Recap

So much to catch up on….where do I begin? I’ll start with NIKO. Ha. Even just saying the word makes me chuckle in a “glad it’s over, but loved it” sort of way. One of the main parts of NIKO is going into it without knowing what’s to come, so I can’t really describe what it is. But here are the basics: It’s a 5 day camp in the jungle in Talamanca, Costa Rica. You are giving a packing list that includes things like hiking boots, a knife, bug spray, and waterproof bags for your belongings…and that DOESN’T include things like soap, deodorant, toothpaste, etc. :) It’s a tough week. I did it in my DTS, and had the chance to staff it for this DTS. Our students did great, amidst many difficult challenges.

Drinking some refreshing water from a tree branch we cut:

Max caught and killed this boa in the middle of the night when he heard it attacking his chickens...then leashed it and dragged it to our house in the morning to show us. (You can see a chicken not digested yet if you look closely)

Moving on…

After NIKO we went to Puerto Viejo for a week. This is a very small, touristy town right on the Caribbean. Beautiful place, beautiful people. We slept at a local church- here is a picture of all of our stuff strewn about:

Besides being involved in a few church services where we did dramas and gave testimonies, we did some other awesome and different ministries.

Twice, we headed to a basketball court to play soccer/basketball on the beach with the locals. We got to know several of them and continued hanging out with them through the week. We brought ice tea to give out and also paused the games a couple times to do dramas and give testimonies. The students really took charge and were so open in sharing and listening to the people they met.

One of the basketball players watching a drama:

Also, there is a coffee/chocolate/ice cream shop called Caribeans, owned by a couple from the states. They run the shop and build relationships with the locals and tourists, providing a friendly and community focused environment. It was cool to hear their story and to be involved in their ministry. On the last day of our time there, we set up a free bike wash/ free prayer/ free hugs booth in front of the coffee shop. So much fun! Afterwards we had an acoustic concert right on the beach, where many of the people we had met during the week came to enjoy.

At Caribeans:

Free Hugs!

Free bike wash!

One day we created little gifts with some snacks and an encouraging bible verse and went around to about 25 shops to distribute them. It’s so funny to see the reaction on people’s faces when you tell them, “Hey we have a gift for you”. They’re like “Huh?” Totally confused. And we just told them we wanted to thank them for having a place for the tourists and locals, for working hard for the community, etc. That we wanted to just give them a small token of thanks and bless them with prayer. Each business owner was so surprised and thankful.

Another ministry we did was at a bar one night. The whole town is a huge, drunken party basically, each night after 10 pm. So about 8 of us girls went to “Ladies Night” at one of the bars. Not to throw bibles at the girls, just to talk and encourage them. We were able to have conversations with several girls and hear some of their stories. I know God was working in even those simple conversations. I chatted with the bartender for a bit, which was interesting. He laughed in confusion when I turned down his offer for free tequila shots. I told him “No thanks, we’re just here to dance.” And it was interesting: as I sat at the bar and observed the guys working, I saw something cool. A few of our girls were salsa dancing with each other and having fun…and the guys watching had such funny looks on their faces. They weren’t looking the girls up and down, they were just watching with intent curiosity. Like they had never seen such innocence and genuine fun in a girl dancing. I think all they’ve ever seen is drunken girls dancing super seductively, “dropping it like it’s hot” and such. I truly believe God was speaking something to their hearts in those few minutes. Seeing how we were still having fun without being wasted and feeding off the attention of guys.

There is also a place in Puerto Viejo called the Concrete Jungle. It’s a skate park run by a couple missionaries from the states. It’s a beautiful skate park literally surrounded by the jungle. Some of us girls went to a women’s bible study/gathering one night. We hung out with the women and their kids and tie dyed shirts. Very fun. It’s so encouraging to see committed ministries already taking place and get to know the stories of how they came to be.

The water turned off a few days during our stay at the church- so here is our handy dandy "Tippy Tap." It's a hand washing station, soap and all (Pull the strings to tilt the jug, water comes out the carved holes):

And here's me, safely inside my Bug Bivy (thanks to Mistylena). LOTS of mosquitos here, I was very thankful to at least escape them while sleeping:

Overall, a very successful week. I’m loving outreach so far! We are in San Jose til Monday morning when we head North to Nicoya, Costa Rica. We’ll be there til the end of the month. Thanks for your prayers!!

Opening my eyes

This week was about Human Trafficking. (Sexual exploitation, forced labor, child soldiers, organ trafficking, etc). I’ve learned so much about how/where it happens, how many are involved, how to investigate suspicious situations, etc. My heart is broken for this…there are no words to describe.

