Thursday, October 21, 2010
Humans Flying Is No Myth
We, as students in Costa Rica, get to occasionally reap the benefits of living in another country. This past Monday we were able to go zip-lining through the mountain rain forest of CR, and it was incredible!! We got up early and headed out on a bus that was "coach," but was more like an airplane set up than bus seats.. I slept most of the way. When we got there, all the guides were waiting for us and one was dressed up like a chicken. We had to do the chicken dance as our initiation and it was NOT the chicken dance I'm used to. It was in Spanish of course and very.. different. Then we signed our waivers and got helmets and headed up the mountain. On the way up we had to do some team challenge type things, do an Indian dance around a teepee, and sit in the river as punishment for losing. Needless to say, wet jeans plus tight equipment wasn't the most comfortable way to hike the rest of the way up. There were 5 lines and they were all a blast!! The first one was pretty normal, but it went over a gorge between the two mountains.. super cool!! And you could see an amazing view of San Jose from where we were flying. Pretty cool. There was one line where they allowed us to go upside down. We got hooked up to the line, grabbed our gear with our hands, and held the cable with our feet. Then once we were past the platform we could let go and hang our hands down so we were flying upside down across a huge mountain gorge... what a rush!!! That was my favorite part by far. It was sooo cool!!! Then the last one was the highest and fastest, and we got to jump off a platform as our speed start which was really cool. Little did we know that those who went in front of us would be waiting at the end with water bottles ready to soak us.. That was quite the surprise, and my whole right side was completely soaked.. they had mercy on some people, but I was toast. It was still awesome and I then got to enjoy watching everyone else get the same loving treatment :) Then at the very end there was a free-fall swing type deal that was offered to us for ten bucks.. yeah I did it. Too cool. They hooked me up with a bunch of ropes and cams and the like and said, “Ok jump!” … so I jumped.. I flew through the air and then swung back and flew again.. it was awesome! It's crazy what we do for adrenaline rushes ;) We had brought sandwiches for lunch and were given some water and time to just chill, then I slept on the bus ride home as we headed back to the villa for the rest of our free day. It was a good one to be sure :)
This Place I Call Home
So I haven't been able to blog much lately, not only because we don't have internet as much as before, but also because there is so much going on down here that I can barely find time to sleep. But unlike what some people may think, this is not even a good thing it's a great thing. Classes have been keeping me busy studying, learning, improving in the language, and remaining disciplined in school work as I am not quite done with my career as a student.. maybe in 5 years I'll be able to say "No more homework!!" However, as of right now, I live homework in the evenings - projects, pages of busy work that more or less burns the concept into your brain, conversations, Bible reading, study topics, and lots of extra reading. I love it all. This is the best year of school I've had so far.
Then outside of class of course comes ministry. This is not merely talking about Coronado, which is a huge part of my ministry, or even my church El Alto, but includes a discipleship group that I have been leading. We are studying the book "Calm My Anxious Heart" which is a study on finding contentment in God through every situation specifically for women. It's been eye-opening, hard-core challenging, and really encouraging at the same time. I love what I have been learning and with every chapter I find more reason to thank my God for exactly where he put me and what he has called me to do. But as you praise God with me because of this study, please also remember me in your prayers. It is difficult sometimes to lead a group like this because it takes time to prepare for it, sometimes it's difficult to lead discussion, and contentment will always be a major challenge for especially girls. So please pray for me.
In other areas of ministry a little update.. Coronado has been awesome. We handed out the kids' books last Saturday (just in case I haven't mentioned it yet we're starting an AWANA like club for the kids in Coronado every Saturday) so those who could recite John 3:16 got to start their first lesson in the book. They will be memorizing Scriptures and getting points for bringing their Bible (which we provided last week as well), their hats, friends, and of course for just coming. It's really cool to see how excited the kids are. However, it has been smaller the past few weeks, so we are going to arrive a little early and go out into the neighborhoods and invite the kids. Hopefully this will draw a bigger crowd. Overall it's really exciting :) And for those of you at home Bethany is a wonder-woman when it comes to running and planning for this every week. Keep praying for her!!
