bible study

on thursday i taught the bible study for the leaders of theos. this was their first study in this setting and dylia's parents invited some other people who they thought might benefit (like Rodrigo's Dad). this group was quite intimidating- from professional businessmen, to young professionals, this group wasn't intellectually slow in the least. however, besides benjamin and debbie (dylia's parents), i'm the only one with a formal bible education and they are eager to learn.

i taught the study on ecclesiastes, which is a monster to begin with, but it went very well. i spoke in english, they spoke in spanish and most of the time, we all understood each other very well. we will be meeting every other week, so our next study will be in february and i'll be teaching on proverbs. a lot of the information i have was from Dr. John Crutchfield's class on wisdom literature and i feel it is valuable information for this group.

also, i start teaching at the lighthouse school on monday. i will be teaching drama on monday for kids ages 4-6, english on tuesday for kids 8-11 and english on thursday for kids 5-8. i'm pretty excited and it's been very helpful that i've had the chance to babysit for keegan and logan in the past because their ages fall right in this span of ages, which will be helpful as i try to consider what activities to do with them. thanks for your prayers!

One week done...

well... it's been one week. i'm starting to understand what the next couple of months will be looking like for me. my house is an incredible blessing and is reminding me of the value of a simple lifestyle. however, it takes a lot of time to maintain a clean house. i can only cook one thing at a time, i don't have a dishwasher or washer/dryer machines. therefore, i anticipate roughly 20 hours a week just to maintain my house and feed myself. this is more than i expected, but praise the lord a work opportunity came up that is truly an answer to prayer. i will probably be teaching english two days a week and drama one day a week to elementary school students (all in english) and it is sort of a tutoring program so the parents will pay me directly. essentially, i will be making $500 a month for 12 hours of work... what a deal, huh? the school that i will probably be working at is called lighthouse.

i told you more about my involvement at theos in my previous email, so i will tell you a little bit about my past week. on saturday i went up to poas with dylia, gloriana, dona debbie and some students from unidos por cristo. this is where the earthquake hit. we were planning on just helping with food distribution, but they had plenty of volunteers and a system that wasn't very organized. so... dona debbie began looking for other opportunities and we ended up going into a restricted access area. this was in san rafael, one of the most hard hit areas and it was considered very dangerous, so even relief workers weren't allowed. however, we went with the intention of finding families who had experienced damage to their house and asking them what their needs were. essentially, the govt. has gone in to see what happened, but they haven't really told the people what to do or tried to find out how to help. so we had surveys that would be able to clearly convey what the people needed... in many cases it was a place to live.

one man that we met was in a house when the earthquake happened. he was thrown to the floor immediately and was tossed from one side of the house to the other throughout (40 seconds!) and had absolutely no control over himself. we saw one house... more like a pile of sticks, that had fallen off a cliff as the whole cliff gave out in a landslide. there was a man and a little girl inside the house. somehow... they both survived. this is a picture of what used to be their house:

i find it strange to think that this terrible catastrophe is just part of what the earth does. its so terrible and many people lost their lives or their homes or the majority of their belongings. praise the lord that this situation has caused many people to be generous with their time and resources in order to benefit those who are in need. there is an abundance of workers and of food for those impacted and it is incredible to see how a country without an army has supported itself through this difficult time. i'm learning a lot. thanks for your prayers. i miss you all, but i am having a blast... i really do miss you.

a quick start

so i've been able to enjoy getting to know many of the students that are involved in Theos. Last night I was able to have a long conversation in a casual setting with two guys- Manfred and Jose, about how they came to have a personal relationship. They both have been Christians for less than a year and heard the Gospel for the first time in Theos Place! Praise the Lord for his work in this community here through Theos. believe it or not, all of these conversations have been almost exclusively in spanish. my spanish is doing very well and i'm finding it easy to communicate even though my grammatical mistakes are innumerable- my friends have been very gracious.

after a meeting with don benjamin y dona debbie, my future parents-in-law (who began and are in charge of theos place) we decided that I will be leading a bible study on thursday nights for the leaders at theos- most of whom speak english better than i speak spanish. please pray that the lord will use me through these lessons. i feel intimidated trying to lead a lesson in broken spanish when they get to hear don benjamin give a lesson once a week- he is an incredible teacher and evangelist.

in addition to this, i will be taking practical steps towards starting a youth ministry- making connections with students, interviewing leaders of similar groups, etc. please pray that god will guide the starting process in this group.

though i was so intimidated and worried before coming, i'm having a blast. i had forgotten how much i love this country- how much more exciting it is to drive anywhere in town because every trip could mean that i'll see jesus today. (it's really not that bad) living on my own has also been fun and i've enjoyed making the house look like it's mine- with pictures mostly.

thank you so much for your continued prayers- it means so much that i have your support on such a consistent basis.

i made it!

this is just a quick update to let everyone know that i did arrive safely in the country. so far, my spanish is doing alright and i've been enjoying getting to know the people involved in theos. i am encouraged to see the way that they desire to grow. most of them have not had a relationship with christ for a very long time, yet it seems that jesus is cultivating an incredible amount of depth within these souls. praise the lord for what he is doing here. thanks for your prayers. they've gone a very long way!

