Oh the joys!

Well!  If you are reading this, I assume you’re sitting down,  now before you continue reading I’d like you to review what is around you;  make sure you’ve created yourself a safe space - so you won’t knock anything over or when/if  you fall off your chair you will land on something soft, if you’re drinking something maybe stop – so you don’t spit it out all over your screen! 

Do I have you sufficiently excited yet? 
(In my mind I hear a roaring “YEEEEEEeeesSSSS!!! Come on Kayla, get on with it already!”)

OKAY well this month has had it’s share of stressors, the most recent larger one has been a package that my mother sent me at the beginning of the month.  Customs decided that they wanted it, I was informed over the phone on December 14 that if I didn’t have an explanatory letter(and apparently saying that it was Christmas and my family wanted to send me something was NOT a good enough explanation as the woman on the phone rudely told me), translation, and some permission letter from the Costa Rican Ministry of Health by December 15 that my package and all it’s contents would be destroyed!  You can imagine my horror…I had ONE day to get all these documents – some of which would be next to impossible.  Have you ever needed a letter from the Ministry of Health to receive a present in the mail?!  No, me neither!  As it turned out, there had been an issue with the paperwork and so the package was being treated like a commercial shipment.

Now you may be thinking, “Oh Kayla, so dramatic, it’s just some cards and a colouring book, let it go”  weeeeell yes and no.  You see this package also held my childhood stocking – which holds a lot of value to me and a new debit card (I have not been able to take out money from an ATM since October – things have been veeeery tight the past little while).  So, knowing there was no way I’d be able to get the necessary permissions in one day, let alone, one day during Christmas week, I suggested that the package be returned to the sender.  Thinking that at least it wouldn’t be destroyed; only to find out that the Shipper was going to charge somewhere around $300 CAD to get the package back.  I was quite discouraged. 

Fortunately, on the 16th I got a call saying the package was not being destroyed but rather being placed in abandonment until the proper paperwork came.  That the items that were offending Customs (the reason the package was held in the first place – I presume) could be removed and they would send me the rest of the contents!  Great news!  Unfortunately, when I had heard the package was to be destroyed I had called the bank and cancelled the card (the term ‘destroyed’ has different meanings to different people, i.e.. open and claim what you’d like..).  So I played it safe and cancelled and requested a new card (which we are praying comes to me, here in Costa Rica, by the end of the month!). 

So the package was opened and a list of the offending items was made, I signed it saying it was okay to leave those items.  I was told it would take about 24 hours for the package to be released as long as everything went smoothly… haha!  Last week I was told that Customs was saying I’m not registered with them, so they need to do that – it usually takes a day (that initial 24 hours) but for me it had already been over a week…

Last night I was discouraged, thinking about all the things that should be working smoothly, but aren’t, how I've handled things, basically, i was getting bummed out (I’ve been calling the Shipper’s local number multiple times a day do ask about the package – make sure I’m not forgotten (which is normal to do) but it takes it’s toll.  So last night I was laying in bed, talking to God “Hey buddy, what’s going on with this, I’m tired, I’m sick, I don’t know what else to do here….”  I decided that today I would fast all day and see if I got some news, I prayed about how God knows that I’m tired and this shouldn’t be as big of an issue as it’s been.  Then I rolled over and said “NO more thinking, analyzing etc., now I will sleep in peace!”  And i did!!!

So this morning I wake up, dreading the phone call I have to make to Stephanie (the worker who has been with me since the beginning, she’s delightful, but recently has been the bearer of all the bad news haha) so I was laying in bed, deciding if I would call just the once today or twice.  I had been feeling like maybe i was being given the run around, which is common here, that perhaps they weren’t even doing anything and just blaming everything on Customs.  *Phone rings…. I look at the number, it’s Stephanie… I thought “Oh no, what is wrong now?”

“Allo??” (Hello with a Canadian/Spanish accent)

“Hola! Kayla!?  Your package was released today, it’s en route!”

*Jaw drops*  Oooh Lord you work fast, I hadn’t even started my fasting and extra extra intensive prayer plan for today!  

Excellent!  I hang up and am overwhelmed with happiness and since there was no one to hug, my blanket serves as the substitute!

Then I’m wide awake, so excited, God took care of this issue, so I take to my devotional (Jesus Calling, Sarah Young) because I’m just so happy I want to see what it says for today:

“TRUST ME with every fiber of your being!  What I can accomplish in and through you is proportional to how much you depend on Me.  One aspect of this is the degree to which you trust Me in a crisis or major decision.  Some people fail miserably here, while others are at their best in tough times.  Another aspect is even more telling: the constancy of your trust in Me.  People who rely on Me in the midst of adversity may forget about Me when life is flowing smoothly.  Difficult times can jolt you into awareness of your need for Me, whereas smooth sailing can lull you into the stupor of self-sufficiency.
     I care as much about your tiny trust-steps through daily life as about your dramatic leaps of faith.  You may think that no one notices, but the One who is always beside you sees everything – and rejoices.  Consistently trusting in Me is vital to flourishing in My Presence.”

