Reflection and a Merry Christmas from Jaco Costa Rica

Hey Everyone,

I Just thought I would share another blog giving you all a reflection of my life it's been almost 6 months since I left home at times it all feels like a dream sometimes a bad one but for the most part a really awesome one. There is so much to be thankful for so much change in me so much joy in my heart for what the lord has done in me and where I am . I can't believe Christmas is right around the corner 4 days to be exact! So much has happened it's hard to explain in words just how I feel and just what is going on in my head as I sit here tonight and just want to cry I am not the same person I was 6 months ago. I lived in my own little world and everything was perfect or if not I pertended it was I didn't want to face reality I didn't want help I was to proud to relize that I was going through the motions and slowing dying while I pertended I was ok and everything else around me was Honestly I was falling apart I was going know where living my life without a purpose until 6 months ago when I moved to Costa Rica and my world was shaken and turned upside down where all my comforts where pulled out from under my feet where everyone i knew was no longer with me. I was stripped of all comforts and I had to fully rely on God and only him for my strength to get my through it as I applied for the Children At Risk school had I known fully what it was going to be like I may not have done it but because I went in blind folded knowing I wanted and was called to workd with children I went and stepped out in faith as I would sit in class week after week and watch the videos and do the research I honestly felt like I was putting myself through torture the whole time and i wasn't sure why every week i would reflect on the week gone by and wonder why I am here why am I putting myself through so much pain is it worth it is there a pupose behind all this I knew God had called me there so I never gave up and i started out strong and wanted to finsh strong through many talks and prayer with friends and leaders God gave me the strength to finshed stronger then I started and when I got done I knew why I had done the school. I wanted to work with children and the harder the case the better. I moved to Jaco 2 days after graduation and well ministry started right away it took some time to adapt to a differnt life style after living at a YWAM base for 3 months having your schedual planned out for you was nice but moving to Jaco started real life where I needed to set my schedual or so I thought I am not a schedal person anyways I go with the flow thats how I work and that is how it is here my life is all about relationships building,loving, and just being a friend . As it has almost been 3 months of full time ministry I have loved every minute of it I never know what will happen how my day will start or end and thats ok with me I am all about adventure and flexibilitie. It amazing me how even though I am not at all a leader well I have kinda had to step up and be one here in this ministry as the questions are ask and know one but me is around to answer them . Living on the ministry property has been a blessing and I won't trade it for anything I never know at what hour someone will call my name at the gate and wants something it's not like ok ministry is over at 6 pm sharp and starts at 2 pm no ministry here is on going yes ramp hours are 2-6 but that doesn't mean anything when kids are at the gate at 1:15 or before you can't just turn them away and say it's not 2 yet they have walked acrossed a highway to get here or farther in some cases. When I asked God to break my heart for what breaks his I didn't know at first what I was asking or how it would feel and let me tell you it's painful but so worth it when I asked God for more love for these children and youth he answered and i never new i could have so much love for all of them and funny as it may sound the harder the case of the child or youth those are the ones I am the closest with when you ask God for something don't be surprise when he answers your prayer and how he does. before coming here i never know I was intrested in working with youth but the more I do it the more I love it it's a chanllenge but also a joy. I live my life for the lord and to serve others and through just being a friend and helping out someone that brings me more joy then I could have ever imagined I feel like a mom to all of them as I can't count the times I have fed all of the youth when they all come over for a Sunday afternoon or whenever and they tell me they are how can I refused and as greatful as they are for it I won't stop. Today as I sat in ramp ministry watching as the little boys played with eachother with the nerf guns and while the older ones just chatting 2 of the boys are youth that come reguarly and are apart my church and youth group here and are my friends we hang out alot and one just comes around sometimes they they were telling the one who just comes around sometimes about the differnet people who have helped out with the ministry and how they were, they were saying how none of the rest ever fed them or anything and that all they have to say to me is that they are hungry and I feed them one of the boys was over on Sunday eating lunch and we made mini pizzas it was fun to watch the creativity come out in each one and he was telling the other boys about it and just praising me to them and it was just such a joy to me to know that they truly do appreciate all I do that they are willing to sit and talk about it to someone else. Trust me doing this is a gift that can only come from God and I have often wonder why God choose me to do it where I can see a need and help them out when others might see the same thing and not do anything about it people tell me it's a gift and not just anyone could do it, it takes a special person to do what I am doing. Everday my heart continues to be broken for the needs that Jaco faces and the thought makes me never want to leave I am thankful for the challenges God has placed in my life for bringing me to this place for allowing me to go through all the pain torture and bringing me to my lowest so I can see the needs other face so I can no longer shut my eyes and pertend the word is perfect we live in a messed up place the needs are never ending and through Christ we can make a difference I am willing and thankful to be the hands and feet for Jesus to leave my own selffish desires behind and focuse on what really matters and that is people all the things in life will pass and only what we do for Christ will count in the end lets be soul winners lets stop standing around pertending that everything is great. People need help yea we might have our own issues but when we help others it seems our issues don't seem so bad when we look at what others face we may not have the fancy things in life like the newest car or the iphone 4 but if you have a bed and a roof over your head you are blessed some people don't have that if you have a draw full of clothes u are blessed if u have parents that care for you and are there for you and will do anything for you you are truly blessed some kids have none of this they wander the streets at night hoping to find some little shelter out of the rain and as they sleep on the streets they find a pizza box cover out of the trash to put over there faces to stop some of the rain from hitting them they never know what they will eat or how they will survive or where they will sleep the nexts night if they do at all they are scared and because being scared is a form of weakness they don't show it instead they harden themself to the point where they have no feelings where they want help but don't want to ask because that is a sign of weakness as well they have to be strong because they have knowone else. They beg for their food and money ,it's truly a sad issue we are faced with and then we sit and complain because we didn't get the newest outfit or whatever it might be. It's Christmas time and the normal thing to do is to make out our wishlist. These kids only wish is for a home a loving place where they don't have to worry about what will happen nexts.I know these are some deep topics but this is my life and what I face daily children not getting to be children. So as 2011 comes to a close please during this Chirstmas season remember to pray for the children all over the world who won't be getting a christmas remember to especially pray for the Children here in Jaco the ones we work with daily they are some tough case but nothing is impossible with God .Please remember before you eat your Christmas meal to give thanks for it because there will be children who will not have the privillege of eating that day, as you sit around with all your family remember to pray for the ones who won't be the ones who have no family at all, as you open your present make sure to thank the giver and God for it because there will be children who will not be getting that oppertuntiy. I hope this gives you just an idea of what I have been thinking about and faced with day after day and what I am doing. This ministry that I am helping with is like none other before it's unique and God has blessed me with the oppertunity to help out and be of service for his kingdom in giving me so many friends to help out with and to just spill love on them everyday even though I know they can't give me anything inreturn. I pray you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Hey Everyone ,
I sorry I am not so great with sending out updates my life here in Jaco is beyond busy I never no from one minute to the nexts what will happen but I love it and wouldn´t change it for anything So much has happen I don´t know where to begin I just want to give a shout out ot my awesome God who brought me to this place of peace and and joy even when everything around me seems to be turned upside down even when so many obstacles come my way I know I can always turn to my awesome creator in times of trouble and he will pull me through . I will often catch myself question why me how come I always end up in the middle of tough situations and then I realized it is only to make me fully rely on God and go to him for my strenth and not others when so many people are against what you are doing it´s tough but God has been my stronghold through it all and I can´t thank him enough for everything he has brought me through and will continue to do so.What my week has looked like it´s been a crazy one let me tell you we have a team here from Trinty Bible College out of Tampa Florida, and they are teaching Discipleship classes Monday Tuesday and Thursday for the next 3 weeks So I have been attending those makes me feel like I am back in Dts and it is so awesome getting to dig into Gods word with all of my friends. My evenings are filled with ramp time of hanging out with over 20 youth which encludes many laughs awesome talks pictures and just getting to know eachother I love it won´t change it for the world I am so blessed to have so many friends honesty more then I have ever had in my entire life. Besides that it has been the ¨normal¨ stuff ramp minstry which yesterday I open the ramp by myself and ended up with an entire ramp full over 15 boys all went well for doing it solo ;) Thankfully I have friends you are always willing to pitch in and help where ever it needs such as helping with cleanup or rounding all the kids up at the close of the night sometimes it can be a real challenge. It´s always such a joy to serve christ ministrying to Children, some might say oh that sounds easy or can it really be that affective I mean really all they do is skate well let me tell you here is the thing about our ministry and why we do it and how we do it . Jaco is faced with many tough issues and so much intense pain that giving the children a safe place to come to and spend time hanging out is just a little glimsp of joy in their day who knows what they have been going through at home . Working with Children is a tough job and with the children we work with the reward is sometimes unseen and it´s a different feeling at the end of the day then other ministry might be. You may not feel all warm and cuddley and you may not be able to say wow that was awesome or those kids really love me no sometimes it quiet the opposite at the end of the day you might say wow I feel like those kids hate me or wow well the day was tough but I am glad we got through it or man these kids really need love and that it our desirehere at La Ola minsitry to give them a safe place to come to and feel the love of christ through us as we play with them calm them down laugh with them and just take time to observe them. As I have reflected over the time I have spend here I realize this is what I have always wanted to do and just didn´t know it I knew I wanted to work with kids but I didn´t realize this was it until I started and I love it . God continues to amaze me through out all thing he continues to provide for me. Prayer request would be for continued health and rest finances and for more love and patients hope this will help give you all an insiste to what I am doing . I iwll be sharing my testimony of my time here in Jaco when I get home and showing pictures of the children . Thank you so much for your prayers I know I couldn´t do it without them.