We took a trip downtown late last night to walk the streets and observe. Some of us talked to prostitutes, transvestites, taxi drivers, and locals to learn more about what happens 15 minutes away from us every night. Sex tourism is huge in Costa Rica, unfortunately.

I’m still unsure how to process some of what I saw. There’s an anger, a desperation to fight. There is also a sense of betrayal. That one surprises me. I’ve never been prostituted/trafficked/exploited like that. Why am I taking offense in such a personal way? I wanted to run up to those men and demand an explanation. How can you be so disgusting? Selfish? Blind to the repercussions this will bring? How can you treat a human being, somebody’s daughter, like a disposable object? But I’m reminded of God’s heart for them too. For the abusers, the participants of this monstrosity. He loves them like he loves me. I can’t understand how God still views them as his precious children. That’s hard for me to swallow. Because last night, all I saw was filth. I saw countless, COUNTLESS, white, middle aged men walk in and out of this hotel 20 feet away from me. On vacation, looking to have some fun, some instant gratification to fill their empty lives. How many are married, I wonder? Probably more than half. How many have daughters themselves? They’re far from home and this secret part of their lives is displayed in front of me to see. $100 for an hour, the taxi driver informed us. They can do whatever they want with the girls. Are some of the girls trafficked, we asked? Forced sexual exploitation? Oh yeah, he replied. Tons of them.

Perhaps the most unsettling part of the night happened with a few guys that came with us. They decided to investigate in a bit of a different way, a way that men would have an easier time doing. Pose as the consumer. At one of the bars, they asked around where they could find a place to have sex with children. Under 16, they requested. Sure, was the reply. There’s a place close by. $100 for an hour with as many kids as you’d like. Except it’s not safe to bring the kids to the bar, so we’ll bring you to them. Well, our guys weren’t prepared for this next step just yet, so they told the local that they didn’t have the money right then, but maybe tomorrow. They left with a card, a phone number, to get in touch with connections that would take them to the kids when they’re ready. I’m not sure what will happen with this, but I think they’re planning on finding out more information, a location, and getting the police involved.

Prostitution is legal in Costa Rica, but human trafficking is not. How much easier though, for trafficking to exist in a place where prostitution is all over the streets. How do you know which of the girls are being trafficked, and which have chosen prostitution? And how much easier for a brothel to exist, with a room of little girls and boys down in the basement.

These things might seem far away, or only in the movies, or only in 3^rd world countries where there’s corruption. But the truth is that it’s happening everywhere. Some places in greater amounts, but it’s everywhere. Why does it exist? There’s a HUGE demand for it. More often than not, the demand comes from foreigners, westerners. My eyes were opened this week, in a way that begs for action. It’s one thing to briefly hear about this thing that exists, it’s another to hear the staggering statistics and that it’s happening in your very own city. And it’s an entirely different thing to see it with your own eyes. To investigate for one hour one night, and discover how easy it is to take part in this awful injustice.

There’s so much more I want to share. But for now, I just wanted to process some of my thoughts from what I experienced last night. I recommend watching Human Trafficking, a made for TV movie. It’s really interesting. Hard to watch, but interesting. It gives different situations of human trafficking in different countries, and how people often get trapped into it. Or type in Human Trafficking to google and see what comes up. There’s a lot of information out there. But get ready to learn some heavy stuff. I believe it’s our responsibility to do something. What’s my part, exactly? That’s my question today.

Nicaragua

What an incredible week. Nicaragua was much different than I expected…and VERY different from Costa Rica. As we approached the border last Saturday, the scenery began to shift from lush, green, and mountainous, to empty fields, flat roads, and intense sun. We passed the Lake of Nicaragua which surrounds a huge volcano- so cool!

Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the western hemisphere, and this was also evident as we were passing through. We had an adventurous journey on three different buses by the time we arrived in Diriamba, Nicaragua Saturday evening.

The currency in Nicaragua is called Cordobas. 20 Cordobas equals about $1 USD. To give an example of how cheap things are there, a ride in a Moto (their form of a taxi) is 5 Cordobas.

Moto!

Ice cream at Eskimo (the DTS’ favorite spot during the week) was about 15 Cordobas. We went with a Nicaraguan to the local market and bought breakfast for 35 people for 6 mornings and spent $50 USD. For 35 people! Crazy cheap.

The week was packed full of different activities led by our DTS: kids ministry at numerous elementary schools, English classes, church services, house to house visits, prayer walks, gatherings at the community park, a cultural/prayer night at the church, and the library- the library was my favorite part. A Nicaraguan man, Mynor, opened up this library a couple months ago and it was so amazing to work at. Each day, the library would be full of kids excited to read books, play games, and learn. A lot of kids don’t attend school and are able to come hang out at the library instead. I could have just sat in a chair at the library each day and watched the kids interact and read- it was that amazing to see! It might seem like a normal thing, to have a local library, but this is so huge for a place like Diriamba! To see these adorable kids so eager to learn and to know how little opportunity they have, it breaks your heart and encourages you so much at the same time. I loved, loved, loved our time each afternoon at the library.

