Home, Sweet Home

First week back has been filled with the whole spectrum of emotions. It is a bizarre feeling to be torn between two places incredibly close to my heart. In Jax I have my family, my friends, and my RCC Church family; in Costa I have what has come to be my family, new friends, and the Celebración Church family. One of the hardest things about being back is realizing that while I have changed dramatically in the five months I have been away and I feel completely different, I don’t stand out. Nothing in my outward appearance separates me from the thousands of other light skinned, light haired, and light eyed Americans around me. I am so accustomed to being externally different from everyone else that it is strange for me to walk into the grocery store and blend in with everyone else. Even though I feel different, and act a little strange because I marvel at how small the coins here are, no one is going to assume that I am any different just by looking at me. Yet, even though I look the same as everyone else here I feel so different. I wish that I had more descriptive words to explain this weird state of “not belonging.”

I have also really been struggling with the drastic change in my day to day life. The average day in Costa, not that there is ever really an ‘average’ day there, is an adventure filled with tangible GOD moments. Unfortunately what I have been doing is expecting (a dangerous word, I know) for GOD to show up in the day to day in the same kinds of ways that he does in Alajuelita. I have been walking a lot since I have gotten home through neighborhoods trying to find people to start conversations like we would do in the barrios in Costa Rica and no one is outside. I can walk the mile to my school and back and pass one headphoned runner and a biker, maybe. I have just been aching to feel used by GOD here. Through a long conversation I had with my Dad GOD really revealed to me the self centered aspects of my frustration. First of all, who am I to say that GOD isn’t using me within my own family and friends? Just because it doesn’t feel like Costa Rica does not mean that GOD is not moving in my own life here in Jacksonville. It became blatantly obvious that what seemed like my righteous frustration with GOD’s absence was really my inability to get past my rigid expectations of what I wanted to see GOD do through me while I am here.

However, GOD is so good. Right after coming to terms with all of this my Dad and I went to lunch where we learned that a friend of ours was in the hospital with a bone infection. Ultimately we were able to visit with him in the hospital and pray with him at the end. I cannot explain what an incredible experience it was for me in so many ways. First of all I think it may have been the first experience like that in the States where I have spontaneously arrived unannounced to a place with the intention of getting past the awkwardness and asking to pray with someone. Secondly, it was so incredible because I got to see my Dad do just that; and we got to do it together. Way cooler than I could have ever imagined it in my mind.

“Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4): a widely used and even more widely abused verse. However, I truly think it applies so perfectly to this situation. My desire was for GOD to use me; I wanted nothing more than to do crazy, radical things for GOD and was impatient to do just that. But I was also putting GOD in a box by telling Him just what I wanted those crazy, radical things to look like and when I wanted to see them. When I finally began to surrender my own preconceptions and just take delight in the fact that He is using me in ways that I cannot even see (which is really so cool to think about), His desires lined up with mine and an incredible opportunity presented itself. I encourage anyone who is praying for opportunities and situations to be Christ to continue to do just that with an attitude of surrender. We cannot begin to fathom the situations that GOD has planned to put in our paths and attempting to dream them up in our own minds just creates a mess. That doesn’t mean we should be inactive and just wait for something to happen. Opportunities present themselves all of the time and we just dismiss them; action is required as well.

Thank you all for your continued support while I am serving GOD State-side in Jacksonville, FL. I will be back in Costa two days after Christmas with my sister who will spend a week there. I am so excited about everything that is still going on with 6:8 and cannot wait to be back. Check out the blogs of anyone on staff by clicking on this link http://gammagefamily.blogspot.com under “People we love” to find out more about the amazing things GOD is doing in Alajuelita. GOD BLESS

Becca

Los Anonos

These past couple of days have been pretty crazy as we have been down in an area severely affected by the torrential rains which caused massive flooding and mudslides throughout Escazu. Los Anonos is a neighborhood of houses stacked precariously on the side of a hill leading down to the winding river. The government has been trying to encourage the people to leave Los Anonos for years because of the issue of safety during the rainy season and even closed down the neighborhood school in attempts to force families with children to move into areas within close proximity of a public school. However, the choice of location for the families of this community is due to the fact that close to all the employable members of each family unit work for minimum, or less than minimum wage in the case of illegal Nicaraguan immigrants, and have no other choice but to settle in one of the most dangerous areas. The main drag is almost a semi-circular shape as it follows two major bends of the river. With the 72 hours of non-stop rainfall those homes located along the curves of the river were most affected as the water flew around the bends, taking down whatever was in its path. Even the families on the opposite side of the street had a three to 4 foot deep river in their homes. To make matters worse, three houses in entirety and parts of others were taken out by a mudslide that swept across the mountain late Wednesday night.
The first day we went into Los Anonos was absolute chaos. Everyone was trying to salvage whatever they could from their inundated homes by lugging refrigerators, beds, stoves, scrap metal, etc. up to higher ground. What a paradox it was that they were surrounded by the raging river water and they were sweeping, hauling, or shoveling muddy water from out of their houses but had no clean drinking water. Luckily a few houses on the other side of the river did have running water which allowed everyone without to haul buckets, bottles, cups, etc. back to whatever they had left on the quebrada side. I have never seen anything like it. To say that it was overwhelming would be such an understatement but I don’t have adequate words to convey the devastation in any other way. All we could do was stop and pray: for opportunities to help, for peace for the families, for hope. We, in collaboration with two other organizations with a presence in Los Anonos, began serving gallo pinto and hot dogs in the closed down school. Looking for other ways to be useful we helped carry water down to the very end of the stretch and started carrying loads of people’s belongings back up the opposite direction. The guys hauled an entire refrigerator from the very last house on the street all the way up an almost vertical flight of stairs. The families we met absolutely astounded me with their faith. In the midst of losing everything, the first thing they would tell you was how merciful GOD is to spare their loved ones. I talked for a while with one family that came for food at the school whose entire house was eaten by the landslide the night before. With the very clothes on his back and three soggy passports Jose said he was just so thankful that his family was safe. His four year old son, Dilan, told me that all of his things were inside of the mountain but that it was ok, that they are going to try to go back to live on a farm in Nicaragua. So many others, though, don’t have anywhere else to go.
And that is the problem. The ministry of health has forbidden us to serve food in the school, permanently cut off electricity and water, and sealed off the bridge connecting the two sides of the river in order to force everyone to find other places of residence. A huge majority of the people either don’t want to leave or have no other option but to stay. Many of them won’t even leave their houses just to walk to the school for food in fear of being robbed of whatever they managed to save from the flooding. With this situation we are praying about how to be the most helpful and how to demonstrate the hands and feet of Jesus in the best way. I don’t really know what to say except pray. I feel so helpless when I walk into people’s houses whose kitchen was replaced by mud from the mountain and parts of the house above them. I don’t know what to do when a woman tells us she is sleeping in the foot of muddy filth that the river brought into her bedroom. But GOD promises “I will give you every place where you set your foot…No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. I will be with you; I will never leave you or forsake you” (Joshua 1:3,5). GOD is in Los Anonos right now, he has claimed it as His. He will not abandon his children there. I just have to cling to that hope and pray like crazy.
We need your help! Please make a conscious effort to keep everyone affected in your prayers. If we want to make a difference we need an army of prayer warriors and funds to provide for the physical needs of these families. If you would like the opportunity to give financially to the relief efforts of 6:8 Ministries please go to their website www.68ministries.com. Thank you all and GOD BLESS.

