Peace.

This is the devotion that was in my Jesus Calling book for today. It fit perfectly with where my heart and mind have been since Costa Rica. So, I thought I would share.

"Understanding will never bring you Peace. That's why I have instructed you to trust in Me, not in your understanding. Human beings have a voracious appetite for trying to figure things out, in order to gain a sense of mastery over their lives. But the world presents you with an endless series of problems. As soon as you master one set, another pops up to challenge you. The relief you had anticipated is short-lived. Soon your mind is gearing up again: searching for understanding (mastery), instead of seeking Me (your Master).

The wisest of all men, Solomon, could never think his way through to Peace. His vast understanding resulted in feelings of futility, rather than in fulfillment. Finally, he lost his way and succumbed to the will of his wives by worshiping idols.

My Peace is not an elusive goal, hidden at the center of some complicated maze. Actually, you are always enveloped in Peace, which is inherent in My Presence. As you look to Me, you gain awareness of this precious Peace."

"Trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding. 

In all of your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." 

Proverbs 3:5-6

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, 

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." 

Romans 5:1

"Now may the Lord of peace, Himself, give you peace at all times and in every way. 

The Lord be with all of you." 

2 Thessalonians 3:16

 

*from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

Homesick at "home"

I am homesick.

I am at my "home".

And I am homesick.

I don't know how to explain it. I just know that I am meant for more than this. God has more purpose for my life than this. Today I had this overwhelming sense of "I don't belong here." 

When I come "home" I always tend to do nothing. I am not productive.

Something I learned while in Costa Rica was that it is so important to have time to relax and reflect. But there is no need for that when I have done nothing to relax from or reflect on.

Yes, my family is here and I love them, my parents, my brother and his wife and my beautiful baby niece. But even when I am sitting in their living room holding my niece, I still feel homesick.

My heart is missing something, someone, somewhere.

Even when I leave this house that I sometimes call "home", 

I do not believe that I am going to feel anymore at home in LaGrange.

In Costa Rica, I experienced the feeling of knowing that I was walking perfectly in God's will. I was in constant communication with Him. I was working in His Name, and I was relaxing in His presence. That is not to say that I couldn't experience that in LaGrange or Moultrie, my "homes", but that has yet to happen. I am too comfortable and confident in myself in these places. 

It wasn't until I was completely out of my comfort zone that I found myself fully relying on God. I have never been less stressed-out or less worried in my life. I have never been so trusting, with even the little things. And now that I am back in my comfort-zone, I feel disconnected. I feel homesick, because my home is in the presence of the Lord. My home is in His will, wherever that takes me.

I don't know where the Lord is going to take me next. I think I know, and I have plans, but His plans are much greater than my plans. I look at pictures of Costa Rica and get emotional when I see the faces of my friends and the beautiful children and people that I met there. I miss it so much. I do not know if the Lord will take me back there. I do not know if that will be my "home" one day. 

But I do know that right now I am homesick. 

I miss the place I was at physically, spiritually, and emotionally in Costa Rica. 

I want to feel at home again.

After some rest and a baby...

Sorry it has been a few days since I have posted. I made this blog for people supporting me on my trips, so I don't know how often I will post when I am not traveling. 

I will probably only post every now and then just to keep you updated on my life 

(because I'm sure so many people care...haha yeah right!)

As far as Costa Rica goes....I'm back :( I have been home 3 days and I miss it sooooooo much! 

But before I say anything else, I must tell you my airport story.

So Monday morning before I left, our whole team went out to get pastries and smoothies for my last breakfast in Costa Rica. [My pastry was DELICIOUS. I could live off of pastries.] We got back, I wrote my last post from CR and then Laura, Megan, and I got a taxi and headed off to the airport...VERY SLOWLY. Apparently there was a strike on taxi's in San Jose, so everyone was having to drive their own vehicles. Let's just keep in mind that traffic in San Jose is insane, on a NORMAL day. So multiply that times 100 and you get traffic in San Jose during a strike. So the ride that was supposed to take half an hour to get to the airport, took us half an hour to get halfway to the airport. We were at a complete standstill so our driver decided to turn around and go back to get on the interstate, go completely around the city and go the airport that way. Good call. We got to the airport at 11:30 my flight left at 1:00, so Laura says "Thanks for coming! Bye, we love you! BOOK IT!" haha :) So that was my goal, just get to the gate on time. Unfortunately that wasn't what happened. I walked inside and went to go pay the exit fee. [Why Costa Rica charges you to leave the country? Who knows.] I get up to the teller, hand her my credit card, and it doesn't work. NOOOOOOOOOOO. My card doesn't work, it's credit so I can't get cash out of an ATM, and I have $8 in cash left to pay a $28 fee. Awesome. So the lady [that doesn't speak much English] tells me to step to the side and hope that some nice passengers with help me. So I put my head down, took in a deep breath, said a quick prayer, turned around, and started asking anyone that looked like they spoke English if they could help me out with any cash. PRAISE THE LORD that everyone in line spoke English and most of them had extra cash. I finally got my exit fee payed, desperately thanked the people that gave me money and booked it through customs, check-in, and security. Took a quick break to get a bumper sticker and shot glass [I collect them, don't judge] and got to my gate as they were boarding and doing secondary screening. Thankfully everything went smooth from there and I got to Atlanta to see my besties, my roommate Kelsey and neighbor Brittany, with a sign waiting to pick me up! I stayed with my roommate at her house that night and then drove to Moultrie the next morning. So I am now home! [And yes, I now have a beautiful baby niece but she deserves a full post dedicated to her so just be patient on that :) ]

I haven't posted pictures the whole trip because I didn't bring my camera. 

