sacred spaces

A great friend of mine, Andy Miller, who also happens to be the Area Director of Young Life in Zionsville, IN where I led in college, recently said these words about YL Club:

“As we kicked off Club for the Spring semester this past week, I began preparing to give the Club talk.  I became a YL leader in college and have given many talks during this stretch of time.  It’s so familiar, that giving talks have almost felt routine.  However, this time I really wrestled with what to say, so I ended up praying more than preparing.

As I prayed, the idea of giving another ‘routine’ Club talk popped into my head and convicted me.  In that moment, I realized how easy it is to get caught up in the mundane methods of programs and lose sight of their intended purposes.  Club isn’t intended to be a bridge to something else or a stepping stone.  We do Club because we believe a student’s life could be changed in these moments.  And so we try to create a welcoming and fun atmosphere where students can belong and be themselves.  But in the midst of it all, we take the opportunity to share the good news of Jesus Christ with them...”

I have shared these words with almost everyone I’ve seen this week:  We do Club because we believe a student’s life could be changed in these moments.  And it’s true!  We believe in the power of Christ to change the hearts and lives of kids in these moments!  And as we prepare to get ready for our first Club on Friday, a Club that for us looks completely different than anything we’ve ever done, it’s a good reminder of WHY we do what we do.  Whatever Club looks like, our goal is to provide a space for kids to meet Jesus!  So thank you, Andy, for your encouraging words as we kick off our semester!  And we can rest, and find peace in that this is the Lord’s ministry.  By faithfully seeking the Lord and providing a safe space for kids to gather, we can trust Jesus to do the rest.

RELAX.

TRUST JESUS.

THAT’S ENOUGH.

(To read more about Zionsville YL, click HERE.)

isla tortuga

We spent the afternoon in paradise...

This is Isla Tortuga (Turtle Island).  It is BEAUTIFUL!!!  What a gift it was to spend the day here!  All of us went, plus another exchange student from Germany who is staying with Bonnie’s host family.  We took a bus a few hours west, hopped on a catamaran for an hour or so, and landed here!  We had a great time snorkeling, banana boating, and spending time on the beach!  

I so easily see Christ in creation and nature.  This place is a masterpiece of His!  And I am so grateful to  have had the opportunity to experience it.  This trip was a great time for our team to be together, relax, and experience adventure before we start Clubs up this week!

be a BUILDER not a bulldozer

It can be challenging to re-engage in any experience. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to spend a few weeks in the States with family over Christmas. But transition can be difficult. And work can be difficult. And people. And experiences. I think the "two steps forward, one step back" concept accurately describes most times of “being in transition".

But there is another reality of transition. Transition can be exciting!! Despite the frustrations, transition is a time for deep growth and transformation. With some help and encouragement from my friend Linda, I am learning the importance of having a generous heart in this time. And I would expand her idea to include having a generous mind.

I can summarize my thoughts with this phrase:

I WANT TO BE A BUILDER NOT A BULLDOZER.

I want to build on and expand the foundations that are present already.  I want to promote growth and stability.  I want to enthusiastically pursue the potential that exists.  I want to better engage in what Christ is doing here daily.  I don’t want to dominate.  I don’t want to destruct.  I don’t want to demolish or destroy or wipe out.  I want to be a builder not a bulldozer.

For me, this is easier said than done.  But to do this I know I need to:

1. Believe Jesus. Not just believe in Jesus, but believe Jesus. Believe that His promises are true and that His character is good. Believe that He hears my prayers. Believe that this ministry and these kids are His. That I am His. Believe that I can trust Him and that He has me in the most perfect place right now.

2. Seek the tension of the waiting. To press and lean into it. To trust it. And to be confident that Christ is ACTIVELY which me in it. To seek to see His work. To embrace it. To engage in it. To engage the space and the tension and to position myself to experience the growth to be had in the waiting.

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the HOPE to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who BELIEVE... (Eph. 1:18 & 19).

"You are my witnesses," declares The Lord, "and my servant whom I have CHOSEN, so that you may know and BELIEVE ME and understand that I am he. (Is. 43:10).

#bringaplate

As a team, we are SO EXCITED to start this! We have been praying, meeting, asking, and re-thinking the most effective ways to reach kids where they are at here in Costa Rica. Because of their crazy schedules and intense academic lifestyle, we're excited to try something new this semester that we're calling "Bring A Plate"! Knowing that kids will always make time to eat, we're planning our events around meal-time. Every Friday night we will gather for a meal together and to have an intentional conversation over a specific theme. Kids are invited to come early to help us prepare food, to simply eat and leave, or to stick around after to dig deeper into questions and spend more time with leaders.

Please join my team and I in praying for Bring A Plate - The first one is scheduled for January 31!! For this to work we need parents who are willing to host and others who are willing to provide food/money for groceries. That, in itself, I see as an exciting opportunity to invite others in and minister to the community. We are hoping that this will also be an opportunity for parents and community members to better understand YL and what we do, to create a stable foundation for YL International Schools ministry (i.e. establish a YL Committee), and to create momentum for future growth.

flourish

This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,

who rely on human strength

and turn their hearts away from the Lord.

They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, 

with no hope for the future.

They will live in the barren wilderness,

in an uninhabited salty land.

“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord

and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.

They are like trees plated along a riverbank,

with roots that reach deep into the water.

Such trees are not bothered by the heat

or worried by long months of drought.

Their leaves stay green,

and they never stop producing fruit.

Even in the midst of the desert, the tree will flourish!

What encouragement!  We’ve been talking about the desert, being in the desert, walking through the desert, seeking the Lord in the desert in the women’s group at my language school and also at our church.  And what a great reminder this Scripture is!  That the Lord is with us, wherever we find ourselves, desert or flourishing land!  So this gives me a refreshed perspective:  To stop looking around at what isn’t and to start seeing what is right in front of me - The Lord! 

Be teachable and seek the Teacher.

Voy cruzando el desierto / I’m crossing the desert

Hacia el lugar que has preparado / To the place You have prepared

Voy caminando y me sostiene Tu amor por mí / I'm walking am I’m holding your love for me

Ya no hay oscuridad / There is no darkness

Danos fuerza y danos paz / Give us strength and give us peace

Veo tu luz alumbrar mis pasos, mis pasos / I see your light illuminating my steps

Listen HERE to this song by Fuego, who leads worship at our church.

three of my favorite words

Sometimes Dove knows best...Powerful words for this semester.

ENGAGE.

EMBRACE.

ENJOY.

Or as my friend Luke Davis reminds me, SAVOR THE EXPERIENCE.

work crew

I hit the ground running in Costa Rica! Two days after returning to the country I left to serve as part of the Work Crew at Vida Joven camp! Vida Joven is the local YL ministry...local Tico leaders leading Tico kids in the various neighborhoods around the country.

It's the middle of summer here, weird, but it means local kids are out of school and the summer camping season is in full swing! I had the best time at camp and it was so incredible to work alongside other young adults who are lights for Jesus in their communities! We washed dishes, prepared meals, cleaned bathrooms, and helped execute programmed events. It was 4 days straight of Spanish, which was exhausting but great!

The 4 day camp was another way I was able to experience the grandness of the Kingdom of God. That it's huge! That He is Lord of all the nations and relates individually to all people.

Hardest working Work Crew I ever did see!  But seriously, they were the best!

My teammates and I participating in “Pleito de Pelos”!  That’s Spanish for hair
fight if you’re wondering...But basically, it’s a big, surprise, water fight for the campers!!
(Here, they call misty-rain “pelo de gato” or “cat hair”, hence the hair-fight/water-fight
translation.)  We got SOAKED but it was so fun!!