An unexpected day...

Desert Song by: Hillsong

This song has been on my mind lately so I wanted to share it with you. Today, I stood still before the Lord. I praised God and prayed, but mostly I tried to listen to the Truth that He is speaking into my life. Today, during our break at school, I sat in silence listening to worship music. After school, I went out with a friend for coffee, which now looking at it was totally a God thing. As I sat there listening to my friend, she talked about her job back in the states and how she helps people. Hearing the testimonies that she shared and hearing about her job, they spoke directly to my heart. I have to admit I wanted to cry because I had only met this lady twice, but she was speaking truth about God into my life over things that I have been dealing with and I didn't even tell her anything about my life. She had no idea the impact that conversation was having on me, but God did. We sat there and talked, but I just tried to listen. I didn't share much about my life with her because I wanted to just listen. It was great, I know God provided that moment for me and allowed her to speak Truth into my life and help guide me.

Then later on today, I had another great unexpected moment. As I was babysitting, guess what movie we watched? This was the DVD that was already in the player when I arrived and the one the kids picked out, "The Prince of Egpyt". Yeah that's right, the story of Moses and God's love for His people. Since my arrival to Costa Rica, I have been studying Moses and God's faithfulness and now I got to watch some of the story unfold on the television screen. Not only did I watch this amazing story, but I also got to explain God's love and faithfulness to the children I was babysitting. Even though, they knew the basics of the story a couple of them had never watched the movie so I explained it to them. After the movie, one of the kids was asking me about the rocks (ten commandments) that Moses was carrying at the end of the movie, so I went and found a children's Bible and read the rest of the story to him. While I was reading, I stopped and asked him if he wanted to go play with the other kids, and his reply was, "No, this is the best story". I just smiled and thought yeah I think so too.

What an amazing unexpected day, thank you Lord.

Be still and know...

None but Jesus by: Hillsong

I did have something that I wanted to share that I started writing earlier, but I don't think now is the time to share it. I have been doing alot of thinking lately about God, and He has been revealing alot to me about Him and who He has made me to be. However, this morning when I started dwelling on all these things again and His truth I got to a road block. It felt like God was telling me to stop thinking for a moment and just be still. I have been doing a ton of thinking lately on life and God, and He knew that now I needed time to process it all and just accept it as His truth. So His words to me are, "Be still". This has never been something easy for me to do so I am trusting in Him to show me what this really means. This is not something I should do, but it is something that I have to do.

"Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth". Psalm 46:10

Fear God...what does this mean?

So I left my last post with this thought that we need to fear God. Almost as quickly as I finished that blog, I realized I didn't understand what it means to fear God. When I think of fearing God, for some reason I automatically picture a guy with a Bible and a megaphone yelling at me about how I am going to hell if I don't believe in the God. But that is not what I am not talking about when I say that we should fear the Lord, so let's look at Scripture...

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise." Psalm 111:10

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." Proverbs 1:7

So it is safe to say that fear is a good place to start when looking at our relationship with the Lord. Do you "fear of the Lord"? Why or why not? Was there ever a time in your life when you did fear the Lord? If so, why?

God created the universe and He is the same God as yesterday, today, and tomorrow(Hebrews 13:8). He is the one who was, and is, and is to come (Revelation 4:8). So in knowing that to be true, our God as described in the New Testament is the same God as found in the Old Testament. This is hard for some people to grasp.

We want to think that our fear should be different than the Israelites' fear of God or even the unbelievers' fear of God. We want to make our fear seem less fearful and seem more as this respect and awe sort of thing, but this is not the way it should be (Francis Chan).

People in Scripture who loved God had this fear of God. What did Moses do when the Lord first appeared in the burning bush? He hid his face, why? Because he was afraid (Exodus 3:6). What did Isaiah do when he saw the Lord? "Woe to me, I am ruined" (Isaiah 6:5). What did John do when He saw the Lord? "I fell at his feet as though dead" (Revelation 1:17). That isn't normally the way someone would act unless they were afraid. What makes you think your reaction to seeing the Lord would be any different? When you see God you will fear Him, we all will (Francis Chan).