Psalm 40:4  “Oh, the joys of those who trust in the Lord…”

“..when I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.  I praise God for what he has promised.  I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?”  - Psalm 56: 3-4

Psalm 62:8  “O my people, trust in Him at all times.  Pour out your heart to Him for God is our refuge.”

Isaiah 26: 3-4  “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You…”

What a refreshing and encouraging reminder!  I am not alone, and even the trivial things – like a package from home are also important to God. 

Well we thought it was over….after writing this, I saw the company’s truck pull up, raced outside to go get my present!  Only to have it waved in my face and be told that to be able to release the package to me I need to pay (in cash) 62,155.55 Colones (which is about $125 CAD)…I don’t have that kind of cash on hand and therefore wasn’t able to pay, meaning that I saw the present and then watched it drive away.  Left with only a bill in hand and wondering why I hadn’t been told beforehand of these charges.  I had a feeling there would be something, but since nothing was mentioned, I decided not to worry.

Anywho, I guess the waiting and praying will continue…I was hoping to end this with a picture of my present BUT instead I guess we will use it as prayer fuel and hopefully everything can be settled today!

Lima, Llamas, leaders, love, laughing, Latin Link…

what do these all have in common?  They all begin with the letter L!!! AND I experienced all of them during my time in Peru this past month!  It should be officially noted, I quite like Peru, it was so pretty, the mountains are breathtaking!
November flew by!  I had visitors, travels, and a lot of planning for the three Striders that are coming very early next year!  Essentially, tripling the work load I had last year at this time!
The beginning of the month I hosted a Latin Link coordinator from Scotland (he was quite involved with the STEP team I had last April)  he wanted to go see where the team had been, so we went North and the trip was just excellent.  Poor Martin, though,  was trapped in the car with me for a little over 12 hours (total)!   He survived and walked away very encouraged – aside from the day we took him into the back country (in flip flops) and he stepped on an ant hill…we wore him out!  During the visit we got to spend a little time with one of the host families whose daughter (a mother of two young children, see picture: she’s in the pink shirt. her mother is to her right and the woman on my right is the late pastor’s wife* the pastor who passed away during the April Step Team earlier this year) was dying of cancer – it was very serious and the doctors had given up and told the family to buy the funeral clothes and casket.  This year has been very trying on the family, I had tried to visit before and never found them available.  To my surprise and the glory of God, I take Martin up to see the family and who do you think comes waltzing out of the house while we are there?!  The daughter!!!  She’s walking, eating, gaining weight, she was healed!  She herself explained what happened – she doesn’t remember any of the visitors she had or really the time there.  Her mom told me that when they took her off life support she woke up.  The daughter told me that it was like she had been sleeping (dreamless) and then she breathed in something so rich and decadent, it was like the purest oxygen she’d ever experienced.  She woke up and immediately wanted to eat, had energy…the whole deal!  The family and medical team had given up;  now she’s at home with her family and travels 6 hours to the local hospital here in San Jose once a week for testing to ensure that she is in fact healing (which she totally is but the doctors want to keep tabs as miracles aren’t accepted by everyone!  It was so exciting, we’ve been praying for them since April and to see such a 180 degree change is SO encouraging!  God is so good!
After Martin’s visit it was off to Peru for the Latin Link Leadership Conference and crisis management training.  It was so lovely to meet so many people from all the teams in Central and South America!  We had time to share experiences, resources, get some training, it was all in all a very lovely time! (To see more fotos click the following link https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153803614714165.1073741832.512119164&type=1&l=e45bf9fbd9)
After spending an unexpected day in the El Salvador airport I made it safely back to Costa Rica, with all my new resources and a refreshed outlook on the upcoming months!  Then it was time to meet the Short Term Coordinator for Latin America Mission (Canada)!  She lives in Canada and so we had a good visit and a little logistic strategizing regarding missionaries that LAM will send to Costa Rica.  For those of you not familiar, I work for 2 missions agencies: Latin American Mission (Canada) as well as Latin Link (European), most of my time here on the ground is spent with Latin Link.  I will be assisting LAM with short term missions more in the future, by checking in on their short termers, locations, host families, etc.  I’m excited and looking forward to this next step!

