Meet Karina

She was trafficked from Nicaragua when she was 18 years old. The 300 dollars she was loaned and the promise of a better life ended in prostitution and debt she could never repay. After seven years of living a nightmare she broke free from her enslavement. Now at 27 she is a single mom to three beautiful children, trying to make it on her own.

A small group of Christians in Jaco followed the call of God to reach out to the poor. They started feeding the homeless and praying with them every Friday night in the central park. Karina, desperate for help and food for her family discovered this group and gladly received the food and prayer they offered. She began coming every week and soon after gave her life to the Lord. That was a year ago. Since then she has been faithfully attending Bible study and growing in her relationship with the Lord.

But she is a woman living life constantly on the brink of disaster and homelessness. The stress at times is unbearable. This is where the call to true religion hits very close to home.


“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…” ~James 1:27

If ever there were orphans and a widow in distress it is this precious family.

Violeta

Moises

Mateo

What is our response as the body of Christ?

With a fierce mother’s determination she walks the streets with her children trying to sell cologne, lottery tickets, clean houses, anything to earn money for her family. There is no space or time to learn any skills or improve herself to be able to get a better, steady job because all her energy is going towards trying to feed her family today.

This is a family at risk.

Would you pray about helping this family?

What we want to do is raise enough money to help her monthly with her rent and groceries, to give her a little breathing space, some time to secure a better job and get on her feet with confidence. What she wants more than anything is to be able to provide for her family herself and we want to help her be able to do this.

To make a donation through paypal, use the link below.

my new home (jaco christian surfers)

*thank you alex for taking these super professional pictures

Rice & Beans

When I was in high school we had a day where we only ate rice and beans to experience what it was like for "poor" people in the world who only could afford rice and beans.  It was such a hard day for everyone and all we could think of was the food that we were craving.
For the 3 months I was in San Jose we would often have have rice and beans for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  It's so funny to think that a few years ago I imagined how terrible living off rice and beans would be, and now it is what I eat.  Even better, is that I love rice and beans, and actually enjoying eating it for every meal!  Since I have been here in Jaco, I have only eaten rice and beans once or twice and I miss it so much.

Graduation!

This past week has been really exciting. Our school is officially done! It started off with a super fun graduation dinner with our school. We went out to a nice restaurant that overlooked all of San Jose, it was so pretty. It was a great night, but sad knowing that it was the end of this challenging/intense (but amazing) school.
 

Tuesday evening, I moved down to Jaco! It's a small beach town about two hours outside of San Jose where I will be living for at least the next 6 months. My new apartment consists of a mini kitchen with cabinets, stove, a sink and refridgerator. We also have a little loft with a mattress where I have made my home. Aimee is sleeping downstairs on a mattress, right next to our little bathroom. We also have air conditioning...which in Jaco is one of the biggest blessings ever. Now I just need to decorate so it feels a little more homey.

Outreach is just beginning. We've had a couple meetings so far just to talk about what I will be doing. I am working in a kindergarden class every morning. The property where I live has skate ministry, so I will be opening the skate ramp everyday so the kids can come and skate, play games and do crafts. Opportunities are continuing to open and I'm super excited! Now I just need to work a little harder on my Spanish =)

Furious Love

"Nothing can tear us from

The grip of His mighty love

We’ve only glimpsed, His vast affection

Heard whispers of, His heart and passion

It’s pouring down…

His love is deep, His love is wide

And it covers us

His love is fierce, His love is strong

It's furious

His love is sweet, His love is wild

And it's waking hearts to life

The Father loves and sends His son

The Son lays down His life for all

He lavishes His love upon us

He calls us now, His sons and daughters

He’s reaching out…

… and its waking hearts to life

He is waking hearts to life

He is waking hearts to life"

 We sang this song during worship last night and it made my heart overflow with thankfulness for Christ's deep, abounding and furious love for me. It has been such a special song to me throughout this school.

It gives me hope...no matter what happens...no matter how badly I screw up!

Love God - Love Others

Lately I have been seeing heaps of quotes by Mother Theresa on facebook and on my newest obsession Pinterest (check it out and follow me). I get so inspired each time I see one of these quotes and I am starting to look up to her so much. She gave up her entire life to love and minister to the needs of the poor and sick. She was humble, full of love and truly cared for others. She spoke up for justice and said she was "a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." I admire the way she gave up her life for God. She let go of having material possessions, having a husband, or a nice house and a car. Instead, she devoted herself to love. This is a beautiful thing.