A very Happy Halloween

Typically Halloween is not one of my favorite holidays; however, I definitely had the best Halloween imaginable and want to share it with everyone. Every week now we visit one of the sweetest women I know from a very impoverished area of Alajuelita and dress the diabetic wound on her foot. Without the proper medicine or diet to treat her diabetes her body has been unable to heal itself after receiving a nasty dog bite more than two years ago. She lives in a one room shack at the very bottom of a long, narrow, steep alley. With her pronounced limp she is able to hobble to her immediate neighbors' house but cannot even reach the main street without assistance. The really crazy part about sweet little Maria is that she is an ex-witch. Her relationship with 6:8 actually began through her neighbors, Jose Antonio’s family. Whenever 6:8 went to visit Jose Antonio, a severely handicapped seven-year-old who is a walking testimony of the power of prayer, they would bring Maria food. At that point, Maria practiced witchcraft and was openly antagonistic towards members of the local church. On the last day of a clinic hosted by a Celebration of Jacksonville medical team Maria showed up to receive treatment for her foot and ended up receiving Christ. The transformation in her life is absolutely incredible, as anyone can see from even briefly meeting her. We continue to bring teams down to be blessed by Maria's smile and to bless her with food and medical treatment.
Last week during our visit we invited her to come to church with us. She gave us the infamous Costa Rican response: “si DIOS quiere…” ( If GOD wants, or GOD willing…) but we decided to take our chances and we showed up on Sunday morning with new shoes for her, a couple of guys to help her up to the street, and the trusty funi (the ministry station wagon) waiting to bring her to Celebración Church. After waiting quite awhile for Maria to change and to check and then recheck everything in her house she emerged dressed in her Sunday best and ready to make the climb up to where we parked the car. Slowly but steadily, with the help of Anton, Mike, and Wilburt, one of the men from the Refugio, Maria made it to the car and to church. Once at church I was overwhelmed by the welcome Maria received. A few older women in the congregation came over during the break to introduce themselves and sit with her, exemplifying what a church community should be. My all time favorite part of the day, however, was during worship when Maria stood up about halfway through and began to sing along. I cannot explain what a powerful moment it was for me: I was standing next to an ex-spell caster, on the day of Halloween, worshiping our Heavenly Father. What a cool GOD we serve that he can redeem and bring glory to himself in such an incredible way! "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17). So, hands down best Halloween I have ever experienced. Gloria a DIOS 

Becca

Prayer is POWERFUL

Recently I have been thinking a lot about the power of prayer. A few nights ago a woman I know from the feeding center came to the team house after leaving her abusive boyfriend. Hurt, drunk, and completely at the end of her rope she came to the team house looking for help. In tears she explained to me how much she loves him and how much she wants to be reconciled with the man that beats her. My heart ached from her. And what could I do? What could I offer her? My mind raced to all of the things I could try to do to help in some way. I had no place to let her sleep for the night, no food to give her, and fearing she would use money to buy alcohol, no money to give her. Not that any of those things really would have solved the problem. The only thing I had to offer her was prayer, and I felt so helpless.
That is the problem right there. If I had any of those other temporary band-aids to mask a much bigger problem I would have offered those first and then sealed it with a prayer. How backwards is that? I shouldn’t be feeling helpless when the only thing I have to offer someone is prayer, I should feel helpless, however, if the only thing I have to offer someone is a meal that will curb hunger for half a day, or a bed that will give someone one night’s sleep, or money that will be blown in a matter of seconds. Ultimately, while all helpful and good things, they can only provide temporary alleviation. Prayer, on the other hand, is lasting. It is powerful and surprising. It can heal matters of the body and of the spirit in ways we cannot imagine. Prayer is, by far, the most powerful tool I have in a situation like that.
What sometimes blows my mind here is that a lot of people ‘get’ all of that already, in the midst of their incredible physical needs. After my friend and I prayed that night she did not go away angry because I couldn’t do anything, but she thanked me for praying. What a humbling moment! Another woman, Derly, who always comes to the feeding center strung out and sleeping off the effects of the night before told me a little over a week ago that she was praying to be reconciled with her family once again and have a place to sleep with people who love and care for her surrounding her. After knowing her for even the small amount of time I have, I knew it would take a miracle for her mother to even let her walk back into her house, much less live there again. Again, there was nothing else to do but to pray in that situation. A few days later I see four foot five Derly sprinting through the park with the biggest smile I have ever seen on her face. Half laughing, half crying she tells me “Our prayers worked! Our prayers worked!” She is now living with her mother, next door to her sister and is a completely different person. She came to the feeding center yesterday with a stack of old pictures to show everyone and was practically dancing with excitement. If that is not a clear demonstration of the power of prayer, I don’t know what is.
We should be feeding those who are without a meal, clothing those without attire, providing beds to those sleeping on the streets and reaching out in tangible ways to meet people’s physical needs whenever possible. Jesus did that and so should we. However, we cannot forget what those are; they are temporary fixes. Our greatest tool that wields the most power is prayer. I had the privilege to witness the effects of Derly’s prayer but a lot of times we have to pray in faith without being able to see the incredible things GOD can do with that. However, the times you do get to see the fruit give encouragement for the times when you can’t. So, pray hard, pray a lot, and recognize the power that is in your prayers. GOD has blessed us with such a potent tool and I want to give it the credit it deserves. Speaking of that, thank all of you for your prayers. It is truly a blessing to me to have so many people praying and supporting me. GOD bless you all!

