Yes, I know that some of you may laugh when you read that I will be fasting from facebook for the entire month of October. I have attempted such acts in the past and have usually caved after a few weeks, days, and sometimes even hours. How many times did Thomas Edison try and fail before he invented the light bulb? Something like 1,000, right? There is hope.
Here is the plan: No facebook for the entire month of October. I’m not going to be strictly legalistic about this. Facebook is my only way of communicating with my friends from Costa Rica. I will still use it to communicate with my friends from this summer and from ISA, when necessary. I will also be receiving email updates when someone writes on my wall or sends me a message. So without getting on facebook, I’ll be able to read those and decided if they are life shatteringly important. If they are, then I will contact that person. If they aren’t, then I will not respond until November. I will not be using facebook to post pictures, to browse other peoples pictures, to facebook stalk people, update my status, write on peoples walls etc. This is going to be very good for me…. Haha!
Why am I doing this you may ask? Well, there are many reasons. I’ve been tossing this decision around since I got here and have been praying about it the last few weeks. I’m a facebook addict, as we all know. Being in Costa Rica doesn’t help my addiction. The Lord has been showing me that there are some areas in my life that I haven’t fully surrendered to Him. Although I obeyed in coming to Costa Rica, I’m not fully here. A big part of me is still at home. He’s been whispering to me that it’s time to give Him my all. It’s time to really be here where He has placed me. He confirmed this for me this morning.
This is my fourth month here. The excitement and newness of this experience for the most part is over. Without even knowing it, I think I’ve been just “gettin’ through”. I haven’t been loving people the way that Christ loves them. I haven’t been taking advantage of every opportunity and I haven’t been proactive. I already have friends here. I’m already really close to my host family from this summer. Subconsciously, I didn’t see the need. And thus, I’ve just been here, but not fully.
I love my new host mom, but sometimes it’s hard to talk to her. She likes to watch sop operas and doesn’t spend as much time with us as Cecy and Willy spent with me this summer. It’s not that she’s not social; it just takes a lot more of my effort to get to know her. God has been giving Moriah and I more bonding moments with her recently, but I know that I could be doing a better job at initiating this. She knows how much I love my family and my life back in the U.S. (I get pretty excited when I talk about them ☺). Yesterday I had her proof read my essay for me. I talked about her in the paper, about how thankful I am for her and how blessed I am to have such wonderful, loving ticos in my life. In the last paragraph I talked about the challenges of living here and how some days can be really frustrating and other days I can be homesick. This was a small part of the paper that I didn’t think too much about; however, she did.
This morning, I came-out of my room and she was waiting for me. Her voice was full of concern and she asked me if I was happy here. She asked me if I am having a hard time being here and if I miss my family. Her concern caught me by surprise and I assured her that I love it here and that I’m very happy and very thankful to live with her. She seemed very relieved. This didn’t sit very well with me for the rest of the morning. I hated that she needed assurance that I was happy here. As I was praying about this the rest of the morning, I felt strongly that this was a wake-up call from the Lord. He has me here for a reason and it’s not about me. Every day he presents me with opportunities - opportunities to love people, to care, and to be His hands and feet. I need to live purposely every day. And I haven’t been. Later on today, we had our second Bible study. We studied Ephesians chapter two. Verse ten really stuck out to me:
“For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10
We are God’s workmanship! We were created to do good works for Him. And he has already prepared things for us to do for him. Not in the future, but now!
Fasting from facebook will help me to live every day purposefully because it will take away a huge distraction. Honestly, I really do get homesick. It’s hard not to see everyone’s pictures on facebook and to see what they are doing lately and to feel some sadness and to wish that I were there and not here - or to just miss them. Talking on Skype or emailing usually doesn’t make me feel that way. It’s mainly just facebook. My family and friends are an incredible gift from God! Being separated from something you love makes you appreciate it so much more. That’s how I feel about all of the relationships in my life. I am so incredibly thankful for each and every person in my life. I’m so thankful for my extraordinary family. My family loves each other like few other families I know. I don’t say that with pride, but with gratitude. Because of many life circumstances (Homeschooling, moving, trails we have been through, and our love for the Lord) we are united on a very deep level. Being away from them as well as the amazing women that I call friends, has given me a deeper love for all of them. However, any gift can become a crutch if we love it more than the giver. And thus, I need God to teach me how to appropriately cherish the gifts He has given me while loving Him the most and serving Him without hindrance. My time here is the perfect teaching ground for this. God is the only one who will always be with me no matter where I go, my entire life. I want to truly learn and know that He is enough – to be completely satisfied in HIM alone. I think that not being on facebook everyday and constantly seeing what is going on at home and at Western is going to be very helpful in this.
Let’s be honest, for the most part, facebook is a waste of time. I want to spend my time more wisely. I want to spend more time praying, studying the Word, loving people, being involved here, learning Spanish, updating my blog, reading, running, the list goes on! So that’s what I’m going to do! I’m going to be here – 100%. I’ve only got 11 more weeks. I’ll never have this time back, and I’m not going to waste it.
Please don’t misunderstand me; I still want to keep in touch with all of you wonderful people at home. My contact with you all will be more purposeful if I’m not keeping in touch through facebook. Instead of a little post on your wall, I’ll have to actually talk to you through Skype or email.
Please help me to succeed in this by keeping in touch with me through Skype and email.
Skype name: abbeyfeinn Email: thatgabbyabbey@gmail.com
Let the facebook withdrawal begin!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
My first REAL Spanish essay!
I know that 99% of the people who read my blog will not be able to understand this... but for the 1% who do speak Spanish, and for something new, I am going to post my first "real" Spanish essay! I say my first real essay, because of course I've written plenty of things in Spanish, but it's never been an official three page essay (double spaced of course... so it's really not that long!). I felt like the completion of this first essay was a pretty large mile-stone in my Spanish career. It is about my experience thus far in Costa Rica using the past tense. In the beginning it talks about a few of the culture shocks, such as gates on all of the windows and doors, and getting used to drawing constant attention and people staring at me EVERY WHERE I GO. Then I talk about my favorite part of Costa Rica: the people. And finally, it closes by sharing a few of the things that I have learned through this experience. I have a much deeper understanding of what it means to be foreign. I know what it is like to live in a country that is not your own and this will forever change the way that I treat foreigners. I have also learned on a much deeper level that all people are the same. We may have different skin, a completely different culture, different ways of looking at the world, and of course a different language. However, deep down inside, we all have the same needs and desires. These experiences, life lessons, and the people who have become very near and dear to my heart have changed my life and way of thinking in a lot of ways. And thus, despite it's many challenges, I am very thankful for this opportunity. That's basically the essay in a nut-shell! So here it is:
Mi Experiencia en Costa Rica
Por Abigail Feinn
Según St. Augustine, “El mundo es un libro y ellos que no viajan solo leen una pagina”. Yo he estado en Costa Rica durante tres meses y creo que esta cita es verdad. Mis experiencias en Costa Rica han cambiado mi manera a pensar, y mi vida. Han abierto mis ojos en muchos aspectos. Estoy muy agradecida por esta oportunidad.
Yo llegué a Costa Rica el 13 de Junio y todavía puedo recordar este día como si fuera ayer. Antes de este día, yo nunca había vivido o visitado un país latinoamericano. Cada cosa era nueva para mí. Cuando llegué en al aeropuerto, mi mundo cambió. ¡Cada cosa era en español! ¡Cada persona estaba hablando español! ¡Yo nunca había necesitado hablar español fuera de mis clases de español! ¿Si no sabía como decir, “reclamo de equipaje”, como pudiera encontrar mis maletas? Yo le pregunté a un empleado: “donde está…… el baggage Claim?” ¡Yo lo encontré y “reclamo de equipaje” era mi primera frase nueva! A fuera del aeropuerto, yo conocí mi familia Tica. Cuando ellos estaban manejando a su casa, yo estaba mirando a fuera de la ventana. Todas las casas, edificios, tiendas, calles, parques, plantas, y personas eran diferentes de lo que yo estaba acostumbrada.
