Relationships.

So this week our topic is: Evangelism. I'm not gonna lie, that word has been really intimidating for me. I've never been good at expressing my faith to people and this was one of the main reasons why I came to Costa Rica; I wanted to express my faith and relationship with God in a natural way. When I used to think of Evangelism, I used to think that I could neverrrrr do that...that was only for the really good Christ followers and I didn't have enough knowledge of the bible to do that. Well, that is true to some extent, I will never know the entire bible and its entirety, but I do have other things that can be used to evangelize.

Evangelism is not just walking up to someone and preaching the word; it is telling people about the joy and happiness that you have found through Jesus. Evangelism can be creative, it can be loud, it can be one and one, but most importantly it is all about building a relationship with someone. This is the key that I had been missing when thinking about spreading the good news. When you want to express something that is so important to you to your friend, a family member and even a stranger; you have to be relational--what a concept right?!

Yesterday, we went out to a neighborhood in a not so good part of town and did bible distribution. I was really pumped because I had never done it before. So before we went out we had like an hour of just straight prayer time--this is key before going into a community and presenting Jesus to people. We prayed for God to go before us, to prepare the peoples hearts, to have the Holy Spirit help us when we go and to protect us. Each person went in the middle of the circle, layed hands on them, and prayed. This was probably the coolest thing we've done so far for me because during that prayer time I was asking God to give me a heart for these people. I started tearing up because I really feel that God was breaking my heart for what breaks his. The prayers were so powerful that morning, I just love when that happens!

So we divided up into groups of 3-4 and went out amongst the neighborhood. I really enjoyed my group because we all were so at ease that morning, but it helped that the two houses we went to were totally awesome! We only had time to go to two houses because we were with them so long so I'm only going to talk about the first house we went to..The first house was this sweet old couple that openly opened their house to us. We sat with them for a good half hour, maybe longer and just talked. Morgan (my leader and translator) was explaining to them that we were 'new' missionaries at a bible school and needed practice telling our testimony and what not so we literally just talked about what God has been doing in our lives and it was great! They too believed in God so it was just so special to be sitting with this couple just talking about our walk with God. They were so loving that they said "Our house is your house, you are always welcomed here"--you definitely dont get that in the states! Here we are, complete strangers, and they just openly let us in their home--this definitely was a culture shock to me.

But something that I did learn that is vital for evangelizing is that it is sooo about building that relation with people. Yes, it is important to tell people about Jesus, but sometimes it can be the simple act of listening to a sweet old couple talk, baking goods for the homeless, giving free water bottles down town, serving others, etc...I say this because it was so evident that the old couple we visited just really enjoyed our company. I bet if we had more time, we could of been there for hours, just talking with them.

Another thing that I learned from this experience is that when I do have a home, I want it to be an open place, where people can come and go-a warm and welcoming home for all. Since I have been in Costa Rica I have been surrounded by nothing but loving latinos who are overly kind in almost all aspects of their lives. It has truly taught me so much about loving people and loving our differences.

Tonight we made 40 bucks on our bake sale and 37 bucks on our garage sale--all proceeds are going straight to our outreach because some of us don't have the funds to pay, but thats quite all right because we are raising the money all together as a family and trusting in God that he is going to provide it--whoohoooo!

Tomorrow night we are going to salvation army, dont know exactly what we will be doing, but we are bringing the left over cookies to the homeless--so Im pretty pumped! ill write more this weekend- gotta soak in all the free internet time I can get right now-Ciao!

My Oh My. I haven’t blogged in the last two weeks and I’ve been putting it off because I feel that there has been so much going on that I can’t put everything down on paper...So last week was probably one of the most difficult weeks here, thus far. Everyone was feeling tired, restless and most of all home sick. The problem is that coming here we have all gotten so much inner healing, that God has taught us so much about our personal lives and what are passions are and we are just excited about starting our life post DTS that we were all impatient about the process that God is still doing in our lives. Its like we barely just learned to walk, still taking our first steps and we want to run already. So luckily I wasn’t the only one feeling the strains of always being surrounded by people, following a tight schedule and wanting to know the outcome instead of living for the journey.

