The Weak-End

Once upon a time there was a girl who had a dream. This dream was of depth with God, knowledge, opportunity, and a life far away. Of course this dream was filled with pictures and plans of what the future would bring. And like most dreams, when matched with reality one of the pictures paled. Expectations would say reality always pales in comparison to the dream. Yet in the case that I bring before you, the opposite is beyond true. My dream has quickly paled in comparison to my reality. I sit here in the evening cool of San Jose, surrounded by the coolest people on earth, preparing for a Bible study tonight, and knowing that the language I have a strong passion for is slowly becoming second nature in my mind. What more could I ask for? How blessed am I to even be here! God is good, all the time. 

Alright, now to dive into the craziness I call life here in CR. This week we began our regular schedule of Spanish classes: 4 hours every morning. But instead of having our regular schedule of Bible classes in the afternoon, we went to the Timothy and Barnabas conference that SCORE puts on every year. Which means instead of having 2 hours of Bible, we had close to 8. Wow. Talk about brain dead by the time it hits 10 o'clock. But no, the fun doesn't stop there. In the evening I would still read the daily Bible reading with my friends and THEN I would head to my room at lock-up. As I drag myself into my bed and grab my journal, before I let my head flop down on the pillow I decide that I'm not crazy enough yet.. so I set my alarm for 5:45 am. WHAT?!? Yes. I get up to run at 6 in the morning. True Starrett flows through my veins. Although the morning is early and painful, it's definitely my favorite part of the day. The reason I get up so early is to be absolutely sure I have as much time as I want with the First Love of my heart before the day actually starts. By running, I'm awake. By eating breakfast, I'm not distracted. Which leaves my heart and mind in the perfect state to come before the Lord of the universe, fall at his feet, and enjoy his presence while requesting his help in a week as physically, mentally, and spiritually straining as this one. 

The message that made the most impact on my life this week was from Joshua 1:1-9. Four times in this passage the Lord tells Joshua to “be strong and courageous.” And when God repeats himself, I'm pretty sure he means business. Be strong and courageous. In this passage 'strong' means the power to resist temptation, and 'courageous' means in temptation having the ability to serve, or complete God's task. Because if we've been given a task by God, there will be opposition, in which case strength and courage are necessary. But don't worry it doesn't stop there. We are also promised that strength and courage are possible through knowing the promises of God. He gives us provision, protection, and prosperity. Banking on these promises we are able to face any task he assigns us with strength and courage. He also promises his presence wherever and whenever we are faced with anything. We have an overwhelming task, but an overpowering God!! This is just a summation of the message, you'll have to go read Joshua 1 to get the full story. But it really stuck out to me that I need to be fully relying on God for my strength in every situation because it is so necessary for effective ministry. I can't just halfheartedly serve because I'm scared of opposition or failure. Joshua was left with the entire Israelite nation following him, young, inexperienced, and not ready at all for what was coming. But God didn't tell him, “Don't worry it'll be easy” or “You don't have to do it if you don't want to.” No way! God gave him a task and told him to be strong and courageous. He made sure to make it clear that he would never be alone in the task, but he also required Joshua to give his all. That's what he requires of me too. Not just the part of me that's not scared, or the part of me that's sure I can be successful, but all of me. Every last terrified, unsure, wandering piece of my heart. I'm giving it all to God. No more of this weak minded partially committed because I don't know what will happen. It's all up to the One who's in control. So now as Saturday morning dawns, it's not only the weekend, it's the weak-end. Through my Savior, I am strong and courageous.  

