This morning i woke up with a huge headache, so, i stayed in from our weekly church meeting at the Crusade house. Later, though, i felt better, so i swept the apartment and uploaded pictures we took yesterday on our trip to the orphanage in Cartago. This is a place we've frequented this year quite alot. It isn't really an orphanage as much as a home for the kids who live there. Dona Melba (Ms. Melba), is the mom of the house, and her husband, Don Victor, also. They take care of the kids as if they were their own, and there are around 25 of them. Her story is one of God's providence. When her own son was sick, and near death, Dona Melba asked God, "if you would only let my son be healed and live, i will promise to take care of any abandoned kids that come to me." So that, is what God did! :) He healed her son, and one by one, children began coming to her door, in need of love, someone to take care of them, and food. Most of the children in her home have learning disabilities or some other type of social deficits as well. But as they get older, and the more i go there, i see more and more improvements! :) Here are just a few of the faces we see.
These kids are cool. There are also many more, who's photos i'll put under the photo file here...We've made it a monthly thing to go and visit Dona Melba's place and play with the kids, help her with folding clothes, or just be there for any other needs. I've really enjoyed this part of my experience. Well, that was yesterday...today is the birthday of our friend, Danny, and tonight we're going to see a Costa Rican film in the cineman, Gestacion...i can't believe there is so little time left here. I am praying that God would reveal exactly what He wants my next steps to be. Will you pray for that too? Also, my friend, roomate, and teamate, Laura left for the States yesterday morning because her grandmother recently died and she had to attend the funeral. Would you please keep her and her family in your prayers during this time? Thanks to everyone out there taking an interest in what's going on in my life right now!! You guys rock! :)
Grace and Peace,
Jodie
Hola Todos!
Recently I have been spending my time thinking more about what i will do next year, than focusing all of my attention on outreach on campus. With about 7 weeks left now, its kinda hard not to do that, but i know that i also can't waste the few days i have left with STIINT. So, today i took some time off campus to spend with the Lord and try to refocus. Also, i sent my resume to more schools around the area in hopes of finding something!! I remain hopeful.
Lastnight we had a good night of just hanging out with friends. There's a house full of German students right beside the Crusade house on our street. Two of the girls who live there came over last night and we got to hang out and chat a bit. They're so cool! Makes me want to visit Germany. Maybe one day! We as a STINT team are heading up to Portland, OR on Dec 27th to Jan. 4th for the Campus Crusade winter conference there and for debriefing of our STINT year. I can't believe it's almost over. Sheesh. Time is going by ever so quickly now especially since we only have a matter of weeks more. I feel like i'm going so fast...but need to slow down. On Nov. 1st we're doing an outreach here in our apt. for women, showing the Magdalena movie, and doing a study that goes along with it. Also, Halloween is just around the corner! Costa Rica en general doesn't celebrate Halloween because its a North American holiday, and Costa Ricans dont want to share it. However, there is a party with the art students of the UCR and i think we may be able to participate in that. All of the students create their own costumes! It should be a very unique experience should we go!
As more things happen, i will update you! As for now we must be going!
Good morning!
Buenos Dias Amigos! This morning i'm sittin here in the apt, planning for the week ahead. This past weekend we had un “retiro”…retreat for the students involved in the ministry to encourage them and give them the tools and encouragement they need to share their faith with their peers. We spent most of lastweek planning for it, and Laura, Meghan, and I spoke about the book, Questioning Evangelism, written by Randy Newman. Laura and I spoke each for 30 minutes only in Spanish! J Afterward we realized how much Spanish we have really learned in the past 7 months. It’s pretty cool! There were about 25 students there both from UCR here in San Pedro, and the Tech University in Cartago, where our friends Philip and Shirley work as missionaries too with Crusade. It was really cool to see a group of students who all had an equal desire to share Christ with others and also to learn more about God for themselves!
There’s one student in particular who really captures my attention. His name is Jonathan. He has such a big desire to learn more about God’s word, and spends so much time reading it daily. It is an encouragement for me to see a student so thirsty for La Palabra de Dios! With Jonathan, and one of his friends, we have a study of the book of Romans every Friday afternoon.
