Without Borders.

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—  yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.  Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:15 Who do you think you are? You try to make your own plans? You say that you're going to go to this new city and start your own business? Or you say you're going to travel to a new country? Or that you're going to go to this college? But you never know what could happen tomorrow. You're small and you can't control what happens to you. Instead of focusing on yourself and your ways you should look to God for direction and be looking for His will. I know it was in the Lord's will for me to come to Costa Rica. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't. I can make my own plans but only God knows what each da...

Bucket list: Walking across a border between two countries- check Staying on an island in Panama at a beach hostel- check Snorkeling in the Caribbean- check Taking a water taxi to an island- check Seeing dolphins- check  Meeting missionaries that are teaching natives that traditionally are hunters and gathers to be self-sufficient by farming and collecting water and other things I don't really understand because as the island is becoming more populated they can not move for food- check Digging a ditch to provide better access to water for a school and a crippled man- check Panama was hot and moist. I hate the word moist but there is no better explanation for it. Nothing was dry, but it was an adventure. We left the Villa at 3am on Tuesday. We arrived at the Panama border around 8am. From there we checked out of Costa Rica and into Panama. A couple hours later we were back on the bus headed towards Bocas. All 40 some of us unpacked our stuff from the bus and loaded up four w...

It's been a busy couple of weeks and time is flying by.  I'll fill ya in cause I know you've been missing it. First of all about my ministry: I am helping with a group in Los Guidos. It is a youth group for kids ages 12-17. My first time there we played games and Wii and had a short lesson. The second time we watched a movie called Home. Such a good movie, 10 out of 10, would definitely recommend. Then this Saturday we went in the morning to help. We worked with the kids to paint the building where we all meet, we had lunch, and all sat to talk and pray. Please be praying for that ministry and the kids we are working with. Please pray for me that I will be able to pick Spanish up and that I will be bold with what I know so that I can get to know the kids better. I am also involved with a teaching English ministry. We will be offering classes on Sundays at our church a couple hours before church. It is free to everyone and we just offer an invite to the students to come to...

I got in a taxi for the first time ever last Friday. We caught one just out in front of the Villa. We took the taxi to the bus station where we paid about $3 for a ticket to Guacimo Costa Rica, about an hour and half bus ride from Guapalupe. The weather difference between here and there was almost unbelievable, it was about as hot and humid there as it was in Haiti. We arrived around 6:30 but we were exhausted after a full day of Spanish and bible class. It is also dark outside by about 6pm so we were ready for bed. However, they were having church and we were there to help with the missionary conference at the church. When we got there they asked us to do our games with the kids that we had planned. I didn't know that was part of the plan so we covered it with some "Símon Dice". Then we were introduced to the families we would be staying with. We were all together a group of four, two guys and two girls. The guys were put in a house together but Samie and I were split. I...

I just realized I contacted absolutely no one Monday that is not here with me in CR. Mondays are our free days to go explore or get homework done and do things around the Villa. I saw no status updates, no pictures of friends, and no random tweets. I was completely present with the people around me and I enjoyed it entirely. Some of the different programs I have been involved with that asked us to set aside our phones have been the greatest experiences. It's amazing what happens when all your attention is on the people in front of you. Most of the group started their day at the University of Costa Rica playing ultimate frisbee. We do have at least 3 or 4 girls that are all varying degrees of sick, please be praying for them. I guess it's usual for the students to all get sick at some point while getting used to our new home. After lunch some students went shopping or exploring and others like myself settled in to play some cards. After dinner is when things got real interesti...

Sunday we had church in English at the Villa in the morning. One of the missionaries here, Champ, did the sermon. I loved it. It was a great message about how necessary it is for us to put others first and to be patient when living with so many people. He made a point that I had thought of the day before; there is no show on tv that puts 30+ people in one house and expects them to get along. There will have to be something very different going on in this house to ensure we all get along until the end of April. Champ kept going back to how we all have a choice. We can choose to be patient when our roommate is in the bathroom for too long, we can choose to be meek when one of the guys says something stupid, we can choose to be kind, we choose to forgive and we choose to love each other as much and more than we love ourselves and above all we have the choice to love God. Once our relationship with God is in order our relationships with each other will be better. We can call on him for hel...

So some may describe me as obnoxious, I would say enthusiastic. However, as I have been telling everyone here, my voice must have missed the connecting flight between Atlanta and Costa Rica. God certainly does test people and I am trying to find the right answer here. I started feeling a little sick before leaving home but I ignored it. Now I have a cold that is reducing my voice to a small squeak or whisper. Sounds like I've been chain smoking since I was about five. I swear fellow GAP students this is not my normal. But I am already learning to better sit back and listen and even though I am learning from this experience I would ask that everyone would be praying that I would start feeling better and that I could get my voice back! Now for our trip udate: Our flight was great, and we had almost no delays and actually got to CR a little early. Because Lydia is on crutches we also had a wheelchair and airport staff to help us every part of the trip! Praise Jesus! Also Lydia is go...