In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love. - Mother Theresa

As I was thinking about this, I also remembered some more people who are showing others the same heart as Mother Teresa. In Philadelphia, PA, a man named Shane Claiborne started a community called the Simple Way. Last year I read a book called the Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claibourne (highly recommended!) and it totally changed my life. The Simple Way is a community of people living in the ghetto, who spend every day loving their neighbors, helping the poor and loving Jesus. They are also incredibly involved in social justice issues. They have an after school program for children in the neighborhood and are currently working on building a garden in their community. I would definitely recommend checking them out and the things they are doing!
If you would like to check out what they are doing: The Simple Way

Another person that I was reminded of is a guy named Brandt Russo. I learned about him last year through an article in Relevant Magazine. Brandt was leading a fairly normal life, lived in the States and loved Jesus...but he knew there was something more. So, he gave up everything that he had, purchased a bus and started driving around the States, living and helping the poor. He's lived on the streets for a year and has been jailed for trying to bring about justice. God has taken him on such an awesome journey and it's cool to read about. His mission is to love, to bridge the gap between the rich and poor and to meet the needs of the poor and neglected. He also began a t-shirt company called "Can't Ignore the Poor." The proceeds from his t-shirts go to help those in need.

If you would like to read more about Brandt's vision: Adopt-A-Jesus
Or to check out his T-shirt company: Can't Ignore the Poor

Love God...Love Others. That is whats it's all about

Abuse & Protection

This week was taught by Greg Burch, a missionary from California who has been working in Latin America for over 15 years. After a ministry of six years in Caracas, Venezuela among street-living and working children Greg is now dedicating his time to global research and advocacy on behalf of children at risk.  

We explored different kinds of child abuse

• Sexual Abuse
• Physical Abuse
• Spiritual Abuse
• Psychological Abuse
• Neglect 
• Emotional Neglect

He shared about what a Child Protection Policy is, and why it is so important to impliment one while working with kids.  These policies and procedures help create child-safe organizations. A strong policy will guide you in dealing with difficult situations. When there is a crisis it may be harder to think clearly. If you have a reliable policy you can react in an informed way and avoid accusations of a biased response. (positive or negative)  The truth is that people need accountability. I was challenged to make a child protection policy of my own for my time in Jaco. It was really good for me to sit down and think about this.

During his teaching, Greg shared with us a video from the Congo about “child witches.” If you have never heard of this, be forewarned…it is really intense stuff. Some evangelical churches in the congo are claiming that certain children are witches. When this happens, the children are basically thrown out onto the streets and left to die. The parents no longer want them because they are a “witch.” Then, the pastor of the church will have the parents pay for them to “exorcise” their child, which involves brutal beatings and things they could not even mention or show in the videos. After watching this video I felt sick. There is so much corruption in this world, even in the so-called “church.” It’s super overwhelming.

I have to remember that the change starts with me and each individual child and person. These are hard situations, but what I can do is begin with myself, my resources and focus on the people I am meeting here. The reality is that I will not be able to stop all injustice from happening everywhere in the world, but I can help change a few people’s lives in an amazing way. For that, I am insanely thankful.

So special

Today in class Leslie shared about children with special needs. My mind instantly went back to the Mother Theresa home we worked with during my DTS outreach. While there, I was filled with such an overwhelming love for the children there with disabilities. I saw so much beauty in them. Leslie challenged us to ask hard questions; Questions that don't have answers. Why? I kept having to remind myself that God is good, and He is loving all the time. He makes no mistakes, and does everything for a reason. Even if God doesn't always bring physical healing to people they are still able to bring glory to His name. Within each of these children is a hidden treasure, maybe you can't see it at first, but as you get you know them, and fall in love with them God reveals that beautiful treasure. These children are God's delight; He uses them to teach us things that we can't learn in other ways.
Leslie spoke to us about her own personal experience while working with children who have special needs. Then at the end of the class she had us split into pairs and teach the rest of the class about a specific disability. Even though we only had one class about children with special with special needs, I feel like so much was revealed. 

