Changing Times

Its almost christmas!!! Ok... so there's still 14 days- but that still not a lot! Its crazy how time has been flying by and how much things are changing. God has been doing so much work in all of us in such little time! Tomorrow we leave for a 5 day intense camping trip in the jungles of Costa Rica and after that its time for outreach! Outreach will consist of sleeping somewhere different most nights, living out of 1 travel backpack for 2 and half months, hand washing our clothes, lots of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and LOTS of amazing experiences, miracles, and sharing Gods love.

The key to surviving outreach will be team work, unity, being selfless, intercession times, and most of all listening to God. But really- that sounds a lot like life to me. Shouldn't we always be willing to be selfless and work together with others? Shouldn't we always spend time each day praying? Shouldn't we always be listening to what God wants for us? YES! Our lives to an extent are about us- but more so it is about our relationship with God. Alone we can do some pretty good things; get a pretty good job, have a pretty nice family, have a pretty good house, and make some pretty good money. That all sounds pretty nice... but really is that it? Is that all life is about? Because if it is... I definitely want more out of life. 

The only thing that will actually help us get through life and get the most out of life is GOD! He made the earth perfectly, he sent us His son, He gave us the Holy Spirit, and He gave us everything we have here on earth. As the creator of the universe, everything He's given us is actually his if you think about it- our money, houses, clothes, and even our time. So why not give it all up for Him? All of the stuff here on earth is going to perish someday. We all know that and have heard that in church. But really- it is going to go away someday and all that we will have left is God and the eternal life He has promised us.

It seems scary; giving God complete control over our lives and all that we have, but after all, He is the creator of the Universe so I think He will give us a pretty good life if we follow what He says to do. Adam and Eve had AMAZING lives until they decided to disobey God and it remains the same for us today. So as of tomorrow I give God complete control to use me however He wants. Its scary but all I have to do is jump- and it will all turn out better than I could ever even imagine. 

On outreach I will not be bringing my computer. We will be in rough areas at points and stealing is very common. So I will post when I am able to and keep you all updated- but until then: Goodbye and God bless!!!

Nicaragua!

This past weekend we took a 4 day trip to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. It was... amazing. We had two purposes for going on this trip: 1- to renew our stay in Costa Rica. We are allowed to live in Costa RIca for 90 days then you must leave the country for 72 hours to come back in and be allowed 90 more days. 2- to practice evangelism! Our topic for class last week was evangelism- so it was a great time to practice what we learned and practice our skits we have been preparing for outreach. For the evangelism projects we partnered with a missionary couple living in Nicaragua, David and Tamara. 

Thursday was a long day full of traveling and chicken buses (normal sized buses crammed full of around 120 people- standing or sitting- smooshed!) On friday we went to work at a school in a village named Ojo Chal. Its a small village with no electricity, running water, and it mainly consists of poor farming families. The school has about 40 kids ranging from 1st grade to 8th. The girl in the black shirt is name Cristina, she's 13 and just finished 3rd grade and someday she wants to be a teacher.  It was their end of school party (because here its now summer). It was  a really fun time of playing and loving on the kids. It was so weird how many of these kids weren't used to just playing- because at home they often have to work and do chores instead of play. So this party was a really good ending to the school year also a fun time to share our dramas to the kids and their moms. 

Friday afternoon we also did some outreach in the actual city of San Juan del Sur. It was kind of a challenge because its a tourist city so it was a lot of rich tourists we talked to. I had a great talk with a lady from Guatemala. She was doing an internship with a company who works on social justice issues. She said she isn't a christian because she wants a religion thats more spiritual but she thinks what we do as missionaries as great. We had a really good talk about how christianity is spiritual and its not just about going to and belonging to church. Even though she didn't like accept Jesus into her heart right there- I know that our conversation had an effect on her. She even said she was going to write to her 9 year-old daughter about us meeting! How great is God? And praise him for my giving me the gift of speaking spanish!

On saturday we did beach cleanup and then had a beach party with the surf ministry there. The trip ended so successfully and in so much unity as a team. God did amazing things and I can't wait to see what else He is going to do through us on our outreach!

