Saturday, September 26, 2009

Compassion for Costa Rica Outreach

Friends and Family!
Hola from Costa Rica! It's that time again to fill you in on all my comings and goings. I've been serving in Youth With A Mission this year in Discipleship Training Schools (DTS). If I were to give a name to the DTS I would call it “School of the heart” because our goal is to not gain more head-knowledge about God, but to experience a heart transformation through growing in a deeper relationship with the Lord. The current DTS began this July with an emphasis in COMPASSION. The students have spent the past 3 months learning about God's compassionate heart for them personally, his children, and all the world. Now we are ready to move into the next phase of our “School of the heart” which is by far my favorite part: OUTREACH.
Our outreach will be held in various parts of Costa Rica for the next 2 months. We will continue walking in the same focus on compassion, however that looks in each location we are at. The outreach is my favorite part is because this is the student's chance to share everything God has done in their lives these past months- not only their words, but also their actions and interactions with othersand lives are touched by God's love. As a leader in this outreach, I get the wonderful opportunity to share with the students and other people I encounter in active, practical ways. Outreach is always a challenging and beautiful time of growth for our entire team, student and leaders alike!
I was reminded this past week that missions are not about us going where Jesus is “pushing” us to go, but simply being aware of the truth that Jesus is our good shepherd who goes before us and calls us by name (John 10). I am so aware of the ways that Jesus is present, working in this nation which is why I am so passionate about being a part of it! I want to extend the invitation I have received for Jesus to be a part of what he is doing in Costa Rica to you also. Please be following my team and I in your prayers for these next 2 months. Also, if you would like to support me financially in this outreach, I have a remaining $500 to raise. I know this amount will not be hard to reach if each person just helps by giving whatever God is putting on your heart.

The quickest and easiest way to give money is to donate through my Paypal account by going to www.paypal.com, enter the amount you are giving, and my email address: mariposagrace@hotmail.com. Then your donation will go directly to my bank account.

You can also write a tax deductible check to Cornerstone EV Free Church and on the memo line write Short Term Missions- Costa Rica. You can either place the check in the offering plate at Cornerstone Church or you can mail it to:
7762 South 700 West
Midvale, UT
84047

Thank you for all of you love, support, and friendship!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Prayer and Thanksgiving Update #2 !!

I have so much to be thankful for!

Natalie just went back home last week from a 10 day visit to Costa Rica. We had amazing quality time together, having girl talk, reflecting on the DTS classes, and getting out on the weekends for some fun adventures around the country. I thank God for the precious sister-bonding that we had!

I also am so thankful for the 12 DTS students that I have been getting to know better, become true friends with, and see God working in their lives in truly amazing ways. I am leading a small group of 6 students as well as meeting with 5 girls for one-on-one time every week to mentor and pray for them. Each week I see God reveal his truth in their lives and come to personally touch many of them in a new, deeper way. We have had amazing speakers in this school and we have already covered the subjects of, hearing God’s voice, the nature and character of God, worship, the Kingdom of God, and inner healing. The past week of inner healing was especially key in the lives of both students and staff as we let God go into those deep places in our hearts and allow him to be our great healer who softens our hearts, trades our lies for his truth, breaks our chains, and fills our every emptiness. After last week, I see that everyone has a greater hunger for God’s truth and a greater thirst for intimacy with him. God has perfectly positioned our hearts for next week’s subject: Intimacy with God (and spiritual warfare).

I want to praise God because I haven’t had any stomach pain in 2 whole weeks which is a huge change from being in pain every day for about 3 weeks straight! This was a huge thing for me to trust him with because I really didn’t know what was causing the pain, but in that time he was asking me to give my burdens over to him and as I did he gave me a peace in my heart that he is in control and he would heal me. Only days later he totally took away all of my pain and it has not returned since. This really makes me think: how often to we carry burdens that we don’t need to carry because we are not trusting God? I know I was challenged with this and I think that we all need to be reminded time and time again that we have a good shepherd taking care of us; he is our perfect father whose gave his beloved son Jesus to become our sin, shame, and every our burden and to overcome all those things by dieing on the cross and raising 3 days later. I know you all know that, but are you really living it? Do you trust God each day with your worries, struggles, and pain? I am learning to this more each day. Do not give up believing in prayer because even when you think God is not listening or responding he is working in ways beyond you imagination because he loves you so much and knows what is the very best for you!