Finalmente, nosotros llegamos a su barrio. Todas las casas tenían rejas en las ventanas y puertas. ¡Yo pensé que el bario no estaba seguro y era una mala parte de la ciudad, porque en mi ciudad en los Estados Unidos, solo las cárceles tienen rejas! Ahora yo sé que este es parte de la cultura aquí, es normal tener rejas. Hubo muchas otras cosas como de lo que yo he estado acostumbrada.
Durante las próximas semanas, yo tenía la experiencia de muchas cosas nuevas. Cuando estaba a fuera de mi casa, a mí siempre me atrajo mucha atención. Al principio, yo pensé que eso era muy raro y me molestaba. Personas, especialmente hombres, siempre se me quedaban mirándome. También ellos me dijeron muchos piropos. En los Estados Unidos, esto nunca pasa. Ahora, yo sé que este es parte de la cultura igualmente. ¡También, yo tuve que acostumbrarme a los conductores! Ellos manejan tan rápido aquí y no ponen atención a las reglas. ¡Cruzar la calle es muy peligroso! ¡Parece que ellos manejan más rápido cuando una persona esta cruzando! ¡Ellos usan sus bocinas tan frecuentemente! Donde yo vivo, conductores casi nunca tocan la bocina y cuando una persona esta cruzando, ellos siempre reducen la velocidad para que las personas pasen.
Estos diferencias no son muy importantes, solo son partes de la cultura de lo que yo he tenido que acostumbrarme. Mi parte favorita sobre esta experiencia en Costa Rica es la gente. Cuando yo llegué a Costa Rica, yo pensé que sería simplemente alquilar una habitación de una familia local. Pero esto no fue así. ¡Mi familia Tica me adoptó en su familia! Ellos han sido una gran bendición en mi vida. Desde el primer día, ellos me han amado. Cada noche yo cenaba con ellos y me encantaba este tiempo. Nosotros siempre pasábamos mucho tiempo después de cenar hablábamos. Durante este tiempo, yo aprendí muchísimo español y nuestra relación mejoraba. ¡Cada fin de semana, yo iba con ellos a fiestas con su familia, la playa, el campo, o cualquier otro lugar! A mi me encantan ellos los tengo en mi corazón.
¡Ahora, yo vivo con otra familia Tica a través de ISA, una señora tan simpática! ¡Solo he vivido con ella durante tres semanas, pero a mi me encanta ella también! Ella es muy amable y acogedora. ¡El primer día que yo estaba en su casa, yo fui al mercado con ella y ella me compró una pulsera! Este es solo un ejemplo de su personaje dando. Hay otra chica gringa que vive con nosotros. ¡Es muy divertido vivir en una casa con solo mujeres! Entonces, todos de mis experiencias con ticos han sido increíbles. Los ticos son personas amables. Mi amistad con ellos han abierto mis ojos y mi corazón. Ellos han abierto mis ojos a la buena cultura de Costa Rica y mi amor a la gente y el país.
Vivir en otro país es un reto. Soy una extranjera aquí. No estoy fluida en el idioma, y este es un gran reto. Tengo pelo rubio, ojos azules, y piel blanca; soy gringa. No puedo parecer ser una Tica. La gente tiene una manera de vivir que es diferente de lo que estoy acostumbrada. Hay días que yo tengo frustración. Hay días que yo tengo nostalgia. Pero este reto ha sido tan bueno porque me lo he aprendido sobre la gente internacional. Yo sé como es vivir en otro país. Yo Sé como sentirse ser una extranjera. Cuando regresaré a los estados unidos, voy a ser una amiga para extranjeros porque tengo una nueva apreciación para ellos. Estoy agradecida por esta oportunidad a vivir y conocer ticos. He aprendido que todos las personas somos iguales. Tenemos diferencias en idioma, tradiciones, cultura, y muchos otros aspectos. Pero, en el fondo, todos somos lo mismo. Todos tenemos las mismas necesidades y los mismos deseos. Estoy tan agradecida con los ticos y por haber tenido esta experiencia en Costa Rica que ha cambiado mi vida.
Mi Experiencia en Costa Rica
Por Abigail Feinn
Según St. Augustine, “El mundo es un libro y ellos que no viajan solo leen una pagina”. Yo he estado en Costa Rica durante tres meses y creo que esta cita es verdad. Mis experiencias en Costa Rica han cambiado mi manera a pensar, y mi vida. Han abierto mis ojos en muchos aspectos. Estoy muy agradecida por esta oportunidad.
Yo llegué a Costa Rica el 13 de Junio y todavía puedo recordar este día como si fuera ayer. Antes de este día, yo nunca había vivido o visitado un país latinoamericano. Cada cosa era nueva para mí. Cuando llegué en al aeropuerto, mi mundo cambió. ¡Cada cosa era en español! ¡Cada persona estaba hablando español! ¡Yo nunca había necesitado hablar español fuera de mis clases de español! ¿Si no sabía como decir, “reclamo de equipaje”, como pudiera encontrar mis maletas? Yo le pregunté a un empleado: “donde está…… el baggage Claim?” ¡Yo lo encontré y “reclamo de equipaje” era mi primera frase nueva! A fuera del aeropuerto, yo conocí mi familia Tica. Cuando ellos estaban manejando a su casa, yo estaba mirando a fuera de la ventana. Todas las casas, edificios, tiendas, calles, parques, plantas, y personas eran diferentes de lo que yo estaba acostumbrada.
Finalmente, nosotros llegamos a su barrio. Todas las casas tenían rejas en las ventanas y puertas. ¡Yo pensé que el bario no estaba seguro y era una mala parte de la ciudad, porque en mi ciudad en los Estados Unidos, solo las cárceles tienen rejas! Ahora yo sé que este es parte de la cultura aquí, es normal tener rejas. Hubo muchas otras cosas como de lo que yo he estado acostumbrada.
Durante las próximas semanas, yo tenía la experiencia de muchas cosas nuevas. Cuando estaba a fuera de mi casa, a mí siempre me atrajo mucha atención. Al principio, yo pensé que eso era muy raro y me molestaba. Personas, especialmente hombres, siempre se me quedaban mirándome. También ellos me dijeron muchos piropos. En los Estados Unidos, esto nunca pasa. Ahora, yo sé que este es parte de la cultura igualmente. ¡También, yo tuve que acostumbrarme a los conductores! Ellos manejan tan rápido aquí y no ponen atención a las reglas. ¡Cruzar la calle es muy peligroso! ¡Parece que ellos manejan más rápido cuando una persona esta cruzando! ¡Ellos usan sus bocinas tan frecuentemente! Donde yo vivo, conductores casi nunca tocan la bocina y cuando una persona esta cruzando, ellos siempre reducen la velocidad para que las personas pasen.
Estos diferencias no son muy importantes, solo son partes de la cultura de lo que yo he tenido que acostumbrarme. Mi parte favorita sobre esta experiencia en Costa Rica es la gente. Cuando yo llegué a Costa Rica, yo pensé que sería simplemente alquilar una habitación de una familia local. Pero esto no fue así. ¡Mi familia Tica me adoptó en su familia! Ellos han sido una gran bendición en mi vida. Desde el primer día, ellos me han amado. Cada noche yo cenaba con ellos y me encantaba este tiempo. Nosotros siempre pasábamos mucho tiempo después de cenar hablábamos. Durante este tiempo, yo aprendí muchísimo español y nuestra relación mejoraba. ¡Cada fin de semana, yo iba con ellos a fiestas con su familia, la playa, el campo, o cualquier otro lugar! A mi me encantan ellos los tengo en mi corazón.