But Megan and Gabrielle gave me some pictures that they took so I will share some of those.

For more posts and pictures from Costa Rica, visit Gabrielle's blog http://livingadreamersdream.blogspot.com/ 

and Brooke's blog http://brookehelsabeck.blogspot.com/

I will end this post with some pictures of what I love and miss most in Costa Rica.

These beautiful girls: Gabrielle, Brooke, Patti, and Megan :)

Our gorgeous view from the roof of the apartment...

Our incredibly talented soccer friends in Jairo's ministry!

These precious children at the Casa Agape ministry <3

My little Spiderman buddy :)

My roomies and our cute little apartment!

The beautiful beach and beautiful Brooke :)

The woman who started it all..Anna!

And of course, my Coronado friends!! :)

 All I can say right now as I look back at these memories of my trip is, THANK YOU! 

Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your support. Thank you for your encouragement. 

Thank you for caring about my trip. THANK YOU!

 

Costa Rica Day #7

Domingo! My last full day here :(

Sunday was another long and busy day. Brooke, Megan, and I got up early to catch the bus to Coronado to go to church. Unfortunately, we got to the bus stop right as the Coronado bus had left, so we had to wait another 30 minutes before the next one came. When we got to the Coronado bus station, we needed to either walk up that horrible hill again, or wait another 20 minutes on another bus to get there to take us to the church. So, we started walking and we end up meeting Oscar, one of our friends from church, walking towards the bus station to wait on the bus. So we took that as a sign that God didn't want us walking and we went and waited with him. (Thanks God! That hill is torture!) We got to the "10:00" service at about 10:40. There was lots of worship, lots of talking in Spanish, and a lot less Pentecostal stuff than the night before, and over 3 hours later, we are done around 1:45. Although that is a super long service to us in the States, it is a nice feeling to know that the worship service is led by the Spirit and not by a planned out by the minute schedule.

Since I couldn't understand anything that was being said in the service. I spent that time praying, listening to the Lord, and reflecting on my week here. All I could think about was how I did not want to leave :( I found family here, my brothers and sisters in Christ! I look around the room and see so many faces that, although I have only known for a few days, I am going to miss.

After service, Brooke, Megan, and I walked down the hill to the bus station and rode the bus back to San Jose. As soon as we get back to our apartment and eat, we have to go downstairs and prepare for the Casa Agape service that LightForce and YWAM do every Sunday afternoon. Anna and Laura were in a meeting  so we started sweeping and mopping the downstairs. We had been told the day before that there would be some kids coming, so we needed to find something for them to do in the classroom. Little did we know that they would come way early and that there would be 20 of them! So we quickly pulled out our crafts supplies and just went for it. The kids were having a blast drawing on the chalkboard wall, coloring, and letting me paint their faces. There were 5 boys that were about 10 years old that were writing their names on the board. When I tried to say one of their names I though the K at the beginning was an R, so I said it completely wrong. The boys thought it was the funniest thing they had ever heard. (To protect the boys I can't tell you the name.) But the rest of the night the boys would say my made-up name over and over. Before they left, we were playing monkey in the middle with bean bags, and every single time they threw the bag, they would yell the name. They were having so much fun and there was so much joy on their faces. And I loved begin a part of that. After they all left, I found a paper that the boy had written his actual name on. It is in my book right now and I don't imagine ever throwing it away.

While we were inside the classroom with the kids, the YWAM and LightForce staff were in the main room worshipping with people from the streets. Everytime they go out on the streets, they invite the prostitutes to this church service. The service is specifically for them. We bring them into our environment, love them, worship with them, pray over them, feed them, and love them some more.

The kids that were there with us were either church of the prostitutes and had come with them, or were in dangerous situations and had come with the YWAM ministry. One of the girls there was fourteen and was being trafficked. I didn't realize that until after everyone had left and our team was debriefing. And then all I could thing was: I painted her face. I held her hand. I laughed with here. She was FOURTEEN and being TRAFFICKED. WHY?

I knew that underage trafficking happened. It is very prevalent here in Costa Rica. But it wasn't until I realized that I had looked into the eyes of a girl that was in that situation, that I really felt impact of it on my heart. I still haven't processed that experience yet. I am just writing my thoughts as they come. But ask that you be in prayer for this young girl. Because of this abuse at such an early age, she acts as if she is a 10 year old girl, such a child at heart. I can not give a name or any details, but just PRAY FOR HER. And for all of the many boys and girls that are just like her. Young boys and girls being trafficked for sex through the brothels and streets of Costa Rica and all around the world.

PS. I posted this right before leaving for the airport on Monday morning so please be in prayer for my flight to LaGrange and drive home to Moultrie on Tuesday to be with family and hopefully the new baby soon!

Costa Rica Day #6

Sabado! 

Saturday was such a fun day here in Costa Rica, possibly my favorite day actually...

