Long but Great Day

Just finished having an hour conversation with my host mom about el machismo and las apariencias en Costa Rica. My head is now filled for the day and can not take in any more Spanish. Today in class we learned past tense (perfecto) for the first time. That was fun, I have been looking forward to conjugating verbs again. My friend, Mark and I had a good time laughing at ourselves in class because we both knew we sounded ridiculous. I had to pause in the middle of conjugating one verb because I started having a laughing fit and couldn't stop. Our teacher, Alejandra, has a great sense of humor so she joined in with the fun.

There is so many good things that God has been putting in my heart and teaching me that I want to share, but I am going to leave those for another day when I am more awake. Today has been a great day, but like I said in the title it has also been long. It is only 7:17pm and I feel like I could go to bed right now, but I will be sure to update you all soon on what God is teaching me. God is good.  Time to review for my grammar test tomorrow and go to bed.

This is what the LORD says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
   who draws strength from mere flesh
   and whose heart turns away from the LORD.
That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
   they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
   in a salt land where no one lives.
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
   whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
   that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
   its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
   and never fails to bear fruit.”  -Jeremiah 17:5-8

Reflection from my Day...

         God is so good. Today, I had a wonderful conversation with a friend. We were getting to know one another and both of us opened up about the struggles in our lives. We said during the conversation multiple times: I am not alone, you are not alone, or I understand. It is strange how often we think in life that we are alone. This is a common lie that Satan tells many people, “no one will understand, everyone is going to judge you if you share that, everyone is going to reject you, don’t open up to people they will only hurt you…“ the list of lies could go on and on. Satan is the Father of lies and deceitfulness.

            I have believed many of those lies for far too long. I have held on to many things that I thought were only my struggles. I have had this sense of I can handle this. I will just keep this between God and me, but then I end up hiding those struggles and hurts deep inside. There is a big difference between saying I am giving it all over to Him and actually doing it. There is a difference between saying I trust in the Lord and actually doing it. Just saying those things doesn’t change anything, however doing those things results in a transformation of my heart, soul, and mind. This transformation doesn’t happen over night. Taking every thought captive, making my mind and body obedient to Christ, and trusting in the Lord’s promises and Word. Trusting that He is sovereign and the Lord over all things. Those are not easy things to understand or do, this is why I am continually filling my mind with truth through God’s word, bringing all of my prayers before the Lord, and beginning to share with others my struggles and joys.

            Sharing today with someone and seeing someone who has struggled with some of the same things as me and has gone through some of the same things that I have gone through is comforting. The Lord uses His people to help comfort others. God used my friend today to comfort me. Seeing her open up and knowing that she has the same fear about opening up to others in a way comforted me because I know exactly what that feels like. I have felt that fear for a long time. We are going through many of the same struggles and I believe the Lord has brought us together to help one another. God is amazing. God used many of the things that He has been speaking into my life to speak into her life. That made me cry, because God used something that I have and do struggle with to help and encourage someone else. Today I saw the work that God is doing in my life as I spoke His words of truth that He has spoken into my life recently and as I shared His words with my friend. She also spoke words of truth into my life and encouraged me through what God has taught her through her struggles. Sharing God’s victories in our lives and His love for us with one another was amazing. We have an amazing God.

The past few weeks...

These past few weeks have been amazing don't get me wrong, but they have also been very tough. A few weeks ago God led me to go to counseling, which has its ups and downs but this week I really enjoyed it. I came to the point now where I feel comfortable opening up and working through things with my counselor, Krista. If you could be praying over our sessions together I would greatly appreciate it, we meet every Tuesday.

God has been using many different people here in Costa Rica to speak truth into my life and I am very grateful for all of them. It has been wonderful to be surround by as the Bible says "a great cloud of witnesses". It is one thing to meet people who say they believe in the Lord it is another thing to meet people who live out their faith and truly know the Lord. Our Lord is so amazing. It is incredible to me to see how He continues to reveal Himself to me and continues to work in and through my life and the lives of others. It is true what the old song says, "knowing you Jesus there is no greater thing".