This year has had a lot of emotional ups and downs, times where I have seriously questioned my sanity, discernment, myself in general.  There have been doubts, moments of pure joy, fear, you name it I’ve probably dealt with it this year.  Something that struck me this month during one of my devotionals was that it is important to give God time to respond I just finished up my time in the book of Job this morning (haha yes I’ve been there for a few months, there’s just so much to get out of it!) and after all the agony and questions God finally responds to Job.  He reminds him that he is God, he’s got everything under control!
*Whoa talk about great timing I literally just got back in from stepping outside because for the past hour or so someone has been pounding on a door and as I am trying to write a lovely update post the constant BAM BAM BAM was not very helpful!  So I finished up that last paragraph and went to see what the ruckus was about.  I walked over to find an abuela (grandma) to my neighbour’s kids exhausted and trying to open their front door – she’s been kicking it for about an hour *insert unimpressed expression and I went over and I asked her if she was alright and she goes “I can’t open the door…and I can’t get out of the complex because the keys are in the door” haha so I asked her if I could try and she repeatedly goes “do you think you can get it?!?!?” I tell her I’ll give it a shot.  I turn the key one way, no good, she loudly reminds me not to break the key in the door – which up until that point had been my plan of attack…So! I changed the plan and turned the key the other way *click click…and the door opens!  Voila!  Kayla to the rescue!  Sometimes you just need an outside perspective, someone to come in – oh I've just had an epiphany!  Sometimes we are trying to push ourselves through a door and we just can’t seem to get it to open (figurative door of course), we’re pounding and kicking, fighting to get in.  Like this abuela, then, exhausted from trying to do it alone, allow someone else to help.  We say “God I cannot get this door to open!  He either says “Well you’re not supposed to go through it, hence why it’s locked…”OR “Let me give it a shot” and he opens it for you!  The Bible tells us that God will lead us on the best pathway for our lives (Psalm 32:8) sometimes we’re so busy trying to pound down doors we forget to ask the one who has all the keys.  Or we don’t wait for him to respond, we figure we can handle it ourselves.  Some things take time and we need to give God the opportunity to respond, we bombard him with questions and don’t always give him the space to answer, to open a door, to remind us it’s closed for a reason…
I pray that as you enter this holiday season you will remember to take time to reflect on the doors in your life and whether or not you, like this abuela, are relentlessly pounding instead of asking for help.  Or perhaps the door’s not opening because you have the keys to the wrong apartment or you just need to spend sometime outside enjoying the sunshine :)

Merry Merry Christmas!!!

Ps.  Prayer requests would be that God would give me wisdom and and open the right doors so that I can help to ensure these new Striders will have great placements and really enjoy their time here in Ticolandia!

What a month!

Hello Hello !
Some of you may have received a request from Feedburner to follow the blog, that is because I did not receive a response from you last month (when I sent out my monthly email reminder).  Which, I assume, means you did not receive the email.  As I explained in last month’s reminder it looks like a lot of you have not been receiving any of my correspondence *check your Spam folders* (re: blog updates or personal emails), which makes me quite sad.  Hopefully though, it explains why I haven't heard back from many of you!... at least, I'm hoping that's the reason. :)

**To ensure that I am able to communicate with you if you could please add my email (kaylarchandler@gmail.com) to your address book that would be extremely helpful (and send me a little message if you like, letting me know you’re still alive and well! )**

Okay, now for the fun stuff! This month, like all the others has just flown by!  I’ve experienced quite a few natural disasters- there’s been a few earthquakes (tiny ones, no need to worry), I had a flood, the equivalent of hurricane rain – okay okay I’m exaggerating, because it’s fun and I can!  Yes, it’s been raining a lot, but nothing out of the ordinary and the flood was just in my bedroom – because I forgot to close my window on Sunday…so technically I brought that upon myself – that’s what I get for wanting fresh air!

October started off with me finding my missing chapstick!!!!!! Now, before you scoff and chalk it up to me being a silly girl you should know this beloved chap has been missing since June (I think, I blocked out the time of loss as it was too painful! haha!) then one day I decided to go for a run (and by run I mean walk in running apparel) and BEHOLD in the secret pocket of my shorts was my tiny grapefruity piece of heaven!  How can one not  have a great month with that as the opener!?! 
This month I have really been able to use my home to love on other people (cafecitos, meals, movie nights etc), each week has seen a number of visitors (of the two and four legged variety…), I also was able to host our monthly team meeting here last Sunday.  There has been laughter, hugs, prayers, tears, in some cases screams.  Okay in one case a scream, and it was mine, when I found a rat in my laundry room drain!  I’m fairly certain I scared him more than he scared me haha he smashed his head on the grate and booked it out of there, hopefully never to return!

