I have been very challenged to see how closely physical symptoms and spiritual realities are connected in my life. I think I am coming to a better understanding of how wholistic and integrated God is and how he is so practical and relevant for every part of my life. Not only that, but he is passionately interested in my life. He is revealing himself to me as my loving father even more with very clear words and pictures. He is continuing to teach me how to walk in sanctification and what that really means. He is teaching me to fight the battle that is in my mind, the war of thoughts. I am starting to ask myself where my thoughts are coming from: from him, myself, or the enemy. I need to humble myself each day to say, "God, I just want to hear your voice. "
I have been asking God to show me the roots of my "issues" and he revealed to me that I've let rejection and unloving/self-bitterness rule inside of me for years. He had been showing me pieces of this, like a puzzle, and then all the sudden it just all came together one day while I was sitting in class. That night I went to a prayer meeting with five of my classmates... suposably we were going to pray about finances, but when we started to pray we all just started confessing our sins and repenting and asking God to take out the things burried deep inside of us that we can't see. I started crying, praying "God I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to get rid of this. But I can't stand having this any more. I can't live rejecting myself and being bitter towards myself any more." I was wailing out loud, but in my heart I was saying, "I need you. I need you. I need you. Come fill me. I need you in every part of me." In an instant my wailing litterally turn into laughing. I felt that God had manifested his presence in the entire room. His spirit filled my body. A deep, uncontrolable laugh worked it's way trough my body- healing every part of me. It was like vomiting pills, without the bad taste. Something was coming out of me. Everyone was praying out thier hearts, thanking God for his presence. I asked him, "What do I do now?" Right away he gave me the picture of when Jesus went to heal the religious leader's sick daughter. When he arrived, she was already dead. Everyone was mourning around her and they tried to tell Jesus that he was too late. Jesus took her hand and said "Little girl, get up." She woke up and got out of bed. He was saying to me, "I can make you alive, but you are the one who has to get up and live. "
I forgave myself that night, but I do also understand that each and every day I need to give myself the grace and acceptance that my good, loving daddy gives me. Every morning, when I look into the mirror, I need to ask "God, how do you see me? That is how I want to see myself today." I am walking with my father and we are organizing all the thing inside of me that have been so mixed-up and out of place. This is annother important chapter in the story, but please don't let me stay here. He has so much more to do. This is the unfinished version.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Renovations
Hello Again Family and Friends!
I'm back in Costa Rica which means I am on the blog again. I hope that even through the few words I share with you, you can get a little glimpse of what Jesus is doing in my life.
Before I made the trip back here about a month ago I was praying with some friends and they asked me what was on my heart for this time I have in Costa Rica and what I want prayer for. It took me a few moments to answer because I don't think anyone had asked me a question about this before that moment. I searched deep inside of myself and the only thing I could come up with is, "I don't really know what going to do this school means for my life and the plan God has for it. I can't see how it fits in the big picture and honestly, I don't completely know what it is really about. All I know is this is the next step God is asking me to take. I think I better listen to him because he sees the picture that I can't see and I know that he has given me this next step for a reason. Pray that even though I am going where I feel God is leading me, that I don't take this step alone. If i don't take this step with God then it is as dangerous as if I were to walk in the opposite direction." I believe God planted something in my heart that night that has been growing and blossoming in this past month. Even though I am here studying in a school of community development, I am finding that God is developing me in ways I never could have imagined.
When I arrived, I was asked that same sort of question over and over again. "Why are you here? What do you want to get out of this school? What is God putting in your heart?" At first I was still struggling with how to answer these questions and sometimes, when I felt I had to be completely honest, I said, "I don't know exactly". Yes, at first, I was even doubting if I was supposed to be here at all because I felt guilty about leaving home. There were times when I was so broken. OK... most of the time. Yet, it was in this brokenness that I began laying my life in Jesus' hands. I began asking him questions that I never dared to ask before. Then something amazing happened. He started answering me. Every speaker that has come to teach has said things that are so applicable in my life and have even spoken things specifically into my life. Every moment I quiet all the noise in my head, God speaks tenderly to my heart. The more questions I have answered, the more I have to ask. The moment God heals one broken place within me, he shows me three more broken places. The reason for God bringing me here to do this development school is clear to me now. He brought me here to change my life. He brought me here so I can see the intentions he has for me and so I can start to move towards those intentions. He brought me here to make me me. That is exactly what he has been doing. The more I run after him, the more he transforms me into who he has intended me to be. A very important thing I must clarify about this: I don't just mean "who I am" in the spiritual sense. God is for sure working on the spiritual area of my life, but he is also renovating me in the physical area, the social area, and in the area of wisdom. This is God: he is not a God that is far away, but he is a God who is near and he is a God that wants to be involved in every area of your life. He is relevant for every part of your life. That makes sense because you were created by him and for him, right?
God is also giving me his vision during this time. He is changing the way I see everything- starting with him, then myself, then people, then communities, then the world. Even as he is uprooting all the crap out of my heart he is planing truth within me and that truth is growing into a dream. Not a dream that comes from me, but a dream that is a part of Jesus' dream.
Maybe what I am saying sounds more poetic than real-life, but I hope this sets the stage for me to share some more specific things that God is talking to me about and what I have been learning/doing. I love feedback so feel free to comment or email me if you want to talk about anything in my blogs, if there is anything specific you want to hear about, or if you have any questions. Thanks for praying for me! Keep praying that The Lord Will have his way in me.
I'm back in Costa Rica which means I am on the blog again. I hope that even through the few words I share with you, you can get a little glimpse of what Jesus is doing in my life.
Before I made the trip back here about a month ago I was praying with some friends and they asked me what was on my heart for this time I have in Costa Rica and what I want prayer for. It took me a few moments to answer because I don't think anyone had asked me a question about this before that moment. I searched deep inside of myself and the only thing I could come up with is, "I don't really know what going to do this school means for my life and the plan God has for it. I can't see how it fits in the big picture and honestly, I don't completely know what it is really about. All I know is this is the next step God is asking me to take. I think I better listen to him because he sees the picture that I can't see and I know that he has given me this next step for a reason. Pray that even though I am going where I feel God is leading me, that I don't take this step alone. If i don't take this step with God then it is as dangerous as if I were to walk in the opposite direction." I believe God planted something in my heart that night that has been growing and blossoming in this past month. Even though I am here studying in a school of community development, I am finding that God is developing me in ways I never could have imagined.
When I arrived, I was asked that same sort of question over and over again. "Why are you here? What do you want to get out of this school? What is God putting in your heart?" At first I was still struggling with how to answer these questions and sometimes, when I felt I had to be completely honest, I said, "I don't know exactly". Yes, at first, I was even doubting if I was supposed to be here at all because I felt guilty about leaving home. There were times when I was so broken. OK... most of the time. Yet, it was in this brokenness that I began laying my life in Jesus' hands. I began asking him questions that I never dared to ask before. Then something amazing happened. He started answering me. Every speaker that has come to teach has said things that are so applicable in my life and have even spoken things specifically into my life. Every moment I quiet all the noise in my head, God speaks tenderly to my heart. The more questions I have answered, the more I have to ask. The moment God heals one broken place within me, he shows me three more broken places. The reason for God bringing me here to do this development school is clear to me now. He brought me here to change my life. He brought me here so I can see the intentions he has for me and so I can start to move towards those intentions. He brought me here to make me me. That is exactly what he has been doing. The more I run after him, the more he transforms me into who he has intended me to be. A very important thing I must clarify about this: I don't just mean "who I am" in the spiritual sense. God is for sure working on the spiritual area of my life, but he is also renovating me in the physical area, the social area, and in the area of wisdom. This is God: he is not a God that is far away, but he is a God who is near and he is a God that wants to be involved in every area of your life. He is relevant for every part of your life. That makes sense because you were created by him and for him, right?
