proverbs 31

  you eskimoo!!!!! hahahaha! that was for my mom, pretty sure she just peed her pants! (for those of you not coming from my facebook the question was how do you call an eskimo cow?)

      Okay on to business, today started routine, normal bus rides, normal walk.  then i got into work.  i opened the gate and within minutes was rebuked in front of all the girls i was about to lead in a devotional – talk about embarrassing.  Not the ideal way to start out the day BUT God has a purpose for everything.  The girls witnessed my reaction (which was calm and non-confrontational woop woop!).  Once the study started I had their complete attention (que milagro!).  I was so nervous about this study too because historically they don’t give much feedback and tend to just stare at you blankly, it can get awkward.  NOT today!  It was so exciting I had their full attention and I got to talk about the proverbs 31 woman and why she’s so awesome and how i believe that each and everyone of them has the potential to be her!  We talked (because YES they gave me feedback – i asked each of them to share which part stood out to them and why).  AH! It was SO awesome!  Not only did each one contribute but they did so with enthusiasm and they really seemed to embrace what i was trying to get across to them.  I was so encouraged! 

One of the girls, Fabiola, shared that her favourite part was verse 18

“She sees that her trading is profitable,
   and her lamp does not go out at night.”

Out of all the verses this had to be the one that struck me the least, but for her it was encouraging to see that this woman never gives up that she’s always alert.   I have to be honest it had never even crossed my mind when i read it.  That’s what i love about opening up the floor to others, different perspectives!

 

     We had one boy in the group (because our classes are now co-ed!!!! (answer to prayer right there!) Andrew, liked:

  “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
    but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”

     How encouraging!  He went on to explain exactly what the girls needed to hear.  How its better to have someone who’s legit on the inside over some babe with nothing adentro.  It sounds super lame and cheesy but you could just sense the confidence being injected.  The smiles on the girls’ faces ooooh!  I’m sure i probably freaked them out with how zesty and excited i was…well actually probably not, i kind of excite easily haha whatever it was really awesome!

 

     Down here there is a profound oppressive sense of settling for what’s right in front of you or for routine (even if the routine is consistently ineffective , what’s the definition of insanity again?);  aspiring for things but not putting in the time to make a legit effort; not following through; no need to reach farther than your arm stretches, a learned helplessness… it can really wear a girl down.   But i walked, bueno,  more like floated away from the study feeling super pumped!!!

     For awhile now I've been pondering over my future and what I'm supposed to be doing with this delightful blessing of a life…

  what are your motives?  why are you here?   How can you learn from your seemingly endless list of mistakes? where is God leading?…

     I don’t have the answers for all of them but I've pinpointed a few.  My motives i think are pretty clear I want to serve, i want to obey, case and point i want to be in God’s will.  i want to see everyone as head over heels in love with Jesus as i am.   I have no idea what that means as far as a job, missions, or anything really… I'm a disorganized bundle of confusion these days but i do know that as long as i am searching and asking God’s gona hook me up, maybe not how i had hoped or imagined but He’s not going to leave out to dry.  Therefore I'm going to enjoy my last few months as much as possible – i will not shut down even if that means spontaneously tearing up and feeling like my heart is being ripped out becomes a daily occurrence.  I don’t want a safe “cookie cutter” route, sometimes its easy to long for one, for the simplicity, but then reality comes back i cringe and get claustrophobic.  Life is untamed it is unsafe, especially when God’s hitting the gas pedal!  He is not safe – he’s like the antithesis of it actually, his paths would not be described as kiddie trails, however He is good and worth the risk so…“[I] will laugh at the days to come” v25

…muahaha!!  right now its like that scared nervous laugh but I'm trying to grow it into a hearty Santa-esque chuckle….one that comes from the gut!

                   Feliz Navidad!!!

apparently i like doing stuff in the dark…

riding random boats through crazy 50 ft. waves (haha not even close maybe like 2 but they might as well have been 50), trekking through the jungle, sleeping, i guess that's really all i do… hahah

look at me video bloggin….moving up in the world!

oops forgot some stuff…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

		take my picture!!! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

hopefully this works out…i was hoping to be able to caption the pictures but i can’t figure out how.  Anyways the only one that is desperately in need of a caption is the one of the guy in the black shirt…we walk in and he was singing along to english love ballads (with soul) the ENTIRE time he was waiting AND in the boat…it was excellent! His first song was “I Believe I Can Fly” very moving…then he followed up with some Toni Braxton and i think there was also some BSB (backstreet boys heeeyo!!!) oh man just really made the trip!

the other girl is of course Carolyn- she’s excellent, we got up for the sunrise and the picture turned out really cool because you can see the sun rays… all in all it was an eventful and fun trip! I’m a lucky gal!!!

i dare you to relax!