The more God reveals Himself to me the more I love Him. He is so good. Life in itself is not easy for most people, but thank the Lord that our lives our not own.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it". - John 1: 1-5

Home Sweet Home

Yesterday after I arrived home from Panama, I was exhausted so I just relaxed and laid down til it was time to go to bed or until I could no longer keep my eyes open. The trip as a whole was wonderful. I loved being able to sit out on a deck and look out over the sea. The company was also pretty great, the group of students that went were wonderful. They were so much fun and everyone had great attitudes, even when we were stuck in some pretty tight situations (for example having all seven of us shoved into a taxi). On Saturday, we were able to go to the beach and a few of us went snorkeling, that was super cool. Seeing all of the wildlife under the water reminded me of when I was a little kid and I would watch Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel with my dad. I use to love studying animals, even now I still have an appreciation for God's creatures.

Going away to the beach and traveling also reminded me of how much I love my host family and I love being here. As soon as I walked in the door yesterday, I came in and talked to mami then I went and laid on my bed and said, "I am home" with a sigh. I love my family and room here in Costa Rica. It is such a blessing to be able to be here and learn Spanish, while being surrounded by such wonderful people.

The Official Day of Independence

Today was Independence Day here in Costa Rica. This morning I woke up to the sounds of canons being fired and drummers drumming. The festivities start early around here. This morning there were celebrations taking place all over town.

Almost all of the schools had a parade of some sort and most of the families were out celebrating. At 8:30am I met up with some friends to watch a parade. The parade was wonderful. One thing that I enjoyed watching was the crowd around the parade. As the parade moved most of the crowd moved with it, that was an interesting site. In the States, it is common to see people sitting along the sides of the roads in their lawn chairs to watch a parade, but not here. Even as I came home tonight from dinner there were still people out and about in the streets. Celebrating my first Independence Day in Costa Rica has been a lot of fun.

In the morning, I will be heading to Bocas del Toro, Panama to renew my visa. Please pray for the students and I as we are traveling tomorrow and as we return on Sunday. I will be sure to write an update when I return.

Independence Day

Today in Costa Rica, everyone celebrated Independence Day (even though the actual holiday is tomorrow). There was a lot of celebrating taking place tonight in the schools and in the streets of San Jose. It has been fun learning more about the culture through this holiday and participating in some of the traditional Costa Rican festivities. The other day in the park I got the chance to witness some people dancing around in giant costumes with masks, which I learned is part of the tradition of Independence day. It is common to see people wearing masks and dressing up. One of my teachers said today that the Smurf costumes are really popular this year because of the movie. It is also a tradition to have a parade of lights in celebration of the torch that was brought to San Jose to announce it's independence.Tonight at school there was a parade of lights, singing, and some traditional dancing. Fireworks were also being shot off around the city, which made me smile. I love seeing fireworks.

Tomorrow there will be some more celebrating. Starting in the morning there will be parades in the streets that will last well into the night.

God is good, God is love...Psalm 136

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
            His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
            His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
            His love endures forever.
to him who alone does great wonders,
            His love endures forever.
who by his understanding made the heavens,
            His love endures forever.
who spread out the earth upon the waters,
            His love endures forever.
who made the great lights—
            His love endures forever.
the sun to govern the day,
            His love endures forever.
the moon and stars to govern the night;
            His love endures forever.
to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
            His love endures forever.
 and brought Israel out from among them
            His love endures forever.
 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
            His love endures forever.
to him who divided the Red Sea asunder
            His love endures forever.
and brought Israel through the midst of it,
            His love endures forever.
but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
            His love endures forever.
to him who led his people through the wilderness;
            His love endures forever.
to him who struck down great kings,
            His love endures forever.
and killed mighty kings—
            His love endures forever.
Sihon king of the Amorites
            His love endures forever.
and Og king of Bashan—
            His love endures forever.
and gave their land as an inheritance,
            His love endures forever.
an inheritance to his servant Israel.
            His love endures forever.
He remembered us in our low estate
            His love endures forever.
and freed us from our enemies.
            His love endures forever.
He gives food to every creature.
            His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven.
            His love endures forever.