Un Sabor de Mi Pais

I'm in school again. Back to the books, the homework, the projects, the late nights, the early mornings, the classmates, the teachers, and the endless compilation of new memories in the process of learning. This past week we were taught from the book of James 2-3 hours every day by Dr. George Theis. He did a phenomenal job. I loved every second of it, and can't even begin to divulge how much I learned. In order to share some of it I'll just give the chapter titles that we used in covering each portion of the book. Chapter 1: Trials Can Be Fun. Chapter 2: Dead Faith and Partiality - No Can Do. Chapter 3: The Wrong Use of the Tongue is Ugly. Chapter 4: The Beginning of War. Chapter 5: Prayer Will Keep You Alive. It was so cool to be lead nearly verse by verse through this extremely practical letter written to fellow Christians all over the world. And as I'm studying currently far away from my hometown, in a foreign environment, with discomforts, schedule changes, random problems, and all the tiny things that remind me how far from home I really am, it was an incredible challenge for me to "count it all joy." Quickly it became my motto to "count it all joy" and to not complain or grumble when I had a cold shower in the morning or I couldn't connect to the internet. I have like a whole new list of things that I really need to work on now.. like I didn't have enough already. It's awesome though. I love seeing how great God is through how imperfect I am and how much I rely on his strength to survive. He is my all. 


Then of course we've been having Spanish for 3-4 hours a day. And it's been crazy. By the time I leave class I'm involuntarily thinking in Spanish. It's so cool to see how I can't help it, it just comes out!! I'm learning!! My class isn't challenging for me yet, because I had an incredible high school Spanish teacher who covered pretty much everything there is to know about the Spanish language. (I love you Mrs Peacock!!) But it's been really really good for me to practice talking to everyone in Spanish. I talk to the kitchen ladies all the time and I talk to Adolpho, the security/upkeeper of the villa. It's been good practice, and that's what challenges me. Plus my Spanish teacher here doesn't speak very good English at all. So occasionally in class I'll have to translate for her, which is also perfect practice because that's what we'll be doing second semester. I love how everything is working out and we're getting into a routine down here. It's my new home and it's finally feeling like that. I don't feel like I'm visiting anymore. I'm living. And I can't say enough how amazing my group is. The friends I've already made are incredible and my leaders don't want anything more than to pour their all into us and teach us how to become more like Christ. It's so cool :) 


Other than chill at the villa, have class, go to church, and sleep, I've been running every morning, occasionally going to the store or San Jose to shop, or playing basketball up the road. It's been super cool just hanging out, being able to do whatever when we're not in class, and enjoy the atmosphere of another country. Another thing that's super cool is our leaders have laid out a plan for us to be able to read the whole Bible by the time we graduate. I'm really excited because I've only read through the whole Bible one other time and it was by myself. This time I've been reading it with two other girls, Lauren and Katelyn, every night. It's so awesome because we meet and we read, but we also mention everything that stands out to us and usually get into some pretty cool discussions. It's WAY more beneficial to read big chunks of Scripture together with someone because when I read it alone I tend to get distracted and just read words. But when I'm with other people I'm not only digging myself for something cool, I'm also getting to hear what's touching their hearts at the same time. I love it. And I love them!!


Anyway just to give you a flavor of Costa Rica here are 10 things you need to know before you live here:
1. You can't flush the toilet paper. That's what the trash cans are for.
2. It's a 50-50 chance getting a warm shower in the morning.
3. Dead animals, such as dogs, lying in rigamortis on the side of the road could be there for days. 
4. When they say it's gonna rain every day, it's gonna rain every day. 
5. Running on sidewalks is hazardous to your health, but walking on the street is suicidal.
6. Lizards are friends found on your pillow, and slugs are your shower buddies. 
7. Right as you skype dial your mother, the internet will crash.. because it's raining.
8. When people whistle, honk, or yell, don't wave. You're just a gringo. 
9. Don't stand in the door of the bus while paying. A sensor is counting you and an alarm will go off.
10. Rice and beans rice and beans rice and beans.... 


