Hi all!
We are back home safe and sound after two weeks in a beautiful country that God truly loves. We have seen and tasted over the last two weeks that He is indeed good. Thanks for all the prayers and love. We were sad to leave our new friends in Costa Rica, but excited to see what God has in store for them. We will be continually praying for the brothers and sisters at Portantorchas, Nathan, Tia, and the kids at Excelencia Familiar, and the current and future ministries at CCA. Now comes the hard part for us - processing and digesting what we've seen and experienced over the last two weeks. We know that God will be faithful in revealing Himself in His time. We'll keep you posted on those things and when/where Costa Rica report night will be happening. See you all soon.
-DJ
Monday, July 19, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Getting Wet
Michelle: Before coming to Costa Rica, my umbrella was up, up, up and I left home feeling anxious, nervous and unprepared. Gratefully though, these nerves were somewhat calmed by awesome friends who blessed me with encouragements and even prayers to stay bold in the Lord prior to boarding. (Thank you for those btw!) Even after we arrived, the first couple days were challenging because I thought God would reveal His purpose for me and our team here on Day ONE.
Slowly though, as 13 days have passed with only a few more hours left to go, God has shown me, in His own time, blessings only He could have written so beautifully into my life. I definitely got more drenched as I put my umbrella down. One way our team got "wet" was when we got a glimpse of just how much He loves His children during our two week painting extravaganza at the children's home. It was beautiful witnessing God's love for these children who came from different parents, but had one Tia who loved them all SO much. And yet, it was another story when we tried to equate that same love towards our own lives. "God loves me just as much as He loves them? Really?" It is simple yet so profound...and I'm only just beginning to really process what this means.
Thinking about leaving Costa Rica - who's beauty is indescribable in mere human words - I'll admit, is very hard. I'm not sure I'm ready to go back home. I am almost sure I will have Costa-Rica-time withdrawals. Although home emits a sense of calm, security, and peace, it also means going back to being busy with all the errands, appointments, applications, work, and life. It is exactly because of all those things and more that had me simmering all sorts of thoughts and issues on the back burner instead of letting them go while I was in the States. But with time slowed down here in Costa Rica, God really addressed each and every issue - like dealing with my youngest cousin's 1-yr anniversary since her passing, old and new relationships, and my father's illness. There is an ongoing list of praises and absolute gratitude towards God for the many blessings that I was showered with during our two week stay.
One amazing thing I am humbled by is the new relationship God has blessed me with in meeting a Christian counselor from Florida who is also in Costa Rica on a mission trip. After graduating from college, I had been seeking a Christian counselor and had miserably failed. God had other plans for me at the time - that being that I trust HIM alone and that I not depend on any one other than Him. But somehow, in His crazy loving plans for my life, He brought me an angel... who was willing to listen about my life and even more, to really love me, and to help me - because nothing in this world happens by chance.
From a book I read in high school to family illnesses to my experience here in Costa Rica, God has continued to provide affirmations to my future career and has even planted a desire to commit to a long-term relationship with some of the children here in Costa Rica. As we board a flight for home in about 13 hours, my prayers and hopes for my team are that we would use everything we have learned here to bless our friends, family, supporters, and complete strangers back at home for God's glory, and that our love for Costa Rica will continue to fuel our missionary lives wherever we may be.
Thank you for coming along with us in our journey and I hope that you have been blessed and encouraged through our blog.
Dios les bendigas~
Slowly though, as 13 days have passed with only a few more hours left to go, God has shown me, in His own time, blessings only He could have written so beautifully into my life. I definitely got more drenched as I put my umbrella down. One way our team got "wet" was when we got a glimpse of just how much He loves His children during our two week painting extravaganza at the children's home. It was beautiful witnessing God's love for these children who came from different parents, but had one Tia who loved them all SO much. And yet, it was another story when we tried to equate that same love towards our own lives. "God loves me just as much as He loves them? Really?" It is simple yet so profound...and I'm only just beginning to really process what this means.