Destiny by Design

 God has a plan for all of us in our lives whether we think it or not, whether we know what it is or not, or wether we're following that plan or not.  Last week our topic was Destiny by Design. Its actually a devotional type thing written by Gwen Bergquist but our speaker used it as a guide for our class. Basically, the week revolved around the word DESIGN: Dreams, Experiences, Soulprint, Identity, Gifts, and Networking. Basically dreams is the dreams you have for your life are dreams that God has for you too! And he promises to meet them. 
Experiences is the idea that all experiences in your life, both good and bad, can help further his kingdom and he will use your story to help others. Soulprint is your personality and how he made you; extroverted v.s. introverted, planner v.s spontaneous, etc. But he made you that way for a specific reason! Identity is who you are in GOD and only God. Not who the world says you are, your parents, or your friends- its who God sees you as and that is perfect! Gifts is all the amazing gifts and talents he's given us, both spiritual and physical. Finally, networking is how all spheres of society connect and have God in them. Business, Science and Technology, health care, education, government, the church/religion, and family. So many people think that church and family are the only places God can be but its so not true! God calls people to all spheres of society and its up to us to shine his light in those places- as hard as it may be. 

Now all of this is grand but its the application of all of this where it gets tricky. We as humans really need to listen to God and what his plans are in our lives. We can do whatever we choose to do- but our lives turn out best if we do what he wants us to do. He will give you complete happiness and will make all your dreams come true and more- no matter how weird or hard the choice may seem. I like to compare life to ziplinning now. It's scary the first time but once you just jump it is SO worth it.

he was a skater boy

YWAM supports many other ministries in the world as well as their own. Last week we got to spend some time with a group called "Ride Nature." It is a ministry that uses skateboarding, surfing, and snowboarding to reach teens- mainly teen boys. They are based in Florida but have many other locations and they do international trips a number of times each year. It is an all volunteer ministry and everyone involved in it is very talented at what they do. They do things such as donate skateboards to kids, build skateparks, and host competitions. 

For our local outreach last week we got the chance to team up with them and help at a skateboard competition they held. I definitely have never been around that scene before and I know most of the other girls haven't either.  It was so cool to see how kids connected to all these boys with skateboards and how God used skateboarding to minister to them. My group preformed a drama for everyone at the competition and we also went around talking to kids about their relationship God or if they even had one. To get the conversation started we asked kids to write on their hands what God means to them. That way it wasn't very awkward and we got cool pictures!

Through this I really learned not to judge people because of what they do. Most people would assume skateboarders are stoner kids, addicted to drugs, and rebells. Don't get me wrong, there are these kinds of skateboarders but then there are those who aren't like that. Such as the Ride Nature guys and even some people we talked to at the skatepark. One of the Costa Rican's we talked with at the competition told us his testimony and how he used to be a stoner skateboarder but his life got changed around by people who did skateboard ministry and now he wants to help kids too! And I went up to him thinking we would minister to him but it was the other way around. So all I have to say is don't judge, its God's job to do that. 

Thanksgiving

 Thanksgiving. The one day a year when all you do is get together with family and eat all day long! The turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pies... so delicious. When I hear the word thanksgiving thats all I really think about... the food and the people. Thats all us  Americans were thinking about last week. We were all getting sad and it was kind of the first time we really felt homesick- thinking about all our families and all the food we were going to miss out on. It was hard for the first while to think about it but then I realized some stuff. Thanksgiving. The word itself just means giving thanks. To give thanks is to appreciate someone or something- so why don't we do this more often? I mean really- why don't we give thanks more often? The bible calls us to be thankful no matter what the circumstances. Philippians 4:6 says that we should "not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." So that means every time we pray about anything- we should present it with a thankful attitude. And the awesome thing is... God is the creator of the universe, the creator of us, and the creator of everything we have- so we'll never run out of things to be thankful for! So really... I want every day to be thanksgiving! No matter what food I'm eating, no matter what clothes i'm wearing, no matter where I am in life- I will be thankful :) But in the end, we got a wonderful thanksgiving dinner full of stuffing, turkey, dinner roles, mashed potatoes, pies, and even cranberry sauce! It was a lot of work- but with 18 girls in the kitchen.... all things are possible. So truly I have a lot to be thankful for and I am especially thankful for a wonderful thanksgiving meal!