God is also giving me his vision during this time. He is changing the way I see everything- starting with him, then myself, then people, then communities, then the world. Even as he is uprooting all the crap out of my heart he is planing truth within me and that truth is growing into a dream. Not a dream that comes from me, but a dream that is a part of Jesus' dream.
Maybe what I am saying sounds more poetic than real-life, but I hope this sets the stage for me to share some more specific things that God is talking to me about and what I have been learning/doing. I love feedback so feel free to comment or email me if you want to talk about anything in my blogs, if there is anything specific you want to hear about, or if you have any questions. Thanks for praying for me! Keep praying that The Lord Will have his way in me.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Coming Home
Ten more days until i come home! i don´t even really know what to say because i´m just so mixed up right now about coming home. i´m bursting with excitement and is like almost all i think about. i just think about seeing everyone and hanging out and what i´m gonna do and all this stuff. then i think about this being over and then i´m thinking, oh no what am i gonna do... i´ve built this life and it will just all be torn down in a single second. the only thing i´ve built that going to stay with me is my realtionship with God and it is really the single thing i have to cling on. i wrote a poem about it this morning. It´s just hard stuff to let go of. Well alot of the discomforts are not, but letting go of your life isn´t easy at all. Yet that is what God has called me to do. All of us.´´loose your life and you will find it´´. i´m starting to see what that means a little. i have never thought that would include losing the ¨missionary life´´ but it does. Also, the world i have left at home that has gone on without me.... i can´t hold on to it like it´s my world anymore because its not. everything i have built will be torn down. i was asking God this morning ´´what is it even worth´´. and i have come to learn that the real home i have is in the arms of my father. it is the place i can take every where, the only place there is no lonliness, and the only place i am really me. as i let him hold me and press my ear to his chest, his heart says ´´You are worth it to me´´. That´s what this time has been all about. Not about ´´this world of mine´´ or ´´that world of ours´´ but about home, my real home. Dear God, take my worlds apart.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Where in the World is Anna Jacobs?
ANTIGUA, GUATEMALA! -maybe the coolest place I have been in the world
Hola Amigos!
I´m sorry that I have,once again, taken way too long to write annother blog. Let me tell you, just because I haven´t writen anything doesn´t mean that God has not been doing awesome stuff. I will recount to you some of the highlights.
As you probably know, I spent April in Talamanca, Costa Rica for the first phase of my Outreach. Sadly, I did not even have internet access there so I was disconnected from the rest of the world for a while (it was pretty fun actually!). After the NIKO camp in the town Bamboo we stayed there annother week and did all sorts of ministeries from painting and ministering in an old folks home, to woking in the red cross and in a school, to running church services. The indiginous (sp?) people of bamboo are the Bre-Bre and it was awsome to share a little bit in their traditions and way of life at an anual Bre-bre celebration where we also had that oppertunity to evangalize. I can´t even start to describe how bautiful Bamboo is, but it is near the most beautiful place I have ever been; the land is green and lushious, having many rivers, and the nature is so rich. I really fell in love with that place.
The next week we went to the nearby town of Margarita. We stayed in a small church that I was so privlaged to see God do some awesome tranformaition in durring the time we were there. When we arrived, I could see the pastor and his wife were weary from the persecution they had been going through since their 4 years ministering there. They were also discouraged that they were the only ones in thier church with a passionate heart for their community which was in an immence spiritual darkness. At first my team and I were under the weight of this spiritual darkness, but once we realized this and prayed against this spirit being in us and the church, God lifted the wieght and we started to see some amazing breakthoughs. We were ministering in the church every night and durring the day I helped to build a house for a single mother and her five children. It was such a cool church to minister in because the congragation was mainly teenage girls and children. Dispite it being the most difficult and , at times, physically painful(especially being eaten by bugs) living situation, it was a place that I was so privlaged to be apart of God´s moving durrasticly in the spiritual relm. Every day, the expression on the pastor´s face was more joyful and at the end of the week he was brought to tears while he told us that he had been asking God for over a year that he woudl bring a group of young people like us to come minister and serve there. That is just one aspect of the many ways God used us to answer his prayers in our time there.
The next week, we stayed in the town Manzanillo in annother small church that was right across the street from... *drum roll*.... the gorgeous.... CARRIBIAN BEACH! Yes, I felt spoiled. So even though the week was still very busy with doing building projects, prayer walks, and running church services every night, I still fould plenty of space in beteen to enjoy every minute possible on the beach (it was awesome for my quiet times!).
Overall, my outreach in Talamanca was the most physically, emotionally, and spirtually stretching experience of my life. I learned to aprecaite every single thing God has given me so much more. Honestly, throughout the time I was constently in a personal spiritual balttle. I was attacked phisically the entire time, starting with having to go to to hospital on the drive there. I had all sorty of other ellements durring the time that me and my prayer buddies were just constantly having to fight against. And emotionally, well, that was the harder battle. Truely , thank you so much for praying for me even when you haven´t heard what was up with me because I know I wouldn´t have made it through without your prayers. God really taught me so much through this and i have been able to grow incredibly. He showed me more of what it really mean for me to find ALL my strength in him.
Now i quote myself from my first week in Guatemala outreach, "The Costa Rica outrach was warm-up... THIS is the real deal!". An of course it has ALL been the "real deal", but i can harldly wait untill i have time to write my next blog and tell you all that God has been doing in my second phase of outreach!
Hasta la vista, Baby
Hola Amigos!
I´m sorry that I have,once again, taken way too long to write annother blog. Let me tell you, just because I haven´t writen anything doesn´t mean that God has not been doing awesome stuff. I will recount to you some of the highlights.
As you probably know, I spent April in Talamanca, Costa Rica for the first phase of my Outreach. Sadly, I did not even have internet access there so I was disconnected from the rest of the world for a while (it was pretty fun actually!). After the NIKO camp in the town Bamboo we stayed there annother week and did all sorts of ministeries from painting and ministering in an old folks home, to woking in the red cross and in a school, to running church services. The indiginous (sp?) people of bamboo are the Bre-Bre and it was awsome to share a little bit in their traditions and way of life at an anual Bre-bre celebration where we also had that oppertunity to evangalize. I can´t even start to describe how bautiful Bamboo is, but it is near the most beautiful place I have ever been; the land is green and lushious, having many rivers, and the nature is so rich. I really fell in love with that place.
