Back in the ol' U S of A

I'M HOME! I can hardly believe it. Being back is kind of a reverse shock in some ways. Everything seems so easy, and I feel so competent! For the past 4 months I had no idea where I was going, what to say, how to act, etc, etc. and today I hopped in my car, went to get my hair cut, and out to lunch with a friend! It almost feels strange. Things here feel so much larger and spread out in comparison to San Jose. I saw a familiar face today and went to greet them with a kiss on the cheek, but as I was getting closer and noticed the woman stood firm in her steps, I realized my warm greeting was foreign here! It was a borderline awkward moment. 

I want to stay involved with some sort of Spanish group so I don't lose everything I learned! Thankfully Starkey Road Baptist has a young and growing Spanish church that meets a couple times a week that I am hoping to get involved in. For now I will be around town, until June 5th. Then I will head off to OK City and be involved with Uncharted Waters Sports Ministry until mid July. The month of June consists of running sports/evangelistic camps in the US and then 2 weeks in Guatemala.  The last week of July/beginning of August Laura Grace and I received the offer and privilege to run a volleyball  camp in the Dominican Republic with Score International. What a dream come true! I love the mixture of sports and the gospel- its a perfect combination and something I love doing. God has blessed me so much and I want to use the opportunities he's given me to the fullest! 

Pura Vida. 

Showtime!

I found myself reminiscing on all the sleepovers I've had growing up when Jessica had her friends over for a birthday party last weekend. The girls and I had a blast making up a dance to Stacy Orico's "Stuck." I've had my share of lip syncs and awful dance moves that me and my friends have made up over the years- nothing compares to some of those memories we made! This is the finished product of our dance last weekend...



Tomorrow I am having some friends over for a final goodbye before I leave on Monday. I can't believe 4 months have passed. I'm starting to get very sad about leaving everyone here, especially my tutor. She has become a wonderful friend the past couple months and taught me a lot- not just about Spanish either! The bad part about going different places and having a ministry in more than one place is that I always have to leave somebody behind! The Lord has blessed me so much- and has used you too in my life! There is a song by Starfield called "I Will Go" with some lyrics that have turned into my prayer lately:

Let me not be blind with privilege.
Give me eyes to seek the pain
Let the blessing You've poured out on me
Not be spent on me in vain
Let this life be used for change

I thank the Lord for the opportunities He's given me to serve Him in so many places. I do not take those for granted and I'm so thankful for your support and prayers! I will see you all very soon!

Mom's Visit to Costa Rica

My mom arrived last Friday! It was kind of last minute and I thank the Lord her passport arrived in time for her to come! Unfortunately Dad had to hold down the fort at home :/ On Saturday, my mom and I went with my family to the epicenter of where the earthquake took place in January. It was incredible. Homes were broken and crumbled, some even wiped off the side of the mountain. Enormous trees laid flat in a valley, the foundation beneath bridges had crumbled from the violent shaking, cars were smashed and rivers flooded with piles of dirt and debris. Looking around, it was a reminder of how fragile life is. "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails." We may not have control over natural disasters or life's situations, but we can choose who to follow, and how to live our life. "Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." Life is short. How am I spending my time? For myself and the things I want? But what will that ultimately accomplish? God's way is perfect. I have the choice to follow him, or live for myself. "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it." We never know how long we have, which is why we need get our priorities straight, and our hearts right with the Lord. Please keep the victims of January's earthquake in your prayers. Many have to rebuild and start their lives over again. But praise the Lord for the second chance He's given us to get it right, so don't waste your life.

A fun filled weekend

This past weekend my family and I took a trip to the volcano Arenal. We stayed there for one night at a beautiful hotel, complete with natural hot springs and cold springs. It's one of those places where you're like "Wow God, if this is a glimpse of heaven- take me now!" It was absolutely breathtaking. Not to mention relaxing and fun too :] It's a place where you can just sit back and delight in the creativity of our God and the brilliance of His design. It makes me wonder what it all looked like before the fall of man, before the ground was cursed. It must have been indescribably beautiful. What an amazing God we serve.
Tonight I played some pick up basketball with a group from Sojourn- the Spanish Institute. It was good to get out and play and get to know some more people. We had a great time, and despite the fact that I was 1 of 2 girls, I think I held my own ;] ha.
This Friday my mom comes to visit!! Yay! Please keep her in your prayers! And also for my dad. He cut his finger severly last week and was close to losing part of it. Thankfully it's healing well, but pray for a speedy and complete recovery!
Thanks for all your prayers, support and encouragement. Without it, this trip would be dramatically different, so thank you thank you!

