Hello!!!!

Just wanted to say hello and that God is really really good. mmhm. It's true. My roomie got baptized the other night right after she accepted Christ. It was such a big deal... that we skipped youth group and celebrated with ice cream, worshiped (danced in our room because dancing is not allowed where we live... dancing is frowned upon for many believers here because of the profane presence of dancing in culture) and then she was baptized that night. My roommates and I have all been baptized in the pool here at the Villa, so that's pretty special. 

My host family, the Garcia family, is awesome. Emily is the other girl in my church group, and about every other Sunday, we go to eat at the Garcia's house after church. Usually Emily and I ask if there is something we can help with, and since then.. we have been the "designated lettuce cutters". Our host dad says he is preparing us to be good wives. We-need-know-make-good-food-for-husband. Sometimes Emily and I even cut tomatoes, mango and onions. Maybe one day we will move up the food chain to a carbohydrate or something. 

So God is awesome, and He changes hearts. fo sho. There are so many people here (including me) that have had so much junk in their lives, and seeing them really HUNGER for Jesus and truth is one of the most encouraging things. We are all changing so much. So thank you for all of your prayers, guys. God hears them. 

Oh and real quick! So surfing... I went to the beach again this past Monday, and the waves were bigger in the afternoon than they were last week. Last year when I went to Puerto Rico for spring break, there were waves very similar to these in the sense that they were huge right by shore, and they were one-after-the-other.  So... when you slipped into the tossing of one wave, it usually meant you were going to stay for a couple more. Anyways back at Jaco (the beach we went to hear in C.R.) it was probably about 4 o'clock, and all of the really good surfers were out. So Andy (guy in GAP, awesome) and I stood there watching, and he definitely wanted to go, but not without me. I went in for about 10 minutes, and by the grace of God did not die (or get thrown under), but I was SO scared. Oh my goodness I was so scared. I was having playbacks in my head from Puerto Rico where I could not even catch a breath because of the waves I got thrown in.... and I definitely did not want to have that happen again... with a surfboard attached to my ankle.

So I was done for the day, and while it probably was the wise thing to do, the next morning during worship I was singing to this song "You're Love Never Fails" by Jesus Culture. In the song, there is a lyric that says, "and when the oceans rage, I don't have to be afraid, because I know that You love me." I've always taken that line figuratively for when there are bad things happening to me in my life, Jesus still loves me. While that interpretation is totally legit, God definitely spoke to me Tuesday morning. 

But, don't worry I am not going to be too stupid. I know pretty close to nothing about how to defend myself from waves, so I'm going to try and learn some tactics on "how not to drown" before I throw myself into anything too scary, hopefully.

Love you guys. Hope everything is going well back in the U.S.A. 

Franco Fail

We didn't end up finding Franco tonight, but we took a different man to dinner. His name is Rigo (um.. yes, Rigo I believe) It was an awesome night. He had a really humble, honest spirit. He's not saved either, so pray for him, but we're planning on eating lunch with him on sunday.

My spanish has definitely gotten a lot better, but it is so hard sometimes. We could kind of understand what Rigo was expressing in his beliefs tonight, but 1. we weren't sure if we were translating correctly, 2. we didn't know how to translate everything we would liked to have said.

We are all learning, and the comforting thing is that it's not us that changes hearts or really does any work. ... but man! It'd sure be nice to fully understand someone in spanish!

Thanks for reading guys.. God's good.

paz (peace in spanish)

swimming with the stingrays, surfing with the sharks and playing volleyball with the jellyfish

So, our Sabbaths here are on Mondays, and this past Monday about a third of the group went to the beach. We got to the beach around nine o'clock in the morning and stayed there until six. The day consisted of playing volleyball (in the water while jellyfish stung us), swimming.. (with stingrays) and surfing (with sharks... okay just one shark, a baby shark.. but still! I'm from Georgia!). 

The waves at this beach (Jaco) were really, really big. As we walked on the beach there was a sign that read, "Beware of Rip Tide Currents." That beach is known for having them.. so I guess you could say we were pretty desperate to play in some waves! Anyways, a little under an hour after we got there two of our boys came walking down the beach with a surfboard.       I was very, very excited. 

I've never surfed before, and I definitely have wanted to for a long time. After a couple of people took their turn, I got to go. I got up my first try (but definitely not every single time), so at that point, I discovered what I would be doing with most of my remaining free days. 

The most expensive part of the entire trip was eating lunch there. Renting a board is 10 bucks for the whole day, the bus ride there and back is about 8 dollars. So we're planning on taking our own lunch and splitting the cost for a board. 

