fundraising update!

Things are happening!  Have a goal of raising $500 in monthly support by October 1st - $350/month to go!  Thanks for your prayers and generosity!

If you would like to give, follow this link and search by Area Number X8205:

giving.younglife.org

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Ephesians 3:20

go deep.

GO DEEP.
Go where Jesus is.

We focused on Luke 5:1-11 as a team today.  The passage where Jesus invites Simon (and us) to cast our nets in deep water.  In the middle of the day, mind you, when the fish are at the bottom of the lake.  But that's the thing.  Jesus asks us and invites us to do things we wouldn't normally do in a way we wouldn't normally do them because he has a plan for us.  Simon thinks he's going to proves Jesus wrong, that they won't be able to catch any fish.  But wrong.  They catch un montón de fish!

Interesting that the Spanish word for "deep" is "profundo" which also means "profound."  Isn't that so cool?!  When we have the guts to follow Jesus, to go where he is, to do what he's doing, and engage in life with him, he has something profound for us.  Something miraculous.  Something life changing.

He knows what he's doing.  So go where Jesus is.  And go deep with him.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish."  

Luke 5:4

carrera de la pensa

Before (top) and After (bottom)

Check out these fine runners!  They did a GREAT job today participating in their first 5K of the season!!  It was a "practice" more or less to prepare us for AASCA in November.  They got to practice their pacing and build their confidence on a marked course!

It was a little crazy - they don't close the streets for these races like they do in the States.  And let me remind you that San Jose is huge!!  Lots of traffic!  Luckily, we finished without anyone getting taken out by moving objects on 4 (or more) wheels!  

Proud of these guys and how far they've come!  (And for getting up at 6AM on a Sunday to participate!)

fundraising update!

I am $2,375 per month away from being fully funded!!  Thanks for your prayers and your partnership!  My goal is to raise an additional $300/month in support this week!  

If you can help, follow this link and search by Area Number X8205:  

giving.younglife.org

So grateful for your support!  Thank you!!

feelin' 22

Meet Becca...

She's my awesome teammate and today she turned 22!  So what did we do?  Made a quick trip to Volcán Arenal to celebrate!

Celebratory jumps.
L-R:  Me, Becca (intern), Ashley (intern), Grace (Staff Associate)

The Arenal/La Fortuna area is gorgeous!  And Becca couldn't have picked a better day!  We arrived on Saturday and it was sunny so we could SEE the volcano!!  This is pretty uncommon, especially now during rainy season.  You can almost always see the base, but then there is normally a thick cloud that blocks the rest of the view.  But not for us!  So we were able to snag a few pics!  It was seriously unreal weather and it felt so great to get out of the city, even if just for one night!

This is real.  And unfiltered.
Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Chelgren for this lovely view this weekend!

On Sunday we went canyoning (aka repelling down waterfalls)!!  This is SO fun!  If you have any streak of adventure/nature-lover in you, you will love this I guarantee it!  We did four repels, one was almost 200ft!  And they do such a great job guiding you and making it fun.

After repel 2.

Last repel.

Unanimously, our favorite part of the tour is when they made us cannon ball one-by-one into this super narrow natural pool!  (It was also the scariest part of the whole thing!  Forget the heights...narrow waterholes where you are totally just trusting it is deep enough...definitely scarier than repels!  But so fun!!  And it was deep enough...).  That was water surprise #1.  Water surprise #2 was the tsunami - take a look at the pictures below...

SO.

MUCH.

WATER!!!

To make this happen, one of our guides laid in the river, "blocking" the water while we climbed down and got situated.  Then as soon as he stood up, this is what happened!  The flood gates literally opened!  Crazy, because water flowed by him the entire time he was laying in the stream.  Definitely did not think it was going to be this powerful but it was SO fun!!  And we were obviously soaked!

We ate dinner at 5:30.
Had the place to ourselves...haha, gringos...

This was such a great weekend for our team!  Fun to do something together, spend some intentional time together and grow as a team.  Thanks Becca for being born and for giving a reason to celebrate! We are so glad you're here!!  Excited for more adventures to come!

L-R:  Ashley, Becca (interns), Me, Kelly (intern),
Jessie (Area Director), Grace (Staff Associate)

Club!

The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.  My purpose (Jesus) is to give them a rich and satisfying life.  

John 10:10 NLT

How great is that?!  That's what we got to invite kids into on yesterday at our first Club - a rich and satisfying life!  I'm excited to do life together this semester!  With kids and leaders!  We were made for community and together we get to explore and experience a life of adventure and joy and celebration!