*siiiigh I've just returned from a wonderful three and a half day venture up to Guanacaste.   A friend of mine invited me to go up to the resort where her parents are staying so they could shower me with juice and rest.   How could i say no?! 

So we get there Tuesday night and the next few days are a blur of getting stung by a jelly fish, eaten alive by sand fleas, the beach, the pool, hammocks, pasta, hummus, ice cream, pina coladas, movies, iguanas, crazy costa rican squirrels, vultures, shell hunting, brilliant conversations, get too much sun, frisbee, random locals, nachos, naps and horseback riding at sunset…which brings us to our story…

… so Walter, the guide, and I after trying and failing to take a wonderful picture of me with the sunset find ourselves needing to catch up to the other girls as we were pretty far behind.  Solution:we must gallop, not a big deal, i like running,  next thing i know “Lista?!” (ready)…*gulp “yep!”  Then Walter smacks my horse and we both start off into a run ..fun until my horse decides that we at the Pan American games and he MUST win!  He glances over at Walter’s horse whinnies and books it double time, (let’s remember i am in flip flops..hahah) I wish i could say that i was wicked awesome tucked my head in and jockeyed it up..haha that did not happen…so picture this the other two girls far ahead having a wonderful, calm conversation when all of a sudden they hear a high pitch wail: “WWWWAAAAALLLLLLTEEEEEEEEEEEEEREER!!!!!!!!!” haha as i zoom by… baahahaha oh man it was awesome!

This morning was our departure day and the only bus left at 4.30 IN the morning…eww right?! As we are walking to the stop we watch the bus fly by – we were 10 minutes early too…very un latiny.  So a little panicky as there is only one bus and Audrey has a flight out tomorrow we needed to get back today so we are waiting, praying that it wasn’t actually our bus, and around 4.45 another bus comes – we hail it down and show him our tickets for the original bus he’s like “oh ya that bus is gone” greeeat.  So we ask him where he is going,  he’s going to Nicoya (from there we would have to hunt down another bus and probably have to wait until 9am to catch another bus to San Jose) so we get on his bus (which was like a space ship on the inside with blue lights and everything) as it really was our only option.  I was disappointed because we had already bought the tickets for the first bus

and it just felt like a waste of money. BUT lo and behold we drive along in the space bus for about 20ish minutes (during this whole time the drive had some pretty prime music going on) and who do we see stopped up ahead of us…OUR BUS! so space bus pulls right infront so it can’t leave and we make the switch! Success!!!

 

How is it that i am so lucky to have a God who in the midst of my craziness pulls me away sends me to just reaffirm that He’s got my back and that there’s no need for me to worry or fret or even spend hours pondering about my future.  He was straight up “look kayla you thought you missed your bus, but you kept walking and i hooked you up..YET again” sheesh what a guy!  I don’t know exactly what I am going to do regarding next year, but as long as i continue to devote myself to prayer with an alert mind and thankful heart (col 4.2) God’s gona pull it all together! I mean if he cares about our bus drama how much more does He care about my life drama..i think I'm covered

AHH I’m excited for tomorrow, while i enjoyed my time in the beach i am suuper ready to get back to my peeps in the hood..five days away is too long. EEK tomorrow we will be reunited! AAAND for those of you keeping track 2 weeks, 3 days and 3 hours until me and brotha chan will be reunited!!!! YAY!!!

There is a place only YOU can go…

Whaaat???! like there’s no one else? God has a specific purpose for me?!?!  It’s true and  i was slapped in the face with the concept this past Monday.

First, lets just recap my Sunday (‘cuz it was real fun) I went to church in Carpio,  attended a surprise birthday lunch for Reynaldo (our handyman at New Horizons), then after, we celebrated further by going to play a little baseball; and October here might as well be called Mudober because you be getting mud alll ober you bahahahah!!! needless to say if they didn’t believe i was negra before they sure saw it after ….oh man it was fun!

