

we would also like to point out that it does NOT feel like Christmas! The weather here is still 80-85 degrees everyday, even though it is very windy. Cole pointed out that he never realized until we got here how much cold weather makes it feel like Christmas time.

we're looking forward to sweaters ("yay sweaters!" says Lindsay), scarves, fireplaces and coldness. lindsay commented earlier that Christmas is going to smack us in the face when we get back- it definitely has NOT sunk in yet. however, my tico family has decorated the house, Christmas trees in every home and icicle lights all around the outside of my house. i'll be sure to take a picture. Christmas is a very extravagant holiday for them as far as decorating, but they're crazy about using the same decorations every year and they take really good care of them. at the same time though, they don't do tree ornaments the way we do. the ornaments are all the same and everything on the tree matches and looks beautiful.

i would just like to point out that we are currently listening to Whitney Houston belt out Christmas music, as we sit outside together. cole is playing "air tambourine" and lindsay and belting it. we're having a good time :]

so maybe we should stop taking for granted the people we spend everyday with?!

THAT is what i have learned.

after 3 and a half months away from my parents, brothers and sisters, friends and boyfriend, i have never appreciated them more. and while sometimes it takes going away for awhile to appreciate what you had all along, i will never see my life in the States the same way.

God has shown me the beauty of everyday being a new day.

My way of life has changed- everyday is a chance to live and love.

Thank you Costa Rica, it's been real.

The Adventure of a Lifetime

After 12 weeks of time here, 3 whole months of Costa Rica, I experienced for the first time something about this country that I will never forget-

the rainforest.

Saturday morning Cole, Lindsay and I met at my house at 5:15 am to catch 3 buses with our friend Eliecer who works with Cole, to Sarapiqui a small little place in the southern part of the country. We arrived there mid morning and bought groceries then headed out the a Refuge, in the middle of the rainforest.

This place is like nothing else I've seen in real life. It's a two story open style house of sorts, with the traditional stove and everything is made of wood. This is Costa Rica. It literally sits smack in the middle of the rainforest, surrounded by ever kind of wildlife you can imagine. On the second level are rooms with bunkbeds, but everything is open to the air, the bugs and everything.

Saturday day we made lunch and then spent some time relaxing after the almost hour walk to get to the place, carrying really heavy bags of groceries.

The man who built this place is Joani, the Costa Rican version of a mountain man... except he's like "rainforest man". The spirit in this man is absolutely incredible. He lives there alone and takes care of the forest. He can tell you the call of every bird, frog, animal, tree species, and everything. But the most unique thing about him is his incredible conviction for taking care of the earth- his spirit is connected to everything he lives with and they live with the mindset that every resource is usable to it's fullest extent. Waste not, want not. They use every little last bit of what they have, and waste nothing. Fruit and vegetable rinds are organic and get thrown back into the words to be eaten by the animals and the birds... bags and bottles are reused, and there is one light bulb in the place- and candles.

Can you imagine what our world would look like if we all lived in a way that conserved the earth and all the resources we have been given?

Saturday night we took a little walk... to go fishing. We ended up in the area that looked like a fairy tale... lots of little colored trees planted nicely, a fishing pond, a hillside pasture of cows and another outdoor kitchen, clean as it could be, with costa rican women preparing dinner. It was wild. We used coke bottle as fishing rods to catch the tilapia living in the pond, to eat for dinner. After the sun went down, and we'd been fishing for hours, Eliecer came to get us to eat dinner and I cast my line one more time... and I caught a fish. It was awesome.

If you've never had TRULY fresh, fried fish before, you won't understand how delicious this was, especially in the middle of the Costa Rican rainforest, prepared by Costa Rican women that were born with a perfect sense for cooking. It was SOOO good. Fried tilapia, fresh salad, platanos and yuca. Yum! We sat after dinner and talked for a long time with Joani, his brother Henri and Eliecer, about protecting resources and about God. It is incredible to me how the Lord just opens door to share His Word and to share our stories. He certainly was working.

We spent the night just hanging out and talking and then off to bed... with bats and cockroaches the size of our hands. wow. It is definitely an adventure!

Sunday morning we got up, fixed breakfast and then headed into the forest for a hike of sorts. It was breathtaking. There is no way to describe how beautiful and green everything is and how REAL it is. You are really in the rainforest. wow. It's always raining there and so mud is inevitable, and we had a great time laughing as we all kept sliding. You HAVE to wear mud boots here. Have to. and we did. The Sarapiqui River runs through the forest and it's beautiful. After a couple hours of hiking and adventuring, we headed back to camp, grabbed some kayaks and went back down to the river.