¡Ahora, yo vivo con otra familia Tica a través de ISA, una señora tan simpática! ¡Solo he vivido con ella durante tres semanas, pero a mi me encanta ella también! Ella es muy amable y acogedora. ¡El primer día que yo estaba en su casa, yo fui al mercado con ella y ella me compró una pulsera! Este es solo un ejemplo de su personaje dando. Hay otra chica gringa que vive con nosotros. ¡Es muy divertido vivir en una casa con solo mujeres! Entonces, todos de mis experiencias con ticos han sido increíbles. Los ticos son personas amables. Mi amistad con ellos han abierto mis ojos y mi corazón. Ellos han abierto mis ojos a la buena cultura de Costa Rica y mi amor a la gente y el país.
Vivir en otro país es un reto. Soy una extranjera aquí. No estoy fluida en el idioma, y este es un gran reto. Tengo pelo rubio, ojos azules, y piel blanca; soy gringa. No puedo parecer ser una Tica. La gente tiene una manera de vivir que es diferente de lo que estoy acostumbrada. Hay días que yo tengo frustración. Hay días que yo tengo nostalgia. Pero este reto ha sido tan bueno porque me lo he aprendido sobre la gente internacional. Yo sé como es vivir en otro país. Yo Sé como sentirse ser una extranjera. Cuando regresaré a los estados unidos, voy a ser una amiga para extranjeros porque tengo una nueva apreciación para ellos. Estoy agradecida por esta oportunidad a vivir y conocer ticos. He aprendido que todos las personas somos iguales. Tenemos diferencias en idioma, tradiciones, cultura, y muchos otros aspectos. Pero, en el fondo, todos somos lo mismo. Todos tenemos las mismas necesidades y los mismos deseos. Estoy tan agradecida con los ticos y por haber tenido esta experiencia en Costa Rica que ha cambiado mi vida.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Una fin de semana muy tranquila...
This has been a great weekend, although it didn’t begin like I expected it to. We were supposed to go to the beach and national park, Manual Antonio, with ISA on Friday. It was going to be our last “excursion” with this program (meaning that it would be the last time I would get to travel for free!!). Moriah and I got all of our stuff packed up for the weekend, and headed to the grocery store to buy some lunch food to take with us. On the way home, we started talking about April fools day and sharing our favorite joke stories. We walked into the gate, still having this conversation, to be met by Amira who told us that the trip was canceled. Having just been talking about jokes, we both completely thought that she was kidding. I decided to go along with it, and was pretending that I believed her. Moriah kept denying it and insisting that it wasn’t possible. Amira kept on assuring us that the trip was canceled and that she doesn’t tell jokes. We finally got on facebook and asked one of the other students if it was true, and discovered that it was indeed true, Amira wasn’t kidding! A large tormenta (storm) was expected to come across Costa Rica, which would have made it a crummy beach weekend. So the trip is rescheduled for next weekend.
Not at all expecting this twist of events, we were at a loss as to how to spend our now free weekend. We finally decided to find the mall on foot. After about thirty minutes of walking, we discovered that the mall wasn’t to bad of a walk! After spending a few hours browsing the stores, we headed home and had a “movie night” with “los chicos” (the two guys from ISA who live on the same street as us). Saturday was almost a repeat of Friday: we walked to the mall… except we didn’t go in; we went next door to Pequeño Mundo instead. I LOVE PEQUEÑO MUNDO!!! It’s a huge warehouse full of “stuff”, house items, clothes, food, random trinkets etc. It’s basically like the dollar store except the quality is “slightly” better. And it’s the cheapest place to buy things here. For example, we bought peanut butter (very important) for $1.50 as opposed to $5.00. And thus, this is why I love it : ] Saturday night we had another movie night after figuring out how to rent movies from the grocery store.
Tonight was definitely the highlight of the weekend. For the first time in a month, I was able to go to church! It was like a glass of water in the desert. The church was very different from what I expected it to be. It was very large, with a beautiful building and even a school. I was surprised when I walked in and saw a normal stage equipped with instruments and two huge projector screens – just like you would find at most churches in the U.S.! The service started soon after we arrived and a plethora of ages were in attendance. The service started off with forty minutes of worship. I understood all of the songs! One of the songs was about how someday every tongue, tribe, and nation will proclaim that Christ is Lord. It was so sweet to sing this in an assembly of people who are not from my country and in a different tongue. It was a little glimpse of what that day will be like! The announcements were given by means of a very flashy and well-done video. I was
impressed. However, the best part of the service was the sermon. I understood 99% of what was said! This has never happened before! It was such a great feeling! I even caught the sermon jokes and laughed right along with everyone else! The preacher spoke very slowly and clearly which made him much easier to understand than any other Spanish speaking preacher that I have every heard. I followed along in my Spanish Bible and even took notes in Spanish… I can’t even express how satisfying and fun it was to go to church and actually be able to follow along, get something out of the service, while completely being immersed in Spanish! Definitely a gift from the Lord!
The sermon was about family. One of the points that I really liked was that God created family long before He ever created the church. It is a model for how He loves us, and if He has placed such a priority on family, shouldn’t we? The pastor encouraged parents to actively love their family. It’s important to not only tell people that you love them but to also show them that through your actions. He spoke about the importance of being a Godly model for your children and how God is our model. He closed the sermon by acknowledging that many parents don’t know how to love or be a good parent because they never had this modeled for them when they were growing up. He then encouraged the congregation by telling them that they can’t be a good parent or a Godly model apart from Christ, but that the power of Christ inside of them can conquer all generational sins and empower them to live the way that God created them to live.
In conclusion, although the weekend got off on a rough start, it ended on a great note! I’m thankful that I was able to have a nice relaxing weekend to catch-up on homework, explore San José a little bit, spend time with Moriah and Amira, and go to church! Now time to start another week : ]
Not at all expecting this twist of events, we were at a loss as to how to spend our now free weekend. We finally decided to find the mall on foot. After about thirty minutes of walking, we discovered that the mall wasn’t to bad of a walk! After spending a few hours browsing the stores, we headed home and had a “movie night” with “los chicos” (the two guys from ISA who live on the same street as us). Saturday was almost a repeat of Friday: we walked to the mall… except we didn’t go in; we went next door to Pequeño Mundo instead. I LOVE PEQUEÑO MUNDO!!! It’s a huge warehouse full of “stuff”, house items, clothes, food, random trinkets etc. It’s basically like the dollar store except the quality is “slightly” better. And it’s the cheapest place to buy things here. For example, we bought peanut butter (very important) for $1.50 as opposed to $5.00. And thus, this is why I love it : ] Saturday night we had another movie night after figuring out how to rent movies from the grocery store.
Tonight was definitely the highlight of the weekend. For the first time in a month, I was able to go to church! It was like a glass of water in the desert. The church was very different from what I expected it to be. It was very large, with a beautiful building and even a school. I was surprised when I walked in and saw a normal stage equipped with instruments and two huge projector screens – just like you would find at most churches in the U.S.! The service started soon after we arrived and a plethora of ages were in attendance. The service started off with forty minutes of worship. I understood all of the songs! One of the songs was about how someday every tongue, tribe, and nation will proclaim that Christ is Lord. It was so sweet to sing this in an assembly of people who are not from my country and in a different tongue. It was a little glimpse of what that day will be like! The announcements were given by means of a very flashy and well-done video. I was
impressed. However, the best part of the service was the sermon. I understood 99% of what was said! This has never happened before! It was such a great feeling! I even caught the sermon jokes and laughed right along with everyone else! The preacher spoke very slowly and clearly which made him much easier to understand than any other Spanish speaking preacher that I have every heard. I followed along in my Spanish Bible and even took notes in Spanish… I can’t even express how satisfying and fun it was to go to church and actually be able to follow along, get something out of the service, while completely being immersed in Spanish! Definitely a gift from the Lord! The sermon was about family. One of the points that I really liked was that God created family long before He ever created the church. It is a model for how He loves us, and if He has placed such a priority on family, shouldn’t we? The pastor encouraged parents to actively love their family. It’s important to not only tell people that you love them but to also show them that through your actions. He spoke about the importance of being a Godly model for your children and how God is our model. He closed the sermon by acknowledging that many parents don’t know how to love or be a good parent because they never had this modeled for them when they were growing up. He then encouraged the congregation by telling them that they can’t be a good parent or a Godly model apart from Christ, but that the power of Christ inside of them can conquer all generational sins and empower them to live the way that God created them to live.