Okay moving on to Monday!  We had a retreat for the Refuge (the girls’ side) – i got invited because of the soccer team and, i heard it going around, because I'm awesome – something along those lines… Okay all humility aside it was a fantastic day.  It was suuper cold (my fingers turned blue)!  Oh man i can’t believe how God used this trip to whip his little Chan into shape.  With all this talk of long term missions and everything that surrounds that I've been really digging into myself (good and bad) I've torn myself apart and hit me where it hurts and been ripping myself apart.  Trying to figure out what my problem is why I've felt so estranged from God at times and why i haven’t been able to find time – bueno why i haven’t made time to sit down and listen.  When i tried i would just get overwhelmed and find an escape.  BUT at the retreat yesterday i didn’t give myself that option.  We were given a quiet time to just hang out with God and look inside ourselves.  Which i got really excited about (you’d think i never had the opportunity… but i was so pumped for this quiet time- must’ve been my psychic skills coming out because it was awesoome – yes i did just sing awesome). 

Okay so i found this little secluded porch to settle into….

I started off just kinda talking to God being like “WHat is my deal? why am i so weird? what’s wrong with me?  etc etc…” then i was like “shut up kayla, open those elephant ears and listen to what He’s got to say..you talk waaay too much!”  During this time i had felt urged to listen to my ipod…which i thought was me trying to hide/distract myself.  But after a few minutes I decided that it was so persistent maybe God wanted to share something with me through song and sure enough He hit me with this:

when there’s nothing I can’t afford to sacrifice there’s no way they can put out my fire

which got me thinking. “Can i honestly say that i have nothing left to lose?” and i immediately was like “no, i can’t”  how upsetting!  So i started to pry…what was i clinging to so desperately?  What was i afraid of losing?  What was blocking me from resting in God’s awesomeness?!  One thing came to mind, I wrote it down, it scared me.  Seeing it written out it seemed so ridiculous.  Soon after i had dozen fears jotted down.  I looked at the list embarrassed, scared, confused..and then it hit me “do i secretly think You (God) are going to leave me? I know you won’t but am i trusting in that?”  Hmmm….

Then i was reminded of the verse God had given me before i made my way down here: “Be strong and courageous…be strong and courageous…i will never leave you nor forsake you” and i was like “aah yes I need to read that”…then i wrote down Jeremiah 1 (because for some reason that’s where i thought it was found) WRONG! so i open my bible and start to go to Jeremiah when i realize the passage is actually in Joshua but i was curious as to why i wrote down Jeremiah 1 so i flipped over  

(ps just so you get the vibe hit play.  This is what was playing while i was reading).

 

SO I start reading…then all of a sudden i hit verse 4, my heart started to accelerate and my eyes were flooded and tears started streaming down my face…

“The word of the LORD came to me, saying.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

“Ah, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.”  But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.  Do not be afraid of them for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.

Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now i have put my words in your mouth…”                                             

Jeremiah 1.4-9

ARE you kidding me?!?! Who am I to deserve such treatment?  How is it that all the fears I have and insecurities can be in one little passage blanketed with such love, such clarity..its like he knows me or something.  Not only did he shower me with his presence but he had me write it out as it was happening so that i couldn’t go back and rationalize.  This was no coincidence, it was a planned moment! And seriously if you’re not up out of your seat dancing and being SUPER excited aah you be straight up crazy and should get up right not because this is pretty much the epitome of prime!!!

I know i say this a lot but seriously how did i get SO lucky?! I do not deserve this!  AAAAH I can’t wipe this ridiculously HUGE smile off my face!

I’m a lucky lucky girl, not only do i have an amazing God but i also have a sensational support system your prayers are no doubt making a huge difference (my brother is coming in just over a month, i have friends, I'm growing..ah there’s so many answered prayers) and i can’t express how grateful i am.  I pray that as you are frolicking alongside me in this journey you will be praying for God to continue open the doors for me and to be extremely clear in what he wants me to do.  For wisdom, discernment, i want to ooze grace and love, to be shockingly patient (*shudder, praying for patience is scary heehee), and of course more Spanish!!! 

What a blessing to be able to share all of this!  If you have any questions or thoughts…anything really,  my inbox is always open and i do delight in feedback.  This upcoming year is, heck these upcoming months are, going to be huge…eek I'm excited!!! 

good morning kayla, listen up!