Needless to say, I'm not the worlds best kayaker... but we laughed so hard that the whole experience was worth it. Trying to paddle up-stream is not exactly my forte. We floated down the river a-ways, but Cole was too big for his kayak and was loosing circulation in his legs, and none of us were crazy about the idea of paddling all the way back up-stream, so we stopped to pull the kayaks out. However, this was a different place from where we entered the water, with a very steep and muddy slope. We were laughing so hard as we each tried to climb up and kept sliding right back down the slope, it was great, and our socks are ruined forever. Haha.

Lindsay and I were carrying one kayak together, Eliecer had the two smallest one, and Cole was pulling his, and it was like one steep hill after another, with so much mud, and people slipping... what a sight! But somehow here in Costa Rica, everything always works out and we got back to camp in no time- covered in mud. We washed everything then started making lunch and were joined by Joani and a couple of his friends. it was a great time- costa rican food, music and people. All in all we saw poison dart frogs, green tree frogs, monkeys and tons of birds. It was unreal.

The reality is that everyday is a gift- a precious opportunity to share everything that we have, for the Glory of God, because HE alone deserves our very best.

These are people I will never forget- unbreakable bonds, and a place that I will be returning to someday. Praise God for His glorious creation and how we are a part of it... we need to start taking better care of it though.

Think today about the things you use on a regular basis-

water

electricity/ energy

packaging

paper

food

cleaning products

clothing/ linens

How can we live in a way that takes care of the things we have and doesn't completely waste them? Ultimately, what we do today affects the rest of the world for the rest of eternity- it all builds on itself. Take fewer showers, use less toilet paper, eat more vegetables and buy fewer pre-packaged products (they're bad for you anyway!). Drink water instead of buying bottled drinks- and use a re-usable water bottle instead of always buying one. When you travel- take things with you like a fork and spoon and biodegradable soap.

Be conscious of the world around you, and thankful for all that we have.

Praise God from whom all blessings truly flow.

A Revelation of Sorts... 11/16/09

I wrote this on Monday of this week as an email that I sent to many of my friends and family. I felt like it should be put here as well and further shared, to inspire conversation and personal thought...

Having perused facebook today, there is an inundation of people talking about the meteor shower tonight... and i sat here thinking about it, and wether or not it will be visible from Costa Rica, God slammed me in the face with this:

what if the Spirit of God was as overwhelming and overtaking as the meteor shower that's supposed to happen tonight? what if everyone's facebook statuses said "going to worship the Lord" or "Look what our God can do" or "Christ is life" or "I'll never be the same"?

what's amazing is that the Spirit of God is already doing that, and He doesn't need our help- but He just created us to be that way. We were created solely to share our testimonies with the world- how we have been changed, redeemed, convicted, pursued and BOUGHT WITH A PRICE. We are here to glorify, forgive, humble ourselves, and LOVE.

what if we started living like Christ was as "cool" and important as that meteor shower that everyone is staying awake for tonight, that will only last for less that ONE DAY- and actually made a big deal about living with life-changing faith. We were created by and live for a God that conquered the grave, daily has VICTORY over death, and will reign for ETERNITY.

Just imagine what this world would look like.

God created awesome things like meteor showers to display His glory... but we so often see the stars and not the Majesty.

so what's the big deal about a meteor shower... tell me about how JESUS is daily changing your life.

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." 1 Peter 3:15

thoughts anyone? What has God done for YOU?

Praise God, worship His name, Glorify the Giver of Life and Salvation. Surely HE is worthy.

Unify.

I find myself again, in complete awe of the love of Christ.

Let's just soak that in for a second... we believe in a God that loves us and pours His joy out into our lives everyday. We serve THAT God! Hallelujah!

There is a song by Hillsong United called "Unify" and it just describes it exactly:

"The whole earth falls to it's knees at the sound of Your Beautiful Name, and all the voices in the world unify today to bring You this song of praise!

This weekend was one of the most pivotal times I have had here. In my volunteer work at the Comedor, I met a family that goes to an evangelical church in Santa Barbara, really close to here. They invited me to come with them and so Sunday morning I got up, got ready and then took the bus into S.B. I was supposed to meet them on the bus, but they weren't there, and so when I got to the city I just stood and waited for a loooong time. I was standing next to the Catholic Church, thinking to myself "Well, I guess I could just go to the Catholic Church, but I'm not Catholic... Dear God, please help me find Jorge!"

No less than 6 seconds later, Jorge comes walking across the street. My goodness God is good.

We walked to the church and he introduced me to a mountain of wonderful, Costa Rican people that were just beaming. There is a spirit of hospitality here that is just amazing.

The service started and I was glad to see a praise band made up of young people. I was reminded of all the time I spent in praise band and it was neat to be lead in worship by people my own age. The first chords of the first song started and I almost began to cry, they were playing "Come Now Is The Time To Worship", in Spanish. If that's not a call to open up your heart, I don't know what is. It was in that moment as if God had just reached down His arms and wrapped them around me... I knew the song and I could worship. They also played "Trading My Sorrows" and "Open the Eyes of My Heart", songs I've known since I was a child.

