Different Soil- Same Heart- Same Fire

What's up? How you doin?...seriously.

Well, it has been a week since I have been back. Though it has been an interesting and long week, the call to serve and work has not been lessened.


10 of this week:

+ I started working at HYP camp; working with the lil'kids... they are fertile ground. I hope to plant something.

+ I returned to work at SushiMan; visit me! I love the people I am around when I work here.

+ By weeks end, I will have worked approximately 66.5 hours... Thank You Lord! I am truly blessed to be working this much in tough economic times such as these.

+ Seeing a small Toyota pick up truck on my way to work with a lawn mower and other gardening tools in the back. Instead of reading Tacoma Pre-runner, the writing on the tail gate was modified to read- 'Taco Runner'... ghetto ghetto.

+ I have been thanking God for all that He has blessed us all with. For me, its my health, being able to laugh and smile about everything in life, the relationships that I have and time spent with those brothers and sisters, and just tuly seeing that regardless of what happens in life- staying faith-full will get me carried through.

+ I passed on being able to go to Scream The Prayer Tour... yeah Sleeping Giant was playing but I wasn't looking forward to pay to be surrounded by high school scene kids with emo hair who think they own the place... my taste is maturing I suppose... Anberlin and Taking Back Sunday have caught my ear.

+ Me doing groceries with my bigbro since coming back from Costa Rica- "okay...well I'll be in the rice and bean aisle"
why change my diet? lol. Its cheap, healthy, and it gets the job done.

+ Methodist churches look nice and traditional service reminds me of catholic mass- but more Jesus.

+ Never thought I would attend another Vespers service once I left Taylor U... but I was wrong.

+ Brown and White go well together...

Here below are the final 10 pics that I will post from my internship trip. Pretty much they highlight the things, people, and places that struck me the most in the last week or so while there...

Somehow I got natural highlights in my hair that got stronger while away...
I blame the sun- but I am being asked if I surf a lot more now...

Working and pounding concrete with a sledge til my hands felt funny.
That was a good day.

The Beach...

Will- no one else could I have imagined to have been able to put up with me so well as their roommate in a space no bigger than a walk-in closet. You taught me the beauty of living and sharing experiences with other people. Life ain't the same without people to share it with. Life and Relationships.

The traveling 'extranjeros'. Tammy, Carolyn, Sarah, Ben, Will, and a mix between Cheech and Chong...Awesome people I lived with who are full of passion to serve the Lord.

Charlie. You taught me the importance of leading and pastoring groups of people and of how it is possible to convey Christ-like character while still being the genuine person that God made you to be. I respect you and the great vision you have for Strong Missions...
God willing, I will be helping to shape that vision.

The food caught me off guard. This 'burrito de carne' was deep fried, the size of a deck of cards, and 98% black beans and cheese/2% carne...

A typical casado plate- I miss this... its love on a plate that is super cheap (about $3) and plated in about 5 minutes.

God's Creation.

what?! me all up in it...lol

- "But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”" ~Acts4:19&20

- "But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves." ~James1:22

-"No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." ~Phil3:13&14

*I like NLT more than before.

God Bless You. Thank You for letting me know how this all has impacted you.

PEACE.

Home is wherever God has me.

Beginning this week I was more than bummed and discouraged at the fact that I will be returning back to the States and leaving Costa Rica. It was hard for me to get over the huge calling that the Lord has placed upon my heart and life to enter the missions field for more than a mere few weeks or portion of my summer. As I have mentioned in previous posts I´m sure, but I finally have gained insight as to where I am going in regards to my career choice and choice of lifestyle.

MISSIONS- this is my passion and is what God is calling me to pursue and do.
So realizing that I need to return back to the States and away from the foreign field- was somewhat of an overloaded barbell upon my shoulders to say the least.

However, throughout this week of travel and adventure with Will and the other interns Becca and Rebecca, I have been able to listen.
Though I have reached the point of finally feeling at home here in Costa Rica, the deeper truth is that Home is wherever God has me.

Since my start of college, I have never really had a sense of being at home. Even in my hometown whenever I visit my parents, home is not home in the sense of it being where I belong.
I am always traveling. Everyone is always traveling. Going somewhere different. Traveling spiritually and physically. From highs to lows. From deep growth to superficial distractions that blind us all from the greater panorama of life.

Coming to understand that my home is wherever God has me has given me such as huge and overwhelming sense of PEACE. So going back to San Diego and wherever after that, its the deep peace and truth that is: I am where I am for a purpose.

Whether it be to learn a life lesson, to prepare for something greater to come, to impact those around me in a way to see Spiritually, or to simply be patient.
Its all for a reason and a season that ultimately only God Knows.

So why hate where you´re at? Why worry on the future?(which wont ever really turn out how you expect it to anyways)
Why think that you do not have a special purpose, a special mission Right Now wherever you may be in life?

The world wants to keep you blind and afraid. break away from it. Make a difference beyond this world.

¨A man will not be established by wickedness.
But the root of righteousness will not be moved.¨
-Prv12:3

¨Whom have I in heaven but You?
And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.¨
-Ps73:25

I choose to stay true to my name and my maker. I choose faith and peace in the name of Jesus Christ. I choose to see the greater panorama of wherever I am and make my home wherever God has me.

What do you choose?



And...below is what happens when you backpack for too long surrounded by Sugar Cane fields...enjoy.

