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.