First of all, I apologize for not having written in a while! Things are non-stop around here- just the way I like it.
A few weeks ago I went to a woman's conference with some ladies from my church. There was an excellent turn out (apparently uncommon for things like this), some people gave their testimonies and I went to a seminar on "How to be a Proverbs 31 woman." All in all, it was a great day.
Last weekend I headed down to the "precario." It was a poor, slum area of about 2,000 people living on 3 acres of land. Rusty houses and dirt floors were more than enough to remind me how much God has given me. A group of us (I went with a team from the organization "A boy with a ball") crowded inside a small room to tutor children for a couple hours. It's one of those things where you realize how much you really NEED, and how much you actually have. I walked away with a grateful heart and a hungry spirit of wanting to give back to people like my friends in the precario.
Tutoring has been going wonderfully! I absolutely love it. Today is my last day of intensive classes, but my teacher and I are going to continue for the last month I am here. My tutor, Alejandra, and I have grown to be good friends and I've really enjoyed my time with her.
A countdown begins with only one month left- I can't believe how fast it's gone! But I know I can't be two places at once, so I'm trying to keep my mind and heart focused on where I'm at and what God has for me HERE. 1 month to go, but I know God still has a lot He plans on teaching me.

Earthquake!

Today I was sitting in my chair, doing some homework when I felt like my chair was wobbling. Confused, I put my pen down and shook my chair a little to test its sturdiness. Pleased with its apparent balance, I continued writing. The obscure shaking continued for a few more seconds and faded. I thought I was becoming delusional (as I shook my chair one more time to reconfirm its perceived caliber) or possibly getting dizzy from the combination of extended reading mixed with lack of sunlight infiltrating through the frosted glass window. Since I couldn't make up my mind, I went on studying and writing. Later on during my tutoring session, my teacher asked if I felt the earthquake earlier? It happened around the exact time as the puzzling chair episode during my study session. I knew then that I had experienced my first earthquake. As if that wasn't exciting enough, at about 3:00 today, while I was sitting at my desk, fully intrigued by the foreign language I was attempting to understand written on the board, the classroom windows started rattling, and that old familiar "wobble" returned. This time I was certain (after my convictions were verified when I saw my teacher run to the door and stand beneath its frame). Thankfully no one was harmed and no damage was done, but I couldn't help but be a little excited about today's adventure :]

Safe and Sound

I'm happy to report safe travels to and from Panama, except for the part where we broke down for six hours, and the other time we had to return to camp and leave the next day because a part broke. Other than that, our pink tour bus was a trusty friend.
The ministry in Panama is absolutely exploding! The missionary directors there, Traci and Mirco, were so vibrant and welcoming. Their passion for the ministry there is unbelievable and their goals for the upcoming years are quite inspiring. We arrived for the last week of camp, which happened to be the sixth week running. They plan to have 2 more weeks next year. There were about 250 campers the week we were there. They want to build a school, followed by a bilingual school the year after that, and eventually an orphanage- all starting now. She's housed many orphans, friends and missionaries in her home. Her goal is to start by buying a home for children which will subsequently turn into more homes, and finally into an orphanage. Please pray God will provide and meet there needs and bless the missionaries in Panama that are doing a wonderful job of serving the Lord and spreading the gospel.

In other news: We visited the Panama Canal- which I have to admit was surprisingly interesting! We hiked one early morning to the tops of some surrounding mountains, went to an Indian market, played a lot of sand volleyball, and enjoyed shopping a little in the astoundingly inexpensive country of Panama.
Thanks for your prayers as always. It was a wonderful trip and a blessing to be able to be apart of the amazing ministry taking place in Chame, Panama.

Panama Bound

At 10:00 tonight I will be jumping on a bus with 25 other American students as we make our way to the beautiful country of Panama. I'm sure we will know each other very well at the end of our cozy 16(ish) hour bus ride. Actually by that time we may come to know too much about each other. We are going to be helping out with another Word of Life camp- I assume it will be very similar to the one here in Costa Rica. We will end our trip with a little sight seeing- and a lot of memories I'm sure.

Prayer Requests:
-Safety as we travel
-Prayer that everything goes smoothly when we cross the border
-Prayer that our group, and me personally, can be a blessing to the people we will be working with in Panama
-Prayer that we will see hearts changed for the Lord!