One thing that God has been teaching me for the last two weeks is obedience. That taking theses small steps of obedience will not only prepare me for what is to come, but to enjoy the little things that God wants to show me each day. That I aspire to be like Joseph in the bible, Joseph was content and trusted God in every situation he had put him in and in every situation Joseph was steadfast and solely living for the Lord. That through his trials and tribulations, he endured with a pure heart for the Lord, and situation after situation got better because he was content doing God’s work in the hardest of places. That through work duties, going to class when Im tired, waking up at 5:30am is all spiritual acts of worship for the Lord.

“For it is god who is working in you, enabling you both to will and to act for his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling and arguing so that you may be blameless and pure.” –Philippians 2:13-14

Last weeks topic was ‘Studying the Bible’ and it was seriously amazing! The first day we went downtown San Jose and split up into groups and just read certain passages in the bible for 2 ½ hours. I really enjoyed this activity because we had a great conversation and we were discussed the significances of the specific verses we were assigned. Later in the week we ripped apart the book of Philemon and was shocked in how much information was embedded in the 25 verses of that book! The underlying theme, why they were writing it, to whom, from whom, the history during that time, where Paul was, etc...I mean the details of it all were just incredible. It just goes to show you that you can’t just open the bible and start reading and expect it to be applicable to  your life, (I mean sometimes it does), but you need to be weary and know the context, the history, the audience, who wrote it, etc...It was so very interesting to learn about and to apply it. It has everything we need for this life- it counsels, it creates, it perfects, it overflows with God’s love and his word for the purpose of our lives.

God has totally changed my view on how I look at the Bible. Before the bible was some big daunting book that was filled with knowledge that is sometimes incomprehensible. But now looking at it, it is like a familiar best friend that you see every day. That I have come to love this heavy book of God’s word. The bible brings such life to every situation I am going through and I really do not know what I did without it. It has been my stronghold while going through all of this. I guess you can say I am in a great relationship with a book.

So this week was a phenom week to say the least. ‘Biblical Worldview’ was the topic and it was lead by the base director and what a passionate and powerful speaker he was. You can just feel his heart for God and it radiated throughout the classroom. I was soaking up all his teachings like a sponge because he literally broke down how people view God and God’s place in this world. And one of the main ideas he was trying to teach us was what kind of reality we live in. He was asking us questions that were very valid and very important questions of our faith that needed to be asked and answered. One of the things he said that will help when we go on our outreach is that when we come into a community carrying the word of God, we need to relate and understand what their worldview is first in order to relate with them on a level that they will understand. There is so much more that we learned, but sadly it is really detailed and too long to fit it all here, but if anyone ever wants to find out more about this topic, for sure hit me up for a cup of joe, maybe a phone date -- I would Love to discuss it!

So yesterday we had another giving day---Oh how I love giving days! I received something that was so special to me; soy milk. I know what you’re thinking, soy milk?! 

But honestly it was the thoughtfulness and  the heart behind it that made me so happy. Soy milk here is like Montana’s treasure; you can only get it at Wal-Mart and it is so pricey and I have not had it in 2 months! And so it’s been really, really difficult here being a vegan and it’s a constant struggle on a daily basis because what I had to eat in the states is not here...it’s just hard. Money is limited and I don’t want to waste it on food. They provide 3 meals a day and even though sometimes I really don’t want to eat it, its just another thing that makes me appreciate when I do get to eat what I want. Ohhhh just another life lessons from Jesus!J

SO; for my dear friend Kristen to not only buy me that (and some great green tea) it really meant so much more. It just confirmed that these people truly do: 1. Know me 2. Care about me and 3.Would spend their limited money on a small carton of milk, because they know how happy it would make me.

I am just so thankful for these people in my life right now, because we are all going through ‘the dying of ourselves’ together, we are persevering through the difficult times together, we are growing and learning together, and we will get through all of it—TOGETHER. God is such a good God for giving me such strongholds in my life at this time of internal transformation..whoop!

Here is where I went running on Saturday morning--Such a beautiful neighborhood about 10 minutes from the base...

Photos Ive been feelin'

 [My Hammock Cocoon at Homes of Hope]

 [No fussing. No whining. No bad attitudes.]