Whats amazing is that I have prayed, before I got here, and for the 9 weeks we have been here, to find a church family, and while we only have a very short time here, God provided in an incredible way. I then spent the morning in a young adult sunday school class, talking about Matthew 28, the Great Commission. The youth pastor is a young guy with a wonderful gift for presenting the truth of the gospel to young people in a way that makes so much sense and restores hope for this generation. We had a great talk about what it means to live for Christ, to share Him with others and to know the truth.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. He is an amazing God, loving toward all He has made and jealous for our hearts. In HIS time, HE provides.

Please be encouraged and in whatever you're going through, wherever you are, however you feel, nothing can steal your joy because "the Lord is near." (phillipians 4:5) and "if God is for us, who can be against us?" We truly are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. (romans 8)

I am praying for the revelation of Christ in this generation, in this place.

thank you for your prayers and for believing that God is faithful to do the things He has promised. Oh how He loves us... that is amazing.

His named be praised for how awesome He is!

Be humble and give thanks.

Today is quite possibly one of the most beautiful days we have had here, despite the heat. As we move from winter to summer here, the sunshine changes, it's golden hue becoming more brilliant and filling every nook and cranny of this tropical wonderland. We just spent the morning in the "Inbioparque" or the "Bio Park" and it was one of the best experiences here to date. We spent time with butterflies, frogs, fish and beautiful green tropical forest... and on a day like today, life doesn't get much better.

And now for some insight into a somewhat common problem here in Costa Rica, that as Americans we have little to no concept of...

It is near impossible for the people here to get visas and because of that, many of the ticos have a negative view of American's. Why is it so difficult to visit our country? First we have the issue of illegal immigration, and foreigners simply wanting the visa to get into our country and then put down roots. But what about for a 5 year old little girl who wants to go visit her family and our government refuses to grant her a visa? This happened in my family today, and the anger and disappointment was stifling.

We have no clue how easy life is for us. Absolutely no clue. As Americans we can travel practically anywhere with only having to wait a (relatively) very short time to get a passport that costs us roughly $100. To even apply for a visa to visit our country, without any guarantee that it will be granted to you, costs $200- and thats a lot of money here in Costa Rica.

Just be grateful.

Stop and tell people you love them.

Rebuild your burnt bridges.

Find ways to bless others daily.

Take those fleeting moments to reach out your hand and help someone else.

Be a part of our world.

Remember that rainy days nourish our land and give us a deeper appreciation for the sunshiny ones.

Be humble and give thanks.

Week 9, here we come!

It was another week full of the glory of God, and I regret that I am only writing one blog a week. Free time here has become somewhat limited and when I do have time, I try to talk to my family!

We are at a point of convergence in our semester, where Brevard College and Costa Rica collide... time to sign up for Spring semester classes and figure out housing etc... Right now there are fall concerts at school, the fall school musical and the brilliant changing of seasons as we near the cool month of November, and the beautiful time of year where we come together with our families for a meal of Thanksgiving... my FAVORITE time of year. It seems to me that many people love autumn, but why? I think there is something in all of us that acknowledges the beauty of the world as the air gets cooler, we enjoy friday night football, hikes and hot chocolate, and the fact that we believe in a creative God, who displays His creativity in a completely different way through the changing of the seasons.

I think we love fall because we have just finished our hot and humid summers, and are looking forward to Christmas, but not there yet. It is indeed beautiful and rather inspiring.

However, let me explain to you what Costa Rica is like this time of year.

The months that are considered our "summer" in America, are their "winter" or "rainy season" months here in Costa Rica. It is much like a day in June, where the air is warm all day and slightly humid, and then in the afternoon we enjoy a nice downpour that cleanses everything and leaves the air cooler and more refreshing. I wake up to sunshine almost every single day, and enjoy breakfast with my Costa Rican grandparents and the 1 year old grandson, and I don't even have American grandparents. It's a true blessing. I walk to school in the morning heat, just warm enough to be comfortable in a t-shirt and jeans... and then watch as the day unfolds itself- more rays of sun and warmer air, perfect for swimming or playing outside. And it's like this everyday. Come 1 pm though, the rain appears and takes over everything, and depending on the day, it might rain until we go to bed and all night, or clear up just in time for a breathtaking sunset that we see right as we're walking home in the afternoon.

I have all but forgotten about winter clothes and Friday night football, but instead my head is full of the newest Spanish I learned today and the homework I have to do tomorrow... while playing with all the kids in the house and listening to the heated latino conversations going on in the living room.