The next week we went to the nearby town of Margarita. We stayed in a small church that I was so privlaged to see God do some awesome tranformaition in durring the time we were there. When we arrived, I could see the pastor and his wife were weary from the persecution they had been going through since their 4 years ministering there. They were also discouraged that they were the only ones in thier church with a passionate heart for their community which was in an immence spiritual darkness. At first my team and I were under the weight of this spiritual darkness, but once we realized this and prayed against this spirit being in us and the church, God lifted the wieght and we started to see some amazing breakthoughs. We were ministering in the church every night and durring the day I helped to build a house for a single mother and her five children. It was such a cool church to minister in because the congragation was mainly teenage girls and children. Dispite it being the most difficult and , at times, physically painful(especially being eaten by bugs) living situation, it was a place that I was so privlaged to be apart of God´s moving durrasticly in the spiritual relm. Every day, the expression on the pastor´s face was more joyful and at the end of the week he was brought to tears while he told us that he had been asking God for over a year that he woudl bring a group of young people like us to come minister and serve there. That is just one aspect of the many ways God used us to answer his prayers in our time there.
The next week, we stayed in the town Manzanillo in annother small church that was right across the street from... *drum roll*.... the gorgeous.... CARRIBIAN BEACH! Yes, I felt spoiled. So even though the week was still very busy with doing building projects, prayer walks, and running church services every night, I still fould plenty of space in beteen to enjoy every minute possible on the beach (it was awesome for my quiet times!).
Overall, my outreach in Talamanca was the most physically, emotionally, and spirtually stretching experience of my life. I learned to aprecaite every single thing God has given me so much more. Honestly, throughout the time I was constently in a personal spiritual balttle. I was attacked phisically the entire time, starting with having to go to to hospital on the drive there. I had all sorty of other ellements durring the time that me and my prayer buddies were just constantly having to fight against. And emotionally, well, that was the harder battle. Truely , thank you so much for praying for me even when you haven´t heard what was up with me because I know I wouldn´t have made it through without your prayers. God really taught me so much through this and i have been able to grow incredibly. He showed me more of what it really mean for me to find ALL my strength in him.
Now i quote myself from my first week in Guatemala outreach, "The Costa Rica outrach was warm-up... THIS is the real deal!". An of course it has ALL been the "real deal", but i can harldly wait untill i have time to write my next blog and tell you all that God has been doing in my second phase of outreach!
Hasta la vista, Baby
Monday, March 31, 2008
Kids Club Shoutout!
To all Kids Club Kids:
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PACKAGE AND THE LETTERS! I was extremely happy, no... overjoyed, to get them :). Each and every one of your notes and drawings is so special to me. It really made me miss you all! You are all so special. It is super fun for me to get things in the mail while I am so far from home. I will be back in June and I can hardly wait until then to see you again. I have been praying for you guys every time I see kids because I am always reminded of you. Also, the candy and tea are so delicious ;). Thanks so much again. Keep learnign more about God and how much he loves you!
Your Friend in Costa Rica,
Anna
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PACKAGE AND THE LETTERS! I was extremely happy, no... overjoyed, to get them :). Each and every one of your notes and drawings is so special to me. It really made me miss you all! You are all so special. It is super fun for me to get things in the mail while I am so far from home. I will be back in June and I can hardly wait until then to see you again. I have been praying for you guys every time I see kids because I am always reminded of you. Also, the candy and tea are so delicious ;). Thanks so much again. Keep learnign more about God and how much he loves you!
Your Friend in Costa Rica,
Anna
God Always Provides!
Wow! God truly is good and truly is so so powerful! You knwo how in the blog I wrote yesterday I said that we still needed $3,000 dollars for outreach? Well now we need $0!!!!!!! That's right... He brought in all the money for us! After doign all our selling Sunday, doing everything we possible could to raise this money, and still not coming up with it, many of us check our emails to see if anyone was going to send some money. Guess what! Many of us got replies from people back home and it all added up to more that the $3,000 we needed! It is amazing how it worked out that most people had send out emails long before this, but it wasn't untill we had done everything we possibly could that God made the impossible happen in a way that we could have not done ourselves. He is so amazing! I think all of us had some forgiveness to ask for for all the doubt we has in our hearts. It is so exciting to see how got used this the bring us together and really work as a team. He taught up about sacrifcing for eachother and laying down our own rights. He helps us to break thought barriers that many people had between one annother. I learned even more through this that it is not about what I can do for God, but it is about where my heart is at and that is where he meets me.
So last night way full of singing and dancing... hugging and shouting.... praying and praising. Because God gave us money?... NO! Because he is alway faithful, always good, and always loving! He never changes... that we can count on!
So last night way full of singing and dancing... hugging and shouting.... praying and praising. Because God gave us money?... NO! Because he is alway faithful, always good, and always loving! He never changes... that we can count on!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Please Pray...
There are a couple things that are on my mind and have really been on my heart these past few weeks and they are 1) OUTREACH and 2) My teams need for OUTREACH FUNDS$$$.
1) I leave this Saterday, April 5, for my Costa Rica Outreach! So soon! This is very exciting, but there is still so much that needs to happen before then that need to be covered in prayer. You can pray that we can perfect (or even finish learning) our dramas this week before we go. What this will take is Gos meraculously providing more time in the day. Also, PLEASE pray for the first week (April 6-10th) which is the NIKO Camp, which I hear really rips you apart, so I need so much prayer that God will use that time to do some awesome things in me and in my team (and that we all come out in one piece!). After that the actually outreach phase begins in Talemaca, which is the same place where the NIKO camp is. We will be there for at least 2 weeks then we are not sure yet about where we will be for that last week of April (please pray for God's guidance and provision in that). Mostly, pray that God would be bringing my team together AS A FAMILY. That we would learn to really love eachother and be closrer than brothers because this is what will made or break our outreach... "You will be known by your love for eachother". Pray that I CAN DIE TO MYSELF.
2) For many people on both the Guatemala and the Venzuela team, Outreach is just a hope untill we get enough money for them to be able to go. I praise God for his provition and how far he has already brought us! At the start of last week we still needed $6, 000 total in order for everyone to be able to go, but after those of us who had some extra money responded to God's call to give to our teammates our needs were cut in half and we only needed $3,000! Everyone spent all of last week prefaring a fundraiser that was held last Saturday. We all made different kinds of foods and help a "food fair" and the community center in our nieghborhood. To our disappointment, we did not get a very good turnout and we ended up with alot of extra food and not much prophit at all. Today (Sunday) we are all going out on the street to sell what we have left and are praying that there is still some funds that can come in through this. Please pray that as we do what is possible to get our outreach money, that God will do the impossible in this seemingly impossible timing (we are supposed to leave in less that a week!). Pray that God can change our spirits of discouragement to spirits of joy! My faith is deffinately being strengthened throught this, but I feel that many of my classmates are just tired and frusterated. Please cover us in your prayer. If you feel that God is calling you to give, please just let me know (mariposagrace@hotmail.com) and we work it out. It would be greatly appreciated :).
Thank you so much for all your prayer and support!