Please Pray!

  1. Pray this week of classes on Intimacy with God and Spiritual Warfare that God will give each person a greater hunger to seek a deeper intimacy with him and that he will whisper his love to each persons heart and also use the speaker to be his voice. Pray that as I am translating, I would be empowered by the Holy Spirit make the message clear. Pray for decrement, understanding, and special protection as we enter into the subject of spiritual warfare.
  2. Pray for the following week that we week be taking to do a mini-local-outreach. Pray for guidance as we still haven’t determined the exact location, but that we will be able to God and show God’s love just where it is needed in just the way that it needs to be shown. Pray for several of our students and staff who still need funds to do this week of outreach.
  3. Pray that God would speak to the other DTS staff and I about our main outreach location for the last 2 months of the school. We are pretty sure that the outreach will be here in Costa Rica so we can continue with the momentum of all that God is already doing here, but we are asking God to confirm this or to speak to us very clearly if he wants us to go somewhere else. Even if we say in Costa Rica we need to determine what locations in the country are we to go to and what kind of ministry will we be doing (keeping in mind that this is a Compassion focus DTS).

Thank you and may you be showered in God’s grace and peace!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Prayer Update #1

The DTS starts this coming week and arrival and orrientation has started TODAY. Please keep me, the entire staff team, and especially the students in your prayers as we begin this new stage of our lives. I am very excited for what God has for each one of us in these next 6 months. Some specific points you can be praying for are:

1. In reflecting over the last DTS and looking to towards the next the word God is speaking to me is "Love". Pray that I will show God's love in all my relationships and expecially in the way I lead.

2. There are 12 (possibly 13) students in this school. Pray that they come with open hearts, ready to lay thier burdens at the feet of Jesus and recive his love. The key at the beginning of a DTS is that they can start to see God in a different way and that he would capture thier hearts. Praise God because we were praying for more male students and he gave us 1 (maybe 2) more at the last minute!
Here is a list of the students, if you would like to pray for them by name:
Katie (US)
Alexandra (US)
Kathia (Costa Rica)
Luis(Costa Rica)
Emmanuel (Nicaragua)
Reanna (US)
Breeana (US)
Annie (US)
Rebeca (Costa Rica)
Marina (Costa Rica)
JT (US)
Kendra (US)
(There is one more possible student from Costa Rica. Please pray God's will be done if he is supposed to be in this DTS)

4. Pray that all the speakers who are supposted to come will be able to make it! Also pray that God will provide as we still need 3 more speakers.

3. Please pray for healing because I have been having stomach pain since I've been back in CR.

Thank you for your love and prayers! Spread the word about my blog! Feel free to comment about what God is saying to you as you pray (or any other comment or question).

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Outreach Schedule

This is what my tentative schedule for my outreach to Costa Rica looks like:
April 6th-10th: San Jose (Local)
April 13th-18th: NIKO (outdoor camp to help train the students for outreach)
April 21st –May 16th: Monte Verde, Arenal
May 19th- June 1st: Puerto Viejo, Talamanca

Support Letter (March 2009)

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.” Matthew 5:14- 15

Dear Family and Friends,
It’s already March and spring is just around the corner! I love spring because it is the season that reminds us that God is doing a new thing. I am so grateful when I think about how God truly has been doing a new thing inside of me this past year. Even since the beginning of this year he has made a very old commandment come alive to me in a whole new way:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:19-20)

Let me fill you in on what’s up with some of the “new things” God is doing in my life…

What’s up with Anna Jacobs?
I am in Costa Rica serving with Youth With A Mission, San Jose’. As you may already know, this is same location that I did my Discipleship Training School (DTS) and my Foundations in Community Development School in 2008. During my community development school, God started stirring up my heart for Costa Rica and for what he is doing here. In praying about my next step, I sensed God leading me to come back here and “plant” myself in Costa Rica by committing to serve here for one entire year. I am now helping in the DTS to disciple young people (ages 18-31) as they go through this 5- month school. God has been teaching me so much about leadership through this, especially about humbling myself and being a learner in this process. I have been also been able to use my passion for prayer by leading our prayer and intercession times as a school. Most of all, God is teaching me that discipleship is all about relationship. I’m finding myself falling more in love with The Lord as I continue to learn new things and am reminded of old things as I walk along side the students.

