Mission: Accomplished

On Sunday night of last week we got back to San José. Last night was DTS graduation. We made it!

On outreach we touched and blessed every province of Costa Rica in some special way. We continually went to be a blessing but ended up being blessed so much more. God is incredible. He did so much. He gave us opportunities to share with so many people about Him and His desire to have a loving relationship with them. God used incredible ministry, divine appointments, rain water showers, open hearts, delicious food, lovely people, passionate churches, the beautiful scenery of Costa Rica and many other surprises to bless us.

Cartago

Prayer at the biggest, most prominent Catholic church in Costa Rica called La Iglesia Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles.

Prayer from Volcán Irazú.

Heredia

Helping out at the YWAM Hereida base.

San José

Sharing about YWAM in a local church.

Testimony!

 Limón

Beach prayer for a man who wants to get his life with God straitened out. 

Puntarenas

Ministry in a community called The River. 

Guanacaste

Bible Distribution! (my favorite ministry)

More Bible distribution

Alajuela 

Construction work at an orphanage.

Elena, I stayed with her and her family for 3 days while we were helping out at her church.

Thank you, God for these incredible 2 months of outreach!

Tomorrow I journey back to America land! So crazy that my time in YWAM San José is done for now. God has done so much in my life here over the past two years, and now it's time to share about it in the States. 

Look out America, here I come!

The big news!

I just wanted to send you a quick update to keep you in the loop with what's going on in my life right now. 

I'm currently in a beach town called Jacó, in Costa Rica. I'm co-leading an outreach team of 12 students with 3 other leaders. We're in our 3rd week of outreach and expecting God to do some pretty incredible things! In the previous weeks of outreach we were in the Central Valley and Caribbean areas of the Country. God stretched the students out of their comfort zones, were used by God in ways they hadn't been before. One of those weeks I was helping in the kitchen by planning and preparing every meal! It was a lot of work, but also really fun. Each one of us is being stretched in different ways! Please continue to pray for us! 

Also, I wanted to share with you what I'm planning on doing when the DTS ends. God has been leading me to move back to the States for a couple of years to pursue formal medical training. I want to be equipped to not only meet people's spiritual needs, but also help with their physical needs. It's going to be hard, but totally worth it. I want to use the next couple of years to really pour into my family, my church and my community while I'm studying. So please pray for me to be content with where I'm at and keep God's perspective.

And we're off!

Lecture phase has officially closed. 

Onward to outreach!! 

We begin our adventure with NIKO jungle survivor camp. Then the very first week after NIKO we'll hit up the provinces of San José, Heredia and Cartago. The week after that we'll be in Limon (on the Caribbean side) and Puntarenas (on the Pacific side). We'll stay in Puntarenas for about two weeks, but still be doing lots of traveling within the province. Then we'll make our way to Guanacaste and do some Bible Distribution with YWAM Nicoya. From there we'll head to Alejuela to finish up the outreach. WOO! 

We'll be all over the place, please keep us in your prayers! After outreach we'll come back to the base for a time of debrief and feedback and finish the DTS with a lovely graduation dinner on November 17th. 

I'm going to try to be back in the States by Thanksgiving, we'll see if it works out. 

Pura Vida!!!

Long time, no see!

Oh man, it's been more than 3 weeks since I last wrote!
So...what have we been doing in the DTS over those 3 weeks?
Wow...where do I begin? Here's the general happenings.

We've had 3 awesome weeks of teaching on Godly Relationships, How to Study the Bible and Biblical Worldview. So good!
We've been intensifying our preparation for outreach by having team meetings, learning dramas and putting together fundraising events. This round we'll be going all through Costa Rica! We'll be the first team ever to hit all 7 provinces of Costa Rica in one outreach!
We've been growing closer as a school, working out different issues that come with living in community and being stretched out of the good ol' comfort zone. God is working in all of us. Staff and students alike.

