to catch you up...

SO much has happened since my last post! So many thanks, so many memories made.
I was in the states for 4 weeks for the holidays and it was so refreshing and fun to be with my family and friends! Here are some highlights...

sweet times with my best gal pal, Nicole :)

Making traditional Christmas cookies with my sisters, Colin and Ava!

Quality time with my niece, Ava...cutest little thing in the world!

Family time during the holidays. It was so sweet to all be together, I have really missed them!

Double date with my sisters (minus Ryan :( )

Day in College Station, Andres' hometown. We saw the infamous Santa's Wonderland! So fun! We then spent the New Year's weekend in Dallas with his parents and friends. Sorry I don't have pictures to prove it, sadly!

Wrapping up 2011 I recorded my "1,000th gift" in my journal I started in April...

Dec. 25th: #1000. "Love in the Christ child to enter this dirty world to save my soul."

 I am continuing to record gifts and hope to write 1,000 more this year. Naming gratitude gifts has  brought fresh joy and perspective to my life, why stop at 1,000!?

For me, 2011 was about learning the life style of gratitude. My 1,000th gift was fitting to summarize the year because I have never reflected on and experienced the Gospel more than I did in the latter half of 2011. I was faced with many challenging circumstances and God taught me the path to joy is thankfulness. I began the year as a fresh graduate and started working full time in an office planning events, took a friendship to the next level with Andres, then traveled to Peru, quit my job and moved to Costa Rica, learned a lot of Spanish while doing full-time ministry. 2011 was full of HUGE changes and unexpected journeys.  

Thanks be to God for the joys, challenges and growing pains.

As I embark on a new year, I foresee many more joys, challenges, changes and growing pains ahead. I'm back in Costa Rica for another 5 months, which is super exciting! There is so much ahead of us, and I'm excited to share the journey with you.

I arrived a week ago and the day after Sydney and I left for Vida Joven Camp to serve on work crew for 4 days. It was SUCH an adventure! To see Young Life camp done in another country and all in Spanish was amazing. Also, it was a perfect way to dive back into the culture because Sydney and I were the only 2 gringas there! (gringa means white girl in Spanish) Sydney did an excellent job recaping the weekend on her blog, so I will just direct you there if you'd like to read about some fun details...Sydney's Blog

Equipo de Trabajo: Campo de Nuevos 2012

dia de GRACIAS

The above picture is a little decor at the Regional Director's, Kevin Suywn, house, where all of Young Life and Vida Joven Costa Rica staff celebrates Thanksgiving together each year. I was so excited about Thanksgiving Day in Costa Rica because I heard it was one of the most fun days of the year for YL staff! The days leading up to Thanksgiving I was really missing home, as I saw everyone on social media posting they were going "home" to be with family for the holiday. I was sad to be far from my family, boy friend and friends on this special day of the year in the states. Thankfully, Thursday was in fact one of my best days here. Full of gratitude, traditional Thanksgiving food and laughter and games with great friends.

If you didn't know.... they don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Costa Rica. (not to undermine your intelligence that this wonderful holiday is a US-only holiday, but I have gotten asked if they celebrate it here!) It was really funny as I tried to explain to my host family WHY we celebrate Thanksgiving... try telling the story of the May Flower and pilgrims and Indians in espanol! If that wasn't enough, I tried to explain to them what pumpkin pie was (one of my favorite things about this holiday!) It took me about 10 minutes to find the words and explain what it is before they understood...or at least I think they did!

Here is a re-cap of the festivities...

they hang the leaves from past years with people's thanks for decor.. what a cute and meaningful idea!

 Jessie and I made potato souffle...everyone loved it!

 Yes, we watched football! Kevin, Packers fan, getting nervous during the game..

Another cute idea- pilgrim hats! Cracker/cookie, marshmallow and jelly bean, all smothered in melted chocolate.

 singing some thanks to God :)

 playing signs!

God has been teaching me so much about how to be truly thankful and how thankfulness is the root of joy and trust in Him. How can you be uncontent if you are thankful for God in that moment? It just doesn't happen. I cannot say I have mastered this yet, but I do believe one of the biggest personal reasons God brought me here was to learn how to be "content, no matter what the circumstance is". So many days pass where I think life would be easier or I would be happier if I was home close to my family and friends. God always reminds me that I am here for a reason and there is SO much joy and purpose to be found here amidst the challenging life of doing ministry internationally.