 [Capturing the feeling of my life as of right now]

[--This ones for mah' spanish peeps. Represent.]

TOP 5 things I will never take for granted.

1. Throwing the toilet paper away in the toilet. Today this is second nature to me, but when I first got here it really took me some time getting used to/ was really grossed out by it. All the unnecessary unsanitary germs that are lingering in the bathrooms are the norm. But I must admit, having 4 stalls for the whole base is prettyyyyyy...well lets not think about that....In seriousness, all the praise to the plumbing system in the states, I don’t know what it is, if the pipes are bigger or what, but thank you US for disposing of toiletries down the drain. Mad Props.

2. Having hot showers on a daily basis. 4 out of the 5 showers that I take a week are in titanic ice cold water, and I am not exaggerating. If you don’t get the first shower on the left (there are 4) be prepared to do back bends in the shower because it is so cold from your hair dripping down to the rest of you. So basically I rinse really fast, turn it off to shampoo, rinse really fast, turn it off to condition and soap up the body then turn it on really fast to rinse. Thus resulting in me shaving only once a week (good thing Im here for God and not trying to impress any boys, ya know what im sayin') when I do get the so called ‘hot’ shower which is merely luke warm and is only warm when you baaaaaarely turn it on, resulting in very little pressure. BUT I must say that when I do have that hot shower once a week I am praising Jesus for it. Never again will I take for granted the warmth of shower water AND the comforts of a nice hot bath!

3. This probably should be #1, but its hard to put a number on these things, but really this should be first priority: Grocery shopping and cooking what you want to eat. Oh My Gosh. I have never had such a hard time eating the things I eat down here. For most of you know that I LOVE to eat healthy and I am very specific on what I eat because of my stomach. WELP that has had to take a back seat while being down here, which is hard. When you are surrounded by cookies, cakes and bread everywhere, it is so hard to get the nutrients your body needs! I will never take for granted my leafy greens, my smoothies, my vegetables, im getting a little teary eyed just thinking about it! Seriously though, it is really hard to eat right because 1. You get whatever they make and if you don’t like it, well tough luck! 2. Buying your own food can get real pricey, especially if you are living your life as a missionary and do not have an income right now........I will never ever, ever, ever take for granted going to a farmers market ever again!!!!!

4. Alone time/silence. Being by yourself on a base filled with people coming and going is quite impossible. Not to mention that there is only limited spaces on the four couches that we have, so comfy places are slim to none. By chance, you might be able to snag a hammock, but usually those are taken most often then not. Sharing a room with 6 other girls—it is hard to be alone as well. But one of the hardest things is that they don’t advise you to go off the base alone (rightly so, we are in a foreign country and they just are protecting us) but that doesn’t mean I don’t miss going to the store by myself, or going to Mccafe to just “get away”, or even going to a mall and just window shopping. I do miss those weekends were I could just jet over to marshalls, grab a starbucks and just shop. Having the luxury of doing your own thing when you want and where you want is a privilege and I didn’t even know it.

5. Sleeping in. Every morning I wake up at 5:30 and go non stop until about 7:30, some days even later. We have a full and packed schedule 5-6 days a week. I am lucky if I sleep till 8 on the weekends. Oh to have my nice warm bed on Sunday mornings, watching my law and order SVU all day long would be really nice once in a while. To have the luxury of just laying around in bed all day, wearing your pajamas and just enjoying the comforts of a clean, carpeted, house is what I think about often, but I am thankful for my bunk bed.

So even though these are the top 5 things that I will never take for granted when I get back to the states; being here--living in community, in a beautiful foreign country, learning more about myself in the past 7 weeks than I have in my entire life, building an intimate relationship with our Lord-—that in itself is something I will never take for granted when I get back to the states.

Yes, the non stop schedule sometimes makes me want to scream, Yes, seeing the same 12 people everyday sometimes makes me want to just be alone in a room by myself, Yes, the teachings can be overwhelming and down right draining-emotionally, physically and spiritually, but I am BEYOND grateful for my life at this very moment. I have never been so happy living in this oversized tree house with all the people that are here. Its really tough sometimes to be thankful for the experiences I am going through, but I know that this is all a part of his plan for me. That these life situations/experiences are preparing me to what is to come in the future, a way of getting me ‘trained’ for the calling in my life which I am so excited to see what that is!!! But until then, I will keep a positive attitude, keep my eyes on Jesus and thank him in my ‘sufferings’ for they are forming and molding my character. And believe you me—mah’ character should be pretty much be formed by now, can I get an AMEN! Haha—I kid. :)

Re: Blue Suede Shoes.