Personally, I've been translating, running school errands, reading through Isaiah and Matthew along with some other non-Bible books; learning and growing, asking questions, getting answers (most of the time), working hard and keeping busy. But now it's the weekend. Which means it's time to rest. God knew what He was doing when He made the Sabbath. I seriously wouldn't be able to function if I didn't get that day once a week to rest, relax, reflect and get ready and re-focused for the upcoming week. God knows what's up.

Next week is going to be taught by one of the best teachers I've ever heard. When I first heard him teach, I learned so much and I know that I'm going to learn a lot again. His name is Morgan Taylor, and yes, he is my boyfriend, so yes I do have a slight bias. But he seriously is one of the best teachers ever. The theme is Evangelism and he's super gifted in both evangelism and in teaching, so it's going to be a good week. SO EXCITED!

Please keep the school and I in your prayers! If you'd like to pray for us by name, here's the list!

Leaders-
Jose and Nela (Costa Rica)
Pedro (Nicaragua)
Morgan (Colorado)
and me :)

Students-
Melissa (Canada)
Cristina (Costa Rica)
Montana (Nevada)
Becky (Indiana)
Kristen (Colorado)
Ellen (Ohio)
Cherise (Georgia)
Brayan (Honduras)
Jimmy (Nicaragua)
Buka (Somalia)
Jake (Wisconsin)
Joseph (California)
Brandon (California)

Thank you so much for partnering with us and everything that God is doing in the country of Costa Rica! God had been speaking big things about this outreach and we're expecting to see His hand move throughout this country as we carry the fire of His love and passion to every province!!
God bless!

Death and Freedom

"Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?

The sting of death is sin..."

1 Corinthians 15:55-56a

The theme of the week in the DTS was Inner Healing. Three days of intense teaching followed by two days of public confession. Public confession! It always freaks everybody out. But it's so powerful. It's so freeing. And that's what this week is all about. It's all about getting rid of all your junk from the past and breaking those chains of sin that so easily entangle! It's all about freedom. True freedom. Sin taken by Jesus. Forgiven. Gone forever.

As DTS staff, this week is always so incredible to be a part of.

The theme of the week in my family was also freedom. Freedom from the burdens, struggles and troubles of this world. On the night of Wednesday, July 20, my grandpa, Herman Van Denend went to be with Jesus. It all happened really fast, he didn't suffer and miraculously wasn't in any pain.

It's so weird. So bizarre. But so good.

Honestly, I'm jealous of him. I want to be up there with him! He doesn't have to put up with any annoying, obnoxious, pain-in-the-neck situations, people or places. No more pain, hunger, sadness, disappointed dreams...what a lucky guy!
Don't get me wrong, I love my life. I wouldn't trade it for any other life. I have purpose and vision. Hope and a future. I love what I'm doing, who I'm with and where I'm at.

But this earth is not my home.  It never will be.


Death always pushes one to self-examination. 


What am I doing with my life?
How much time do I have left?
Am I making the most of the time I do have?
What about this, that and the other thing?


Here's the conclusion I've drawn this time around...


Death=Freedom. 


It does for me at least. It did for Grandpa.

"For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." 

Philippians 1:21 

But it all depends on who you know. If you know Jesus and have committed your life to Him, death is the best thing that could ever happen to you. But if you don't...it would definitely be the worst.
Isn't the contrast interesting? Death is something that happens to every single human on earth. It's going to be either the best or worst thing that could ever happen. Ever. 

"It is for freedom Christ set us free."

Galatians 5:1 

God is a God of FREEDOM. He doesn't want us to be tied down by anything. And I'm not. Neither are the DTS students. They're free from the guilt, shame and the condemnation that comes with sin. They can fully be themselves without having the worry of "if they only knew who I really was." The truth is, we all mess up. We all have some kind of junk to deal with. But God is so gracious. He's willing to see beyond our mistakes and love us for who we are.