We had a great night!  Three new kids and lots of great conversation!  Thanks for praying for us - we're excited to meet again this week!

fundraising update!!

The ball is definitely rolling!  And God is good!!  I am looking to raise an additional $2,675 in monthly support and then I'll be funded!!  Woohoo!!  That's 27 people giving $100/month - so attainable!

I am so grateful for the many people who have given so generously to me and this ministry.  The Lord is on the move and it is SO exciting!!  Please join me in praying for raising the rest of these funds.  My goal is to have this monthly support committed by October 9 so that I am able to stay in Costa Rica (otherwise I will most likely be heading back to the States until I am funded).  If you are interested in partnering, please let me know!  Every little bit helps!  Here's some context:

$10 / month - Supplies for 2 YL Clubs

$25 / month - Visa Renewal

$50 / month - Service Project

$100 / month - One Month of Leader Care and Contact Work

$200 / month - One Month of Transportation

$250 / month - One Month of Club Expenses

$500 / month - Housing

It is possible!!  And even "small" gifts are BIG!!  Please click HERE if you are interested in giving online using Account #X8205.  Grateful to the One who is able to anticipate and provide!  Thanks for being in this with me and believing in what the Lord is doing here in San Jose through Young Life!

"When I think of all of this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.  I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.  Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him.  Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.  Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God."

Ephesians 3:14-19

ready to run!

School's back in session, which means YL is up and running!!  Today was our first Cross Country practice and it was the best!!  Last year I was the assistant coach, but this year I am the head coach.  And the only coach.  (A little scary.)

I'll be honest.  I was a little nervous for the first practice.  My biggest fear was that no one was going to come.  I knew, of course, that this would not be true but I had no clue what to expect in terms of numbers.  But to my surprise and great joy, 15 kids came!!  Several runners from last year and several new runners!  I'm SO excited to be their coach again!  They are a great group of student athletes and I love being able to spend time with them and help them improve/surprise themselves with their abilities.

It was really reaffirming to be back.  The Lord brought me so much joy as we worked through a tough first workout together.  Hoping I didn't scare anyone away, because we definitely didn't take it easy!  But excited to see how this group grows and performs this year!  Hoping it won't rain Thursday so we can run outside!  Our AASCA (one big race - in Panama this year) is in November - it'll be here before we know it!!

i left home to go home.

I traveled back to Richmond, VA this past week for the first time in 14 months!  It is crazy to think that it had been over one year since I was last there.  So much has happened!  But it felt good to be back.  It felt like home.

It was a great two weeks relationally.  I kicked off my time in the States with a 20-hour stay in Orlando to see my sister and brother-in-law.  It was short but so sweet!  I love seeing their life there.  Thanks for hosting, E and Z!  (And Macy, too!)

Then I made it up to RVA.  It was a week of fundraising, a weekend of celebrating, and another week of fundraising.  Parts definitely felt like a whirlwind, but overall, it was great!  It was great to be back in my old apartment - thanks Lauren and Ginny!  It was great seeing old friends, walking monument avenue and the streets of the Fan, and eating my favorite foods.  I loved reconnecting with people and sharing what the Lord has been up to in me and this ministry this past year!  Thanks to all who took the time to connect!  I am so grateful for your friendship and your encouragement as I look to two more years in Costa Rica.

There were definitely hard parts being back in the States.  I felt like I had one foot in VA and another in Costa Rica...doing life in both places simultaneously.  I knew it before, but now I am absolutely convinced that we are not meant to live like that, one foot in and one foot out.  There were times when I literally felt like I was doing the splits...one leg in VA, the other in CR, and my body hanging out somewhere in the middle.  But this seems to be the reality of my life right now, for better or for worse, until the rest of my budget gets raised.

However, I am grateful to feel like I have a home in two places (arguably 2-5 places, actually).  It's kind of weird if I'm being honest.  To walk off a plane in RVA feeling like I just arrived at "home" and to board a plane back to Costa Rica and feel like I'm returning "home".  Two lives that look incredibly similar yet drastically different.  A little hard to reconcile, honestly.  And I think it's given me more of a real taste of what life is like for so many of my international school friends.  My friends who have to make a new home every two to four years, usually in different countries.  My friends who can't answer the question, "Where are you from?" or "Where is home?"

So that's where I am.  Trying to sit in that tension a little bit, yet trying to be fully present.  That's a little contradictory, but I'm going with it.  A classic case of living and being in the "in between" and trying to discover exactly what the Lord has for me in this time of transition.