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” – 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

It’s been a really exciting month in terms of seeing growth!  I’ve had quite a few people come to me for prayer and guidance and many of the situations they’re facing are things that I’ve dealt with in the past.  I have been able to comfort them the way God comforted/s me – well not exactly the same as I am not God, obviously. It is just such a blessing to be entrusted with that kind of responsibility.
A friend of mine got a peek into a day in the life of Kayla a few weeks ago.  She tagged along with me and experienced the joy that it is to have your debit cards rejected multiple times from the ATM, get no help from the local bank, need to run around for hours trying to determine what the problem could be, if the local ATM robbed your money or it’s simply out of order, she got to sit with me on the phone with the Canadian bank and after the entire morning passed away finally be able to take out enough money to pay for a needed vaccine (because I’m going to Peru next month!!!).  After we finally got everything done (bank, vaccine, visit to the health ministry to get a card saying I was vaccinated – which i was told would take days and only ended up taking minutes, God works everything out!!!) with an exasperated look on her face  - she said “Kayla?! Have you always been this patient??” to which I chuckled, “definitely NOT!”  not really knowing what else to say.  I know that God has been helping me with patience, especially since I started praying for it a few years back (a risky move, I must say). So far though, I’m still alive ;)

>>> Joy is not dependant on circumstances <<<
but it’s a lot easier when there’s so much to be thankful for!

>I’ve been setting up things for my THREE (if everything works out) new Striders, scheduled to come early next year<

>Thanksgiving was celebrated with a Bourne marathon and “cheddar” cheese!!!<

>The Latin Link Coordinator from Scotland is coming for a visit in a few weeks and I’ll be taking him to Valle Verde where the team was in April, so that he can meet some of the community<

Prayers needed:

• My friend’s mother recently had corrective eye surgery and while the procedure seemed to have gone smoothly her blood pressure is extremely high and the eyes are very swollen.  Please pray that the swelling and BP go down and that she makes a full and quick recovery.  Additionally, their family business has been receiving hassle from the municipality and they have been evicted from space that they’ve been renting (they run a small homeopathic pharmacy) because the owner wants to change the contract so she can charge more for rent.  It’s been a rough month for their family, please keep them in your prayers.
• My mom let me know that a woman we know back home has been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer.  Please pray for healing and comfort for her and her family.
• November 13-22 I will,  Lord willing, be in Peru for a Latin Link leadership conference!  Please pray for safe travel and that the conference will go well and we will have good speakers, conversation, fellowship and it will just be an excellent time overall.
• Financial stability, the Lord, is always faithful, let’s keep it that way :)

^“Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him.”  
Psalm 105:4

i LOVE bureaucracy!!!

…love is that emotion when you want to pull out your hair, smash something a million times, punch someone in the face, scream into a pillow and just run away from everything right?? 
So here I thought I had been up to date on my blog and just realized that I completely bypassed August (that’s the last time I put months in my titles!) Sorry! I know you’ve all been dying to know what’s going on!  Quite a bit to be honest!

The week before last a (newer) friend texted me saying she needed to talk.  At first, I pulled a classic kayla and wondered what i had done to hurt/offend her and why she was mad at me,  then I stopped myself and said “Hey kayla!  You stop that, she probably just wants to talk about missions.”  So I relaxed and we booked a time for her to come over for cafecito! *now put this information on hold – we will come back to it.     That following Sunday, after church I went and had lunch with another friend. She asked how I've been doing, at which point I kind of melted a little and told her that I’ve been really hurt recently by some people whom I once considered close enough to be family – heck they called me family!  I told her how I've been sad about friendships not feeling real.  She responded by saying that I have people all around me who are not expecting or waiting for me to do things for them, they genuinely just want to be my friend.  Yet, because I’ve been so guarded and shy I haven’t given them the opportunity to get to know me and, in her words,  “see how awesome I am” haha!  I was embarrassed – I thought I had been open and what had always crossed my mind was “if you want to be my friend you will make an effort to talk to me more than just pleasantries”  it hadn’t occurred to me that perhaps I was the one not making enough of an effort or providing opportunity!  How silly of me to expect others to do what I was not. 
     She went on about how there are people in our young adults group who don’t want to get to know me just because I can support them in missions (like I almost immediately presumed about my newer friend), or give then information, or volunteer my time.  Which are all good things but I've come to realize that there are people out there who have claimed that we are close friends and yet if I'm not around them right in front, easily accessible on a silver platter they could care less about where I am and what i do (so it seems).  It really hurt to think about all these memories i have and be struck by the potential reality that a lot of them are lies, that sounds a bit more dramatic then I would like.  The point I’m trying to express is that these people were huge parts of my life and it feels like our relationships weren’t sincere or genuine like I had thought they were.
However, last week (during the cafecito) I had the opportunity to have real friend time, with real conversation from people who really care about me!  This friend didn’t want to talk to me about missions!  She wanted my advice and insight for some stuff going on in her life and the three of us (my lunch friend joined us) ended up sharing testimonies and building into one another laughing and eating too much bread.  I was so happy and filled with joy afterwards that I danced myself to bed and couldn’t sleep until 2am!  I was so delighted with how God had just thrown all this stuff he’s provided me with, but I've been blind to, in my face!  Then he rubbed it around a bit – like a pleasant face wash (for those of you not familiar here’s what we Canucks mean when we say face wash https://youtu.be/GX2dbUf8Mbg – sorry it was the only thing i could find, in my minds eye the video was way more awesome but at least this one get the message across)
Since then I have had many great days filled with people who just want to get to know me no strings attached.  I am making a more conscious intentional effort to not shy away from people (i know many of you do not consider me shy and cannot even fathom the idea of it but it’s the truth!).  I have been praying for God to open my eyes to all I have and he really has.  It’s hard to believe that I felt so alone before when it’s clear that all I need to do is reach out to what’s right in front of me!  Not be bogged down by past hurts and letting them dictate my future.  To be frank,  the hurts help mould, there’s a quote I’ve always liked by Samuel Smiles which says that “…We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do…” God also encourages us in James 1:2-4 when he says to “Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance..which must finish it’s work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking in anything.”  To me, what God is saying lines up with Smiles.  They are both saying that hard times and mistakes are not cause to quit, to curl up and hid under your covers; the reality is they help you to learn and grow!  So instead of focusing on the hurt I will focus on what I have learned from these situations, and from that perspective nothing is a waste of time and there’s no need to feel bad!
Praise!
okay lets recap last post’s prayer requests and then we can bask in the joy of all the new great stuff God’s had for me the past two months!

