How Great is Our God!

       Worship was incredible last night! Halfway through a song, the electricity went off! Can you imagine how dark it was then? No lights anywhere, for miles. The night was cloudy, so there wasn't even the glow from the stars and moon. Just darkness. But we kept singing in the darkness. I loved it. It was the first time I felt that I could truly and freely worship my Savior! I knew at that moment, no one was praising God for others to see, and there was no shame to be felt as we raised our arms and glorified our amazing God. It was an amazing moment, one I'll never forget. I was there in complete darkness, total solitude of just me and God, yet I was surrounded by the body of Christ, each in their own solitude with the Lord, while we all praised Him and worshipped together. We sang "How Great is Our God" several times, we never tired of singing the same lyrics...each time I opened my mouth, the words took on a whole new meaning. How great is our God?! I could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit there... I could feel the chill on my skin, the exhilaration of knowing that the Lord Almighty was with us. It was in that moment I knew Christ is real, He is living and He is the reason I took this "crazy" journey down here to Costa Rica!

One of our translators told us last night during Bible study that he had accepted Christ! Wow! It hadn't occured to me until then, that while we were going door-to-door, telling others of Christ, and while they were having to translate, we were able to be witnesses to them! Our team was overjoyed, that we had all the translators sit down and we placed our hands on them, and each said a prayer for them.

         Every morning as I sit here at my usual spot, I stare in awe at the splendor of this place. I have been reminded of what an awesome God we have! This place is like a sanctuary. I  never want to leave, for fear that once I return home in the States, my busy, hectic schedule will resume where I left off, technology will once again rule my life, and I will become enamored all over again with materialistic things. I'll forget how blessed I really am, and I will go from trying to whole heartedly serve the Lord and letting others know of His enduring love, to wondering if my my outfit is stylish enough and if my makeup looks okay. I don't want to go back to that lifestyle! I want to stay this way, how I am in Costa Rica! The Lord has opened mu eyes up to a brand new way of living, and it's lovely! But I know when I head home next week, all these worldly things will be thrown in my face, I will once again be surrounded by it. And I am not anticipating it.

VBS

         Wonderful day. I just took a cold shower and now I'm sitting on the "patio" watching the rain and listening to the sound of a fierce game of four square down at the complex.

       We had our first Vacation Bible School today at a local church. The childre stole my heart. A little girl, Maria, whom I had met on our first evangelizing day came! I saw her walk through the door, looking shy and uncertain, as was her mother and thank the Lord I remembered her name! So I ran up and gave her a big hug and I go, "Hola, Maria!!!" Her and her mom's eyes were just a shining and Maria couldn't stop smiling. I could tell her mother took extra care to make her look nice, she had an old, festive spanish dress on and her hair had just been washed. She had clunk, unmatching pair of black boots on.

       The children here are so eager for our attention too. I just love interacting with them and loving on them. Even with the language barrier, we are still able to somehow build a strong bond. The children loved our bible story! I was the prisoner whol told the story of Jesus. They were so enthralled during the entire act. Of course, Carlos had to translate for them.

      We're getting really close with our translators, they're so cool! Most of them are young. They're amazing, so sweet and so understanding too.

       

Oh my goodnes, this is very random- but the cows here are so ugly! Their ears look like goat's. They are not normal looking.

       I am worried about my Bible study tonight. I don't feel prepared, I've read the passage a hundred times! But I haven't a single idea what exactly I'm going to say when I get up there to teach! Hopefully God will provide me with the right words He knows the groups needs to hear.

"Time for God"

          The time is unknown, sometime early in the morning. Here at the camp, there are no clocks or watches. Only the leaders have a watch. I like it that way. I never know what time is is, except that it's "time" for God. The sun rises very early here. We typically wake up around 6am and the sun is already halfway in the sky! By 7:30 at night, it's pitch dark.

I enjoy our quiet time in the morning. Spending time with God while I gaze upon dense tropical forests with a huge volcano as the background. Magnificent.

        Last night, after we arrived back from the fiesta, we ate our meal of fried rice and potato chips, then the translators suddenly appeared with trays of icecream with chocolate coffee sticks! Everybody started shouting in joy. Oh goodness, I savored that treat! It will be quite some time till we can taste something so cold again.

        Although, the water here is freezing! The water comes straight from the mountains. Taking a shower, you really like you're going to pass out it's so cold! It hurts all the way to my bones. It's a strategy though, wet one arm for 3 seconds, slap on some soap. Breathe. Wet other arm, slap on soap. Breathe. Stick both arms in, rinse. Clinch your fists. Scream. Squeel till all the soap is washed off. Maybe sing a song to distract you ( Alot of times the girls and I would be taking a shower, and we'd all sing songs together, being all silly, to keep us distracted from how cold it was ). Washing hair is the absolute worst though. It takes forever to wet and rinse and then the cold water runs down your back and legs. So pretty much, showers are a torture but a blessing because we stink so badly! Afterwards, it feels quite lovely to stand in the grass because it's so warm.