Without this fear of God we wouldn't be able to understand God's power. The same power that is available to us through the Holy Spirit. Why do we find comfort in the verse, "I can do all thing through Christ who strengthens me,"? (Philippians 4:13) Because we know through Scripture what God is capable of and we know His power and strength.

"The fear of the Lord leads to life: then one rests content, untouched by trouble." Proverbs 19:23

We start with this fear of God, but God out of His love for us doesn't keep us there. God told Moses, "I will be with you," God was comforting Moses (Exodus 3:12). God took Isaiah's guilt away and sin, in order for Isaiah to stand before the Lord without fear (Isaiah 6:6-7). With John, God said, "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last" (Revelation 1:17).

"I am the first and the last; apart from me there is no God," (Isaiah  44:6). In Isaiah 44:8, God says, "do not tremble, do not be afraid". We start with fear, but God does not keep us in that fear. God like He did with Moses, Isaiah, and John comforts us and tell us to not be afraid. Why though?

You see once you admit your fear and humble yourself before the Lord with the understanding that you are nothing apart from Him, you don't need to fear.

"If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31

Once you see God than nothing else matters. You see this is not about you, this is about God. Your life is not your own. Apart from Him, we are nothing, and only through Jesus can we find our identity. Only through Jesus can we be secure and find comfort, in knowing that the Lord of the universe loves us enough to allow His only Son to die for our sins. God is that good and powerful that He can wipe away all our sins and guilt, and make us new. Through our fear in God, we are led to life.

"The fear of the Lord leads to life: then one rests content, untouched by trouble". Isaiah 19:23

We rest and become untouched by trouble, because we feared the Lord and have been led to everlasting life.

"The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 26:1-2

If you have never feared the Lord, but have a desire for the Lord maybe this should be your prayer, "Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name". (Psalm 86:11)

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge..." Proverbs 1:7a

Our God is Greater

"The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?" Psalm 27:1

"I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind," 2 Timothy 1:7

Out of those verses and others, I can see that I am not suppose to fear (I talk about fearing God later for those of you wondering). If you have ever heard the worship song "Our God is Greater," then you know this verse, "If our God is for us then who can ever stop us? And if our God is with then what can stand against us?".

There are many things in life that can cause us to have anxiety or fear, but with God nothing can stand against. Keep that in mind when you are afraid or when you have anxiety. Our God is greater and stronger than anything in this world, He has already overcome the world through Jesus Christ.

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all of creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39

Remember this also...
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:10-12.

We can't be strong on our own against evil, but we are called to be strong in the Lord. Our war is against the powers of this dark world and the forces of evil. This is true so we need stand strong in the Lord and have faith in Him, that will protect us and guide us.

I say this to you so that you may be reminded of these truths just as much as I need to be reminded of them. Since, I was little this spiritual battle has never been hidden from me. I have noticed it at a young age and God continues to open my eyes to it. Very few people know this, but when I was in college this battle became even closer for me. My freshman year, I started experiencing stronger demonic dreams (I had a few as a child). These dreams go above nightmares, there is something very evil present in them it is hard to describe it, and at times these dreams seem so real. I would awake up in fear and sometimes be trembling. This continued to happen on and off throughout college, and then my junior year something new happened. This year was particularly hard for me emotionally and one night I was physically attacked by something evil. I was being choked in bed by something I could not see, this was not a panic attack. I was scared. The only thing I could do was barely whisper "Jesus," repeatedly until finally the choking stopped and then I could yell, "Jesus". I then proceeded to cry and sang every worship song I knew and recited every Scripture I had memorized. This has been my way to battle the powers of darkness ever since, cling to Jesus, be in His Word, and praise His name. I still have the demonic dreams every now and then, but I still continue to cling to God. I will admit that I struggle with fearing evil forces, but I always bring that before the Lord because I know I should fear only Him. No matter what Satan tries to throw at me, I know God is with me because I am His child.

"Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name." Psalm 86:11

"Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All the nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed." Revelation 15:3-5

Fear nothing but the Lord. God is true and just, your life could not be in better hands than in the hands of God. He will lift you up in your time of need. Be strong in the Lord.

Prayer Request:
I have had a few demonic dreams since I have been in Costa Rica and this usually happens when something good is taking place. So I know something good is happening here, but the dreams do make it hard to sleep sometimes at night so if you could please pray for me to sleep well and rest in the Lord, that would be greatly appreciated. Or pray that His will would be done and that I would continue to be strengthened in Him. Thank you.

I share my personal testimony on my spiritual warfare so that you would know that God is good and faithful. Satan can not win this battle, he has already lost. Fear not the evil forces or powers of this world, but be strong in the Lord and learn to fear only Him. To God be the glory and honor, forever and ever.

I left my heart in Valle del Sol...

I didn't want to leave. If I could have stayed there all night playing with those kids I would have. We had a great time. Thank you Lord for all of the children who came today and for blessing our time together.

This week we also had three added blessings to our group. Three volunteers came and helped out with the ministry, two of which were guys who coordinated a game of fútbol for the guys in Valle del Sol. One guy is named Walter, he is currently homeless but he is working on trying to get his life together. If you are praying please add Walter to your prayers. He use to be a professional fútbol player for one of the top teams in Costa Rica until he became an alcoholic. Currently, Steve works with Him in the homeless ministry and is helping Walter find ways to fill his time during the day. Walter will not accept money and doesn't have any money because he is afraid of falling back into his bad habits. Please pray for him.

God also continues to bless this ministry with new children. This week we had a few new children. One little boy named Welmey, stole my heart. He is a tough kid but he also still has some of his childish innocence, he is in that in-between stage.

After the lesson, English word of the day, and coloring, we played a game of fútbol. It was great. The kids loved it and even though we didn't have a lot of room or even real goals, we used the resources God has given us and had a great game. Our two coloring tables turned into goals and we used the only ball we had to play with. We played for over an hour. I have never seen the kids play a game with such excitement and interest, it was great. I am going to have to buy a new ball for next week, our ball popped because of the nails in the wall, but we still had fun. The kids grabbed the ball even though it was flat and started playing a strange mix of basketball and fútbol. It was funny. In the States, the game would have ended when the ball went flat and kids would have complained, but not here they just picked it up and kept on playing.

I know God is with me always, but the joy and peace that I get when serving the Lord through working with children, is indescrible. Those four hours every week are some of my favorite. Serving the Lord is not burdensome or an obligation when you love Him, and have a love for His children. I can't wait til next Saturday!

The Annexation of Guanacaste

This weekend in Costa Rica, we are celebrating the annexation of Guanacaste! The day that the people of Guanacaste decided that they wanted to be apart of Costa Rica instead of Nicaragua, July 25th. So in honor of this day, we had a celebration at school and we have a three day weekend. At our celebration, we ate tomales, drank horchata, and danced. For the past two months, some students and teachers have been practicing some traditional Costa Rican dances and they had a performance at the school today and yesterday. It was quite a show and a lot of fun. I love watching people dance, especially my teacher Graciela because she has a passion for dancing. (I have uploaded some of these pictures on Facebook along with some from Canada Day and from the La Paz waterfall garden.)

This week has been a great week and it continues on getting better. This weekend I get to relax a bit and study. I need to go back and review some nouns and verbs. I also get to work with the kids on Saturday, babysit on Sunday, and hang out with some friends throughout the weekend.

This week, I have had two exams: one in language class and the other in grammar, both of which went well. At least I hope so, I will find out next week what my scores are. I also have an update on my health. I have been feeling uneasy for quite some time now so I finally decided to go to the doctor yesterday. Turns out that I have an intestinal parasite, but I have some medication now so everything will be good in 4 to 5 days. Also, the prayers of all my friends and family have been helping tremendously I have not had very much pain and I have been more at peace, so thank you all so much.