This morning I will meet with a girl named Anna. I hope for Anna that her eyes would be opened to the relevance of God in her life, and that she would not only believe in the traditions of the Catholic church, but would feel the love of God in her heart and see how he works in all areas of her life. I'm looking forward to out meeting today.
In other news, my own heart has been really encouraged, esp this weekend. Just being with Ticos makes me feel encouraged, speaking Spanish, but also being in the word! Lately, I've been feeling a little but far from God in my own heart. Sometimes we desire things of the world, more than Christ, and i know this is the cause of the way i've been feeling lately. However, it is one thing to know in your head what's going on, it's another to feel it in your heart. And oftentimes this heart of ours is oh so deceitful and senseless. Although we need our hearts to know how we feel about things, often our feelings deceive us. I think this is one way Satan can have a foothold in my life. If i'm not spending consistent time in the word with God, and in prayer, talking to him , how am i to know what He's telling me? and what the difference is btwn what he's telling me and what my heart is telling me? :) Yeah. I had an encouraging talk about this topic lastnight with one of my friends here! It was good! Now my heart feels a little less heavy! Gracias a Dios for his blessings!
One goal for the next two months we have here for me is to get better at Spanish, memorize more verses, and maybe verses in Spanish tambien (too.) I'm excited about all the things God has already done in my life so far these 7 months, and am excited to see what he does in the future, even in the next 5 months. We'll see! :)
Hello Vox friends! Just got back from a wonderful day at El Mirador, a park in Cartago where you can look out and see some of the most beautiful mountains! But what you’ve missed since our Visa renewal trip to Panama has far surpassed this beautiful day in Costa Rica.
More recently from Panama, we celebrated Costa Rica’s Independence Day! The official holiday was this past Tuesday. The Monday before, however, we had a full day on campus, then in the night headed out to our fav city recently, Cartago! There we saw cool fireworks being shot out of the top of an old church that now looks like ruins, but isn’t actually ruins because it never was an actual finished, built church. Well, so it’s just ruins. Nothing mysterious or historical really happened. Just an earthquake, and it was never able to be completed.
After that night, when we had the best burgers in Cartago, we made plans to have the best day off from school since the age of 13. AMUSEMENT PARK! Here, there’s an amusement park called Parque De Diversiones. I was there from 12 (medio dia) to 5 pm in the night! Whoohoo! Until it began raining, as normal here in the afternoons. It was me, Laura, Andrey, Douglas, Isaac, Hector, and Carolina!
On a more serious note, we’ve had some really CHIVA (cool) news lately! A week ago today, and I wrote this in my newest newsletter as well, our friend Douglas, pictured above in some photos, accepted Christ as his Savior! We were sitting in our normal, every week meeting, but were studying Ephesians. We discussed how some people only have a head knowledge of Christ, but not a heart knowledge, and all of sudden he left the room for about 15 minutes. When he came back, he had tears in his eyes. Afterwards, he explained to me what had happened. Turns out, he realized that he had never actually asked God to come into his heart, only made a mental, intellectual decision to trust Him, and believe in Him. SO, he felt a strong urgency to do that and couldn’t wait, and is now our new brother in Christ! J YAY!! We’re going to worship forever with Douglas in Heaven! Things that God does in our hearts when we least expect it! J
Our last Friday night Fiesta consisted of the differences between men and women. Sort of a heavy topic, but we played Battle of the Sexes, and it was interesting how competitive the guys were with their knowledge, or lack of, about women! The women were sorely outnumbered, which contributed to our defeat in the battle of the sexes. Hmm. Lastima! J Maybe we’ll have a chance to redeem ourselves someday.
Having less than three months left now on STINT, I’ve had a lot of opportunity to think about what the next year holds. There are a few opportunities to teach here in private elementary schools, teach English to adults or children, or study more to become certified to teach English or even study for a Master’s Degree. I’ve been spending some of my time lately sorting through these options and trying to think and really seek what God would have my next move be. Money is one factor. If any of you know anyone who needs a tutor or teacher from December from February while I’m in Nashville, let me know! I would love to do that, and will need to work when I’m at home before the hopeful return here to Costa Rica.