We started off the day by getting up early and all going as a team (Anna, Laura, Brooke, Megan, Gabrielle, and me) to a mostly boys soccer ministry. A man named Jairo ran this ministry in a very poor community outside of San Jose. Our group of 6 girls walked up and quickly saw that we were outnumbered. There were only 2 girls there. This was the first time that anyone from LightForce had worked with this ministry so we really had no idea what Jairo was going to have us do. Laura, Brooke, Megan, and I jumped in and started kicking around the soccer ball with some of the kids. Because I was deprived from playing soccer as a child, I have absolutely no skill at this game whatsoever. So the kids had a fun time showing off at girls who were twice their age and ten times worse than they were.

After kicking the soccer ball around for a while, Jairo pulled us and all of the younger kids (7-16) off of the field and on to a basketball court below. I got excited because I thought we were about to change it up and play some horse! But, no, not at all. We then proceeded to go through a full soccer warm-up/workout with the kids. I felt like I was doing Insanity again. We did stretches, agility drills, push-ups and even crawled on the ground. And we ran, a lot. Even though all of those things sound like torture to me, we were having such a good time doing them with the kids. Jairo and the other men helping were having a fun time joking around with the kids, while Anna and Gabrielle were laughing at the rest of us from the side and getting some "quality" footage!

So after getting all warmed up, we split up into teams and played soccer on the basketball court. By this time, the rain was really coming down, but it didn't stop anyone from playing. The environment and relationships that Jairo had created with these kids was so incredible to watch. They all had so much respect for him like a father figure, but at the same time would take advantage of every chance to splash him in the face with some water, just like brothers. We were all so thankful to be a part of that ministry that morning. We spent 4 hours hanging out and loving on those kids in their environment. And we were so blessed by it. I almost took one the kids with me to put in my suitcase...he was SUPER cute and I swear he will be in the World Cup one day!

We got back to the house, showered and settled down for a little while before I had my next adventure. Some of our friends from the Coronado Bible study had invited us girls to come to a surprise birthday party for one of the guys, so Brooke and I decided to go. We started the trek to the church in Coronado to go to their youth service and meet up with our friends there. We get to the bus station in Coronado and as we start walking to the church, the rain starts coming down harder. We walked for 25 minutes, uphill, in the rain until we got to the church. We were drenched and exhausted. We get to the service there at 5:35 and the service that was supposed to start at 5 still hasn't started yet, so atleast we didn't miss anything. Several of our friends from Bible study are on the praise team and they started the service soon after we got there with worship. After lots of worship, lots of speaking in Spanish, and LOTS of Pentecostal things going on, the service ended at 8:30. We stayed at the church chatting with people, like church folks do, for about half an hour before we actually left. 

Then we went to a guy's house for our friend Louis' surprise birthday party! Except, sometime between planning the party and when the party actually happened, Louis found out. So...so much for the surprise! The fiesta was a very small get-together with only about 10-15 people there (don't know how we got on the A-list for that one...) Brooke and I shared a few firsts here: playing FIFA and playing Spanish charades, neither of which are easy! Thankfully two of our friends, Nacho and Marcella spoke good English so they helped us through FIFA and charades. Next thing we know it is 1:30AM and now we are celebrating our friend Jeff's birthday! All in all it was a very fun night with some very fun friends/brothers&sisters in Christ.

Although Brooke has been friends with this group for almost 2 months, she is still "new" to their group and this culture. However they accepted us into their group and into their lives without hesitation. Even though I have only been here less than a week, I feel so comfortable here, with my roommates, with my new friends, in this foreign city. I am going to miss these new friends when I leave :(  I am going to be so overwhelmed when I get back to the States and can actually understand everything that is written or is being said!

Costa Rica Day #5

Friday! My trip is halfway over at this point :(

Friday was a LONG day! (Hence not getting day #4's post up...)

Brooke, Megan, Gabrielle, and I got up super early to get ready and go to the beach. We left our apartment around 7 or so, walked all the way past downtown to the bus station, took a 2 hour bus to Jaco, walked into town and took a taxi to Playa Hermosa. So we finally got to the beach around 11:30 or so. The beach was really cool looking because it was a black sand beach (I got some sand, don't worry). After we ate our packed lunches, Brooke and I got up and walked a while down the beach and climbed up some rocks. By the time we got to the top we were really wishing we had 2 things: shoes and a camera! Although Playa Hermosa isn't known for being the most beautiful beach in Costa Rica, God definitely didn't slack off on his handiwork there. It was a beautiful atmosphere, the water felt great, and instead of looking at the beach and seeing buildings everywhere, there was jungle behind us.

While Brooke and Gabrielle were out walking, Megan and I were with laying out with out stuff. I looked out at the ocean and saw the tail of a whale! I got Megan's attention because I wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy, and sure enough, it flashed its tail again. The whale kept showing its tail for a good 10-15 minutes before it finally went back under. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Such a huge creature looking like it was having a good 'ole time just swimming around! So after the whale went away, we had an encounter with another creature. One of the families that I think had a house on the beach were out and apparently had dogs. This dog that looks like Wishbone walks up to me with a stick in its mouth and just sits right in front of me, like we had been playing fetch all afternoon. So, without thinking, I grabbed the stick and threw it. Next thing I know, TWO dogs come back with the stick. I realize I am about to create a monster so I try to get the dogs away and walk over to the family next to us to return their dogs. But just a few minutes later 'ole Wishbone comes trotting back with the stick. So I gave in and played fetch with the dog for a while until Brooke and Gabrielle came back.