I will be back March 3- hopefully with lots of pictures and good stories to tell! Thanks friends
Hasta Luego

Moco means Booger

These past couple weeks I have been helping out at Sojourn- the bilingual Christian school that the Theis girls go to. It has been a big help for my Spanish learning and I've enjoyed working with the kindergarten class. However, I can't say God is leading me to work with 5 year olds for the rest of my life, but it has been fun. Above is a picture 3 of my students at our Valentine's Day party.














This past weekend my family went to visit a volcano called Irazu. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't very welcoming once we reached the top, but we all enjoyed ourselves anyway.
This coming Sunday I will be heading to Panama with a group from Score International. I have to leave the country in order to renew my Passport, so we will be staying at the Word of Life camp in Panama for a week. It is going to be a enjoyable 18 hour bus ride, so please pray for our safety and smooth sailing through customs once we get there! Also, keep the kids that will be going to camp in your prayers; that many eyes will be opened to the love and salvation of Christ.
Language school starts as soon as I return- which I'm so excited about! And I'm sure the Ticos (natives of Costa Rica) will be happy I'm going to learn some proper grammar :] There are not many people signed up for the intensive course which may result in me having tutoring rather than classes. However, this would increase the cost and shorten the hours because it is one on one. Please pray God will allow whichever situation will be most profitable for my language learning.
Thanks again for your prayers! I miss you all!

My Epiphany

This past Sunday we had a pastor from the States come and preach. He told the congregation that the reason why people get so emotional when they visit another country is because in the midst of a place where the food is different, the language is different, and the culture is different, in the midst of all these unfamiliar things, we find the same God. When I heard that, the pentecostal in me wanted to shout "Amen!" There is something about being in a place that is foreign in almost every way, yet being together with a group of believers and worshiping God, or seeing someone come to Christ, that is something I can't describe! It doesn't matter what part of the world you are in, the feeling is the same. It's an excitement that encourages you and strengthens you to get through the hard days, or motivates you to work harder, and comforts you in a way that makes you feel at home even thousands of miles away. There is something about experiencing the work of the Lord in a place other than your own that can open your eyes to the power of God.

Back in San Jose

January is over- and it went so fast! I worked at a camp for the past 3 1/2 weeks and got back to San Jose Sunday night. Camp was a wonderful experience- and super tiring. We had a good turn out each of the weeks and many gave their lives to Christ. It is so satisfying to see kids making decisions for Christ. I can't explain it. You know their lives will never be the same! I made some good friends with the staff while I was there. I think the most frustrating part was that it was hard to build on the relationships I made because of my lack of Spanish. You can only say "hey, how are you" so many times before people start avoiding you. I did start to pick up some things and understanding a lot more than when I arrived. However, it is very possible that I made up my own message based on the words that I recognized in the sermon. Later to find out that he had preached on a totally different topic. But, nonetheless, God was still speaking to my heart. I made some decisions as well and I can say that this past month has been personally, spiritually uplifting.
Life back in San Jose is much slower, but I'm not complaining after a month of non-stop activities! Marissol and I started an art class on Tuesday mornings. We made the agreement that I'm not allowed to speak any English while I'm there. My first class was this past Tuesday. It's a 3 hours class...I didn't say too much. Most of my time was spent listening to another woman ramble on about her children and every now and then she would ask me a question. I can't say for sure if my Spanish is getting better, but I bet I could take anybody on in charades. At least my facial expressions and hand gestures are constantly improving?
I start working at the bilingual school next Monday. I am thankful for so many opportunities to practice my Spanish. It is usually very uncomfortable, but very helpful.
Thank you all so much for your prayers. The Lord is good and reminds me of that every day. I appreciate all of you and your support while I'm here!

I made it!

I arrived in Costa Rica yesterday afternoon where Steve and his 3 beautiful daughters picked me up at the airport. It has been so wonderful. Everything is very green, very congested with people, cars and houses, and very unfamiliar! Its going so well though. I went to the bilingual christian school today where I will be helping out. I will be assisting the kindergarten teacher in the mornings and the art teacher in the afternoons. Both of which know ZERO English! That's one way to learn Spanish I guess. The Theis family is very sweet- every one of them. It couldn't be going better! I'm so thankful to be here. We leave for camp tomorrow morning for the month of January. Got to go get some rest! More to come later :]

4 days and counting!

Hello all!

I just finished some last minute paperwork for my trip. I can't believe it is right around the corner! I'm so incredibly excited, but a little bit nervous, not knowing exactly what to expect- which make me excited. And so the cycle of emotions go. I don't think the magnitude of this opportunity I have has hit me full force yet. To think that I will be living in another country in a few short days is strange to think about. I just want to get started and see where God is going to take me- I can hardly wait any longer!