Becca

Hope and Proof

This morning I was really discouraged thinking about some of the drug/alcohol addicts that we love. After seeing them three times a week or more at the feeding center, listening to their hearts, sharing in their struggles week after week it just absolutely breaks your heart to see them stumble. A few weeks back a quite infamous drunk came to the clinic we were holding at the church. Eduardo, one of the many unemployed homeless in Alajuelita, has, for as long as I have known him, been in a constant state of intoxication. Just the week before the clinic he had started a fight with Dave and me at the feeding center. When Eduardo sat down in the chair before me at the clinic I honestly could not believe it was the same Eduardo that stumbles into the feeding center each week. “Three days without drinking,” he told me. I cannot explain how my spirits soared at this transformation right in front of me: bathed, shaved, sober, and so polite! Yesterday would have been his sixteenth day without drinking. Sunday night I had a long talk with him as he walked me through some things he thought about the Bible (he has amazing head knowledge about the Bible!) and he told me he had taken a few sips earlier that afternoon. By the feeding center on Monday his few sips had escalated, I am sure, into quite a few bottles. That, in combination with some other friends of ours that have recently begun drinking again, brought me crying out to GOD. Not only was I praying on behalf of each and every one of them for strength and perseverance, I was praying for GOD to give me hope. Praying for proof that change is possible through the redemptive power of His Son.
Immediately my mind flashed to the graduation I attended on Sunday for two previously addicted women who had completed their nine month program at the women’s center. I thought about the guys at 6:8’s own men’s center, the Refugio, who all just moved into the second phase of their recovery program. If that is not proof that there is power in the name of Christ to break the bonds of addiction than I don’t know what is. I would ask that you would join me in lifting up all the men and women who struggle daily with the chains and slavery of substance abuse here in Alajuelita because it is possible. I have seen it. There are living testimonies of people who have done it and are doing it. The pastor at the graduation ceremony asked all of those who had already completed the program at an earlier time to raise their hands and about ten hands shot up within the audience. Yes, I am surrounded by examples of people who cannot seem to conquer their addiction and it is often very discouraging, BUT, I cannot forget the success stories with which I am surrounded as well. Praise GOD, the almighty healer and restorer! GOD BLESS,

Becca

Seventy times seven= four hundred and ninety

I have heard over and over again that as Christians we will be taken advantage of, we will be mocked and cursed, yet we are called act according to the cliché Sunday school motto and ‘turn the other cheek.’ All of that seems fairly manageable, although undoubtedly uncomfortable, in the context of walking away from a bully on the playground, or ignoring a rude driver on the highway, or even holding your tongue with a fellow classmate. However, in the context of some of the things we run into here, that black and white clarity is engulfed by huge areas of grey.

At English speaking Church last week we read the parable in Matthew 18 about the ungrateful servant who is forgiven his massive debt by his master yet fails to show mercy on his own debtor. Jesus uses this illustration in response to Peter’s question about the parameters of forgiveness. “I do not say to you seven times,” declares Christ, “but seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:27). Our master, Jesus Christ, has extended the most hideously undeserving gift of mercy upon us so that we may, in turn, be unscrupulously forgiving towards others. Especially in light of some things that have happened here recently, my question for GOD is ‘what does it mean to forgive?’ I feel a little like the lawyer in Luke chapter 10 asking Christ to specifically define neighbor so that he can still follow Christ’s instructions to love your neighbor as yourself and inherit eternal life with the least amount of effort possible. I want to know exactly what Jesus means when he tells us to forgive someone up to 490 times. I want a black and white answer that allows me to easily determine when someone has just crossed the line. I want to know if forgiveness is an act only from the heart or if it must also be manifested in actions. Sadly we have had a couple people steal from the ministry recently: pots, pans, kitchen knives, rice and beans for the feeding center, phones… Is forgiveness pardoning them from within my heart and giving them another chance, putting them right back in the situation where they were tempted in the first place? Is that what it truly means to forgive seventy times seven? I am sure many of you know what it feels like to be lied to and used, taken advantage of. When that happens I am so far from being in a place of forgiveness. I am so far from wanting to ‘turn the other cheek’ when I know someone has been playing me for their own benefit. It is really tough stuff and I am unfortunately without any clear cut answer to it all. If I have learned anything about following Christ, though, it is that the answer to my questions is probably not the easy one. When the lawyer asked Jesus to define neighborhood I am pretty sure he was hoping to hear something along the lines of “your neighbor is anyone who lives within a three kilometer radius of your house.” That makes it easy; it is clear cut in black and white parameters. The only thing that I feel GOD is telling me is to “love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you” (Matthew 5:44). To be honest, at home I probably would have had trouble thinking of people who “curse me” or “despitefully use me” but GOD has definitely given me the opportunity to try my hardest to put this in practice here. It is more challenging than I can explain and I am so thankful to all of you who constantly pray for me. Please continue! I love you all. GOD BLESS.

Becca

Psalm 147

First of all I want to praise GOD for a safe and fun trip to Nicaragua last week. As a non-resident of Costa Rica it is a requirement to leave the country every 90 days for at least 72 hours (although we have been hearing different stories about that stipulation) in order to renew your passport. The Gammages, the Boulters, Anton and I all needed to leave the country in some way around the same time and we decided to make the trip together to Nicaragua. It certainly was an adventure and I would not use the word "smooth" to describe those travel days crossing the Costa Rican/Nicaraguan border, BUT, after two days enjoying the coastal city of San Juan del Sur we are all back in country safely with 90 more days to legally reside in Costa.

