time to explore!

Rach and I had an unexpected free Saturday so we went exploring!  We left Escazú in hopes of stumbling upon Zumba in Sabana (a huge park) - it’s on our Costa Rican bucket list!  Unfortunately, there was no Zumba to be found.  So we went for a run, made our way to our favorite smoothie shop for #14s, and then went on search for a Costa Rican tamale (also on the bucket list)!  

We found ourselves at the feria in San Francisco (the other side of town).  We had fun pretending we were kids playing in the park and getting stuck in the slides haha!  We saw lots of these chicken-ducks (I don’t know what they are called, but they are so weird looking).  And found a new favorite, oriental looking park in San Fran.  I bought a delicious bag of green beans at the feria and we found tamales!!  They were good...corn something...not exactly the ones we were looking for, but they were great!  

We headed back to Escazú to get ready for church.  And we ended the day eating pizza with Alex at La Fabrica.  It was SO good!  Thin, Italian, wood-fired pizza.  Rach and I had been dreaming about it since we passed one in Sabana at 9:30AM.  Plus, they messed up my order and gave us a free nutella pizza to share!!  That kind of service is absolutely unheard of here, so it was completely unexpected, and that much more delicious!  What a great day!!

thirty

So my boss, Jessie, turned 30 today!  We had been planning a surprise party for her at Kevin and Michelle Suwyn's house (Regional Director), but obviously we had to play along like nothing “abnormal” was happening!

L to R:  Alex, Jessie, Rachel, Me

So...we went out for ice cream after lunch!  Ice cream makes every celebration complete!  We hung out for an hour or so, and then Jessie dropped Alex and I off at CDS for cross country practice, and Rachel at her house.  Alex immediately called a taxi to come get us (someone else was running practice for us, obviously), we swung by and picked up Rach, and off to the Suwyn’s we went!

The party was Australian themed, in honor of Jessie going to Australia this year (a life-long dream of hers)!  We ate dinner together, played games, and got excited about the Olympics!  It was a great night!!

Great friends!

#YLbringaplate

We had our first YL Bring A Plate, and wow!  What a great night!  Still have some tweaking to do, but overall, it was a great, great night!  Jake, one of our seniors, made us his chicken curry and it was absolutely DELICIOUS!!!

Hands down, my favorite part of the night was when we were all gathered around the table eating together.  As I sat at the head of the table, I couldn’t get the story of the Great Banquet out of my mind (Luke 14:16-24)!  Such a tangible picture of the Gospel.  That’s there’s space for everyone.  That everyone is welcome.  The power of sharing and breaking bread together - It was actually a bit overwhelming.  Kids from different schools, from different groups within their schools, all at the same table sharing together.  I hope that kids felt that they experienced something unique.  That it was something different and something special.  Excited to help them see this semester that they have the same invitation from the God of the universe, to eat at his table the bread of life every day!

Making plates!

Finished masterpieces!

     

Eating and sharing together!

building & discovering

Still learning to be a BUILDER.  And what kind of builder to be.

Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder.  Now others are building on it.  But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.  For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have - Jesus Christ.

(1 Corinthians 3:10-11)

And in the process of building, I hope to RENEW MY SENSE OF DISCOVERY.

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).