1. The team (late July to early August) went swimmingly, I mean ups and downs of course but I nailed the sermon I had to translate – and on the spot too (no prep time!).  It was epic! I wish I had it taped, although my feelings on how it went would probably  be shattered if I saw it.  Let’s instead live in my memory of it, where I have fabulous hair, a flawless Costa Rican accent and perfect comedic timing!  When the team left they gave me these encouragement cards which were completely sweet and a definite moral booster.  I’ve turned them into wall art and it’s a good reminder that I’m not a loser.
3.  Since my last post i have received THREE new monthly donors!!! THREE!!!! God is So sosososo good!  His faithfulness doesn’t surprise me.  I got a message from a friend in a sealed envelope, inside was a note saying that he would like to partner financially, that he felt God telling him to help me out!  I was so excited (someone else had delivered the envelope to me and she claimed it was a secret love letter, which I guess it kind of was - a love letter from Jesus hahaha! Dear Kayla, I love you so much here is another person who believes in you and what I am doing through you.  Love, Jesus.  PS. You’re great!) It’s funny, the peace that God gives …it’s like I can’t explain I wasn’t surprised when I got the response card my friend had sent, I mean I was for like a millisecond and then it all made sense and I didn’t know why I didn't figure it out sooner (obviously, because I’m not a psychic!)  How would I know that God was going to tell this particular friend what to do.  What I mean is God always takes care of me! Always, even when I fight him ,and think I’m winning,  he’s like “Okay kayla,  you’ve had your fun, now go sit down and let me handle this”  - now if only I could apply this to my issues with bureaucracy right?!  Please pray that God would continue to provide for me and that there would always be enough.
Now for the new praise stuff!The money got put back into my account! for those of you who don’t remember about 2 months ago I tried to withdraw my rent from an ATM and received no money or receipt and when I checked my online account it said that I had taken the money out and had deducted it from my balance! Yikes!  I’m happy to inform that the bank accepted my report (saying “hey I didn’t get any money!”and within a few days (they had said up to 8 weeks!) the money was credited back into my account! Yay!
I’ve been visiting new projects is the same section of Alejuela and met some lovely new pastors <> I have THREE Striders on the line!!! Potentially coming in February! AND the possibility of having TWO teams come next year <> This past week I’ve had a friend visiting, it was fun to be tour guide again and I got presents – which i love, although let’s be honest, who doesn’t love presents?!! <> I have TWO jars of Nutella to my name! <> I have received some very encouraging messages from people within the past month <> My church had a great baptism retreat on Sunday!  I taught a bunch of people how to play ultimate and it didn’t rain!
I love reading the book of Job – it’s so handy and encouraging.  I’ve been in it for a while, but I don’t want to leave haha I’ve always felt this connection with him.  I wouldn’t say I have experienced the loss he has but I guess the way he goes to God and deals with everything.  Either way, it’s been a great book to have during these past few months.
Prayer!