Hope you all got a flavor of mi vida loca!! God bless, I miss you all!! :)

From Sunday to Monday

The first week of experiencing church in Costa Rica was amazing as expected. God is so great, and even far from home I can gather together to praise his name! I went to El Alto which is a church only up the street from the villa making it really nice - no travel expenses or time to get there. We walked in and mingled for a little bit, then the service started. Of course music was first. It was mostly traditional hymns that I recognized from knowing them in English, but they gave me a song book so it was really easy to join in singing in Spanish. It was awesome! The sermon was actually given by a guest speaker and he was super cool!! He had a booming voice and spoke really clearly making it wonderful for me to translate in my mind. He preached on the story of Jesus calming the sea. And focused on the fact that Jesus is with us wherever we go. Even though the disciples doubted and there was a huge storm, he was still there, he even invited the disciples to go with him. So when in life we get hung up on doubts or fears or storms come, we need to remember that Jesus invited us to walk with him and he'll always be there with us. No matter what God is always by our side. So we need to live like it. Shine the light like Christ is right there with us, fearlessly. Anyway after the sermon, the pastor of the church gave a kind of history lesson about the independence of Central America. (see previous post about independence day) So we listened to the national anthems of all the different countries and learned about a few of the battles and such. It was interesting. Then we got to eat lunch at the church. They provided food from all the different countries, and we brought hot dogs to represent the US just because we were there. It was really interesting but all very good, and of course we got to mingle a ton which was great; I love the people.


After church we just hung out all afternoon and then had a birthday party for the September birthdays. We had a million noise makers and they were going off constantly for literally 20 minutes. It was CRAZY to say the least. Then we had a knock-your-socks-off worship service. It was totally unplanned. John (our slc - student life counselor - basically the group dad) gathered us together and said "Hey we're gonna praise God tonight so if you have any Scripture that speaks to you read it, if you have anything you'd like to say to God go for it. We'll just praise his name together for 30 minutes or 3 hours or whatever." So he said a short prayer and I kicked it off with Lord I Lift Your Name On High and it just rolled from there. Between every song someone read some Bible verses and prayed, and a few times we got into a time of prayer that lasted a while, and every time it died down I would start another song. Eventually John said one last prayer and we dispersed. But it was absolutely incredible!! We were all just feeding off of each other's passion and lifting the name of Jesus up. Wow, our God is AMAZING!!


The rest of the night was just chill out and relax. Mondays are our day off so we all stayed up kinda late just talking and hanging out. Then the morning came. Free day. What to do... I slept in til 8 which was super nice. Did my devos in the morning and then went out for a run. It was a perfect day to run.. there was a breeze, the sun was shining, and the temperature was heavenly. When I got back to the villa I rested on the front porch eating fresh fruit for breakfast, and talked God with Lauren and John. It was a wonderful beginning to the day. Then a bunch of us walked up to the courts for some ballin. Now I'm not a basketball player, but I stood my ground and had a ton of fun! By the time we got back I was dripping in sweat and stunk like crazy. So I took a shower and got ready for the day. Lunch came next. After lunch we had an excursion planned for San Jose. We took the bus and then walked around the marketplace for a while. It was the first time going without a leader so we felt very independent walking around the capital city of another country alone. We're so grown up ;) While we were in town it rained. Now Costa Rican rain is not just rain. It's a downpour. We had rain jackets and umbrellas, and still got soaked! But we took our refuge in Pops, which is an ice cream place that I'm already addicted to. It's so good! The rain died down some and we walked back to the bus stop and rode/walked back to the villa. I changed into dry clothes and skyped Emily for her birthday!! Yay!! Then it was dinner time and after dinner it was time to chillax. They have a daily reading set up to be able to read the Bible by the time we go home, so I did that with two other girls and we discussed it as we went. It was so cool. Reading the Bible with other people and being able to discuss it is wonderful.. God is good. Now I'm just blogging enjoying the rest of the night. It's been a great day! 