So after an eventful afternoon with black sand, giant rocks, a whale's tail, and Wishbone, we decided to pack up, catch a taxi and head back. The waiter at the restaurant by the road called a taxi for us and we were a little surprised when it arrived. It was a yellow car (most taxis here are red), with no light on the top, and no meter inside. But, whatever, the waiter called a taxi for the team last week when they were there and they survived. So we got in, got back to Jaco alive, and payed the same price as we did to get to the beach. So, who knows whether the guy is actually a taxi driver or not, but that's not our problem anymore. We get on the 5 o'clock bus back to San Jose and about halfway through the trip when it gets dark, this creepy tico comes up and stands not behind my seat, not just in the aisle next to my seat, but literally right beside my seat, leaning over and holding on the cubby above my seat. Just a little inside my personal bubble. So this man stands there, hovering like a major creeper, for a good 10 minutes while me and Gabrielle are exchanging looks and both praying to ourselves that the Lord would move this man away from us. So finally, the man moves, but just up one seat to where Megan and Brooke are sitting. He does the same creepy hover thing for several minutes while we are all, again, exchanging looks, and praying to ourselves that the Lord would again move this creepy man away from us. So then, the man walks up to the front of the bus, grabs a bookbag from the overhead cubby, pulls the cord to get off and goes to the back of the bus to exit. So while we are thankful that the Lord moved this man away from us, he happened to steal someone's backpack in the process. On a bus that is mostly full of ticos and ticas that don't speak English, coming from Jaco, a sketchy town known for sex tourism, we do not want to attract attention to ourselves, so we do not say anything about the man stealing the bag. When we get to the bus station, however, we see a gringa and a tico at the front of the bus looking for a bag. So when we got off, we told them that it had gotten stolen. Thankfully, since she was gringa, she understood us not saying anything at the time and was thankful for us telling her. The tico had his bag and they had money so we left to go catch a cab back to our apartment, thankfully, with all of our belongings.

We got back, ate dinner, said goodbye to Patty since she was leaving the next morning for the weekend, and then went to bed exhausted. The rest of my trip looks like this: Sat AM sports ministry, Sat PM birthday party, Sun AM Coronado church, Sun PM Casa Agape church, Mon AM breakfast with team, Mon PM fly home!

Costa Rica Day #4

So sorry that I got behind on posts! I mean, I know SO many of you are just waiting by your computers every day for next post...lol

Okay, so, Thursday! Thursday was a pretty chill day here at the apartment. The interns spent the morning working on simplifying and making a brochure for a new campaign that LightForce is going to launch in the fall. Then after lunch our friend, Henry, from the Bible study in Coronado came over to our apartment after his music classes in town. This definitely added some energy to our chill morning. Henry taught us how to cook and TRIED to teach us how to dance. That was quite an adventure. Brooke and I tried our best to learn, but we just don't have that Costa Rican dancing blood in us! Henry loved teaching us though and we had so much fun with him! We also got to teach him to make the Snickerdoodle cookies that we had brought to Bible study. Apparently Mother's Day is soon here and wanted to give some to his mom.

So after Henry left and we settled back down. Anna, Laura, Paul, Brook, Gabrielle and I walked downtown to the market to get some Costa Rican coffee! I got 2 bags that I cannot wait to brew when I get home! Yum! This was quite a long walk to the market and back. So, on the way back I got a chance to talk to Paul about Jesus Said Love, a ministry that he works with in Dallas. Their branch in Dallas focuses on going into strip clubs and ministering to the dancers and the managers. They show love by bringing them shampoo, clothes, food, whatever they need on a regular basis. The women will go into the clubs and into the dressing rooms with the girls, while a team of guys waits outside in prayer. The Jesus Said Love ministry does not seek to tear the girls from the club; they seek to love a people group that the Church has disregarded. I was very interested in Paul's involvement with this ministry because this is something that some girls from our church in LG have tried to start doing with the strip club in LaGrange. So I loved getting more information and details on the ministry and tips and advice for going into that atmosphere. If you want more info on Jesus Said Love, go to their website www.jesussaidlove.com

After getting back from our downtown trip, we regrouped and waited on another staff member, Kate, to get here. The all of us, Anna, Laura, Kate, Patty, Paul, Brooke, Megan, Gabrielle, and I went out to eat at Cafe del Mundo for Paul's last night with us :( The bread there was INCREDIBLE! I ate like 6 pieces, which if you have ever been with me to a restaurant that serves bread, this shouldn't surprise you. And my pasta was delicious! We had a fun time at dinner stuffing our faces and catching up with everyone being there as a team.  I had a really good talk with Laura over dinner about finding your rest in the Lord and being okay with not having plans every second of every day. There will be more to come on that thought later...

In case I haven't said it lately, I am SUPER blessed to be a part of this ministry.

Don't worry!

I am still alive and well in Costa Rica! But we had just had 2 busy mornings in a row, and that is when I do my posts. I will get a post for days #4 & #5 when we get back after lunch from our morning ministry today! Hope all is well in the States (or wherever you are reading this from)!

