Life seems surreal when reflecting back. How is it possible that I'm at the end of my second five month adventure with YWAM? Is this where I'd imagined myself in May of my 25th year? Absolutely not. My imaginations were far more ordinary. One can never really predict where life will lead; certainly not where God will lead. My feeling however, is that a big chapter is ending and an even bigger one is about to begin. I've seen and experienced a little more, discovered more of my identity, and I'm eager to approach this next part of my journey. Where is the path leading? If I try, I can see some signs, some obvious possibilities. But in my heart, I know my God has a plan. A perfect plan, at that. And I intend to wait on Him. What a special time this has been. Difficult and challenging at many moments, but rich with growth and purpose. I will leave Costa Rica with a full and satisfied heart. And the knowledge that I'm protected, valued, and LOVED.

Guatemala was a very special way to end our outreach. The YWAM base is beautiful, situated a few miles outside of Antigua. Beautiful mountains and volcanoes surround the city, and if you wake up early, it's clear enough to see the scenery in all directions. Because it was our last week, we did a little less ministry and left more time to meet as a team for debrief. Debrief is really crucial because when we leave to return home, it's often challenging. You're suddenly out of this bubble that's been your life for 5 months. It's impossible to process everything during the 5 months, or even in the debrief times, because so much happens every single day of a program like DTS. So we had a really solid time as a team during our meetings, and talked about everything from lecture phase, favorite moments, NIKO camp, and of course the 4 countries we visited for outreach.


Debriefing on the roof...


Typical clothing for Guatemalans...

Besides debrief, we had such a privilege of volunteering at a hospital all week. (Pictures weren't allowed at the hospital.) We got to hang out with kids ages 2-18 who have severe handicaps, mostly cerebral palsy. Most are found on the streets and brought in, and most have no family, no visitors. It was a little overwhelming at first, for many of us, but we quickly fell in love with the kids and were always amazed at how fast the time passed. All of them are in wheelchairs and so we would often just push them around (sometimes fast to get them to laugh) and talk to them, sing to them, hold them. Very few could speak, and so we communicated in other ways. One day, I took a little girl out of her wheelchair and just sat down outside, cradling her. She whimpered a little at first, I think due to her not knowing me well yet, but as I stroked her hair and sang to her, she eventually fell asleep. After an hour, my arm was asleep and my back hurt, but I wouldn't have wanted to be in any other place in the world.

One of my favorites was Mimi. She was a little different looking, and I had a feeling that the other "normal" looking kids might usually get more attention from volunteers, so I decided to hang out with her starting the first day. She was crying a lot when I first noticed her, but as soon as I started pushing her around the courtyard she calmed down and seemed more content. When I would hold her hands and talk to her, she would always smile. She began to recognize me more each time we went. The last day was so cute- I had a little plastic lego piece that I was playing with on the bars of her wheelchair and every now and then I'd touch it to her nose and make a silly sound. She thought this was hilarious, and broke out laughing every time. The sound of her laugh was one of the best things I've ever heard. I was thinking about that a lot...how one of the most beautiful things God ever hears is the joy and laughter of His children, especially ones who are often neglected.

The hospital was the hardest place to leave. It was difficult to walk away for the last time from those kids, especially as some would cry and wail when we'd say goodbye. But I'm so glad we were able to do that ministry, and I know God is looking after them.


Walking in Antigua to the hospital...


Hermano Pedro Hospital...

We had a bit of a stressful trip home, due to a volcano eruption followed by a hurricane. (You've probably seen it in the news.)


Sweeping ash off the sidewalks...




Our travel plans had to be changed and we flew out of El Salvador rather than Guatemala, but it ended up being just fine. It's great to be back in San Jose reuniting with the rest of our team, and graduation is on Thursday!


Airport in El Salvador...

It's been a little while since I've updated, and so much has happened!! I'll try to catch up...