where is the love

Hey Everyone ,
Just another update to let you all know what has been going on in my life since my last update. So much has happened it's always hard to know where to start. I will start off with a little story and hope that I get it right a week ago Friday we decieded not to open the ramp and instead a couple people took some of the boys that we minister to surfing and while doing so one of the kids who is a homeless boy started shaking and well they ended up taking him to the clinic and found out he has dengey which is a virus from mostqutoes. we let him stay at the property until he was back on his feet a little but he is still under the weather pretty well this is just one of the many stories of what these kids face everyday he needs our prayers his name is Wnston and he is 16 years old . after 2 entense months of ministry I needed a break and i took a few days off and went to San Jose for some rest and also to go with someone for my visa run after a very refreshing 5 days of being at the base and going to Niguragua for my visa run and just hanging out with friends I came back to Jaco with a new vision and ready to face whatever comes .Sometimes it feels like I am on the front lines of the battle all alone and I have to remember that God is always here with me we are fighting and it´s a tough battle but with God on my side who can be against me. As we continue to spread the love of Christ to this place it is amazing to watch the tiny changes that take place it´s not like a bomb and it´s the small things that count. it´s seeing a Child that is so hardened to love and to be able to accept love have a smile on there face when you look at them it´s the joys of seeing the toughest kids attend church.Yesterday was our first Sunday morning service at my church and as I looked arounds over half the church was filled with children under the age of 13 and it just made me smile to think about how this town can be transformed if all of these kids continue to attend church and grow in the faith of Jesus and are healed of all there hurts I serve an amazing God who can do even this Jaco is being transforrmed one child at a time we see it all the time and I am so blessed to be apart of this ministry and to see the lord moving in this place. God continues to break my heart for what breaks his and it is amazing to live it out . Some prayer request direction for my next step as I persure coming back here for ministry nexts year finanual support and for stregth to continue on this mission God has placed me in for more love in a deeper way and for my spanish to improve . Thank you os much for your time and I pray that through my blogs you can grasp a little of what our lives here in Jaco Costa Rica look like .

The Crazy life I choose to live wouldn't change it for anything !

Hey Everyone , I am sorry it has been so long since I have updated so much has happened that I will try to update all about it with out boring anyone out .lol First off one of the main reasons for my lack of updates is that we have been out of internet for going on 3 weeks so every time I am somewhere to use internet I forget I need to blog or I don’t have enough time to do it . I live a crazy life here in Jaco sometimes I feel I would forget my own head if it wasn’t attached to me . I never know from the minute I wake up to the time I go to bed what my day will look like yes I help out at a preschool in the morning but still I don’t know what that will even look like and I help the Freemans but still with these things the day is never sure . it’s all about being flexible and just going with the flow . And never does one day look the same as the day before . Life here is Jaco is a different life then I have ever lived but yet I wouldn’t choose anywhere else to live Jaco needs the love of Jesus to shine through with so many hurting people we always need to be aware of our surroundings and have our prayer guard on at all times Drugs ,poverty ,homelessness, prostitution and teen parents and children raising themselve and hopelessness are just a few of the many problems that Jaco is faced with everyday, this is the issues we are faced with and have to deal with on a daily bases ,this is why we need so much prayer and can’t do this alone. God is moving here in Jaco as we are servants for him fighting to bring a change to the lives of the children we want to change Jaco one child at a time, I am so blessed as I watch the youth attending church and youth group every week even though their parents never do they are willing to be sold out for Christ even if it means getting mocked or judged by there parents or parent every week they are willing to do it all for Christ which makes me ashamed to think of how many times I have not wanted to go to church just because I don’t feel like it and I don’t even have anyone judging me . God has truly been changing me more and more for him since coming here and just realizing how much pressure there is here and so much darkness all around . What this place needs is more Love and the light of Jesus Christ to flow through and that is our goal here at La Ola Jaco as we minister to the kids and youth that come to the ramp everyday we want to place a smile on there face and just let them know just how much worth they have and let them know they are loved just the way they are. These kids have had to learn to take care of themselves they have had to harden themselves in ways we never have had to just so the pain doesn’t hurt them so ,much the pain of not having parents that love them the pain of never knowing what is like to be a little kid having to grow up right away and sometimes to raise there younger sibling. Loosing their innocents at a very young age with so many temptations and know one to teach them what’s right and wrong it’s no wonder why so many fall into temptations. A little bit of what has been going on Wed the 9th was my birthday spending it here in this beautiful tropical country of Costa Rica was a dream come true after growing up in Wisconsin and having snow on my birthdays most years and again this year as my mom writes me to wish me a happy birthday and says it’s snowing ,I was blessed by my friends here as they took me out for lunch to Pizza hut and then as we ran the ramp in the afternoon God has placed so many awesome people in my life ,On Sat the 12th we had a big party here with the whole youth group and a bunch of others it was a blessing and so much fun we had a pinata and having one with all teens was an absolute blast. I am just so thankful that God has brought me here and that he is and will continue to bless my time here as it has almost been 2 moths since moving here to Jaco which will make for a total of 5 months living here in Costa Rica it has been a great time learning to fully rely on God more and more everyday and learning to trust him in all things he truly has been my strong tower, as this is a tough place I love ever minute of it . Some prayer request would be health as it is very damp here which creates a lot of mold that has given me this cough for the past month , finances to continue to live here and serve Christ . My relationship with Christ that it would grow stronger, for my Spanish that it would continue to get better so I can communicate better with all my friends and the people we minister to . Prayers for all the issues Jaco faces . Thank you so much for all your prayers as I can feel them without them I couldn’t do this none of us could please pray for our team as we all need them . God Bless you all

Is your cup half full or half empty

Hey Everyone ,
As I sit and ponder what to blog about and what to have for a blog title the question popped in my head. IS your cup half full or half empty? So many times we will sit and complain about the things we don't have or the things we wish we had, a better computer.lol thats me as mine has been given me trouble, a nicer car a bigger house the best name brand clothes and the list goes on. we complain rather then being greatful for what we do have. God has blessed each one of us with different gifts we are all created in his likeness and image and we are all perfectly and wonderfully made. Living here in Jaco has made me more and more gratful for the things God has blessed me with and for the family and friends in my life. When God made each one of us he new who we needed in our lifes and he new the perfect family. we may sit and wonder but what about the unfortunate kids with disfunctional families what about them well when God made those families and placed the kids in them they were perfect but sin and temptation and selffishness and pride rose up and this is where at risk kids came into the world. When God created the world and place Adam and Eve in it he looked and it and said it is good, but they choose not to rely fully on God and even though he told them do not eat of the tree they fell into temptation and choose to listen to the serpent rather then to follow the words of the almighty creator they thought they new better and in the end this is where suffering and pain and poverty came in all because one mand and one woman chose to not rely on God this is why relying on God is so immportant and when we choose not to evil prospers .Another questions that I had to ask myself why are the the easiest things in life so hard to do like surrendering all to God once you do it everything is so much easier yea not to say hard times don't come but when we let God be the center everything is life is easier so why do we hold on to thinks for so long and fight so hard for our right when giving it to God is the best way ,this is another way we are not fully relying on God we think we can hadle the situation better then God we think we know best. Just some food for thought .Ok on to somethings that have been happing here in Jaco Costa Rica On Thursday Morning as I was sitting outside enjoying the beatiful morning checking Facebook and hanging out with a friend something happened not real sure how but all i know is I ended up falling out of the hammock and hitting my head on the gravel that was behind me at the time I only was thinking about my laptop and hoping I didn't break it as I handed my laptop to my friend , I instnatly realized I had a headache and that it had come on way to fast for normal, which led me to only think it was one thing, my brother had been hit in the head twice and my sister and little brother and the end result was the same . After talking to friends here that have also had a few and looking up the symptoms and talking to my mom yes I quickly realized that is what had happen I had a concussion :( and i didn't even have a crazy exciting story to tell how I got it or anything I fell on my head .lol well that made my weekend so not exciting I spent the weekend laying around the whole time except for a few short trips to town I am now on day 6 of this headache and hoping it leaves soon ready to be back to normal but also trying to glory in my tribulations it's been a rough time but God is getting me through it. Everything else is going great I started at a preschool today which was fun working with the little kids and also stretching my spanish. All the relationships I am making continue to grow and get stronger and it is awesome to see the youth open up. Growing to youth group abd Church is such a blessing meeting all the amazing people here that even if I don't remember their names they remember mine. :) we have such an awesome community of christian people here God is truly growing Jaco in what he wants it to be and it is amazing to watch . A little bit of culture and climate shock yesterday As I go in the store really quick and see all the cashiers wearing christmas hats yup I am in for a huge shock as all the holidays come up but I am in the perfect place right where God wants me and for that I am so gratefull . Thank you everyone for your prayers they are greatly appreciated.