And now Grandpa is free too. I can't wait to see him again. It's definitely not easy. It's hard to think that I won't see him again here on earth. But it's ok. Next time I see Grandpa I'll be home too.

I'm eagerly awaiting the day for God to call me home. Home to be with Him forever.

It's not the end. It's just the beginning.  

Love ya, Gramps!

Lesson #730

Hey there!
So this is going to be a quick one... I just want to take a minute to share something the Lord has been teaching me and really solidified in me this past week. So there's some food for thought!

The Word.
The Spirit.

I've seen both extremes.

I've seen crazy "Holy Spirit" people who get so caught up in emotions and end up hurting other people, giving God a bad reputation.

I've seen lifeless "Christian" people who are so busy analyzing and over thinking they limit God Almighty and keep themselves in a comfortable place.

But I'm finally realizing there is a balance that we need to have.

The truth is, we can't have the Word without the Spirit. And we can't have the Spirit without the Word. We desperately need both. The Word and the Spirit live and work together in perfect harmony. We need to have a solid Biblical foundation, and we need the Holy Spirit to help us understand it. We need Him to show us how life-changing the Word is. We need Him to bring that change into our lives. It's all too easy to stay where we're at. Too easy to remain unchallenged by the Word because we take out the Spirit, Who wrote the Word!! We can't do anything without God. He is the author and perfecter of the faith that we proclaim.

I've always had the tendency to ignore the Spirit because He made me uncomfortable. He challenged to too much. He pushed me too hard. So I would rely strictly on the Word. But I'm realizing that I was horribly mistaken. I'm so glad God is so patient. Several months ago I prayed that GOD HIMSELF would teach me about who He is. Specifically about the Holy Spirit. And He is. So thank you, Jesus!!! 

Week One: Complete.

What an incredible group God has brought together for this DTS!

So here's the run down:
13 Students, one more than Jesus'
12 disciples. We have
11 more weeks in the Lecture Phase. It's been
10 days since the first students arrived,
9 of them speak English as their first language.
8 are from the States
7 girls are living together in a little room.
6 nations are represented (Canada, USA, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Somalia).
5 staff members.
4 students whose native language is not English.
3 Latinos in the student body.
2 languages spoken on the base.
1 reason why we're here: to know God.

We're all walking through the process. We're all deepening our relationships with God. We're all learning. Some of us have more experience than others, but we're all in this together to push one another on into a deeper, more passionate, loving relationship with our precious Lord.

This group has already impressed me so much. You can just see the hunger in their eyes. They eagerly desire a more intimate relationship with God. And they just finished week one. I can't even imagine what God is going to do to satisfy the desire they have for Him, but I know He's going to do it in a big way.

So please pray for me and the other 4 staff members (Morgan, Jose, Marianela and Pedro) during these next 5 months! Pray for the students too! Pray that no matter what, that we'd always want more of God. Pray for wisdom and understanding. Pray for an increased faith. Pray for God to just do His thing and for us to hop on board with it.

...and here we go!

"Here we go! do do do do do do do" haha
That's a line from a song that was sung WAY too much during the January DTS, but that will forever be stuck in my head.  That's the song I found myself singing as I walked to the security line in DIA to get back to San José.


Central American Adventures: Round 4 is about to begin. SO HERE WE GO!
I always feel so bittersweet when I leave. I hate saying goodbye. Those of you who know me even a little bit know I'm SUPER bad at goodbyes. So after yet another goodbye to the people I love the most in this world, I journeyed on. And here I am now at gate A 36 waiting to get onto the red-eye flight back to Costa Rica. It's funny. When I first left people would ask me how I felt about it and I would say, "Well, I'm not excited to leave, but I can't wait to get there." Hopefully that makes sense. Anyway, after all this time, that's still how I feel. I love Colorado and my family and friends here and I hate leaving it. But I also love Central America and the people who have become my family over the past year and a half.