        I am glad I keep a journal, or else I'd be going crazy not being able to vent about what isn't so pleasant here in Costa Rica! I made a promise to myself, and to God, that on the trip I would not complain. Not once. So far, I've kept it.

!Fiesta Dos!

      "Fuego! Fuego! Fuego!"

I love fiestas! We drove to Cannes today, and what a beautiful ride. I really cannot get over the beauty of this country. As we neared the church, we drove through part of the slums. Absolutely pitiful. I've never seen such poverty first hand. These people were literally living in shacks, they're so poor. Something I noticed was that most everybody visits and stays outside their home. Their culture is very socialable. 

When we drove up to the church, a group of little girls were waiting for us! As soon as they saw the buses they began screaming and squeeling and jumping up and down clapping their hands, shouting something in spanish. They were so excited to us! I even teared up some, these little girls really must have anticipated our arrival!

Church was good, they loved out drama skit. After the sermon, the pastor declared it was time for a fiesta to celebrate our freedom in Christ. And boy oh boy! Fiesta time it was! We danced, clapped and congo-lined our hearts out. I had the time of my life, it felt incredible to worship Christ in such a universal and upbeat way! Goodness, fiestas in church are phenomenal. One lady was "slain by the Spirit" in the aisle. I wish I could go to a fiesta back home!

!Fiesta!

        I loved church this morning! Tempo Biblica Fuente La Vida! Fantastico! Let's just say, Costa Ricans really know how to express their passion for the Lord during worship! When we first arrived, Mr. Faile told us to go meet and talk with the church members. I used what little spanish I've picked up since we've been here and tried to communicate- saying things such as hola, como estas, bien!, muy linda, gracias, por invirtarnos, como te llamas, soy Catalina. ( Hahaha, my espanol isn't so wonderful, which why I'd usually end up saying something along the lines of, "Hola!...Como estas?...Muy bien!...non ablo espanol..." )

       One of the little girls, Naomi, stole my heart, too. At first she was shy, then eventually she'd openher arms and run to me everytime she saw me.

      The music was amazing! Loud, passionate and vivacious! We started out just clapping, and then Laura ( one of our young translators ) told me that the pastor announced everyone should jump, dance- do whatever to express their love and adoration for our Savior! So I turned around and some are crying and singing, other had grabbed tambourines, and some were jumping up and down. Others moved to the front of the church and were dancing with festive blankets and scarves, some were doing a jewish looking dance and just groovin' to the music.

        David ( another translator of our's ) leaned over and goes "Dance with me!" So we were dancing in the aisle and the next thing I knew- this little, old toothless lady is pulling my arm and taking me down the aisle and up to the front of the church! I didn't hesistate one bit! I was being moved by the Spirit and I was loving it! A minute or two later, I turned around and the rest of our team were following in my footsteps. The music was great! So upbeat, with the typical spanish "feel" to it. I recognized the beat to many of the songs, but of course- it was in spanish. Though we have a language barrier, we all really connected throughout the worship time.

        I couldn't stop smiling and laughing the entire time. Laura and David got the biggest kick out of how I loved it. Laura later asked me if American church were like that when they sang and I told her a very rare, select few were, but not many at all. She told me that this is how all Costa Rican churches are. Which is part of the reason why I am so excited for this evening! In an hour were traveling to the town of Cannes for another church service and we get to do our skit for them as well.

     

      There's the cutest little dog here, reminds me of taffy. Oh, before I forget- I do believe that all the girls on our team have massive crushes on Jonathan and Jorje...'nuff said about that ;)

A Costa Rican Day

        What a nice surprise! We had garlic bread and a pasta dish! No beans and rice in sight! It was delicious. Our other meals have been good too though. Breakfast today was plain rice and black beans with a PB&J along with fresh squeezed fruit juice, perhaps pineapple? Not bad at all. Lunch was rice and beans with a brown gravy and a fatty, unkown "meat", with shredded lettuce and a block of "cheese". The "cheese" was like the substance of jello with a slight salty taste. Umm, interesting. Good thing I'm not too picky about my food.

        I am trying to ration my snacks and food I brought with me from home each day. We all get so hungry in the afternoon. We crave sweet things the most. Although, my jar of NuttyButty Peanut Butter makes for an awfully tasty snack.

       I believe I got the best bunk in the entire camp! I'm in the corner, and to my left is a long, screened window. The screen lets me feel a cool breeze all during the night, which keeps me cool. I can lay in bed, like I am now, and stare off at the beautiful, mountainous landscape and watch toucans and other birds fly by. The night we got in, it was around 1am, and much too dark to see our surroundings. So imagine my delighted surprise when i rolled over to my left side, after waking up beyond confused as to where I was, only to be greeted by the beautiful, previously described, country!