We aren't pregnant- just really full of good food!

Resolving Conflict

  Ok, so this week we learned about a new topic but i'm definitely still thinking about the relationships week and I know that God is still working on it with me in my mind. Specifically, he's working with me on solving conflicts and learning how to solve them. Our speaker gave us lots of notes and advice on this subject but its definitely something personal that you have to figure out how to do for yourself... especially when you're living in a room with 11 other girls. Here, I haven't had any intense arguments or anything like that but there's certain people that do certain things that annoy you. And something I really am learning is that when you're mad/annoyed about someone/something- if you keep it inside you're only hurting yourself. For some reason, in the past, I've always felt like holding in my anger would make me feel better than the other person and happier- but really it just ended up making me more mad an more hurt. It's like built up anger which is totally not good! Anger is what ruins people and ruins families.

So really, confrontation/communication is key. But when you go and confront someone it has to be under the right circumstances and you have to be in the right attitude.  Right circumstance: don't say something at the wrong time and are you willing to be wrong and accept confrontation from the other person? Right attitude: are you being selfless or selfish? The hardest part of solving a conflict is laying down your own pride and being 100% selfless. As hard as it may be, going through confronting a conflict is totally worth it. Our speaker gave us a list of how to handle conflicts. Here are the most helpful ones that I found:

-focus on one issue rather than many issues (don't bring up past issues, keep it to 1 subject)

-focus on the problem not the person

-focus on specifics rather than generalizations

-focus on observation of fact rather than judgment of motive (don't assume their motives!)

*focus on mutual understanding rather than whose winning or loosing

-focus on granting forgiveness rather than holding grudges

I feel like with that list.. what argument couldn't get settled? All we need to do is remember to be selfless and be full of forgiveness and love! And really if you're ever in an argument go and pray about it, give your emotions to God, and then he will give you the peace and wisdom to solve the conflict in the manner i just described. God doesn't want us to be angry or sad and he calls us not to be! Ephesians 4:26-27 says:

"In you anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and o not give the devil a foothold"

God is so great! He doesn't want us to be mad and thats why all things are possible through him, even if it doesn't seem like it all the time... its the truth :) 

PS-- these pictures are from a bowling outing a while ago... we're not actually angry or anything- just being weird and it looks like we could be yelling angry or something. I don't have any angry pictures of our group- so thats a good thing. 

Relationships

 There are so many different kinds of relationships that we deal with every day; friendships, family, dating, business relationships, etc. Literally, our lives revolve around relationships. Most of the worlds problems today have to due with broken relationships or lack of relationships. A big reason for this is because the world/non-believers don't have standards for relationships. The world says do what makes you happy- but God taught my group exactly the opposite last week. God has standards/amazing ideas for what all the relationships in our lives are supposed to be like. 

Basically, the whole idea of relationships comes down to finding value in other people. God made every human being in his image and each of us are his treasured possesion. We find value in objects based on where they come from and what they are used for. So if all humans were made by God and for God- we are all valuable! We have no right to judge who anyone else is, because God made them. So no matter what kind of relationship your having problems in, you can always solve the problem because you can find value in the other person because they were made in God's image! Wether its your roommates being noisy at 2 in the morning, you're best friend being annoying, a marriage thats on the verge of breaking- whatever it may be, its fixable because of God! All relationships have their differences and God will help you work through them together but we have to have respect and see the value in one another in order to make any relationship truly work. 

Its amazing how amazing God is. The way he designed us and relationships. And the fact that he is a relationship himself! As the trinity, God, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus show us exactly how the perfect relationship works. They all work together in harmony, love, respect and selflessness. This is what we should strive for in every one of our relationships. To love someone is willing the highest good for them. So loving someone means putting them above you and wishing the best for them. The whole idea of relationships comes down to the second commandment that god gave us: love your neighbor as you love yourself. Its as simple as that, so don't make it more complicated than it needs to be! 