In conclusion, although the weekend got off on a rough start, it ended on a great note! I’m thankful that I was able to have a nice relaxing weekend to catch-up on homework, explore San José a little bit, spend time with Moriah and Amira, and go to church! Now time to start another week : ]
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
“I have seen you in the sanctuary and behold your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.” Psalm 63:2-8
Today marks the completion of my third week here. I’ll be honest with you; I don’t always love it. I’ve been here for almost three months in total, and find myself often counting down how many more months, weeks, weekends, and days I have left until I get to go home and close the Costa Rica chapter of my life. The journey is tough and often lonely. Psalm 63 is my “study abroad Psalm”. I read it my first week here and God has impressed it upon my heart. The above quote is just a portion of the psalm. My soul keeps coming back to the question: Is God enough? Can I truly say of God: “your love is better than life”, or “My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods.” The answer isn’t always yes, but I earnestly want it to be.
“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.” Psalm 62:5-6
“Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” Psalm 62:8
Day by day God is teaching me to find rest in Him. To pour out my heart to Him, and that His love actually is better than life. He IS enough. Everyone that I love, and the places and things that give me comfort, may be 1,946 miles away, but God is not even an inch away! He’s the only one in my life who I will never be separated from, how great is that! We can never escape His love and He is so faithful. It’s easy for me to start to create a “pity-party list” and start to resent being here… such as missing Thanksgiving, missing birthdays, missing fall, missing being part of my Bible study and not being involved in the lives of the new freshman at WKU, missing most of the holiday season, missing my family, being a semester behind in school, not getting to take classes with Hannah, not being able to pick apples or pumpkins, being the only girl here who doesn’t drink alcohol, missing-out on black Friday shopping… ok, I’ll stop now! However, that is a very dangerous road! Instead:
“… demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5
God is teaching me to do as Psalm 63 says, to praise Him, and to find satisfaction in Him alone. I have SO MUCH to be thankful for! Instead of keeping a pity-party list, I’m going to keep a gratitude list. When I’m tempted to throw a nice little “pity-party,” I’m going to instead choose to throw a “gratitude-party”. Listen to a few things that God has to say about being thankful:
Colossians 3:15-20
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Psalm 136:1
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
Psalm 50:23
The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”
Hebrews 13:15
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
God commands us to be thankful! So here are a few things on my gratitude list:
1. I’m so thankful for Cecy and Willy. Although I can’t see them as often as I would like too, I’m SO thankful for the ability to go home every once and awhile - to my Costa Rican home.
2. Relationships from this summer. I’m so grateful for my missionary friends from this summer who are still here. Again, I don’t get to see them as often as I would like to, but the times that I do get to see them are so sweet.
3. Great professors! So far I really love my professors. Two of them even taught at the Institute for several years before teaching at ULACIT. Most of them seem to really care about teaching us to speak Spanish… not so much about making us prove ourselves.
4. A great Tico mom! Amira is wonderful. I’m so blessed to live with her. She is very sweet, funny, caring, and a great cook! (Although, she has stopped cooking vegetarian food… that only lasted about a week. And yes, we eat rice and brown tuna fish…. But at least she doesn’t add any ketchup! But still, I can’t complain! When else will I ever get to drink freshly squeezed lemonade from lemons that are homegrown!?)
5. Christian fellowship! God is SO GOOD! Much to my surprise He has placed several Christians in this program! We are from different backgrounds, but all share a love for Christ. Today we started a Bible study at school. We had 7 people come! We are studying Ephesians… this is such a praise!
6. Opportunities to travel. The past few weeks I’ve been able to go to some pretty awesome places for FREE (well, ok the cost was included in my tuition for this semester…)! It has been so fun! I’ve been able to experience new things in God’s creation such as a volcano, rain forests, jungles, waterfalls etc. And I have many more travel opportunities to come!
7. Do-able workload. I was pretty stressed about taking all Spanish classes… but again God is so good because so far it has not been very overwhelming! He has given me an understanding of the language that allows me to speak with confidence and understand what is said in class! Praise God!
8. Opportunities to share my faith. I’m praying for more opportunities, but so far He has given me several opportunities to share my faith and several people here that I can minister to!
9. God’s faithfulness
10. His love
11. His power. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is available to us!
12. God’s Wisdom.
13. God’s unfailing and never-ending love!
I could keep listing things all night! Even though I may feel homesick from time to time, God has richly blessed me. RICHLY! I want to always dwell in His presence. I have a long ways to go, often times I'd rather just complain and have a self-centered focus, instead of a Christ-centered focus; Lord, teach me to be more satisfied in You than the richest things the world has to offer! As the psalm says, Lord may I: think of you through the watches of the night, always desiring you above everything else! We have everything that we need in Him. Friends, let’s let praise be always on our lips and live a life of gratitude as we seek God together and find satisfaction in HIM alone!
For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things. Psalm 107:9
Today marks the completion of my third week here. I’ll be honest with you; I don’t always love it. I’ve been here for almost three months in total, and find myself often counting down how many more months, weeks, weekends, and days I have left until I get to go home and close the Costa Rica chapter of my life. The journey is tough and often lonely. Psalm 63 is my “study abroad Psalm”. I read it my first week here and God has impressed it upon my heart. The above quote is just a portion of the psalm. My soul keeps coming back to the question: Is God enough? Can I truly say of God: “your love is better than life”, or “My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods.” The answer isn’t always yes, but I earnestly want it to be.
“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.” Psalm 62:5-6
“Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” Psalm 62:8
Day by day God is teaching me to find rest in Him. To pour out my heart to Him, and that His love actually is better than life. He IS enough. Everyone that I love, and the places and things that give me comfort, may be 1,946 miles away, but God is not even an inch away! He’s the only one in my life who I will never be separated from, how great is that! We can never escape His love and He is so faithful. It’s easy for me to start to create a “pity-party list” and start to resent being here… such as missing Thanksgiving, missing birthdays, missing fall, missing being part of my Bible study and not being involved in the lives of the new freshman at WKU, missing most of the holiday season, missing my family, being a semester behind in school, not getting to take classes with Hannah, not being able to pick apples or pumpkins, being the only girl here who doesn’t drink alcohol, missing-out on black Friday shopping… ok, I’ll stop now! However, that is a very dangerous road! Instead:
“… demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5
God is teaching me to do as Psalm 63 says, to praise Him, and to find satisfaction in Him alone. I have SO MUCH to be thankful for! Instead of keeping a pity-party list, I’m going to keep a gratitude list. When I’m tempted to throw a nice little “pity-party,” I’m going to instead choose to throw a “gratitude-party”. Listen to a few things that God has to say about being thankful:
Colossians 3:15-20
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Psalm 136:1
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
Psalm 50:23
The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”
Hebrews 13:15
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
God commands us to be thankful! So here are a few things on my gratitude list:
1. I’m so thankful for Cecy and Willy. Although I can’t see them as often as I would like too, I’m SO thankful for the ability to go home every once and awhile - to my Costa Rican home.
2. Relationships from this summer. I’m so grateful for my missionary friends from this summer who are still here. Again, I don’t get to see them as often as I would like to, but the times that I do get to see them are so sweet.
3. Great professors! So far I really love my professors. Two of them even taught at the Institute for several years before teaching at ULACIT. Most of them seem to really care about teaching us to speak Spanish… not so much about making us prove ourselves.
