Feliz Cumpleaños a mí!

 
Happy Birthday to me!! 

Ok, ok..so this post may be a little bit more about me than usual, but c'mon...it was my birthday week!  

First off can I just tell you how THANKFUL I am for the people that God has put in my life??  I know I've said it a lot, and if you're my friend on Facebook you'll see that over and over again, but SERIOUSLY....amazing, amazing people.  

The week didn't start off so great, one of our girls decided that it was time for her to take her ministry back home.  I know it wasn't an easy decision for her, and it wasn't easy for us to let her go...but we're praying that God does a mighty work in her life and that she uses all she learned and experienced here over the last month to glorify God. 

Satan has also been hitting us hard this week and we've all been fighting different battles...so it's safe to say that my birthday (and every day) could have gone down hill real fast...but when the God of the universe is on our side we are victorious. HE. ALWAYS. WINS.  

"For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”

Deuteronomy 20:4 

And it totally helps when you have amazing friends and family to remind you how loved and valued you are!!  The girls here also made it extra special by taking me out to lunch for something other than rice and beans AND took me out for icecream!!  Not to mention they are trying to get me out of my shell which included a photoshoot, napkin hats, birthday songs and what birthday wouldn't be complete without jumping pictures on the beach!?!

 

 

to see some of our outtakes, check out my facebook page!

Then I came home to a decorated apartment and notes from all the kids and missionaries here!  They even baked me a cake and sang to me later that night!!

Saturday was a low key day...everyone spent the day either at the beach, studying, practicing their spanish, napping...or all of the above!  Monday they began their first day of ministry, so they also had Saturday to prepare for that too!  

My favorite part of the weekend was when I was able to introduce the students to our Vintage program.  Sure we may be a couple of weeks behind, but they heard a great message about Nehemiah and his trust, faith, and perseverance. Not to mention have some awesome worship time!

If you'd like, you can check out the message here! 

And Monday they started ministry!!!  This past month has been difficult...basically going from Spanish Class, to Bible Class, to doing homework, then to sleep...rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat!  They finally get to put their Spanish and bible knowledge into action in the field!

Each group is off to a different ministry, but how awesome that our God is with each and every one of them!!  So if you get the chance...please pray for them!  This ministry experience is going to test them, their character and their Spanish...it's going to break them down and build them up...they are going to experience things they never have before, but it will all be worth it!!

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. "

James 1:2-4

Thanks for reading, thanks for the birthday wishes, and thanks for one of the most memorable birthdays!!

Things that are awesome: 
NEW FRIENDS

GOD'S FAITHFULNESS

THUNDER STORMS

Things that are not so awesome (but not horrible either):

CONSTANT HEAT
SUGAR COMAS

Phrase/Scripture of the week:
"Thems the rules" 

"Happy Birthday!"

Spiritual Boot Camp

 "Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas & old wives’ tales. 
 Instead, train yourself to be godly.  
“Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” 
- 1 Timothy 4:7-8

This week we learned about Spiritual Disciplines in bible class...and again, by 'we' I mean me too!  I had the privilege of sitting in class with the students to learn about the different disciplines we are to practice as followers of Jesus in order to seek God more intentionally and grow our relationship with Him.  I even did the homework! (but maybe not the final paper...)  In that class, I seemed to be picked on as the physical training expert and used Crossfit and physical training as a parallel to being disciplined in different areas. (Little do people know that it is only discipline that gets me up (most) every morning to exercise and that I would SO RATHER sleep in!  I am NOT a morning person...just ask my mom!)  I know that most of the students were able to apply what they learned in class immediately and had great results.  God's word actually works!?!?  Imagine that!

The students getting creative when figuring out different ways to describe 'discipline'

But according to 1 Timothy, "physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better", which is so true, but at times hard to do!  Now I am extremely aware that I give the same amount of time, if not more, pursuing God intentionally compared to the time I spend exercising.  And that's where the discipline comes in.  