Learning to Trust God in All things,
Anna
1) I leave this Saterday, April 5, for my Costa Rica Outreach! So soon! This is very exciting, but there is still so much that needs to happen before then that need to be covered in prayer. You can pray that we can perfect (or even finish learning) our dramas this week before we go. What this will take is Gos meraculously providing more time in the day. Also, PLEASE pray for the first week (April 6-10th) which is the NIKO Camp, which I hear really rips you apart, so I need so much prayer that God will use that time to do some awesome things in me and in my team (and that we all come out in one piece!). After that the actually outreach phase begins in Talemaca, which is the same place where the NIKO camp is. We will be there for at least 2 weeks then we are not sure yet about where we will be for that last week of April (please pray for God's guidance and provision in that). Mostly, pray that God would be bringing my team together AS A FAMILY. That we would learn to really love eachother and be closrer than brothers because this is what will made or break our outreach... "You will be known by your love for eachother". Pray that I CAN DIE TO MYSELF.
2) For many people on both the Guatemala and the Venzuela team, Outreach is just a hope untill we get enough money for them to be able to go. I praise God for his provition and how far he has already brought us! At the start of last week we still needed $6, 000 total in order for everyone to be able to go, but after those of us who had some extra money responded to God's call to give to our teammates our needs were cut in half and we only needed $3,000! Everyone spent all of last week prefaring a fundraiser that was held last Saturday. We all made different kinds of foods and help a "food fair" and the community center in our nieghborhood. To our disappointment, we did not get a very good turnout and we ended up with alot of extra food and not much prophit at all. Today (Sunday) we are all going out on the street to sell what we have left and are praying that there is still some funds that can come in through this. Please pray that as we do what is possible to get our outreach money, that God will do the impossible in this seemingly impossible timing (we are supposed to leave in less that a week!). Pray that God can change our spirits of discouragement to spirits of joy! My faith is deffinately being strengthened throught this, but I feel that many of my classmates are just tired and frusterated. Please cover us in your prayer. If you feel that God is calling you to give, please just let me know (mariposagrace@hotmail.com) and we work it out. It would be greatly appreciated :).
Thank you so much for all your prayer and support!
Learning to Trust God in All things,
Anna
He is Strong in my Weakness
Hey Friends!
Sorry that this has turned into a choppy and drawn out story, but I will finally finsh telling about Nicaragua. Theen I will tell you a bit about what I have been up to lately!
At the hospital, the whole group went to the children's wing together and visited with the kids and thier parents. It was so hard to see kids that are so little being so sick and then not know if thier parents will continue to have the money for their child's needs to be met. We spent alot of time with them talking, praying, and playing with the kids and they seems very encouraged that were were there. I love being with the kids because they are so easy to communicate with. I just have to smile at them or hold them or maybe play a little game amd all the sudden we are friends. We dedcided to do that same drama we had done for the school earlier that morning for the kids in the hospital and their parents. Everyone laughed and the mood in the room was totally transformed for what it was when we first walked in. What I came to realize through my experience at the hospital is that even if I don't have the words to bring some grand message to the people, when I am loving them by just being there for them and serving them in the little ways that I can, I am really blessing them and giving them hope. That is the truly message I have to give: I am here because Jesus has given me a new hope and you can have that hope too.
Well lets fast forward a few weeks to where I am, here and now. As you read in my previous blogs, in the first half or my Discipleship Training School I was just completely falling head-over-heals in love with God! And do you know what?... I still am! The difference now is that he has been teaching me about commitment to him; that feelings won't be there all the time, but I still need to put him first no matter what and be committed to him in everything because we have made a covanant togehter. It is so good that he is teching me this now because right as he began telling me that, times got to be much more difficult. My feet hit the ground and circumstance after circumstance kept running in to me, trying to knock me down. This I how I learning to cling to my Rock who can never be shaken. There were definately times when I was so angry and tired that I just wanted to forget it all, but this his how God has been able to show me how he has been transforming my heart: instead of just keeping all these things inside, trying to handle them on my own strength I just ran to him and gave it all over. At times I just has to screem at him asking "why?", at times I just had to cry at his feet, and every time I just had to surrender every situation and everything inside of me over to him. He has been faithful to show me more and more of who he is and what he is like in these times and that is how I am able to say, "Not on my own strength, but in yours. In my weekness your power is made perfect. Your love never fails!" In learing to be open with God, who is my very best friend, I have also been learing to be more open with others. I really did take fist coming to him, laying down my pride, and knowing his faithfulness that I have been able to even learn what it means to be open in order to open up to others more. I have been able to come to my friends in humility and say "Hey, I'm having a really hard time. This is what's goign on, and this is how I feel". God is so good! I have been covered in prayer and encouragement and have just been overwhelmed by the love that others have shown me!
Sorry that this has turned into a choppy and drawn out story, but I will finally finsh telling about Nicaragua. Theen I will tell you a bit about what I have been up to lately!
At the hospital, the whole group went to the children's wing together and visited with the kids and thier parents. It was so hard to see kids that are so little being so sick and then not know if thier parents will continue to have the money for their child's needs to be met. We spent alot of time with them talking, praying, and playing with the kids and they seems very encouraged that were were there. I love being with the kids because they are so easy to communicate with. I just have to smile at them or hold them or maybe play a little game amd all the sudden we are friends. We dedcided to do that same drama we had done for the school earlier that morning for the kids in the hospital and their parents. Everyone laughed and the mood in the room was totally transformed for what it was when we first walked in. What I came to realize through my experience at the hospital is that even if I don't have the words to bring some grand message to the people, when I am loving them by just being there for them and serving them in the little ways that I can, I am really blessing them and giving them hope. That is the truly message I have to give: I am here because Jesus has given me a new hope and you can have that hope too.
Well lets fast forward a few weeks to where I am, here and now. As you read in my previous blogs, in the first half or my Discipleship Training School I was just completely falling head-over-heals in love with God! And do you know what?... I still am! The difference now is that he has been teaching me about commitment to him; that feelings won't be there all the time, but I still need to put him first no matter what and be committed to him in everything because we have made a covanant togehter. It is so good that he is teching me this now because right as he began telling me that, times got to be much more difficult. My feet hit the ground and circumstance after circumstance kept running in to me, trying to knock me down. This I how I learning to cling to my Rock who can never be shaken. There were definately times when I was so angry and tired that I just wanted to forget it all, but this his how God has been able to show me how he has been transforming my heart: instead of just keeping all these things inside, trying to handle them on my own strength I just ran to him and gave it all over. At times I just has to screem at him asking "why?", at times I just had to cry at his feet, and every time I just had to surrender every situation and everything inside of me over to him. He has been faithful to show me more and more of who he is and what he is like in these times and that is how I am able to say, "Not on my own strength, but in yours. In my weekness your power is made perfect. Your love never fails!" In learing to be open with God, who is my very best friend, I have also been learing to be more open with others. I really did take fist coming to him, laying down my pride, and knowing his faithfulness that I have been able to even learn what it means to be open in order to open up to others more. I have been able to come to my friends in humility and say "Hey, I'm having a really hard time. This is what's goign on, and this is how I feel". God is so good! I have been covered in prayer and encouragement and have just been overwhelmed by the love that others have shown me!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Address
Hey Here Is my mailing address as requested:
Anna Jacobs- YWAM
Apartado 252-2070
Sbailla Montes De Oca
San Jose, Costa Rica
I Will be able to receive mail and small packages here until April 12th when I go on outreach. Thanks!
