The first Princess Club!!!

The original Princesses!!!

Planning for our first club meeting!!

Ana Laura and I have entered into the land of princesses!!! What an AMAZING first week! Ana Laura and I decided to have the girls make tiaras the first day. So we drove to a craft store. We found poster board and markers that we could use to make them out of, but weren´t really sold on the idea...so I suggested we go to Burger King to see if we could get cardboard crowns to decorate. Ana Laura was doubtful at first, but what did we have to lose? We knew they would either say yes or no, so we technically already knew what the answer would be. It was pouring down rain when we pulled into the drive through. They must have thought we were nuts when we drove right to the take out window. There the typical high school looking young man in the window. Ana Laura shyly asked if we could have some crowns. When he asked how many, she was like, well, maybe just, like 10, if you can spare them. So he brought out 35!!!! He asked what we were going to use them for. We told him about the Princess Club in Anonos. He got really excited an said it was a great idea!! We were so encouraged!! What a blessing from Jesus! An over-abundant, generous blessing! We had enough crowns to decorate for the next 3 Princess Clubs!!!

Saturday finally arrived. We brought down balloons and enough pink to look like a Pepto Bismol truck exploded in the Casa Nueva. We had 9 out of 10 invited girls come with an unexpected girl show up which evened it out to exactly 10!!

This week we talked about the Kingdom of God, how in this world there is a Kingdom of Light and a Kingdom of Darkness. God is the King of Kings and the devil is the prince of this earth. We taught the girls that since we are daughters of the King, we are Princesses!! We had them draw the kingdom of God. We read through Colossians 1:9-14 which will be our verses for the entire club. Each week we will talk about a different value from these passages. This week we focused on verses 12 and 13:

⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, ¹⁰ so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, ¹² and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. ¹³ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Then each of the girls got to decorate her crown. We talked about how every princess gets a crown!! The girls had a blast using glitter glue, sequence, pom poms, and markers to decorate their own crowns.


We served cookies and pink punch as a snack and then ended in prayer. What an amazing first week!!!

Featured Profile: Rosa

Name: Rosalba Espinoza
Birthday: November 9
When did you move to Costa Rica? I moved from Nicaragua to Costa Rica in 1984 because there was too much fighting in Nicaragua.
Do you still have family there? Yes, have sisters and some aunts and uncles still there. My 2 brothers are here in Costa Rica, though.
How many children do you have? I have 5 kids, Ebert, Brenda, Lester, Enrique, and Evelin. 1 lives in Pavas and the rest live here. My husband lived here with me, but he died about 2 years ago.

 

What is your favorite color? Green or black
What is your favorite kind of music? Romantic music, meringue, or Christian
What do you like to do? Crochet
What is your favorite food? Beef. Or salad.
What is your favorite flower? The Rose, haha (that´s what her name means) and the lily. I would love to have a large flower garden.

Where do you work? At a restaurant called Los Anonos. It´s a steak house. I´ve work there for 9 years.
If you could have 3 wishes, what would they be? 1. To pay off my debts. 2. That my kids could have a better life. 3. Health for everyone.
If you could travel any where in the world, where would you want to go? Mexico.
Why? To go to see the Mariachis.
If you could live any where in the world, where would you live? Here. I really love it here.

How long have you been a Christian? I´ve been a Christian since I was really little. I attended church when I was small and living in Nicaragua. I played the guitar in my church. I still play a bit, but not often. My dad played, too. I played guitar sometimes in church. I was married and baptized in the church. I was baptized about a year ago.

If you could tell anything to the people reading this, what you you say? Thank you for the miracle of helping me with my house.

If you could ask God anything, what would you ask Him? TO help my have my own business. I would like to have a small restaurant, my own place, where I know it´s mine and I could cook there and eat there and work there.

If you could ask the world anything, what would you ask? Health for me and my family, to help us move forward. To build a small wall in front of the yellow house by the street to make it safer so the land won´t erode, or if there´s another earthquake to make it safer.