Thinking about leaving Costa Rica - who's beauty is indescribable in mere human words - I'll admit, is very hard. I'm not sure I'm ready to go back home. I am almost sure I will have Costa-Rica-time withdrawals. Although home emits a sense of calm, security, and peace, it also means going back to being busy with all the errands, appointments, applications, work, and life. It is exactly because of all those things and more that had me simmering all sorts of thoughts and issues on the back burner instead of letting them go while I was in the States. But with time slowed down here in Costa Rica, God really addressed each and every issue - like dealing with my youngest cousin's 1-yr anniversary since her passing, old and new relationships, and my father's illness. There is an ongoing list of praises and absolute gratitude towards God for the many blessings that I was showered with during our two week stay.
One amazing thing I am humbled by is the new relationship God has blessed me with in meeting a Christian counselor from Florida who is also in Costa Rica on a mission trip. After graduating from college, I had been seeking a Christian counselor and had miserably failed. God had other plans for me at the time - that being that I trust HIM alone and that I not depend on any one other than Him. But somehow, in His crazy loving plans for my life, He brought me an angel... who was willing to listen about my life and even more, to really love me, and to help me - because nothing in this world happens by chance.
From a book I read in high school to family illnesses to my experience here in Costa Rica, God has continued to provide affirmations to my future career and has even planted a desire to commit to a long-term relationship with some of the children here in Costa Rica. As we board a flight for home in about 13 hours, my prayers and hopes for my team are that we would use everything we have learned here to bless our friends, family, supporters, and complete strangers back at home for God's glory, and that our love for Costa Rica will continue to fuel our missionary lives wherever we may be.
Thank you for coming along with us in our journey and I hope that you have been blessed and encouraged through our blog.
Dios les bendigas~
Friday, July 16, 2010
Notes, Quotes and Reflections on our trip
Drew: It is late and we are about ready to go to bed before traveling home tomorrow, but before we leave, I wanted to write some random thoughts on the past two weeks:
-Costa Rica is really beautiful... perhaps the most green I have ever seen. You honestly need to see it to appreciate the beauty of this country.
-Sometimes stories are really inspiring. Going to the men´s and women´s shelter yesterday was incredibly surreal and encouraging, seeing people of all ages and experiences learning from the Lord and recovering from their various addictions and habits. What I was struck by specifically was how the 12 steps of A. A. were printed on the wall... across bordersand languages, God heals and rehabilitates.
-Sometimes stories don´t have happy endings. We found out yesterday that the girls who visited their mom are probably not going to be able to be reunited with her because she stopped going to rehab a couple of weeks ago, and the state will not let her have the kids if she is not clean.
-Sometimes when you buy 2-ply toilet paper in a different country, it feels a lot like 1-ply, and you feel really dumb spending 4 dollars US on a 4 pack of psuedo 2-ply.
-In case you ever come to Costa Rica, ¨pringa piel¨= diarrhea in Costa Rican spanish.
- Favorite quote: ¨It´s all fun and games until you get peed on.¨ C-Lo
- Favorite meal: arroz con pollo
- Favorite moment: seeing Tia after we gave her the gifts.
- Memories I will take from this trip: How different the home looked after we painted all the rooms (bright colors, too: pink, yellow, lime green, blue, etc)... The smiles on the faces of the girls at the home... The sight of a hug amidst tears... Blue and gold streamers and a Shrek pinata... getting punched in the junk by a 2 year old... Loud, loud snoring... How time runs in Los Angeles, but dances in Costa Rica... playing endless games of Golf at night... Grace tripping and her loud reaction... The sovereignty of the Lord and His providence for all of us.
Thank you for coming along the journey with us. There is so much here to process, and I´m sure it´ll take a while for me to understand what I am supposed to, but I am so appreciative to have had the opportunity to come here and learn and experience all that I have in the last two weeks. Thank you for your prayers and notes of encouragement, your financial donations and your interest in what God would do to a group of 6 Asians in Costa Rica. I am humbled and amazed. Gracias por todo.
-Costa Rica is really beautiful... perhaps the most green I have ever seen. You honestly need to see it to appreciate the beauty of this country.
-Sometimes stories are really inspiring. Going to the men´s and women´s shelter yesterday was incredibly surreal and encouraging, seeing people of all ages and experiences learning from the Lord and recovering from their various addictions and habits. What I was struck by specifically was how the 12 steps of A. A. were printed on the wall... across bordersand languages, God heals and rehabilitates.