Street Kids

There is an unbelievable number of street children in the world today: an estimated 100 million. They are living on the street, with no protection, no security, and no love. They steal, sniff glue, have sex, fight and rummage for food. However these things don’t define them. That is not who God intended for them to be or where God intended for them to live. They come from broken families all over: slums, middle class homes, and even Christian homes. God wants them to have loving parents and a safe home. These are children, between the ages of 0 and 18…living on the streets, sleeping on cardboard, and scared for their lives. When it comes to hope, they have none. They find themselves sniffing glue to take care of the emptiness in their lives. When it comes to love, they are alone. So they end up having sex with each other to make up for that hole in their hearts.

Who is taking care of these children? 

They are taking care of themselves. That was never supposed to happen. 

Our speaker Mati is based in Recife, Brazil where he has leadership of the YWAM base.  Their focus is ministering to the street children. Over the years they have seen the work develop and make a real difference in the lives of many children. 

One thing Mati said this week that really stood out to me was, “With knowledge comes responsibility. When you see light, you are responsible for the light that you know. ” Once we are faced with knowledge of these situations, we have a responsibility to do something. Satan has a lot of ways of destroying children. We can see that through what is happening to these kids on the streets. One of the ways Satan destroys children is through the apathy of those who can help those kids. I think it’s important to take a look at what is holding us back from helping children all over the world and children in our own neighborhood. Is it apathy? If so, we need to kick ourselves in the butts. Kids need us.
We talked this week about following your calling and taking a risk to follow God even if we can’t see where we are going. Moses took the Israelites out of Egypt without having any idea where he was going, how he was going to feed all of them or where they would sleep. He had no idea what he was doing, except that God told him to do it. And he followed God’s lead to wherever it took him. Do I have that kind of faith, where I will step out and do something God tells me, even if I don’t know where I will sleep, where I will get food or where I’m even going? I don’t really know. I have had the faith to come here and believe that this is where God has taken me. But in some ways, I feel as though this is a safe place. Would I be able to step out and go somewhere else? To follow God, even if I can’t see where I’m going? I’m trying and striving and moving forward. I think that’s a good place to start.

A story of Jaco

 This is a story about whats happening in Jaco. 

Yesterday a taxi pulled up outside the gate of the Jaco Ministry Property where we work. I recognized the man who stepped out immediately. I recognized him because he came by before – over a month ago – and droped off a beautiful young girl. As he was leaving he whispered in my ear urgently, “Help Her!!” I didn’t have any information beyond that, and unfortunately it happened at a moment when things were really hectic. I managed to chat with her a little bit and asked her if there was anything she wanted to talk about. She said no and skated for a few minutes, then left.

Since then I’ve seen her frequently around town – riding her skateboard, sitting on a curb. We always wave and greet each other.

Well, yesterday he showed up again. Turns out he’s a taxi driver who sees the ins and outs of what happens in this town. He said he’s very concerned for this girl. She is 14,  has no family here, is living with another girl who was going to help her, but ended up not being much help. She is turning to prostitution to get money and spending most of her time on the streets.

“We have to do something,” he said. And he had a plan. “I’m going to tell her that she can come here and have free English classes.” We both agreed this was a good plan. Maybe if she comes here, gets to know us, gets some support, meets other positive people, things could turn around for her before she heads any further down this path.

As he drove away I walked back towards the rancho and tears streamed down my face. It’s hard to imagine a 14 year old girl walking the streets of this town at night alone. Selling herself.

I just began praying for her and for others like her. I began praying for this property. Somehow the community knows that this is a place of hope and light. There’s so much more we could be doing.

We need to be able to live there to be more available. I’m praying for a way for us to move in quickly.

Thank you for joining with your prayers.

Leslie

Kids are such a Blessing!

Child Development was our topic last week and it was just as interesting as I had hoped for thanks to our speaker Leslie Freeman. She is from Virginia and has served in YWAM since 1997 in Denver, Kona, Cambodia, Thailand, Switzerland, South Africa and now lives in Costa Rica with her husband and four adorable boys ages 8,6,4,and 2. Leslie has a B.S. in social services from University of the Nations and a M.A. in Education from Regent University. Her current ministry is to her four boys – homeschooling and raising them, but her heart and passion is also for children at risk. 

We were in Jaco for the week and had our classes there so that Scott & Leslie could continue to do ministry and wouldn't have to bring the whole family up for the week. I missed Jaco so it was really fun to get back and rekindle relationships! (oh! and also hang out at the beach........)
I really enjoyed Leslie’s teaching style. She had an outline, but also told heaps of stories. She got so excited about what she was teaching about. The best part about the way that she taught is that you could tell it was coming from her heart. She is currently watching her own children go through different phases of child development so a lot of the knowledge she is giving us is from experience.