Passing of the Microphone

Viña Anonos is pleased to host once again the New Life Church of Columbus, Ohio!! We have a full team who arrived on Saturday to bless the community. They came fully prepared to work and serve with the heart and mind of Christ...and with them came over 600 pounds of items for our thrift store!! What a blessing!! Ana Laura and I were also BLOWN AWAY by their generosity with items for the Princess Club!! We definitely experienced the generosity of our King of Kings through the team!!!!

One of the neat things about hosting teams is seeing the community again through fresh eyes. No matter where you live, after a while we all experience ruts in our daily living. When teams come, I am reminded about all the little things that I´ve become ¨accustomed¨ to in just a few months...like not being able to flush my toilet paper down the toilet, seeing very small children play in the streets unattended at all hours of the day (and night), seeing people in the streets drunk in the middle of the day, and hearing the egg man announce that he has fresh eggs at 6 in the morning. I think I´ve even gotten used to hearing the dogs in the streets...all night long...

Another wonderful part of having teams come is experiencing bilingual church. Not many people can say they attend a completely bilingual church. While we sing all our songs in Spanish (well, except for an occasional verse or chorus in English) alll of the messages are bilingual. Usually Rodney preaches in English while someone translates into Spanish (either Federico, Ronny Ruiz, or myself) and typically when teams are present and a Tico preaches in Spanish, the message gets translated into English.

Today was an example of how this process can take on a hilarious spin. We had invited Federico, a local gentleman from the other Viña in Escazú, to preach (in Spanish). After the worship set, we always have a prayer, collect the offering, dismiss the children, have a time of announcements, etc. We have two microphones, one black and one silver. Apparently today whoever spoke in English into the microphone was supposed to use the silver microphone and whoever spoke in Spanish was supposed to use the black microphone. It became a hilarious exchange as Federico translated into Spanish for Rodney´s English, then Federico translated into English for Alejandro´s Spanish  (Alejandro shared a testimony), and then I translated into English for Federico´s Spanish message!!

We are very excited for this coming week of work. I´ll keep you posted as we go along!!

The Princess Club

I am about to embark on a new journey into a new and beautiful land. A land full of beauty, grace, and delight. A land full of energy and youth. A land called the Kingdom of God full of 8- to 11-year-old princesses. We are starting a new club in Anonos called The Princess Club. Based on a program by a new friend and sister missionary here in Costa Rica, Amy Lineburg, the Princess Club teaches young girls that they are the daughter of the King of Kings and therefore princesses!! The kingdom of God and royal values are taught in weekly lessons. El Club de Princesas was started in the neighboring community of La Carpio by Amy several weeks ago when she saw the need for young girls to understand their importance and identity in the eyes of God in the midst of poverty. Instead of something indefinitely ongoing, Amy decided to invite specific girls for 6-week opportunity to grow in their knowledge of Jesus by learning what it means to be a daughter of the King…a Real Princess! Lessons include our identity as princesses in the Kingdom of God, our authority in the Kingdom, purity and values in the Kingdom, Royal behavior, Royal beauty, and life lessons from the story of Queen Esther.

 
 I first learned about the Princess club from a good friend, Ana Laura. She and her husband attend the Vineyard church in Escazú, which is where our Vineyard church was planted from. Every week Ana Laura comes to help me with my Tuesday English class. A few weeks ago she approached me with the idea of starting a Princess Club here in Anonos. She had met Amy at another conference and struck up a friendship. Ana had heard about the Princess Club in La Carpio and was very excited about the prospect of starting one here. I also went to see how the Princess Club worked by visiting with Ana Laura...it was AMAZING!! Every girl gets to wear a crown during the club, which in and of itself is delightful. I loved watching Amy´s enthusiasm as she taught them about their authority in the Kingdom of God. Ana Laura and I knew we had to bring this to Anonos. We are about to embark! Next Saturday will be our kick off. We hand picked and invited 10 girls from the community. Our program will run every Saturday afternoon for 9 weeks.