Costa Rica Day #3

Alright, since I had such a LONG post on Day 2, hopefully I can keep this one short. Wednesday was a very chill day at our apartment. We just spent the morning doing our own thing, spending time with the Lord and with each other. The only real plans we had for the day was to go to a Bible study in Coronado. Brooke, Megan, and Pati have been going every week to this Bible study at a guy's house. Last night we had 25 people there! The atmosphere of this group was so fun to be around. They all live around each other and most of them go to the same church. They are best friends and they love studying the Word and worshiping together. They were also very welcoming to Gabrielle and me and were very helpful with trying to help us understand what was going on. The majority of them spoke all Spanish but there were a few that knew a little bit of English and when that wasn't good enough, Pati would help us out! It was really neat to see that relationships that Pati, Brooke, and Megan had already made with the guys and girls at the Bible study. They were all so excited to see each other. 

We started off the Bible study with a game that I still do not understand the point of...we split up into groups of 4 and, of course, our group of English-speaking interns was all split up. So we started by naming our groups by colors. I did good with that, I remembered my colors! Then the game was basically like a call and response with jumping and shouting in Spanish...awesome. So our leader for our group gave us hand signals so I would know what to say when haha! I just shouted when they shouted and jumped when they jumped and listened for another group to say "VERDE! VERDE!" But even still, it was so fun to be acting crazy and just playing around with everyone in the group despite a language barrier. After we played the game Pati made us sit by someone we didn't know, turn around and stand back to back, then try to remember what they were wearing. Once again, I was thankful for my basic Spanish vocab. I remembered the guy was wearing un gris chaqueta y los azul jeans, so I squeaked by on that game as well. 

Then we all sat down to listen to Pati bring the devotion. This was such a neat experience for me. Even though I could not understand the words she was saying, I was so focused and attentive the whole time. The Spirit was speaking through her and, I know this sounds weird, but I still got something out of the message. When we read Scripture, we passed a Spanish Bible around the group and we all read in Spanish. It was just so neat to be studying the Word with these people, with my brothers and sisters in Christ. After the message, one of the girls led us in worship, another AWESOME experience of worshiping the same One True God in multiple languages. One of the songs we sang was Set A Fire by United Pursuit Band. While most of the group was singing this in Spanish, several of us were singing the same song and worshiping in English. I know I keep saying how neat of an experience this is, but it is just something you can't understand until you experience. Our God is just as much the God of this city and these people as He is the God of my hometown and my friends at school. So after a time of praise and worship, we hung out for a little while, ate some delicious cookies that I helped "Chef" Megan make earlier that day. Here in Costa Rica, they do not bake cookies except for very special occasions, so they devoured the ones that we brought! They kept saying "THESE ARE AMAZING!" with very heavy Spanish accents, haha! 

One of the guys at the house we were at gave us a ride to the bus station and then we rode the bus back to our apartment. On the way, Gabrielle and I were talking about how it was so neat to see that the fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ is the same everywhere. The interactions are the same, the jokes are the same, the relationships between God's children are similar in every culture because we are all part of the same family and all serve the same God. It was such a cool picture of how Heaven will be, EVERY tribe, EVERY tongue singing praises to our God as ONE body and ONE family.

So that was my day #3, simple but incredible. I am so thankful to be here.

Costa Rica Day #2

Wow. This was a very long and tiring day, not just physically, but spiritually. The other newest intern and I went through "orientation". So we started our day with breakfast with the staff, eggs, rice & beans! Then Gabrielle and I went downstairs to the prayer room with Anna. Anna then told us the entire back story of how LightForce got started, how her staff got formed, how it got it's name, and all of the ministries that LightForce has, such as the children's outreach and Casa Agape. Although I knew a lot of this from hearing Anna speak at my church in the fall, it was still a lot to take in. I did not realize how much it was affecting me until we got up to take a lunch break. 

Towards the end of our conversation with Anna, we asked about the "Johns" and if there was a ministry for them. Johns is the term used for the clients of the prostitutes. Anna said that they had in the past gone to minister to the Johns outside of a very large brothel but did not have the resources to do both that and minister to the prostitutes twice a week. The reason being, it is very draining to empty completely of yourself by going out on the streets and ministering to those completely entangled in this type of sin. The LightForce staff has created relationships with the men and women in prostitution and that is the focus of their outreach ministry at this time. 

So when I heard this, my heart was so heavy. In my mind, the Johns are the fuel of trafficking. If the men don't come, then there is no need for prostitutes on the corners and in the parks. If the men don't come, there is no need for the brothels. 50% of tourism to Costa Rica is for sex. The demand has to stop. As long as there is any demand, the men and women will not leave the streets. This is either because they are being pimped out or because they at one point and time chose to come the streets and somewhere along the way lost the choice to leave.

I am getting way ahead of myself. After we got done talking with Anna, I went up to the top of the apartment, which has an incredible view of the city, and I just paced back and forth for about 20 minutes just trying to process what I was feeling. My heart was literally heavy. I had never experienced this type of burden before. And before I could even sit down and write down my prayers or read scripture I just needed to walk and listen. When I finally sat down to pray, I just wrote question after question. My heart was, and still is, being pulled in so many directions. Is this the Lord calling me to this type of ministry? What does that mean for me? Is this just emotions? Who knows. But I know the answer will come. As I was praying, I had my headphones in and was listening to a worship playlist, a song by Living Anthem came on. The lyrics go like this:

Can't you hear them now? (Cant' you hear them now?)

The world is crying out. (Can't you hear them now?)

Their lives are empty now. (Can't you hear them now?)

Can't you hear them now?

