shhhh...

why does it seem so hard to listen sometimes? i can try to be quiet and hear God's voice, but my own thoughts are screaming too loudly. it gets rather annoying.

costa rica

i just got home from costa rica and i am now ready to go back. it may very well be the most beautiful place in the world. every morning the clouds are beautiful and low, so they come down and cover the tops of the mountains that are absolutly everywhere that you look. it is... breath taking. and the culture is amazing. i loved it. there is such a sense of community there. it's sad, because you can see a giant hole that is waiting for God to fill it in the culture, but it is still beautiful.

i'm not going to tell about everything that we did right now, because it would take forever and i'm sure you would stop reading about a third of the way through. if you want to hear details, i would love to hang out with you and tell stories. just be warned that i may not shut up. :)

there are a couple of thing that i want to write about, though. both are more things that i learned that stories. i learned a lot about how faithfull God is just throught the entire process of this trip. it started and winter camp when diego (the missionary that we worked with) was the speaker. he told a lot about his life. to sum it up, God would tell him to go somewhere and he would go, trusting that God would provide the means of getting there. well, God told me to go to costa rica. but i was freaking out about getting enough money to pay for it. despite that, i said yes. my parents paid the deposit, and God used sponsors to provude more money than i was required to raise. it was awesome and an encouraging way to start the trip. He was also faithful when i had to give my testimony. i had been thinking about it and had a general idea of what God wanted me to say. the problem was that when i tried to write it out, it took up three pages of me rambling, and when i tried to go through it in my head, i couldn't seem to form coherent sentences. so when aaron told me that i was going to give my testimony the first time, my stomach natrurally tied its seld into knots and i was sort of freaking out. so i got up there with out knowing what i was going to say and some how spoke without stumbling and rambling. clearly, they weren't my own words because i didn't have any. He provided people for the kid's camps and youth services when we thought that no one would come. He also gave me comfort and support through His word when i needed it. God was so faithfull on this trip, and it was really encouraging for me. i've been freaking out a little since i'm about to go to college. i'm so afraid that i will lose faith when i'm there. but God showed me through this trip that He will be faithfull.

i also learned a lot about encouragement. it was awesome to go and lend support to the local churches and programs that are in the guanecate area right now. we were in charge of the sunday service and a local church the first sunday that we were there, and the pastor started to thank us for what we were doing. He said that in their culture, it is so rare to see teenagers who truely love God and wish to serve Him. the pastor also said that it gave him hope that the youth in that community can come to love God as well. two guys who were Christians and came to the youth camp we held also got up the last day and said that it was encouraging and refreshing for them to have that time immersed in God and seeing us share our faith. that was really exciting. but that wasn't all. we were encouraged by them. at the church that i mentioned earlier in this paragraph, i got to help with the sunday school for little kids. the woman that usually do it were there with us to help out. they didn't speak any english and i don't speak any spanish, but every now and then, while the kids were decorating hearts, we would glance at each other and they would give me the most welcoming smile. it was clear that they really cared about me and appreciated that i was there, even though they didn't know me. we also got to help out at a youth group and were greatly encouraged by some of the guys there. there were two guys in their band who spoke english and were just really friendly. there was another guy who seemed to take charge a lot who didn't speak english, but clearly was in love with God. it was great to see these guys reach out to a community where it is frowned upon to live out your faith. the intire trip was like that. wether is was a smile, a conversation, or just some one's laugh, we were constantly being encouraged.

it basically was an amazing trip and i would love to tell more stories if you want to hear them. so call me or e-mail me or something.