 Each week the girls will get to write in their ¨Princess Diary¨. They can use it to write the lessons that they are learning as well as write stories about being a Princess. Every week there will also be a craft that goes along with the lesson. I will keep you updated as we go along!!

 

One of the girls right after we invited her to the club :)

Avocado Chocolate Pudding 

All credits go to the blog by Warm Vanilla Sugar, this post is a repost from this website:

http://warmvanillasugar.wordpress.com/2010/03/25/avocado-chocolate-pudding/

The recipe just sounded too good and delicious not to pass on!! Enjoy!!!

It’s 8am and I’ve already devoured an entire batch of chocolate pudding. Think I like chocolate? That goes without saying.

I have a few things in the kitchen that I need to get rid of. Oranges, a pineapple, and an avocado. So, to use up my avocado I threw it in my pudding recipe as a thickener. Think I’m crazy? Maybe. But this unusual recipe turned out to be the best chocolate pudding I’ve EVER tasted. Seriously folks, would I lie to you?

Avocados are great, and are considered the worlds healthiest fruit. Why? Because they contain vitamin K, dietary fiber, potassium, folic acid, vitamin B6, and vitamin C! So, using them in my chocolate pudding makes me feel great. I used other healthy ingredients like pure cocoa powder (instead of chocolate chips), honey (instead of refined sugar), and light coconut milk (instead of heavy cream).

I love chocolate, and telling you this will never get old. Earlier this year I brought some of my chocolate baking to a faculty pot luck to hear my professor say “Ew, I HATE chocolate”. Really?? I mean, really? People don’t like it? This baffles me in several ways. I sometimes wish I didn’t like it so much. It would save me from eating all of the cookie batter before I put the cookies in the oven, but it’s one of those simple things that I NEED to survive. Chocolate + Honey + Brown sugar = my favorite ingredients.

So here we are. 8 am and ready to begin another chocolate fun day. Awesome. This recipe makes 4 small servings and is 3 weight watchers points per serving.

Ingredients:
1 ripe avocado
2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
1/2 cup light coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp honey

Directions:
Put all ingredients in a blender and BLEND! The pudding will come out smooth and sweet. Absolute perfection!

Aren’t avocados just the greatest?

Honey

Just call me Winnie-the-Pooh. I love honey. I mean, it's sugary, sweet, and useful for so many things. You can put it with peanut butter for a delightful sandwich, sweetend your tea, bake it into cookies and breads, or take a spoonful to cure hiccups. In the States it comes in cute little bear shaped containers. The funny thing about honey is, as most of us know all too well, if left on the shelf to long the real deal will crystalize. The funny thing about Costa Rica is real, pure, sweet, sticky honey is hard to find. We buy our honey at the farmer's market on Saturdays. You buy it in tall glass bottles (sorry, Pooh, no cute shaped bottles here).

But not all honey here is created equal. Many people add corn syrup to stretch the honey. You could buy a bottle of, what the people call, "pure honey" only to get it home and have it taste like carmel colored sugar.

So how can you know you're buying the real deal? There are several ways to tell. First, you have to know what real honey looks like. You have to know it's thinkness, how it moves in the bottle, and the natural color of it. You can't tell the real from the fake if you haven't ever had the real thing to begin with. With a sharp eye, you can quickly tell if the bottle they are holding before you is real or not. The fake stuff is much thinner, and moves quicker in the bottle, and has a lighter color. It also doesn't have the tell tale crystalization around the edges. But what about people who only use a little corn syrup to stretch it? Some times you just have to taste it. You can tell immediately from the taste if it is real or not. Of course then you get smart and learn who sells the real stuff and only buy from them, week after week.

So what does this have to do with the price of bananas? It's the same in the church. In Matthew 7: 15-20 Jesus warns us about the real deal versus people who appear to be the real deal but have corn syrup added to their doctrine. “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."

