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.