El Alto, the church I attend, does not have a youth group which means it's up to us to start one. As of right now there are two youth other than us GAPpers who show up for the Saturday "youth group." So this week, we're having a cook-out at the Gordly's house to try to draw in more young people. JR, one of my classmates, is giving his testimony, and I am bringing my guitar to provide some relief from the CD recording of an organ played every Sunday ;) I'm pretty excited about it and we should have a good turnout. Yet another area of prayer.
On the fun side of life, our leadership came up with an idea to kind of off-set the lack of internet with time to have group unity by playing group games or some crazy youth group-like activity. I am one of the two students in charge of planning these activities for every other Friday night or so. We've thought of games that are super fun in the dark (since it gets dark at like 6 here) like Capture the Flag and such. I'm pretty excited about it. This week we're making a scavenger hunt, and it's going to be unlike any scavenger hunt anyone has ever played before. It's already crazy cool and we're not even done. And on Mondays we have our weekly game of Ultimate Frisbee, or depending on amount of rain, Uliti-Mud Frisbee ;) We have tons of fun here.. especially in Club Lucas (my room)!! We have by far the most laughs late at night, deep chats, roomie jokes, random fun, and everything that comes with living together. Oh and the lady that cleans here tells us every week that we have by far the cleanest room. Every week. Yeah.
So that's a quick update of what has been going on here in San Jose. Keep the prayers coming, you guys are the best!! Shoot me an email anytime to let me know what you're up to in the States. God is moving here in Costa Rica, and I'm so blessed to be a part of it. Praise his majestic name!
Then outside of class of course comes ministry. This is not merely talking about Coronado, which is a huge part of my ministry, or even my church El Alto, but includes a discipleship group that I have been leading. We are studying the book "Calm My Anxious Heart" which is a study on finding contentment in God through every situation specifically for women. It's been eye-opening, hard-core challenging, and really encouraging at the same time. I love what I have been learning and with every chapter I find more reason to thank my God for exactly where he put me and what he has called me to do. But as you praise God with me because of this study, please also remember me in your prayers. It is difficult sometimes to lead a group like this because it takes time to prepare for it, sometimes it's difficult to lead discussion, and contentment will always be a major challenge for especially girls. So please pray for me.
In other areas of ministry a little update.. Coronado has been awesome. We handed out the kids' books last Saturday (just in case I haven't mentioned it yet we're starting an AWANA like club for the kids in Coronado every Saturday) so those who could recite John 3:16 got to start their first lesson in the book. They will be memorizing Scriptures and getting points for bringing their Bible (which we provided last week as well), their hats, friends, and of course for just coming. It's really cool to see how excited the kids are. However, it has been smaller the past few weeks, so we are going to arrive a little early and go out into the neighborhoods and invite the kids. Hopefully this will draw a bigger crowd. Overall it's really exciting :) And for those of you at home Bethany is a wonder-woman when it comes to running and planning for this every week. Keep praying for her!!
El Alto, the church I attend, does not have a youth group which means it's up to us to start one. As of right now there are two youth other than us GAPpers who show up for the Saturday "youth group." So this week, we're having a cook-out at the Gordly's house to try to draw in more young people. JR, one of my classmates, is giving his testimony, and I am bringing my guitar to provide some relief from the CD recording of an organ played every Sunday ;) I'm pretty excited about it and we should have a good turnout. Yet another area of prayer.
On the fun side of life, our leadership came up with an idea to kind of off-set the lack of internet with time to have group unity by playing group games or some crazy youth group-like activity. I am one of the two students in charge of planning these activities for every other Friday night or so. We've thought of games that are super fun in the dark (since it gets dark at like 6 here) like Capture the Flag and such. I'm pretty excited about it. This week we're making a scavenger hunt, and it's going to be unlike any scavenger hunt anyone has ever played before. It's already crazy cool and we're not even done. And on Mondays we have our weekly game of Ultimate Frisbee, or depending on amount of rain, Uliti-Mud Frisbee ;) We have tons of fun here.. especially in Club Lucas (my room)!! We have by far the most laughs late at night, deep chats, roomie jokes, random fun, and everything that comes with living together. Oh and the lady that cleans here tells us every week that we have by far the cleanest room. Every week. Yeah.
So that's a quick update of what has been going on here in San Jose. Keep the prayers coming, you guys are the best!! Shoot me an email anytime to let me know what you're up to in the States. God is moving here in Costa Rica, and I'm so blessed to be a part of it. Praise his majestic name!
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