-Sometimes stories don´t have happy endings. We found out yesterday that the girls who visited their mom are probably not going to be able to be reunited with her because she stopped going to rehab a couple of weeks ago, and the state will not let her have the kids if she is not clean.
-Sometimes when you buy 2-ply toilet paper in a different country, it feels a lot like 1-ply, and you feel really dumb spending 4 dollars US on a 4 pack of psuedo 2-ply.
-In case you ever come to Costa Rica, ¨pringa piel¨= diarrhea in Costa Rican spanish.
- Favorite quote: ¨It´s all fun and games until you get peed on.¨ C-Lo
- Favorite meal: arroz con pollo
- Favorite moment: seeing Tia after we gave her the gifts.
- Memories I will take from this trip: How different the home looked after we painted all the rooms (bright colors, too: pink, yellow, lime green, blue, etc)... The smiles on the faces of the girls at the home... The sight of a hug amidst tears... Blue and gold streamers and a Shrek pinata... getting punched in the junk by a 2 year old... Loud, loud snoring... How time runs in Los Angeles, but dances in Costa Rica... playing endless games of Golf at night... Grace tripping and her loud reaction... The sovereignty of the Lord and His providence for all of us.
Thank you for coming along the journey with us. There is so much here to process, and I´m sure it´ll take a while for me to understand what I am supposed to, but I am so appreciative to have had the opportunity to come here and learn and experience all that I have in the last two weeks. Thank you for your prayers and notes of encouragement, your financial donations and your interest in what God would do to a group of 6 Asians in Costa Rica. I am humbled and amazed. Gracias por todo.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Video from Drew's Birthday
I uploaded a video from Drew's Birthday...unfortunately, you have to rotate your computer screen clockwise to view it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSkXvrguGgU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSkXvrguGgU
Day 11
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' - Matthew 25:31-36
This was the passage that the pastor from Centro Cristiano de Alabanza (CCA, or Christian Center for Worship), in the poor Costa Rican neighborhood of Alejuelita, told us changed the ministry and vision of this church. From re-reading this passage, he told us that the church had to be working for the kingdom and not for the church. Such a simple idea that seems to get overlooked by many churches. The goats will be separated from the sheep, but the sheep are the ones working for the kingdom and not just believing and worshiping God.
Today, our team visited the facilities for CCA and visited all the different ministries that the church was involved in. The church uses the revenue generated from its profit generating business enterprises (soccer field, bakery, clothing store) to sustain its non-profit ministries (drug rehab centers and soup kitchens). In one of the poorest neighborhoods of San Jose, with the largest concentration of drug addicts and AIDS sufferers, this church thrives with the largest congregation of all the 30 local churches. It thrives because God has grown it. God has grown it because it is an instrument to do his kingdom work. This church permeates the community. It does not separate itself from the world with a schism between Christians and non-Christians.
In the morning, we visited the men and women's drug rehabilitation centers and got to hear testimony from the men and women in these centers. What shocked me the most was that most of these men and women started using drugs at such an early age. These centers provide therapy and job skills for these men and women to return them to society as productive individuals. We didn't take any photos or videos from these centers because we wanted to treat these individuals as equals and human beings and this was not a freak show. It is so easy to judge an individual based on his/her past history, but we are all sinners and worthy of death. Without Christ's atoning sacrifice, we will all suffer the same fate.
Next, we served lunch for approximately 200 children at the CCA's local soup kitchen. After lunch, we went to an electronics store to purchase a blender, TV stand, pressure cooker, slow cooker, coffee maker, mixer, and skillet for the kid's home. In our team budget, we raised funds for paint and supplies to paint the outside of the kid's home. However, we were unable to finish this task and we decided to use the funds to purchase some items for the kid's home. We asked Tia, the house mother, to give us a list of items and we purchased and delivered these items. When we surprised Tia with the items, she broke out with tears of happiness. It felt so good to do something this special. I believe that God used our team these past two weeks to show Tia his faithfulness. Who would have guessed that God would send a team of 6 asian men and women to Costa Rica to provide these needs.
After dinner, we joined Tom and Sara for dessert and spent some time with their kids. I got to play Guess Who, Candyland, and some weird card game called Canasta. We also took Michelle to the hospital tonight because she was experiencing some soreness in her right lower back. The doctor prescribed some medication for her to take. Please pray for God's healing for Michelle's back. What a long day, time for bed. Here are some pictures from Day 11.