My friend who I met at a refugee camp on a local outreach to the earthquake epicentre.

What’s Up with DTS?
This Discipleship Training School has 14 students from USA, Canada, and Germany. Each person is so unique and brings their own special things into the group. Even though there are no Latino students, we are still very diverse and I believe God has a very special purpose for putting this particular group of people together in this time. We just completed week #7 out of the 12 weeks of our “lecture phase” of the school and I have already seen that God is doing so much in the students lives! I see them being challenged in a lot of areas both inside and outside of the classroom. By learning to live in community they are especially challenged in the areas of loving one another and being a team. I see God gently moulding the hearts and characters of each person as we focus in on a variety of subjects including relationships, intimacy with God, nature and character of God, evangelism and spiritual warfare, and this past week’s subject that deeply touched my heart which is the father heart of God. The primary purpose of a DTS is to make a place for people to come and cultivate a more intimate relationship with God. That is what I see happening in the student’s lives as many of them are hearing God’s voice speak clearly into their lives and are letting him come touch areas of their lives that they wouldn’t allow him to before. There is so much more God wants do in them during this time, and I think this is just the beginning. Another purpose of the DTS is to reach out to others and show them God’s love. We are going to Nicaragua March 7th-21st to do a mini-outreach and also receive some teaching there. Since before this DTS even started, God put it in our (the DTS staff’s) hearts to do our main outreach here in Costa Rica. So from April 5th –June 1st we leave the YWAM base for the “outreach” phase of our school to share with others all that God has given us in the past 12 weeks and join with him in what he is doing in the nation of Costa Rica!
Me and my other half, Jaymie. We are in our room getting the students’ welcome baskets ready before they arrive.

What’s up in Costa Rica?
Our God is doing a great thing in this Nation! I can’t tell you exactly how the Lord drew me to come to Costa Rica, but now that I have seen all that he is doing here I want so much to be a part of it. I couldn’t be more grateful and excited that God is leading us to do our DTS Outreach right in this country. One of our main focuses of the outreach is Youth. I believe that God has great compassion for the youth of the nation and that he has marvellous plans for this generation to make a huge impact both inside and outside Costa Rica. God wants to use this DTS to befriend the youth of this nation, to make God’s ways and salvation known to them, and to help mobilize them into missions or to be influential in whatever sphere of society God may be leading them to. The other main focus of our outreach is the poor and the needy. This is not only in the physical area, but also in the spiritual area. Since the earthquake here in January (6.2 on the Richter-Scale), the Nation is very spiritually shaken up as well as physically. Without getting into too many details, hundreds of people have lost their farms and homes and most all families are still displaced. There has also been major flooding in the Caribbean coast that has destroyed many homes and farms. Many people are longing for some hope, and people all around the nation are looking for answers and are realizing that the things they have put their security in are not so secure after all. This is a huge wakeup-call for the Costa Rican Church and we need to pray that the Church will rise up in this time. This is a grand opportunity for us, as a DTS, to share the hope of Jesus Christ and to let the Holy Spirit use us reach people’s hearts while they are so open. God has put it in our hearts to go to the Caribbean Coast for part of our outreach and to a mountainous town or village for the other part. I can keep you updated on my blog as I get more details about our outreach. I see the outreach being very prayer and intercession focused and I believe that God will not only use us to touch the lives of individuals but to also change the spiritual environment of entire towns or villages.
We gave the DTS students a cultural introduction to Costa Rica and of course it had to include dancing!