There are so many things I took from this week. I can't pinpoint a specific part of the week that was my favorite because I loved all of it! We talked about the different stages of infancy/childhood and ways to interact with children in all different phases of life. Even though I have been around kids my whole life I feel like I have a better understanding of children and the way they grow and develop. I mean I still have so much to learn and I know a lot of that knowledge wont come until I have my own kids but for now I am thankful for the information that I know.

We treat kids different than adults. Yes, they have to be treated different, but not with different respect. Children/babies, like adults, need respect. Think about it: When a friend is struggling with something and starts crying you try to figure out whats up and see if there is anything you can do? However when a child/baby cries you may check on them to see if they are ok, but if the crying continues its easy to think they need to get over their problem or to toughen up. We need to value children the way that we would value an adult, put yourself in their shoes and feel what they feel. I challenge you to get rid of the phrase "stop crying" instead deal with them the way God deals with us during out times of deep sorrow.

I am challenged in the way I see and interact with children and I am excited to learn more.

“The best way to learn about children it to observe them” .... Leslie Freeman 

We are already done with week eight! That is insane I cannot believe the time is flying by so fast. Please be praying about the next step for me. My outreach to Jaco will happen but there may be a step before that =) I will keep you posted.....

Human Trafficking

Staring into the face of the horrible, heartbreaking injustices in this world is a hard thing to do, but that is exactly what we did this past week. Learning about it in class has made this issue of human trafficking all the more real to me. The pain and anger from hearing stories of girls who were trafficked, abused and beaten was overwhelming. Through this post I want others to understand what is happening in this world.

Our speaker was Ro Potter who was born and raised in Japan where her parents worked as missionaries. After college, people enslaved in the sex trade became a major priority for Ro and she spent time traveling through Eastern Europe doing research on this problem. She has tons of crazy God stories! She currently works with the Women and Children's Advocacy Centre as part of the Anti-Human Trafficking team. 

For those of you that don’t know what human trafficking is, it is defined by the UN as being the recruitment, transportation, or harboring of a person by means of threat, force or deception. There are an estimated 27 million people in slavery today. A little perspective…There are 20 million people living in New York. Imagine every single person in New York being enslaved---along with another 7 million on top of that. Crazy, huh?

Before this week started when I thought about human trafficking I immediately thought sex trafficking. However on Monday morning my eyes were opened to all that trafficking encompasses. There are five different types of human trafficking: 

Sex Prostitution

Organ Theft

 Forced Labor

Child Soldiers

Forced Begging.

Trafficking is a huge industry and pulls in at least $32 billion a year. People are pulled into the industry of trafficking because a person can be bought and used countless times without having to keep paying or getting more resources. They use people in all areas of the word, not only in prostitution. 

*People are being enslaved to make our clothes, our chocolate, our coffee, and our household furniture. Do we know where our things are coming from? 

*Children are used as soldiers, used to murder and kill against their will. 

*They are used in other forms of labor: housekeeping, construction, casinos, strip clubs, hotels, nail salons, and massage parlors. 

The possibilities of where they are being used are endless. Trafficking is happening everywhere, it’s not just in the cities or in poor areas. This is a real problem and it can be close to our homes. People get trafficked into the United States all the time.

This industry is fueled by the demand. 

*People want cheap and easy gratification—so they buy a prostitute. 

*We want cheap products—so they force young children to work for free to make those products. 

*Someone needs an organ—so they drug someone and remove the organ without their consent.

 We have the responsibility to know where our stuff is coming from.

It’s easy, at least for me, to feel disgust towards these traffickers. I am constantly being  reminded by God that they are human too and something in their past has led them to this place. I think we need to realize that God has a huge heart for this issue. These women, men, and children never escape God’s eyes. He can’t get away from the pain they are going through. What is close to God’s heart should be close to ours. 

Project Planning

Planning is bringing the future into the present so you can do something about it now.... -Alan Lakein-

Planning….That word is not used too often in my vocabulary. Our speaker this week was Lance Rawlins, who is originally from South Africa, so on top of getting to learn about planning, I also got to listen to a sweet accent all week! He currently lives in Portland and works with the WCAC (Women and Children’s Advocacy Centre)

Lance started this week by showing us the biblical basis for planning, and that we need to start whatever we are doing with God. He took us through Genesis 1 and showed us how God planned before He acted. He didn’t just start by creating mankind, but He knew what we needed and created that first. (Air, Vegetation…) After God did all this He rested. I was challenged personally with the need for a Sabbath. This may mean I have to move around the rest my week so that I am able to take a day of rest. So what does a Sabbath look like for me?