I was thinking, the only Panama City i've ever been to before lies in the Gulf Coast on the panhandle of Florida! :)
Although not the United States, this Panama City was also on the coast, but much different than anything you would see here in Costa Rica.First of all, we left here in San Jose at 12 in the afternoon on Saturday, and arrived there to be picked up from the bus stop at 3:30 in the morning! AGH! i was dead to the world, but we were able to get to the house of the people we were staying with and rest well before the next morning when we would be visiting their church!
To the left is the nice couple that let us stay at their house during our stay in Panama City. They have been working with Campus Crusade for Christ here for years now! Leanzo, on the right, was our "guide" for the week, and would show us all around the city when he had the opportunity! We were very much taken care of during our stay here! :)
The first day, we went out to lunch with some of the students who are involved with the ministry, the second day, Monday, we spent seeing a little of the city, and shopping at the local mall. Prices are so affordable on clothing there, not like here where every name brand is twice as expensive, so we took advantage of that and bought a few things. We had plently of time to rest and relax as well. On Tuesday, Laura and I had the great opportunity to see the Panama Canal! It was huge! Stretches 50 miles and splits the country of Panama into, making it possible for trade routes to be made shorter, and countries all over the world to have their products imported easier!
We spent a couple of hours here, waitng to see a historical movie about the building of the canal and how Panama benefits from it. It took about half an hour for this ship to finish going through this part if the canal because they have to lower the water on the side you see here, and raise the water level on the other side in order for the ship to pass.
More pictures are on my profile page of that process, and i will explain! Altogether, we met some really cool students who are so in love with the Lord, and excited about who He is, and sharing their faith as well! It was a very encouraging time to spend with fellow believers and learn a little bit about the culture of Panama and how it differs from Costa Rica! Also in my pics you will find historical buildings we visited and the friends we made that we hope to see here in November if we can plan a week for them to come help us with our ministry here! :)
Panama was a BIG city, and reminded me alot of the States. I would like to go back before we leave here, but we'll see. Our next trip out of the country is scheduled for mid November, which is oh so close to my leave date on STINT. AGH, what a terribly sad day that will be! I don't want to leave! Sorry, mom and dad, but it's the truth! :) I love this place, and the people we're meeting here, what i'm learning, the things God is doing, and just the whole bit. I'm confirmed by the Lord that i'm supposed to be here this year. What i should do after December, is still yet to be determined, but i'm sure i will know in due time! :) Thanks for reading, and Dios Te Bendiga a todos! Love you!
Sufjan Stevens, Fiction, and Phone calls- enough to remind me of college life.
Good morning friends! Today is Friday, and we have the morning off! So here i am, in the office again with my faithful pc..I have one appointment today at 1:00 with a girl we met back in May. Her schedule is so busy that she rarely has time to meet, so we're very happy that she has time today! I'm not sure what our conversation will result in, God does though. Tonight is our weekly Friday night fiesta that we invite students to. It will be the first we've had since school's been out for the last month. I hope as many show up as we've made cool relationships with! :)
I love my job this year, and i'm so thankful to the people and God for allowing me to be here this year. (Psh, that sounds like some kind of awards acceptance speech.) In all sincerity and truth, sometimes i struggle with this concept of being a missionary. I miss the days when i could set tangible, measurable goals for myself and see a result. When the job ahead was something i knew i could do, and had experience in, and could get better at. Sharing the glorious (1 Tim. 1:8-11) Gospel of Christ isn't that at all. The results are totally out of my control. I'm a seed planter. (Matt. 13) and my primary job is to make sure that i've planted. That's it. Yes, we disciple students as well, cultivating the seeds that have been sown, but this process too, is lifelong, and the work of the Holy Spirit, which you can't grade or make better.
I'm beginning to see now why some missionaries spend their entire lives doing what they do. Sometimes i feel i'm completely useless. But now that i type that out, maybe it's a good thing that i feel that way. In short, i am useless, in and of myself. Maybe it's that i haven't been abiding enough in Christ to see that whatever good results from my being here, is the work of an amazing, loving God. Yes, maybe that's it.