For good or for bad, those of you that know me well know how much I love organization and plans. Especially when I am in charge of something I want things it to go exactly according to my plan. Although (I think, or I hope!) I have gotten better and become more flexible here in this very laid back culture, I have been so humbled the past couple of days by my display of inflexibility. After much anticipation my parents and their group from my home church of RCC arrived on Monday. I think, to be brutally honest, that I really wanted to impress not only my parents but also everyone else on the team who is supporting me and constantly keeping me in prayer while I am here. Luckily, GOD knows exactly how to show me that I am not in charge and that it is only when we rely on his strength, his gifts, his power that we see incredible fruit from our actions. Whatever talents GOD has given me, He has given me in order to bring Him glory, not to edify myself. I think this verse in Psalms captures what I have been learning the past couple of days when I become blatantly aware of my inability to translate perfectly, be an ESL teacher, or organize a medical clinic. "GOD delights not in the strength of the horse, nor is his pleasure in the legs of man, but the LORD delights in those who fear him, and in those who hope in his steadfast love." (Psalm 147:10-11) When I read that I am so convicted! I don't want to end up looking back on my life and see a list of things that I did on my own accord; I want to be a person who loves and fears the LORD with all my heart and can look back and see a list of things I never could have done apart from GOD. That is what I have been thinking lately. Please continue to pray specifically for me to surrender my plans to GOD so that I can allow Him to be in charge. He is way more equipped than I am and things always turn out better than I could ever imagine when the plans of GOD, not of man, are fulfilled. GOD BLESS YOU ALL,

Becca

Divinely planned Coincidence

I have a quick, encouraging story to share that happened a couple of weeks ago during the Ministry Scavenger Hunt. The Scavenger Hunt is a list of ministry related tasks (buy lunch for a homeless person, deliver food to a family in need, pray for a senior citizen etc.) that the two teams strive to accomplish during the day.This are one of my favorite things to do because it encourages us to look for opportunities to be Christ that we otherwise might miss. This is a perfect example of how on any other day I would have passed up this opportunity.
The group saw an elderly woman sitting on her porch and began a conversation with her, asking her name, how old she was (ninety four, by the way!). As we were talking with her on her porch her Granddaughter, Cristina, came out and began telling us about her eighteen year old daughter, Nataly, who had been in a horrible accident in June. Cristina visits Nataly every day in the hospital as her daughter is slowly recuperating. We were able to pray with her that day and get her phone number to call her and check on Nataly. When the next team arrived Cristina took us to her house and told us more about her life and struggle with everything since the accident. Her faith is astounding and despite all that she is going to she continually thanks GOD for Nataly and the miracle that she is alive. The doctors predicted a month until Nataly would be able to return home but.... Nataly came home this Friday! Both Cristina and Nataly were at church on Sunday and I had the opportunity to finally meet Nataly. Please continue to pray for Nataly's recovery; She needs to gain a substantial amount of weight after being on a feeding tube for three months, her mental and physical capacity is just not what is was before the accident, and she still must go through extensive therapies. I feel so blessed to have been able to meet this family and I know that it is by no coincidence. I am so blown away by GOD's timing and his divine providence. He is so good! Thank you all for your prayers!

Stranger in a Strange Land

A few days ago I caught a glimpse of the world of Alajuelita to which I am still a foreigner. Although I have been here for over two months (not an eternity by the stretching of anyone’s imagination), feel comfortable in my routine, and am accustomed to many nuances of the Costa Rican culture, I remain so very naïve to the profundity of the evil present in Alajuelita. I cannot even begin to grasp with my feeble mind everything that occurs beyond all of the hurt and pain that is visible on the surface. I say all of this not in a spirit of discouragement but from a place of acknowledgement. GOD has chosen to reveal more of the struggles that occur here in Alajuelita and I have come face to face, again, with the fact that I am incapable of doing anything about it: the problems are too big, the hurts too all-encompassing, the mindsets too engrained. The only thing I can do is fight against it with prayer. Someone on this last team gave me a verse which has so encouraged me these last few days and I would like to share it with you. “Work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare” (Jeremiah 29:7). I am certain that GOD has called me to Alajuelita with purpose and I will continue to try to love when it is hard and to be the hands and feet of Christ but I am also commanded to pray for the welfare of the city in which I am placed. I can see that GOD is totally transforming Alajuelita; he is casting out demons, converting witches into Christians, restoring ex-prostitutes, saving crack heads from the chains of addiction, and healing the wounds of sexual abuse. But, these problems are SO prolific here that we as a staff and a church family need to be unified, dedicated in prayer and supplication for the welfare of Alajuelita. What is scary to think about for me, as well, is that I am capable of that very same evil apart from Christ. It is only through my life in Him that saves me from depravity. My desire is that GOD will continue to remind me that I must be committed in my prayers for this city because it needs Christ in the same way that I need Christ to save me from my own depraved and evil ways. Please join me in my prayers for Alajuelita, thank you.
Becca