We were told that on Friday we had to put in writing and present a project plan. Brenda & I started planning an outreach to Jaco after this school. Reality Check. Planning a project is hard. There are many aspects to doing it, as well as a lot of time and effort. Another reality check. Is it actually feasible? Think about it. This part of the lecture not only taught me a lot, it also challenged me to ask questions about what I have in mind for my future. I need a goal that is focused and can be measured. I realized that I need to start small and take baby steps.

We learned how to set SMART goals.

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic/ Relevant

Time

It was mentioned in class that 60% of ministries fail within the first 2 years. Why is this happening? One of the things that Lance taught on are the different needs. There are the perceived needs which is what outsiders think; the felt needs which is what the people themselves think they need; and there are the real needs which is the actual underlying cause of the problem. I think too often ministries try to fill the immediate need instead of doing something about fixing the cause of the problem.

This class was incredible, our school was so lucky to have him teach. We no longer will have to feel like it’s hopeless when we are being faced with the most heartbreaking problems. Instead we will be able to focus on what we can do.

1 person can bring change

When I hear about/see all the injustice happening in the world I find myself thinking..."This issue is so big... what can I possibly do?" Today in class we watched a video that was put out by the WCAC in Portland.(Women & Children's Advocacy Centre http://www.wcacentre.org/)  The video was about 1 person that brought change. I was challenged to think about things that I can do as well (big or small).

my home in costa rica

Here is a video of the ywam base in san jose that my amazing friend julie made!  -enjoy-

fast forward base tour from YWAM San Jose Costa Rica - Media on Vimeo.

Metro Ministries:Mothers Day

Mother's Day in Costa Rica is next Sunday, and Renate wanted to do something special for the moms of the kids she works with through Metro.  We had a meal for them, did their nails, and had someone come and speak. While the celebration was going on inside, I was outside helping with the kids program. I have gone to a few visitations, so the kids are starting to remember me. It is such a good feeling.      
We sang some songs, danced, did a puppet show, taught a lesson about honoring our parents, and had a snack. After the program we split the kids up in 3 groups to make cards for their moms. I was working with the 6-9 yr. olds and they were so precious! I was also forced to use my Spanish which was exciting. Then it was game time.  We played a lot of balloon games,with the last one being a water balloon toss.  This of course ended with the kids going crazy grabbing balloons and having a water balloon fight.  It was such a fun day not only for me, but for the kids, and moms as well!

God is.................

The speaker this week was Scott Freeman who spoke about the Character and Nature of God. I met Scott last summer in Costa Rica while I was doing my DTS outreach. Him and his family are with the San Jose base but are doing missions in Jaco which is a small beach town here in Costa Rica. He has an awesome wife and four adorable boys. They have been in YWAM for several years and have tons of experience with Children at Risk. It was really great seeing him and his family again. Scott just has such a great style of teaching.He teaches in such a way that he keeps his listeners so alive! It's great. We also had class outside of the classroom twice this week. 

The first thing he had us do was draw a picture of how we see God. The description that came to my mind was the footprints in the sand poem. So often I think: God where are you, I am struggling, I feel so alone. He comforts me by saying "I am here. When you go through those tough things, you look back and see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."  We then wrote a list of all the characteristics of God which was an awesome way of seeing every aspect of who God is.

One thing that he talked about that I absolutely love is about how much God loves us. I have struggled with perfection so much in my life, and I subconsciously believed that God wouldn't love me as much if I wasn't perfect. In the back of my head if I ever messed up I thought that God was just looking down on me ashamed but once again this week, I was reminded that God has grace. God’s grace is so sufficient but still we are so hard on ourselves when we mess up. In reality it doesn't matter because He loves us all the same no matter what we do. This is something that many people overlook when they think about God. So many of us have no idea how loving and how much of a father heart God has. We assume He is a strict, rule-making condemner but that is not Him at all. 

Behavior & Behavior Management

This week I was challenged to find my inner teacher, I have to say that I have gained SO much more respect for all that they do. Our teacher this week was Michelle Grimes who is our leaders sister (I miss my sister!) and she talked about behavior and behavior management. Michelle has taught both 4th and 5th grade in an urban school district for fourteen years and has so much knowledge in this area.