I recently finished my "not so monthly" newsletter and it's in the mail, for those of you out there who receive them. What is written there, i will wait and let you read for yourself. It's so cool that i can let you in on what i'm doing here in Central America from wherever you are in the huge United States of America. I haven't been into the news a whole lot lately, if there's anything big i'm missing from Obama's reign, or politics as such, let me know! I'm interested! Here in Costa Rica, they've discovered that President Oscar Arias has contracted Swine Flu, so that's pretty big in the news. He's fairly on up in years, and it could prove pretty detrimental to his health! You can be praying for his wellness! Also, you can pray for our ministry, that God would continually be opening doors, and that the list of names of students could result in strong, God centered relationships! Today should be fairly laid back- after going on campus we will prepare for the party tonight and then, in the morning, i have to pack for Panama!
We'll be out of the country for three days this next week to renew our visas! Our destination is the house of the Panama City Campus Crusade staff down there! So, when i get back i should have to alot to update on that! :) Pray for our journey, it's a 12 hour bus ride, and that we make the border crossing safely! Again, don;t forget you can contact me at jodie.racquel@gmail.com anytime! I would love your comments! :)
Grace and Peace
Jodie Racquel
Well, as i was saying, before i had to leave to go to a cycling class with Hector, we visited the home of Omer! It was beautiful!
He lives in a town called Santa Anna...
When we were done here, i went back to San Pedro, to begin another week of time off from University!
Then, Laura had two friends come in from the states. One whom i know from the past, and one whom i just met! Justin and Chelsey! The first visitor, Justin, went with us to the home of our good friend, Hector! He lives in a town called Nicoya! The main things that stuck out about this trip were meeting Hector's sweet, precious nephew, Travis! Here, you can see how much Laura enjoyed him! Also, i have a video that i will upload here of his camara shyness.Every morning when we would wake up, he had a new story to tell us mostly consisting of something falling, leaving, or the cat getting hurt in the street! :) He's two!
We also went to the beach on our trip to Nicoya. I think we saw three different beaches in this one week of traveling.We visited a beach called Carrillo! It's Hector's favorite beach in Costa Rica! Sadly, i have no photos of that one! Upon leaving Nicoya, we ventured on to Tortugero! The land of sea turtles laying eggs, and rastafarean Ticos! It's near the Limon side of Costa Rica, so the people are more Carribean, with Jamaican accents and such.
We stayed at a placed called Miss Junnie's Hotel, and took an hour boat ride down the river to get there! It was quite a different experience than i had ever had before in Costa Rica! I'm glad i went!
I will post more pictures on the side here to explain a little more about Tortugero, but the highlight was definitely seeing a large sea turtle lay her egges! Slightly disturbing because i felt as if i were intruding on her privacy a little, especially being in a group of about 20 people, but afterward, after about an hour, we got to see her journey back into the ocean to go and mate again, to come back and have more babies! Only 1 in 1000 eggs actually reach turtle adulthood! So many predators and pollution in the sea prevent these delicate animals from surviving! This place is the world's first conservation for sea turtles! We learned a few things about this sensitive process in our experience.
After being away for five days, we finally returned to San Pedro, and i went to visit two friends in Cartago, a city about 30 minutes away from where i live! That was last weekend! Now, i'm approaching a new one. Laura is out of town with her parents this week visiting a Volcano and doing other equally adventurous things, i'm here in quiet little San Pedro, contemplating life, love, and other mysteries. Well, specifically catching up on time alone with God, small groups, and time by myself. It's been refreshing so far! I've begun going to a cycling class, which here is called "spinning" with Hector! He's trying to lose weight, and wants me to join! It's very good excercise! HARD, but good! That's about all to catch you up on for now! Grace and Peace, and i hope this update finds you well!
Chao!
Hola amigos!
Well, if you're reading this, you're probably thinking to yourself, "FINALLY!"...Jodie remembered that she has supporters that like to know what she's doing thousands of miles away on another continent, in another country. Well, here you have it!
The past two weeks have been spent on vacations actually. Ok, by the looks of my journal so far you may be thinking, "isn't your life a vacation? What's the difference?" Well actually no. The University has been closed for a one month vacation, between semesters...and as a result our STINT team has been too, since our job is to meet college students on campus, while school is in session. Also, our leader, Adena, has been in the states for the past month, at Crusade staff training at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, where the staff have their training every two years. Meghan, our other teammate, is also gone, but will be back this Friday. Laura and i have been a lone for a couple of weeks, but it's been fun. The first thing to tell you is about one excersion we took with the summer project while they were here. Many of them wanted to do something crazy before going back home, so we journeyed out to a bridge where they offer bungee jumping...about an hour from San Pedro...