Love, Love, Love, Love, Love

These past couple of weeks have been crazy, for lack of a better term: back to back teams, hard news from home, and just pure Alajuelita craziness. Through all of that, though, GOD is showing me more than ever that I need to depend solely on him to be my rock and solid foundation when everything else around me is… crazy. Last week included a knife fight between two men at the Refugio, a man possessed by a demon, and the death of a fifteen year old friend of my sister’s back home. Each of those situations rocked me and I want to explain how GOD was in each of those events, but please forgive me in my omission of details about those incidents right now. Right now I want to explain what happened today.
We are building a house for a man in the Celebración Church family with the team this week. The site is up on the mountain with minimal accessibility requiring the team members to either be shuttled there in the ministry cars or to make a substantial walk from the nearest bus stop. Today I ended up being left at the site with a small group of guys as they finished putting up the walls of the house. With very little to contribute I was feeling pretty useless and really wishing I had somehow found a way back down earlier in the day instead of standing in mud and rain with no purpose. Dan, a group of team members, and I started the walk to head back down via bus when we stumbled across a woman lying face down in the dirt on the side of the road. After initially passing her by, Dan suggested we turn back to make sure she was ok. With a crack pipe in one hand and a lighter in the other it wasn’t surprising that it took quite an effort to wake her up. After struggling to understand her slurred Spanish slang, we managed to invite her to have lunch with us and then pay for her taxi home.
Last week, Dan and I had a conversation about his passion for beginning a ministry similar to Freedom 424 (check out their website if you want more info: www.freedom424.org) to reach out to prostitutes and women on the street of Alajuelita. When we were talking I was incredibly excited about the idea and very interested in helping out. Interestingly enough, however, when GOD placed a street prostitute right in my path I was having so much trouble loving like Christ. I don’t know why but when I imagined the kind of women and girls we would encounter I imagined them to have a sense of robbed innocence about them, eager to receive love. In my fairy tale idea of a prostitute (if there is such a thing) I did not imagine her smelling like she lives on the streets, I did not anticipate her to be high on crack, and I did not think she would be carrying a knife. So when we met this woman and began walking down the mountain I had a legitimate fear that she was going to pull a knife on us, and the fact that I couldn’t understand most of what she was saying did not help assuage my fear that she was out of her mind. In my head I was thinking, “GOD, this is not really what I meant when I said I wanted to reach out to the community of prostitutes in Alajuelita.” And if I am truly honest with myself what I really meant by that was “GOD, I want someone who is easy to love.”
My heart began to thaw towards her as I saw the way that people treated her; men called out rude things from store fronts, she got nasty looks from elderly women sitting on their front porches, everyone acted as if she had the word PROSTITUTE tattooed across her forehead. Once we sat down at the little soda to eat she turned to Dan and said plainly “Thank you for your respect.” My heart completely broke. She is a human being, a child of GOD, just like me, and she is used and abused like a piece of property. Most likely, her only human interactions include prostituting herself and buying drugs and no one takes the time to just sit with her and ask her name. This is the kind of person who needs the love of GOD more than anything else. Yes she is a prostitute, she is a crack head, she smells, and she is impossible to understand but GOD loves her and calls us, as the body of Christ, to love her as well. I am humbled by my reluctance to love when it is hard and so grateful for the experience I had to learn how to do just that. Thank you all for all of your prayers, I apologize for the sporadic nature of this blog. I hope this finds you all well. GOD BLESS.
Becca

Comfort from the Father

This past week was an especially fun one for me because the group here was from my own church at home, River City Church. I got to spend the whole week worshiping, praying, and communing with some of my best friends that I have missed so much while being here. Needless to say it was really difficult to say goodbye when the end of the week approached and they headed back home as a group united in Christ and on fire for GOD. I am so excited for everything that GOD did and is doing in that group of people. It was so apparent that GOD handpicked the team and carefully knit them together as a single body to serve here in Alajuelita. I pray that they will continue to be unified in purpose even in the midst of the daily craziness at home and encourage one another in the transition from weeklong mission experience to perpetual Christ centered life in their schools, at work, and within their communities.
I also had to say goodbye to my fellow intern and one of my best friends, Rachel, as she finished her month and a half internship with 6:8. To say that her friendship has been a blessing would only begin to describe the impact she has made on my life. Although we were only together a month and a half, GOD supernaturally brought us together and allowed us to share things openly like we had known each other for years. We were able to encourage and challenge one another in so many aspects of our faith. Although she is going back home, I know that we will continue to pray for one another constantly, keep up with what is going on in our respective lives, and remain best friends.
To say that these past few days have been sad for me would be an understatement. However, I have been amazed with the comfort that GOD has provided me. I sometimes feel so guilty crying over missing my family and friends when the people around me are worried about making their next house payment or finding enough food to sustain themselves on a daily basis. When GOD has all that comforting to do my small problems seem so insignificant and unworthy. But our GOD doesn’t work that way. “Blessed be the Father of mercies, the GOD of all comfort, who comforts us in our afflictions so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort that we ourselves are comforted by GOD” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Even though on the affliction scale mine fall way to the bottom GOD desires to bring me comfort so that I may proclaim his faithfulness and his mercy in the midst of my struggles. So I want to thank you, Lord, for the encouragement of RCC’s prayers. I want to thank you for the fact that your “power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9) and that I am allowed to need comforting and help. I want to thank you for the simple things through which you bring me joy: the little girls that hold my hand all through church, the feeling of your presence during a worship song, the impact of a simple smile from a former drug addict. Thank you, Lord, for choosing me, for allowing me to further your kingdom here in Alajuelita for this season. And thank you for comforting me all the way through it. Thank you to everyone reading this for keeping up with me and supporting me. I pray that you would feel GOD’s comforting presence in a tangible way today and that you would in turn proclaim his name so that others could likewise know his comforting touch.

Becca

La Montana

Even as I am writing this I am struggling to convey everything that is going through my mind after today, but I will try to explain how blessed I feel to have experienced what I did. Rachel and I and some other interns hiked up the mountain this morning/afternoon with three men from El Refugio. The Refugio is 6:8's homeless shelter which houses men intentionally dedicated to transforming their lives by turning their hearts to Christ and away from their addictions. Most of these men have lived grisly lives on the streets consuming and selling marijuana, crack, and alcohol. As a mark of the trade they have scars from stab wounds and gun shots. On appearance and preconceived judgments alone, Rachel and I were pretty unsure about taking the five plus hour long hike with them. After the hike, I cannot believe I almost missed it.
The hike started out on a humorous note as one of the guys from the center took us on an alternate route which he promised me would be "mas facil." Clearly when he said easier he only meant faster as we literally ascended the mountain at a ninety degree incline. We were laughing together and making jokes the whole way up. On the way back down, one of the guys suggested we stop to spend some time in fellowship and prayer. How cool is that! Jairo began by asking each of us what we think GOD wants from us, and alternately what we ask from GOD. Listening to the ticos and gringos sharing together was such a powerful experience for me. Jairo reminded us that everything is for a reason: their struggles on the streets, their home en El Refugio, and every person on the mountain have a purpose in GOD's plan. Afterward we joined hands and prayed together, tico and gringo, men from El Refugio and me from my comfortable neighborhood in Jacksonville, Florida, united in purpose before our GOD. I couldn't help but weep as I heard the conviction of the prayers of these men thanking GOD for the opportunity to hike the mountain and spend time in his creation, asking GOD to guide their paths, and praying for the slums of Alajuelita. GOD can use the most unlikely of people to do the most extraordinary things in his kingdom. I truly believe, just as Jairo said, that they are the future church of Alajuelita, and that they can radically transform their city with their testimonies and faith. I know my feeble words cannot describe this encounter with our most holy GOD but I wanted to share that with everyone. GOD BLESS
Becca