      I like how colorful it is here. Everything from the flowers, houses, clothes and personalities are so vibrant and vivacious!

     There's these silly, little geckos that keep appearing by our beds and showers! They're so cute with their big eyes. But what is not so cute are the ginormous frogs here! Oh, eww. You must'nt make eye contact with or the frog will spit poison in your eyes and the saliva is no venomous that it will blind you!

        In a few moments I will have to drag myself off my bunk and down to the chapel. My drama team and I are doing the "Everything" skit and we must practice. I am portraying the "seductress"...needless to say, this too, is a bit out of my comfort zone. Me, sexy? I don't really view myself like this! Therefore, although I am an actress, it is a bit challenging to act like this, especially in front of my brothers in Christ.

        The girls are lined up on the sidewalk brushing their teeth using water from a bottle, pouring a little at a time to rinse their mouth and brush. This is our way of life for the next week!

       I am looking forward to going to Church in the morning with all of the locals. "La Biblica" is the name. Makes me laugh, too. "The Bible Church". I'm looking forward to getting to dress up too. Sweaty tshirts and baggy athletic shorts just ain't my swagga. Did I mention how much we stink? Well, we do. Terribly.

          Our room is rather...untidy. Amanda and Renee are becoming perturbed, they're more organized inclinded. I, on the otherhand, have no organization about me. It shows in our room. The left side and the right side of the room contrast greatly. Renee also hung up a sign on our door, declaring that Febreeze has now been outlawed and we will be outcast from our bunk if we leave the door open. Hmm, vicious! :)

       I'm already beginning to wonder how on earth I'm going to say goodbye to this place and these people. I'm getting so attatched, in such a quick amount of time! I can't imagine how attatched I'm going to be by the last day... Well, the alarm just went off. Time for Bible study!

Ricardo y Familia

        I think I'm falling in love with this country. Every hour I spend here, I feel closer to Jesus. I shared the Gospel for the first time today. It was incredible. The words just flowed! I hardly had to think, the Holy Spirit just brought the right words to my mouth, all I had to do was open my mouth and speak what the Lord laid on my tongue! Going to the village, I was so nervous. I didn't know what to expect at all! What if the people are mean? What if I draw a mind blank? What if, what if, what if!

         The first house was a bit awkward, I admit. The man seemed pleased have us pray for him, and the look on his face when we gave him a Bible brought me close to tears. We visited a near-blind man, he was so happy when we asked to pray for him. He was the first to invite us inside his home. The poverty really touched me...It was a small, dirt floor home was built out of mud and concrete, with a colorful pink roof. The room had an old wooden chair and couch, a mop made from old rags in the corner, and an aged, framed picture of the last supper hanging cockeyed on the burgundy walls. The man warned us his neighbhor who he claimed "had a horrible, horrible temper" and we best stay far from him. After we prayed with him, I joked that he could now pray for us as we talked with the bad tempered man. He thought that was real funny.

         As we got to the bad tempered man's gate, nobody wanted to speak to him. We were all afraid he'd lash out and reject us. Finally, I felt an urgency in me to go speak to him. I took a step and told me team, "I'll talk to him. I can do it." My team was stunned. This was my first mission trip, first time evangelizing and the youngest of the group. And me, a "tiny little white girl" volunteers to go talk to a buff, shirtless ( no, he was not "hot", haha. ) Hispanic man whose stomach was covered in scars, with a reputation of anger and rage. Craziness. But as I said, I'm getting to be crazy in love with Jesus!

Talking at first was intimidating, but soon, the words just flowed. The man was soaking up every word I spoke. he was thirsty for the love of God, you could see it in his eyes! You could hear it in his questions! We must have talked for a good 15-20 minutes. Halfway through, I realized no one but me and translator were talking, and my entire team is a good couple feet behind me. I suddenly became fearful of what if I was screwing it up! So I breifly glanced back at Amanda to see what her facial expression was. She caught my eye and gave me a big smile and nodded at me. Then I knew I was doing good and there was nothing to worry about. I asked him if he'd like to accept Christ, but he proceeded to say he wanted to read, "this book" ( the Spanish Bible I gave him while talking ) and learn more for a better understand. I think a seed was definitely planted.

 I loved his little boy, Ricardo. He stole my heart. We visited another woman and her children, and again, I got to practice evangelizing. Afterwards my team was speechless, saying how they did not realize I had such a gift and leadership ability. Mrs. Jo-Jo ( my team leader ) suggested that perhaps I had a spiritual gift of evangelizing. All I have to say is God sure did answer my prayers!