This 1st thing that we were challenged with was to think about the difference between DISCIPLINE and PUNISHMENT and list characteristics for each. I never really thought about there being a difference, but this is what I came up with.

        Punishment                                             Discipline

        fear                                                          focused on prevention

        impatient                                                 patient

        all about rules                                         training

        focuses on the problem                         future focused

        past focused                                           understanding/compassionate

        negative focus                                        open to conversation

        short term                                               working through problems

                                                                        long term

Discipline is not a negative thing. God disciplines us, and it's because he loves us. He doesn’t keep remembering the things that we have done over and over again.  

One of the things that I really appreciated Michelle doing was having us work through different situations dealing with children's behavior.  Instead of giving us the situation and pointing out behavior problems and solutions she opened it up to discussion. I learned that there are 4 main reasons for behavior: Revenge, Attention, Power, and Avoidance of Failure.  It was really challenging to put myself in the teachers/leaders position and think of ways to work through the different behaviors. (Dad, Vicki, I have a whole new respect for school social workers!)

Throughout the week I had to work on applying this to my own life and not just look at things through a teachers standpoint.  When we had to make a lesson plan teaching a specific skill or behavior I took a bit of a different approach and planned a bible study that spoke value into the lives of teenage girls coming out of prostitution. 

I am so thankful for this week of teaching, and I know that it is going to be so very beneficial. <<Both in ministry & everyday life>>

local outreach

Metro Ministries is basically a sidewalk sunday school that first started in New york and is now running in several different countries around the world. Metro goes into three different poverty stricken communities of San Jose on the weekends and does programs, but it's not just a program that happens once a week. Renate <the ministry coordinator from Germany> goes to the neighborhoods she works in, and visits the families of the children that come to the program. The kids don't have school right now so they have been doing Vacation Bible Schools as well. This week I got to take part in the follow-up visit with Renate and I had a blast. When we got to the community, the kids ran up to the van and were so excited to see us. We went around and talked with the families and got the chance to really get to know them. I think that is so cool that they do that! It shows them Metro is there for more than the “fun stuff”, but also for the real stuff.  While half of the team was building relationships with the families the other half played with the kids. I miss kids so much so I chose to play =) I cant want to go back and see their faces light up when they see us coming.

Commercial Break

it's just so cute

Inner Healing

When I saw that our topic this week was inner healing, the first thing that went through my head was “great, we are going to have a week of therapy sessions”…….. I am so thankful to say that was NOT the case at all. Christy Scott (our awesome speaker) has been involved in missions and inner healing through her parents' ministry since she was 5 years old. 

Inner Healing is letting God uproot all the lies that we have believed, strongholds that have controlled us, and speaking truth over and over again into those areas of our lives.  It is understanding the things that we have been leaning on instead of God, giving those things to Him, and understanding who He says we are.

Think about the word Hosanna. Do you know what it means? It is in so many of our worship songs and is always part of our Easter services, but what does it actually mean? My first week here I was challenged to look it up, and it has come up so many times since then as well. I finally learned what it means: “save us, someone come and save us.” The word Hosanna really stood out to me this week not only in dealing with my past and my own inner healing, but also just thinking about all the people around the world who have an inner cry of Hosanna.

One thing that I really enjoyed about this week was that she took us through the process of Inner Healing. She introduced the topic of generational curses, (things that get passed down through generations) and also how we make inner vows with ourselves. GUILTY.  I feel like I have such a better idea about what true inner healing is and am excited I now have the tools to help others through some of the struggles that they are facing.

We were able to have a 1 on 1 time with the Christy to ask questions that we had or to continue with the healing process. I was so thankful for this time & it’s probably when the most clarity came.  She connected so many things from my past for me and spoke so much truth into my life!  I found I have to give myself permission to be who I want to be,  to be who God made me to be, and not always try to live up to expectations.  I was challenged to ask God how he sees me, and I was surprised at the response.  All the words describing what other people have been telling me and I rejected were the words that came to my mind.        *LEADER*BEAUTIFUL*GENUINE*KIND*UNIQUE*RELATIONAL*BRIGHT*

I have been praying a lot about outreach lately. So many options have been placed in front of me and they are all SUCH good options! AFRICA? CENTRAL  AMERICA? TIJUANA? NEW ZEALAND? I will keep you updated in my decision making process =)