I'm super stoked for the upcoming DTS. It's going to be smaller than the January school, which will add a little twist. God keeps on reminding me that I don't actually have things figured out, even if I think I do.  There's still so much more to learn, and the thing is...there always will be. I'm never going to have this crazy thing called life figured out. But I am going to learn about it. I already have learned a lot about it. And with every day that passes I learn more. So here's to learning! Here's to processes! Here's to God completing the good work that He started! Only He knows where it's all going to end up...!

So there's a quick glimpse into my life for ya. :) Thanks for reading! God bless!

I'm back!!!

Wow...it's been over a year since my last blog post.
Sorry about that, I was on this Facebook note thing for a while. If you want  to catch up with what God has been doing since my DTS, check out those FB notes!


So here I am back in Colorful Colorado for a couple of weeks.  I'll be going back to YWAM San José to staff the DTS that starts in July. I'm really looking forward to it. God has so much in store for me and the students (we're expecting 10 as of right now) and the other staff. Can't wait to see what He does! He did a lot in the January DTS, like SO much! And it was so incredible to be a part of! I co-led a team of 16 people with my boyfriend to Cartagena, Colombia. And I saw God move like I never had before....

We started our month in Colombia with a week in the prayer room...which we started off with 24 hours of strait worship. Then for the rest of the week there was always somebody there praying. We signed up for 3 hour slots and prayed that God would give us His strategies to reach Cartagena. During that first week, we only did 3 ministries: a kid's program in a really poor barrio, sports on the beach, and one afternoon we raised awareness against sexual exploitation/evangelized. The next week we picked up the intensity of our ministry. We put on a missions conference at a mega missionary church that hadn't sent out any missionaries. We put on or helped out with 6 church services in 3 days. God gave us His strength and blessed everything we did and had a very successful time there. For the next couple days we plugged into some of the ministries that YWAM Cartagena has. Then we went to an island called Bocachica. Some people call it "Little Africa." I haven't been to Africa (not yet at least) but this small island community totally matched my imaginings of Africa. We were there for several days helping in a practical way by doing physical labor. We tore down giant concrete walls with sledge hammers and normal hammers. We "mowed the lawn" of the YWAM base's property with machetes, rakes and brooms. It's interesting how they get things done...not necessarily the most efficient way, but it gets done.
Then we began out final week of ministry. We were going to local churches to do sessions on Inner Healing. Needless to say, we knew it was going to be an intense time. We prepared by fasting and praying together as a team the day before we started and got some practical tips and training from the base director. We did two sessions each day for 3 days, one in the morning and one in the afternoon/evening. The people were so hungry for what God had for them and He responded in BIG WAYS! Some of the subjects we taught on were sin, the power of words, walking in freedom and forgiveness. Along with the teachings, we did a couple of symbolic activities. We finished off the whole deal by offering to pray for the people of the church for any petition they may have. So we did. And I am writing to you today to proclaim the goodness of my God!! HE HEALED SO MANY PEOPLE! Eyesight restored, pain taken away, shoulders fixed. What a mighty God I serve! It was so cool to be a part of. It was totally, 100% God. It has everything to do with Him. He just gave us the privilege of working alongside Him and it was incredible!
After those 3 days of incredibly powerful ministry, we began to wrap things up. But we weren't done yet. We still had one more ministry. We decided to put together a Love Feast for the homeless people of Cartagena. It was a miracle we pulled it off. There were so many things that could have gone wrong, but the whole thing went off without any complications. We prayed for God's favor that morning. And He gave it to us. We had favor with the homeless, with the police, with the community, even with a news crew that came by! They wrote an article about what we were doing and put it in the paper the next day.
And that was how we finished our time of ministry in Cartagena. We went out on a high note to say the least.

We went back to Costa Rica for graduation and then everybody went their separate ways. I came back to Colorado for Kelsye's high school graduation. I'll be here for a couple more weeks and then it will be back to good ol' San José, Costa Rica!!

So hopefully that got you a little more caught up with me and my life! :)

Please keep me in your prayers!
God bless!