• Last month – my neighbours (the house beside my complex) was completely looted.  The two guys rode by on a motorcycle and either had the code or a code copier (apparently those are real now) and they were able to open the electronic front gate (my complex has a similar system) and then they came back with a large truck and cleaned the place out.  A few weeks later we were finding our complex gate open for no apparent reason, however, for a few weeks now that has not been a problem.  Please pray for that family as well as the safety and security of myself and those that live in my complex
• Please pray that my body shapes up, I’ve had some sort of sinus issue for the past monthish, yes I’ve seen a Dr. (well I have a friend who is a Dr. and I asked her about my issues).  Basically, i would like to be healthy and breathing normally  :)
• Upcoming trip to Peru (Lord willing in November) for a leadership conference.  Please pray for safety, a cheap flight, and a smooth process. 
• All the regulars (finances, safety, community etc)

Well friends I think that’s a good spot to sign off for now, I hope you all have a lovely week and for my Vancouver family, I feel right at home at the moment as it’s been gray and rainy aaaaall day!
Love kayla xxx

Just a side note, I have recently realized that because I use my email so much a lot of my messages are getting sent to people’s spam folders.  To eliminate that issue please make sure I am in your address book.

How is it almost August!?!

I can’t believe that I’ve already been living abroad for a year, time goes by SO fast!

There’s nothing like going to top off an otherwise relaxing, recuperating stay at home, rainy Saturday with a nice manicure than to find a thumb sized cockroach in with all your nail polish!!!  Yes, I am somewhat embarrassed to report that I screamed and did a disgusted shiver dance before running downstairs to find my cockroach spray!  *shudder they’re so icky and you never get used to them just springing up out of nowhere   - did i mention, the nail polish box lives under my bed  0_O I had nightmares about them coming up for a pijamada and accidently eating one in my sleep…ick!


SO! I’ve been away for 3 lovely weeks up North (The Great 
White one) which was just excellent, I may or may not have 
tried to squeeze in too much – jury's still out on  that one :)
There are really no words to describe it so I’ll just bombard 
you with pictures and  trust that my face will serve as a tiny 
view into how amazing my visit was!  Hugs, snuggles, sports,
 food,  friends, fam, and wedding OH MY!!! I loves me some BC!
(so i recognize that’s probably a bit tricky to read…but so cool right?!?!)

0

      I also went to the dentist!

I feel like I’m somehow jipping you guys by not going into more details about everything, but to be honest words haven’t been my strongest subject as of late.  If you are dying to know more and feel ripped off, let me know and I’ll see what I do :)
_____________________________________________________________________________

 My life is Sooo exhausting!  *insert smug smile .  It was actually a great opportunity for me to get to know more of the country.  In the past, and normally, I’m not much of a tourist which before wasn’t a big deal.  However, now that I am responsible for others and have been here a while I get asked fairly frequently where good places to go are, what’s worthwhile etc etc and never have decent responses….until NOW that is!!!

We hit up a popular beach here, Manuel Antonio (we had a connection whose family lives close-by which meant FREE ACCOMMODATION and FOOD!!! *sigh i love free!)  We went to the National Park and it was worth it!  We saw monkeys, crabs, iguanas, SLOTHS!!!!, birds, racoons (which people get really excited about here and when I don’t react in like are very confused, haha if only they knew! Racoons, please!) 

We also hit up some museums, a volcano aaaand THE MINIONS movie!!!





Let’s get excited!!! pfff!!! As if you aren’t already!

• There’s a team coming in on Saturday until the 4th of August, so this weekend I’ll be heading up to translate and love on some people in Aguas Claras!  (Same team leader as the group from January)
• Today I was in sewing class and one of the women saw some of the toques and headbands I’ve crocheted and asked if I would teach a few classes  so that the women could learn how to make them too.  She said that as she is currently unemployed it would be a great way for her generate some income.  I of course said “YES!” So Profe Kayla will be making her return to the front of the class sometime in the next month! (This pictures are a few of the things I’ve whipped up the past few days)
• Today someone complimented me on how good my English was!  She was shocked when I informed her that it better be as I’m Canadian!  Although, thinking about it now, being Canadian doesn’t necessarily ensure that one would have good English…
• Also, I held a one month old today…so cute! Her name’s Jade

Prayer requests

• For my translating skills!  The team comes in on Saturday and is a bit larger than the last.  Please pray the Lord will give me wisdom, the right words and tones and basically will be able to communicate smoothly within the two languages!  The goal is to not offend anyone this time `round!
• I’d like to start this one by saying thank you so much for all of you who take the time to catch up on all my comings and goings, praying for me and supporting me.  I appreciate it so much!   Please pray that the Lord would continue to provide for all my needs.  My mission has reported that my monthly support is at about half of what they’d like to see coming in.  The cost of living here is very high and it’s reflecting.  So please pray that The Lord will raise up new donors. 
  