4. A great Tico mom! Amira is wonderful. I’m so blessed to live with her. She is very sweet, funny, caring, and a great cook! (Although, she has stopped cooking vegetarian food… that only lasted about a week. And yes, we eat rice and brown tuna fish…. But at least she doesn’t add any ketchup! But still, I can’t complain! When else will I ever get to drink freshly squeezed lemonade from lemons that are homegrown!?)
5. Christian fellowship! God is SO GOOD! Much to my surprise He has placed several Christians in this program! We are from different backgrounds, but all share a love for Christ. Today we started a Bible study at school. We had 7 people come! We are studying Ephesians… this is such a praise!
6. Opportunities to travel. The past few weeks I’ve been able to go to some pretty awesome places for FREE (well, ok the cost was included in my tuition for this semester…)! It has been so fun! I’ve been able to experience new things in God’s creation such as a volcano, rain forests, jungles, waterfalls etc. And I have many more travel opportunities to come!
7. Do-able workload. I was pretty stressed about taking all Spanish classes… but again God is so good because so far it has not been very overwhelming! He has given me an understanding of the language that allows me to speak with confidence and understand what is said in class! Praise God!
8. Opportunities to share my faith. I’m praying for more opportunities, but so far He has given me several opportunities to share my faith and several people here that I can minister to!
9. God’s faithfulness
10. His love
11. His power. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is available to us!
12. God’s Wisdom.
13. God’s unfailing and never-ending love!
I could keep listing things all night! Even though I may feel homesick from time to time, God has richly blessed me. RICHLY! I want to always dwell in His presence. I have a long ways to go, often times I'd rather just complain and have a self-centered focus, instead of a Christ-centered focus; Lord, teach me to be more satisfied in You than the richest things the world has to offer! As the psalm says, Lord may I: think of you through the watches of the night, always desiring you above everything else! We have everything that we need in Him. Friends, let’s let praise be always on our lips and live a life of gratitude as we seek God together and find satisfaction in HIM alone!
For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things. Psalm 107:9
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Costa Rican Adventures
Well, if you look at how often I have updated my blog, it is quite obvious that I have started classes! I’m sorry for slacking so badly in updating my blog!
Whew, I feel like I could write a book trying to update everyone on the last two weeks! Don’t worry, I’ll do as much summarizing as possible and keep this short! : )
My first week of classes was crazy! Not only did I have to adjust to being back in the “college setting” and figure out what was expected of me in each of my classes, I also had to figure out how to get to my new university! It took about a week, and getting lost, to master this. I have to leave my house about 40 minutes before classes start to get there on time. I am becoming a pro at the bus system here and now know what a commuter feels like (and trust me, commuting makes 8:00 classes seem 10x worse!).
After completing my first week, I decided to add a Spanish fifth class to my schedule this semester. I’m the only one here taking five classes and was warned several times that this is not recommended and will be difficult… however, the benefit of NOT having to take a summer class and FINISHING my Spanish major by May outweighs the negatives to this decision! I’m ready to work hard and do what I came here for: learn Spanish!
So far, I am really enjoying my classes. Two of my professors used to work at the Institute (the school I was at this summer)! I thought that having all of my classes in Spanish was going to be painfully difficult, but PRAISE the LORD because so far it’s actually been ENJOYABLE! Last year, Spanish class was an inescapable stress! I could hardly understand anything that was said in class. I can remember feeling anxious walking into class and feeling overwhelmingly stressed and confused walking out of class! I don’t know when it happened, but God has blessed me with a much better understanding of the language! I can now understand 99% of what is said in class! I can’t even express how good that feels and how much of a relief that is! Truly a miracle! Thanks to everyone who has been praying for that! I have a long ways to go, but please pray that by the end of the semester I’ll be leaps and bounds closer to fluency!
The first three weekends here are “excursions” that are included with our ISA semester. I have had SO MUCH fun on the two excursions that I have been on so far! The first weekend we went to Monteverde, which is a town here in Costa Rica known for it’s rainforests. It was incredible! We stayed in a five star hotel, ate delectable buffet meals, and enjoyed the outdoors. Saturday we went “canopying” (zip lining) through the jungle! It was a two hour experienced packed with SO MUCH FUN! Some of the zip line ropes brought us gliding through the air from one mountain to the next mountain overlooking the lush valley below and an incredible view for miles! After that we went horseback riding along the mountains – such a relaxing experience! Sunday we finished the weekend off with a vigorous hike through the jungle.
This weekend we went to Arenal, a volcano town! The weekend was packed full of outdoor adventures! Saturday morning we went cannoning (repelling down waterfalls)! It was an experience of a lifetime! We harnessed up and hiked through the jungle and repelled down five different waterfalls! I loved it!!! After that, we enjoyed a nice relaxing day of swimming in the many hot springs and pools (complete with waterslides), and more hiking. This morning (Sunday) we woke-up early and went for another hike. This time we walked down 480 steep steps to the valley at the bottom of a mountain. What we discovered when we got down there was breath taking! It was the biggest waterfall that I have ever seen in person and it was absolutely gorgeous! The water at the bottom was a beautiful pearl green color. We jumped in to go for a swim and it was biting cold, but refreshing at the same time! We swam around the waterfall and discovered a rock cove behind the waterfall! This experience is probably my favorite thing that I have experienced thus far in Costa Rica (and definitely made walking back UP the 480 stairs seem worth it!)! Words can’t express how beautiful this waterfall was! I don’t know how someone can experience and see the things we saw this weekend and not believe in God!
I have been enjoying getting to know the other 17 people in this program with me. God is sooo good and has blessed me with about four other Christian friends here on this program! That has been such an encouragement! We are going to start a Bible study together on Thursdays and work together to further God’s kingdom in whatever way we can this semester!
I know that this is probably the shortest blog post that I have every written considering how much time I just covered… I’m sorry for the lack of details. I would write more, but after having so many adventures this weekend I am literally falling asleep as I type. I hope to write more soon with more details about live here in Costa Rica. I love you all! Buenas noches!
Whew, I feel like I could write a book trying to update everyone on the last two weeks! Don’t worry, I’ll do as much summarizing as possible and keep this short! : )
My first week of classes was crazy! Not only did I have to adjust to being back in the “college setting” and figure out what was expected of me in each of my classes, I also had to figure out how to get to my new university! It took about a week, and getting lost, to master this. I have to leave my house about 40 minutes before classes start to get there on time. I am becoming a pro at the bus system here and now know what a commuter feels like (and trust me, commuting makes 8:00 classes seem 10x worse!).
After completing my first week, I decided to add a Spanish fifth class to my schedule this semester. I’m the only one here taking five classes and was warned several times that this is not recommended and will be difficult… however, the benefit of NOT having to take a summer class and FINISHING my Spanish major by May outweighs the negatives to this decision! I’m ready to work hard and do what I came here for: learn Spanish!
So far, I am really enjoying my classes. Two of my professors used to work at the Institute (the school I was at this summer)! I thought that having all of my classes in Spanish was going to be painfully difficult, but PRAISE the LORD because so far it’s actually been ENJOYABLE! Last year, Spanish class was an inescapable stress! I could hardly understand anything that was said in class. I can remember feeling anxious walking into class and feeling overwhelmingly stressed and confused walking out of class! I don’t know when it happened, but God has blessed me with a much better understanding of the language! I can now understand 99% of what is said in class! I can’t even express how good that feels and how much of a relief that is! Truly a miracle! Thanks to everyone who has been praying for that! I have a long ways to go, but please pray that by the end of the semester I’ll be leaps and bounds closer to fluency!
The first three weekends here are “excursions” that are included with our ISA semester. I have had SO MUCH fun on the two excursions that I have been on so far! The first weekend we went to Monteverde, which is a town here in Costa Rica known for it’s rainforests. It was incredible! We stayed in a five star hotel, ate delectable buffet meals, and enjoyed the outdoors. Saturday we went “canopying” (zip lining) through the jungle! It was a two hour experienced packed with SO MUCH FUN! Some of the zip line ropes brought us gliding through the air from one mountain to the next mountain overlooking the lush valley below and an incredible view for miles! After that we went horseback riding along the mountains – such a relaxing experience! Sunday we finished the weekend off with a vigorous hike through the jungle.
