Today (Sunday) has been the first day with opportunities to relax, venture out, and just soak in the fact that this whole thing is really starting. By Friday evening, all the students had arrived. Saturday was orientation, time spent getting to know a little about each person, and a welcome dinner. We had a typical Costa Rican menu of arroz con pollo (rice with chicken), frijoles molidos (refried black beans), fried platanos, pico de gallo (a sort of salad with tomatoes, avocado, onions, etc)…and tres leches (three milk cake) for dessert. Mmmm!



Everyone loved the food, and as we ate we also learned a bit about the Costa Rican culture from some locals who are part of the base. After the dinner was a little dancing (most were too shy) followed by a bonfire and music together.



Our first week of lecture phase (12 weeks total) begins tomorrow. The students I’ve gotten to know are very excited to start this adventure…and I’m looking forward to it just as much.

After only a couple days back, I feel like I never left Costa Rica. YWAM is all about community, family, encouragement, and love- so it’s really easy to slip back into this place with a truly welcomed feeling. There are many new faces and of course many familiar ones, making the past two days full of both introductions and reunions. One of the main changes this time is that the base moved locations. We’re still in San Jose, and actually only about 15 minutes away from the old base, but it definitely has distinct differences. Compared to the old base, this one is much bigger and is going to be housing around 100 people once the students arrive here next week. There is tons of construction going on and probably will be for a long while…

In the past two days our DTS staff team has been hanging out, getting to know each other. We’ve been putting together welcome packages for the students, learning our schedules for the next few months, and just trying to get all of the necessary things in order before DTS starts on Jan. 8th. Lots to do! The classroom is still not finished (one of the places under construction), in fact, we helped as the drywall was going up today and filled in the seams with spackle. Pouring the concrete floor and painting the walls are on the list for the next few days as well.

We had the beginning of our staff retreat tonight- this includes training sessions/meetings over the next few days to help prepare all of us staff for the new schools beginning in the next couple weeks. Besides DTS there will be a Children at Risk school (training missionaries to reach children at risk) and we also have two teams here right now- a DTS from L.A. (leaving this week) and a DTS from Montana (leaving in a month). With all the schools, projects, teams coming through, and preparations for several more schools this year, there’s a lot going on around the base.

I’m excited to continue our staff retreat and prepare as the students begin their own journeys to Costa Rica. I think our final count is 27 students and 11 staff…a big group! It will be a crazy five months, that’s for sure. God has some amazing plans, I’m confident of that.

Prayer Support and preparations

It's nearing mid December already, which means my departure date is coming soon! In about three weeks I leave for a 5 month stay in Costa Rica where I will rejoin YWAM as a volunteer staff member. I'm so very excited to see what God has in store for us all during the upcoming months...I know it's much more than I could even imagine at this point. I've been receiving some info through the grapevine as to what this group of students will be like, and I figured that since I've been praying with these specifics in mind, I should include you in on them as well- that way you can prayerfully support me as I (and many others) prepare to leave in a few weeks.

What I know:

-Big group of students! More than twenty already accepted into the discipleship training school, and nine staff. (My group was 13 students and 5 staff, so this is a large group in comparison!)

-Students from all over the globe

-A few married couples as students (very exciting!)

As you can imagine, I could use prayer for a few other things as I get ready to leave:

-Finances (still gathering support and trusting God will provide)

-Leaving Les Femmes (I am sad to go but hoping to bring some of Les Femmes to Costa Rica!)

-Saying goodbye to friends and family (though it's an exciting transition, it's always hard to say goodbye for a long period of time)

Thanks for the support and encouragement. I will post again as the new year begins!

What I'm reading:
The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer

What I'm listening to:
Ray Lamontagne
Brooke Fraser

Still Debriefing...

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about living in community. When I was in YWAM last year, this was something that left a huge impression on me. I remember arriving to the house the first day and being unsure how that part of the experience would go. Since I was 2 or 3 I’ve always had my own room, and often my own bathroom. I’m an introvert- and feel drained quickly without alone time. When I walked into the girls’ room in Costa Rica and saw 8 beds, one closet, and hardly any floor space, I think part of me kind of freaked out. I mean, really? Could I do this? Share a room with all these girls and share one bathroom with 13 girls? Turns out I could. I actually loved it. And while yes, there were definitely times where I wanted to crawl in the corner and shut everyone else out, living like that was one of the best things I’ve ever done. (And when I did want to crawl in the corner, I would settle for crawling onto my bunk, closing my eyes, and turning up my Ipod…just as good.) We had our moments of bickering, eye rolling, and differences of opinion. And we also had room meetings and confrontations because there, you couldn’t just walk away and ignore a problem. But what I remember even more were the loud and chatty family meals every morning, noon, and night. I remember sitting out on the patio with our computers and talking and laughing between the Skype or Facebook conversations with people back home. I remember walking out back in the morning and seeing a few of my friends reading in hammocks, sipping coffee. I remember dodging kids as they would breathlessly run from the front door through the kitchen into the backyard, giggling. I remember staying up late to sing with a few people playing guitar on the benches in the dining room- not for practice or a performance, just because we wanted to and we could. Because we were all together. My favorite memories are not usually the planned events, or the scheduled meeting times. They are the moments where someone walked in the room and plopped down next to you on the couch and struck up a conversation. Or you are bored for a quick second and realize there are about 20 people within the house that you could hang with. Constant, tangible support. Whether you’re having a rough day, a great day, or just a regular ole’ day- that’s what family is, what community means- being there, together for it all.