'Cuz they're in need to be freed

The world is waiting for something 

But you're holding it in your pocket

The world is waiting for something new

The world is waiting for you

Can't you see them now? (Can't you see them now?)

Their lives are broken down (Can't you see them now?)

Won't you let them out (Can't you see them now?)

Can't you see them now? (Can't you see them now?)

The world is waiting for something

But you're holding it in your pocket

The world is waiting for something new

The world is waiting for you

As I listened to this song, I was even more torn for these men. So what I really need your prayers on is discernment for me. I need to be able to discern between my emotions and what the Lord is calling me to. 

So after I spent some time with the Lord and ate a PB&J, me and Gab went back downstairs and met with Laura, another girl on LightForce staff. She talked with us specifically about the trafficking ministry. As I mentioned earlier, the team goes out bi-weekly to the streets and parks where the prostitutes are. And this was going to be the day that we went out. They go out regularly, so they have made deep connections with many of the men and women on the streets. They do not approach this as going out into the shadows to unclean people, they approach this ministry as going out to see friends. And that was very evident when we went out last night. 

Before we went, we met with two of  Anna and Laura's guy friends and also with two guys and two girls from YWAM (Youth With A Mission). We met together and prayed over the night and worshiped together as one team. Then we loaded up the van with coffee, tea, and cookies and we hit the streets. Within a few blocks we see the first girl on the streets. Two of the girls get out and talk to her for probably half an hour as they give her tea and cookies. They invited her to our church service Sunday and her response was that she wouldn't have her hair and makeup on then so he would be Jose when he came.

The prostitutes in the city consist of young males, old males, young females, old females, and transvestites. They are segregated by their gender and are always at the same parks or corners. The next place we drove up on was the transvestite park. There were 2 girls there as we pulled up and 5 by the time we left. It was one of the girls birthday so they sang to her. She was one that they had first met on the streets at 15, she turned 17 yesterday. 

The next place we stopped was a corner where a lady that was 40 years old worked. She had a very strong bond with the staff on our team. They got out and the whole time they were talking, she had her arm around them. This woman had been prostituting for over 20 years. She did not have a pimp controlling her. She came on the streets on her own after being abused and at some point lost that free will to leave. She has come to our church and has said that she has accepted Christ, but continues to say that she is not ready to leave the streets. It is all she knows how to do. 

We stopped again to talk to 3 other women on the other side of town, but I did not get out at any of these stops. I got out at the last stop, which was at the boys park. 3 others and myself got out where there were 3 guys standing. They all recognized our van and many of the team. We greeted them with the traditional Costa Rican greeting, a hug and a kiss on the cheek, gave them coffee, tea, and cookies, and then hung out with them for 20-30 minutes like they were old friends. Although they were talking way to fast for me to understand much and the only 5 words I said the whole time were "Hola, me llamo Amy, chow!" I still felt like I was hanging out with friends. They first started talking about getting their hands slammed in car doors, then they were talking about tattoos, then they were joking around about one of the guys that is usually there with them. We were just hanging out with them. We were loving them where they were at. Without judgement and without condemnation.

Never once did I feel threatened or unsafe. Never once did I feel that we were not supposed to be there. The Lord was with us. He wanted us there ministering to His children that He loves very much. They are just as much people deserving of love as we are. And no matter the language barrier between us and them, there is no language barrier with the Lord. Before we left the guys, we prayed with them. As one some of the leaders were praying in Spanish, I was praying in English. The Lord understands it all. My prayers over them in English are just as powerful as the prayers over them in Spanish. 

As we got back to our place, we debriefed and shared thoughts about the evening. Afterwards I went to my room for my quiet time. I opened my devotional to today's passage and it was Matthew 9:9-13.

"As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

What perfect timing. God calls us to go to the outsiders. And that is just what we did. So there is my really long post about a really long day. I appreciate your prayers, they have definitely been felt here. I will keep you posted with our day today! 

God bless!

Costa Rica Day #1

Yesterday was my first day in Costa Rica! It was so great! I am overly excited about doing ministry with our team this week. There are 3 adult staff that live here: Anna, Laura, and Patty. And there are 5 interns/volunteers: Brook, Megan, Gabrielle, Paul, and me. So, yes, we have one guy in the midst of all these girls! But he does a good job of looking after us when we are walking around town.

Yesterday our day consisted of all the interns going to get groceries! Yay, haha! Monday is grocery day at our apartment, so we walked 2500 miles to the market, back to apartment and then to Walmart and back. Okay, maybe 2500 is an exaggeration, but it was a lot of walking! I am super thankful for this time though, because it allowed us to bond as a team. It was so encouraging to hear the stories of how each one of us ended up here with LightForce this summer. God is incredible. His timing is perfect. And he planned us all to work together this week from the beginning of time. He has a purpose for each one of us individually, a purpose for our team specifically this week, and a purpose for LightForce. I am blessed to be a part of all three of those. 