Local Outreaching

<-- On the bus to the university!
Every wednesday we have local outreach in the afternoon. Its always lots of fun and is definitely meant to get you comfortable with talking to strangers. This past wednesday we went to the University of Costa Rica campus to do some outreach. We basically set up a home base in the courtyard where some people stayed and worshiped and talked with people. Then we had groups of 3 go out and find people to pray for. The hard part for me was honestly getting over my own pride and my own judgments of people. In the United States we definitely judge people and I know I've judged people that were doing exactly what I was doing! I always thought people who did stuff like that were a little odd and awkward, but its only awkward if you make it awkward. What do you have to lose? You might not ever meet this person again so why not at least tell them about God and pray for them? Even if they don't seem to react, you're still planting a seed and their mind and make a memory. 

So basically we walked around and waited for God to show us people who we were supposed to talk to. It sounds crazy but it happened. In 2 hours we prayed for 4 students; Lenita, Daniel, Daniela, and Miguel. All four said they believed in God but were not religious and didn't consider themselves Christians. Each one allowed us to pray for them- not knowing anything about these students lives, God gave us specific words for each one of them. For Lenita it was financial issues in her family, Daniel was really stressed out by school and a group project, for Daniela it was family issues in general and letting go of bitterness and anger, and for Miguel it was getting a better relationship with his family. Both us and the people we prayed for were in awe of what God did. It was so great!

So then next time you're out shopping or at school don't just look at all the people as just people- look at them as children of God and ask God to reveal people who need him. He will show you. And you don't have to go up to them, you can silently pray or just be nice to them! Its amazing what a smile can do. But how cool is it to think that you could say something to someone and affect their future eternal life? Thats cool. 

The Battle

  Last week we learned about spiritual warfare. Going into it I wasn't really sure what to expect. People say spiritual warfare and you think of people taking out demons, bringing people back to life, etc. Spiritual warfare can be like that, but the thing is spiritual warfare overall is the battle we are in every day of our lives. The battle of dark v.s. light, choosing right over wrong. Basically, Satan is in control of this world we live in because Adam and Eve chose to sin and all of us humans still choose to sin today- but all it takes is choosing not to sin and we win the battle. It sounds easy, but its really not. The world says so many things are ok- when they really aren't. Such as little white lies- they're harmless right? But here's the thing- in God's eyes there is no difference from a little white lie to a big lie- they are both lying and they are both sin. And God can't be around sin thus in that moment he is not in us- Satan is.

Personally, I don't want Satan in me, I only want God. There are 5 things we are responsible  throughout the day; our words, deeds, motives, attitudes, and reactions.  In all of these things we can choose to either sin or to not- so what will you do? Tell that little lie or just tell the truth? It seems like a simple choice, but in the moment it can be very hard- and that is our battle. But thats why God gave us lots of stuff to help us be victorious in the battle, such as the armor of God (Ephesians 6). And using the weapons God gave us and remaining in him- we will be victorious in this battle. And the thing is- we have nothing to fear because our God is greater and our God is stronger than anything this world can do to us or our enemy. So everyday. put on your armor and be a fearless soldier for God.

"The most dangerous soldier on the battlefield is she/he who has a passion to live but is willing to die"

-- source unknown

p.s.-- these pictures are from us being victorious and fearless when climbing by a waterfall and swimming in it!

Outreach!

As most of you know, YWAM has 2 different parts. The first 3 months is a lecture phase (what I'm doing right now) and the last 2 months are outreach phase. The outreach phase can be anywhere in the world- we go wherever and do whatever it is God called us to do. We've been praying as a group and instead of leaving Costa Rica and going around the world- we feel called to actually stay here. We wont be staying at the base and just live here but we are going to be moving around different parts of Costa Rica. Its so exciting! To know that we've been living here and were going to continue transforming this country from the inside out. 

