Buka's Birthday Dance:
White water rafting:
Our last dance on Outreach:
Monday, December 5, 2011
Outreach in Costa Rica: Accomplished!
OH MYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.
How do you sum up 2 months of Outreach?! Like really though..There is no words, no thoughts, no actions that can even begin to describe what went on in Costa Rica on the inside, around me and through me. But I am going to try and sum it up in the best way I can without leaving out the most important details..SO here we gooooo!
As you know we went to all 7 provinces of Costa Rica, on average; moving every 4/5 days in a 14 passenger van that accommodated 16 of us, my heart went out to the squished 4 seaters' in the front and in the back, that must of been brutal...Not to mention that I dont think Costa Rica believes in smooth roads in 90% of the country, so you can imagine. Anyways, Here are all the places that we went (to the best of my ability): Cartago, Heredia, San Jose, Puerto Viejo, Jaco, Cobano, Monte Zuma, Nicoya, Nambi, Monte Verde, Las Palmeras, Ciudad Quesada, Sarchi and a few beaches in between, but I forgot their names. Most of the ministries that we did were geared towards the youth, and that was because our focus was to call the youth of Costa Rica into the mission field. Along with youth ministries we did, homeless ministries, rehabilitation ministries, prayer/intercession walks, kids ministry, church events, local events, physical labor, and bible distribution. As much as we were there to serve others on Outreach, I feel that we were also served as well. The people that we were involved with were some of the nicest people I had ever met in my life. Their passion for God and to live a life fully devoted to Him was a beautiful thing to see. That they could have had nothing, but the joy that the received from the Lord was the only thing that shined.
Outreach taught me a number of things, but one of them was 'walking in humility'. When we were distributing bibles, on the four hottest days ever, walking door to door from about 9:00am- 2:00am; after we were finished the Pastor always had water and fresh fruit for us (and there was bout 60+ of us) everyday. On the final day we all got called up and the children of the church gave us these little Dora boxes as a gift of their appreciation of helping them out. A gift for us (?!) not only were we the ones that were supposed to be giving, but they gave their own personal time, money, and effort to complete the mission of 'A Bible in every home in Costa Rica'. Not only that, we didnt know at the time, but the Pastor had no money or food to even feed his family and here he was buying food for us. Long story short, Nela and Jose (our leaders) felt that the extra money we had saved by not going to Tamarindo, was to go to the DTS at the Nicoya base and to buy the Pastor and his family groceries. Now, we had no idea that the Pastor wasnt able to provide for his own family, they just felt that God was telling them to give the money to them. So that night they went over and dropped off the groceries and the Pastor and his family were in awe because they had been praying for God to provide them with food. The Pastors wife, who was pregnant, has a 3 year old couldn't even afford to buy milk and showed them the cub-bard to prove it. WOW. Talk about possessing the desire to serve others even before your own family for the name of Jesus.
That also happened at Monte Verde. It was about mid-way through outreach and we needed a pick-me-up after the long week of bible distribution. Not only was the Pastor beyond the definition of hospitable, he arranged for us to go to a snake/butterfly/humming bird/ rain forest perserve all for free. And on top of that, after we did a youth event at his church, the church did an offering for US. At the end they divided up the amount and individually gave us an envelope. Now let me tell you, this church was by no means wealthy, big, or even stable with their finances; but here they were taking up an offering for us. When the pastor handed me the envelope I began to cry. The amount could of been a million dollars or a 25 cents; it didn't matter. I just was overwhelmed with the feeling of gratitude, but also the feeling of unworthiness. I felt that God had been so faithful to us and experienced another kind of love that I never felt before. The feeling was overwhelming and I truly felt that they were living out the commandment: Love your neighbor like yourself.
