Love Saturdays

Woke up this morning not feeling very good, but I slept it off then went to work with the kiddos. I love getting to see those kids every week. This week Karla read about Daniel and the Lion's Den and then we colored a sheet going along with the theme. Also, the number of children grew this week, we had a few new kids, which is always really exciting to see.

Before we started, everyone was waiting around for an hour because the house was locked (this happens every week) so the kids and I got to play some games. I tried to practice my Spanish and I definitely practiced listening. Brandon, is like the leader of the kids, he cracks me up. He explained two new games to me and of course I lost every time. I also practiced the song Father Abraham in English with them and then we tried it in Spanish. Then it was time for the lesson and coloring.

Besides, watching the children pray and hearing them laugh my third favorite thing is watching them color. All of the children love coloring, but most of them do not have crayons or coloring books in their homes. There is one little boy in particular who really loves to color, I love seeing his finished pictures each week. I really enjoy watching him color, he gets so serious when he is trying to make the picture perfect and then if he messes up he just gets ridiculous and laughs and colors the picture with a bunch of crazy colors. It is so much fun to watch.

Relationships matter

Your relationship with God matters, your relationship with your family matters, your relationship with your co-workers matter, your relationship with others matters...relationships matter! This is something that I am starting to see more and more. As I have begun to open up to people God has showed me how important relationships really are. We are meant to be in relationships. We are relational beings. We are met to have a relationship with God, but also with other people. God is still taking me through what this really means, but that is what I have been thinking about these past two weeks. I have been diving into God's word and seeking God's truth on this topic of relationships so we will see where He leads me as He reveals to me the significance of relationships in my life. 

I know this doesn't seem like new information and I have heard that we are relational beings before, but there is something deeper there. Relationships affect so many parts of our lives and who we are. If we are in a relationship with God then that relationship should affect the rest of our relationships. There comes a break though somewhere for me, and for most people, where a broken or betrayed relationship(s) can have a negative effect that is so strong that it affects all of our other relationships, even our relationship with God. This is where things go wrong when we allow our broken or betrayed relationships with others to affect our relationship with God instead of it being the other way around (Our relationship with God affecting our broken or betrayed relationships). Broken relationships, in any form, can cause pain, but also if allowed to do so can cause this unnecessary fear of people, which can hinder all of our relationships.

This is just a short glimpse into some of things that I have been thinking about lately so we will see where God takes me on this journey and study of relationships and fear.

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.