I'm not gonna lie, it's hard for me to do here.  Exercise is challenging, getting up early before the heat of the day really sets in, and also setting uninterrupted time aside to spend with God when there are so many things that have to get done and so many distractions.  But I know that spending time with my God is extremely important, it prepares my head and heart for the day, it allows me time to thank Him for giving me another day in this paradise, and thank Him for the strength that he will give me each day to handle anything that comes my way.  A passage caught my attention in my quiet time the other day and I'm currently using it in my small group this week:

1 Peter 4:10-11
"God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever!" (emphasis mine)

If I were relying on my strength to sustain me and get me through the last month (can you believe I've been here a month already!?!?!)  I would have been on a plane back home after the first wild, crazy and nonstop week.  But I'm here and I'm staying here with the strength and energy that God is supplying.  Never have I been away from home for 4 consecutive weeks.  Never have I gone this long averaging 6.5 hours of sleep a night.  Never have I had days and days and days of eating rice without craving other foods (I mean I crave chocolate, but that's totally natural no matter where I am).  Never have I had to be this extroverted.  Never have I had to be in charge and play both mom, dad and cool aunt all at the same time.  Has God been preparing me for this over the last 14 years? Absolutely.  But no way can I do this in my own strength.  I'm not strong enough, I'm not smart enough, I'm not cool enough, I'm not extroverted enough.  And me saying these things is not a ploy to get compliments or reassurance.  It's the truth and coming to that realization just goes to show you that everything that goes well or works out is not because I am doing anything...it's because GOD IS DOING EVERYTHING.  

Friday of last week was our last day of Spiritual Discipline class and we were able to get off campus and head to a village, Los Fundos, to practice solitude (something it's hard to get here at GAP) and have some uninterrupted time just us and God.  

  
After our time of solitude we celebrated with one another and some of the villagers who made us empanadas and fried yucca cakes and picked fresh coconuts and guava. It was a much needed break from school, school and more school!!

 

You know my mom anxieties were in full force in this tree climbing picture!

Saturday a bunch of us decided to do some fellow-shipping and celebrating by heading to the beach to watch the sunrise!  It was an awesome reminder of God's creation and that His mercies are new every morning.  More than one of us also broke out into this song...
 

"The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name"

(Look! I made it into a picture! and it was cool enough to wear a jacket at 6:15am!!)

 To also pull out the other highlights of the week:

Thursday we had a Family Dinner where the girls shopped and cooked and Clay was on grill duty!! We ate a little later than expected, but in the mean time we swam, laughed and just chilled out!

Monday we went to a nursing home and was able to spend some time with the elderly, clip and paint some of the people nails and sang and laughed with them.  For some it was totally out of their element, but sometimes we're asked to do things that are uncomfortable for Jesus!

Well that's the wrap up for this last week!  And remember, when you're getting burned out or just feel like you don't want to do anything anymore, ask yourself...am I doing this out of my strength, or out of God's strength??  

Thanks for reading!!

Things that are awesome:
ICE CUBES (nothing is more refreshing than an ice cold drink!)
SUNRISES & SUNSETS
GETTING OFF CAMPUS
MOVIE NIGHTS

Things that are not so awesome (but not horrible either):

WORKING OUT THEN REALIZING WE DON'T HAVE WATER (it comes and goes because they're working on the road outside)

Phrase/Scripture of the week:
"What's the heart behind it?"

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."  -Hebrews 12:11

Let the Adventures Begin!!

Hola! Just in case you've forgotten what I looked like, or wonder if I have gotten fat, here's proof that I'm alive, well, and still skinny-ish!! (I know, I know...it's the curse of the photographer to always be behind the camera and never infront!!)  For as hot as it's been here and as much as I've been sweating I think I could eat a whole pizza every day and still not gain weight! Yesterday the low was 80 degrees. They say we'll get used to it, but my question is when!?!  I think we have another month of hot temps before it starts to cool down a little, but we've started to get creative in the ways that we cool down. Some have learned to make their own popsicles out of the fruit juice we have at every meal, some run through the sprinklers that water the new sod in our backyard, some just jump in the pool with all their clothes on (3 weeks in and it's still happening at least once a week) and some head to the beach whenever possible. I'm not a beach person, but the breeze is greater and the water is cooler...so that's where I found myself yesterday! And the view isn't bad either!! 

I know, I know...tough life! 

We are all, for the most part, still in the honeymoon stage. Still not believing that we LIVE here and will continue to live here for the next 8 months. And while I am loving my tan, I definitely miss the 60 degree days of fall where you can wear jeans and a hoodie and drink a salted caramel mocha without dripping sweat into it. However, on a positive note I did discover today that the hot chocolate they serve has a hint of cinnamon in it so I can totally make my own caramel cinnamon mochas!!!!  BONUS!