This weekend we went to Arenal, a volcano town! The weekend was packed full of outdoor adventures! Saturday morning we went cannoning (repelling down waterfalls)! It was an experience of a lifetime! We harnessed up and hiked through the jungle and repelled down five different waterfalls! I loved it!!! After that, we enjoyed a nice relaxing day of swimming in the many hot springs and pools (complete with waterslides), and more hiking. This morning (Sunday) we woke-up early and went for another hike. This time we walked down 480 steep steps to the valley at the bottom of a mountain. What we discovered when we got down there was breath taking! It was the biggest waterfall that I have ever seen in person and it was absolutely gorgeous! The water at the bottom was a beautiful pearl green color. We jumped in to go for a swim and it was biting cold, but refreshing at the same time! We swam around the waterfall and discovered a rock cove behind the waterfall! This experience is probably my favorite thing that I have experienced thus far in Costa Rica (and definitely made walking back UP the 480 stairs seem worth it!)! Words can’t express how beautiful this waterfall was! I don’t know how someone can experience and see the things we saw this weekend and not believe in God!
I have been enjoying getting to know the other 17 people in this program with me. God is sooo good and has blessed me with about four other Christian friends here on this program! That has been such an encouragement! We are going to start a Bible study together on Thursdays and work together to further God’s kingdom in whatever way we can this semester!
I know that this is probably the shortest blog post that I have every written considering how much time I just covered… I’m sorry for the lack of details. I would write more, but after having so many adventures this weekend I am literally falling asleep as I type. I hope to write more soon with more details about live here in Costa Rica. I love you all! Buenas noches!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Mi horario y unas risas...
Today I FINALLY found out exactly which classes I’ll be taking this semester and what my schedule is going to be! For the first time ever, I have no Friday classes!!! SUCH GOOD NEWS! That means that if I want to go to the beach or anything like that with my friends, that I have a three-day weekend to do so, or potentially longer if we leave on Thursday after class. I’m definitely excited about that! I’m taking four classes this semester – all advanced Spanish classes! Each class meets twice a week. Most of the classes are two hours at a time… SHEESH! Two hours for one class? I’m used to having 50-minute classes, I’m going to have to get plenty of sleep so that I won’t be falling asleep! Here are the classes that I am taking:
1. Business Spanish
2. Latin American culture and civilization
3. Advanced Oral and Written Expression
4. Advanced Grammar
Whew! Hopefully that won’t be too challenging…. Classes start tomorrow and I’m really looking forward to it! We have been very bored these last few days as all we have had to do is orientation stuff. I’m looking forward to having a schedule again and having work to do; however, a month from now I’m sure I’ll give my right leg to not have any schoolwork to do!
Ok, funny story for the day! Moriah and I were in our rooms this afternoon when our host mom (I’m going to call her mamí from now on) came and asked us if we wanted panqueques (pancakes). It was only 4:30, early dinner? We agreed and came out to the kitchen. She had some friends over so we all ate panqueques together. Well, once we finished, she asked us: What time do you want to eat dinner? A little confused I asked, “wasn’t this dinner?” “Oh no!” she replied, “This was cafecito!”. Oh yes! It’s all coming back to me now! This is not the U.S. this is Costa Rica! Hopefully soon I’ll be accustomed again to the daily life here! Well, the story get’s better. She served us dinner soon after this, and when it was finished, she got up to clear the table. She comes back into the dining room with a high stool and sits down, a level above all of us, but still at the table. Then, she whipped off her shirt! Moriah and I were sitting there taking this all in and trying to hide our shock and laughter. Then her friend came over with a bottle of lotion and started giving her a massage! We soon learned that her friend is a “professional” and used to do this for a living. She didn’t just give her a gentle massage like I’m used to seeing, no, this was a vigorous routine which involved thrusting mamí’s arms and jolting her neck to pop the joints! Since I’m going to be a nurse, they explained to me all about mamí’s back and how she has pain and this helps her. No one acted at all like this was even slightly out of the ordinary. In fact, mamí kept talking to Moriah and I, while she was sitting there with her bright pink bra on. Awww, I am certainly living in a house full of just women! Moriah and I had a good laugh about this later on!
1. Business Spanish
2. Latin American culture and civilization
3. Advanced Oral and Written Expression
4. Advanced Grammar
Whew! Hopefully that won’t be too challenging…. Classes start tomorrow and I’m really looking forward to it! We have been very bored these last few days as all we have had to do is orientation stuff. I’m looking forward to having a schedule again and having work to do; however, a month from now I’m sure I’ll give my right leg to not have any schoolwork to do!
Ok, funny story for the day! Moriah and I were in our rooms this afternoon when our host mom (I’m going to call her mamí from now on) came and asked us if we wanted panqueques (pancakes). It was only 4:30, early dinner? We agreed and came out to the kitchen. She had some friends over so we all ate panqueques together. Well, once we finished, she asked us: What time do you want to eat dinner? A little confused I asked, “wasn’t this dinner?” “Oh no!” she replied, “This was cafecito!”. Oh yes! It’s all coming back to me now! This is not the U.S. this is Costa Rica! Hopefully soon I’ll be accustomed again to the daily life here! Well, the story get’s better. She served us dinner soon after this, and when it was finished, she got up to clear the table. She comes back into the dining room with a high stool and sits down, a level above all of us, but still at the table. Then, she whipped off her shirt! Moriah and I were sitting there taking this all in and trying to hide our shock and laughter. Then her friend came over with a bottle of lotion and started giving her a massage! We soon learned that her friend is a “professional” and used to do this for a living. She didn’t just give her a gentle massage like I’m used to seeing, no, this was a vigorous routine which involved thrusting mamí’s arms and jolting her neck to pop the joints! Since I’m going to be a nurse, they explained to me all about mamí’s back and how she has pain and this helps her. No one acted at all like this was even slightly out of the ordinary. In fact, mamí kept talking to Moriah and I, while she was sitting there with her bright pink bra on. Awww, I am certainly living in a house full of just women! Moriah and I had a good laugh about this later on!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
El comienzo de algo hermoso
Estoy en Costa Rica un otro vez! Finalmente! Este es el comienzo de algo hermoso... (I’m in Costa Rica again! Finally! This is the beginning of something beautiful... )
Before I fill you in on all the details of this new adventure in Costa Rica, I must first get you caught up to speed and briefly tell you how CRAZY this week has been!
This has been one of those weeks that has stretched my faith and shown me first hand that the Lord provides!
Without going into too much detail, late on Tuesday afternoon, I received test results from some blood work indicating that I had some severe thyroid problems that needed immediate treatment. The bad news: the treatment involves monthly visits and blood work from an endocrinologist to find the exact dosage of some pretty powerful medicine needed to get my thyroid back to a healthy production rate…. And I was leaving for Costa Rica in a day and a half. Problem! This threw us into a panic and mom and I played a lot of phone tag with several doctors and did some praying! The whole ordeal was very complicated and stressful, but the Lord really helped us out in an incredible way. My family doctor, not my endocrinologist, ended-up agreeing to prescribe me medicine to get my levels back to normal and also agreeing to work with a doctor in Costa Rica to check my blood levels every month and be in charge of making sure that the medicine wasn’t too strong (the side affects can be pretty severe) yet was sufficient (the consequences of it not working are also severe!). This is truly a miracle because this is definitely not her expertise (she’s a super sweet lady who has been our doctor for quite some time… and she’s also a strong believer!)