Jesus again warns us in Matthew 24 to watch out for false prophets and people claiming to come in the name of the Lord, or even that they are the Lord! As a church we should constantly be on the look out for people who claim to be the real deal, but have allowed other influences to tait the truth. 2 Peter 2: 1-3 also warns against this: "But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping."

The best way to tell separate the honey from the syrup is to know the honey. By studying the Word for ourselves, we know for ourselves what it says. Passages become familiar to us. We  learn to "Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him" (Psalm 34:8). That way, when we are interacting with people, teachers, pastors, preachers, we can  we can immediately tell whether they are speaking the truth or truth mixed with syrup. We can also take what they're saying, absorb it, digest it, and compare it with what we know to be true. As we learn to compare what others say to the Word, when something someone is telling us just isn't right, it will start to leave a funny taste in the mouth.

Psalm 119:103
"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"

Proverbs 24:14
Know also that wisdom is like honey for you: If you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

Featured Profile: Kliber

 Name: Kliber Maquensi Quesada
Birthday: September 2
Age: 14
Favorite color: black
Favorite band: Guns 'N Roses
Favorite song: Paradise City
Favorite food: Lasagna
What do you like about yourself? My personality.
Describe your personality in three words: gentile, fun, peaceful
What is one thing you would like to change about yourself? My hair.
What would you change about it? I like long hair. I want long hair, but my school won't let me.

Do you have any siblings? Two brothers, 10 and 6 years old.
What do you want to do when you finish school? Be a pediatric doctor. And a bassist in a band.

If you could play any instrument, what would you play? Bass guitar and drums
How long have you been coming to Viña Anonos (the church)? About 6 months.

How did you hear about it? Did someone invite you? No. I saw it while skateboarding and just decided on my own to start coming. I did know Tito and he told me what times things were at.
Did you know about Jesus before? Yes. I grew up in the Catholic church. My family still goes there. I´ve known Jesus since I was really little.
What made you decide you wanted to leave the Catholic church? It was boring to me. They don´t sing like we sing here. It´s more like opera there. There´s no youth group, either.
What would you change about Viña Anonos? People who don´t respect each other in youth group or when we´re talking about the Bible.

What do you like about living in Anonos? Everything. Especially the skating.
How long have you been skating? For about 11 months.

What don´t you like about living in Anonos? All the drugs.
Do you think that the drug life style can be changed in Anonos and how? I think it can change. By guiding the drug addicts in the right path.
Who is your best friend? Chino. We´ve been friends since we were little kids.

If you could live any where in the world, where would you like to live? I would like to live in Mexico. My family is from Mexico, well my grandparents were from their. I visited Mexico with my grandma when I was really little. I don´t remember it very well, but I would like to live there. Either there or in San Carlos.

If you could ask one thing from God, what would you ask? To forgive me.
What would you like to say to Americans who come down? Don´t speak to me in English and think I understand. I don´t.
What would you like to say to the world? Change the bad in people so we can have a world full of peace.

What to pack!!

As team season approaches, I thought I would include a helpful lists!

Things to bring for yourself for during your trip:
Your Bible!!
Sunscreen
Bugspray
Camera with plenty of batteries!
Umbrella or rain poncho. It will rain. You will get wet without it.
A pair of flip flops for wearing in the house. Help us keep the house clean!!
Old tennis shoes (or shoes you don´t mind getting dirty and muddy) for wearing in the community
Bathing suit (depending on what your team is doing and where you are going)
Clean underware (always a must, regardless of country of destination)
Work clothes
Your own toiletries (shampoo, soap, razors, etc.)
Jeans and a sweatshirt/hoodie for evenings. It can get chilly!
We do have wireless internet at the house, so if you want to bring a laptop, iPhone, or iPods, you can bring them, use them, and charge them here at the house.
We have American electrical outlets, so all small appliances do work here (hair dryers, electric shavers, flat irons, laptops, etc. can be charged here).