The kids are now in their 3rd week of classes and have survived their first bible exam! They were excited to show me their grades, and I totally though about posting the 100's on my fridge! Gah! Totally a mom thing to do!! Who am I?? I'm definitely having more mom moments...like when a few of the girls went off on their first adventure/bus ride/home visit/overnight trip. They went with another missionary, Adrienne, who has become a fast friend of mine. She's awesome and I totally trusted her with the girls, but there's always that little bit of responsibility anxiety inside of me!! 

I'm sure there will be more of those moments to come as they start their ministry opportunities in the next couple weeks and are able to get out of the fenced in complex for some freedom, space and fresh air. But will totally have to trust God for their hearts, minds, words, protection and safety.  

Since we are starting to get into routines, were also trying to spice things up a bit and have some fun nights as well. Last Tuesday we all went out to dinner together and got some amazing Italian food. We also learned that seafood is good on pizza, Carter likes 5 lime wedges in his Coke, and its typical to be at a restaurant 2 hours before you actually get your food. I'm just wondering who it was that prayed for patience that day!! 

I also was able to take a day off last Thursday when I was invited on a 'hike'. So you know me...I had to get all prepared and matching and mentally prepared for a day that started at 6am! I was excited because some of the missionaries and their families were going and I love any opportunity I get some time with them to get to know them better, and having friends round that can speak English and translate for me!!

What I wasn't aware of (what NO ONE was aware of) was how many people were actually going and what 'hike' really means. I think we ended up with 20 Dominican adults and 6 of their children, 6 American missionaries and 4 of their children, 4 huge coolers, 2 jugs of water, 1 portable cook top, one tank of propane, a rake, 8 metal folding chairs, one domino table, a birthday cake and over a dozen fresh avocados...all in a bus for 4 hours as we drove up, over, and through mountains, valleys, and rivers! We finally set up camp around 11am after we found the perfect spot and from there just relaxed and played in the river. 

I am so grateful for these women!! It's still funny to me that even at home, the majority of my friends are either older or younger than I am...and few friends are my age, but down here the majority of the people around me are in their early thirties! 

I am fully convinced and aware that this was also part of Gods plan.

Later that afternoon we finally got our hike. Err, well should I say climbing adventure. There aren't any pictures of this simply because to get to the trail we had to cross the river and it was no crick folks...they had been releasing water into the river every hour so by the time we started our adventure it was 6 feet deep in parts and flowing at a good rate. Needless to say we had to calculate water speed, distance to the other side, angles and all that fun survival math stuff that Bear Grylls had prepared me for!! We had to swim hard and leave the camera back at camp. But we all made it safely across...maybe next time I'll remember to take my waterproof camera (Ugh...preparation fail on my part). There were 7 of us that made the hike, but what we didn't realize was that we had to climb vertically over hundreds of huge boulders to get to the cave (while soaking wet). Those days of YMCA rock wall and Circle C Wild West Adventure Town instructing came in handy!! (Also something God knew ahead of time) so after 30 minutes of climbing, jumping, pulling and pushing our way up, we all made it to the cave and it truly was worth the climb. We spent a few minutes there basking in Gods handiwork and catching our breath before heading back down. Coming down (for the most part) was easier than going up...but we prayed the whole time that the plants that we were using as anchors or trudging through weren't poisonous (Don't worry, they weren't). We got to the bottom, rode the raging river back to camp, dried off, changed, packed up and got ready for our 4 hour bus ride home. 

Hopefully this might be a place where we can take the kids...as long as we invite some our Dominican friends to make it a fiesta!! They sure know how to have a good time! But truthfully...i really went all in the name of excursion research!! ;)

(Sorry for the 'all about me part'...I know many readers want to see what the students are doing!!  But just be warned, there might be some personal posts among the weekly updates!)

We rounded out the weekend with a movie night in the Carter's apartment with cake, coffee, and snuggles (with each other and Jesus...not with me) and can hopefully make it a weekly or bi-weekly thing!! 

We've also got some fun things in the works for this week...but I'll tell you more about that next time! 

Please also keep us in your prayers, the honeymoon/vacation phase is coming to an end and satan knows how to attack each one of us. Pray that we can have peace while we're here, strength, good health and be good encouragers!! 

Gracias & adiós! 