just what i needed

as you may know by now, i've been through lots of discouragement and frustration as i've tried to prepare for costa rica. may i proclaim god's glory in his deep, deep, loving provision for my needs. this week i've spent most of my time packing, meeting with people and studying spanish like crazy. even though my trip to costa rica is nearing, i've still felt apprehensive and nervious.
today i received letters from two friends at CIU- peach taylor and david blanchard. these letters could have empowered me to face the devil himself today. honestly... i was so blown away by this simple act of provision that i wept. i didn't know what else to do. i'm sure that these two friends didn't realize they were meeting such deep needs in my life. but their words seemed to speak affirmation and encouragement so loudly that any sounds of discouragement were instantly drown out. they both shared specific ways that i had encouraged them- what a great reminder that god does work through broken people (i'm referring to myself). blanchard also gave me this encouraging verse: psalm 103:13-14 says,

13 as a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.

how valuable a reminder that the lord knows that i am only human. perhaps i also needed to hear these words and remember that yes- i am just human.

since i have graduated, my dear friends from ciu- the m2 justice boys, have not treated me like a friend from the past. i've had phone calls, facebook messages, letters. how gracious and good the lord is to have blessed me with such an empowering, encouraging group of men with whom i have shared three years of my life! truly, whatever happens in costa rica will most certainly be a result of god's gracious empowerment and the faithful prayers of those that will never receive due credit for their labor. what humility is demonstrated by these friends of mine who faithfully pray for my life and for my ministry?! may i always remember the responsibilities i have as a steward of these blessings.

i want to briefly mention that my mom and dad pray for me like crazy, grayson and wendell have both been reading my blog and leaving comments (which mean a lot!), hodges has called me on numerous occasions and there are countless more people that remain unrecognized with such faithful prayer and labor on my behalf. thank you so much. tears of joy were shed on your behalf today.

sacrifice and vision

a couple of thoughts: one about life as a christian cross-cultural communicator (missionary), and one about vision.

1. i've come to grips with the idea that i am, indefinitely, a missionary. dylia and i have no certain plans, or even hopes (as of now) of living in the united states. though i will get to enjoy living in a beautiful culture, and experiencing many new things, there will be things that i will have to give up. hanging out at starbucks, having quick access to english literature, or even resources for ministry, white christmases... from the past, i've found that sometimes, the things i miss the most are the little things that we take advantage of on a daily basis- like flushing your toilet paper. of course, the most reoccuring sacrifices will probably have to do with my family: just wanting a mom hug, or not being able to go to my brother's concert, etc. in light of all these sacrifices, i remind myself that what is at stake- people's souls and god's glory- are far more valuable than anything i could ever sacrifice.

2. concerning vision- i have two thoughts. first, i've been asking god to give me vision for this group and i've had one specific idea come to mind- i want people to come to our youth group because they've seen radical changes in the lives of people they know. this, obviously won't be immediate, and we will have to have kids come somehow to start, but eventually i want this to be a goal. so much of the time we try to draw kids in by entertaining them. it seems to me that what you have then is a deep message (or even a shallow one) being presented to a group of people that have incredibly shallow intentions. i want depth. i want people that want depth.
secondly, this morning at church, a friend, peter, asked me if i had given up on unreached people groups. those of you who know me well know that this has been a heavy burden on my heart for a long time. in no way do i intend to give up on them, (i'd have to give up on god to give up on the unreached) but i do hope that god's heart for the unreached will be passed on. this is something that you can keep me accountable for in the future.

lunch with peter

yesterday i had lunch my my good friend and renowned youth pastor, peter henderson. in general our entire lunch conversation was thoroughly beneficial and very encouraging to me. if i could sum up the main encouragement that i got from lunch, it was to not focus my attention dreading things that are not certain.
peter told me that he would start a ministry like this by examining his immediate resources, in this case, leaders who are already involved at Theos. he also said that he tends to take a 1/10 risk, on placing people in leadership who demonstrate great potential, but who need some discipleship and growth, perhaps. roughly 9/10 of his leaders are those who have demonstrated trustworthiness and steady growth over a longer period of time.
one piece of advice he gave me was to make certain that my expectations for leaders are clear and reasonable. he said that frequent meetings with leaders (even if for 5 minutes) are a good opportunity to check in on areas that need attention in the ministry, ideas for improvement and an opportunity to remind your leaders what is expected of them, or just to encourage them in their ministry.
peter gave me this quote that i absolutely loved, by an anonymous source- "if you get the right people on the bus, it doesn't really matter where they sit." this is an analogy for a leadership team. if the right people are on this leadership team, it won't really matter where or how they serve. their character and their life is what will shine the brightest where ever they are.
lastly, peter talked about vision. he told me that as the main leader of their youth group, he provides 2/3 of the vision for the group. the other leaders provide 1/3 of the vision and they directly influence peter's vision for the group in many ways. i loved the way that peter described this. as i begin this ministry, i should be diligent in seeking what god might do through this ministry and sharing that vision with others. however, because this is cross cultural, i should be very sensitive to what i see other leaders expecting and looking forward to. as i express my vision for the group, these things should most definitely be taken into consideration. after dreading many negative things, lunch with peter was uplifting and helped me to look forward to many positive possibilities instead. praise the lord!

vision and plan

with the information that i currently have, i will be expected to recruit junior high and high school students, as well as leaders to form a youth group. i am also responsible for training the leaders, (especially one leader to take over) and then transitioning out. i have given this a lot of thought and have come up with several concrete ideas to see this happen.