Anna Jacobs- YWAM
Apartado 252-2070
Sbailla Montes De Oca
San Jose, Costa Rica
I Will be able to receive mail and small packages here until April 12th when I go on outreach. Thanks!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Nicaragua pt.2
After playing with the kids on the base, I worked in the gardens in the yard and pick up trash around the bumpster (yummy:)). That afternoon I went with a small group to the hospital that was nearby to visit with the patients. As you can immagine, the hospital was very run down. It was made up of three small sections: one for men, one for women, and one for children. I went with two of the guys on my team to the men's section. There were four men there and we prayed for each of them. I was hard for me because it's hard to know what to say to people in that situation, especially not knowing any specifics. Even if I did, it is so hard to communicate with my limited spanish. When we first waled into the room I think my teammates kind of expected me to know what to do and I really felt just as lost as they did. So I figured that you can never go wrong with praying for people so I asked the first man if we could pray a blessing over him and if there was anything specific he wanted prayer for. So that is what we did, took turns praying for each of the men and the one boy in my group that spoke spanish translated. They all expressed that they were so happy for us to be there either with thier words or their faces. One man just broke down in tears when we started to pray for him. One very old man really touch my heart. His spirit was so strong even though his body was so weak. We started talking to him about God, but he had so much more to say about God than we did! He had such a strong faith and was truly so filled with the joy of Christ in the midst of his suffering. He said, "The Devil can take my body, but he can never touch my spirit." His daughter was there with him and she said that they were waiting for some test results, but he always waits in expectation to hear good things and he hopes and expects the positive every time he waits for these tests. After we prayed for him, I also prayed for his daughter and their family.
More to come...
More to come...
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Nicaragua
Hi Friends and Family!
Thanks for being so patient whilewaiting for a new blog. Keeping on top of this is not my strong spot. Well I know many of you want to hear about my trip to Nicaragua so even though that seems so long ago to me, I will start there. It was very short. Two whole days were spent driving and we spent one day at the beach and one day doing outreach. Nicaragua is really different from anywhere that I have ever been. It is hard to describe,but it´s like a different world. One interesting thing that I saw alot were people riding down the streets in carts with horses! Even though I have seen impovrished areas in Costa Rica, there is such a visible difference in Nicaragua with the effects of poverty around every corner. In spite of this, the beach was beautiful. I had such a fun day there catching the waves and laying out with my friends. My favorite part of the whole day was taking a walk with God along the shore, watching the waves and picking up seashells. Later that night I read in a psalm about how his love goes over us like a wave(I´llfind which one it is). The next day for outreach,we did a short presentation for the elementary school that is on the YWAM base. It went really well and it was so fun to spend some time with the kids. Some of the boys had alot of fun chasing me around while holding hairy spiders in thier hands (you know how much I love that;). What was a slightly more fun for me was hanging out with some 4th and 5th grade girls; they liked me alot. When I was walking through the neighborhod later they ran up to me yelling my name and gave me hugs.
To be continued...
Thanks for being so patient whilewaiting for a new blog. Keeping on top of this is not my strong spot. Well I know many of you want to hear about my trip to Nicaragua so even though that seems so long ago to me, I will start there. It was very short. Two whole days were spent driving and we spent one day at the beach and one day doing outreach. Nicaragua is really different from anywhere that I have ever been. It is hard to describe,but it´s like a different world. One interesting thing that I saw alot were people riding down the streets in carts with horses! Even though I have seen impovrished areas in Costa Rica, there is such a visible difference in Nicaragua with the effects of poverty around every corner. In spite of this, the beach was beautiful. I had such a fun day there catching the waves and laying out with my friends. My favorite part of the whole day was taking a walk with God along the shore, watching the waves and picking up seashells. Later that night I read in a psalm about how his love goes over us like a wave(I´llfind which one it is). The next day for outreach,we did a short presentation for the elementary school that is on the YWAM base. It went really well and it was so fun to spend some time with the kids. Some of the boys had alot of fun chasing me around while holding hairy spiders in thier hands (you know how much I love that;). What was a slightly more fun for me was hanging out with some 4th and 5th grade girls; they liked me alot. When I was walking through the neighborhod later they ran up to me yelling my name and gave me hugs.
To be continued...
Thursday, February 28, 2008
The Heart of Hannah
Hi Everyone,
I just want to say thank you so much to those who have been praying form me! I know that God has been moving through you. Thank you for joining in on what he is doing, he just loves when we pray for each other! Please be praying especially for tonight (thursday, if you read this before than) because the DTS and the school of worship will be having a 12-hour (7 pm to 7 am) prayer and worship night. I am so excited for this! We will have special times of intercession specific topics and also just times of worship and listening to what God leads up to intercede for. Pray that this will be a time God can transform my heart, speak to me personally and also speak to up as a group.
I thought i would share another journal entry.
February 24
After the day of giving and our call to holiness there have been a new sort of unity within the DTS. A more profound transformation had been triggered in me. The morning of the 22nd, in worship time, I had such a strong desire to feel his love and he responded to that by giving me a deeper understanding of and sensitivity to his love. During a time of prayer, right after I had prayed a lady named Grace (she is from Uganda!) came over and began to pray for me. She said the things that were on my heart; things of God and how I only longed for him. After the worship time she took me aside and told me that she felt in her heart that I am like Hannah of the Bible. Hannah’s husband had given her every material thing she could ever need, but it didn’t matter to her because her heart’s desire was for a son. She constantly prayed, crying out to God for her hearts desire. He gave her the desire of her heart, which she gave back to him as she promised. Her son blessed the nation of Israel. Grace told me that God showed her that even though I have every “thing” I could ever need in this life, it is worthless to me because my heart only has one desire. I long with all me being just to be with him and know him more. I am willing to forsake everything else just to be in his arms and go deeper into his love. Like Hannah, my heart cries out in pain for this, being grieved at the thought of not having my heart’s desire. In the same way, God has heard my cry and is giving me my desire! Grace spoke of the things that are on my heart. His love is all I want. The only things I really need are found in his love.
The next day, God showed me more of his beauty through his creation. Some friends and I went to the rainforest and… Wow… it was so beautiful. I have never seen any other thing in nature like it. God is so creative! In the middle of our hike, it started to rain. We got so excited about this that we sang out loud to God, “Rain more! Rain harder!” More and more it began to pour, illuminating the beauty of the forest. It was cool because some parts of the forest were so thick that I could just feel a bit of the raindrops, but it would just be dumping down in the more open spaces. We were singing, dancing, and laughing like no other! That was a day to remember. Surely, it was a week to remember.
Monday, February 25, 2008
The Power of Giving
Announcement!!!!!!!!!!!: For those who don’t already know: I am doing my outreach in Costa Rica for the month of April and in Guatemala for the month of May! I am so excited! Also, this weekend (March 1 +) I will be in Nicaragua doing a mini-outreach. I will let you know how that goesJ.