  If you feel led to give see the side bar on the right side that says “Want to Support Kayla?!” or feel free to contact me (kaylarchandler@gmail.com)

Lastly, I’ve been reading Job and this morning these verses really stuck with me.  It’s when Job responds to his friend’s lack of compassion and help in his time of need:

“..my brothers you have proved as unreliable as a seasonal brook that overflows its banks in the spring when it’s swollen with ice and melting snow.  But when the hot weather arrives, the water disappears.  The brook vanishes in the heat. The caravans turn aside to be refreshed but there is nothing to drink, so they die” 
- Job 6:15-18

A little intense, especially that last verse.  I thought to myself “i do not want to be like Job’s friends – when times get tough (His whole family has died and he had lost essentially all he owned)  they just assume he was guilty of some sin and instead of comforting him they attack him and tell him God is punishing him because he’s done something evil.  Which was not the case in the slightest!   I don’t want to be one of those people who dries up simply because it gets a little hot out.  I want to overflow with grace, compassion and love for others.  Please pray that God will fill me daily so that I may in turn lavish others with all the love He shows me!

SURPRISE!!! There was NO zoom in this - that's how close we were!!!! - i almost peed my pants i was so excited!

happy may 20th!

Hello hello! Happy Wednesday!
This morning I awoke feeling not too shabby, which is quite a feat as, lately, I have not been esleeping so great.  However, even though I woke up this morning from a nightmare – which I can’t remember, all I recall is feeling like my heart was trying to pound it’s way out of the jail that is my rib cage!

So, if last month had a few dips and turns, this month continued with the pattern.  It started off with God dropping off a roommate practically at my door.  It didn’t start with that intention but that’s what has happened.  At the beginning of the month I got a text from Marianela (the daughter of the pastor from Valle Verde who passed away last month)  saying that she needed somewhere to stay for the week and could she stay with me.  So that night I went and picked her up and moved her into my apartment, after a couple weeks of apartment and job hunting God made it clear to me that she should stay here and voila! We talked logistics and I now have a crazy, bubbly, super silly roomy!  She is a blessing and so far we are doing excellent!  Please pray that she is able to find a safe, well paying job close by ASAP!
Let us end with some good news…I have a flight home!!!!  

your faith is all it takes…

Today’s anecdote:  So I have been super sick since Sunday night, today I decided to leave the combines of my lovely apartment and get a little fresh air and find a world map for my wall (I’m going to get all my visitors to mark their country and sign it, it’s going to be brilliant!).  The trek was successful!  When I came back home, my neighbour (married, 2 young kids) was out and he invited me in to have a chat.  I was happy because then I could let him know that his children have been terrorizing my plants and I am none to pleased!  The conversation was fine, he asked if i was going back to where I’d been with the team I said yes and then we talked a bit about my upcoming travel schedule.  I mentioned that I should be heading to Canada  The conversation then took an awkward turn heehee!…wait for it…!
“so do you have a boyfriend then?”

“Nope, they’re overrated”

“Ah, friend’s with benefits then” – with a glimmer in his eye

“aahahauuum…nope!”

He gives me a weird/confused look “but you have guy friends?”

“Sure do!  And none of them have benefits!”

he then just kind of looked at me like I’m missing something or like my response is completely crazy! It makes me laugh how people assume that just because one is single they’re either super depressed/desperate or are just living it up getting with anything that moves.  They couldn’t possibly be content with what they have!  I have had someone tell me (here) that if she was my age and wasn’t married (like me) she would kill herself….Yes she was serious!  I literally burst out laughing and reminded her that boys are not the ultimate goal. It’s better to be single, with the occasional loneliness, than to feel alone, stuck in a crappy marriage/relationship!

***   ***   ***

Anywho, enough about that! The real reason you’re all here and on the edge of your seats, I know, you want to hear how it went with MY FIRST OFFICIAL TEAM!!!!!  Yes, I have received and returned my very first team 9 for 9!  Well technically 3 of them are still here, I’ll ship them off on Friday morning, hopefully in one piece…or should I say 3 pieces…?

Okay so let’s break down my 3 weeks of being responsible for 9 people, well 10 including myself.  So April 4 I show up to the airport to pick up the team (majority of whom were from Scotland, and the rest from England) and realize that I got the time wrong…I was an hour and a half early!!!  Which made me feel completely incompetent and ridiculous – great way to start off!  So after about 10 minutes of questioning my life choices and why I suck I decided mistakes happen and it’s better to be early than late!  Then the bus driver and I went and got a snack, food solves all problems!

A few hours later, I got the team to Valle Verde in one piece and split them up into their host homes.  The first week was good, we did some orientation, meet and greets, and they started on some of the physical projects.
 
On the Saturday we walked to a nearby waterfall, which was a great bonding experience (some of the locals came too).  We were wrapping up and heading back when one of my host brothers got a phone call saying that their dad (who is also the local pastor and our key point person for the project) was in a motorcycle accident.  We immediately rushed back, only to find out that the he had passed away (from a heart attack)……

My world went blurry… he was my friend…my host dad…my project partner.  I made it back to the house and Maria (the Pastor’s wife, my host mom) just looked at me solemnly and said “Kayla, God has taken my husband.”  Earlier that week Maria had gone to the hospital with severe back pain, she had been sick most of the week and this was the cherry on top.  My heart ached, I was grieved for the family- whom I consider part of my family, I have also never lost anyone close before, let alone while hosting my very first overseas team.  To say I was overwhelmed is an understatement!