Cuan Grande es Dios

Recently GOD has been amazing me with how BIG he truly is. I have been so blessed here to have multiple opportunities to spend time in GOD's marvelous creation. If I walk about two hours from my house up the mountain I am surrounded by a verdant tropical forest, breathtaking views of the valley below, and crystal clear waterfalls. A two hour drive from where I live takes me to the Pacific Ocean where GOD's majesty is displayed in the black beaches, mountainous coast, and crashing waves of turquoise. The five interns spent a day at the beach this week (I know, it is tough being a missionary at times), exploring the less touristy side of the coast and taking in the untouched beauty of GOD's masterpiece. We all took the opportunity to sit by ourselves and spend some time with the LORD. As I watched the waves crashing down upon the rocks, sending ocean spray ten feet up into the air I could not help but be totally in awe with GOD's power. What really hit me though was the that the GOD that I come to in prayer is the very same GOD that is likewise the commander of this unending stretch of ocean. My GOD is the GOD of the universe! He is so personal, yet so infinite; So intimate while being all powerful. He cares about the most finite details of our lives while holding the whole world in his hands. Hallelujah do we serve an incredible GOD!
That experience is so encouraging to me when I begin to think about Alajuelita, and our Christian mission as a whole. I just finished reading the book "Radical" by David Platt where he repeatedly references the 4.5 billion people in the world who are currently living apart from Christ. In face of such a huge task it is easy for me to become discouraged at times. However, I am realizing that I am called to love like Christ and love indiscriminately until it hurts. GOD uses what we as feeble men are doing here on earth and magnifying it to fulfill his great purpose. Job comes to this very same conclusion: "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted...My ears have heard of you but now my eyes have seen you therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:2, 5-6). How foolish it is of me to think that I alone can bring to fruition any of GOD's perfect plans. As I see the greatness of GOD daily I am humbled into an awareness of my position as a servant of the most high GOD.
GOD BLESS,
Becca

Still I will praise You...

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9). I want to start with this verse because yesterday was a difficult day for me. In my world, in my thoughts and my ways, I am crying out why? But, I cling to this verse in the midst of it, knowing that thankfully GOD accomplishes his divine purpose in ways that do not always make sense to the feeble minds of man. Two days ago the team here this week began to fix up a house for an elderly crippled woman in the Celebración Church family. Not only did the team itself raise funds in order to complete the project, but the entire Celebración congregation generously donated to the cause as well. The team spent the day cleaning out the house (which was quite the job seeing as it has been inhabited by the sheep that live on that particular hill) painting it, and making it ready for Gloria and her family to live there. They prayed over Gloria for healing and spread the love of Jesus through their selfless acts. Later that very night Gloria was admitted into the hospital and passed away early the next morning. The suddenness of her death shocked her family, the church congregation, the team, and everyone on 6:8 staff. I cannot say for sure on behalf of anyone else, but I was definitely asking GOD Why? Why now? However, despite the ideas or plans that I had in my head for Gloria, she is in heaven now, free of pain and completely restored. Gloria is healed and I thank GOD for that.
There is the sweetest kid named Jorge who volunteers at Celebración Church: he is so full of joy and has a huge servant’s heart. So when we visited his home yesterday and heard a little bit about his story I was asking the very same question I had earlier. Why GOD? Why such an incredible family? Jorge lives with his grandmother, Esperanza, and his alcoholic father in a house that was condemned by the city after the most recent earthquake. The condition of this house would rock your world: there is no wall in the kitchen and the kitchen floor consists of occasional two-by-fours and giant holes revealing the 8-10 foot drop to the ground. Two of their bedrooms are have holes so large that the beds fell through during the earthquake. When it rains water leaks in from the sides of the house and pours down from the pieced together tin roof. His eighty plus year old grandmother has to navigate around the missing floor boards and is forced to sleep sitting up because the bedrooms are unsafe. The amazing thing is that Jorge and Esperanza (which very fittingly means Hope in Spanish) have incredible faith and they pray wholeheartedly for GOD to miraculously provide another house. When confronted with such genuine trust in GOD I am so humbled. As we sang a song later that night in worship that says “So I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on/ There will be an end to these troubles but until that day comes/ Still I will praise you/ Still I will praise you” I thought of the struggles of those two families. One who is grieving the loss of a loved one and the other who is trusting in you to provide a way for a new home. In the midst of these struggles, we will praise you LORD. We don’t understand your timing and we cannot comprehend your ways but we do know that you are good. Thank you, LORD, that your thoughts and ways are higher than mine.
Please continue to pray for Rigo as well as for the families of Gloria and Jorge. Thank you so much. GOD Bless.