This is an entry in my new journal that I want to share with everyone. I know it’s long, but I urge you to read it all to be encouraged by the swell things God is doing,
February 20, 2008
This journal in itself is a testimony to the greatness of God. Now I will use it to record all (or as much as I can) of the amazing things I see him doing. He blew me away today. The day started off with my alone time with him. He spoke to me about having hope in his unfailing love (Psalm 33). He showed me that there is no better way to live my life than in his will because his unfailing love does what is very best for me. I mean, how could I go wrong with unfailing, selfless, agape love? His love is the path I will walk along forever. After that there was a time of base intercession. God spoke to many people and common themes that were noticed were how he desires that we have unity, selfless love for each other, and one direction. That we have passion like a fire and that fire would consume anything that stands between him and us (personally). Someone had a special word for just the DTS that God desires for us to be holy. This is something that has also been on my heart for the DTS. We had a passionate time of prayer, and it was apparent that he was working in hearts. I did not see this coming at all, but God spoke something directly to my heart. He said, “I have made you to be a leader. You have let fear and feelings of inferiority back into your heart and they have kept you from this calling. Let my perfect love cast out all fear and make your heart holy. Don’t worry what other people are thinking about you; what I think about you is what matters. Rise up, Forerunner!” This is a powerful word from God, but I am taking it to heart, ready to rise up and let him use me. I think that he has designed me for this role, in some ways, but I also must develop into it through obedience, discipline, and practice.
I am still in amazement of the next thing that happened. Giacomo, the base leader, asked everyone in the DTS to go to their rooms and ask God what 2 things do they have that they are supposed to give away, and to who. I started thinking and praying as I walked to my house, asking God what I should give. As soon as I stepped into my room and I saw my bag of makeup, I knew. My friend Briana had mysteriously lost her makeup this morning and now God was asking me to give mine to her. I did not have to spend any time struggling with this in my heart because I know that laying down this right would bring me freedom. I felt I also needed to gather all the money I had in my room to give to one of the girls in my room along with my blow dryer and a pair of earrings. I put all these items in a bag and returned to class. We began. Someone would stand in the middle of the circle and give up two or more things that they love. They would lay their hands one the person they were giving to and pray for them. In turn, the person would receive the gift with a thankful heart then pray a blessing on the giver. There were simple things, such as shirts, that were given and really blessed people. There were also people giving up some of their bigger possessions like laptops, cameras, and ipods to people that needed it more than them. I could see that they were being liberated from their bond to material possessions and being filled with joy as they gave in obedience to God. God truly multiplied our blessings trough this. I felt like the little boy who gave his little lunch of fish and bread to feed over 5, 000 people. I had no regrets as I handed over my makeup to my friend who had tears in her eyes as she said, “I know how much this means to you.”
I was blessed with some very special things. First of all, I was given this journal that I am writing in from my friend Mark. He told me, “I want you to remember all the awesome things God is doing in your life. Then I was given a gold colored bracelet from one of the staff leaders, Jesse… “Because it is pretty, and so are you.” Also, my friend Suzanne gave me a necklace of hers that I really like. Though I believe that all these gifts are from God, the next two gifts that I received might as well been handed to me by his very own hand. Another staff leader, Loly, gave me a colorful (mostly pink) died bag that she got during her DTS outreach in Guatemala. She said it always reminds her of what God did on her outreach and the beautiful country that she fell in love with. This touched me right at the heart because I don’t believe that she even knew that Guatemala is a country that God put on my heart years ago. Now he is fulfilling that dream by bringing me there for outreach this May. This was yet another whisper from God confirming that Guatemala is a place he wants me to reach for him!
When I was sure that there must not be anything else for God to give me, he responded to a desire of my heart. I had been asking God since the “Devine Plumbline” teaching (week 3) to give me a bracelet to symbolize the way he has saved me and healed my soul. I asked him for one that I could have for my whole life to use to tell people my story. I asked him to give it to me directly instead of me going out to find one because I wanted it to have the special value that only something that God handpicks can have (like me!). I asked that it would already contain someone’s story. So… as we gathered together a girl named Karla, from Bolivia, entered the center of the giving circle. I laughed as she expressively explained about a box of special things she has hidden at home so that her sister can’t find them and use them. There was one bracelet, though, that was her favorite (it’s silver with black and silver heart charms) that she was so worried about her sister using that she brought it with her. After saying this, she looked straight at me and said, “Anna, this is for you”. I was so overwhelmed. She said, “This bracelet is valuable to me, but you are so much more valuable to God.” It was so amazing to me that even though she is not one of the girls that I am closest with, she is someone who’s story I respect greatly and God was able to speak to her and tell her that I was the one who needed that bracelet.
The giving continued and as we each let go and received in the circle, we all became intertwined and connected in spirit. Just like God had spoken to us about in the morning, we became united and our hearts burned with love for each other. Our passion for Christ was a wildfire, consuming everything the things that stood between him and us. One of the reasons that we did this exercise was because we still needed $3, 000 to be paid for everyone’s lecture phase fees to be covered. Somehow, by the end of our time of giving, the $3, 000 was not only covered, but it was exceeded. I don’t know everything about what people had to give up to make this happen, but I do know that my friend from Germany took her entire savings that her parents had put away for her college education and handed it over to God. She responded to his call to give a tenth of that today.
So many more things came out of this. People’s needs were being met left and right. One truly beautiful thing that happened was God brought two enemies together through forgiveness into friendship. After all of this, when we gathered for lunch, everyone could not stop talking about God’s generosity and giving praise to him for his wonders. I said to one friend of mine, “Whenever I read in the book of Acts about how everyone in the early Church was giving and no one was ever without what they needed, I think: Why isn’t the Church like that today? Now I have seen with my own eyes how this can happen. I feel like the early Church, I want to live like this for the rest of my life. This is what community is about.”
This afternoon I headed to the prayer room to reflect on this day and the goodness of God. As I walked I thought, “I really with someone could have prayed for me this morning that I would cast ALL fear out of my heart and be the leader (and kind of leader) that God wants me to be.” I opened the door to the prayer room and there was my friend Lisa, sitting on the couch. She smiled and said, “Hi Anna! What are you doing?” “Oh, just coming to pray a little.” “Well that’s what I’m doing too. Do you want prayer for anything?” God provided almost instantaneously! Together, we praised God for who he is and what he is doing. We prayed for each other, lifting the things on our hearts up to God. J
Friday, February 15, 2008
LOVE- A Valentine Now and Forever
Yesterday was valentines day. This is a day that I usually don't like very much. Mainly because it is for people that have a valentine and no matter how many times you are told that it is also a day about friendship, it's just not the same. This year I decided to change my mopey ways and spend the day celebrating the greatest gift God has given me: LOVE. How could I not spent the day that is known as "the day of love" reflecting on my father's love that is my very reason for living and is constantly surrounding me and consuming my heart?
Before I get into that I have to say: yesterday was the best Valentines Day ever. And yes, I stand corrected, it is an awesome day of friendship! To start off the day (at the stroke of midnight) all the other girls and I were awakened by a midnight serenade. All the guys stood outside of our windows and sang love songs to us as some strummed their guitars. When we came to the door to thank them, they gave each of us a beautiful flower that they has risked their lives to pick. It was the sweetest thing A whole group of guys (let alone one guy) has ever done for me! The day continued with constant expressions of friendship through valentine cards, acts of service, and hugs. Me and the other girls in my small group even made matching shirts to wear that said, "Free Hugs" on the front and, "For God so hugged the world..." on the back:). That evening we had a special candlelight dinner complete with decorations, jazz music, and a 3-course meal that was served by some of the guys. After the dinner, some of the girls presented a project they had been working on: writing songs about each person in the DTS to sing to them. Mine was to the tune of "Girls just wanna have fun", but it was called "Anna just wants to have fun". It was so funny! The rest of the night was full a taking pictures and dancing (of course!). There is nothing like living in a community with others who have the love of Christ... there are love explosions everywhere! I want to be in community with others, such as this one, for the rest of my life.