The streets of Alejuelita
Jump roping with the kids
Grace and Michelle at the soup kitchen
We served lunch for over 200 children
Preparing the meals
Drew and DJ loading the TV stand into the van
Tia opening all the appliances
Drawing and coloring with the kids
Michelle drawing her giraffes
One of the girls holding up one of Michelle's drawings
Playing with the kids
Playing with the kids
Margo and Tia, the house mom. Margo is a volunteer at the kid's home and over the last two weeks she has become a good friend of ours. She is from Switzerland and has been taking an intensive Spanish learning course which placed her on a two month assignment at this kid's home. Margo - I hope you are reading this!
Our team and Jorge, our host, enjoying a cup of coffee made from the new coffeemaker
One of the kids took my camera and took about 200 random pics with my camera. Here are some of the pics.
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' - Matthew 25:31-36
This was the passage that the pastor from Centro Cristiano de Alabanza (CCA, or Christian Center for Worship), in the poor Costa Rican neighborhood of Alejuelita, told us changed the ministry and vision of this church. From re-reading this passage, he told us that the church had to be working for the kingdom and not for the church. Such a simple idea that seems to get overlooked by many churches. The goats will be separated from the sheep, but the sheep are the ones working for the kingdom and not just believing and worshiping God.
Today, our team visited the facilities for CCA and visited all the different ministries that the church was involved in. The church uses the revenue generated from its profit generating business enterprises (soccer field, bakery, clothing store) to sustain its non-profit ministries (drug rehab centers and soup kitchens). In one of the poorest neighborhoods of San Jose, with the largest concentration of drug addicts and AIDS sufferers, this church thrives with the largest congregation of all the 30 local churches. It thrives because God has grown it. God has grown it because it is an instrument to do his kingdom work. This church permeates the community. It does not separate itself from the world with a schism between Christians and non-Christians.
In the morning, we visited the men and women's drug rehabilitation centers and got to hear testimony from the men and women in these centers. What shocked me the most was that most of these men and women started using drugs at such an early age. These centers provide therapy and job skills for these men and women to return them to society as productive individuals. We didn't take any photos or videos from these centers because we wanted to treat these individuals as equals and human beings and this was not a freak show. It is so easy to judge an individual based on his/her past history, but we are all sinners and worthy of death. Without Christ's atoning sacrifice, we will all suffer the same fate.
Next, we served lunch for approximately 200 children at the CCA's local soup kitchen. After lunch, we went to an electronics store to purchase a blender, TV stand, pressure cooker, slow cooker, coffee maker, mixer, and skillet for the kid's home. In our team budget, we raised funds for paint and supplies to paint the outside of the kid's home. However, we were unable to finish this task and we decided to use the funds to purchase some items for the kid's home. We asked Tia, the house mother, to give us a list of items and we purchased and delivered these items. When we surprised Tia with the items, she broke out with tears of happiness. It felt so good to do something this special. I believe that God used our team these past two weeks to show Tia his faithfulness. Who would have guessed that God would send a team of 6 asian men and women to Costa Rica to provide these needs.
After dinner, we joined Tom and Sara for dessert and spent some time with their kids. I got to play Guess Who, Candyland, and some weird card game called Canasta. We also took Michelle to the hospital tonight because she was experiencing some soreness in her right lower back. The doctor prescribed some medication for her to take. Please pray for God's healing for Michelle's back. What a long day, time for bed. Here are some pictures from Day 11.
The streets of Alejuelita
Jump roping with the kids
Grace and Michelle at the soup kitchen
We served lunch for over 200 children
Preparing the meals
Drew and DJ loading the TV stand into the van
Tia opening all the appliances
Drawing and coloring with the kids
Michelle drawing her giraffes
One of the girls holding up one of Michelle's drawings
Playing with the kids
Playing with the kids
Margo and Tia, the house mom. Margo is a volunteer at the kid's home and over the last two weeks she has become a good friend of ours. She is from Switzerland and has been taking an intensive Spanish learning course which placed her on a two month assignment at this kid's home. Margo - I hope you are reading this!
Our team and Jorge, our host, enjoying a cup of coffee made from the new coffeemaker
One of the kids took my camera and took about 200 random pics with my camera. Here are some of the pics.