The most exciting part of our outreach is that we get to take part in a big new project starting in Costa Rica. That new ministry is the Bible Distribution Project. Years ago, Loren Cunningham, the founder of YWAM had a vision of a nation that  would have a bible in every household. He went around last year during the 50th anniversary to different countries to see which one God wanted to start this project- and it turned out to be Costa Rica! Lots of arrangements and donations were made and the first shipment of bibles is arriving in December. As a team we will be helping distribute this first shipment to homes in Costa Rica. Then once this is accomplished in Costa Rica it will eventually grow and move to other countries as well. I can't wait to see what God has planned for us. 

Sensing Freedom

 Every DTS is given a theme. Its something the leaders pray over for quite some time and ask God what he wants for each specific group. Our groups theme is "Sense Freedom." My leaders really felt that God wants my group to sense freedom in him. We are more free in him than we could ever be with anything of this world or the enemy, and we are free from who the world wants us to be. Last week was truly our week of sensing freedom. The topic for the week was "inner healing" and "the power of the cross." As you can imagine- this was very intense and emotional... especially with 18 girls. But it was so amazing and I feel so free!

Our speaker went through a lot of stuff with us at the beginning of the week. Lots of information on the beginning of sin, why we do it, what it means to sin, we learned about family iniquities (sins that become part of ones being through family), the plumb line, and soul ties. When hearing all of this I was opened to so many things in my life and my being that weren't of God. On thursday we started a confession time together as a group, it then turned into a bonfire where we got to throw in papers with our sins/soul ties/ family iniquities. This was something so symbolical and it meant so much! The on friday we had hot seat time where each person shared with the group exactly what was going on. Many of us broke down and we built each other up. Friday night then was filled with lots of talking to people at home- making apologies for things in the past. 

Through all of this... I can say that everyone in my group feels so free. Free from the world, free from satan, free from our sins, free from our past, free from ourselves, free from others- Free in Christ! It feels so good and I would encourage everyone to truly look into their own lives and look at things that aren't of God. I can guarantee that when you discover those things and give it to God.. you will feel more free than ever. 

For those of you who've seen the Lord of the Rings- those movies really are a good example of good v.s. evil. Anyways, Gandalf says something along the lines of "the evil one you work for isn't going to give any of his power to you." Its the same in our own lives- keeping secrets and sins to yourself aren't gaining you anything. Bring it into the light and you will have all the power and freedom :)

team work

Along with growing in my personal walk with god, I'm also growing a lot in working with other people. As a group we've only had a couple team building exercises and opportunities but in the past week we've grown a lot together through planning a youth service, confessing sins with one another and sharing our life stories, and white water river rafting. All very different things all were lots of work.

Last saturday we got the opportunity to plan a young adults/youth service for a church in down town San Jose. It was a full service with worship, dramas, testimonies, and and alter call. With 18 girls with strong opinions and 1 boy- it could have been a really big challenge- but it wasn't! The planning went surprisingly fast and we worked hard for a couple days and the result was amazing. God truly blessed with a strong message of being a missionary to people around you. We were also truly blessed with our ability to work together and respect one another.

The next team building opportunity we had in the past week was repenting our sins in front of one another. James 5:6 says that we should confess our sins to one another so that way the heaven and earth are both witnesses. It was so amazing! Our openness and honesty with one another. Everyone had secrets that they had never shared before. And for every person we had words of affirmation and encouragement to help them through. 

Finally, this past weekend we got the chance to go white water river rafting. For some people this isn't a big challenge... but when we only have 1 boy we were all a little nervous. AND to top it off its the end of rainy season which means the river was super high. Normally, the route we did has level 2 and 3 currents. We were doing level 4 almost the whole time! God really tested our group but it really strengthened our courage, ability to work together, and to build each other up.

Me and my 17 sisters and 1 brother are a family and its so crazy how god put us all here in this one place at the same time. And i'm so happy he did!

Father Hear of God

This week has been a busy busy week of FUN! Our topic was Father Heart of God. Our speaker, Jack Kody, was like our daddy. He took us out to ice cream, bowling, watched pride and prejudice, and finding nemo. It was so nice and he was so nice! But whats most important isn't what we did but what he taught us.