Nicaragua: A great time again. It was special to return to a place where we had already spent some time. We were greeted by familiar faces, so happy at our return. This time we stayed at the YWAM base and got to know the staff there a little better. During the week we did ministry at the local church and library (as we did last time), and many times at the preschool/elementary school at the YWAM base. It's called Mi Pequena Luz, and it's an incredible opportunity for the kids in the barrio (neighborhood) to attend a school where they receive a Christian education and are given so much love and encouragement.

We also taught in two English classes again, so fun! During the class I instructed a section about dreams. Beforehand, I asked the English teacher, Arlene, if she thought it'd be a good activity. She said oh yes, definitely. It would be great to do with them because dreaming isn't a normal thing for people from this community. To dream or use your imagination isn't encouraged or believed in by most. How sad is that? She told me one time she was teaching in a fifth grade class and she asked the students to imagine a machine that would make the world better. The only thing they came up with, Arlene said, was a machine to kill all the bad people.

So we taught them the sentence "My dream is..." and they had to think of the rest. The group is a mixture of ages, from 8-30 years old. It took a few minutes, but their dreams emerged and we got to hear them. Teacher, doctor, pilot, singer, president, translator, missionary- lots of meaningful and honest answers. After each one spoke, we clapped and encouraged them- of course more for sharing their hearts than saying the words correctly.

El Salvador:
We've been here a week so far, and have participated in some really awesome ministries. The first night we went out and brought food and talked with prostitutes and transvestites on the streets. My group talked with about 10 transvestites. Very interesting, and sad. I had a conversation with one in particular and found out he'd been working on the street for 10 years. He's 24 years old. It was an eye opening night.

The second day we visited a Remar orphanage and held programs for the kids, and on a couple other days we were able to visit some high schools. It was really powerful, performing dramas and sharing with the students afterwards. On Thursday we were invited to a community dance competition, where we were able to watch some local groups of youth perform. There was some talent, some really great break dancing! After the groups went, we performed a drama and talked with a bunch of the youth who were interested in knowing who we were. Our last night of ministry, we loaded up in the back of a pickup with 180 bags of food we had prepared. We drove around town and gave out the food to the homeless. It was heartbreaking to see them sit up suddenly from their cardboard boxes and run hurriedly towards us as soon as they heard "Comida!!" (food). Many of those running towards our truck were kids.

Today we're moving on to a different part of El Salvador. We have only 2 more weeks of ministry left, it's hard to believe. What a journey it's been.

Church, Latino style.

A Youth service we were involved with in Guanacaste...they get a little crazy during worship.

Our past 8 days were spent in the Guanacaste province of Costa Rica, near Nicoya. We had a great week, once again! Nicoya is mostly farmland, VERY hot, and about one hour from the Pacific. The week was full with ministry opportunities, including a project to hand out a bible to every home in the province. The Nicoya YWAM base took on this commitment not long ago, to distribute bibles, and every team that comes to help is involved in this project. It’s not just simply dropping a bible at the doorstep- most families invite you inside (typical for Latin culture). You explain why you’re there, gift them the bible, and ask if you can pray for them. Spending 20-30 minutes per house is easy. I was reminded of how hospitable the culture here is- so many families offered us cold drinks, picked bagfuls of fruit from their mango or starfruit trees for us to take home, some groups even got lunch and ice cream! Even though we were strangers, we were treated like family. I was definitely taking some notes about hospitality from this community. It was such a blessing to get to know people and to give them a gift as powerful as the bible. Most were very open about their needs and asking for prayer.

A favorite visit: one elderly woman asked where we were all from and as we each said our places (California, Virginia, Alaska, Columbia, England) she would gasp and cover her mouth with her hands and express how excited she was that we’d come so far. She kept telling us how thankful she was that we were there and what a blessing it was to have us. When we asked for a picture before we left, her husband went into his room and combed his hair first…maybe the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. They were probably in their 80’s. (After leaving her house, she stood at her window and waved at us each time we passed, so adorable!)

Several houses said that we were an answer to prayer, that they had heard of someone in the community who received a bible and they prayed for us to come visit them. As we drove off the last day, we saw several people sitting on their porches reading their new bibles. Our team gave out 410 bibles in the 4 days we did it. It was such an honor to be part of this ministry.