Day 9
Here are some pictures from Drew's birthday.
Starting the day with our morning devotionals
The beauty of the Portantorchas campus
Michelle with the kids in the newly painted hallway
Grace with one of the twins
The older girls helped us decorate the birthday room in Bruin Blue and Gold colors
Drew's birthday cake
Team picture with the kids
Close-up of Drew hitting the pinata
Drew breaking the pinata
It was either a Hello Kitty or Shrek pinata...we got Drew the Shrek pinata
The kids gathering their candy into piles
Damian with one of the twins. Damian is the 19-year old student at Portantorchas who spent the summer with our team helping us paint the kid's home.
Lifetime friends...Michelle with the older girls.
Starting the day with our morning devotionals
The beauty of the Portantorchas campus
Michelle with the kids in the newly painted hallway
Grace with one of the twins
The older girls helped us decorate the birthday room in Bruin Blue and Gold colors
Drew's birthday cake
Team picture with the kids
Close-up of Drew hitting the pinata
Drew breaking the pinata
It was either a Hello Kitty or Shrek pinata...we got Drew the Shrek pinata
The kids gathering their candy into piles
Damian with one of the twins. Damian is the 19-year old student at Portantorchas who spent the summer with our team helping us paint the kid's home.
Lifetime friends...Michelle with the older girls.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Celebrating a birthday, Costa Rican style
Drew: Today is my birthday, so thanks for giving me life, mom (if you are reading). Today was also unexpected. My birthdays have been usually pretty chill. A small dinner with a couple of friends, maybe a barbeque, but never really a party (I'm looking at you, Mr. White). However, Costa Rica does not do "low key"... and it is a birthday I will never forget.
In the morning I was serenaded by my team, a group of 50 year old people from Florida, and the staff here at Portantorchas. Twice. After they sang in English, someone yelled out, "otra vez en espanol!" and they did it again. It was chaotic and funny.
Then we had our morning devotional about the parable of the wineskins and the old/new cloths, and there are some thoughts on that that I will probably share at another time. Just need to process it. Good stuff, though. Afterwards, we drove over to the orphanage, and as we started working, we put on some music (like we always do). Next thing I know, all the girls (including Tia) are dancing to NSYNC, chanting "Otra! Otra! Otra!" which slayed me. Never thought I would have a dance party listening to "Bye Bye Bye" three times in a row, but hey... when in Costa Rica...
(Just FYI... we are almost done with the house. Double coats on all walls, 11 different colors... it has been an enormous task that I don't think any of us really expected coming in, but it is gratifying looking at how different things are. There are two more rooms we have to do plus the roof, but after that, we should be able to hang out with the kids more and visit the rehab center)
At around 2pm, Jorge (our contact at Portantorchas and guide on our trip) told us to go over to the school (which is next door) because the kids were going to play some games. Not really thinking about it, I walked over to the school and as I walked in I heard "SURPRISE!" A pinata. Blue and gold streamers. A cake. Tons of hyper kids rapidly asking, "Hoy eres tu cumple?" Overall, stunned. Definitely was unexpected, but feeling very blessed. When it was time for the pinata, someone suggested that I spin around a couple of times, but with 50 eager kids around, we decided this was not a good idea.
A great party. I actually can't remember the last time I had a party. Thank you Lord for helping me realize that birthdays are celebrations. Tonight we are going to go see Toy Story 3, and apparently Alba our wonderful chef wants to bake me a cake, so basically... best birthday ever. Thanks to the team for being super secretive and going behind my back... I will never trust you again. Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes. And thank you Lord for Costa Rica.
In closing... I wanted to just touch on one aspect of the trip that Wilson had mentioned previously. Yesterday, I found out that a member of Invisible Children had passed away, and I was in shock. Not really sure how to feel... but one unexpected feeling I had was a sense of guilt. I hear and see stories everyday about people passing away from conflicts around the world, and I change the channel or switch websites... and the only reason why this one hit me was that it was somehow related to my life. It was a sobering reminder of how self-absorbed I can be. In addition, while feeling anger and frustration over what had happened in Uganda, the thought of "love your enemies" crossed my mind, and I almost started yelling. I did not want to love those who bombed the country, killing so many and devastating much more. I did not want to pray for them... I wanted revenge.