I'm so thankful for a place I can call home, Houston, Texas, and for all the lovely people there that I love. I'm so thankful for San Jose, Costa Rica and the amazing new family of friends I have here.

I'm so thankful for Jesus Christ dying so that we may have eternal life with God, for giving me a hope that exceeds all understanding, for giving me purpose to live and for loving me no matter what I do.

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-19

WYLD life camp

What a WYLD weekend we had at La Montana camp with 45 middle school international kids! I went into this experience not knowing what to expect because, 1-I've never been to a middle school camp, 2-I've never done camp in a foreign country (fun fact: I woke up to the sound of howler monkeys on Sunday morning!) and 3-I've never had so many roles at camp (club program character, leading music, running media, cabin leader for 5-6th grade girls) I'd have to say it was the most jam-packed weekend I may have ever had!
Friday morning as we prepared to leave the city, I focused on abiding in God as I was about to take on this huge challenge. I was reminded that fruit would only bear through the work of the Holy Spirit, nothing I could do on my own (John 15). Concluding the weekend, I could be nothing other than thankful for all that happened. God showed up big time and supplied amplitudes of energy and joy for every moment!


Re-cap of the weekend and some thanks...

Thankful for bus rides full of singing our hearts out to Beiber and every other popular song on the iPod, braiding hair and snacks.

Thankful for my cabin of 8, 6th grade chicas. Thankful for laughter and relationships built. I had never spent this much time with this age group before. They were very lovey towards me with lots of hugs and lots of questions about everything! We had 3 "cabin times" in this short weekend where we discussed further what David Morgan, the camp speaker, spoke about Jesus Christ. These girls said they knew somehow God loved them and He was good for sending Jesus to die on a cross for us. They weren't sure WHY Jesus came and the meaning of sin and the cross. We got to unpack this and discuss the meaning of the gospel. They all wrote a "letter to God" in response to what Jesus did on the cross for us. God used this time to teach these young minds about the truths of who He is and to grow their understanding of God. Two of my cabin girls went home with their first bible!

 Thankful for going all out for program and being the "Britsh Rockstar sensations that are sweeping the nations!" We rocked their SOCKS OFF. Never would I have thought I'd be a YL camp program character before this! God challenged me in this and allowed me to have a BLAST with my air guitarist, Freddy VanHalen...I mean Sydney :) I was Dingo Starr, the air drummer. We introduced and ran club games and rocked out with British accents.

Thankful for the opportunity to do something else I thought I'd never ever do...lead music at a YL camp in a microphone! David played guitar and sang and I sang with him. I've always been shy of my singing voice, and God, once again, allowed me to be confident and have a blast as I saw kids in the crowd singing and responding well to the music. Above are some of my girls singing Beiber's Baby...one of my faves to lead :)

Thankful for exotic ropes courses, facing fears and conquering them, encouraging words from 6th grade girls, trusting the ropes and the water to catch you, spanish-speaking camp staff and fluent 6th graders to translate instructions for me, Reto Selva (mud obstacle course, pictured above is guy leader Esteban making his way thru the trenches!)

The camp we went to had amazing camp games, high and low ropes, lake games and mud obstacle course. We had non-stop fun from the minute we started camp until we loaded the buses home. All of these activities incorporated team work, challenging adventures and conquering fears. 

The kids weren't the only ones who faced their fears. I have always had a fear of free falling, and one of the lake activities was to stand on top of this really tall platform and jump into the water. Some of my girls were just thrilled at the idea of jumping off with me! After the 4th time, my fear was gone. I'm so thankful for fearless middle school kids that teach me to trust and just go for it!

 SO thankful for the group of WL leaders I serve along side. They are such an awesome group consisting of high school student leaders, volunteers and YL staff. I had the privilege of having Lau, one of my closest high school students, to lead our cabin of girls with. Thankful to see God work thru Lau as she grows in maturity in her faith leading middle school students towards Christ!

Thankful for a fun road trip to Jaco, a beach close by, to relax and celebrate the weekend with Sydney, Jessie, David and Carol Morgan. Thankful for getting lost and having adventures, laughing till you cry, eating tacos on a swing, delicious ice cream and making memories.

Thank you to all my supporters for praying for this weekend! God worked mighty in these students' lives and in mine and your prayers were felt. Praise be to God for giving all things good and giving us the opportunity to take part in his work of redeeming the world and His people.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.

2 Corinthians 2:14-15