While we were out walking across the city, our staff was meeting with other organizations that fight  human trafficking in Costa Rica, as well as government officials. They were discussing future plans for this ministry and so many awesome things that are in the works. I cannot go into detail but just be assured that God is using this ministry in Costa Rica to change this country and help the people that are trapped in trafficking. They are not sitting idle. They are pursuing God's purpose for them. They are not fighting the "issue" of human trafficking. They are fighting for the lives of God's children in unfortunate circumstances. If you have any interest in this or feel led to give to this ministry, PLEASE don't hesitate. Their website is lightforceintl.com

So there is a quick summary of my first day. It has been incredible so far and I know it will just get better! The only time I freaked out was being in the SJO airport by myself with no clue what to do. So, I just followed people from my flight through all of the stations until I finally saw our girls holding a sign with my name on it. Then, I was good to go! THANK YOU for your support of me and this trip, whether is has been through finances or prayer or both, thank you.

I will leave you with this song that I have been meditating on the last 2 days.

"By Our Love" by Christy Nockels

Brothers, let us come together

Walking in the Spirit, there's much to be done...

We will come reaching, out from our comforts

And they will know us by our love...

Sisters, we were made for kindness

We can pierce the darkness as He shines through us...

We will come reaching, with a song of healing...

And they will know us by our love!

The time is now

Come Church arise...

Love with His hands

See with His eyes...

Bind it around you,

Let it never leave you,

And they will know us by our love...

Children, You are hope for justice,

Stand firm in the Truth now, set your hearts above

You will be reaching, long after we’re gone,

And they will know you by your love!

The time has come!

So the time is finally here!

I leave for Costa Rica bright and early in the morning and will return late next Monday night. 

It is super late and I have to get up super early in the morning so this will be a short post. I will have internet at my place in Costa Rica so be looking for updates during my trip this week!

I want to share with you the Words from the Lord that I have been meditating on as I have been preparing for this trip the past few months. 

Please join me in prayer over these Scriptures as I am finally able to go live them out in a setting that I am very passionate about bringing the love of the Lord to.

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners." Isaiah 61:1

"And You, me Child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for You who go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him, to give His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, 

by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace." Luke 1:76-70

"Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." James 1:29

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who bring Good News, who publish peace, who bring good news of happiness, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns." Isaiah 52:7

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude, it does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

"And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." Be hospitable to one another without grumbling." 1 Peter 4:8-9

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out all fear." 1 John 4:18

A little update on my life..

This is has been such a busy summer already, and I haven't even been on my first big trip yet! But whether I am traveling out of the country by myself or traveling around the country with my students, the Lord is constantly teaching me.

This summer has certainly been a time of learning and growing in the Lord. I am about to start my senior year of college and there are two questions that I get about 3 times a week: 1. Is there a guy in your life? 2. What are you going to do after you graduate?

And here are the answers:

1. Yes, there are plenty of wonderful Christian guy friends in my life. But no, I am not dating any of them. Meanwhile, 8 of my friends have gotten engaged in the past month and 4 other couples that got married today! So believe me, it is on my mind. But I am trusting in the Lord's timing.

2. I have no idea. But God has a perfect plan, and I am trying to find it. I have been thinking over several different options that I could pursue, but no opportunities yet. One thing that the Lord has definitely confirmed in my life this summer is that I LOVE STUDENT MINISTRY. I have had the blessing of being able to go on two week long trips with our middle and high school choirs at FBC. I love these students. Nothing gives me greater joy than seeing the Lord work through them. I have built and grown so many relationships with them this summer that I am overjoyed just thinking about how much more those relationships will grow this next year. So that being said, I am obviously looking at student ministry as a possibility once I graduate. But where? Who knows. I am also looking into some longer mission trips. There isn't a lot of specifics on trips now, since I am looking for next summer/fall, but I have been searching around at different programs like The World Race and Journeyman. My upcoming trips this year will give me a sense of whether that is something I seriously want to consider pursuing. And my final option, if I don't find something in student ministry or missions right after I graduate, is to go to seminary until I do find an opportunity in student ministry or missions.

Now, obviously, these plans could drastically change in the next year. I do believe that these are all things that the Lord is calling me to look into right now, so that is exactly what I am doing. I am trying to find His calling for my life after college and follow that. But, I also have one year left in college and want to use that time to glorify Him. I am very excited to see how the Lord is going to use me in this next year. I am open to His calling.

I would greatly appreciate any prayers or advice from any of you with wisdom :)

And the countdown begins...

1 MONTH!!!!!!!

1 MONTH until I fly by myself for the first time!
1 MONTH until I go out of the country for the first time!
1 MONTH until I get to see more of God's creation!
1 MONTH until I get to meet more of God's children!

1 MONTH UNTIL COSTA RICA!!!!

Can you tell I'm excited?

While I still have so much to do to get ready for the trip (shots, packing, mentally preparing, spiritually preparing...) I get more excited each day. I am so thankful that the Lord has blessed me with this opportunity! I am looking forward to getting to serve Him in a new capacity. I know He is going to stretch me and mold me on this trip. I know that He is going to teach me so many new things about Himself and who I am in Him that I would not learn outside of this environment.

This is a short post today because I am exhausted and have to get up early in the morning to play piano at both services (another blessing)!!

"This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

So here's the gist...

This is a support letter that I sent out to some people from my home church and family friends so if you have already received this then you can disregard this post! Although I haven't quite met my budget for all my trips, I am confident that the Lord will continue to provide. This is not a ploy to ask for your money, but rather to give you all more details on my trips so you can know more specifically how to pray for me (which is GREATLY appreciated!)