Spiritual Discipline was another corner stone that was really amplified on Outreach. Im not going to tell you that Outreach was all bliss, butterflies and rainbow, because it definitely wasn't. Dont get me wrong, undoubtedly YES a hundred times it was that and more, but undoubtedly YES a hundred times it was also the most vigorous, toughest, journeys of my life. I literally was breaking down the FIRST week of Outreach! Come on Montana, the FIRST week?!?! YUP. We were in Puerto Viejo and from the second we got off the bus, I knew it was going to be tough. I took one step off that bus and immediately I was dripping in sweat. Have you guys ever been to Texas in the dead of summer? Well, times that by 3 and that was the environment I was in. And lets be honest here, those of you that really know me, know that I do not do well in the heat when there is humidity involved; I sweat, I complain and I am only happy if I am by a pool in that weather, not doing physical labor. SO. We arrive at our little house next to the church we were serving, but it was more like a place where they stored stuff, but with a shower. There were bugs on the floor, no breeze and one shower. Thank the Heavens that there was fold up tables and we got to sleep on them..I think I would of about died if there wasnt. SO anyways, that week I literally was covered in bug bites; all on my legs, my back , my stomach had a rash on it and all I could think about was; "I can't believe I paid to do this. I am going to scar my body for life with these bites. I am working from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm everyday, while everyone else back home gets to enjoy their summer doing the things they want to do. and here I am: STUCK in this place. Not to mention, I am sick of eating food that I dont want to eat. I just want to book my flight home...NOW."
So it wasn't until I was venting all of these things to my best friend down there, Cherise, while we were both putting our feet in the beautiful ocean, downloading things to one another that we were going through, when she asked me, "Why do you think you are freaking out about all these physical things? your bug bites, the food your eating, the not being able to work out...is that where you find your happiness? Or do you truly find your happiness in God like you say you do?" ...... BAM. That is what we call a Montana Revelation, in other words: this world isnt allllllllll about YOU. Everything that I took pleasure in, that gave me happiness, eating healthy, working out, the physical aspects of my life, had to be taken away, to isolate me, so that I was pushed to a place where I solely needed God to bring me happiness, to find joy only through him, because I could not possibly get it from anything else. That going to God for everything, whether that be by reading the bible, praying constantly throughout the day, encouraging/giving advice to my DTS family, was forming the spiritual discipline that I had been lacking all these years. By nature I've always been a disciplined person, whether it be in my studies, at my job, working out, eating right, etc...But when it came to reading my bible, putting God first--it was there, but it wasnt a first priority. And having that realization that I needed to have God be the center of my life everyday to literally help me get through this stage of my life (and for the rest of my life) this was a necessity that needed to be learned early on. That if I am spiritually disciplined; then everything else will be added onto me--If I find my joy in the Lord first, it is then that I can enjoy the other things in life as a bonus.
I was asked to share my testimony with the youth at the church for our last event, and I was really stoked because the youth have always had a special place in my heart, and wanted to share about where I came from, who I was and how God had changed me--and all of this had to be summed up in 5 minutes--5 minutes?!? I wouldn't of even gotten past high school in 5 minutes! Soooo I stretched it to 20 min, give or take :)....So as I was preparing what to say, what not to say, what details to share, not to say, I just felt that God was telling me, "Don't prepare, I'll give you the words to say." So I didnt prepare anything. and that right there is a testimony of Gods work because if you know me, I love to plan and love to prepare--especially if I am doing public speaking, but totally left it up to God of how he wanted things to flow. and was I ever so thankful that I did.
Finally, I feel the freedom and the joy found in Christ. God has literally taken my past and has turned it around for his good and perfect will. That everything I have went through, good and bad, has shaped and formed me into the person that God has called me to be. My sins have been forgiven, but it is more than that. God has given me my innocence back; he has truly made me a child of God. I dont hold onto the things I used to do, or the person that I once was. I have been transformed like it is written, with the renewing of my mind. I see things differently now, I have a new perspective on life and that is in alignment with God's perspective on life.
How do you sum up 2 months of Outreach?! Like really though..There is no words, no thoughts, no actions that can even begin to describe what went on in Costa Rica on the inside, around me and through me. But I am going to try and sum it up in the best way I can without leaving out the most important details..SO here we gooooo!