Becca

GOD has been revealing so many things to me during this trip so far. Without fail, every day I learn something new about His character, His word, His truth. What astounds me, still, however, are the ways in which He chooses to teach me. Spencer gives a message that has become known as the ‘take up your cross’ talk to every group upon their arrival in Costa Rica. He follows Jesus’s example in Luke 9 to explain that in order to completely devote your life to living for Christ, one must be willing to be uncomfortable, inconvenienced, and unpopular. Ultimately, Christ commands: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his self?” (Luke 9:23-25) Everyone is encouraged to take a literal wooden cross necklace as a constant reminder of our own crosses that we must bear each and every day that we live for Christ. Because Spencer shares this incredibly powerful message with every group, last night was the sixth time I had heard it, and the third time in the past two and a half weeks. What was so amazing, though, was how entirely new GOD made it for me. All of yesterday Rachel and I had been discussing something that was on our hearts and Spencer’s message spoke directly into that. Even though I had already heard those very words a week ago it was so pertinent to what was going on inside of me at that very moment that it just clicked. Rachel and I both turned to each other in the middle of the sermon just grinning—giving each other the ‘wow GOD is awesome’ look.
I had the opportunity earlier today to spend some time talking with a “huffer” named Rigo who frequents the streets of Alajuelita. Rigo soaks rags, gloves, anything with absorbent properties, in paint thinner to inhale the toxic fumes and live virtually on a perpetual high. While most of his conversations are quite humorous sadly due to his addiction, today I saw a glimmer of his true heart and the tragedy of his situation. It began, after I gave up convincing him that I do not have black eyes or blue hair, when he asked me if I believed in GOD; I couldn’t have asked for a more direct opening. When I responded he asked me to specify which god I believed in. When I began explaining that there is only one true GOD and only one true way through GOD’s son Jesus Christ because he already died to save our sinful world Rigo began to shake his head. “No,” he said, “You don’t understand. I am an addict.” He pulls out his old identification cards that he still carries in his wallet to show me the physical changes that have occurred since his addiction. “This is my life,” he opens his hand to show me the soaked cloth, “This is my passion.” This time I shake my head. “No. GOD is so powerful that he can save anyone. It isn’t too late.” As I prayed for him I just cried out for GOD to give him supernatural measures of strength to turn his life around, to throw away the rag and never go back to it. I prayed that he would know how much Jesus loved him and that he could truly accept the Jesus already died in order to forgive. Although he left with the rag in his hand, he also left with tears in his eyes. Even though he returned joking and insisting that he has green eyes and all of the gringos (Americans) have black eyes I pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to work in his heart. I would love it if you would like to join me in praying for Rigo. I will let you know how he is doing the next time I see him. GOD BLESS.
Becca

Miracles

I have a couple of really quick amazing stories that I would like to share. The first is the miracle of a little boy named Jose Antonio. Due to an infection that spread to his brain as an infant, Jose Antonio spent the first five years of his life in bed unable to walk, speak, or respond to stimuli of any kind. This was the condition in which 6:8 met Jose Antonio. They began bringing teams to pray over Jose and his family and saw Jose Antonio’s condition miraculously improving to the bewilderment of his doctors. Over the past two years I have seen him begin to respond, walk, and now even talk. We spent over an hour at his house blowing bubbles and watching his reaction to these crazy floating spheres he had never seen before. What was the most exciting was to hear him exclaim “POP” when a bubble exploded by the end of the day. Yay GOD!
The team was also constructing a house for a family of seven in an area called Juan Pablo. After spending the whole week with them as they mixed and poured concrete, put up the frame, and finally the roof, it was quite an emotional time when they were able to present the family with the keys to their brand new house. The gratitude that radiated from the faces of each of the family members was incredible. You could definitely see GOD in the entire situation. More stories to come… Thank you for your support!

Hello everyone! Greetings from Alajuelita. I want to fill everyone in on what has been going on this last week. This has been a week full of firsts. As of this Sunday, this has been the first time I have been away from home for more than two weeks. This was my first week living with an amazing roommate and not my family. I have definitely been experiencing a taste of true independence for the first time as well. Instead of calling it independence, though, I want to call it true dependence on GOD.
This past week there has been two other interns not including myself working with the teams. Rachel, my roommate, is a twenty year old student at Santa Fe. Although I have only known her for about a week, we have already become so close. It is funny how sharing these experiences together has allowed us to bond in such a short amount of time. She challenges me with questions about the Bible and I know we are both growing in our faith together. The guy intern, Danny, will be a sophomore at a Bible college in Tulsa, OK. The three of us get along great and have such a good time. We have already had some interesting ‘intern bonding’ experiences. The day after my family left for the States, I walked home in a torrential downpour of a storm to find the sky light in the laundry room of our house leaking. By the time I ran back down to get help, the entire house was covered in ankle deep water. As our first official intern test, we spent the afternoon sweeping out and mopping up the intern house lake. GOD was so good though because nothing was ruined, we had fun throughout the whole ordeal, and it makes for a great story.
The current team here is a group of high schoolers from Mandarin Presbyterian Church of Jacksonville, my family’s former church. They have torn down a house in Juan Pablo in order to entirely build a new one for a family of seven, bumped out walls in the church to make room for Sunday school classrooms, as well as participated in various 6:8 Ministries. I have been touched by their compassion and empathy. I could see their hearts break for the people when we took them to the river community in Aurora, the poorest of the poor who live in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Alajuelita. River front property, unlike in the United States, means that trash and sewage from the homes above flows down through their streets, and often homes, into the filthy river below. During the rainy season the water level rises to a point where the houses are partially submerged in that water. In addition, the entire neighborhood virtually sits on a giant mound of trash. Although I see these conditions now on a regular basis, my prayer is that I do not become hardened to the suffering of these people. I desire a heart that weeps with those who weep and mourns with those who mourn, not one that is calloused by the routine of constantly witnessing such extreme poverty.
As I prayed more and more for sensitivity and compassion I turned to GOD’s word in search of answers. In the face of such travesty, how can I possibly do anything at all? In this quest I have become both acutely aware of my inabilities and awestruck by the greatness of GOD. I think this verse in 1 Corinthians really explains what I have been feeling. When I am feeling inadequate I can remember it is through GOD's awesomeness that I have any strength to do anything. "But GOD chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; GOD chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; GOD chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are so that no human being may boast in the presence of GOD." - 1 Corinthians 1:26. I am loving it here. Continue to pray for me and the entire ministry. GOD Bless.