Behind ever story is an influence

Hey Everyone I know I just posted a blog this morning but I feel like I need to post another one just to give you all a little vision and glimsp of what goes on in my life, living here in Jaco and what we as a team face daily and why we need so much prayer honestly can't get enough I hope after this you can understand better know how to pray for us. Here is just a little bit of a story of our team something about each one. This Skateboarding ministy was started by Scott and Leslie Freeman a couple with 4 little boys who had a heart for the people and kids here in Jaco Costa Rica they wanted to serve Christ and make him known throughtout this place and well giving the kids a passion and a safe place to come was the solution not as easy as it might seem, but God has given them grace to continue on this path and their ministry continues to grow daily . They have had a few inters come along side them and help out but it started out with a family with a heart and love for at risk kids . In June I came to San Jose to do my Children at Risk school and also met Hannah Kauffman from Michigan who did the school with me and in Sept we both came to Jaco to help with this ministry . Just this past month another guy named Jonathan Christie from Canada joined our team he did his Children at Risk school 2 years ago and decieded to finish his outreach now. It has been a blessing to get to know these people and to work along side them everyday and to bless Scott and Leslie and support them in this awesome ministry. We are a team of 5 set out on a mission to serve Christ and to make him known in this place we want to shine the love of Christ ,We want to see lives changed. I am going to share some of the issues the kids face, most of these kids sadly do not have a dad in the picture they are from singal moms or if the dad is there he is still not really there sadly alot of these kids fend for themself. I am so sad to say this but honestly most of these kids have seen more and been through more then I ever have and will experience. Most of their innocents has been lost and most of their trust has been broken they don't trust anyone because anyone every that was suppose to be there for them did not fulfill the role and sadly the ones that are suppose to love and protect them are the ones hurting them the most . It's a trickle down affect trickling down from generation to generation sadly these poor little kids and teens don't know how to accept love and they in some cases thrive on pushing our buttons which is why we have to be on gaurd all the time knowing they do it on purpose so we don't loose our cool and lash out . Some of them deal with their pain by hurting others because hurting people hurt people that is just the truth so if they can get another kid annoyed or upset even to tears it makes the one hurting them in some ways well at least they think they feel better which is never true the more they hurt others the more they hurt . It's sometimes unbearable to watch even the teens wanting love and acceptance for who they are but not knowing how to ask so they might act out for attention because SADLY who know that might have been the only way they could get it . As I look into the eyes of all these teens and kids my heart is broken for them the pain and hurt that I see is overwhelming at times and all I want to do is take it away from them and shower them with love letting them know this isn't the way God designed it. God designed families to be there forever ,parents are suppose to love their kids . It's kinda funny how God works but the teens that are the hardest to love the ones that seem so tough and nothing bothers them the ones that kinda like to be annoying are the ones that I love the most. It didn't happen at first of course not when I first met them and started working the ramp with them by the end of the nigh I was ready to pull my hair out and well I just wanted to slap them silly.lol I prayed and ask God for more love for them and he gave me that and more he showed me the bigger picture he showed me that the reason they act out is because they are truly hurting and broken and so rather then to get annoyed I need to love them smile at them and most of all pray for them ,they need tons of prayer. On Sunday as I sat in church and started thinking about the ramp ministry I started to wonder why all the teens always want to come to the ramp and well it just hit me that maybe this is their only joy they have in the whole day maybe this is the only fun they have,maybe this is the only time they can for at least a little bit forget about the pain and hurt they have . I thought to myself if this is truly the case I can sacrifice my time to give them to give them some joy in their night to help them destress if that is the case just to give them some love. Not that is usually is a sacifice because I truly do love watching them skate and I don't mind opening it up for them. So please continue to keep all of us staff in your prayers we need it big time we need others backing us up this is a tough place to live I feel like I am on the battle field and we need to be on gaurd at all times with the amor of prayer on yet none of us would change it for anything . The kids and even the teens are all so cute and seeing them everyday is so much fun. We have our ministry ramp hoursfrom 2-6 Mon-Friday we have crafts books toys and all kinds of things for the kids to do and of course the all time favorites of Skateboarding, American football, Football (soccer) ,frisbee or even the most creative games of playing tag on the ramp and just chasing the kids around which the guys are great for. On an average we can have 5-25 kids and teens here at a time ages rang from 5-20 some times we have older people it always depends on the day and whats going on .it's always such a joy to be hanging out at those times yes by the end of the night we are all tired and ready to be done but by the nexts day we are again excited to watch and see just who and how many will show up . We have a swing that the inters before us put up that the kids love to swing on and it goes so fast ,never a dull moment here at the ramp always someone to watch and kids to play with we have tons of games and crafts that range from braclet making to coloring and much much more. My favorite thing to do is to stand or sit back and just watch as each child or group does their own thing and to watch as the staff play with the kids and just join right in doing crafts I love to watch as the kids skate we have as young as 6 years olds skating like pros . So I hope this gives you an insight to a little of what our days look like here of couse no day is ever the same as the nexts which is great . God bless all of you and thank you so much for all your prayers .

Hanging out at the ramp

Hey Everyone I know it has been awhile since I have posted anything time just keeps getting away from me and on top of that my computer is slowing dying on me so here goes another exciting update from Jaco ! I have been in Jaco one month yesterday and loving it just as much as Much as I did the first day I got here I am adjusted well and we are diving right into the race here it was a 3 weeks of alittle craziness going on with so many obstacles that came up along the way but it was all part of the plan of God. We have now step into full time ramp ministry with both feet it's been awesome as we are now in the flow of it all how many kids continue to keep coming everyday it's fun to watch the kids and watch as their inner creativty continues to blossom. Ramp ministry is always the highlight of my day and night as most nights we have youth here skating I have been going to inglsia y Radical which is an amazing church the sevice is Friday and Sat night at 7 and youth group Sat at 4 so I have been going there which is super cool to get to hang out with the youth on a everyday basis and then also attend the same church as them. God is continuing each day to break my heart for what breaks his he continues to let me give people the benifit of doubt rather then jugde them right off. The more I hang out with these youth the more pain I see in there eyes and the more I just want to love them and help them.So many times I see teenagers acting out like little kids and of course my first reaction is to right them off and be like they are so stupid or they need to get a life what's their problem but as I take a step back and look at the big picture I realize this is the pain coming out this stems from not having a great childhood or well sadly in most of these cases not having one at all.  The pain they feel comes out in different ways some want to be tough and others just like to terrorize others and some  don't know how to express it at all. I didn't think I even had this much love to keep pouring out but God in his faithfulness never ceases to stop giving it to me . The thing this town needs prayer  for is
1. poverty
2. prostitution
3. drugs
4. homelessness
5.street kids
and so much more this town needs Jesus and I want to be a light for Jesus in this dark place where so much evil is all around so please could you stand with me in prayer for these issues that face this place daily these are the things that go on around  for this is the reason why I love what I do so much and choose to live in this place away from all the comforts of home,this is my home and I love it I want to see the town of Jaco change I want to see Jesus high and lifted up in this place. I want to make a difference in this place. Jesus is their only hope here in this place of hoplessness as I walk outside my gate of where I live know matter what time of day you will see guys just sitting around drinking all day and all night you will see kids just riding around or walking around at all hours.  Alot of the kids will drop out of school because they don't understand or have the books or papper . so many kids are teens and still in 6th grade or less these kids need our prayer . Thank you for your time please pray and consider supporting me in my time here as I minister to this kids and youth and as I be a light in their dark lifes please pray that I would continue to pour out love to them even in the most difficult stiuations.

Those who pray together stay together !

Hey Everyone !
I believe it is time for another exciting blog post from Jaco Costa Rica ! Alright so here is what has happened since my last post on Wednesday. Thursday was the Dts free day so here's what took place I went to hang out with them found some at the beach and then went to their hostil the funny part is that there is a sign that says no vistars allowed but they always let me in . So I hung out there for awhile then went out for Pizza and then a few of the girls came over here to the Freemans to hang out and watch a movie and did laundry perfect day for their free day .Again all this time we are fighting the rain which is continual 5 min of dryness and then more rain welcome to Costa Rica! Friday I hung out here at my new home enjoying the peace and quietness of being free except for the fact that  I woke up sick so I spent most of my day sleeping which was not all bad sleep is good around 2 pm I got a knock at the door and lo and behold it was a gift from heaven a few of the dts people were coming to clean!  A little while later a few more dtsers show up to talk about the happenings of the night so we take a quick walk to Mega Super for a few things come back for a little time of prayer and then excitingly await the night. A few hours later I head to  church which was awesome and then prayer and worship with the Dts and then on to our prayer walk we again did another prayer walk on Sat night and Sun which was just awesome to feel the presence of God on the Streets of Jaco where everything seems so dark and evil. Spreading the love of christ one prayer drop at a time ! So many amazing things continue to happen during my time here when I thought of doing my outreach here I would have never guessed so much could happen in just 3 short weeks God continues to amazing me each and  ever day with his goodness and love. Joshua 1:9  ‎"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” I read this verse the other day and it have kept me going . I am excited for all the changes that will take place here in this small town of Jaco and also in my life and the lifes of the people that we touch with the love of Christ .  Thank to all who read this and keep up with the happenings in my exciting life here on the mission field to win souls for christ and to be a light in this dark place where hopelessness abounds in all places I want to bring the hope of Christ. God Bless you all! prayer  for Finanual support is needed . :)

It's the little things in life .