One of my buddies here, Andy, and I spent about 4 hours surfing. We failed, a lot, and mentally prepared for Heaven because of the freakish size of some of these waves (I'm sure they were baby size for pro surfers).... and for the one time we legitimately thought we were being pulled out in a rip tide, but even the risks made the trip so much more exciting. It's really an adventure when you have NO idea what you are doing. 

I had been talking to my buddy on the bus about how I didn't feel like I really made much of God at the beach and he said, "Grace, don't you think one of the most glorifying things to God is enjoying His creation?" 

fact. 

When people really ENJOY gifts you give them, it sure makes you feel good.

oh! so this is really cool.. 

Coconuts are so awesome. I don't know detailed health benefits of a coconut, but all I know is that every REALLY, REALLY hot beach I have been to has always been surrounded by coconut trees. It's easy to stay in the waves all day and not realize how dehydrated you are, and back in the day when they were no hotels or drink stands right on the coast, I'm sure coconuts were lifesavers. After surfing for a couple of hours we picked and drank some coconuts from the trees right on the beach. Fresh coconut juice is one of the top natural sources containing electrolytes, and after being in the sun for 3-4 hours, I physically could feel the effect of the nutrients I was intaking from the juice.  I just think it's so awesome how well God has taken care of us. 

We're doing a study on the book, Radical by David Platt (definitely recommend reading to anyone who loves Jesus) ...(maybe everyone else too) and in it, the book talks about how in the American culture "we can do anything we set our minds to accomplish," and so then he points out John 15:5 where Jesus says "I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

woah. nothing?? nothing. 

I had to lead a discipleship group of boys and girls with a couple of other students on the 2nd and 3rd chapter of Radical, and we talked a little bit about this verse. The FACT that we can do nothing apart from Christ begs the question... could we love God... without Him helping us? And finally,  did we seek God out on our own, or did He draw us to Himself? Did He choose us?

So, that question raises a very controversial topic, and I never cared much to discuss it... until I really studied that verse. Either way Jesus is really awesome, and we're pretty awful without Him. No. We ARE awful without Him.

Last Sunday on the way back from Church, my group and I took this man out to lunch named Franco. He was really awesome, homeless and dirty, but awesome. He wasn't very talkative at first, but finally he started asking us questions. Again, I have realized how much more spanish I need to learn. Please pray for my spanish. 

Anyways, on the way back we told him we were going to find him Friday night of the coming week. So, tonight, my church group and I are going to go looking for him in San Jose. We're hoping we can find him. He was joking around with us after an hour with him and when men in San Jose would say inappropriate things to me and my friend Emily, he would stick up for us and tell them to get away. He's not saved, so we're hoping we build a relationship strong enough that we can present the Gospel. So, please just pray for our wisdom and love in what we say and do.  God's going to work. 

And I got baptized!

John on left (ex-ranger... on fire for Jesus)

Jesus. Jesus is good

HELLLLLOOOOOO WORLD! 

You were probably expecting a really late post, so I won't apologize... ;)  Love you Mom! 

To start off, it does not seem that I ever went home for Christmas break. All of our schedule started right off the bat when I arrived: class, discipleship, mentoring, Church. My spanish has improved A LOT... well I think so. I still haven't understood a sermon yet, but that day will come! God's been helping me a lot. 

The second week we were here they sent a bunch of us away to work at Costa Rican, Christian summer camps. I went to the Word of Life camp in Guanacaste. Guanacaste is where the really beautiful beaches are... not that we went, but it was definitely HOT. The kind of hot..where you take a shower and don't ever really feel like you dry off. But it was awesome, beautiful. I worked in the kitchen, so I had the chance to practice a lot of spanish. On the way to camp I sat next to this girl named Vanessa. She's 12 and was VERY patient with my little understanding the entire trip. A little boy asked her to a banquet at the end of camp (on stage in front of everybody) She was so excited... until the night before the banquet when she told me her date decided that he wanted to go with another girl. So then came the rambling in spanish and crying on my shoulder...

This is the time where I wish I knew a little more spanish. 

I finally convinced one of our GAP boys to ask her. (Cameron you're awesome) So needless to say.. she had an awesome time with the tall, white boy with muscles. 

Please pray for my spanish! I am burdened to communicate with these people. Thanks everybody, y'all are really awesome. 

God has been teaching me so much already. I continue to feel wimpier and wimpier as I read the Old Testament. God punished people for complaining, not trusting in Him, working on the Sabbath... things I do ALL of the time. All I have to say is that I really really like You Jesus. 

a lot

I can't go into much detail, but there is someone here who needs a lot of prayer. I love this person very much, (VERY) and they have almost no desire to be here... or know God, so if you're reading this... please pray for God to give this person a hunger to know Him. 