“BE WILLING TO FOLLOW wherever i lead.  Follow Me wholeheartedly, with glad anticipation quickening your pace.  Though you don’t know what lies ahead, I know; and that is enough!  Some of My richest blessings are just around the bend: out of sight, but nonetheless very real.  To receive these gifts, you much walk by faith – not by sight (2 Cor. 5.7).  This doesn't mean closing your eyes to what is all around you.  It means subordinating the visible world to the invisible Shepherd of your soul.

Sometimes I lead you up a high mountain with only My hand to support you.  The higher you climb, the more spectacular the view becomes; also the more keenly you sense your separation from the world with all its problems.  This frees you to experience exuberantly the joyous reality of My Presence.  Give yourself  fully to these Glory-moments, awash in dazzling Light.  I will eventually lead you down the mountain, back into community with others.  Let My Light continue to shine within you as you walk among people again.”  (Jesus Calling. Sarah Young)

“When Jesus spoke again  to the people, he said “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”    - John 8.12

“Splendor and majesty are before him, strength and glory are in his sanctuary”  - Ps 96.6

This is what i woke up to this morning! are you kidding me God?!  What an exciting thing to read with all the changes i’m encountering and anticipating in my life.  I got so pumped after reading this i felt compelled to share it.  In case you haven’t heard my God is pretty darn prime!!!

SEP-TEM-Beeeeeeeeeeer (haha like timber ;)

Sorry, you'll have to just follow the link below, I'm not sure why my videos aren't uploaded anymore *shrug

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150334392199165&l=4670324610497425659

What a delightfully crazy month this has been!

pinilla

aaah what a wonderful weekend away! it was a much needed escape.  So many wonderful memories were made and friendships affirmed and solidified.  God is calling and I'm so glad that I've got a solid signal and can pick up!  What a blessing is this life that i have is.  come i show you! (ps if you didn’t pick up on that by clicking the link you’ll be whisked away to see the wonderful pictures from my time away, there were too many good ones to throw up on here)

September has been quite a busy month – the video is gona be fuuUULL!!!! This has been a month of restarting up the Saturday program, heading to Guanacaste to do girly stuff, life thinking, i finally met the famous teachers from new york, AND!!!  TOMS (www.toms.com) generously donated over 15,000 pairs of shoes so this past week we’ve been hand delivering each pair to the gazillion children we’ve got running around in carpio, pavas, and beyond!

  If you get to opportunity to support this company i would be delighted.  For every pair they sell they give a pair away. If that isn’t enough to motivate you here’s a story!  While we were giving out shoes on Monday a mother came in specifically to get shoes for her daughter who had not gone to school that day.  The sole reason (haha sole!)- she didn’t have any shoes to wear.  I have been measuring all these little, stinky, feet for the past few days and must say that it is rare to see a pair of shoes in good shape and a pair of socks without giant holes.  So for her to feel so ashamed as to not come to school at all *sigh que triste.  It was so encouraging to be able to hand over a pair of super cool shoes for her.  These shoes are truly a blessing and the kids are SO psyched!  It’s so awesome to be able to shower such love on them.  To give them little boosts of confidence!

Praise/Prayer!!! The weekend in Guanacaste not only was awesome and full of fun but God also used the time to poke the little thought we’ve all had in the back of our minds over kayla chandler – long term missionary (oh geez did i just go third person on you..heehee i think i did!).  haha well maybe not all of us have been pondering that… but anyways i felt such a peace and confidence (similar to the one i felt last year in august when God told me i was coming back down).  God can’t use me if I'm not giving him the opportunities, so a few days ago i sent an email to inquire about what the process looks like to actually be a LT down here. It’s not as simple as one would think but if it is God’s will i know it will seem like a piece of cake..cheesecake..ooo with blackberries and peaches..no nectarines! oh yum!!! 

“[I] won’t spend the rest of [my] life chasing [my] own desires, but [I] will be anxious to do the will of God.”

1 Peter 4.2

FINEally!!!

well my friends Jesus has finally allowed me back into my blog!!!  It feels like it’s been forever!  But I'm back yaay! So since the last post I've devoured my candy haha it didn’t stand much of a chance. 

Okay what has been going down…other than all the crazy intense rain…                                  
After 4ish months of planning, cancelling, and replanning I'm pretty sure my trip to Guanacaste is finally going to happen!!! I’m pretty psyched i get to go with Lorena, her mom, and dona Damaris (all very delightful ladies) I'm not quite sure what we’re going to be doing exactly, but i know that we’re going to making some jewellery – and we all know how i love shiny things!!!