One of the biggest things I learned this week is that God really is our dad, our father who art in heaven. He loves us so much and we are his children, his joy. I know that my earthly dad loves me a lot... but times that by infinity and thats how much god loves every one of us! The amount of love that earthly parents can give to their children is only 1 drop of gods ocean of love for us. And for those people who don't have a dad in their lives- god is the ultimate dream dad and is perfect!

Another big thing I learned was how much god doesn't actually NEED us. God doesn't need us to do antyhing... he's god. He made the universe so what we do in our lives isn't something he needs us to do- he just wants us to do it. He can do everything we do way better than us- so why have us do it? Because he loves us! Like a little kid going to work with their dad- the little kid does a really bad job but the dad just works beside them and helps them and fixes what they messed up. God is inviting us to go to work with him everyday. He just wants us to spend time with him and enjoy the things he enjoys. So its not about what we can do in life its about our character and our love for god. 

One final thing that I took away from this week was Jack's advice to all us girls. Its wonderful advice for life so here's some of it:

-the world is full of idiodic boys who are immature, play videogames, and read play boy.  Don't marry a boy like this because all you're going to end up being is their mother.

-follow god first and foremost, boys should be second on your list. When you foucs all on god and run after him he will take care of the rest.

-Once you get married it wont be a fairy tale happy ending. The man you marry isn't there to satisfy all your needs- thats gods job. 

-Make sure you are filling yourself up with gods love everyday and then make sure your husband and family are full of his love.

- There is no better thing that you can do for your children than loving their father/mother. It provides them with a home of security, comfort, and love. 

I know this has been a long blog. But it was a good week! If you have some extra time watch this video by Rob Bell. I know there's some controversy about his new book- but his videos are still good. So enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qme_d-qC4is

(or just search Nooma Rain by Rob Bell on Youtube)

mustard seeds

So we've all heard the story in Matthew 17 (14-21) about Jesus healing a demon possessed boy. There seems to be a sermon about this once a year at most churches- even in Costa Rican churches! And thats what the pastor at our church here preached about this week. But basically, the disciples can't rebuke a demon from this boy and they ask Jesus to and somehow Jesus could do it, but they couldn't. Then Jesus explains that in order to move mountains all we need is the faith the size of a mustard seed. A freaking mustard seed! And they couldn't rebuke the demon because they didn't have faith in God that they could do it. The pastor handed out mustard seeds and i took a picture of it in my bible. Look at the picture and look how tiny that is! Its hardly the size of the print in my mini bible. Its so small- and thats all we need in order to have true faith to do miracles. 
Now, I haven't seen any huge miracles in my life yet- but I know that I'm going to. Because I have faith in God and trust in him that he's going to do amazing things through me and through other people all over the world. All things are possible with God, I mean, he made the universe. So instead of asking yourself why i should trust God- you should be asking why aren't I trusting God?

fearless

So yes, I do take random pictures of cute little kids during church in Costa Rica. He was just so cute and went up front during worship and was dancing. He was so fearless and didn't care what anyone thought, like most kids are. And I am so jealous that they are so fearless. They don't care about what other people think if they go up front to worship, if they yell, if they cry, what they wear, etc. Yes, there brain isn't fully developed and they don't know the world like we do- nonetheless, they are fearless, how God created us to be. 1 John 4:18 says that in perfect love there is no fear. No fear of sin, other people and their opinions, no fear of anything in this world! So why can't we be like that? I mean we love God- right? Or do we just say we do? Because if the bible says that love casts out fear and we say we love God... we should be fearless right? Personally, at the beginning of this week I had to really think about this. Did I actually love God with all my heart and soul? And the answer was totally no, but looking at all he did and still does for us I can say yes without a doubt! Just look at your life- the things he's given us, all he has provided, and the fact that he sent Jesus to take away all our sins! Without him we wouldn't exist- so why not love him and be fearless?

