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.

I felt a little closer to home this past week, as our speaker was flying here from Chico, CA! He is originally from Guatemala but was raised mostly in the states and is now working with the YWAM base in Chico. This week’s topic: The Character and Nature of God…very powerful week. We wrestled with a lot of tough questions, such as why is there such injustice in so many parts of the world if God is good? Why have we had pain in our lives if God loves us? Why is Haiti going through this nightmare? Carlos taught us something so important…we have to ask God these questions (not just people/books), search the scriptures, and not be afraid to question. I think the students (and staff) are processing through a lot of these questions in a new and more honest way than we have before.

Local outreach this week took place in downtown San Jose. We brought signs that said “Abrazos Gratis!” / ”Free Hugs!” and spent some time offering just that. Many stopped and wanted hugs, many smiled as they walked by, and many asked for prayer. It was a great time…I think the students were unsure of how this would go, and weren’t expecting so many people to take part in it. By the time we left for the bus ride home, everyone was in really high spirits and excitedly sharing their experiences with each other.

Some other moments from this week:

Coffee break mid-morning

Washing feet intercession time

Each Friday night we have an activity, and this week we had a Talent/No Talent show. The staff opened up with an interpretive dance to Lion King’s “Circle Of Life.” I know what you're thinking: Wow. It seemed to get good reviews from the audience. I realize that to be staff for DTS, you have to be willing to humiliate yourself sometimes. It’s just so much more fun that way. :)

A Spectacular Start...

It’s been an amazing first week. The topic of lecture this week was Intimacy With God and Hearing God’s voice. Some very important foundations were discussed, such as the simple fact that God LOVES us. Not in a conditional way, as we often experience with people…but in an unconditional way, a way we sometimes can’t comprehend. God sees to the depths of our hearts- the good, the unnoticed, the darkness- all of it. He encourages our gifts, the good parts, and still loves us in spite of our pasts and failures. This is so important to grasp in the first week, because it shapes our faith, our relationship with God and also with those around us. Many students experienced life changing moments this week…lots of realizations, tears, and lots of hugs. God really touched each person in our team…students and staff.

Vanessa teaching

On Thursday we had our first local outreach. We split up into three groups and headed out in different directions around our neighborhood. Armed with gloves and garbage bags, we picked up trash all along the roads and sidewalks. I remember doing this in my DTS and at first wondering why this was something to put so much effort into. But as you begin doing it you realize how EVERY single person driving by or out in their front yard watches closely…and are probably thinking “Why on earth are these Gringos picking up trash?” Precisely. We want the community to know YWAM is here, we care about being good stewards of the property around our base, we want to help our neighbors, and show them the love of Christ in even this small, practical way. During our trash pickup, we were individually praying and asking God to bless the people in the neighborhood, asking God to show us how else we can help, how YWAM can be involved in serving these people. It was a great start to getting connected with our community and for the students to experience serving in this way.

After such a powerful start to this school, it was a perfect weekend to head to the beach. There were 30 people from our DTS/base that came along. The weather was incredible- probably 85 degrees and very humid…and the water had to be at least 80 degrees. (Waaay warmer than our showers at the base, many of us agreed!) It was a great day of relaxing, exploring Jaco, and soaking up the beautiful beach.





Thanks for supporting me by reading what we've been up to. Prayers and finances are greatly appreciated, as always. And if you want to see some more pics, you can look on my Facebook page.

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.