It was Costa Rica’s Independence day last Thursday and there were crazy parades all over..a bunch of my carpio friends and i hit up the big one right downtown. But not before untangling a wad of gum that had gotten stuck in my hair…but we got it out and I got to rep my tica roots in my skin tight costa rican pants and tank top  (both were given to me by one of my students/friends “kayla you are now pure tica” haha aka you now have some lycra and spandex  to wear, when i commented on how the tightness (the first time it literally took me 5 minutes to get the pants on) would really accent my extra unwanted curves she was SO excited to tell me that it wouldn’t because the shirts were made to suck everything in haha and they did – it was pretty impressive!  So anyways…we were right down in the action, i ran into tons of friends, got my picture taken with some nuns, and felt so at home.. it was awesome and if that wasn’t enough it torrentially down poured it was so much fun…*sigh i love Latin marching bands!!!    

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRAISE!!!

!!! Oscar (a friend who lived here for 2 years with his aunt but recently moved back to the States) is a super smarty pants and passed his GED test!!!!  He wants to be a nurse’s assistant so now he will be able to apply to universities and study!!!

!!! Jesus love me…AND YOU !!!!  (haha oh wow that’s one step away from telling the waiter after he pours my water that if he wants Jesus could have streams of living water come from him!) hahaha

!!! The new NEEDTOBREATHE album is finally it out and i haaave it!

   PRAYER!!!

It’s been a bit of an intense few weeks, I've had a lot of stresses.  It would be really awesome if ya’ll could fix to (haha I'm trying to practice my Texan for my Morgan to make her feel more at home – heehee and yes i did picture myself wearing a big cowboy hat and spurs when i said that) ask the big guy: * to beef me up with some serious courage and wisdom.  I’ve been struggling within my relationships (here and in the great white north) i just want everything to be wonderful and perfect …apparently i did not get the memo that we live in a broken world… I would like to just be able to mellow out and not be so tense because lets face it that’s lame!

“The God of [my] Lord JC may give [me] the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of HIM.  The eyes of [my] understanding being enlightened, that [I] may know what is the hope of HIS calling…what is the exceeding greatness of HIS power towards [me]”        Ephesians 2.15-22

* protection and safety

     * Some of my students (Alonso, Jessica, Ana Patricia, and Ana Cecilia) are presenting for exams next month and it would be really really awesome if they passed!!!

 * I really really really want my brother to come visit, please pray he can save up some funds and be able to get time off work!!! EEEEK!!! reeeeaaaally want him to come!!!!

* for some solid sleep I've had quite the insomnia for the past few weeks

* to be in and bring an atmosphere of faith and hope…i want to bring it AND bring it on again! (if i could remember the title of the third bring it on series I'd write that too!)

“Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, i will go…”   

-Ruth 1.16

que dia super excelente!!!! really really top notch!!!!

oh man i can’t even begin to explain how extremely delighted i am...haha a facebook status change just would not do i have to explain how seriously awesome today has been!!! GAH!!!  okay:

To start the day i had a killer bible time, then i got to talk to my host mom about it and if that wasn’t enough i go to take left over pizza for lunch! yuUUm!!!

     while waiting for the for bus Carmen called and told me to bring my passport because i need to go pick up a surprise PACKAGE at the post office!!!

so on top of that excellent surprise (eek i love surprises!) my bus ride was also amazing as i took my ipod and the best songs came on.  It was so delightful singing and praising!

on my second bus i ran into my friend and his mom!!!

i get to carpio, and well that’s just wonderful all in itself but then my friend offers to drive me to the post office to pick up my package!!! So i didn’t have to wait alllll day to go get it!!

So i get to the post office and at first the lady couldn’t find the package, and i started to worry then i decided instead i would just pray really reeally hard and then after like the looongest 5 minutes of my life she came out with a HUGE box, and just gave it to me!!! i didn’t even have to pay to pick it up!!!

I had to take the bus back into Carpio so i prayed that JC would protect me as i was packing a lot of goods (passport, camera, giant box of joy…) and wouldn’t you know it but i get to the bus stop and run into my friend and her short term group who were coming into Carpio today to help with club – hellooo protection!!!

We get to Carpio and i finally get to open my box!!!