Why is this hard to do here, back in California? We all want our own rooms, our own bathrooms, our own privacy and division that separates us from this very community I speak of. This mindset I’ve had all my life is really being challenged as I feel a hole in my heart from the lack of this type of community. I’ve been struggling with this question of how to live in community here, and I realize it’s mostly up to me. Yes, it’d be easier to live in a house with 10 or 20 people, and I am seriously considering doing something like this in the near future. But before I take that step, I think I need to seriously look at my present relationships. Am I all in? Am I consistently there? When people in my life need me, do I even hesitate? Because that’s what it comes down to, is selflessness. Commitment. Sacrifice. Christ models this type of living for us. And until we can devote ourselves to our community of friends and loved ones fully, until we can be consistent and persistent with our relationships-our lives will continue to be selfishly lived out. And we were created for so much more than such a narrow existence.

It's been over a month since I've written anything...my Costa Rica visit seems like a long time ago now! :) What's been going on since then...

Lots with Les Femmes- our first group ended on March 30th. It was a truly incredible time, and so much came with the closing of the group. The community and environment created within the six weeks was really restorative and encouraging for many of the women. A lot felt empowered and strengthened in their uniqueness, many felt a push towards growth and the next step in their lives, others felt a deep relationship with Christ for the first time. It was the end of the group but a beginning in many ways for most all of us. I think it's safe to say we are all changed from those weeks....

Les Femmes is continuing to grow; our second group is midway through and a third is starting in a couple weeks. We've formed a leadership team to help Heather and I with all the millions of details that seem to be coming up. It's all fun stuff-but the further we go into this the more we find to do, and we need some help! So our team consists of a couple of the women from our first group who have knowledge of tech stuff as well as great vision casting. The web site is getting very close to being up online and many many MANY ideas are being discussed for the future. Heather and I continue to be overwhelmed with how this is all coming together and the responses and interest we're seeing. And I love being a part of this more and more all the time.

I just got back from a Orlando/Key West/Miami trip with the fam. It was a very fun, relaxing, sunny, beautiful vacation. Playing at Disney World, wearing flip flops and sunglasses everyday, sitting at the beach with a book, and walking the streets of a very intriguing and colorful town (Key West) is a summation of what the week consisted. I was reminded, once again, why I do not prefer sleeping in the same bed as my brother on vacations. In Orlando we each had our own bed (thank goodness) and in the morning Trevor found himself lying on a bare mattress. His pillow, sheet, comforter, AND fitted sheet were all on the floor. He has no memory of doing this. I pity the wife who will one day share his bed.

I've been going to a different church recently-Bridgeway Christian Church. It's in Rocklin, it's smaller than what I've been used to, and they have an awesome college aged group. That's kind of my new venture right now, just another transition going on in my life. Ah, the winds of change. Been happening a lot lately. :) Good stuff though.

Tica for a week...

I spent this past week in Costa Rica, visiting part of my YWAM family. It was fun to be there as a visitor because I had the freedom to be part of some of the YWAM activities on base, meet new people from the three schools running currently, and also head to the beach for the weekend! While there, I got so much encouragement for Les Femmes, as well as a couple more intercessors for our support team. And for everyone who warned me "Don't hurt yourself this time!"--I came back unharmed...no broken limbs this time. Although I got a pretty bad sunburn from the beach...blisters and all. :(

Les Femmes is midway through its first small group, and everything is going so well! We are meeting for the fourth time this Monday night, and I'm excited to see what has been happening in the hearts of all of the women this week. We are all discovering new ways to hear God through our creativeness, and for me at least, He is answering so many of my questions.

One of the tasks I'm in the process of is our website. Currently we (as in me and my brother, Trevor) have posted a very rough draft of the site. If you want to see it, just link to www.lesfemmes.creativedzyns.com to check it out. None of the links are up yet, just a simple home page. Hopefully within a few weeks we will have more of a solid site up...stay tuned.