After bible distribution each day we played soccer, and at night a lot of teenagers would come and hang out at the base until bedtime. This meant for a really full day, each day. To top it off, it was an average temp of 100-105 F plus humidity, and we were walking house to house during the hottest parts of the day. As difficult as it is to fall asleep when you’re sweating, I think we all slept soundly due to how tired we were! But by the end of the week, we were all a bit more adjusted to the heat and mosquitos and packed schedule, and I know everyone had an awesome time. (Except 2 scorpion bites!)

And on Sunday, we had such a treat: we went to an English speaking church service near the Pacific, Beach Community Church. The pastor is originally from California (San Clemente), and it was so fun to fully understand the message and to meet a bunch of Americans. (Made me miss home a little bit though)

Worship!

After service the pastor invited our whole group over to his house- which is right on the beach! We made lunch and spent the next couple hours relaxing either in the ocean 50 feet away from his sliding door, or on the grass in front of the sand. So nice.

Now we are back in San Jose until early Saturday morning. We will be doing some ministry here this week, but mostly preparation for the month of May. Our DTS is splitting into the 3 teams and our Central American team is the first to take off. We’ll arrive in Nicaragua on Saturday afternoon, May 1^st. From there we’ll go to El Salvador, and finally to Guatemala. Our flight back to San Jose is May 30^th, so this is our last chance to be at the base and pack all that we need for a month. As exciting as it is to be leaving for Nicaragua soon, it’s bittersweet because that means our time to do ministry all together as one DTS is over. But I know God has so much in store for this next month!

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.

I’m sitting here writing this after an eventful day, a day full of hiking and beautiful, lush scenery and long drives through several small towns in the mountains of Costa Rica. But before I tell you about that…let me rewind to last Monday. Our topic(s) this week included Intercession/Prayer, the Holy Spirit, and Spiritual Warfare. Lots to cover in 5 days, and to be honest we didn’t touch on all of them completely, but it was a great week of lectures nonetheless.

We had an awesome morning on Thursday, for our creative intercession time with the DTS. We had a giving day, where all students and staff prayed and asked God what to bring to the giving day, and to whom. It was incredible. People gave all sorts of stuff- from encouraging notes/verses, candy, money to help pay for the school, shirts, and even and Ipod and laptop! These items aren’t new…they are simply things that we have with us and feel like God wants us to give away. It is a lesson in being selfless, hearing God’s voice, loving each other, and giving up our rights to our personal belongings. These days are always very touching and humbling.



Other moments from the week:


Local outreach-prayer walk at a university
Elena and I (local outreach)


Staff BBQ last Sunday


So, back to today. We had our usual Sunday morning breakfast of fresh fruit, coffee, and pancakes, and then 15 of us piled in a van and headed to the mountains. We drove first to the YWAM base in Heredia (about 45 minutes away) and showed our students around. It’s a beautiful property with goats, chickens, dogs, cats, horses, barns, streams, etc. From there we hiked about 1.5 hours to the entrance of Monte de la Cruz…which is a huge cross sitting on top of a vista lookout. It was a great view!


After that we hiked around the area a little more until we found the waterfall. Several of the students jumped in the water (it was pretty freezing I was told) and from there we headed out. By the time we got back here it was 5 pm…a very full and wonderful day.

Another important part of our week…outreach decisions were made! We will have 3 teams since our group is large. Each of the 3 will do a portion of the 2 months in Costa Rica. One team (probably 6 or 7 people) will also be going to Haiti. Another team will be going to Mexico…and the third team, the one I’m on, will be going from Costa Rica to Nicaragua, then to El Salvador, then to Guatemala- kind of a Central American tour. I’m so so excited!! The students are praying about where they are supposed to go, and the staff is working on all of the logistics.

That’s all for now. Pray for the students this coming week- it’s a week full of ministry to them and times for them to work through some of their struggles and challenges…can be difficult, but it’s always a great week.