Hey Everyone !
Another week of excitement has come and gone so here goes as I tell as many of the exciting happening without boring anyone out.  I spent Oct 1st -8th living here at the Freemans while Scott was in the states that was an exciting adventure all in itselve living here in a house with 4 little boys never a dull moment here although to be honest I would never ask for one . :) Friday started out to be a normal fun day just hanging out here at the house and spending some fun one on one time with Koa the 23 month old he is such a cute and fun toddler we went shopping and then  spend some time in the pool cooling off after a very hot morning after ward Leslie took the 3 oldest to a movie and I chilled out while Koa napped it was a great day. Let me tell you living here in Jaco you just never know what your day will bring while she was gone I made supper and well I thought it was going to be a "normal" night aside from the fact that Leslie and I were both sneezing all night, hey I finally found a friend to be nose friends with as Scott calls us .lol  well we ate supper and chill had a great chat and then her and the boys went to bed while I continue to sneeze and feel like I was living in a flood . Nothing exciting happened until  10 I decieded it was high time I hit the hay so as I was perparing to shut my computer down  I  hear  a knock at the door thinking it was the nieghbors needing something I pull the curtain back and look out and see nobody  wow thats weird well sure enough soon 3 heads pop up and it's 3 of my friends that we minister to, as I open the door they all are begging for food "we are starving" so I proceed to get some food out and feed them let them chill out for awhile.Letting them  use my computer as they love to do finally about a half and hour later after I have everything cleaned up I finally tell them ok guys it's time to go and off to bed I go. just when you think your life is boring then something like this happens . living here in Jaco is great the relationships you make are forever ,  you might  just meet someone on the street and say "hola" once and think nothing of it but the nexts time you see that same person the smile on their face and the joy they having in their eyes is unforgettable because you took a second out of your life to greet them and from then on anytime you see them you  won't be able  pass without getting a greeting.  Saturday  was a crazy fun day as we took a spontanous trip in which we though would only be a couple hours ended up being an all nighter Leslie says to  me right after  I wake up if  I wanted to go get a trampoline and I say of course we need to get out of dodge thinking we would be gone a little bit because thinking we were only going somewhere here in Jaco well no we take a rode trip to Escazu about maybe 45  min away not to bad so of course since we are right by the mall we make a detour and head over to the mall to hang out got a few things I needed and then proceeded over to the pet store where they ended up buying the cutest hampster and then on to pricemart for our trampoline well they didn't have one but they called San Jose Price Mart and they had 4 so we drove another half and hour to there only to discover thankfully they only had 1 left so now it's 5 and we are in San Jose and Scotts flight gets in at 11:15 so we make the quick plan to go to the YWAM base hang out see if we can hang out a a friends house and put the kids to bed until we need to pick Scott up . Yes my life keeps getting crazier but I throughly love every min of it. God continues to show his face to me he continues to provide for me and just be  my everything here . he continues to surprise me each day with something new . Sunday was a low key day and Monday I spent 14 hours babysitting so that was an excitment all in itself yesterday was a fun day  again I got to spend some one on one time with Koa walking around town meeting up with the DTS that is here on outreach and then running the skateboarding ramp from 2-6pm which was definatly an exciting adventure hanging out with a group of boys can lead to many different things like for instance one boy taking another boy cellphone and hiding it and allowing everyone else to search high and low for it only to realized that he had it the whole time. And then they find the kool-Aid powder and proceeded to eat it and in the process of all this completly destroy the closet where we keep all of our supplies and skateboards.All this time we are trying to dodge the rain which continues to pour since Sat night ! Needless to say by the end of the night I was exhausted, hungry ,wet and ready for some chill time . Today has been a much needed day of rest for me as it feels like I have been going nonstop  for 16 weeks without a break so I spend the day just catching up on some much needed me time  and some much needed sleep. Which since Scott and Leslie ended up having to go to San Jose until Sun to take care of there residency stuff, Hannah and I both get to take a few days of much need rest so it will be great to get refreshed and restored to start back up fresh  with ministry and life here in Jaco on Mon not to say that nothing exciting will happen in the meantime but well to be honest I am used to this so bring it on . :)  So I am chillin here at the Freemans enjoying a bit of peace and quiet and making sure their house stays in one piece while they are gone. So this is just a little qlimsp of my life in a nutshell.  :) God is good and I am loving every min here. prayers are still appreciated still needing financal support and prayer for health and just my time here . Thank you and God Bless :) hope this is as enjoyable to read as it was to write!

His love never fails

Just thought I would post a small update. Just a little bit of what goes on in my exciting life living here in Jaco Costa Rica let me tell you never a dull moment here and I love it so much!On Friday we took a long trip to visit the San  Jose base my home for the past 3 months it was so awesome to see most of my friends and to be able to celebrate the YWAM base 7 year anniversary! Saturday we headed back here to my new home for the nexts 4 months Jaco CR. Sunday I went to church and heard an amazing message and I felt like God was speaking through the Pastor directly to me the message was title Don't worry be happy and was directed toward God providing for us and how God even provides for the sparrows so how much more will he provide for us all we have to do is trust him and not stress  over our needs whatever they may be for me it is my finances as I am living here in Costa Rica for the nexts 4  months which will make a total of 7 months and I just often wonder how I am going to stretch my money for that long,but ultimatly it comes down to the fact that I don't have to all I need to do is leave it in Gods hands do my part and let him do the rest. It was a much needed reminder to me ,we serve a big God and money is nothing to him since he owns all the cattle on a thousand hills he won't forget about me . Monday was my first offcial day of outreach although I feel everyday since moving here has been outreach nothing to exciting happened just the "normal" everyday stuff if that's even possible when living in a house with 4 little boys 8 and under, the day was long but God in his awesomeness pulled me through, all the pain of missing my amazing friends that I have spend the past 3 months with   just was to much for one day. That night  I had the privileged of going to a womens bible study which was so great just getting out and studying the word of God can only do one thing fill you up with him. I am so thankful for the people God is placing in my path while I am here and for the people who are so on fire for him.  Tuesday was a Great day spending the Morning at the ramp with kids is always the best thing The kids here that we minister are the cutest kids ever and the only thing you can do is just love on them laugh with them and just spending time with them is the best reward anyone can ever get . I love my life and the people in it God has brought me through so much so that I can inturn be a blessing and help to other hurting people. My prayer is for my time here to do all I can for the kingdom of heaven.

A new adventer of my life !

