grateful for His Love

Ellie Holcomb recently released an amazing EP of her solo music. Her music is beautiful in the way it declares truth and hope about our Lord. Her voice has kept me company in some tough times here and reminded me of the faithfulness of God. Download her EP (I highly recommend it!!) Below is the lyrics to one of her songs that reminds me we have so much to be thankful for-We have a God that LOVES us!

Grateful For Your Love

Love is an ocean

Hope is a promise

Light is overtaking

Grace is overwhelming

CHORUS

You chased us into the dark and Lord we’re grateful, Oh we’re grateful

You captured our hearts with Your love Oh Lord You’re faithful, You are faithful

And nothing that we’ve ever done was too much for You to handle on the cross

We’re grateful for Your love

Weight is lifted

Mercy tore the curtain

Sin is no master

Freedom calls our name

CHORUS

Life is granted

Chains are broken

Colossians 2:6-7 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

I am learning so much through experience and through scripture about the hope and comfort of Jesus Christ when faced with tough times. In the past several weeks my teammates have each gotten a random illness or medical issue and I have fortunately not (yet!). The physical discomfort and pain has created bigger challenges in their day-to-day living and for doing ministry fully. I realized that my ailment has not been physical, but I have been faced with homesickness more so than any of my teammates. It is such a challenge for me to be thankful in these times of missing home. Sometimes I wish I could close my eyes and time warp back to Houston. God is teaching me to open my eyes and see Him for who He fully is and to be thankful for where I am.

I should be thankful because His Love is grand for me, no matter where or with who I reside. I want to master the art of gratitude. For I know that if gratitude is the permanent condition of my heart, I will be able to praise God for any challenge, tragedy or discomfort that comes my way in life.

Some updates from the week....

Early Saturday morning I went to the weekly "ferria", or fresh market in my neighborhood. It was so fun to be part of the local culture here and purchase fresh fruits and veggies from the local farmers!

Also, there was a carnival  Saturday at the high school, CDS, we do YL and WL with. Below are a couple pics from the soccer game they had during the carnival: high school guys V-squad vs men faculty...students won!

This weekend I also saw my first Costa Rican film at the movies...in Spanish! And ate my favorite treat (fro-yo!) at the mall. So thankful for the delicacy of fro-yo here! Next week is my last week of Spanish class and I will give my first YL talk here. I'm thankful for your prayers in all this!

~N

one month later...

It is hard to believe I have lived in Costa Rica for an entire month already! I have had a special week to mark my "one month anniversary"...

We celebrated Costa Rica's Independence Thursday, which made me gain a sense of pride for living here.

parade in my neighborhood

Friday after school my Tica Madre taught me how to cook arroz con pollo...one of the most popular, delicious dishes here.

Thursday was also the first campaigners, which I had the privilege to lead. It was awesome to discuss with students the "biggest goal in life" from Matthew 22:37.

Wednesday was "twin" club and Sydney and I were bilingual twin sister rappers...that's right....rappers. It was my first time in program Young Life skit and it was such a blast. The kids loved it and we rocked the rap.

Saturday I saw my second volcano in Costa Rica and it was so incredible! I'm blown away by how our Creator made us such a beautiful, fascinating earth.

lagoon with Syd!

Volcano Poas

it rained on us big time!

Thanks be to God for the past month. Thank you Lord for taking me away from the comforts of my home and drawing me oh so close to you. Thank you for your grace, especially in the difficult times...you are so gracious. Thank you for providing such a sweet community of believers for me to learn and grow with here. Thank you for the precious international teenagers we get to show the Love of God to. Thank you for my newest best friend Sydney that I get to share life with. Thank you for the ability to learn Spanish and the challenges of journeying to language school each day. Thank you for my helpful and loving host parents who have become a new family to me here. Thank you so much for my supportive and selfless boyfriend that still pursues me all the way from Houston, Texas. Thank you for the prayers and support from my amazing friends and family back home. Thankful for the faithfulness and immense love of God given in the past month.

Muchas Gracias a Dios

the dream mas grande

The past week in Costa Rica has been very full and fun and also very tiring! In addition to going to language school every morning, we had our first Young Life and Wyld Life clubs and a garage sale to raise money for our organization. Young Life club reminded me a lot of my clubs with HCHS students because it was a smaller crowd of about 20 kids in a house. We had a "pajama themed" club with lots of pillow/sleepover/blindfolded related games. Wyld Life was CRAZZZY. It was my first Wyld Life experience ever, and it was awesome. "Costa Rican Snow Storm" is the traditional WL first club, and we sure made it snow! The kids are adorable and I'm excited to get to know them more as the year progresses.

some of our YL kids

award-winning jammies and slippers

bologna/snowflake making game at WL

our WL group after the snow storm! (flour bombs, marshmallows and shaving cream=craziness)

the garage sale at my new church; International Baptist Church

The past 3 and a half weeks living here have been part of a dream coming true. For the past few years I dreamt of moving to a Spanish-speaking country to learn Spanish and be part of a Christ-centered ministry. God was so generous to fulfill this desire that was put on my heart some time ago. However, coming here I realized this "dream" of going was just a surface dream. The "dream mas grande" was to be closer to my Creator, away from all that is familiar and easy to hold on to, solely clinging tightly to the hope in Jesus Christ. Learning Spanish and taking part in Young Life ministry here is a dream come true, but I've realized in the past weeks that this is not the ultimate fulfillment of my joy and purpose. I am full of gratitude for this opportunity and all the things I will learn here, but what I am most thankful for is growing closer to Jesus Christ, enjoying Him more and sharing His love with my new friends, family and students here.

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit...My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love...These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full." John 15:1-11

~Jesus Christ