These awesome friendships are just one way God has been showing me his love. In the past month I have been experiencing God's love in a new and deeper way.
I have experience his love as my savior; one who has laid down his life for me just so I can be with him. I have experienced his saving grace this past month because he has done some major surgery on my soul; opening me up and taking things out of me that were buried so deep inside that I did not even know they were there, yet they were eating me up and keeping me from a deeper relationship with him. He is my healer, healing me from things I thought were my destiny for my entire life. Now he has come into those places in me that were filled with darkness and shines his light, giving me abundant life. What love he has for me that he gave his own life, paying the price that was mine to pay, that I may have freedom and eternity with him!
God has began to reveal himself me as my eternal lover. He has spoken into my life, telling me that he has never left me to be alone, but has always gazed upon me, sometimes speechless because he is so in awe of me. He delights in me![Zephaniah 3:17]. To him I am more precious than a jewel; more beautiful than a diamond. He has dreams for me that are better than anything I could dream for myself. Most of all, he LOVES spending time with me. He is always waiting in the secret place for me, desiring that I come into his presence. When I seek to know him more deeply, he reveals himself! I will dwell in the house of the Lord!
His has also been showing me how he is my perfect Father with perfect love, my best friend, and the only source of true love that I can give to others (he IS Love). Do you know what makes me more excited than anything else?... I have just scratch the surface of God's love! The deeper into his love that I go, the more I realize that it is bigger than I could ever experience in this lifetime and more extravagant than my wildest imagination. Can you imagine what his heart must look like? All I know is that we (his children) are at the very center of his heart. He said, "I have loved you with an everlasting love."[Jer. 39:3] I am so excited to spend the rest of my life getting to know the one who I will be in a love-relationship with for the rest of eternity!
Before I get into that I have to say: yesterday was the best Valentines Day ever. And yes, I stand corrected, it is an awesome day of friendship! To start off the day (at the stroke of midnight) all the other girls and I were awakened by a midnight serenade. All the guys stood outside of our windows and sang love songs to us as some strummed their guitars. When we came to the door to thank them, they gave each of us a beautiful flower that they has risked their lives to pick. It was the sweetest thing A whole group of guys (let alone one guy) has ever done for me! The day continued with constant expressions of friendship through valentine cards, acts of service, and hugs. Me and the other girls in my small group even made matching shirts to wear that said, "Free Hugs" on the front and, "For God so hugged the world..." on the back:). That evening we had a special candlelight dinner complete with decorations, jazz music, and a 3-course meal that was served by some of the guys. After the dinner, some of the girls presented a project they had been working on: writing songs about each person in the DTS to sing to them. Mine was to the tune of "Girls just wanna have fun", but it was called "Anna just wants to have fun". It was so funny! The rest of the night was full a taking pictures and dancing (of course!). There is nothing like living in a community with others who have the love of Christ... there are love explosions everywhere! I want to be in community with others, such as this one, for the rest of my life.
These awesome friendships are just one way God has been showing me his love. In the past month I have been experiencing God's love in a new and deeper way.
I have experience his love as my savior; one who has laid down his life for me just so I can be with him. I have experienced his saving grace this past month because he has done some major surgery on my soul; opening me up and taking things out of me that were buried so deep inside that I did not even know they were there, yet they were eating me up and keeping me from a deeper relationship with him. He is my healer, healing me from things I thought were my destiny for my entire life. Now he has come into those places in me that were filled with darkness and shines his light, giving me abundant life. What love he has for me that he gave his own life, paying the price that was mine to pay, that I may have freedom and eternity with him!
God has began to reveal himself me as my eternal lover. He has spoken into my life, telling me that he has never left me to be alone, but has always gazed upon me, sometimes speechless because he is so in awe of me. He delights in me![Zephaniah 3:17]. To him I am more precious than a jewel; more beautiful than a diamond. He has dreams for me that are better than anything I could dream for myself. Most of all, he LOVES spending time with me. He is always waiting in the secret place for me, desiring that I come into his presence. When I seek to know him more deeply, he reveals himself! I will dwell in the house of the Lord!
His has also been showing me how he is my perfect Father with perfect love, my best friend, and the only source of true love that I can give to others (he IS Love). Do you know what makes me more excited than anything else?... I have just scratch the surface of God's love! The deeper into his love that I go, the more I realize that it is bigger than I could ever experience in this lifetime and more extravagant than my wildest imagination. Can you imagine what his heart must look like? All I know is that we (his children) are at the very center of his heart. He said, "I have loved you with an everlasting love."[Jer. 39:3] I am so excited to spend the rest of my life getting to know the one who I will be in a love-relationship with for the rest of eternity!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
The basics
Many of you have been asking what I have been have been doing and what my daily life here in Costa Rica has been like. Yes, it is true that God has been doing some amazing things in my heart and teaching me so much more about what he is like and I will definitely tell you about those things too, but I thought I would start of this blog with…
“THE BASICS”:
I have been here for 16 days! I already feel at home here in San Francisco, Costa Rica. The DTS has become my family. I take that back… the entire YWAM base has become my family. I’m starting to get to get into the rhythm of my daily life. Having cold showers every other afternoon; I’m not so afraid of them anymore. Doing the time-consuming labor of hand washing my laundry (I don’t believe in paying to use a washer and dryer), and learning to be OK with some memories being left of my white shirts. Sharing a room with five other girls (It’s not so bad… It’s a big room). Though I love all the girls in the DTS, I have a special sisterly bond with my roomy-girls (Brianna, Suzanne, Amanda, Leigh, and Patricia). Our room is extra-special because it even has a “closet” to keep our cloths in (ha ha!). There are three YWAM houses that are not too far from each other in the neighborhood: House 1(Base) where the meals are shared and some of the girls live; House 2 where the classroom is, apartments of 5 families, and 1 girls room(my room); and House 3(boy’s house). My room had the option to move into the base house, but we all agreed that we wanted to stay in house 2. We had all sorts of “reasons” for this decision, but I think that the real reason is just that we already feel so at home where we are. I like sharing the little “apartment complex” with the YWAM families and watching/playing with the kids in the yard. I like jumping (or laying) on our trampoline and the feeling of being outside in the open air right when I walk out of my room. The weather here is like a dream. There are some days that are really hot or really cool, but most days follow the general pattern of being very warm and sunny in the morning, a little cooler yet still sunny in the afternoon, then a little more cool and shady in the evening.
My week basically looks like this:
Breakfast 6:30-7:00 (I make it to this a generous 50% of the time).
Quiet time 7:00-8:00
Either group worship or intersession from 8:00-9:00.
Class 9:00-12:30
Lunch 12:30-1:00
Lunch Cleanup (This is my work duty. I share it with my awesome friends Mark and Jake) from 1-2.