And yet, the one thing I have been learning about God the most here in Costa Rica is that God's love is not just for me and my friends, or for people in my country. God's love is for all... international, without bounds, as is His grace. So even though it was difficult, and it broke me down, I prayed for those who caused the devastation in Uganda... not for vengeance or revenge, but for love. That He would draw them towards Himself, and somehow be able to use this for good.
In the morning I was serenaded by my team, a group of 50 year old people from Florida, and the staff here at Portantorchas. Twice. After they sang in English, someone yelled out, "otra vez en espanol!" and they did it again. It was chaotic and funny.
Then we had our morning devotional about the parable of the wineskins and the old/new cloths, and there are some thoughts on that that I will probably share at another time. Just need to process it. Good stuff, though. Afterwards, we drove over to the orphanage, and as we started working, we put on some music (like we always do). Next thing I know, all the girls (including Tia) are dancing to NSYNC, chanting "Otra! Otra! Otra!" which slayed me. Never thought I would have a dance party listening to "Bye Bye Bye" three times in a row, but hey... when in Costa Rica...
(Just FYI... we are almost done with the house. Double coats on all walls, 11 different colors... it has been an enormous task that I don't think any of us really expected coming in, but it is gratifying looking at how different things are. There are two more rooms we have to do plus the roof, but after that, we should be able to hang out with the kids more and visit the rehab center)
At around 2pm, Jorge (our contact at Portantorchas and guide on our trip) told us to go over to the school (which is next door) because the kids were going to play some games. Not really thinking about it, I walked over to the school and as I walked in I heard "SURPRISE!" A pinata. Blue and gold streamers. A cake. Tons of hyper kids rapidly asking, "Hoy eres tu cumple?" Overall, stunned. Definitely was unexpected, but feeling very blessed. When it was time for the pinata, someone suggested that I spin around a couple of times, but with 50 eager kids around, we decided this was not a good idea.
A great party. I actually can't remember the last time I had a party. Thank you Lord for helping me realize that birthdays are celebrations. Tonight we are going to go see Toy Story 3, and apparently Alba our wonderful chef wants to bake me a cake, so basically... best birthday ever. Thanks to the team for being super secretive and going behind my back... I will never trust you again. Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes. And thank you Lord for Costa Rica.
In closing... I wanted to just touch on one aspect of the trip that Wilson had mentioned previously. Yesterday, I found out that a member of Invisible Children had passed away, and I was in shock. Not really sure how to feel... but one unexpected feeling I had was a sense of guilt. I hear and see stories everyday about people passing away from conflicts around the world, and I change the channel or switch websites... and the only reason why this one hit me was that it was somehow related to my life. It was a sobering reminder of how self-absorbed I can be. In addition, while feeling anger and frustration over what had happened in Uganda, the thought of "love your enemies" crossed my mind, and I almost started yelling. I did not want to love those who bombed the country, killing so many and devastating much more. I did not want to pray for them... I wanted revenge.
And yet, the one thing I have been learning about God the most here in Costa Rica is that God's love is not just for me and my friends, or for people in my country. God's love is for all... international, without bounds, as is His grace. So even though it was difficult, and it broke me down, I prayed for those who caused the devastation in Uganda... not for vengeance or revenge, but for love. That He would draw them towards Himself, and somehow be able to use this for good.
Monday, July 12, 2010
God is GOOD today, yesterday, and forever!
Chris: Praise the Lord for HE is good. Even when we don't understand why He does the things He does, HE IS STILL GOOD. As you may already known, there were 3 bombings in the capital city of Uganda which killed about 70 people and injured 80 more. The bombers detonated their bombs during the World Cup and targeted areas where expatriates were known to frequent. This has caused quite a panic in the main city as well as stirred up quite a lot of emotions in me since I have plans of going on a missions trip to this city in just 2 weeks time.
Here are just a few things that I've been thinking about:
First of all, my heart goes out to those who died. I pray that many of those people knew God and that I would see them in Heaven one day. I also pray for comfort for their family members and that some how through all of this God would be glorified.
Secondly, I pray that God would continue to break my heart for those who do not know Him and that it wouldn't just take a bombing to some place I might be going to for me to pray and seek out the lost. I pray that I would view people of this world as God does.