1. i will be intentional about delegating tasks whenever possible. (this might be especially helpful since my spanish is limited.) if i am training these leaders, then there will be some tasks that don't work out well, or some that the leader may not be ready for. in the latter circumstance, i will make an effort to train and equip the leader with the necessary resources and skills to complete it. in the former situation of failure or mistake, i will need to follow-up with the leader in order to talk through what happened and how the situation may be handled in the future.

2. follow up may be one of my most valuable tools. if i have regular meetings with intentional sharing about what is going well and what isn't going well, perhaps the leaders will develop a system of support amongst each other instead of always having to look to me. in addition, follow-up may help us to see areas of weakness or possible opportunities for innovative strategy.

3. i will need to come up with specific boundaries that will give others the opportunity to learn (i often can get carried away with taking on responsibility). these boundaries will take into consideration the principle that teaching (or hands on activity) is one of the best ways to learn. one of my personal boundaries is that i won't lead any bible studies outside of the ministry and within the ministry i would lead only studies for guys (sort of discipleship) or for leaders. *all of this is subject to change. ultimately i will need to talk to the director of the organization (my father-in-law) who will have a better perspective on what i should determine as boundaries. the purpose of this boundary would be to give leaders the opportunity to jump in and get teaching experience or even students.

as far as leaders and students... please pray that god will be preparing both students and leaders who will end up being a part of this group. i don't necessarily know how i will find either, so if i succeed in developing a group it will be because god was doing the work and not me. thanks for your prayers and support.

new year update

i must fill in the blanks... for they are many. dylia and i are engaged! we both officially graduated a couple of weeks ago and we will be getting married on june 14th. i bought a plane ticket for costa rica, so i am officially committed to the ministry with theos place.

i have spent the last two weeks at home with my family. though it is nice to see them, i must admit that it has been incredibly lonely. consistent friends in colorado seem rare right now. i guess there comes a point at which we part ways, even if this is only on a social level. i suppose this parting took place several years ago, it just seems to be more dramatic now.

as i look forward to costa rica, i have had a lot on my mind. my parents refer to these things as "stressors", i call them "intimidators". perhaps this brief list will give you a bit of insight as to what has been taking place in my mind:

1. i will be living on my own for the first time of my life.
2. i will be living in a completely different country, having to adjust and adapt to this different way of life.
3. my spanish really isn't where i would like it to be as i step into this spanish-speaking country.
4. i will be embarking on an adventure in ministry- i have no idea how to go about recruiting students, leaders or how to train them. (for this i am incredibly thankful to have Don Benjamin overseeing my work). on this matter, i want to be incredibly sensitive to develop a youth program that truly reflects the costa rican culture. i don't want to start an american youth program with costa rican people... i don't exactly know where to draw the lines.
5. my financial debt is significantly more than i had expected- i have been struggling with trusting that this is what God's "good provision" looks like.
6. the economy is different- the cost of living is lower, so i will be payed less. i'm wondering how this might effect the payments that i will have to make on my loans that are in american money- dylia has had difficulty finding jobs for more than $4 an hour. this is INTIMIDATING to me because my spanish is rough, i don't have much of a history in CR and i don't have a full time job currently. i just hope i don't get stuck in a rough situation.
7. i have struggled with thoughts that i am going to be giving dylia a life that is less than par after we marry. i must say that she has been so incredibly encouraging, empowering, supportive through our conversations. therefore- on a positive note- i am not really intimidated by the thought of marriage, but i am eagerly anticipating being married to her- at this time, i truly believe that she is one of god's greatest blessings in my life.
8. at the same time, marriage is a time in which i will have to learn how to love dylia more than myself on a day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute basis. i understand that this will be quite an adjustment as i learn how truly sinful and marred i am. one of our friends referred to marriage as a "sanctification machine". though it will have its' difficulties, i praise the lord for the opportunity of marriage to such an incredible human being (and yes, i understand the sanctification process will be mutual).
9. i've been told by reliable and experienced sources that the best way to get a job in costa rica is just to show up and get one. i have a hard time believing that there will not be legal issues at some point. also, i am going on a tourist visa. (this is what I have been told) essentially, this means that every three months i will have to leave the country for 48 hours. this just seems sketchy to me, but... i REALLY trust my sources.

now... i said the list would be brief. really- that is. i know it was a lot, but for some reason, my brain never quite stops thinking (obnoxious). i have two and a half weeks left. pray that my spanish comes quickly, and that god's peace will flood my mind. please praise god for dylia and his work in our lives!