The same day that all of that was going on (the day before I left!), the hard drive on my computer crashed! Really?! Of all the days for all of this to be going on, it had to be the day before I left?! This problem had me running all over town to try to find someone who had the right hard drive on stock (we couldn’t wait for anyone to ship it!) and who could also install it that day. Once again, the Lord’s provision is astounding! I found a little hole-in-the-wall computer repair shop, which had the right hard-drive, and they were even able to install it for me within a half hour of arriving at their store! Thank you LORD!!! AND, I had just backed my computer up the week before so I didn’t lose anything! PRAISE THE LORD!
Although both of these situations were quite serious and incredibly stressful, and I really did question God: Really?? The day before I leave, God? REALLY?! Now I can see His hand all over the whole week and see how all of that was actually a blessing in disguise. What if all of that had happened the day after I left!? That would have been ten times worse! I left out a lot of detail, but literally every step that we took those two days was taken in prayer and each step God showed-up with provision that only He could provide! Thank you Lord for those tough days that show us more of your power, grow our faith, and draw us closer to you! (now, when will He teach me to learn all those things in the good days?! Why does it always have to come through bad situations?)
Well all of those issues set me back on completing my list of things to do before I left including packing and thus, I was up pretty late the night before I left. Leaving was not fun. Livy woke-up as I was leaving and came down to say goodbye. That was hard. Dad prayed for me and she started crying. I truly hate having to break her heart like this…. All the time. As dad pointed out, for the older kids in my family, we are always going away, but for her, she just experiences everyone leaving. I wish I could change that. I said goodbye to Mom and Dad and we headed on our way. The ride to the airport was surreal. The grass was green and the air was hot. As we passed by everything that was familiar and comfortable, the sinking feeling set in: I was really on my way to Costa Rica again. Only this time is going to count for so much more. The pressure was officially on. This trip is the real deal - where the going gets tough. The next time I’d be in Louisville there might be snow on the ground, and Christmas decorations will be up!
Dad dropped me off, we said our goodbyes, and I was on my own. Once I got onto the plane, a peace came over me and I had no anxiety about what was to come and was no longer sad. I was ready and excited for what God had in store, and to begin this new adventure. I was able to spend a lot of time with the Lord on the trip to Costa Rica. I did some praying, and Bible study. This time of reflection and prayer helped to put my heart in the right place and my focus on Christ. I’m looking at this semester in several different aspects:
1) I see this as a mission field. For once in my life, I’m really alone and without my comforting “Christian bubble”. As far as I know, there are no other like-minded Christians doing this program (so far…). It’s not like GSP where I was blessed with lots of Christian friends and was able to be a part of Christian worship and Bible studies every week. It’s not like college where I have an incredible ministry known as CRU to be a part of and wonderful like-minded friends in my life who are like sisters and continually encourage and strengthen me in my faith. And it’s certainly not like the missionary school I went to this summer with spiritual giants in language training, chapel twice a week, and passionate Christian teachers! Although all of those situations have mission opportunities, there is always someone who needs Jesus or even encouragement, I’ve always been surrounded by support whether through like minded friends our mentors, church, bible studies etc. Here, all of that is gone, but I’m excited about it. I’m going to be surrounded by wonderful intelligent students who need Christ! I just want everyone to fall in love with Him! Since arriving here, that passion for them to know Christ has been growing inside of me and I’m praying that God will use me in their lives for this purpose.
2) It is going to be a sweet time with the Lord. I may be all-alone in the aspect of Christian support, but I’m never really alone as He is always with me. Is He enough? Truly? If all I have is my Bible and Jesus, is that enough for me to continue to grow in my faith? I’m going to find out! This will be a time of growth, I hope. Instead of being spiritually fed by other people and programs, I’ll have to come to the well of living water every day and be filled by Christ alone!
3.) This is going to be an experience of a lifetime! How many people get to live oversees for six months all by themselves before the age of twenty?! Instead of looking at this as: Holy Cow! 14 weeks until I go back to the U.S.?! I’m going to try my best to cherish each and every day and see it as a gift – because that’s what it is! I have the opportunity to make new friendships with the students here and with the ticos that I encounter such as my new host mom. I also have the opportunity to mentally mature and to learn more independence. I’m going to be traveling the countryside experiencing all kinds of new things and learning about the culture. This is truly an opportunity of a lifetime and I need to enjoy it to the fullest!
4) And finally, SPANISH!!! That is why I came here in the first place, right? This semester I will be studying nothing but Spanish, and speaking Spanish everywhere! I need to work my hardest to accomplish what I came here to do and learn as much Spanish as possible!
Well, having had that sweet time with the Lord and establishing my goals and purpose for this semester, I finally made it back to Costa Rica! Arriving this time was so different from my first trip in June. Instead of having uncertainty, I was confident. Surprisingly, being back in San José felt like being home! My home away from home! As we drove away from the airport, I looked upon the familiar landscape and felt so much peace and comfort. I’m back!
I was picked-up by Sadie, a woman who works for ISA and whom I met this summer when I came and toured the campus. She took me and a few other students to the university where
our host mothers were waiting for us. My host mom is so sweet I love her! She is probably around 50-60 years old, but she is super cool! She has dark purple hair 
and purple eyebrows! How much cooler can you get than that?! She and her friend took me back to my new house. Our house is beautiful! I have my own room complete with a tv and a spacious closet! I spent the afternoon 
getting to know my host mom, and sometime around 10 my housemate, Moriah, arrived! I love Moriah! She is super sweet and we’ve spent a lot of time together these last few days. She is a junior from Colorado. Our rooms are right next to each other and we share 
a bathroom. It’s really nice to have a friend living with me, another gringa! We’ve been practicing our Spanish by passing the time together watching Spanish tv, haha!
The food has been GREAT! My host mom said she loves to cook healthy food without much fat or grease and likes to keep food as natural as possible! PERFECT! I filled out a survey about the types of foods that I don’t eat before coming here (which I think I was palced at her house, because the program director knows that she cooks healthy food and the type of food that I said that I liked on the survey). She’s going to make us vegetarian food with chicken and no other meats! Could this get any better? She also has a banana, lime, mango, and guacamole tree in her back yard so we’ve been enjoying her homemade produce! I can tell that I’m going to love this! ☺
Today we (Moriah, and our two neighbors from our program, Justin and Daniel, and I) journeyed
to San Francisco de dos rios (which is where I lived this summer) to visit my
friends from the institute. It took us an hour and a half to get there because we had to take two busses! SAD! I was hoping that it was going to be a lot closer than that! It was still worth it though! I loved getting to see Shannon, Melissa, and Abby again! It was fun to catch-up and spend a few hours together! We went to the mall for lunch and then walked around the shops. On the way back, Daniel, Justin, Moriah, and I accidentally took the wrong bus and ended up pretty far from our neighborhood! After riding the bus for thirty minutes and not recognizing anything Moriah finally said something and we quickly realized what
had happened. Luckily we were able to take a taxi back to our houses! I guess the best way to learn your way around an area is to get lost because now we definitely know which bus to take and which bus to NOT take!
Tomorrow we have our last orientation and then , finally, classes start on Monday! Tomorrow we will find out which classes we are in and receive our class schedules! I can’t wait to find out! I’ll know a lot more about what this semester will be like once I find out which classes I am taking!
Well chicos, that’s all I’ve got for now! Thanks for your prayers guys! I can feel it! More to come later! Much love from Costa Rica! PURA VIDA!
Before I fill you in on all the details of this new adventure in Costa Rica, I must first get you caught up to speed and briefly tell you how CRAZY this week has been!
This has been one of those weeks that has stretched my faith and shown me first hand that the Lord provides!
Without going into too much detail, late on Tuesday afternoon, I received test results from some blood work indicating that I had some severe thyroid problems that needed immediate treatment. The bad news: the treatment involves monthly visits and blood work from an endocrinologist to find the exact dosage of some pretty powerful medicine needed to get my thyroid back to a healthy production rate…. And I was leaving for Costa Rica in a day and a half. Problem! This threw us into a panic and mom and I played a lot of phone tag with several doctors and did some praying! The whole ordeal was very complicated and stressful, but the Lord really helped us out in an incredible way. My family doctor, not my endocrinologist, ended-up agreeing to prescribe me medicine to get my levels back to normal and also agreeing to work with a doctor in Costa Rica to check my blood levels every month and be in charge of making sure that the medicine wasn’t too strong (the side affects can be pretty severe) yet was sufficient (the consequences of it not working are also severe!). This is truly a miracle because this is definitely not her expertise (she’s a super sweet lady who has been our doctor for quite some time… and she’s also a strong believer!)