Alrighty everyone , I am going to in as  few of  words as possible give you the run down of my last 3 months and what is ahead of me .alright to start off on June 24th I set off on this amazing adventure not knowing my adventure would start right then after flying out of Chicago O'hare at 3:10 pm  my flight was suppose to arrive in Miami at 7:20 pm well we did not arrive until a half and hour later Not knowing it I rush out of the plane racing  inside  the place asking everyone in sight where my gate is trying to keep my 2 carry ons from falling as I race everywhere finally I get to my gate only to discover that I was to late and it had taken off only 10 minutes before I arrived . :( After a very long day this was not what I had anticipated and I was sad and confused it was my first time flying out of country and I had know idea what to do nexts. So I go to the front counter and explain what happened and they tell me I have to go in the rebooking line so they point me in the right direction well I go there hoping it will be easy only to find out there are 200 plus people ahead of me and more coming , I start to freak out when I realize that it is already 8 and I was suppose to be arriving in San Jose so my ride  might be waiting for me so I get out of line and decied well I better go buy a phone card and see if I can get a hold  of my family, after buying a card it didn't work but God placed these 2 guys in my life at the perfect time asked what had happened and let me use their phone to make my call. well I finally got ahold of my parents and they got ahold of my leader and I went back to get in line to wait to rebook my ticket by this time about 50-100 more people had arrived after standing in line exhausted and so hungry again God places a random stranger in my life and I see her step out of line and go buy soup soon she come back carring 2 bowl not really thinking about it continue to wait in line pretty soon I feel a tap on my shoulder and here come the sweet lady with the soup and gives it to me of course my reaction was a bit unfriendly because I didn't know if I should take food from a stranger or not but she was persistend and so finally I took the soup and continued to wait  well by the time I  got to the rebooking ticket counter the nexts flight didn't leave until 12:05 pm the nexts day well at this point there was nothing I could do but wait so I sat down and ate the soup and the only thought I could think of was who ever gives a cup of cold water in my name shall be blessed this lady was a tru angel sent by God. it is now after 10 pm and I am all alone in an airport so I ask them if I can go sit at my gate until I fly out and well thats what happen I go find my gate and chill out for the night having been awake since 6 am I am tired hungry and annoyed to be honest so I decied to treat myself and buy internet since well I had all night and for $8 got 24 hours of internet so I get on and talk to my school leader until 2 am so cool and then I deciede I need to sleep so I find a place to sack out across my luggage on the cold floor after a struggle to sleep with so many lights on and listening to the sound of someone vaccuming I finally dozed off only to be awoken soon after.  I awake to people getting off the plane thinking it was morning I get up stick my contacts in and go check my facebook only to find out it is only 3 am so I had only been sleeping for 1 hour .lol well after that I was like ok no more sleep for me so much commotion I just sat around for another 4 hours or so and then well only to realize I was not at the right gate anymore so I go find what I believe is to be the right one sit there trying to keep my eyes open and finally I doze off again for a little bit I awake to them boarding the plane and well come to find out yet again I was at the wrong gate and this plane was boarding to go to Chicago haha well again I run to find the right gate and lo and behold finally 3 gates later I am at the right one and sit there for another few hours 16 plus hours later I am finally boarding my plane to San Jose Costa Rica a couple hours later I land in the beautiful country never was I so happy to be somewhere after getting of the plane and going through costums and getting stamped into the country I am off to find my luggage hoping and praying it did not get lost along the way I go to the luggage place and all the luggage is being set off and my luggage is know where to be seen looking around  I spot what I think is mine but nope not a chance the guy ask me what I am looking for and I say my luggage and he is like oh it is over there by the desk and yup there it was safe and sound and set aside for me why and how they new it was mine was beyond me but I was just happy to have it back . so I grab my stuff and head out the door hoping someone is waiting for me sure enough 2 of my leaders are standing there but after going so long with out a good sleep I am completly out of it and don't notice them until they call my name . I look and feel like  zombie dirty and so ready for a shower and a bed after traveling sleeping and wearing the same clothes for 2 days it's just gross .So ater loading up we head off to the base which was going to be my home for the nexts 3 months! stopping for a quick break at AmPm a little store I meet my school leader for the first time in person after talking over facebook for 8 months ! We then head off to my new home the YWAM base ! I am shown to my room which by the way I have to say was absolutly amazing so big and perfect it was a little apartment yes I new I was going to share but being the first student tp arrive I had first dibs on the beds and I choose to sleep in the big room . :) well the other one was a little smaller and had 3 bunkbed apose to mine only having one the nice part about the little room was it was more private because in order to get to that room you first have to walk through mine but I still like the big room better . ok small detail but worth sharing after Rachel my school leader led me around the base showing me where everything was and I showered we then hung out at her place and then went to watch a soccer game it was a perfect welcome night needless to say going over 48 hours with out sleep with maybe a few times dozing off when I went to bed that night I crashed. I woke up the nexts morning to meet one of my classmates Hannah .afew day later more students arrived and on July 1st all students were there a total of 6 girls and 2 guys ! we had our orientation and Welcome dinner that night also with the dts that was starting with a total of 7 girls and 6 guys making a grand total of 21 students setting out on a journey to know God and to make him  know in a better way .It's awesome to see so many young people ready and excited to seek the face of our awesome saviour Jesus Christ . July 4th started my school off with a big bang and know to warn me what I was getting my self into first week topic was foundations for why we are here yes tons of  awesome info by the end of the week I knew this was going to be tough that God was going to pull me away from all my comforts and he was going to rip every comfort out of my life during the nexts 12 weeks ready or not here I was there was no turning back at that point . week 2 inner healing you might sit and ask yourself what is that well lets just say the name should explain it all healing from the inside out and oh yes thank the lord he healed me of so much it was painful but so awesome . Week three Applying the spheres alot more awesome info that makes your brain feel like it can't take anymore info but we aren't done yet . Week 4  Behaviour Managment  the topic explains it's selve I believe . Week 5 a great week where again God is stretching me . Charactor and Nature of God it was a great week . Week 6 we are half way done ! Project planning so cool :) Week 7 we take a mini week trip to the beautiful town of Jaco Costa Rica a beach town to say the least we had a week on Child Development and this is the turning point in my life this is where God told me what my mission was . Week 8 Human Trafficking a very intense week to say the least . week 9 a crazy week with monday being on Children with disabilities and Tuesday being on attachment disorders Wed was learning about foster care and Thursday worship ! Friday base cleaning day . week 10 Street Children . week 11 Celebrating Children and week 12 Refugees and Immigrants whew we are done . So much has happened in the past 12 weeks but of course  I will not bore anyone with it all I will just pick out the highlights and say during the past 12 weeks God has truly broken my heart for what breaks his he had to rip out all the comforts in my life to help me better understand what the world is facing and showing me ways to help ! This school changed my life for the better I can no longer walk around with a blind eye to the needs kids face today no longer can I sit back and pertend everything is ok no longer am I innocent to the issues. What the world needs is  Jesus and I am his hands and feet in spreading the love across the world. God has and is continuing to show me his faithfulness and his unfailing  love  . He is my true source of  help I know I can run to him with anything and he will never let me down . He has brought me through the thick and the thin he was willing to take the horrible death on the cross for me I am not worthy of his love but yet he chose to love me 100 % the way I am with no strings attached and that is how I want my love for other to be I want to be more like Jesus serving and helping others without expecting anything in return . Jesus is so much more real to me then ever before he brought me out of the Miry clay and set me feet upon solid ground I can now sit back knowing he has everything under control and he has my life planned out for me an d I can trust him knowing he is in control and that is the way it is suppose to be .He palced the perfect people in my life and with so many prayers going around for me I am a new person the old is gone and the new is come . OK you might all be wondering whats next well a week ago today I moved to Jaco Costa Rica to work with Scott and Leslie Freeman serving their family and ministering to the many at risk children and youth here. After a weeks vaccation I believe I am ready to step out in this time with both feet I am ready to get my hands dirty for the kindom of heaven I am ready to see lives changed and this place that is so dark with such  horrible issues like homelessness and  prostitution and so much more this place needs Jesus please join with me in prayer for my next 4 months I am excited for my time here  as it I am sure is going to have it's rough patches but those are the times of growing . as I learned during my school . Pray for me for finances ,health and for my heart and hands to be open to all that God has instore for me in the nexts 4 months and more. My life in a nutshell. Praising God for his wonderful loving kindness.

week 12 the finale week !

The Finale week is here in my Children at Risk school ! Week 12 is here and the speaker was Phil Gazley and he spoke via skype on Refugees and Immigrants and his experience in working with the families and people he gave his knowledge of what to do in different situations and how when you want to work with them you need to form a team and decied who is going to lead the team who is going to do things like cook and all the things that come with team work he gave alot of statistics and and we watched a bunch of videos of what a situations looks like when people are refugees and immigrants. One thing was really difficult due to not having a teacher in front it was hard to understand everything that he was talking about but I did get out of it his passion for helping others and he has so much knowledge . This week was definanlty I would have to say the weirdest week in my CRS we astarted the week on Friday with 2 classes and then one on Saturday and then finsihed the week yesterday with 2 more classes what it would be like to be done with school I don't believe reality has hit yet. God has changed my life so much in this past 12 weeks looking over it has been super awesome realizing just how much God has opened my eyes to the needs around me to where I can know longer walk around with a blind eye to the needs we face . I just want to get out and make a difference in the world around me and change lives God has blessed me so much in my life and I in turn want to bless others. I want to be a empty vessel for the lord ready to be used and filled up in whatever way he desires he has become my stronge refugee a place I know I can always go to and be safe and enven when others turn against me he will never. I am so thankful to God for this oppertunity to have learned all this knowleged even thought right now after 12 weeks I feel like I could explode I would not change these tough amazing week for anything Plan are still underway to move to Jaco for my outreach I am leaveing either Sunday or Monday travleing with a friend who we will be rooming together I am super excited for what God has for me there . I will be writing blogs during my time but my plan is once i get to Jaco and get settled I will sit down and blog about the last 12 weeks a little summary of my life and what I will be doing in Jaco . Just so everyone knows in spanish the J is a H sound so Jaco actually sounds like Haco . Thank you everyone who has read my blogs i hope you all enjoy them and will continue to do so . Prayers are still needed for finances,health ,protection and for me to be a blessing in my time there in Jaco .