Thirdly, I pray for wisdom and discernment about what I should do regarding my trip to Uganda in 2 weeks. The leaders of my trip have already sent out an email which in summary says that they have been in contact with the missionaries and the missionaries are safe. The missionaries also believe that it is a singular incident and that the activities and the location of these activities would not be dangerous. The leaders have also been in consultation with the missions director from my church, as well as, the elder board and they are all praying for wisdom in this manner. They ended the email by mentioning that we had the opportunity to opt out of going if we felt that we wanted to.
So, here are just some of my thoughts.... When is it right to live by faith and go and when is it more wise to wait and go another time. I struggle with this as I think about the value of my life. It is a real reality that something might happen to me if I were to go, am so I ponder.. am I ready to give up my life for Christ. How would this affect my family and others that love me? Am I purposely walking into danger without thoughtful consideration? Since I've been in Costa Rica, I've really been struck by just how much God loves people. The morning messages by the missionary have all been about God's pursuit of us and how much He was willing to sacrifice in His love for us.. "The parable of the lost Son," The parable of the Lost Coin", " The parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl." Reading through these parables have really made that fact sink in more than it has ever before. And yet again, I am humbled and on my knees thanking God that it was never about what I have done or could do but ALL about what He has done for me. My continued prayer is to live in that reality and to tell others about it.
And so I ask for you to pray for me, for wisdom and discernment about what to do. I had a chance to talk to my parents earlier tonight and they gave me a lot to chew on. I have plans to spend tomorrow in quiet meditation and hope that God gives me a sense of peace which ever way he leads.
Thank you in advance for all your concern and prayers.
God is GOOD today, yesterday, and forever!
Love,
Chris
Here are just a few things that I've been thinking about:
First of all, my heart goes out to those who died. I pray that many of those people knew God and that I would see them in Heaven one day. I also pray for comfort for their family members and that some how through all of this God would be glorified.
Secondly, I pray that God would continue to break my heart for those who do not know Him and that it wouldn't just take a bombing to some place I might be going to for me to pray and seek out the lost. I pray that I would view people of this world as God does.
Thirdly, I pray for wisdom and discernment about what I should do regarding my trip to Uganda in 2 weeks. The leaders of my trip have already sent out an email which in summary says that they have been in contact with the missionaries and the missionaries are safe. The missionaries also believe that it is a singular incident and that the activities and the location of these activities would not be dangerous. The leaders have also been in consultation with the missions director from my church, as well as, the elder board and they are all praying for wisdom in this manner. They ended the email by mentioning that we had the opportunity to opt out of going if we felt that we wanted to.
So, here are just some of my thoughts.... When is it right to live by faith and go and when is it more wise to wait and go another time. I struggle with this as I think about the value of my life. It is a real reality that something might happen to me if I were to go, am so I ponder.. am I ready to give up my life for Christ. How would this affect my family and others that love me? Am I purposely walking into danger without thoughtful consideration? Since I've been in Costa Rica, I've really been struck by just how much God loves people. The morning messages by the missionary have all been about God's pursuit of us and how much He was willing to sacrifice in His love for us.. "The parable of the lost Son," The parable of the Lost Coin", " The parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl." Reading through these parables have really made that fact sink in more than it has ever before. And yet again, I am humbled and on my knees thanking God that it was never about what I have done or could do but ALL about what He has done for me. My continued prayer is to live in that reality and to tell others about it.
And so I ask for you to pray for me, for wisdom and discernment about what to do. I had a chance to talk to my parents earlier tonight and they gave me a lot to chew on. I have plans to spend tomorrow in quiet meditation and hope that God gives me a sense of peace which ever way he leads.
Thank you in advance for all your concern and prayers.
God is GOOD today, yesterday, and forever!
Love,
Chris
Day 8
We began the morning with our daily devotionals. Today, we looked at the Parables of the Hidden Treasure and Pearl (Matthew 13:44-46) and the Parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:1-7). Tom shared that there are two schools of interpretation on these parables. The first is that the Kingdom of heaven is like a hidden treasure or valuable pearl and we need to give up everything to obtain it. However, Tom wanted us to look at these parables as we are the hidden treasure or the valuable pearl and God is the one who has sold everything to obtain us by giving up his one and only Son on the cross. We were reminded that we are so loved by God that he is constantly pursuing us and we are so valuable to God that He has paid the ultimate price to obtain us.