What’s up with you?
You can also be involved with what God is doing in Costa Rica! This nation truly needs your prayers and your prayers really do make a difference. I also invite you to please become a part of my “Prayer Team”. Being a part of my prayer team means committing to pray, on a regular basis, for me and the ministry I am doing here at the YWAM, San Jose’ base. What I encourage you to do is to partner up with someone else who is committed to praying for me and pray together in person, over the phone, through email, Facebook, or however else you can imagine. The idea of doing this it that creates a prayer “net” around me that will hold together much better than individual prayer “ropes”. If you need, I can help you to get partnered with someone. It is very important for me to have prayer support during this time. I covet your prayers and any encouragement that you want to send my way. I know that many of you are already faithfully praying for me and I am extremely grateful. Thank you so much! Let me know if you want to join the Prayer Team!
Urgent Prayer Request: Please cover our trip to Nicaragua in prayer! We leave March 7th and return the 21st. We are traveling by the public bus. For the first week, we are staying in the YWAM Nicaragua base to receive classes on studying the Bible. We haven’t determined exactly where we will be the second week, but will be doing outreach. Pray for the God’s Spirit to lead us and protect us.
You can also be a part of my financial support team. All YWAM staff positions are volunteer, so supporting me in this is your chance to be involved with what God is doing here. Please ask the Lord if his wants you to be involved in this way. I am looking for people to join the “Costa Rican Missions Team” by giving monthly donations for the next year. I will also gratefully accept any one-time (or two-time, or three-time) donations. Even if you just give a little bit each month, the best reminder to pray for me is when you are also supporting me financially.
Financial Needs:
$200/Month for YWAM Staff Fees (This covers my room and board)
$200/Month for other living expenses
$700 for the months of April and May to pay for my Outreach
$700 for travel expenses
Total: $450/Month (on average)

How to Give: There are 2 options for how to give.
Option #1: Write a non-tax deductable check to Anna Jacobs and send it too:
The Jacobs
5277 S. 3200 W.
SLC, UT 84118
If you give money using this option, it can go towards any of my financial
needs including my personal living expenses and travel expenses.

Option #2: Write a tax deductable check to Cornerstone EV Free Church and on the memo line write Short Term Missions- Costa Rica. You can either place the check in the offering plate at Cornerstone Church or you can mail it to:
7762 South 700 West
Midvale, UT
84047
If you give money using this option, it will go towards paying my monthly staff fees and my outreach fees.

Thank you for taking the time to read this!
I will start posting more updates on my blog: annagracejacobs.blogspot.com
Feel free to email me if you have ANY questions!

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and Make his face shine upon us that yourays may be know on earth, your salvation among All Nations.” (Psalm 67:1-2)

Blessings from Costa Rica,

Anna Grace Jacobs

Youth With A Mission
San Jose’, Costa Rica
www.ywamsj.org
mariposagrace@hotmail.com

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Seeing Nicaragua Through HIS Eyes

This past Saturday I returned from a 2 week trip to Nicaragua with the DTS. We did some classes and some outreach there. It was an awesome experience! It really got the students out of their comfort zones... I love that!! haha. I love seeing people be stretched. We got to do ministry in the university there for a week and it was really amazing. We just talked to people and made friends with them. If we had the change to talk about Jesus and what God is doing in our lives or pray for someone, we did, but for the most part we just got to know them and talked to them about culture, language, and whatever else. We also went to a place for kids who have cancer and we just played with them and did some dramas for them. It was so sweet how happy they were to have people there just to love them and play with them and it really brightened their day. It was so hard to see these precious little kids and to know that they are dying. It really made me ask a lot of questions. It was pretty uncomfortable for us at first and we didn't know exactly what do do but when we started playing with them we totally forget that they were sick. I hope that, in that moment, the kids could forget too. The last thing we did in Nicaragua was go the "La Chureca" which is the city dump of Managua where many people and children work and live. The best word to describe it: Hell. I've never seen anything like that ever before in my life. Being in there really started me thinking about community development again. All we could do in there as a team was pray. We just walked and prayed and listened to God and declared his promises in that place. There are some amazing missionaries working in there who see things in this totally different perspective. They have so much vision for the Chureca. They are looking through God's eyes. There is also a school in the dump that is so incredible. It is a light in an extremely dark, heavy place. God was stirring up something in my heart while I was there. I left a part of my heart in the Chureca. The images are burned in my mind. I haven't really stopped thinking about it.
I've been really exhausted since getting home Saturday night. Leading even 2 weeks of outreach was so hard. I can't imagine what the next 6 week will be like when we do them. I beleive we did a great job as the 4 of us staff who are leading outreach and I think it will be fine.... neigh.... AMAZZZING! I can see the way God used this trip to bind us together as team and teach us more about working togther, as well as laying down our rights and having compassion for the lost and hurting. We could see God move in some huge ways in and through our team so I have great expectations.

Friday, March 6, 2009