     So needless to say the trip to Salvation Army stirred up a lot of different and more importantly desires in my heart that I was certainly unaware of until coming to Costa. That same day that we went to Salvation Army, that night we had the option to go to training on Human trafficking (Freedom Street Ministry) so I attended since those ladies that morning really inspired me to get more involved. During the training I really felt excited about this ministry, the facts, the population, the need, how it is a growing global epidemic...it all was so enticing to me.

     “But honestly, Human Trafficking Montana?? .......Really??”, I thought to myself. Now I can’t tell you if it’s my calling or not, I can’t even tell you if I would like it, but what I can tell you is that during their presentation I pictured young girls all over Costa Rica and the world being sexually trafficked and it was a very unsettling- ‘harsh reality’ feeling.  During the teaching there was this urgency of wanting justice that came over me, that I wanted to do something about this, for the sake of saving these girls.

     “But me???” I thought again. I have no experience with human trafficking, nor do I even know the basics of how to minister to them, but I really believe that God has put me here in Costa Rica for a reason and there is no better place to start to learn about this global problem then here and now.

     Something that has stood out to me in the teaching this week was that “God doesn’t call the qualified, God qualifies the called.” That when God calls you to something he also is going to prepare you for it and that is how I am feeling right now. That I may not have the training (yet) to minister to these women (and men), but I have the want, the desire and the heart to help these people to have a better way of life—an urgency for them to find Jesus, an urgency to share his love for them.

     So on top of this new passion of mine, we found out where we are going on Outreach on Thursday, which will be at the end of September......Soooo....Drum roll please............Costa Rica! Yup, you heard right, we are staying in Beauuuuuuuuuuutiful Costa Rica and I am soooo STOKED! Now, if you were to ask me when I got here if I was to be okay with the fact that we were staying in one country I would of said, Nope!!—BUT now I could not be happier that we are staying here. We came to CR for a reason, to learn about the culture, to make an impact, to build relations with the Tico/Tica’s and that is exactly what we get to do for the entire duration of our journey. And if that wasn’t a sweet enough deal, the focus of the outreach is (unanimously) JUSTICE, and not just any kind of justice- Human Trafficking to be specific. ‘GEEEEEA!! It is truly just amazing how God has brought us all together, all with the same passions, all working towards one common goal and that is to see his kingdom on Earth expand even more down here.

     Our group is seriously filled with so many talented and gifted people whether it be in the arts, dance, worship, or ministry,  I am so excited to see how we are all going to come together to present awareness about this growing epidemic, whether it be by bible distribution, homeless ministry, kids ministry, creative evangelism, the list goes on and on....But what we need to remember is what we are doing this for. Outreach is a time to love, build up, raise awareness and really connect with the people of Costa Rica. To go out and spread the good news, to love on the oppressed, to care for the orphans and just love on them despite whom they are and what they are going through. Ughhh Im just so excited!

     And now I would like to take a time for Praise..On Tuesday night I was praying really hard in the prayer room for my financial situation regarding Outreach. I am still half short for the required amount and have been a little stressed lately and been struggling with giving it to God to take care of this situation. It is really hard for me to trust God with money issues and its been a work in progress to really find my 100% security in him. People around me tell stories all the time how God provided for them whether it be through family, friends, or strangers and I’ve always wanted to put all my financial faith in God and never have until that night. I mean, I was talking up a storm in that prayer room, just venting about everything relating to money.

     The next day I talked with my Mom and she told me a check came in the mail and it was from my Aunty Z—My prayers were definitely heard all the way from Costa Rica!! I couldn’t believe it! I was so thankful when I heard the letter that she wrote me and the money that she gave to support me while I am down here. Praise Jesus for my Aunt and her gracious heart, I thank God for using her kindness for my needs...Im so very thankful to the both of you!

