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"Poop-tarts and Pop-tarts"



One semester down and one to go! 

Somehow time has flown by. I feel like it was yesterday that we were picking the students up at the airport, but I know so much has happened these past few months.

As a house, we have gone through many "poop-tarts and pop-tarts" or highs and lows. There have been unexpected changes along the way and even more unexpected challenges. As a staff, we faced sickness of many kinds. The students have been challenged in their faith and challenged to re-evaluate how they view the world. There has been much growth because of these challenges and I praise God for His faithfulness through it all.
Praise God for coffee and friends
This semester has consisted of many outings, adventures, classes, and times of fellowship. For example, in the middle of the semester we took a trip to Nicaragua to get our passports stamped. That was a refreshing time spent together outside of the Villa. However, it is guaranteed that there are no guarantees when traveling around Costa Rica. On this trip, I managed to get my mini-van stuck in about 2 feet of mud and play a small round of bumper cars with one of our other vans. Whoops. We love keeping things interesting.
Part of my ministry here is co-leading a small group with one of our interns, Courtney, and we were able to do a study through the book of Ruth. Side note: Ruth was a boss lady who put her full confidence in God and because of that was blessed beyond what was imaginable. As a small group, we have been able to pray for one another and push each other towards Christ.


I also have the privilege of leading a ministry group to serve in Los Guido. As I mentioned before, this is the same ministry I worked with when I was a student in GAP. Our ministry partners, Salva and Veronica, have become like family to me and I adore working alongside of them. In Los Guido we work with a youth group which has also faced some challenges this year. But, the students are continuing to grow in their relationship with God. Also, last year they added ESL classes for the youth and this year we added ESL classes for children. So far, we have a consistent 4-5 children coming every week and 15-20 youth coming every week for ESL.







This semester, students have put in a lot of hard work in their Spanish and Bible classes so we try to have events and outings when we can. Some of those have included girls night/ guys night, shopping trips, fall fest, Thanksgiving Dinner, a trip to a volcano or two, our Christmas party, and more.

One of my favorite parts of this semester was spending Thanksgiving with the students. This is a great time not only because we head to the beach for an overnight stay and not only because the food is amazing there but mostly because we do baptisms. This semester we saw FIVE students put their full confidence in Jesus and give their lives to HIM. At the beach. NINE students were baptized. I was honored to baptize three of my lovely girls who wanted to take that next step of obedience to Christ.

God is kind, good, compassionate, and faithful. I say this to remind you and me. I praise God for how He ushers us out old seasons and into the new. Though we are all only here a moment in comparison to eternity, God allows us to be part of what He is accomplishing in this world. I am thanking God for what He has done through this program and looking forward in faith to see what He will do next.

Please be praying for:
- Good rest for the students and staff as we are home for Christmas so that we will be refreshed and ready for next semester.
 - Wisdom for Salva and Veronica as they lead their youth.
- A successful camp week with our youth, that we will be able to communicate well with the students, and that they will get a lot out of the week.
- God's wisdom as we lead and mentor students.

Love has no borders,
Rachel Martha

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