It was from my wonderful friend Lisa (if you don’t know her you should because she’s a delight!) and oh MAN it was like Christmas everything was wrapped and beautiful with verses and ribbons and bows and AAAH!!!! letters and love and SNOW!!!! a jump drive, a frisbee, a movie, pickle band aids, popcorn, BERRIES and chocolate!!! Lots of wonderful notes, a journal (literally this morning i was talking to myself and was like “you need to tell mom your journal is almost full so she can make you a new one” NOW I DONT HAVE TOOO!!! YEEES THANK YOU SO SOSOOO MUCH!!!!

 

i had club today so i got to explode all the joy and love i had bursting inside and shower it all over the kids AND THEN one of the boys made me a card!!!

I feel SO loved and SO special and SO wonderful, happy, completely overwhelmed with my man upstairs, JC! eeeek! 

I AM SO ENCOURAGED!!

and if that wasn’t enough  i JUST discovered a website with a zumba fitness workout on it FOR FREE!!!

YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!

august vid…

“don’t bother bringing an umbrella or jacket it will definitely NOT rain”

yes i am that stupid and those were some of the last words i said to Morgan before we left for Nicaragua – during the rainy season.

ah friends, so I've returned from Nicaragua and it was a delightful trip..i think my favourite part was when we were at the border and the driver man announced that they were not stopping in Granada (our destination –and the reason Morgan and I took the 6am bus) but God provided us a friend from Argentina who spoke some pretty mean spanglish (and was also conveniently good looking).  So we get dropped off in another little town where we are supposed to take a public bus into Granada.  However, the reason that the big bus wasn’t going to Granada was because there was a huge fiesta so obviously the public bus was jam packed..literally there was NO space…people were hanging off the back. So after waiting in the rain for 20ish minutes i decided that we should hitch hike with this random flat bed truck that was driving by…and found out I'm pretty good at hailing down trucks filled with Latin men and horses…who knew!?!  So anywho we get into the back with 5 hombres,  3 horses, and a mountain of crap – haha literally! We’re driving along being pelted in the face with rain and horse spit when the one guy is like “blah blah blah”  then about 2.3 seconds later i get hit in the face with a tree branch! HAHAHA – apparently “blah blah blah” translates to “DUCK!” – i did not get that memo but i did get a face full of leaves and branch! So we get into town and drive through the parade (we were their international float).  God made what could’ve been a super sketchy situation into something totally wonderful and fun.  We got into town unscathed found a super cheap hostel right away, got to experience one heck of a party and just enjoy the craziness that is Latin america.  All in all good trip i was even able to talk to our Argentinian friend about Jesus and how he’s pretty prime.

Other highlights: …i fell in the street – actually fell, scraped my ankle and everything ..haha then Morgan realized that she was, as those shirts say, “with stupid” 
… i saw a monkey… ran into a scary Jesus in a Snow White casket…decided to play Russian roulette with my tummy by not only drinking the local water but by also eating lettuce (natures germ catcher) haha i lost…found a free chocolate tour with samples! (my host mom always teases me and tells me that i live in a crazy world because I'm always in search of free things- so i was VERY excited to tell her about this…we also found other free museums but they didn’t give us free chocolate, they just  showed us art, and it was wasn’t edible so it’s barely worth mentioning…and a little a little street boy made me a flower out of a coconut leaf…

        Life is good.

In other news tomorrow I'm going to a concert – well I'm going to the stadium and then I'm going to sit outside and listen to the concert…for FREE!   I also cut my hair and during the girls’ game on Saturday almost wound up going to the hospital in an ambulance when one of our girls went down hard – but didn’t have to and am SUPER excited to report that while we were waiting for the ambulance it really appeared as though her ankle was broken so i did some serious praying and I'm so delighted to report that she has NO broken bones and just a little sprain! I saw her the other day and she’s doing great…she’s in a beauty class that we have i got to be her practice model – so if her soccer career doesn’t pan out she can do make up …after we were done i was informed that i was a girl, and a pretty one at that!  How exciting! 

"Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the Lord and enjoy safe pasture!  Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart!

 Psalm 37

dear Jesus you can take everything i have…just please don’t leave my side.

well friends i can’t believe it’s already that time again but tomorrow morning at 4.30 i leave for Nicaragua again.  Sadly the flights to the states went up and not down so that delightful visit will have to wait.  God’s blessed me again with a travel buddy (our newest missionary Morgan is going to sacrifice her time and submit herself to 4 solid days of kayla…pobrecita) Anywho, we’re going to hit up Granada and hopefully have some fun!