week 11

Here is one my final blogs for my Children at Risk scool as we have one week left . This week the speaker was Greg Bruch and he just recently moved back to the states after living her in Costa Rica for many years. He came and spoke on Celebrating children and how having a child policy when working with children is so importants especially when working with groups of children and when having other teams come in to help you out, he also gave his veiw on how you should never work with a group of children alonw so nothing questionable coud happen it was very interesting to here because i never really thought about it until he said it but it made so much sense to me. he also had us write up a child policy for when we go to our mission places it really made me think about it in a totally different view . This week has kinda been a weird week as far as emotions go as reality is hitting that we only have one week left here and the thought is so weird to me in so many ways . I am super excited to let you all know that next sunday I will be moving to Jaco but also at the same time it's a weird thought . My time here in San Jose Costa Rica has been so awesome yes it's has it;s bumps along the way but all of them were so worth it because without them I would not be in the place that I am now my relationship with the lord is stronger and better then it has ever been my love for prayer is awesome prayer is one thing that I feel so passionate about my love for children and the needs around us has never been this way before the way i value others is only given by God he is so much more real to me then ever before. As I sit and look back over these 3 months I am truly amazed at where God has brought me and the change he has done in my life his faithfulness has never been so real to me. One thing I believe more and more everyday  is that God does answer prayers sometimes it's just not in our timing and it's so much better that it teaches us patience and trust . So here is just a few prayer request as I make my final plans please prayer for me as I finished up this week and all that is instore as I say goodbyes to the many amazing people that I have met and spent the past 3 months with as I transition into a new place that I would continue to grow in my relationship with the lord and the people around me . As I work in Jaco with the children and helping the Freemans that I would go in empty handed ready to do what ever and to be filled up with what God wants me to be filled up with, for continued health and safty and for my finaces to be met . I will be writing a blog with in the nexts few weeks with a summary f the past 3 months and all that it held. :)

week 10

Another week has come and gone already I can't believe it but I am now blogging about week  10 . This week was a bit different then most weeks with having four different topics in the same week it makes for a very full week. On Monday Leslie Freeman spoke on Children with disabilities and how they are just as important and any one of us and how God just made them special. :) On Tuesday She also spoke on Attatchment disorder and gave some examples of what causes it and showed us some videos of children who are not attached and explained how critical it is for attachment to start at the dy of birth and also explained that it is never to late to attach it just might take longer . On Wed we had Jill Aspegren come from Casa Viva which is a ministery here in San Jose Costa Rica  working with children in foster care . She shared her and her husbands story of how they got into this ministery . Thursday morning we had Worship and prayer with the Dts and Chove spoke, it was super awesome to watch as God moved in everyones heart .We serve an amazing God who's unfailing love is amazing and can't be expressed in words alone he gives us more then we deserve he died on the cross so we could have life he was willing to come down from heaven to earth  and give his life for us sinners he loved us while we were still sinners people this is what I call true love I am only beggining to truly understand what this means Christ has been so amazing in my life and I can not keep silent about it anymore .So this week was an eventful week alot of topics packed into 4 days . Ok as I have been saying for the past few weeks I am heading to Jaco Costa Rica right after school ends to do my 4 month outreach everything is set in stone my ticket is rebooked for January 25th 2012 I will be living in a hostile at Christian Surfers ,my time there will be spent working in a Public Preschool , helping the Freeman family in whatever area they need, studying spanish and  child development ,getting mentored by the Freemans  and anything else that will come up . When I get there and the schedual is made out I will be posting it so everyone can know what I am doing and when and also know how  to pray for me . With only 2 weeks left of school the pressure is on please pray for my school as we have a couple of packed weeks  pray for health and rest . God is moving within my school and it is amazing to see lives transformed through him . All I can say is the faithfulness of God never ceases to amaze me. This school has been super tough for me the first 7 weeks I would question to myself every week of why I am am here what am I doing but the peace I have these pass few weeks have truly shown me that through tough times is when your relationship with God is truly growing and he uses our weaknesses to show his strength .  Please pray for me in my new jourey as another chapter of my lifes book is soon to be coming to a close and another one is going to be starting .  :)

Blog week 9

Week 9 has come and gone already this week class was on Street Children and the speaker was Monty Gali he is based in Recife Brazil, it was a week like no other I thought when hearing what the topic was it was going to be all about what the street kids are like and how we can help them and well it was but it was that and so much more . On Monday it started out with a big bang like my faith was challenged from day one on just how much God loves us and how he wants what is best for us and how we need to trust him more and more with our needs because he is wanting to help us but his timing is never ours so many of these things I have heard and even quoeted but it wasn't until I heard him say it that it really hit home and I realized just how often I don't have the right faith but even in those times God is still faithful Monteys love and compassion for the needs around us greatly challeged me his passion for street children was so amazing and his faith in the lord is contagious and he challenged me so much in the first day that I was so excited I could hardly contain myself he then showed us pictures of what street children and families look like and shared stories of why many are on the streets . I have often times wondered why children choose to live on the streets well for the most part they don't or if they do it is because living on the streets is easier then living in an abusive situation,or whatever their home life is like Many of the street Children often times do not need food because they sniff glue and that fills them. It was amazing to hear the stories of how they minister to the street children one of the biggest things that stuck out to me was the fact that well I just never thought about it was that the street is their home and so when we go to their home we need to respect them . Just like we would have them respect our home if they came in it and just because we are going to minister to them does not mean we can come in with a ton of rules and expect them to follow them. This week was life changing to me in so many ways my prayer life is stronger and so is my faith and I trust in Gods timeing he will reveal to me his whole plan for my life .I can't believe school is ending right around the corner so much has happened already and I am excited for my nexts adventure in life as I will be making plans soon to move to Jaco and I just have this feeling that God has a big surprise for me when I get there I am so excited Gods ways are never our ways and his plans are not our plans whne originally I thought I would be going to Zimbabwe and then in one day everything changed one thing I find is that it is easier to follow God path then to try to form your own . Please continue to pray for me for my financual needs for direction once I am there for more faith and for my prayer life to grow stronger and for the people that I will be ministering to. The thing I walk away from this week the most is that God is so faithful.he continues to surprise me each day !

Week 8

Whew what a crazy time it has been I have been in Costa Rica  10 weeks they have had there ups and downs but God continues to shine his faithfulness in my life and he never lets me down.  This week was different then the normal weeks that we have been having normally our weeks  consist of staying at the YWAM base having our normal weekly schedual of class, work duties and whatever else comes up along the way. This week however  my Children at Risk school took a 2 and a half hour bus ride to Jaco a small beach town here in Costa Rica where we had class at a place called Christians surffers where we stay in a hostile on the property and had class under a shelter that they use for their ministery , The speaker was Leslie Freeman a wife  mother of 4 aborable little boys and she spoke on Child Development which I have to say in the first day of  teaching I was blown away. In all the times I have worked with kids I never realized how the best thing I can have with children is a good relationship and getting down on their level and talking to them making them feel like they are just as important as an adult and how it works better rather then just telling  them what to do and how to do to get on their level and to discuss on their level the reasons why we do and don't do certain thinks rather then just sayit is because I told you so. God just really started showing me that I need more patients and love when it comes to working with children and even adults love is  the key in any  in any relationship . basically my whole consept of working with children was changed and it was amazing. God has truly gifted  Leslie with the gift of patients and I was blessed so much by her honesty and openness to us about how she is not perfect and doesn't claim to have it all put together but it is her hearts desire to love and train her children in the ways of the lord and even though she doen't have it all together she is still willing to teach us . This week new and excited things started to progess for me and I know I stated in my last blog about my outreach plan to go to Zimbabwe, well plans have changed for the good. We have 4 weeks left of school and after that I am moving to Jaco to help Scott and Leslie Freeman  with their Skate boarding  ministry that they have ministering to the children and teens just letting them come in and skate and having fun projects for them and basically just being there and loving on the children, and I will  also be  helping  them with their  children and just to be of service to them I am also going to be with Leslies help researching Child Development and also learning spanish. Basically in my outreach I am going in with servants heart willing to do whatever the lord leads me to .  My prayer requests would be that God would give me more patients and love and that he would provide the funding I need to there and he would provide devine oppertunties for me to do ministries there and that most impotantly that I would continue to grow in my relationship with the lord and with others .