Things that are awesome:

EVENING ONE-on-ONE CHATS (and getting to know the kids more)

DOWN TIME WITH NEW FRIENDS

BLANCO (our bus driver) 

AVOCADOS (still haven't gotten old yet!)

LAZY SATURDAYS

LEARNING A LITTLE BIT OF SPANISH EVERY DAY

Things that are not so awesome (but not horrible either):

HAVING MOM MOMENTS (kudos to all the moms out there!)

THE CONSTANT HUMIDITY

Phrase of the week:

"You can cuddle with Jesus"

2 week GAP-aversary!!

Its hard to believe we've all been together for 2 weeks already. On one hand it feels like we just got here and on the other hand it feels like we've been friends and family for years. God is continuing His faithfulness and it seems that just about everyday in my quiet time with Him, He shows me yet another scripture that I can not only apply to my life but to the experiences and lives of the students. Here's one from this morning that touched my heart:

Ezekiel 36:24-28 MSG
"For here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to take you out of these countries, gather you from all over, and bring you back to your own land. I'll pour pure water over you and scrub you clean. I'll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I'll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that's God-willed, not self-willed. I'll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands."

We're all out of our states, our country...we are gathered from all over. We're in a cleansing process, and being scrubbed, which at times is not fun and even painful. But its oh so good AND necessary!! We're figuring out what we have put in front of God that we never realized, what we are craving from home, what we are missing from home, what were/are our idols. New bodies are being developed, bodies that are uncomfortable because they are so new. Bodies with new hands, new eyes, new feet, bodies with new hearts...hearts for God.

Here's where we're learning the lessons to love God first, love others second and ourselves third. We're figuring out what that actually looks like and how difficult that truly is because of our selfish, sinful nature. How grateful we are for Gods Holy Spirit to help guide us and change our hearts that we don't have to figure it all out on our own.

We're learning discipline and self control. We're learning about teamwork, how to live with others, how to communicate with others, and how to trust others. We're learning what perseverance and dedication and self-control look like. We're learning Spanish and how to creatively study from Spanish charades to smartphone apps to labeling everything in the apartment.

And when I say we...I mean we. The kids AND me. We're all in this together (and yes I am silently singing and doing the dance moves to High School Musical in my head after that line) and we all signed up for this!!

We were able to finish our ministry tour this week, we spent some crazy awesome time with the women of the Lily House. We played some games and then had some amazing muffins and drinks and also heard one of the women's heroic and courageous testimony.

That night we also got to visit the local youth group and have some fun with them!!

On Saturday we headed to Pasitos de Jesus which is a girls orphanage where we got to play, sing, laugh and jump rope...those little faces can get anyone to do anything!!

And look...I even found me a Buffalo soccer ball!! Home is never too far away!

Later that day we headed over to San José to see all God has been doing over the past year and a half. It's amazing to see the progress and the lives changed for Jesus.

And then we rounded the day off with a healthy dose of family game night fun! 

Did I mention that we are so completely bored and aren't having any fun at all?!? Yah...right!! We're finding a good balance between work and play, chores and fun, and sometimes combine the two! Like in yesterday's yard work day. We gave the backyard a complete overhaul and worked tirelessly for 4.5 hours. But man does it look SO MUCH BETTER!! We had some scrapes and blisters and chopped down a tree with an axe which turned into a hatchet when the handle broke...but props to Allison, Melissa and Renee for bringing the tree down! Afterwards we all jumped in the pool fully clothed, which seems to be becoming the theme of this year!!

I'm finding that all in all i am both completely out of my comfort zone and in my comfort zone at the same time. I don't even know if that makes sense...but it's true. My previously set physical and emotional boundaries and lines are being stretched and blurred...the girls seem to want to cuddle ALL. THE. TIME. Gah!

I've also had some good conversations with some of the students and am trusting God in His timing and His wisdom for the conversations that are still to come. I know that this is a marathon and not a sprint and that some things take time. I pray for The Lord to reveal Himself throughout the next 8 months, for hearts to be changed and for personal relationships with Him to grow.

Can't wait to see what this week holds!

Things that are awesome:
AIR CONDITIONING
TACO TUESDAYS
SUNDAY NIGHT WORSHIP
NEW FRIENDS
SATELLITE TV TO WATCH FOOTBALL ON SUNDAYS

Things that are not so awesome (but not horrible either):
BUG BITES
SUDDEN DOWNPOURS

Commonly used phrases of the week:
"PREACH IT KELLI"