A few hours later our home started to fill with people, family members, neighbours from all over coming to help out – I struggled with knowing my place.  Should I find somewhere new to stay?  I don’t want to leave them?  Am I intruding?…. I had a million things going through my head.  I asked one of the family members if they wanted me to give them some space and my question was met with a look of  ‘what?! are you crazy?!’ and was told to stay!   Sunday came and the house was still flooding with people, the body would be coming to the church later that evening (things move very quickly when it comes to funerals here – kind of ironic) .  Sunday we prepared for the Vela (viewing) which is an all night event.  This one started around 7pm and I had no idea if I would be able to go to bed or not.  Fortunately, at about 12:30am a cousin came to let me know my bed was ready and I could go sleep!  At 4 am someone came knocking at the door to let us know that the body was turning purple and we needed to go back to the church right away.  So we got up and started getting ready.  The funeral was at 9 am and the service was lovely – it was very evangelical at one point the preacher said that the Pastor/body was not important to him because he has already won the game -  he is with Jesus.  What really mattered to him were those people in the audience who didn’t know Jesus.  It was encouraging too because he went on to say it doesn’t matter what religion you are (catholic or evangelical, etc.) the key point is do you know Jesus?  Is he your personal saviour?  I was so delighted, it’s very rare to hear that!  Usually, it’s more an “us” and “them” type thought process.  Afterwards, we moved on to the cemetery and put the body in the tomb.  Immediately after the cement had been set everyone who had come, left for their homes.  It was a bit shocking to me at the quickness of everything.  We got back to the now empty house – which only that morning had been packed wall to wall with people – and began to reorganize and put the place back together.
The rest of the trip, thankfully, was less eventful.  Things moved slower than the team would have liked, communication sometimes left much to be desired and while at some points it was frustrating,  I thought it was a great cultural experience.  Relationship orientated (locals) vs. task orientated (western culture) .  The goal of the trip was to encourage the community.  Each team member made a great connection with their respective host family, there were many remarks on what a joy it was to have the team and many tears were shed on departure day - I would say the goal was met!

***If you would like to read the team’s blog updates (3 in total) click the link below: ***
http://bit.ly/costaricaeaster

So on the whole I would chalk the experience up as being super successful.  Did I mess up? Oh yes!  Are there things I should have done better? OH yes!  Is there room for improvement? ooooh YES!!!  But now! I have a team under my belt, I’ve gotten a ton of experience – while the death is not funny - there is joy in it and you almost have to giggle, i mean think about it, what are the odds of that happening – let alone during my very first team?! I’m aware some of you may think that is offensive but it’s like the family says “We will miss him, but do not be sad for us, he is in a better place and we are excited for him!” It’s okay to be joyful, laugh – that’s the pro side of being on Team JC!   Aside from experience I’ve also made new contacts, learned a ton about myself AND made new friends!  One of whom is actually the daughter of the pastor, she lives quite close to me here in the city.  The other day she texted me and said she’s been lonely and has no Christian friends here…or I should say had because now she’s stuck with me!  Muahahaah!  In reality, I really connected with all the members in my host family, immediate and extended.  It’s pretty cool, a lot of them want me to come visit them (they live all over Costa Rica, hello more connections! AND majority of them aren’t believers – can i get a wITness!?) – I’m sure that makes no sense because you can’t hear the funny voice I read that in, but it was funny to me, so it shall stay!
Praise!There is so much to put here, I think that the entire post is a testament to God’s faithfulness, His loving nature, His patience, kindness…..ah I could go on and on!  They say God works in mysterious ways and it’s true.  I knew the team needed to go to Valle Verde; why?  I did not know.  Now I do, we were there to encourage a community during a big loss, He let us be apart of that! ~ if it hadn’t happened I would have never met Nela (Pastor’s daughter) ~ The community of ValleVerde ~ The adorable STEP team ~ Everyone who prayed and continues to pray for the community, family, the Team, for me…aaaah!!!! 

Prayer!Please continue to remember the family of the Pastor (all the documents and formalities that need to be completed) ~ Maria’s health ~ Safety for the 3 group members making their way here to my home on Thursday and then back to England on Friday ~ The team as they transition back into life in the UK ~  

This is the verse the team painted on the front wall of the church in Valle Verde:

<<

Yo soy el camino, la verdad y la vida – le contestó Jesús –.  
Nadie llega al Padre sino por mí.>>                                                                                 Juan 14: 6“I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Amen! Have a great week!
xxx