Blog week 7

I have now been in Costa Rica for 9 weeks and we just finished our 7th week in my Children at Risk school this week the the speaker was Ro Potter she is from the states and works with the Women and Childrens  avocacy center and she spoke on Human Tafficking annd the different type of trafficking which are Child soldier, forced labour ,trickery by fraud ,sex trafficking .   This week was truly an aweness week for me we heard so many stories of gilrs getting trafficked the one that shocked me the most was the trickery by fraid how girls will be trick into thinking they are signing up for a photo shoot when in reality they are in the end actually being tricked into being trafficked so by the time they realize what has happened it is to late and we were given a bunch of things to help us look out for traffickers the signs of what it might look like this week was very interesting to me and hard i just sat through each day of class and had so many questions going through my head of what makes guys treat girls so horribly? what got them to this point ? we watch a video called Fields of Mudan and it is about young girls who were sold at as young of age as 7 and it  so hard to realize what so many girls go through day in and day out . Before going through this week I had heard about like forced labor but I had never realized that it was trafficking I didn't really know a whole lot about it I mean I had heard of prostitution before but I didn't realize just how common trafficking was and definatly did not realize jsut how horrible it was while going through this week I  was like I so glad to be learning about this just to make me aware of the need around me but I was not really interested as far as working with it but by the end of the week I am now thinking of how I just want to go and talk about the issue to make teens aware of the issue so we can stop  this horrible action . Listening to what girls go through just made me so sad I just had to question how the Madoms and Pimps can do this what they must have gone through to get to the place they are in that that can treat young girls so horrible and not even have a consciene about it .I jst have to wonder how they got so hard ? I have realized more and more since this week how money is the root of all evil and it just horriflies me to think that after  the young girls are sold into human trafficking how all their rights are stripped and how like they think they are going to get an awesome job where they will have great money and as soon as they get to the brothels they end up with nothing and they end up in debt which they can never pay off because they never see any of the money they make even though they are making tons the pimps never let them see any and they are not allowed to pick any of their clothe thay are bought for them it just makes me think they are treated worse then animals we wouldn't treat our  animals like this. On Sat I went to Mero Ministies which is a ministry working with children and it's always such a joy to be around kids and to just love of them but at the same time it is so hard to see thier living conditions and how they ive on a normal day I fell in love with tihs little girl named Melanie she is about 2 years old and ever week I  go she always comes running up to me with the biggest smile and will pretty much hang with me the entire time well on Sat she just clung to me and just snuggled right into me which just bought pure joy to my heart it was so sad knowing that it was my last Sat to go . God has truly been giving me a love like his and continues through out the weeks to break my heart for what breaks his . My plans for going to Zimbabwe are still coming along  which means i need tons of prayer and also financial support I know who owns the cattle on a thousand his and that he will provide what I need I have faith that it will all happen in his time  please join me in prayer about this .

week 6

The week the Speaker was Lance Rawlins who is originally from South Africa But is living in the state working with Women’s and Children Advocate Center , He spoke on Project planning which I really enjoyed since I am not a planner by nature it help me better understand how to plan . One thing that really stuck out to me was something that is defiantly only common sense but sometimes I forget is that in order to get to point B we must start at point A we can not think we can just end up at point B and I realized well I am not even at point A for the project I am interested in working with I need to do a lot of research before I can actually start planning but that is all part of it . Before we step out and go full fledge in a ministry we need to research and we need to get to know the culture of the place we want to minister at, so we can finish the work . Another thing that stuck out to me is to make sure when we go out into a nation we get to know the people and understand their culture and we can not just go into a place and start anything we need to first see what is happening what has work and what hasn’t work so we don’t start something and have it fail due to lack of research . When going into a place we need to go with a servants attitude and to be willing to do whatever needs to be done before we can ever start any project Something I need to ask myself is what do I need to do to accomplish my goal . This week truly inspirited me and just got my mind all fired up . J Also going to Metro this week really just got me thinking about Children and how they need hope as I sat and watch them they are starved for affection and love yes their parents love them but in only a way that they know how . God is truly everyday giving me more and more love for the lost and realizing just how much we need to give people hope of Jesus Christ .

Week 5

God is Amazing we have already completed week 5 of school this is some crazy stuff let me tell you God is moving and molding me more and more and more into his image . This week the speaker was Scott Freeman he spoke on the character and Nature of God he is a great speaker and just made things so interesting and easy to understand and just kept everything going with his many stories and testimonies we were able to take 2 of the 5 days and spend them outside the classroom one day we went to the salvation army to pray and help out in whatever, I volunteered to stay behind and help go through clothes that were donated to the homeless which was hard because as I was going through the clothes sorting them I just had to sit and think these clothes are peoples clothes that are out of style we would never think to wear them and here who ever is going to get them are going to be super thankful because who knows it might be their only nice outfit and then after a little while of sorting clothes we went to help out with sorting shoes they had bags of shoes that were also donated and some didn’t have pairs  but we put shoes together that were close enough ones that looked alike or whatever it just really opened my eyes up to the fact that we are so completely spoiled with out 5 pairs of shoes and who know the person who gets the pair of shoes that don’t match it might be their only pair or even their first pair it just so sad how we always think we need so much and there are people out in the world who have nothing they sleep on the side of the road and the only outfit they have is the one on there backs ,God has been showing me so much opening my eyes up to the things I didn’t want to notice before the needs around us my heart is broken over the needs the world faces I am just so thankful for this opportunity and that God chose me to be apart of his plan and to learn the needs so I can go out and make a difference we also were able to go to the park here in Costa Rica and spend a day out in nature just spending some alone time with God and seeing what he will show us through his nature as I was walking around the park just looking and being in awe of the beauty I went over to a tree and looked down and there were some leaves with white spots on them I had never seen anything like it before and it was so awesome because all these past 6 weeks of me being in Costa Rica I have had many thoughts of why am I am what is my purpose because school is so hard and the topics are so heart breaking and it’s just been super rough for me and I have at times just wanted to go home ,but God in his faithfulness kept me going and through an awesome relaxing weekend that took me with a few others to a beach a few hours away from San Jose he just started revealing himself to me in a whole new way and started showing me again who I was in him and that I did have a purpose for being here and that he was with me even in the hard time and well back to the leaves as I looked at them they just portrayed my life so much because I looked at a very tiny green leaf not a spot of white on it and it was like me before Christ just a blah leaf and then I picked up another tiny leaf and it surprisingly had just one tiny speck of white on it and I reminded me of when I first let Christ into my life he started making me white and then there was a bigger leaf and that had lot of white spots and it just reminded me of all the times I let Christ fill me up he was cleaning out all the garbage from my past and making me white and free of everything and finally a even bigger leaf that was almost completely covered in white spot was just a reminder that the more I continue to let Christ in my life and let him fill me up the whiter my heart becomes and the freer I am in him. I am continually being amazed at God love for me he continues to show me how much I mean to him and that he has a big plan for my life . The more I let him come in and change me and mold into his likeness the bigger be becomes in my life and sometimes even though I may feel like the shoes that we were pairing up that weren’t exactly pairs but we put them together because they would still full fill the purpose whether they matched or not that is the same in our Christian life even though we don’t think we can full fill Gods plan for our lives we need to let God pair us up with whatever he knows best and he will full fill our calling just like a pair of unmatched shoes will protect some ones feet all we have to do is be willing to let God lead us and guide us and he will go before us and help us along even in the rough patches of life even when we feel incapable of our calling God knows best ,One thing I though was really cool about this week was he told us even when we don’t have the faith miracle still happen .another quote he gave that really opened my eyes up was “Kindness has converted more sinners then zeal eloquence or learning” One thing I am learning is God id big enough and God is good enough . God uses us even when we don’t want to just like Jonah didn’t want to go tell Nineveh that it would be destroyed if they didn’t repent he didn’t want to go because he new that it would changed and well God still used him in his unwillingness to change a city , it’s just so much easier when we are willing to do what God wants us to do then when we do it grudgingly . God is bigger then our faith ,What God is looking for is truly repentant hearts people who are willing to do whatever he ask of us with obedience. This week changed my life and I am just so blessed to be a pair of unmatched shoes for Christ . I am so thankful for the opportunities we had this week to learn about his character and to realize just how much I still have to learn and just how good God is and how great of love he has for us . I went into this week with a lot of questions and I came out of this week with God answering them all he showed me so much and is continually revealing himself in a brand new way .

Week 4 !

Wow we are already done with week 4 of my Children at Risk school the weeks are flying by and every week we are taught something new and exciting this journey has been amazing there has been some tough things that have come up and God is working in my life making me a new and better person and it is amazing to watch as time passes just how much God wants us to change if we are only willing to let him have control. This week the speaker was Michelle Grimes and she came to teach us on Discipline /punishment which was a very interesting concept for me because all my life I had viewed them as the same thing she gave us lots of little tips on when working with children what to do and what not to do. we worked a lot in partners coming up with different scenario to better teach and understand children the difference between discipline and punishment is Discipline is setting boundaries for children and in a loving way setting them straight in what they did wrong and Punishment inflicted by way of correction and training Instruction that corrects mold or perfects. This week has been especially good for me with doing so much babysitting and working with children over the years it help me understand them a little better and gave me more creative ideas on what to do and also gave me pointers of what not to do , one of the biggest things I took away from this week which actually kind of shock me when Michelle said it is to never ever tell a child you are proud of them when they do a good job on a project because then if say the next time they don’t do as good of job the child will feel unloved and they will look for love in only performing a good job rather then in just being a good student like will look for praise in there achievements rather then in there normal life. Some of the really cool things we did this week was just kind of acting out some scenarios of children and how we are to react with each one which help me a lot and just gave me so much more understanding of what to do when working with kids. Kids need structure and love and they also need for us to be tough even the trouble kids need us to be tough but yet in a loving way. I also had the privileged to be able to go twice to do metro ministry working with children and just getting out and playing with the children was a super awesome time for me and just continues to break my heart for them as I watch the children live in these places yes they are loved but they have know where to play except for a dead in hill and they are starving for attention and some needing medical help which the parents are to poor to pay for . My eyes are continually being opened up to the needs around us and my heart is continually growing in love for the children in the world . Please continue to keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I continue on this amazing Journey which God has led me on and just pray for me for direction as far as where to do my outreach and also financial support as well.

