Abundant Love

Hello! I wanted to first apologize for my delayed writing!! Here’s a little update on everything that I have been experiencing over the past couple of months: 

I have been living in different parts of Costa Rica over the past couple of months! My first month in Costa Rica was spent in Jaco, Costa Rica There we spent our days painting light posts around town with little murals to brighten up the town, doing surf ministry with children on the beach, and doing homeless ministry serving the locals. 

 My time that I spent in Jaco was a time for heart-work, and growth both within myself and around my squad. 

Some specific ways that I evidently saw God working within my heart was my perspective on the “right way” to do ministry. Coming from Samaritan’s Purse where I could tangibly see a job being accomplished to painting and touching up light posts with minimal interactions with others some days was a hard transition for me personally. I learned that the work, no matter how small, when for the glory of the Lord and for His Kingdom is making an impact. It is not what you are doing, but rather your heart posture behind what you are doing that truly matters. 

Within this new way of doing ministry, I began to see God in so many new ways. I saw him in the conversations that I had the opportunity of having with one or two of my squamates at a time while painting. I saw Him in the little hellos and people stopping to help us paint on the street. I saw Him in the sweet connections that we all grew between us and the homeless community around the area. I saw Him in the meals cooked for 45 people with joy in the kitchen and the clean up also filled with dancing and laughter. I saw Him in every conversation that has solidified this group of people into a family. 

While I may not have seen God in the ways that I might have expected, He showed me who He was in the most beautiful and new ways that I now appreciate deeply.

From Jaco I went to a Christian camp in the mountains of Costa Rica called La Montana with my team! There we spent our days cleaning cabins, painting ceilings, helping out on the high ropes course for campers, and deep cleaning the camp kitchen. 

At the camp God revealed so many beautiful things to me! One thing that I have continually seen God work within me is His deep desire for His abundant love to wash over me. Being completely undeserving, He washes His blessings over me in ways that I never felt like I desired or deserved.

While at the camp I continually saw His goodness within the smallest blessings. The gift of being up in the mountains as I’m missing the mountains back in Colorado. The rainy weather that makes it feel like it could be winter after constantly being hot in Jaco. The rest and the breaks that were given to us during our work for no other reason than to enjoy each other’s company while drinking coffee. 

It is in the small blessings that I feel God’s abundant love wash over me the most. 

He is a present God that deeply desires for us to believe and  accept that His love is for us. I am learning that there is nothing I can do or say that would change His love. There is not a specific way that I have to act in order to keep His love, but instead He gives it freely. 

I am slowly learning to accept this love that He gives freely. Slowly learning that His love is steadfast and is for me. That I am deserving of it because of Him. I am expectant to see all of the beautiful ways that God uses what He is currently teaching me to grow my perspective of myself and others!

After my time at La Montana, my squad came back together in Puerto Viejo where we have spent the last three weeks doing ministry around the YWAM base that we were staying at, visiting a village, and doing street evangelism. I’ll post another blog soon explaining more about my past few weeks!

Next we are heading off to Guatemala! I am beyond excited to see all of the new and amazing ways God works within me, my squad, and the people we interact with in our next country!!