Los Chicos Que Tiene Mi Corazon

The morning dawned early, as it does here daily, and we rose with the challenge of ministry on the mind. Today would be my first day experiencing Spanish missions in CR. What my team and I got to do for today was a kids club thing on the newest of SCORE's property where they are currently working on a church plant. Bethany Drew is the person in charge of the whole ministry so I went into it really excited to be able to work with her! Waking up was pretty hard, but it wasn't quite as early as I had been getting up. The whole week I got up every day at 6 to go running. So although I had to wake up at 7, it was a lot nicer than 6. I got ready, did my devos, ate breakfast with my roomies, and then grabbed my bus money to head out. We walked up to the bus stop, waited like 10 minutes and got on to ride all the way to Coronada. It's nice because most of the buses to ride all the way from start to finish is only about 50 cents. On the ride a couple of us struck up a conversation with a guy named Rafael who was headed home from work.. crazy. It's so cool to be able to practice my Spanish everywhere we go, even on the go! When we got to the last bus stop, we had about a 25 minute walk to the SCORE building. I was talking with my friend Lauren who was here in the summer of 09 and she said this building hadn't been built yet so it was brand spankin new. It was really nice too! It's going to be the place where they host all the short term teams so that the villa (where I'm staying) can be reserved only for GAP year students. Pretty cool. So anyway we get there and get the run-down of how the day's gonna work out. Bethany explains what we need to do to set up, what to do when the kids arrive, and the overall schedule for the program. Then we dive straight into the work. Some people stayed to set up the games in the field while a couple other people and I went out to the gate to set up balloons as a welcoming sign. While we were still out there a bunch of kids showed up... but it was about an hour before they were supposed to be there. So on the fly we quit the decorating, led them into the field, and started handing out name tags and stickers. Since I could communicate with them fairly well I got to hand out the stickers while we waited for more kids to show up. It was really fun to see their faces and watch them cover themselves in the stickers. I also asked what their favorite colors were and how old they were and small stuff like that to keep them talking and not just staring at me. After a while we just started even though kids were trickling in for a long time after that. The first thing we did was sing songs. Jose's (the director of SCORE in CR) oldest daughter led the music and did a wonderful job. She is a fireball of energy and knows how to really rope the kids in! Then her mother gave a message using a painting story telling the wordless book. It was simple, powerful, and very direct. The kids enjoyed it and they all prayed with her at the end.. and although we don't know how many were genuine, they heard it, prayed, and walked away with seeds in their hearts. So we're trusting God with the rest! Then we were off to crafts. The kids all gathered around tables and got to color hats using markers. It was awesome. Then eventually the older kids got to play sharks and minnows for a short time before the rain came. I know I should be used to this from Haiti, but rain every single day at the same time is still kinda weird and sometimes frustrating when you have plans... sigh.. but we gave them a small snack, took a group picture, and sent them home. Afterwards we had a short debrief and prayed just thanking God for all he had done today. This was the kickoff day for this kids club that will be happening every Saturday. I was really excited because I'm going to be attending the church that's starting this program and doing the plant, so I get to be part of it all year.. and after seeing the very beginning I'll be able to see all the growth. Which is way cool! Theeennnn we got to clean up... it didn't take very long because there were a lot of us working together. We were then dropped off at the bus stop and rode back to the villa. Because it's Saturday we didn't have anything on the agenda. Wow. A day to relax? It was sooo nice. I got to skype some people and just chill out in the villa.


So after some hours of pure holy relaxation I decided to go to the Saturday night thing at the church I'll be going to until this church plant in Coronada is actually planted. It was really neat. There were like 3 youth age kids there and everyone else was over the age of 75. But we sat on benches around a ping pong table, drank coffee, and studied the Bible.. what more could you ask for? We read Acts 27 and talked about how Paul trusted God even through the storm and based all his trust on God's promise to take care of everyone on the ship. The pastor even compared it to our year here. We will go through so many storms and will have to trust God to get us through them and save us even when we feel like we're drowning. I really liked it! Then he asked Andy (our GAP director) what we were all going to be doing this year, and when he found out we were going to be studying the Bible, not only Spanish, he decided to quiz us. So he started asking us all these Bible trivia questions. It was super cool!! For like the next hour we just answered Bible questions (all in Spanish of course). Then he finally ended the study and most people left. But like I mentioned before we were using a ping pong table as our table. So obviously some of the guys wanted to play. We ended up staying at least another half hour.. It was really fun though. And the whole time I was only speaking Spanish just to practice getting in my Spanish brain and forcing myself to stay there. It was pretty hard.. but good for me. I can't wait for classes to start Tuesday! Tomorrow is church, and I absolutely LOVE church in other countries. So I'll definitely be blogging about it sometime tomorrow. Thanks so much for all your prayers!! Send me emails :) love you all!!