As you know we went to all 7 provinces of Costa Rica, on average; moving every 4/5 days in a 14 passenger van that accommodated 16 of us, my heart went out to the squished 4 seaters' in the front and in the back, that must of been brutal...Not to mention that I dont think Costa Rica believes in smooth roads in 90% of the country, so you can imagine. Anyways, Here are all the places that we went (to the best of my ability): Cartago, Heredia, San Jose, Puerto Viejo, Jaco, Cobano, Monte Zuma, Nicoya, Nambi, Monte Verde, Las Palmeras, Ciudad Quesada, Sarchi and a few beaches in between, but I forgot their names. Most of the ministries that we did were geared towards the youth, and that was because our focus was to call the youth of Costa Rica into the mission field. Along with youth ministries we did, homeless ministries, rehabilitation ministries, prayer/intercession walks, kids ministry, church events, local events, physical labor, and bible distribution. As much as we were there to serve others on Outreach, I feel that we were also served as well. The people that we were involved with were some of the nicest people I had ever met in my life. Their passion for God and to live a life fully devoted to Him was a beautiful thing to see. That they could have had nothing, but the joy that the received from the Lord was the only thing that shined.
Outreach taught me a number of things, but one of them was 'walking in humility'. When we were distributing bibles, on the four hottest days ever, walking door to door from about 9:00am- 2:00am; after we were finished the Pastor always had water and fresh fruit for us (and there was bout 60+ of us) everyday. On the final day we all got called up and the children of the church gave us these little Dora boxes as a gift of their appreciation of helping them out. A gift for us (?!) not only were we the ones that were supposed to be giving, but they gave their own personal time, money, and effort to complete the mission of 'A Bible in every home in Costa Rica'. Not only that, we didnt know at the time, but the Pastor had no money or food to even feed his family and here he was buying food for us. Long story short, Nela and Jose (our leaders) felt that the extra money we had saved by not going to Tamarindo, was to go to the DTS at the Nicoya base and to buy the Pastor and his family groceries. Now, we had no idea that the Pastor wasnt able to provide for his own family, they just felt that God was telling them to give the money to them. So that night they went over and dropped off the groceries and the Pastor and his family were in awe because they had been praying for God to provide them with food. The Pastors wife, who was pregnant, has a 3 year old couldn't even afford to buy milk and showed them the cub-bard to prove it. WOW. Talk about possessing the desire to serve others even before your own family for the name of Jesus.
Spiritual Discipline was another corner stone that was really amplified on Outreach. Im not going to tell you that Outreach was all bliss, butterflies and rainbow, because it definitely wasn't. Dont get me wrong, undoubtedly YES a hundred times it was that and more, but undoubtedly YES a hundred times it was also the most vigorous, toughest, journeys of my life. I literally was breaking down the FIRST week of Outreach! Come on Montana, the FIRST week?!?! YUP. We were in Puerto Viejo and from the second we got off the bus, I knew it was going to be tough. I took one step off that bus and immediately I was dripping in sweat. Have you guys ever been to Texas in the dead of summer? Well, times that by 3 and that was the environment I was in. And lets be honest here, those of you that really know me, know that I do not do well in the heat when there is humidity involved; I sweat, I complain and I am only happy if I am by a pool in that weather, not doing physical labor. SO. We arrive at our little house next to the church we were serving, but it was more like a place where they stored stuff, but with a shower. There were bugs on the floor, no breeze and one shower. Thank the Heavens that there was fold up tables and we got to sleep on them..I think I would of about died if there wasnt. SO anyways, that week I literally was covered in bug bites; all on my legs, my back , my stomach had a rash on it and all I could think about was; "I can't believe I paid to do this. I am going to scar my body for life with these bites. I am working from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm everyday, while everyone else back home gets to enjoy their summer doing the things they want to do. and here I am: STUCK in this place. Not to mention, I am sick of eating food that I dont want to eat. I just want to book my flight home...NOW."
So it wasn't until I was venting all of these things to my best friend down there, Cherise, while we were both putting our feet in the beautiful ocean, downloading things to one another that we were going through, when she asked me, "Why do you think you are freaking out about all these physical things? your bug bites, the food your eating, the not being able to work out...is that where you find your happiness? Or do you truly find your happiness in God like you say you do?" ...... BAM. That is what we call a Montana Revelation, in other words: this world isnt allllllllll about YOU. Everything that I took pleasure in, that gave me happiness, eating healthy, working out, the physical aspects of my life, had to be taken away, to isolate me, so that I was pushed to a place where I solely needed God to bring me happiness, to find joy only through him, because I could not possibly get it from anything else. That going to God for everything, whether that be by reading the bible, praying constantly throughout the day, encouraging/giving advice to my DTS family, was forming the spiritual discipline that I had been lacking all these years. By nature I've always been a disciplined person, whether it be in my studies, at my job, working out, eating right, etc...But when it came to reading my bible, putting God first--it was there, but it wasnt a first priority. And having that realization that I needed to have God be the center of my life everyday to literally help me get through this stage of my life (and for the rest of my life) this was a necessity that needed to be learned early on. That if I am spiritually disciplined; then everything else will be added onto me--If I find my joy in the Lord first, it is then that I can enjoy the other things in life as a bonus.