Daily Life

 Amongst all the learning and amazing things that go on- theres lots more that goes on in my daily life here in costa rica. So i'll give you a little idea of what we do most days. On week days:
-6:20am: wake up
-6:30am: breakfast
-7-8: Devotional time
-8-9: worship and intercession time
-9-12:30: Class
-12:30: lunch
-2-4pm: it depends on the day, but theres bible study, local outreach, small group, teambuilding, extra class time, etc.
-4-6: work duties (cleaning)
-6pm: dinner
-7:30: different activities including worship, worship via arts, date night with jesus, bible study, intercession




Then weekends are free except for church on sundays- which we get to go to different churches in the community which is really exciting. But basically my weekends include relaxing, doing our homework (books, book reports, and journals), one on one time with our leaders, shopping!!, the beach, and many more adventures to come!


ps.. the picture at the top is from our shopping trip last weekend where we bought exotic fruit called "mamo chino"- it was delicioso!

Filling Up Your Cup

So I don't mean for my blog to just be preaching about life- but I just want to share with everyone what i'm doing right now. And for now, learning is all we're doing so thats what I want to share! This past week we talked about the character of God. Now, the bible always says be christlike and imitate his character, etc. But how do we do that? As you humans we try to do that ourselves and it really doesn't work. It all comes down to who we actually are on the inside and not the outside. On the outside we go to church, do good things, etc. But is that what actually sustains you in life? Humans have 4 basic needs: acceptance, comfort, security, and the need to feel important. Now, we can fill all our needs ourselves with things of this world such as relationships, friends, money, jobs, education, etc. But these are only temporary fixes. I know i definitely found myself always wanting more but nothing in my life was filling me all the way up. The reason for that is because God is the only thing that will actually fill us up! Only HE can make us feel 100% accepted, only HE can comfort us, only HE can provide us complete security, and only HE can provide us with a sense of importance- in His eyes we are so important! We are His children and beloved creation. 
He loves us so much and designed all in such amazing ways. He made it so that nothing in this world would satisfy us- thats is his giant hint to us that He is the way, the truth, and the light. He put things like friends and family in our lives to help us and support us through this life- but they are not there to provide every need in life for us. Humans can only do so much so we can't be 100% dependent on each other, but be dependent on God alone and he will satisfy every longing or emptiness in us. An its when we truly fill our hearts with God that we can be godlike and transform our lives and other lives. His love will shine into us and from us to others. So fill up your cup not with things of this world, but of God!

Itsy Bitsy

So there's this itsy bitsy thing called fear and we all have it or have experienced it at some point in our lives. Its something so little, like this tiny little bug crawling on the backpack in the picture (which I hope you can see because its cute and tiny). Now, I'm not saying that i want to kill the bug... but it can be very easily smooshed, and so can fear! Fear is something from the enemy, especially when its fear of asking a question in class, sharing your story, doing the right thing, being scared to talk to god, or scared of what other people think of you. These are all fears I've experienced here so far and I'm sure I experienced them back at home too. But they are of Satan! He is trying to distract us so much from the truth and doing things that will bring us closer to god or even bring glory to god. God isn't someone we should be scared of and He's there to talk to us, we can ask him questions, we can openly praise him, and he protects us- which means we can do anything through Christ! He gives us strength! So I encourage everyone to not be scared because we're on God's side and he has already defeated satan- so don't let him put fear in you. So go out there and share your story, his glory, and don't me ashamed! God is all things good and has nothing to do with any feelings you have of fear, anger, shame, or anything like that- he actually wants to fix those things and He can help you do anything!

Childlike

The cuteness of this picture is attributed to Euma and Ebe, whose parents work on the base.


As followers of God we can never forget that we are His children. Yew, we are reminded of this many times at church and throughout the bible- but have you actually ever thought about what it really means? Maybe you never had a good father figure but even if you didn't... you can still imagine what the perfect dad is like. The perfect dad is someone you can go to when you're sad, scared, happy, mad- and who loves you no matter what and will protect you from everything. That perfect dad is God! He's there for us all the time and wants to talk to us wether its a good day or a bad day, and most of all he wants to take care of us and tell us we love him. Our relationship with Him as a God isn't about him just dictating our lives and us waiting to hear from Him- its about a relationship and it should be just as easy as loving your daddy. The biggest part of this for me is not worrying! Little kids are so carefree and don't worry or think about anything. But when you grow up your mind wanders and we get distracted by everyday worries. Its SO important that we don't let those worries consume our lives because its those worries that satan uses to distract us from Him! Worrying is a sin and it saddens God that we don't trust him. So my advice- trust in Him and don't worry- be happy :) just like you were when you were little and let your daddy just love on you.

