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 :)