Week 1

As I have just completed my first full week here in Alajuelita I cannot believe it has been seven days since I said goodbye to my friends, my church family, and my home. Part of me cannot believe it has only been a week because I already feel so at home here. The community where I am living, a safely guarded complex called La Antolina, houses most of the 6:8 staff from the US. Four other American families live right down the road (actually right down what seems like a mountain to a Florida girl) from me and have graciously opened their homes to whatever I have needed. They have let me borrow everything from pots and pans, to internet connection, to a washer and dryer. I am so excited to be a member of the 6:8 family. While that part of me feels like I have been here for a year already, another part of me cannot believe how quickly the week has flown. Time seems to fly by here at a different speed than in the States. Kids are content to just sit in your lap and color for an hour straight without thinking anything of it. With my days being scheduled less by the mandates of a clock time seems to float by; I wake up, go about my day, and the next thing I know it is already dinner time.
I want to give everyone a little glimpse of what an average day here looks like for me. We have daily staff meetings at 7:30 at the team house (which is about a ten minute walk from my house) and then I go out with the team to do a morning ministry project. We normally return to the team house to eat lunch house before going back out into the community again for the afternoon. After having a little free time before dinner, we eat and then worship together and hear a short message. Today is really the first day since my arrival that there has not been a team here, so I cannot really say what a typical off day for me will look like.
GOD has already been doing amazing things. I have gotten to reconnect with some of the kids that I love and visit some of the places that are closest to my heart. Despite what an amazing first week I have had, I am struggling to write this blog. I don’t know what stories to tell or how to explain them in a way to adequately glorify GOD. I just wanted to quickly let everyone know how I am doing here. GOD bless you, and thank you all for your prayers. More exciting GOD stories on the way.

Becca

The Final Countdown

Wow... time has really flown by. I cannot believe that in exactly one week from today I will be in my new home in Alajuelita. I cannot say that these past few weeks have been easy in any way. With details regarding where I will be staying and with whom I will be living changing weekly, anxiety and stress have found their way into my heart lately. Although I do not doubt that GOD is calling me to Costa Rica for this next year, it is nonetheless frightening for me to be leaping into such an 'unknown.' However, something amazingly cool happened to me last week that reminded me of GOD's unwavering character and his undying love for me.

I went to church last week in the mood I have previously described: a fatal mix of fear, frustration, and freaking out. I left church, however, feeling rejuvenated and encouraged. It continues to amaze me that GOD can meet me where I am and completely strip me of all the excess baggage that is keeping me from direct contact with Him. The entire service was amazing, and the Holy Spirit was clearly "on the move" as we like to say at RCC. After a message on high expectations for GOD, I went down to receive prayer with relatively low expectations. I was overwhelmed with what I could see GOD doing in a friend of mine and was a little doubtful that He would chose to do something with me too. I mean two people in the same row on the same day, really?

To preface this a little, I ultimately decided to go for this gap year in Costa Rica after GOD sent me a blatantly clear dream in late December. I have never felt so sure that GOD was directly communicating with me and giving me a definite direction in my life. Not surprisingly, that dream has incredible relevance to me. To fast-forward again, the prayer minister praying over me on Sunday told me she had a picture for me. She immediately began to explain in perfect detail the exact dream I had in December. I was just so overwhelmed by how intimately the King of the Universe loves me that he would give me such a clear sign of encouragement when I needed it the most. I know that this is what GOD has planned for me. How can I attempt to deny His will in this situation when He has so obviously shown me His desire for my life? I will cling to that promise when I am overwhelmed with heartbreak, when I am homesick and missing my amazing family and incredible friends, and when I have doubts.

Although all of the details are not completely worked out yet I am confident that GOD has every piece in his hands. That experience was such an encouragement for me and I want to praise GOD and his unending faithfulness. He will never leave or forsake me. I want to end with a profound statement that Mary utters after Gabriel informs her that she will be impregnated through the power of the Holy Spirit and give birth to the son of GOD. Although I am sure she was racked with fear and bursting with logistical questions, she responds by saying: "I am the LORD's servant and I am willing to accept whatever He wants. May everything you have said come true" (Luke 1:38). That is my prayer as this week comes to a close and I head off for Costa Rica. I pray that my fear would subside, my questions about the little details will fade away,and that I am at total peace as a servant of the Most High. GOD bless you all, In Christ,

Becca

The Beginning

Hello Everyone!

I have such an amazing support group of friends and family that I know will continually be praying for me as a step into this new phase in my life. I wanted a way to share my experiences in Costa Rica with everyone so I have officially entered the blogosphere.

As many of you already know, God is calling me to live and work for 6:8 Ministries in Alajuelita, Costa Rica for a year before I attend Davidson College in the fall of 2011. Especially at my college preparatory school, we have been programmed since kindergarten to push through middle school and then high school in order to continue our studies at the college level. So when I began toying with the possibility of deviating from “the plan” I knew it had to be God. The truth is, now I cannot imagine anything feeling more natural or normal than to spend this upcoming year in Alajuelita. The peace that has accompanied my decision has in no way originated in me, though. My mind knows that this is a highly irregular thing to do and my brain reminds me of all of the nitpicky details over which I would normally love to stress. But, thank goodness, God has my heart. Never before have I been forced to trust in and rely on God as I have in these past few months. However, this place of surrender has initiated a level of intimacy with my heavenly Father that has been so rewarding.

As a member of the 6:8 staff, I will help lead short term mission teams that come to Alajuelita throughout the year. The specifics of the trip depends upon the individual teams but usually includes conducting vacation bible schools and soccer camps, building houses, and serving at the feeding center and newly opened homeless shelter. Above all, 6:8 strives to build relationships with the local community through camps, construction projects, and hot meals. In conjunction with the verse after which the ministry received its name, Micah 6:8, the goal of all outreach is “to love mercy and to act justly and to walk humbly with your God.”

Today marks the one month countdown for the move to Costa. My heart flits between excitement, nervousness, and some sadness when I think about the short amount of time left in Jacksonville before I embark on this adventure. Despite the bittersweet aspect of graduating from high school, leaving my family, friends, and church community, and moving to a foreign country I am confident that God has amazing things in store for me. I can imagine the specific things I think that God will do in my life in a year, but in reality, I am resigned to the fact that I cannot even begin to fathom all that God will accomplish. "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." (Proverbs 19:21).

Please be praying for me and my family as we prepare for the big move at the end of June. Love, in Christ,

Becca