I hope this letter finds you doing well and enjoying life! I would like to inform you of the opportunities that the Lord has placed in my life recently. I would also like to ask that you join me in prayer over the next several months as I prepare to walk through the doors that God has opened for me. As you may know, I am about to start my senior year at LaGrange College working towards a Bachelor of Music in Church Music and a minor in Church Leadership. I am also currently interning with the youth department at First Baptist Church on the Square in LaGrange, Ga. I have been immensely blessed with the opportunities that the Lord has given me to grow in my relationship with Him and the situations that have molded me into the vessel that He wants to use for His glory.

Recently, I have been given three different opportunities to travel far outside of my comfort zone and spread the Good News of the Gospel outside of the United States. Lord willing, over the next year I will be traveling to the countries of Costa Rica, Honduras, and El Salvador. As you read over the plans for these trips I ask that you would prayerfully consider supporting me on these missions. I am in great need of support through prayer, as I will be stepping into three different cultures and solely relying on the Lord's guidance. But, I am also in need of financial support, as traveling is not inexpensive. I do understand that all may not be able to contribute financially, and that is okay. Prayer is just as powerful. Both forms of support will be greatly appreciated.

My trip to Costa Rica will take place July 23-30. I will be staying in the capitol, San José, Costa Rica and will be working with LightForce International Ministries. LightForce International is a ministry reaching out to women and children who are involved in or victims of exploitation and prostitution in Central America. LightForce International Ministries operates the Mariposa Project that supplies food, basic medicines, and workshops for learning a different trade to the women that only know the vocation of a prostitute. While I am in Costa Rica I will be working with the women that started this ministry by going to communities and sharing God's love with children and their families as a mode of prevention to keep them out of the dark world of human trafficking. I will also be taking part in the Agape House ministry that is a coffee shop run by LightForce International that is free for victims brought out of trafficking and is a means for us to spread the Good News of the Lord's freedom and restoration to the victims as they prepare to start a new life outside the chains of modern day slavery. For more information on this ministry and its purpose, please visit: lightforceintl.com or LightForce International Ministries on Facebook. My estimated cost for this trip is $1500.

My trip to Honduras will take place from December 26 to January 2. I will be in the small village of Gualaco, Oloncho, Honduras. I will be traveling with several other college students from my church in LaGrange. Our youth minister has started a ministry called Love Until Why, and it focuses on feeding the children and families that live in poverty in this village. The youth at First Baptist in LaGrange have been raising money for months now for the impoverished of Honduras. I will be part of the second group from our church to go to this village to help feed hungry mouths with rice and beans and more importantly, to feed hungry hearts with the Gospel. For more information on this ministry and its purpose, please visit: loveuntilwhy.com My cost for this trip is $1500.

My trip to El Salvador will take place for three weeks during the month of January. I will be between the capitol, San Salvador, and the town of Ahuachapán. I will be traveling with a group of ten other college students and two faculty members from LaGrange College. During this trip, we will get to experience a full cultural and educational immersion in Ahuachapán, El Salvador, by spending three weeks working with and for the El Salvadoran people. As a student in the field of ministry, I will be placed working with a church and doing ministry with the people of Ahuachapán. The difference with this trip verses the others is that I am blessed to be able to get internship credits towards my degree with this trip. I have also been blessed to receive a scholarship from LaGrange College that covers 85% of this trip, leaving my estimated cost to be $350.

As you can see, the Lord definitely has some amazing opportunities placed in front of me for this next year. I am anxiously looking forward to how He is going to use me in each one of these countries. Again, I just ask that you prayerfully consider your level of support as I prepare for these journeys. If you have any questions about any of these trips or want further details, please feel free to email me.

Thank you and God bless,

Amy Peek

amyepeek@gmail.com

What do beautiful feet have to do with unconditional love?

Well, I'm so glad you asked...

I created this blog as a way to document my journey to fulfill Christ's mission. I believed that the Lord has called and commanded me to take His Name to the lost and to make disciples of all nations. 

In seeking out the Lord's will, He has placed two specific words on my heart: aletheia and agape. These words may not look familiar to you, and that is because they come from the Greek language. Aletheia, or ἀλήθεια, means truth, or more literally, the state of being evident. Agape, or ἀγάπη, means love, more specifically, unconditional love. 

The first word, aletheia, led me to the scripture in Isaiah 52:7 that says, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good news of happiness, who proclaim salvation, and who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"" 

The second word, agape, led me to the scripture in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 that says, "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails."

The Good News that is spoken of in Isaiah is the Good News of the Gospel of Christ. It is the Good News that the One and Only God sent His One and Only Son to Earth as fully man and fully God, born of a virgin, to walk with mankind on Earth, endure the same trials and temptations as mankind on Earth, yet remain completely blameless and sinless in a sinful world. He was made a living and ultimate sacrifice by allowing Himself to be crucified on a cross and dying for the sins of all mankind, even those that hammered the nails through His hands and feet. He died, was buried, and three days later arose from the grave, victorious over death. This ultimate sacrifice made a way for us to be completely forgiven and have an intimate relationship with the Living God.

It is TRUTH and LOVE. It is ἀλήθεια and ἀγάπη in One. It should not be hidden.

I believe that Christ's mission for me is to take His Good News to those that do not know and to do everything I do out of a love that mirrors Christ. 

This blog will allow you to go on this journey with me as I prepare for different trips around the world and continue my ministry in LaGrange, Ga. 

Enjoy the journey...