I have been really enjoying my past couple of weeks here and God has been so good to me. I have little things here and there that try to distract me or get in the way of way I am here, but I love that every morning I can wake up and thank God that I am where He wants me to be. Since my arrival in Costa Rica, I have been able to experience God in ways that I never have before and it has been wonderful. I have had to be dependent on God and it feels so good to lean on Him. His love for me and others, continues to amaze me.

Thank you all so much for your continued support and prayers! It has been such a blessing and a privilege to be at language school. I will be sending out a newsletter update soon in the mail so be on the lookout. If you would like to receive my newsletter and are currently not on my mailing list, please send me your address at cd_0687@yahoo.com 

Also, I would like to share with you something that has been on my heart. God willing I would love to stay here longer, but only if it is in His will. This is something that I have been praying about for quite a while now, almost since my arrival. There is something about being here at language school that seems so right. I know that God has planned for me to be here at this specific point in time so I know that He will provide the funds for me to stay til December and possibly longer, as long as it His will. I don´t want to make this decision lightly and frankly this decision is not mine to make, because my life is not my own. This why I am asking if you would prayfully consider supporting me financially, in a one-time donation or even a monthly donation from now until _______. I am currently still in need of $1,600 in order to stay in language school til December 2011, but my prayer goal is $4,900 because I would love to stay in language school till the end of April 2012. (For those of you reading who are unsure of how my financial support works, all support is not tax-deductible because I am an independent missionary, this means that I am not associated with any organization. Financial giving should be done only through prayful consideration.) Out of faith and love I came to Costa Rica and God provided, I know that if this is His desire for my life He will provide again. If God is calling you to support me financially, please mail a check to:

Chelsea Davis
1309 South Park
Streator, IL 61364

All checks should be made out to: Chelsea Davis

(Also, please indicate if this is a one-time donation or if you would like to give a monthly donation of a certain amount (Also please indicate the months. For example from August 2011 til December 2011). For those of you receiving my newsletter I will have a slip with my newsletter that indicates whether you would like to donate one-time or monthly.) 


I would also appreciate any and all prayers, regarding my continuation with language school and my financial needs.  Thank you.

Jesus said what?

"He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord first let me go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-bye to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." Luke 9:59-62

Wow, really? I read those verses and thought, okay Jesus that is kind of strict don't you think? How come you wouldn't let the man go say good-bye to his family? Then I thought that even though those words may at first sound harsh, there is something more important going on here. I can't look at these verses based off of my first human instinct.

Imagine that Jesus Christ, the Lord, shows up while you are at work and is standing in front of you saying, "Come follow me": not in an hour, not in a few minutes, but right now in this very second. Leave everything you know and everything you have, and just follow me. How many of you would go? Forget calling your family, forget saying good-bye, and forget packing, there is no time. Jesus is standing in front of you now saying, "Come follow me". Would you go?

Well this is what Jesus did to His disciples. He met them where they were at and offered them the opportunity to come and follow Him. In Luke 9, He sends them out and says, "take nothing for the journey - no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic". That is right nothing.

Jesus wanted His disciples to be completely dependent on Him, and He wants the same for us. He wants us to be completely dependent on Him. He wants us to trust Him. You see God would have to take care of His disciples and followers, because they had nothing else to cling to.

We have to faith, like the disciples, that Jesus will come through. We have to trust in the Lord. The disciples did not have anything to cling to for comfort or safety, except for God. They had to put all their trust in Him.

"This place of trust isn't a comfortable place to be; in fact, it flies against everything we've been taught about proper planning. We like finding refuge in what we already have rather than in what we hope God will provide. But when Christ says to count the cost of following Him, it means we must surrender everything. It means being willing..."to go without an extra pair of shoes, without money, without a place to sleep, and sometimes without knowing where we are going. (Crazy Love, p. 123)

We need to trust God completely with everything. This will not make sense to an unbeliever, but to the one who loves the Lord, there is no other way than to trust and obey.