time

Already over a week has gone by!! It seems so crazy, because it feels like I've already been here for a month. I guess time flies when you're having fun and praising Jesus. Even though the time has been quite amazing there have already been struggles. The big one amongst most of the girls here has been expecting too much right away. They knew about YWAM and heard that amazing things happen and wanted it to happen right away. But thats not how it works. During small groups all the girls in my group talked about how they felt so dry and just like God wasn't around. But James 1 says that  God will test us and we need perseverance so that way our faith can be stronger. So we kind of came to the conclusion that this week was our test week and god had to prepare us and get us comfortable in order to make the best out of the upcoming weeks. We have to wait for him because God is in control and its HIS timing and not ours, and that He has plans that are perfect and we cant question them.  On a side note... yes I do my solo time on the playground set which is what the picture is from. 

diversity

Considering YWAM is known and established all around the world- it is going to be quite diverse whatever base you're at. But being here in the diversity and experiencing it is way different than just knowing about it! In my DTS class there are canadians, germans, americans, dominican republicans, costa ricans, mexicans, and even a malaysian! But thats not even everyone living on the base! There are around 70 people who live on/around the base and within that number there are 30 different countries! The fact that we can all come together and worship the same God in english, spanish or even german is so amazing! Worshiping in a different language just brings it to a whole new level of communication with God. But to help we are doing spanish classes in order to train for outreach and be able to communicate with people in latin america.
 But what are the chances that I would have ever met any of these people before? Even a person from O'Claire, Wisconsin I would have never met even though he lives an hour and a half a way. God is so cool and he planned this all! He has a purpose for each one of us being here and coming together. Right now we are studying the book of John and the beginning is all about Jesus choosing and gathering his disciples. Each one of the disciples came to Jesus in a different way and had a different calling- just like every person in my class came to be here in Costa Rica! Each one of us was brought here for a reason and it is already apparent that we are all so different and have such different talents that are going to balance out very well. Even our 1 boy out of 18 girls feels that He was led to be here and be our protector! But I think at times it will be a challenge for him- so as my texan friend Justine would say "if ya'll would pray for him" I'm sure he would appreciate it. 

crazyness

This is a sock puppet... named fuzzles. He was in our fabulous puppet show that helped explained the 17 values of YWAM. They are:


1. Know God
2. Make God Known
3. Hear God's Voice
4. Practice worship and intercessory prayer
5. Be visionary
6. Champion young people
7. be broad-structured and decentralized
8. Be international and interdenominational
9. Have a biblical worldview
10. Function in teams
11. Exhibit servant leadership
12. Do first, then teach
13. Be relationship orientated
14. Value the individual
15. Value Families
16. Rely on relationship-bases support
17. Practice hospitality 


All of these are things we are going to learn about and really apply to our lives not only here but when we go back home too. And looking at these values it makes me so excited because that is who I want to be and I can't wait to help others with that too! 

September 24th: The beginning

The past 48 hours have been the longest and scariest times ever for me. I said goodbye in Minnesota friday morning and there were many tears shed, and from that moment forward I was nervous and scared to fly alone. I was really stressing out and was freaking out a lot of the time. My plane landed safely in San Jose at 7:30 (Costa Rican time) yet I was still really nervous. Then God happened to plan to have me meet a classmate of mine at baggage claim! What a sigh of relief we talked and freaked out together. Then we went out to find our leaders and there they were! Yet through all of this I still felt so unsettled. We drove to the base and moved in our stuff. On all of our beds there was a card with our name and a bible verse. Mine was Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go" At that moment I was so happy and felt so comforted and like all my fears had been washed away. That note just comforted me and helped me realize that God really is with me wherever I am and he is speaking through my leaders in classmates to guide me and keep me safe. I am so excited for what is next to come! It was a wonderful first day and I just pray that tomorrow is just as good :)