But Jesus is so good... way too good for people not to know about and love. 

The Dad of Hannah (my room mate who left last semester) is here this week teaching us from a book called contagious Christianity. I think it might be a movement or something.. not really sure, but the study we're doing is all about evangelism. Evangelism has an awful name because of its inauthenticity. The best people to tell about Jesus are the people you're closest to... the people that love you. 

In the video for Contagious Christianity, there was an atheist that, after a very real conversation with a believer commented on this man's genuine goodness. And then the killer statement... he said "I mean... if these people actually believe what's in that Book they read...how much do they have to HATE people not to tell them about their God." 

Yikes.

So I definitely have been having to keep in mind that heart changes are up to God... but this guy definitely motivated me. 

Have I ever even explained the Gospel??

...yikes! 

I love you guys. I don't know who all is reading this, but I love you. 

...and I don't know if this is what a blog is supposed to look like, so if you want to know specific things, tell me. 

que tenga buen noche!

Feliz Navidad!

The other day in Bible Class we switched thing up a bit.. Our "Villa Dad", John, gave us an apologetics class. Basically, he gave us a couple of guidelines on how and why we need to be able to defend what we believe, and then he asked us who wanted to be his opponent....

I didn't last more than five minutes. My first question I had to answer was "if God is a loving God, why does he let people babies be burned in microwaves in America? ...So I had my response in my head, and then I was just lost... lost in the middle of a group of 30 students waiting on my response, with a well-trained apologetics, ex-U.S. Ranger looking me in the eyes.

It wasn't as horrifying as that (maybe) sounds because a couple of other students all had the same experience, but man! I want to be able to answer people when they ask me why I believe these crazy things I do. 

The other Sunday the leaders were calling people up on stage. I saw people around pointing to their brothers, daughters, friends etc., and then the people that were pointed at would walk up on stage. So, I decided I would point at Will (boy in my church group). Turns out they were calling for people with birthdays in November. Will's birthday is in May.

Some other things I've had going on here are mentoring and discipleship. One of my discipleship groups is a study of the book Calm My Anxious Heart, and the other is on Spiritual Warfare. I especially like Spiritual Warfare. I've become a lot more familiar with my enemy's tactics. Mentoring is awesome too. I've had many people "mentor" me in my life, we've just never really called it that. It's just good to have someone that I have to make myself vulnerable to every week.

Also.. I might've mentioned this in my other posts, but we've really just been having a LOT of attacks from the Devil. Just please pray that we won't fear Satan. God's already defeated him. And God's in us. So please pray we will fear God only. 

One of my brothers here was really having heavy spiritual attacks. It tore me seeing him in the state he was in. It tore everyone... but it really brought our group so much closer together. We are all so burdened for each other... and God really has been listening to our prayers. 

We just had a 24 hour prayer and worship day. This summer I started going to a 24-hour House of Prayer (IHOP) and really just got a glimpse of what the Body of Christ is supposed to be. God gave us gifts so that we could bless others with them. So we thought we would have a full day of prayer and worship specifically praying for when we're home. We started at 10 Sunday night and went until 10 monday night. It was really awesome. Our main praying points were: not getting back into old sin, for unbelievers we know to come to know Christ, and that God will help us tell people boldly about Him.

This will probably be my last post before I leave, but thank you everyone for supporting me in following this. 

I will return to Costa Rica on the 7th/8th of January. 

Merry Christmas! 

ps: I was invited to my first Costa Rican birthday party tonight! woop woop! I'm becoming Tican! ...well I probably won't be able to go because I have exams.. but I felt honored! 

Adios amigos! Feliz Navidad!

Late Post Number 3 :)

Agh. We just watched Braveheart... that story is incredible. I couldn't even imagine watching a real battle.. better yet participating in one. To have a desire so strong that you would go through the torture William Wallace does at the end of the movie.. man. I'll need a lot of help from the Holy Spirit when I get in a situation like that. I barely even understand what freedom is growing up how I did. Freedom. What America was based on... what our faith in Jesus provides. Would I be willing to sacrifice everything I have.. my family, my comfort, my future.. everything.. just so that maybe one day the people after me would live and live freely?....

...Am I willing to sacrifice everything I have.. maybe just that one person would know the love of our Jealous God? Even if it was for one person..

My pride lets me think that I would never stand down to my Lord, my freedom in the face of torture or death... but I know I'm going to need a overdose of the Holy Spirit before I ever get through any intense torture like William Wallace went through in Braveheart.... or Jesus did on the in His death. So if you could, pray that I won't back down in the face of oppression because of my faith. 

Thank you all for the support.. praying and following my blog

Y'all are really really awesome