Besides sitting with the kids and reading, we had tons of different projects happening at the library. Some DTS students printed out flyers advertising for the library and walked around town passing them out. (Many people visited the library for the first time last week because of the flyers). Some of the guys built a table, some students taught an English class, and a group of us painted a huge mural on the outside of the building. I was part of the mural group most days, and it was so much fun! I can’t even tell you how many people stopped and watched us. Kids stood next to us for an hour at a time just watching us paint. Adults stopped and asked what we were doing, how much we were getting paid (haha), where we were from, etc. It attracted so much attention and ended up being such an awesome tool for interacting with the community.

Just beginning...

In process (note all the onlookers)...

Finished product!

I still can’t get over the way the students stepped out during this past week. I’m so impressed! We have a lot of maturity, a lot of wisdom and SO much compassion in this group. In fact, we had to have a talk about doing “extra ministry” because our students were planning classes/house visits/etc that weren’t on our schedule! (Of course we encouraged them, we just reminded them of our commitments already made). The hearts of the students were so evident this week. It was a good time to learn for us staff- how we work together as outreach leaders, strengths and weaknesses, surprises for our budget (that was my area- yikes!), and how crazy things get when your group is 35 people large.

Typical staff meeting... :)

On the last night in Nicaragua, a family in the barrio (neighborhood) cooked a typical Nicaraguan meal for our whole team. It was so delicious! We had a couple different meats, fried plantains, “enchiladas” (which tasted nothing like the enchiladas I’m used to, but they were good!), a sort of roll up that reminded me of taquitos, refried black beans, and salad. It was so generous of the family to cook for us! That’s a lot of food, for 35 people.

Everyone came back beaming and so excited to share with people back here in San Jose. Lots of stories, lots of pictures, and lots of memories were made this week. We’re excited that most of our team is returning in about a month!

Off we go...

In the wee hours of tomorrow morning, our team of 33 is heading out to Nicaragua for 8 days. I'm writing this mid afternoon and everything is kinda crazy around the base right now. Those of us leaving are packing, cleaning, running to the store/ATM, etc. Everyone else on base is preparing for about 40 people to arrive starting tonight- teams from the U.S. mostly. There's a lot going on right now! We're all really excited for Nicaragua- here are some of the things we'll be doing:

Working with the local church:
-Leading Sunday service
-Bible studies
-Teaching English
-Maintenance work

Working with a new library:
-Organizing
-Spreading the word about its opening
-Hosting art competitions
-Cleaning
-Kids programs

Of course we'll be doing prayer walks through the community, evangelism, and helping out with the YWAM base there as well. We'll be sleeping on the floors of the church/library for the week, and taking good ole' bucket showers! :) It's going to be an adventure. Please pray for safe travels, easy border crossings, protection, team unity, and most importantly- for God's love to be poured out through us and for people to be drawn closer to Him! Through the several different ministries we'll be involved in, our purpose for going is to spread the good news of Christ. The YWAM motto is "To know God, and to make Him known." This is always the reason! Thanks for your prayers...I'll update when we return.

When Kenny Peavy came to speak about the Kingdom of God in my DTS, my idea of living for God underwent major changes. Without a doubt, it was the most transformational week for me in lecture phase. In this DTS, I’ve been telling the students up til this point, “Just wait until the week about the Kingdom, it’s going to be crazy!” Once again, I underestimated how powerfully God would work.

Kenny is amazing. Great worship leader, very authentic and humble, incredible story of what kind of life he had before he knew God- but beyond all of this, GOD moved mightily this week.

Something we discussed throughout the week: We have a DAILY choice between defending our reputation among men, or developing our relationship with Father, Son and Spirit. A daily choice. Which do I choose? I think I often try and accomplish both…putting time and energy into keeping a solid reputation while simultaneously living for Christ. How is this even possible? No wonder I feel so exhausted sometimes. I’m striving for a lifestyle that’s impossible. Paul talks about this throughout so many of his letters; the CHOICE we have to please God or please men. Often times when we seek to please God, we will end up pleasing men as well…but our desire should be to please God.

An exercise we did in class: Draw two columns on a sheet of paper. On the left side, write down accusations/lies you’ve been told or believed. (ex: I’m alone, I don’t have the ability to make a big impact, others are more important) And on the right side, write down the truth that contradicts those lies. There are scriptures supporting each of those truths. It’s a simple exercise but SO important…I’ve done it several times and I keep these papers in my bible to read on occasion.