     We tend to forget that the power of prayer is so unbelievably powerful..and I know life isn’t always going to be like that, you pray for something and you immediately receive what you asked for, but what I do know is that if you have the faith that God will provide for you, if you are earnestly seeking and doing his will, he WILL always provide for you. ...And I have to have faith that he will provide the rest of my outreach costs, but until he does, I will be prayin’, prayin’, prayin’!

God Bless you my friends! Ciao!

Blue Suede Shoes.

“A Man will be satisfied with Good by the WORDS of his mouth, and the works of a mans hands.” –Proverbs 12:14

Today has been such an awesome day. It is so hard for me to blog about my experiences on our outing, because I wish so bad that you guys were there to experience it firsthand! But I will try my best to replicate the feelings that I had today.

This morning, at 7am we headed out to the Salvation Army in one of the worst parts of down town. A couple of us stayed behind to help sort clothes while the rest of us went walking on the streets, handing out bread to people on the streets. I wanted to bring my camera, but was advised that I needed to leave it at the store because you never know what could happen in this part of town, so sadly I didn’t take any pictures, but will also never forget these faces...

So as we were walking the streets of this neighborhood, with each passing street it was progressively getting more populated and the trash was building. This specific part of their town was known (in our native tongue) as the ‘Red light district’ area; filled with homeless people and prostitutes. We stopped at a bakery and loaded up on loaves of bread to be handed out, as a way to start conversations with the people, and of course feed them. Usually I would be a little fearful of the encounters that were about to take place, but I was totally calm, tranquil and eager to talk to these people. Not too long after we started we spotted two ladies (most likely prostitutes) sitting on the street corner. “Quieres pan?” We asked them, they accepted with minimal eye contact, “Como estas?”, “De donde eres?”, etc.....these were questions we asked to break the silence between two strangers. As the ice breaker questions were beginning to run out, I felt the need to tell her, “Do you know how much God loves you? Do you know that you are treasured by God?”...It was such an amazing feeling to tell her these things, most importantly; I started seeing this woman the way that God sees her. --There is something to say about sitting down on a street corner with two ladies and feeling the love of God consume you so much that it pours out to others, it was truly powerful. After we prayed for them, they were grabbing our hands and smiling, it totally made my heart smile!

Walking a little ways, there was a man sitting on his clothes, with no shoes on. Jimmy and I engaged in conversation, Jimmy translating and I speaking of English of course;  finding out things about his past, why he was on the streets, how many kids he had, etc... Deepening into the conversation he told us that he did not have a Father growing up and he still had a lot of pain from that. Jimmy immediately related because of his absent Father in his life. I first hand witnessed how God truly uses our own sufferings, pains, loss and sadness and turns it into something good, something purposeful—a way to reach people.

As the conversation was flowing, It is amazing how much people tend to open up when you get on a level with them that they understand. When your hurt is their hurt, when your pain is their pain...there is an instant connection between two people that is more than just a surface relationship, it is an intimate connection. So as Jimmy continued talking with this man, words coming straight from his heart, the man started to cry because he so desperately wants to be a good Father for his children, but feels weighed down by his drug addiction and no work. And just by just looking at this man, his face said a thousand words. You could just tell that he was tired; tired of living his life this way, tired of not being able to see/feel God’s presence, tired of not being the Father that he knows he can be and tired of living on the streets. After we talked to him for awhile we needed to go back so we prayed for him-- praying so desperately for God to move in super natural ways in this man’s life, that he would somehow feel his love today, that God would do something to convince him that he IS ALWAYS there....

Coincidently, the other team that was sorting clothes back at the store, they were now sorting shoes. Jimmy immediately asked if we could give a pair of shoes to the man that we were just with so without hesitation we walked back to that corner with such excitement--shoes in hand. As Jimmy gave this man this pair of shoes his face just lit up. He was so happy to have shoes again and we were just as happy that God provided and confirmed his love for this man with this simple pair of shoes. That by giving him this pair of shoes, he was filled with hope....

....even if it does only last a couple minutes, an hour, or even a day; there was still a glimpse of hope that he knew how much God loved him.

It was beautiful to experience God's love like that. 

13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven togetherin the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.  

Psalm 139 13-18