Dia De Independencia

Bienvenidos a Costa Rica!! I was met with the sounds of greeting from all the staff as I walked into the SCORE Villa. Wow. I was home. Yeah... home, for nine months. First things first, we unloaded all the luggage from the truck that brought it over from the airport, and then ate. We had sandwiches prepared for us and then we got to settle in. Aaahhhh.. after living out of bins in my guest room at home and then a suitcase for a few days, I was so relieved to be able to settle into a room that would be mine for a significant amount of time. Especially because I had to maneuver weight around in my suitcases making my backpack incredibly stuffed!! I was glad to unload that heavy burden. So my room is super cool! Number one its room Lucas and with a brother like mine, it's pretty much already the best. Also we have two bunk-beds, a bathroom in our room, and TWO showers!! Yes, two. So with four girls and two showers we're gonna be ok. I love my roommates too. Maddison from Alabama, Holly from Georgia, and Tamara from Alabama. I'm so excited to get to know them better and enjoy living with them! We have all our decorations and pictures and stuff out and hanging, and our place looks so homey. The rest of the day was totally chill. We had dinner and relaxed. I played my guitar.. of course. But our bodies were two hours ahead of actual time, plus travel, so we were really tired anyway.

The next morning I got up at six and went running at six thirty. I know, I'm crazy like my parents. But I really want to get into the routine before classes start so that I'm in the groove and can adjust better when it does get busy around here. So I went around the city and then up to the gym around the track once. It felt really nice. Then I took a shower, did my devos in the perfect weather that we have down here (a common nickname for Costa Rica is the Garden of Eden because of the incredible weather, yeah, be jealous), and then went up for breakfast. After breakfast we met up and walked about a half hour into the main part of town for Independence Day. In Costa Rica their Independence Day is the same for all Central America. And one tradition is that they carry a torch, by way of runners in schools in relay fashion, from Nicaragua all the way down to Costa Rica. It's really neat. So they have big parades and such. The parade part was canceled this year, but there was still a high time and fancy to do. There was a big circle that everyone was decorating with chalk, there was a mariachi band, there were girls dancing with super big white dresses and colored sashes, there were stands of food,.. it was really neat to just see all the culture and soak it in. I got to talk to a couple ladies too.

After getting back from our outing, we had lunch, free time, testimonies, dinner, and more testimonies. It was really neat to hear the stories behind the people we'll be living with for nine months. It's a super fast way to get to know them. We'll be giving them the next two days also, until we get through everyone. I can't wait to hear how God has molded, grown, and led all these people here. It's so cool to see how his hand has been through everything in putting this team of students together. We're all hand-picked by a sovereign God, and we're here together to serve and learn and grow, and then go shake the world!! Thank you so much for all the prayers. They're much needed, but also are being answered. Praise the Lord for his marvelous work in Costa Rica!! I love and miss you all. 