*more to come*

WEEK 3

*Picture update in previous post*

Normally I am healthy as a horse. But after a week of leading a team in church construction, guiding them thru different sites around the city THEN bussing it to the Caribbean coast where the water is sketchy to drink, white-faced monkeys are found everywhere, and the suns heat rays are beyond toasty- somehow I transformed from that healthy horse to being sick as a dog.

Lets just say I have been sipping on pedialyte and gatorade for the past day and a half... thank God I am feeling better and just had a normal solid meal- I should be fine but I pray nothing rewinds itself back up from my stomach.

Well, this past week has been very different for me to say the least. It seems the every day and every week is something completely new and unexpected... The WUUMC Houston group was the first church missions group that I have known and worked with since last summer being part of the leadership team here in Costa Rica. This group works hard, plays hard, and eats hard LOL- though they set the standard of a highly spiritual missions group for me- I have been reminded of how different people and groups are.

Last week, Strong Missions had its first fraternity/sorority group come to work and serve!

I definitely felt honored to be assigned to guide and translate for the 18 PKA/KAQ guys and gals coming from Cincinnati. I never thought I would find non-Christians doing missions work- but it happened. Being a greek alum myself- AGO woo woot!- it was not too hard to find some common ground with them and to use that to lead into deeper conversations about faith, religion, and life...Though most of them got atleast buzzed during the time off at the beach and I had to do a bit of babysitting to make sure none died- I had fun and am thankful for the crazy experience that I shared with them.

It still continues to amaze me how I seem to get along and connect with nearly everyone that I come across.

These Pike guys and Theta girls definitely taught me (again) how you can't simply pass judgment on someone without putting forth the time and effort to get to know where their heart is at and where they are coming from... this world neglects getting to know the heart and the deepness of the individual and sticks with the superficial...Sad But True.

Being an intern for Charlie and for Strong Missions has beyond blessed me too much. Though its easy to just get caught up with working, serving, translating, traveling- even to the point of getting sickly ill- this internship experience has blessed me in discovering that international missions work is my passion.

Though I am returning to San Diego next month, I know that I will be yearning to for next opportunity to leave the country again haha- the latest will be next summer for sure (God willing).

No Way am I going to be bound to a single country, state, city, or zip code...not that there is anything wrong with that- but how can you neglect the calling of your passion?

Take this to heart:

Letting someone or something interfere with reaching your hearts passion is a sure path to being miserable.

Never settle for anything less than your Hearts desire and passion.

And may you be boundless in the discovery and pursuit of your God-given passion and calling. It is life changing.

Time is flying by... dang it.

God Bless you all.

Mas fotos de viaje- los 23 de la tercer semana.

Facebook uploader is still blowing it for me. Blogger does it.
So these are all pics from about the last week and a half. The first few are actually from today!
Enjoy...

Men at Work-
me and my new adult group from Florida.

Taking advantage of my break in the company van...
i know its all ghetto but that's me.

Waiting room at a clinic. We were not feeling too good.

You get bored of waiting... and literally sick.

From 330 til midnight... nothing but fun.

My diet for more than a day.

Ben, Sara, and Luis- My travel buddies.

My roommate Will. He goes to Brown University and I am his brown roommate. Perfect match.

The Caribbean coast...pre-sickness.

Zip-lining Captain Morgan style...kinda.

The PIKE bros and the Theta girls...and me pointing.

In the slums of Los Guidos. A work site that changes you.

One of the oldest Catholic churches in Costa Rica- Iglesia Coronado.

This takes me back to my Catholic days.

Areas in San Jose stricken by a recent massive earthquake.
I hope to be working with relief and construction in these areas next year with Strong Missions.

The Strong Missions team. Charlie, Becca, and...

Mi Jefe

At Volcan Poas... hot stuff indeed.

Firewood Dried Bananas...i passed on trying them LOL.

La Segunda Semana

Week 2 of my missions trip in Costa Rica.
Another week has gone by. And so much has happened.

I have been seeing that the Lord has been guiding my decisions and direction in life...
He is like the ultimate romantic who pulls you his way when you just take a step to follow Him with an open and desiring heart.

Change. Transformation. Passion. Insight.

The Holy Spirit has started all these things in this past week.
Through working hard long days at construction sites, serving with all I got, and having random conversations with people during time away from the noise of the city, I have heard God's voice that whispers where He wants me.
There have not been many times in my life where I was 100% positive that I was exactly where I needed to be and no where else doing something else...
being here in San Jose, I am at peace.
I love what I am doing and have been experiencing the peaceful pura vida that God has blessed me with and that He wants us all to have.

And so I will continue to move forward. I will keep on working and serving.
I see the beautiful light of the abundant life that is built on Faith in Christ and I will chase after it. NO WAY can I go anywhere else when I am being called to take a leap forward beyond my sight. I know my passion is Christ...I don't want anything else but for more of Him in my life. To lead me in the true path for my life...


¨But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.
What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.
I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ¨

-PHIL3:7&8


*Well...looks like that International Business degree will actually come in handy...LOL.


_Random Stuff_

- the movie, UP, good movie tho it was dubbed in Spanish. But it revolved around a couple wanting to travel to South America- WORD. That earns my vote of approval.

- taking coffee breaks to the panaderia with Ben, Sara, and Becca makes the day much easier to get through...crap, I have become more and more of a coffee drinker here...merr.

- keeping touch with friends in the states is a blessing, even if they just came home from the gym or watching recorded tv shows.