Costa Rica

I woke up this morning happy and well rested, thank you Lord! I have trouble sleeping most nights, mostly because of anxiety, but last night I was able to get some rest and I know it was because of the Lord. I felt such a peace as I was falling asleep by reciting bible verses and worship songs, oh it was wonderful!

As I stated in my last blog post, I am now filling out the application to go to language school in Costa Rica in May. The process that has allowed me to get to this point has been long and hard, but I am so thankful to now be on my way with confidence that this what I am suppose to be doing. I first heard about language school when I was on my internship in Spain last summer. While on my internship in Spain, I struggled so much with learning Spanish that I was brought to tears. One of my goals in life has been to learn another langauge specifically Spanish because of my Mexican heritage and because of my heart for the Hispanic people. As I have grown older, my heart for Hispanics has not changed and I desire with all my heart to work in a ministry specifically focused on this people group.

Since learning about language school in Spain, I have asked very many questions to any missionary who is willing to help me. I have talked to many people who have gone to language school and every single person has had nothing but great things to say about The Spanish Language Institute in Costa Rica. I have been told that through this school I will learn how to speak and understand Spanish. In order for me to be effective in my future ministry with the Hispanic people, I must first learn the language.

I have had people ask me, "Why don't you just try Rosetta Stone or take a class in the states?" Well, I have tried to learn Spanish in the states and nothing has been able to help me. When I was in elementary school I took Spanish classes for a couple summers and then when I was in high school I took Spanish class for 3 years and even joined Spanish Club. However, despite some of my best efforts I have not been able to learn Spanish...yes my Spanish has improved slowly but not very well. I still would consider myself to be a beginner when it comes to the Spanish language. The things that have helped me learn Spanish the most has been my trips to Mexico and to Spain. I have learned more Spanish in those couple weeks than I did in any of my classes and that was because I lived among the people and I was surrounded by Spanish speakers. The only way for me to learn to speak Spanish is to be completely emersed in the language and I know that the school in Costa Rica is going to be one of the best descisions I have ever made. At the Spanish Language Institute, I will be able to not only learn Spanish and about Costa Rica, I will also be able to interact with different missionaries. I know language school is not for everyone but I definately feel that  in my heart without a doubt that this is right for me.

Currently, I am getting ready to mail-out my application very soon! I am also now preparing myself to leave by getting all of my documentation together and by creating a long to-do list, which I know as May comes closer will only increase. Thank you for all of your prayers and support throughout the years! I am so excited about this next transition in my life! All of you have helped bring me to where I am today, thank you so much! God is good!

Filling Out the Application

Just wanted to let you all know that I am filling out the application to go to Costa Rica today. The deadline isn't until March 1st but I want to get an early start to continue to motivate me to prepare for departure. I am really excited about this next step in my life. I spent last night learning about Costa Rica, watching House Hunters which featured a family buying a home in Costa Rica, and I crunched some numbers to see what I have to do to be able to afford to go to Costa Rica. Although, the finances may be hurting a little right now I know the Lord will provide. Thank you for joining me on this next phase in my life!

New Look

I just updated my blog with a new look! I felt like it was time for a change so I hope that all of you like it. There is one change that I want you to be aware of, now in order to make a comment on a blog you must click on the specific blog entry or title to see the comment box. However, I have also added a new fun way for you to share my blog with others you can now use the icons under each post to share my entries via Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, blogging, or Google.

I have also added another new addition to my site...if you scroll all the way down on the right hand side you will see my name if you click on my name the link will take you directly to the Spanish Language Institute in Costa Rica, where I plan on doing my language training in May.

The World Keeps On Spinning

Do you ever have those moments that you wish you could freeze in time or at least in your long-term memory bank? I know I do. Like for example, my first time going out of the country. Looking back, I now wonder what it felt like to enter Mexico or what I smelled as soon as I crossed the border. I wonder how silly I must have looked when trying to speak Spanish and interact with the children.  It is during those precious moments that I try so hard to soak in everything so that later on I can remember exactly how I felt and how things were.  However, no matter what I do I always seem to forget something.  One way that helps me remember all of my feelings and experiences is journaling.  I love to journal, but I often find myself struggling to write on paper because I am not sure what to say or what to keep out or add, and then before you know it I have either wrote too much or later on I remember things I should have added.  There are many things that I have not added to this blog and to my previous journals but bear with me as I continue to try to share my precious moments and thoughts with you.