Week 3 Applying the Spheres

Ok here goes another week come and gone already . This week from Monday-Wednesday the speaker was Colleen Milstein and she spoke via skype on applying the Spheres There are 8 influences of spheres the easiest way to remember them are by just remembering the first letters of the alphabet .: Art ,Business (or economy) ,Communications (or media) Discovery (for science and technology ) Education, Family Government and Holiness (for church) The teaching this week through skype was a little harder for me to understand just because I have a harder time following along if I don't have a teacher up front . I really enjoyed her teaching and her view on Orphanages and how yes not all of them are bad but it is not the ideal place for children if there are family or friends that can look after them. A good quote she gave was what a child needs to develop fully emotionally physically and intellectually is secure attachment with one caring adult . Another thing is a role of the family is to nurture and to bring out the childs gifting and to love with unconditional love .love is a choice and it may not always happen over night you have to choose everyday to love even in the difficult times .One of the biggest things I was challenged with this week as of all the weeks is that I just want to get out and serve I want to make a difference in the lives of Children , I have always considered working in an orphanage giving them the love they need even though I don't feel it is the best place for a child if that is a last resort then defiantly . Another thing I am continually being reminded and challenged on is how much education is a key in living and how I really truly want to get all I can out of these teachings so I can better understand and go out and educate others on the issues we face . One of the things she said that stuck out to me is how us Christians are suppose to be the hands and feet for the world we are suppose to be out spreading the good news of Christ all over even in the worst places the scariest the darkest places and this week has challenge me to the point where I want to go to the darkest places and spread Christ love. Her teaching has challenge me in more ways then not I am blown away everyday as I hear all the issues our world faces and I am ready to go out and make a difference I am ready to stop sitting around in my little comfort place where in my own little world everything is perfect I am ready to face reality and realize that the world is one messed up place and us Christians need to take up the challenge and get out and make a difference we need to stop sitting around pointing fingers at others to go and go out and serve ourselves .

Week One!

　
So I will try my best to recapture the first week of class in a better  read. The weeks topic was on A Framework Of Why We Are Here and the Teacher was Janna Moats. Some of the many points that stuck out to me were, God defends the cause ,God intensions for every child is for it to be in a family . The Child in the middle the people that are suppose to be helping the child to the best of their knowledge are first off family then extended family, then the local church (Christians) ,villages ,neighborhoods state and national government international government (WGO) and the multinational Corp . What would life be like if everything happened like this if we were always looking out for the Childs best interest ? If none of these have changed the child it is up to just us we are going to have to keep pushing for what God want for us to do to make a difference in Children’s lives .So many things in this week stuck out to me sometimes I had a hard time grasping the whole issues with so much information . A few questions that stuck out to me were What if the greatest spiritual battle of our time waged against children and we don’t even know it ? What if Satan understands the value of a child to God better then the church? .Hearing about the lives of children who grow up on the street was heart breaking and how some children are sent out as soon as they can walk to go on camel races to raise money ,How young girls are sold for a price for some stupid crime the father committed and couldn’t pay his price so he sells his own daughter .How young people are selling themselves because they don’t feel they have any more value then that they don’t feel they are worth anything more then to be a prostitute ,so even though they don’t want to be one they feel that is all they are good enough for . We are here for a reason to bring hope to the lost to get an education so we can better understand what all these young people are going through . I was challenged in so many amazing ways I just want to get out and make a difference in this horrible messed up world that we live in I want to learn all I can to better understand what people face today to be honest before I came to this school I would hear the news on the radio or T.V. and I was always turn it off because I never wanted to face reality I didn’t want to know how bad it I was happy in my own little world ,where everything seemed ok I didn’t want to face even though I knew I didn’t want to know the truth . I am heart broken to see what young girls my age or younger live with day in and day out what little kids go through and that is normal life to them defiantly not normal and not how God intended when he made the world but because we live in a fallen world where all it is everyone for themselves kids get lost Parents don’t take the time to teach their kids or love on them for that matter , Us Christians aught to be ashamed of ourselves for not stepping in and taking responsibility I want to be one of the few who go into the worst places and bring the love of Christ to the lost and the poor and the broken who have no hope because they never new it . I want to be the one to go and sit down with the young girls who think they have no value and tell them there is a better way of living this isn’t how God intended for them to live ,to show them love and that they can be free . This weeks teaching opened my eyes up to so much it helped me face reality and realized just how much of a messed up place I live in and I am amazed and Gods great love and how he continues to love of the children even in there messed up living and he loves on them when know one else does when family for get about them God never does and I am so blessed to have serve such and amazing God that loves unconditionally and how he wants the best for every one of them and how it breaks his heart worse then mine to see children live there lives in fear and never knowing what it is like to truly be loved.

week 2 completed

Hey Everyone a little better read then my last blog ! So here is the run down of my second week of my Children at Risk school . The teacher was Christy Scott who has been in ministry  since age 5 working with her dad and she spoke on Inner Healing and what that is . Inner healing is is going to the root of the issue and getting rid of anything that is holding us back,going into the deepest darkest places and getting rid of them all .Inner healing  takes a price and we have to be willing to say God I can't take this anymore please take it from me . A few of the many points that stuck out to me during this amazing week was Home gives us identity,worth,porpose,belonging and provision. Even David had a time in his life where he didn't feel like he belonged anywhere he cried to the lord in Psalms 84 saying even the sparrows have a home but where is my home where is my place where do I belong . We need to dig up the bad and fill it with things of God ,we don't have to heal ourselves we just have to be willing to let God heal us,we need to  ask God what do you think? what do you say about this ? God is waiting for us to come running into his arms for healing and for a place of belonging but he won't force it . God loved us from the beggining  and there is nothing we can do to make him love us anymore then he already does he loves us 100% just the way we are . We are created in his image.Anything that doesn't make you feel free is not from God  anything freeing is from God ,We no longer need to feel rejected because Christ accepted us just the way we are . So many amazing things were brought to me during this week I am just realizing more and more just how much I mean to God and how much God wants to just flow through us and fully redeem us .He thought we were to die for and that is why he gave his life for us took the horrible death for us because of his great love and we are just so blessed to have such a loving and wonderful saviour who loves and cares for us . Another Thing Jesus new all about rejection and fear but he chose not to fear because he knew his father was with him . Jesus never sought for approval from men his identity comes from his father and we know who God is and so therefore we know who we are . We never have to worry about getting acceptance from men all we need is God acceptance. I have heard these same things many of times through my life but the way they were brought up in last weeks class was where they really hit home and I really was able to come to fully understand and it is awesome as I look over my life and everything that has happened it amazes me that I am at the place where I am today I had a 1 on 1 with Christy after the first day of class and it was amazing to me at how she started putting my life puzzel together and started showing me different things about my life just through a few questions and through the holy spirit many questions were answered many that I never before new how to ask were finally laid out on the table and so many things that have happened in my past make sense now .I finally am able to gasp Gods love for me in a new and better way .   The biggest thing I took from this week is God wants us to be free ,when we know the truth the truth will set us free.

The start of a new me

As promised here is another update. Well Monday morning started our first day of class and I have to say it started out with a big bang alot of info and a bit of overwhelming news but all in all was a good start This week has been alot of info at the moment I can be honest and say like as far as what I am hearing I am not real sure what I am gettting out of it at the time but I know it is making it's way out slowly with alot of prossesing going on give in time I know it will be a lasting impression on my life the needs of the world are so great it is overwhelmming and you just want to get out and go save the children . I can be honest and say I have known about these issuse for so long but never wanted to face reality I was in my own comfort and the issues were way over there and now that I am faced with them and learning about this is is uncomfortable and so sad I hear about the street boys and the young girl sold into prostitution at a young age or the young girl who is sold as a price for a crime her father committed or the tiny little boys who are sold to camel races for a living until they get to big they are starved on purpose so they do not gain wieght so they can ride the camels for longer 40km is the the best size as soon as they are big enough to walk they are sold some leave there parents still with pacifiers in their months or even still drinking out of bottles to go work and then as soon as they are to big to ride the camels they are out of a job so the idea is to keep them small for as long as possible. So many horrible issues face this world that we live in Children are suppose to be loved and cared for and yet they are the ones in harm . Please pray for my school and the things we learn and for the issuse we face today , as I have found out in this first week this is a very draining emotional school and we need tons of prayer and Gods grace to get us through it  . So many questions have flooded my mind in this week of why me what did I do to deserve to be so blessed to be born in a christian home and a safe country and what did these kids do wrong although I know it has nothing to do with either of us the question still come and my friend just shared one verse with me that totally answered my questions ,Many are called but few are choosen and God chose me to be the shining light and to come to this school to learn about these issuse that have faced our world since the beggining .  So thank you for your prayers it is much needed to .