It rained the whole day today so we could not work on the roof. We were able to finish painting the hallway and the living room and the doorways today. We still need to apply a second coat of paint tomorrow. Today, two of our team members learned of the tragic news surrounding the terrorists attacks in Uganda over the weekend. For Christina, after Costa Rica, she will be heading to Uganda with her church in Hong Kong for a two week missions trip. She is now seeking discernment from God on whether she should still go. For Drew, one of the victims of the bombings is associated with a non-profit organization that he is affiliated with. After dinner, we had a night of prayer and worship. During our time of prayer, Damian, a 19-year old Costa Rican student at Portantorchas, prayed for the salvation of his family. Damian is relatively quiet and shy, but during this time of prayer he was crying out to God to save his family. His prayer moved me so much because I can't remember the last time I prayed for the salvation of a loved one and the last time I said a prayer which brought me to tears. God, please use Damian to bring salvation to his family.
Please keep Christina and Drew in your prayers. They will be sharing more on these prayer requests in separate blog entries.
Here are some pictures from Day 8.
Painting the hallway
Painting the baseboards
Taping the edges before painting
Painting the cabinets
The kids asked us if they could help...so we let them paint a shelving unit
Then they painted moustaches on themselves
After painting, we played with the children
It rained the whole day today so we could not work on the roof. We were able to finish painting the hallway and the living room and the doorways today. We still need to apply a second coat of paint tomorrow. Today, two of our team members learned of the tragic news surrounding the terrorists attacks in Uganda over the weekend. For Christina, after Costa Rica, she will be heading to Uganda with her church in Hong Kong for a two week missions trip. She is now seeking discernment from God on whether she should still go. For Drew, one of the victims of the bombings is associated with a non-profit organization that he is affiliated with. After dinner, we had a night of prayer and worship. During our time of prayer, Damian, a 19-year old Costa Rican student at Portantorchas, prayed for the salvation of his family. Damian is relatively quiet and shy, but during this time of prayer he was crying out to God to save his family. His prayer moved me so much because I can't remember the last time I prayed for the salvation of a loved one and the last time I said a prayer which brought me to tears. God, please use Damian to bring salvation to his family.
Please keep Christina and Drew in your prayers. They will be sharing more on these prayer requests in separate blog entries.
Here are some pictures from Day 8.
Painting the hallway
Painting the baseboards
Taping the edges before painting
Painting the cabinets
The kids asked us if they could help...so we let them paint a shelving unit
Then they painted moustaches on themselves
After painting, we played with the children
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Weekend at the Beach
On Friday, we drove four hours south of San Jose to Manuel Antonio Beach. Here are some pictures of our weekend. Hope everyone back home is having a great weekend!
Manuel Antonio Beach
This is Awesome Sauce and it pretty much turns any meal awesome
Manuel Antonio Beach
Grace and Michelle doing their jump picture
Another jump picture
Team Jump Picture
Team Picture with Salsa, our host from Portantorchas
Thank You Lord for letting us witness this beautiful sunset
Freshest fruits for breakfast
DJ ziplining
Ziplining through the forest
Michelle and our ziplining guide, Big Al
On Sunday, we hiked through the National Park at Manuel Antonio Beach.
About a mile into the Park, we stopped at the beach for a dip
In the Park, we got to see some exotic animals up close
Another beach within the National Park
On Sunday, we headed back to Portantorchas. Thank you Lord for letting us partake in the beauty of your creation.
Manuel Antonio Beach
This is Awesome Sauce and it pretty much turns any meal awesome
Manuel Antonio Beach
Grace and Michelle doing their jump picture
Another jump picture
Team Jump Picture
Team Picture with Salsa, our host from Portantorchas
Thank You Lord for letting us witness this beautiful sunset
Freshest fruits for breakfast
DJ ziplining
Ziplining through the forest
Michelle and our ziplining guide, Big Al
On Sunday, we hiked through the National Park at Manuel Antonio Beach.
About a mile into the Park, we stopped at the beach for a dip
In the Park, we got to see some exotic animals up close
Another beach within the National Park
On Sunday, we headed back to Portantorchas. Thank you Lord for letting us partake in the beauty of your creation.
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