In the scriptures, God tells us that we can all have the gift of prophecy. Kenny takes this seriously. He prophesied over many this week, and a lot of the students experienced a new level of faith. It was awesome. Some students came away from this week with a clear idea of what their calling is…that’s HUGE.

This Thursday, we took the entire DTS plus Kenny to the beach and did baptisms! About 12 people were baptized in the ocean. Here are a couple pics:

I forgot to mention- last week we did a children’s ministry at a local church in our neighborhood. We walked around the streets inviting people right before it started, and then gathered everyone outside of the church building. We performed a few dramas and taught a couple children’s songs, and we all had a ton of fun. Here are a couple pics:

Let the transformation continue...March, here we come!

Week 7 begins tomorrow. That's crazy. The past two weeks have been nothing short of busy, and now that outreach plans are beginning to come together, our days will only increase in activity. We met for the first time in our outreach teams this week. Our Central America team is the largest, with five staff, ten students, and four children- a total of 19! It was exciting to talk about each individual country and share the information we've received so far. The Mexico team has three staff and two students, and the Haiti team has three staff and nine students. Everyone is pumped for those last two months! But in the meantime...

Week 6 was about servant leadership. We talked a lot about how our attitudes dictate the outcome of our situations, our success, and so much more. As a leader for the DTS, I was taking just as many notes during class as the students...lots of good information and biblical examples of Godly leadership. So much growing to do... :)

A couple fun things in the past two weeks:

*Valentine's day party (chocolate, dancing, singing)

*A really great game introduced to us by Regula from Switzerland. She brought a TON of Swiss chocolate bars that she kindly shares with us all...and one of the ways she does that is through this game. She takes a bar of chocolate and wraps it in probably 15 pieces of notebook paper, taping it closed. That sits in the middle of the table along with a fork, butter knife, pair of gloves, scarf, and a hat. The people playing roll a single die and whenever they roll a 6, they put on all of the items mentioned and try to open the wrapped chocolate using only the fork and butter knife. If they are able to open it up (takes awhile) they can eat (again, only with the fork and knife) as much chocolate as they can...while they are doing this, the die is still being passed around the table and if someone rolls a 6, the person who is mid-scarf/hat/gloves trying to cut open the chocolate has to immediately stop and pass everything to the new person. As you can imagine, it's easy to roll a 6 and so it takes awhile for the chocolate to get opened. It's pretty funny and I'll try and capture some footage of it the next time we play.

On a different note...I'm feeling pretty worn out and low on energy. I knew this would come at some point, and it's sure to appear again during outreach, but I would appreciate prayers in this time. Everyday is so full and it's easy to get a little drained. But I still love being here!

And thank you for the cards and couple care packages I've received...they truly make my day. I feel so special whenever I'm told I have mail! Touches of home are so sweet and very much cherished.

Enjoy your week...I'll update soon!

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." -Galatians 5:1

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" -Romans 8:1

I think I underestimated what this last week would be like. I knew the general idea, I knew it’d be huge, but I wasn’t prepared for just how mightily God would move in the hearts of the DTS. Thankfully, God’s plans are greater than ours could ever be. And my goodness, what a plan He had for the past few days…

Basically, this past week was all about breaking free of anything that’s formed our identity besides God. Such an important thing to do before going out to minister to others. It always blows me away to hear someone’s story and struggles. We ALL have junk in our lives, often imposed on us and sometimes chosen by us. For example- divorce, abuse, abandonment, addictions, eating disorders, self hatred, unforgiveness (of self or others), depression- this list goes on and on. And most of us don’t just struggle with one thing. There are several parts to what “breaking free” means, including identifying the issue, asking God for forgiveness, asking God to reveal the root of the issue, and declaring freedom from it according to God’s word. Perhaps the biggest challenge of this week is when all of this is shared in the open amongst the group. Many people have never admitted any of their struggles, and continue to remain in a solitary prison because of it. But the beauty of outwardly sharing in this setting is that you are immediately surrounded by support and encouragement to break free. Imagine sharing your story with close friends; imagine them weeping with you for what’s been lost and wrongly done; imagine having them pray over you and speak truth to you; imagine getting something off your chest that you’ve been carrying and believing in for YEARS. It’s powerful. And believe me when I say that there is literally a physical change in most people afterwards. You look at them and see an actual difference in their appearance. Our students aren’t the same as they were a week ago…all because they took a risk and trusted God and asked Him to be free.

It was an exhausting week. After hearing so many heartbreaking stories and crying a few buckets worth, it’s all you can do not to sleep for the entire weekend. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

God is so good.