This past week has been a whirlwind of events. My grandfather Leon passed away, which has been very hard. I don't quite remember crying so much in one week as I have this past week. However, I have loved spending time with my family and bonding with some relatives that I don't get to see nearly as much as I would like too. This has been one of my biggest fears in being away from home, I have feared that the ones I love will pass away and I won't be able to be there to mourn or help comfort my family. It still bothers me that I may not always be able to come home when I lose a loved one, but now I see that although it is very difficult and very hard.... life must go on. I kept hearing over and over again this past week, "Death is just apart of life".

Even though, you may want to slap the person who tells you that while you are mourning you have to admit that it is true. Death will come to us all, it is just apart of life, but with the Lord's strength and guidance life will go on and the world will keep on spinning even when it feels like there is no hope. One thing I know for certain is that we can always find our hope in the Lord.

I can be described as a tumbleweed

A tumbleweed is the above-ground part of a plant that, once mature and dry, disengages from the root and tumbles away in the wind. Usually, the tumbleweed is the entire plant apart from the roots, but in a few species it is a flower cluster.^[1] The tumbleweed habit is most common in steppe and desert plants. The tumbleweed is a diaspore, aiding in dispersal of propagules (seeds or spores). It does this by scattering the propagules either as it tumbles, or after it has come to rest in a wet location.^[2] In the latter case, the tumbleweed opens mechanically as it absorbs water; apart from its propagules, the tumbleweed is dead. (Wikipedia, yes I do believe it is a reliable source).  


Much like the tumbleweed, once I was mature enough I broke apart from everything I knew. I went out into the world and started exploring this beautiful creation. Tumbling about from place to place, I learned new things.  I met new people and scattered a few seeds along the way. 


As, I grow older this tumbling process continues as I continue to go where I feel my heart and God are leading me.  I have been blessed to have been where I have been and I am blessed to be at the place where I am now.  I try with every ounce of my being to not take these moments for granted because I know that my time here is not long.  I know that my life on earth is fleeting.


"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." John 3:8

I can be happy just about anywhere....

I have been very happy these past few weeks. I am loving my work at church and I am learning a lot about how to organize and plan events, as well as managing volunteers and keeping volunteers. Also, I have been able to spend a lot more time with the children.  This past week at the church the kids had their A.O.K. (Acts of Kindness) Week, where the children served all week both at the church and in the community. Seeing the children serve and help others really touched my heart: they donated food, raised food for the food pantry, served food, helped clean the church and a local golf course, and they also had the opportunity to help some recent tornado victims. It was amazing to see the children serving and to see how God is working in their lives.

I jumped out of bed....

I wrote this last Tuesday but forgot to publish it so here it is......This morning I woke up full of energy and ready to go.  I looked at my clock at 6:15am and thought why can't it be 7:15 already so for the next hour I rolled around in bed until finally it was 7:14am, that was good enough for me!  I jumped up out of bed and got ready to go, I even managed to have some extra time this morning to write in this blog.

Most of you might be wondering okay you are happy, I get it.  However, I have been listening to a set of sermons that I have downloaded at work from a conference and this guy, Chris Lemke has been talking to me every morning about having a child-like faith.  Chris calls this something like having the okayness of a 3 year old.

A 3 year old does not analyze the little problems, which I often find myself doing and wasting time over.  A 3 year old does not ask very many questions about someone who they are meeting for the first time, so there is very little judgment that takes place in the mind of a 3 year old. I was walking the other day with my host mom and we passed a little boy wearing a diaper and a t-shirt standing inside his house looking out the door. My guess is that he is about 2 years old and while we walked past his house he looks at us outside and yells hi and waves. He doesn't care that he is in a diaper standing in doorway and yelling at complete strangers. He is just concerned about the people that are outside his house. I wonder what would happen in our churches if we had the okayness of a 3 year old?