"..But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well."
- Luke 12:31
Never in my life have I been so happy, living so simplistically. By not having a t.v., cell phone, laptop and minimal internet on my phone every so often, really made me realize that I am so much happier when living in a world with less clutter. I made it a point to not go on any site that talked about celebrity gossip and not knowing what was going on in that world was such a blessing. To live in the here and now, day by day, living for God and doing His work was the happiest I have ever been. To be surrounded by people who didnt care what I looked liked, what I did for a living, my status, my faults, my insecurities, but cared about the person that I was on the inside really grew me. Even before we ever went on Outreach we were a little family, but by the end, it was just ridiculous how we literally knew each other from the inside out; and yet we loved one another just the same. To have 15 other people there to pray for you, to carry you, to love on you and to support you in all aspects of your life was an amazing gift that God gave us. I know DTS schools are all different, but I have created bonds and friendships that will last a lifetime.
Here are some other things that were really important to me on Outreach, but if I went into detail no one would read this looooooooooooooong blog:
- I LOVED homeless ministry! Down town Heredia, had a full blown conversation with a local man, 100% in Spanish and lets be honest here, I was the worst spanish speaker in my DTS but God totally equipped me with the Holy Spirit that night and I was speaking it like it was my first language!
- During Bible distribution, I got to pray over a teenage girl that was pregnant, who never had a bible before, who didn't have a relationship with God and after we left her house, she saw us again an hour later and came running out asking what verse I prayed over her, it was so exciting to see that God had used me to touch her heart with that verse..Praise Jesus!
- Prayer/intercession walks were a definite fav...we got to go to waterfalls, parks and did some pretty cool candle light prayer walks.
- Praying out loud for the prostitutes in Jaco was an awesome experience.
- Going to a youth event in Limon where they broke out with strobe lights and a dance to do worship...I was in total heaven!
- The diversity in worship that we got to see all over Costa Rica was incredible! Dancing, singing, praising...it was all so unique and so powerful.
- In Los Chiles, the couple that we helped lay the foundation for the school that they are building really impacted my life. I have never met people so happy to be living for God, Ive never witnessed pure joy every morning because God had blessed them with another day, they truly would be smiling and jumping up and down at 5:45 am, happy to be doing Gods work..simply amazing!
But the biggest part of Outreach was the transformation that God did within myself. Coming to Costa Rica I really thought I would just solely be working in the mission field, loving and serving the people of Costa Rica, and boy did God have other plans for me during that time. Not only did I reconcile people's relationships with God, I reconciled my own relationship. It wasn't until the very last day of Outreach, on the very last ministry we did that everything came full circle for me (God likes to do things in the eleventh hour with me).
I was asked to share my testimony with the youth at the church for our last event, and I was really stoked because the youth have always had a special place in my heart, and wanted to share about where I came from, who I was and how God had changed me--and all of this had to be summed up in 5 minutes--5 minutes?!? I wouldn't of even gotten past high school in 5 minutes! Soooo I stretched it to 20 min, give or take :)....So as I was preparing what to say, what not to say, what details to share, not to say, I just felt that God was telling me, "Don't prepare, I'll give you the words to say." So I didnt prepare anything. and that right there is a testimony of Gods work because if you know me, I love to plan and love to prepare--especially if I am doing public speaking, but totally left it up to God of how he wanted things to flow. and was I ever so thankful that I did.Not only did I love getting up at the pulpit, but God made all the pieces fit. I have come to realize during lecture phase that I am a verbal processor (go figure, Montana needs to talk to understand things?!) Yes, Yes I do..So as I was sharing my testimony God was showing me what he had done during this time and I didnt even realize it until that moment. I came to Costa Rica to do God's work and to serve others. By focusing on others, I stopped focusing on myself; this is where God was able to work on me. By taking the attention off of me in my life, and putting it on others and my relationship with God, God did a transformation from the inside out, a transformation that I had no idea I was going to receive down there.