The bridge was 265 feet tall!!! I was certain i would not venture to do such a thing in this lifetime...however, you never know, never say never!
These kids were very brave and we got some great pics and videos from that day! to the left, the first pick is from standing on the bridge looking down. Second, our friend, Axel, a student here, who had planned not to jump that day, but after seeing others, and their excitement, quickly changed his mind. I was not so persuaded.
Third, we have Laura, geared up for a very high fall, and lastly, me...smiling because i'm so happy it won't be me! :) It was a very exciting day for many of them, and it was totally enough for me just watching them jump! WHOOOO! Bungee jumping in Costa Rica!
The next week, my friend, Jodi Fisher, invited me because she got invited to the home of a mutual friend, Omer. He lives in an apparentlly VERY beautiful part of this country, about which, i had not known before! :) I was so happy to go there and see where he lives! We climbed a mountain and had lunch in the bustling wind! :)
.......to be continued.
I've a lot to catch you up on since the last time i wrote here. Lately, we've been focussing our attention on the students that are here on their summer project. So while they're here, they come to campus with us everyday, and hung out with us, learning some dance moves as well!
Left: Jared dancing with Hector in the Hostel; Center: Adams, Christian, and Andrey; Left: Adams with Nicole
This is a very nice group of students and they've helped a ton with outreach and getting more names of students. They will be here for another three weeks after this one! We hope to get to know them much more in the days ahead.
Something i've been learning as i've been on campus with students lately, is the difficulty in believing in the grace that God has shown us in Christ. Since the majority of the population here is Catholic, many students' perspective on the church and "religion" is formed from what they learn from going to Catholic church every week with their family. One day I was sharing the Gospel and how to know God personally with a student who had grown up Catholic, but had considered religion not to be a very big part of his life. He said he doesn't like to believe that we have to live a good life, or do good things to be saved. I agreed, and began to share what Paul wrote about to the church in Rome. That it is "
by grace you are saved, through faith, and it is not by works, so that go one may boast." Also, that if "righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" I(Galatians 2:21)
To me, this news is incredible, but even i didn't realize before how hard it would be to really let sink in, and live out.
When i share this on campus, students look at me with a look of "that's too good to be true" on their faces. Which, it is. I think even sometimes it is hard for me to walk in that grace. And i love how the book of Romans describes how we're no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to righteousness. We've started a Bible study every Friday afternoon in the Language Arts building on campus. So far we have two regular students coming, and then Meghan and I. It's been a real blessing! I hope more students can come to that soon!
Also, i'm going to add more pictures to the left so that you can see what's been going on lately! :)
Grace and Peace
Jodie Racquel
I sometimes chew on the possibilties before me, when my time here will end. What will i do? Where will i work? Where will i get the money if i choose to go back to school? I'm not sure of any of these things. In the morning, the students for Summer Project 2009 are arriving at the airport and will be living here for the next five weeks, working alongside the STINT team, and also doing some of their own project activities! I'm looking forward to meeting new "gringo" faces! It will be a good change of pace for us i think!
Today i have a meeting in half an hour with a girl who i thought had almost given up on me. I had been calling her and trying to meet, and when we would meet, it was always the same. She was in a hurry, and didn't really have time to discuss what i wanted to talk about that day. And just lastnight, i received a text saying, "would you like to get together tomorrow and discuss John and Genesis?" How great! The Lord just totally opened her heart back up to learning more. She says she doesn't believe in God, but would like to read the Bible together to learn what it's all about. I think this is definitely from the Lord!
Another student who i've become endeared to is Douglas. He's a new believer since January, and is very motivated to learn more about his faith and what God says about the Christian life through his word! We're praying now that more men would rise up from the leaders here in Crusade and be available to disciple and lead Bible studies for men! One such Bible study is actually beginning this week! That's definitely a praise!
Well, it's about time for me to go, but email me at Jodie.racquel@gmail.com if you have any comments or questions! Love and Peace!
Jodes