And I realize, as I seem to always be remembering or realizing something, that no matter where you are or what time of year it is, God is working, He is alive, His Spirit is true and present and the life-changing power of the Gospel continues to inspire hearts.

Yesterday we went to a "First Communion" for one of the cousins in the family, and I was reminded of what it means to have a true relationship with Christ- one that is not based in tradition and the things we "have to do" but rather built and established in faith and love. God has burdened my heart for the children of this country, that they would have a different path than the generations before them, and grow to be men and women of righteousness and truth. This culture (as with many cultures) wants to teach them otherwise, but their potential is astounding. Children are the future of our world.

Just something that is on my heart.

Thank you for your prayers for this country and for reading. God be praised for His faithfulness and righteousness, and may He be with each one of you today in Spirit and in Truth.

"We stand and lift up our hands, for the JOY of the Lord, is our strength..."

I don't have many more radically different things to share, as we have now been here for 7 weeks and have established a routine, but I can say that...

I bungee jumped. twice.

Now, for those of you that have known me for any length of time, I probably don't seem like the bungee type, but somehow I have come to a place of "no fear", or so it seems. Walking up to the bridge and looking over the edge into the ravine below only propelled me further to wanting to do it... and the excitement, anticipation and adrenaline combined were enough to keep my mind from thinking too much about it. I jumped the first time frontwards, and just imagined I was a bird. The moment of ultimate panic sets in though about 2 seconds after your feet leave the platform, when your poor little body has the sudden realization that you are flying through the air with nothing around you... and then the bungee catches you. And you fly back up in the air. And down again. It's like a roller-coaster of sorts, but more dangerous? Don't really know. The second time I jumped was a complete surprise because the video didn't work the first time, so they "let" me jump again. ha. And to be a bit more daring, I jumped backwards. That is one of the most terrifying and exhilarating experiences. The sensation is definitely stronger when you can't see where you're falling!!! Took my heart a little longer to recover after that one...

Needless to say, the experience was one of a kind. The only thing I can liken it to is being on the back of a horse that is running a little faster than you want it to when you don't know exactly what you're doing and you're slipping out of the saddle. Excitement and panic at the same time.

But I have this theory that the things that we tell ourselves we can't do are indeed the very things we need to be doing, because when we push ourselves outside of our comfort zone, we GROW!

That only then reminds me of what it means to live in a "comfort zone" and for all of us that looks different. Comfort zones are those places where we live daily in this place of being content, around people we like and get along with, doing this that come easily or are obligations, like going to work or school, and then coming home to enjoy time with our families and friends... But I remember in my first days of college being challenged to live outside my comfort zone, expanding my view of the world and of myself by doing things and talking to people that pushed me to a place of uncertainty. Force yourself to grow!

But I think that reality in all of this is that as a person daily pursuing the Lord, He calls us to live in the uncomfortable places, because as soon as we get comfortable, we have lost our effectiveness as witnesses for the gospel. Our examples are men like Paul, who endured every kind of persecution, and King David, who devoted so much of himself to the Lord that even when he fell away, He was able to see how God was refining him, and His love of the Lord grew ever more fervently. Other examples include Ruth, who left her home land to follow the calling God had for her, Daniel in the Lion's den, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fire, Moses in challenging the Pharoah of Egypt, the Disciples and the list goes on..

And then we look to Jesus, who did everything that counteracted the "norm" of his time. He was truly one of a kind, and when He wasn't adored as a teacher or healer or leader, He was despised and hated, spat upon and persecuted. His example of living "outside the comfort zone" puts all of us to shame, but is the ultimate source of encouragement. He endured the cross, died as the atonement for all our sin, but then was raised from the dead. A life of being "uncomfortable" exchanged for the Crown of Glory.

Is there anything greater? I challenge you today, as I challenge myself, to make a new friend, listen to that urge in your heart when you see someone that needs help, spend more time finding ways to bless others because we have been tremendously blessed.

Also, Santiago, the little one living in my house, is one of the most incredible blessings in my life. He has learned to say "agua" (water), along with "mama" and "papa", and he's really good at pounding on my door first thing in the morning. It's adorable. He blows everyone kisses and gives the sweetest hugs. I love to watch as God is growing him up, it is truly a miraculous thing!

I also wrote about a month ago about a sweet elderly woman that I work with named Luisa. Two weeks ago, she passed away from a brain tumor. She was a delicate and beautiful woman, who had all but lost the ability to speak and spent most of her time in pain, sleeping in a rocking chair. I do however believe that God ordains all things for His purpose and I feel that I met her for no other reason than to love her and keep her memory alive. She left an imprint on my heart.

This is week 8, 7 more to go, halfway there. I miss you all and love you dearly! God has been incredibly faithful here, and at home, through the stories I have heard. Keep following hard after Him! I am praying and I covet your prayers.

Praise be to the Lord, our Great God.