I found my identity in HIM and not of things in my life; a girlfriend, a cheerleader; a feeding tech; status etc...but to know that I was created in the image of God and that he formed me in my mothers womb for HIS plan and purpose was life changing. That I am a child of God who loves to pray for people, to intercede, and to disciple others is my true identity. That finally I have loved the person I am because I love the Jesus that lives in me, the same Jesus that lives in you. I just couldn't see it because of all the things I had that was claiming who I was. That no matter what happens in my environment, my surroundings and even my career, I know who I am for Jesus and nothing can take that away. My identity is found in my creator.
Forgiveness was another underlying theme of my transformation, but it wasn't a forgiveness of others, it was a forgiveness of myself. In the past I have done many things that I am not proud of and God really used reconciliation with a few people to break the chains of oppression that I didnt know I still had. I had felt the pain that I caused people, the hurt that my lies created, and the shame of who I was. To add on to that,
I had all this pressure on myself. Pressure from my family, pressure from my academics, pressure to excel in life, pressure to uphold things to make the closest people around me proud. It was literally exhausting to try to be this perfect person, when perfection does not exist. and the whole process of forgiving was to surrender all those burdens to Jesus, to lay them down at the cross and to take up his yoke which is 'easy and light' was pure freedom. I had reconciled relationships, I sought and received forgiveness and God totally washed me clean of all of it.
Lastly, God gave me my purity back. Now, I know what your thinking, purity Montana? ....Really?
"..You took off your former way of life, the old man that is corrupted by deceitful desires;
you are being renewed in the spirit of your minds; you put on the new man, the one created according to God's likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth." - Ephesians 4:22-24
Finally, I feel the freedom and the joy found in Christ. God has literally taken my past and has turned it around for his good and perfect will. That everything I have went through, good and bad, has shaped and formed me into the person that God has called me to be. My sins have been forgiven, but it is more than that. God has given me my innocence back; he has truly made me a child of God. I dont hold onto the things I used to do, or the person that I once was. I have been transformed like it is written, with the renewing of my mind. I see things differently now, I have a new perspective on life and that is in alignment with God's perspective on life. Now by no means am I putting myself up on a pedestal, giving myself glory or even trying to come off righteous and holy, to be completely real-- it is the exact opposite. I have just come to realize that I am so broken, lost, and weak that I NEED God in my life. In the beginning, we were created to live with God, to walk with God and to not live apart from him. But as sinners, we fall away from him and keep falling, and keep falling.... and now, we have fallen so far away that people don't even realize why we were created in the first place---and why people (including myself) are constantly searching for things to fill the voids in our lives, with people, places and things--but will never be truly happy because that longing in our heart, that emptiness we feel, that gadgets or people cant fill, can only be filled by the one that is supposed to fill it and that is God.
God didn't send Jesus into the world to condemn it, he sent him to save us; to save us from ourselves. What God did was open that communication back up so that we can have a relationship with him, if we choose to by Jesus Christ. And for the rest of my life I choose to follow him. I know and experienced what it is to live a life without God and I know how it is to have God at the center of it, and let me tell you, I went through a lot of unnecessary hurt when God was not the center. God is our Father, he looks out for us, he loves us, he sent his own son to die for us---and now I cant do anything but live a life for Him...
So in conclusion, Costa Rica will forever mean so much more than a beautiful country. It is a place of growth, friendship, renewing, transforming and rejuvenation. I cant thank God enough for all he has shown me, given me and continues to teach me day by day on this journey with him. I can only hope that my walk grows stronger and stronger with each passing day and that more and more people come to know Christ whether it be from my testimony or just by pure love that people show one another. Either way..God has given me this beautiful gift of life; living with him, through him, serving him, and loving him. This is the life I was meant to live.....
This is the overflowing grace of God. :)
...And yes those are my fly Costa Rican TOMs.
A BIG BIG BIG-- THANK YOU--to everyone that supported me down there; whether it be through finances, prayer or even emails, I could not have done it without my friends and family back home. You guys are truly blessings in my life and I cant thank you enough for everything you did for me and continue to do, just by being apart of my life!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)