The same day that all of that was going on (the day before I left!), the hard drive on my computer crashed! Really?! Of all the days for all of this to be going on, it had to be the day before I left?! This problem had me running all over town to try to find someone who had the right hard drive on stock (we couldn’t wait for anyone to ship it!) and who could also install it that day. Once again, the Lord’s provision is astounding! I found a little hole-in-the-wall computer repair shop, which had the right hard-drive, and they were even able to install it for me within a half hour of arriving at their store! Thank you LORD!!! AND, I had just backed my computer up the week before so I didn’t lose anything! PRAISE THE LORD!
Although both of these situations were quite serious and incredibly stressful, and I really did question God: Really?? The day before I leave, God? REALLY?! Now I can see His hand all over the whole week and see how all of that was actually a blessing in disguise. What if all of that had happened the day after I left!? That would have been ten times worse! I left out a lot of detail, but literally every step that we took those two days was taken in prayer and each step God showed-up with provision that only He could provide! Thank you Lord for those tough days that show us more of your power, grow our faith, and draw us closer to you! (now, when will He teach me to learn all those things in the good days?! Why does it always have to come through bad situations?)
Well all of those issues set me back on completing my list of things to do before I left including packing and thus, I was up pretty late the night before I left. Leaving was not fun. Livy woke-up as I was leaving and came down to say goodbye. That was hard. Dad prayed for me and she started crying. I truly hate having to break her heart like this…. All the time. As dad pointed out, for the older kids in my family, we are always going away, but for her, she just experiences everyone leaving. I wish I could change that. I said goodbye to Mom and Dad and we headed on our way. The ride to the airport was surreal. The grass was green and the air was hot. As we passed by everything that was familiar and comfortable, the sinking feeling set in: I was really on my way to Costa Rica again. Only this time is going to count for so much more. The pressure was officially on. This trip is the real deal - where the going gets tough. The next time I’d be in Louisville there might be snow on the ground, and Christmas decorations will be up!
Dad dropped me off, we said our goodbyes, and I was on my own. Once I got onto the plane, a peace came over me and I had no anxiety about what was to come and was no longer sad. I was ready and excited for what God had in store, and to begin this new adventure. I was able to spend a lot of time with the Lord on the trip to Costa Rica. I did some praying, and Bible study. This time of reflection and prayer helped to put my heart in the right place and my focus on Christ. I’m looking at this semester in several different aspects:
1) I see this as a mission field. For once in my life, I’m really alone and without my comforting “Christian bubble”. As far as I know, there are no other like-minded Christians doing this program (so far…). It’s not like GSP where I was blessed with lots of Christian friends and was able to be a part of Christian worship and Bible studies every week. It’s not like college where I have an incredible ministry known as CRU to be a part of and wonderful like-minded friends in my life who are like sisters and continually encourage and strengthen me in my faith. And it’s certainly not like the missionary school I went to this summer with spiritual giants in language training, chapel twice a week, and passionate Christian teachers! Although all of those situations have mission opportunities, there is always someone who needs Jesus or even encouragement, I’ve always been surrounded by support whether through like minded friends our mentors, church, bible studies etc. Here, all of that is gone, but I’m excited about it. I’m going to be surrounded by wonderful intelligent students who need Christ! I just want everyone to fall in love with Him! Since arriving here, that passion for them to know Christ has been growing inside of me and I’m praying that God will use me in their lives for this purpose.
2) It is going to be a sweet time with the Lord. I may be all-alone in the aspect of Christian support, but I’m never really alone as He is always with me. Is He enough? Truly? If all I have is my Bible and Jesus, is that enough for me to continue to grow in my faith? I’m going to find out! This will be a time of growth, I hope. Instead of being spiritually fed by other people and programs, I’ll have to come to the well of living water every day and be filled by Christ alone!
3.) This is going to be an experience of a lifetime! How many people get to live oversees for six months all by themselves before the age of twenty?! Instead of looking at this as: Holy Cow! 14 weeks until I go back to the U.S.?! I’m going to try my best to cherish each and every day and see it as a gift – because that’s what it is! I have the opportunity to make new friendships with the students here and with the ticos that I encounter such as my new host mom. I also have the opportunity to mentally mature and to learn more independence. I’m going to be traveling the countryside experiencing all kinds of new things and learning about the culture. This is truly an opportunity of a lifetime and I need to enjoy it to the fullest!
4) And finally, SPANISH!!! That is why I came here in the first place, right? This semester I will be studying nothing but Spanish, and speaking Spanish everywhere! I need to work my hardest to accomplish what I came here to do and learn as much Spanish as possible!
Well, having had that sweet time with the Lord and establishing my goals and purpose for this semester, I finally made it back to Costa Rica! Arriving this time was so different from my first trip in June. Instead of having uncertainty, I was confident. Surprisingly, being back in San José felt like being home! My home away from home! As we drove away from the airport, I looked upon the familiar landscape and felt so much peace and comfort. I’m back!
I was picked-up by Sadie, a woman who works for ISA and whom I met this summer when I came and toured the campus. She took me and a few other students to the university where
our host mothers were waiting for us. My host mom is so sweet I love her! She is probably around 50-60 years old, but she is super cool! She has dark purple hair 
and purple eyebrows! How much cooler can you get than that?! She and her friend took me back to my new house. Our house is beautiful! I have my own room complete with a tv and a spacious closet! I spent the afternoon 
getting to know my host mom, and sometime around 10 my housemate, Moriah, arrived! I love Moriah! She is super sweet and we’ve spent a lot of time together these last few days. She is a junior from Colorado. Our rooms are right next to each other and we share 
a bathroom. It’s really nice to have a friend living with me, another gringa! We’ve been practicing our Spanish by passing the time together watching Spanish tv, haha! The food has been GREAT! My host mom said she loves to cook healthy food without much fat or grease and likes to keep food as natural as possible! PERFECT! I filled out a survey about the types of foods that I don’t eat before coming here (which I think I was palced at her house, because the program director knows that she cooks healthy food and the type of food that I said that I liked on the survey). She’s going to make us vegetarian food with chicken and no other meats! Could this get any better? She also has a banana, lime, mango, and guacamole tree in her back yard so we’ve been enjoying her homemade produce! I can tell that I’m going to love this! ☺
Today we (Moriah, and our two neighbors from our program, Justin and Daniel, and I) journeyed
to San Francisco de dos rios (which is where I lived this summer) to visit my
friends from the institute. It took us an hour and a half to get there because we had to take two busses! SAD! I was hoping that it was going to be a lot closer than that! It was still worth it though! I loved getting to see Shannon, Melissa, and Abby again! It was fun to catch-up and spend a few hours together! We went to the mall for lunch and then walked around the shops. On the way back, Daniel, Justin, Moriah, and I accidentally took the wrong bus and ended up pretty far from our neighborhood! After riding the bus for thirty minutes and not recognizing anything Moriah finally said something and we quickly realized what
had happened. Luckily we were able to take a taxi back to our houses! I guess the best way to learn your way around an area is to get lost because now we definitely know which bus to take and which bus to NOT take! Tomorrow we have our last orientation and then , finally, classes start on Monday! Tomorrow we will find out which classes we are in and receive our class schedules! I can’t wait to find out! I’ll know a lot more about what this semester will be like once I find out which classes I am taking!
Well chicos, that’s all I’ve got for now! Thanks for your prayers guys! I can feel it! More to come later! Much love from Costa Rica! PURA VIDA!
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