2:00- 4:00 on Mondays is class. Tuesdays is small group (I love my small group! My leader is Arianna and the other girls are Brianna, Lisa, and Shari.). Wednesday is local outreach; we have done this once so far and we dug a ditch for a church that that does children’s outreach that is in and horribly rough, poor, dangerous neighborhood. It was awesome to be able to help out there and I hope we will be able to go back there soon. Thursday is prep. for the outreach phase. Friday is free.
From 4:00-6:00 is most people’s work duties, but since I do mine at lunchtime, I get this time free! I will either hangout with my other meal-crew friends, take a nap, take a shower, do laundry, or read.
6:00 is dinner. I like rice and beans more and more each day!
Monday and Tuesday evenings are free! We like to spend this time to all hangout and have fun together. Some favorite activities are dance parties (I have so much fun and maybe I will eventually learn how to really dance the Latin way ;)), going to the pool hall (like the dancing, the idea is that I get better each time), or crowding around someone’s laptop to watch a movie. Wednesday evening is Family Night, which basically means everyone on the base hangs out/worships/fellowships. Thursday evening is class. Friday night is Fun Night at the Freemans! This is when all the DTS students go to Scott and Leslie’s (best DTS directors ever!) house and drink all their coffee, eat all their snacks, and play games. The games we play vary from “Mafia” to “Pop the balloon tied to your neighbor’s and safe your own at the same time”, but my favorite game is “Freeze dance”.
As for weekends, only a few people have work duty (we rotate), so I get most of them free. So far I have spent this time to have extra-long quiet times and to get out with some friends. Last weekend we had a fun trip to the mall and this weekend we went and checked out downtown San Jose and the zoo! We also like to take trips to the supermarket to get needed items, go to the yummy bakery, play at the park, and to other favorite activities (see previous list). I have a favorite café that I like to go to for tasty food and milkshakes call Fresa’s. Let’s not forget… making time to fill out my weekly journal that has to be turned in on Mondays. Last week my roomy-girls and I had our own little church service in our room on Sunday. I was a great time of sharing what God has been teaching each of us. I hope that remains as a tradition. My favorite thing about weekends is that I get to relax after the busy and emotionally exhausting week. Last night was especially restful for me as I chose to stay in with Arianna and Jesse, watch a movie, and drink French-roast coffee while the crowd went to the pool hall.
Ahhh… how God has been blessing me in so many ways! It’s not just in spiritual ways and in my relationship with him (though he has been blessing me in abundance in those ways and it has been amazing!), but he has been blessing me in my relationships with others and in the little joys of life. Not to say that I haven’t had hardships, but they have certainly been drowned with joy! Praise God!
“THE BASICS”:
I have been here for 16 days! I already feel at home here in San Francisco, Costa Rica. The DTS has become my family. I take that back… the entire YWAM base has become my family. I’m starting to get to get into the rhythm of my daily life. Having cold showers every other afternoon; I’m not so afraid of them anymore. Doing the time-consuming labor of hand washing my laundry (I don’t believe in paying to use a washer and dryer), and learning to be OK with some memories being left of my white shirts. Sharing a room with five other girls (It’s not so bad… It’s a big room). Though I love all the girls in the DTS, I have a special sisterly bond with my roomy-girls (Brianna, Suzanne, Amanda, Leigh, and Patricia). Our room is extra-special because it even has a “closet” to keep our cloths in (ha ha!). There are three YWAM houses that are not too far from each other in the neighborhood: House 1(Base) where the meals are shared and some of the girls live; House 2 where the classroom is, apartments of 5 families, and 1 girls room(my room); and House 3(boy’s house). My room had the option to move into the base house, but we all agreed that we wanted to stay in house 2. We had all sorts of “reasons” for this decision, but I think that the real reason is just that we already feel so at home where we are. I like sharing the little “apartment complex” with the YWAM families and watching/playing with the kids in the yard. I like jumping (or laying) on our trampoline and the feeling of being outside in the open air right when I walk out of my room. The weather here is like a dream. There are some days that are really hot or really cool, but most days follow the general pattern of being very warm and sunny in the morning, a little cooler yet still sunny in the afternoon, then a little more cool and shady in the evening.
My week basically looks like this:
Breakfast 6:30-7:00 (I make it to this a generous 50% of the time).
Quiet time 7:00-8:00
Either group worship or intersession from 8:00-9:00.
Class 9:00-12:30
Lunch 12:30-1:00
Lunch Cleanup (This is my work duty. I share it with my awesome friends Mark and Jake) from 1-2.
2:00- 4:00 on Mondays is class. Tuesdays is small group (I love my small group! My leader is Arianna and the other girls are Brianna, Lisa, and Shari.). Wednesday is local outreach; we have done this once so far and we dug a ditch for a church that that does children’s outreach that is in and horribly rough, poor, dangerous neighborhood. It was awesome to be able to help out there and I hope we will be able to go back there soon. Thursday is prep. for the outreach phase. Friday is free.
From 4:00-6:00 is most people’s work duties, but since I do mine at lunchtime, I get this time free! I will either hangout with my other meal-crew friends, take a nap, take a shower, do laundry, or read.
6:00 is dinner. I like rice and beans more and more each day!
Monday and Tuesday evenings are free! We like to spend this time to all hangout and have fun together. Some favorite activities are dance parties (I have so much fun and maybe I will eventually learn how to really dance the Latin way ;)), going to the pool hall (like the dancing, the idea is that I get better each time), or crowding around someone’s laptop to watch a movie. Wednesday evening is Family Night, which basically means everyone on the base hangs out/worships/fellowships. Thursday evening is class. Friday night is Fun Night at the Freemans! This is when all the DTS students go to Scott and Leslie’s (best DTS directors ever!) house and drink all their coffee, eat all their snacks, and play games. The games we play vary from “Mafia” to “Pop the balloon tied to your neighbor’s and safe your own at the same time”, but my favorite game is “Freeze dance”.
As for weekends, only a few people have work duty (we rotate), so I get most of them free. So far I have spent this time to have extra-long quiet times and to get out with some friends. Last weekend we had a fun trip to the mall and this weekend we went and checked out downtown San Jose and the zoo! We also like to take trips to the supermarket to get needed items, go to the yummy bakery, play at the park, and to other favorite activities (see previous list). I have a favorite café that I like to go to for tasty food and milkshakes call Fresa’s. Let’s not forget… making time to fill out my weekly journal that has to be turned in on Mondays. Last week my roomy-girls and I had our own little church service in our room on Sunday. I was a great time of sharing what God has been teaching each of us. I hope that remains as a tradition. My favorite thing about weekends is that I get to relax after the busy and emotionally exhausting week. Last night was especially restful for me as I chose to stay in with Arianna and Jesse, watch a movie, and drink French-roast coffee while the crowd went to the pool hall.
Ahhh… how God has been blessing me in so many ways! It’s not just in spiritual ways and in my relationship with him (though he has been blessing me in abundance in those ways and it has been amazing!), but he has been blessing me in my relationships with others and in the little joys of life. Not to say that I haven’t had hardships, but they have certainly been drowned with joy! Praise God!
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