So with this looming trip and the harsh reality that each day I'm getting closer and closer to my estimated head back to Canada time I've been getting quite upset.  The thought of going to back is not sitting well with me, between panic and denial – sometimes it doesn’t feel like it’s going to happen  “but kayla you have like five months left what’s your deal?!” GAH i know only fiiive months hahah.  I know God’s got me covered and whether i stay or go is HIS decision not mine, which is reassuring, but it’s hard when your heart is so entangled and attached (and no Grandma not romantically with the future father of your great-grandbabies). Okay so let me clarify before my mom creates a pool in our living room with her tears –don’t laugh she could do it!  It’s not that i don’t miss people back home but God’s got that covered and as I'm frolicking down his path (we’re holding hands too!) i just have peace that He’s taking care of everyone at home and voila! I'm good.  So case in point I’m not sure what God’s got up his sleeve but i feel like long term missions could be a serious possibility eeek how exciting!!!

Prayer (ahh YES PLEASE!!!)

*For a budget friendly trip up north, safety, REST, and obviously for us to have a suuper wonderful time.

*For God to throw some knowledge and wisdom on me;  help me to just focus on him and not on all the craziness that worry/anxiety brings.

*Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of [my] mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.  Ephesians 4.29

* My friend, Francis, unexpectedly lost her aunt last week.  Also in that same family is a guy who would like to volunteer with us but his aunt doesn’t approve and kind of forbade him to come.  She’s a victim to the whole Caprio is disgusting, unsafe, and all the other racist generalizations that people come up with. He’s a pretty prime guy and we want his help so throw some prayers out for her heart to soften up.

 

 

so on top of the giant cockroach i decapitated    the other day LOOK what i killed just outside my room…I'm so brave!  …..modest too!!

my oh my its already july!

2 posts in 1 month!!!

look at me go heeeyo!  So i took a break from the  invasion of short term teams to take a quick overnight trip up to Monteverde with my host parents.  Once i allowed myself to loosen up and release some of the pressure that I've been burdening myself with it was super fun.  Yesterday we did like a 6km walk through the jungle forest and then this morning we went horseback riding – which is always an excellent time! . 

Lately I've been very stressed with work and the trials that come along mixing up different opinions, cultures, and ministry styles.  Needless to say there have been a few days where I've come home looking like death – not so becoming.

Death kayla aside God has actually been doing some pretty splendid things lately, it’s funny but when I'm in it i don’t always realize the blessing that is before me.  But once i make the choice to step back and appreciate what’s been going then i get pretty psyched!

Okay so last week i got super convicted about not keeping up my musical side.  I used to play guitar and bass but then once high school was done i kinda dropped both.  Lame i know because if I'd kept it up I'd probably be pretty legit so after beating myself up for a few days i was finally like “excuse me kayla, you’re not dead you can try again” how exciting!  So one of my students likes singing, so I've been practicing 2 songs with her one being ‘Our God’ by Chris Tomlin so i told her that i would learn the song on the guitar, she could sing and i would record it.  So I got the chords and I've practiced 2 times! Downside my fingers hurt but instead of wallowing in my suckyness I'm taking action.

We’ve started a new kids club in Carpio to reach out to another area of the community (to the left is the house that we do it in).  The first week we got 22 kids (it was vacation break) and then last week we got 11.  It’s going really well, the kids are SO fun and i get to work with Sarita who is, simply put,  top notch.  I’m always excited when i get to work alongside Susi and/or Sarita because they are filled with so much knowledge and wisdom PLUS they remind me of my grandma whom i love.

On Saturday i was asked to be the official assistant coach of the girls soccer team, they need my passport and everything.  Up until now i was just a co-trainer behind the scenes but NOW i get to pay 700 colones (like $1.50), give them a mug shot and a copy of my passport.  I’m moving up! AND!  I started opening and ending each practice with a time of prayer and it’s been going really well.  I think we’re building a better connection and I'm feeling like they see me more like a friend than an evil gringa sent to torture them. Yay!

Lastly, i can’t believe it’s almost already been 3 months since the wedding but visa trip time is coming up quickly.  I’ve been invited to go to Atlanta (and stay with a friend whom i met here last year) and hit up Florida a second time (to actually spend some quality time with Thes and Jt).  Up until last week the prices had been pretty steady but this week they soared up so I'm praying they drop again so that I can afford to go.

Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.  Hebrews 11.1