Page Turning Into A New Chapter

Yesterday morning I was an 18 year old recent graduate, living at home, waiting for what was coming next. Tomorrow I will still be an 18 year old recent graduate, but I will be walking into my new home in a new country with new people, a new culture, and a brand new way of life. My routine will completely shift, no more mom making sure I'm awake, packing my lunch, or asking if I remembered everything before I walk out the door. Today was our full day of orientation in Atlanta, GA. All day long we listened to every aspect of CR and everything we're going to experience. The day kicked off with a memory game of names, which was interesting but really fun. Now that I know all about my teammates and how they like elephants and hot dogs, I'm even more excited to be living the next nine months with them. Then we heard about all the rules, dress code, how the internet would work, and everything we'd be expected to do. That was a pretty boring part of the day. But what came next was my favorite. Five GAP alumni came in to do a sort of panel discussion about CR and all that came with being a global year student. It was so cool!! They told stories of learning Spanish, meeting people, serving in the churches, living in the villa, and everything in between. Every time I hear someone talk about their experiences, it just fires me up even more to get down there and be a part of it myself. The host family that I'm staying with here has a daughter who went down two years ago, so I've gotten to hear millions of stories and see pictures and ask questions. I'm more than crazy excited to board that plane tomorrow morning!! We heard about how to deal with health issues, culture shock, and homesickness later in the day. As a shout-out to all my Haiti team members reading this, I laughed when we got to this part because the number one thing they kept saying over and over was "use hand sanitizer and drink water!" Oh how I miss our days with Levi and Jesse as our Sanitation/Hydration experts.. ;) So I'll be once again carrying my trusty orange water bottle and germ-x everywhere! Another thing that we talked about today was our Bible classes. One of our two student life counselors (a married couple who are like our mentors, or group parents) gave his promo for all the Bible stuff he gets to teach us. He's basically going to pump sound doctrine, apologetics, systematic theology, and the entire Bible into us, so that we all come out on fire, white hot, crazy dangerous Christians. Which makes me so super excited!! He warned us that our brains would explode and our beliefs would be challenged in such a way that we would be forced to defend them and make them our own. No more "because that's the way my church does it" or "that's what my pastor tells me." This year it will turn into "I believe this because -insert Scripture and strong defense here- and I couldn't be more fired up to be fired up for my Lord. This year is going to be so amazing, and sitting on the very edge of experiencing it is making me so giddy I can't sit still. We meet at the church tomorrow at 4:30am, and after that there's no turning back. I'm bound for Costa Rica, the Spanish language, and serving my God. Pray for me as I allow him to completely break down what I call my life and rebuild me into a bright shining tool for promoting his Kingdom!!

What I Learned from a Boy Tiger

Once upon a time there was a boy tiger. He was the mightiest in the whole forest, could attack and beat any predator, and even had magical disappearing powers. Sometimes the other animals would think he was a lion.. and sometimes he was.. either that or a leopard, cheetah, bear, or wolf. But all the same he was untouchable. No deer, antelope, giraffe, or zebra could stand up to him. Even the gorillas were scared. He would roam around protecting his family and finding food. And when he got injured, he would ask for some lovings and heal up in no time. 


This story is played out between me and an adorable 5 year-old. Adventures come and go, change or repeat, get worse or more exciting. But we never stop the game. He smirks and talks out of the side of his mouth making me work hard to hold in the laughter as he whispers something serious. Then one night he blurts out of the blue, "I love you, Hannah!" Touched straight to the core I tell him I love him too and fluff his head as we chase after a blanket to do 'hot dog' one more time. But as I think about it, it really is that simple. He has no worries because he knows his family will be there to take care of him. His animal character, the boy tiger, has no worries because even when he gets injured he knows he can always come back to his family for healing. As I thought more about it, I realized that even when I'm far from home and may get injured or scared, I have my family to count on. My immediate family as well as my Christian family. Those that are telling me goodbye and promising to pray for me will always be there for me when I'm scared or hurting no matter how far I travel. So as I stared into the bright blue eyes of this playing child, I was infinitely reminded how thankful I am for my many friends that have supported me and promise to continue in that support. I love you all so very much and cannot even begin to describe how blessed I am to know you. As I take off in a very short 36 hours, I lean on all of you to be my support. God is my stronghold, and you are his strength manifested in human form just the way I need it. I love you all, and thanks for teaching me to rely on the family God has given me, Ashton!!