Things NOT to bring for your trip:
Linens (towels, sheets, pillows, etc.) We have those here for you to use
Fancy clothes
Anything really expensive...In the event that it could get lost or stolen.
15 hair dryers and 12 flat irons. You can share. Unless you want to donate them to the thrift store when you're done :)
Knives, guns, swords, or num-chucks

Things you could bring to donate to be sold in the thrift store:
Shoes!! Gently used shoes for men, women, or children! ESPECIALLY for children and tennis shoes!!!!
Gently used women´s clothing in good condition
Gently used clothing for older children (4 to 15 years old)
Gently used clothing for men in small or medium sizes
Bags, such as the cloth reusable grocery bags or large canvas bags or even bookbags
Curtains, blankets, towels
House wares, such as pots, pans, rice cookers, silverware, and kitchen utensils
(Plates, bowls, and cups are not needed, we have plenty of those available here)

Things that are always a blessing to us and to the church that we always receive gratefully:
Nueva Versión Internacional Study Bibles (New International Version Study Bibles) (Bibles that we can give away and for us to use on Sundays during church)
Silly Bands and other cheap'o prizes that can be given away during Sunday School or English classes
Craft materials (EXCEPT GLITTER!!! Glitter WILL BE THROWN AWAY!!! It´s messy and gets out of control) (We use the materials with the kids during the week)
Anything  in the theme of princesses...I am starting a new ministry with the girls ages 8-11 on their identity as princesses in the kingdom of God...anything princess related would be AWESOME!!!!! Crowns, play jewelry, princess pencils, trinkets, etc!!!!!
Beef jerky. You cannot get it here and the guys go NUTS for it!!

Prayer needs

Prayer update:

Pray for the continued growth of the new church.

Pray for a Tico (native) pastor.

Pray for workers for the harvest.

Pray for our teens that they would continue to stand strong against the temptation of drugs and alcohol.

Pray for sexual purity in Anonos, specifically among the youngest generations and the teens.

Pray for the addicts that they would be freed from their addictions.

Pray against the violence that is happening in the community.

Pray for healing miracles, specifically quick healing from wounds

If this sounds like a lot, would you commit to praying specifically for one or two of these areas?



Featured Profile: Maria Antonia

Name: Maria Antonia
Age: 45-years-old (I asked, she said it's okay to put on here)
Bithday: December 6
How many kids do you have? Four. They all live around here.
Favorite color: blue
Favorite food: rice and beans and pork chops
Favorite singer: Enrique Iglesias
Favorite day of the week: Saturday. Because I can rest and relax.

Maria and David cooking for the Will and Jessica's wedding

Where have you lived? I was born in Guanacaste. I lived there until I was 25 and then I moved to Pavas. I moved to Anonos about 16 years ago.
Why do you like living here? I'm used to the climate here. I'm just used to it.
What would you change about where you live? I wish there were more buses that would pass by.
If you could live any where else in the world, where would you live? In the States?
Any state in particular? No, just a states there.
What about where there's snow? Oh, no. I couldn't live there. It would be too cold. I would like to see the snow, to experience it once, but not to live. I would live some where not too cold and not to hot.
What about Michigan? No. Too cold.
What would you change about where you live? Having my own property. Owning the land.
What would you change about yourself? I would like to be a little heavier. I've alway sbeen too thin.
(Me) Wow, not too many women say that about themselves. (Maria) I know, but that's just how I've always been.
If you could change your name, would you? Well, I like the name Maria. But I don't like my second name, Antonia. I would change my second name to Alejandra.

How did you meet Rodney and Cindy? They came up to David's to visit him. About a year and a half ago. I think it was when he had his accident was the first time I met them.

What is your favorite part of going to church? Giving glory to God.

When did you become a Christian? When I was about 30 years old.

How has God changed your life? Wow, he's changed it a lot! I have more health, work and many more blessings.

What would you like to say to any groups that may come to Costa Rica? I would like to share more with them, get to know them better. And I would like to know more about God.

If you could have 3 wishes, what would they be?

1. To get married again.

2. To better my financial situation (more food, more money).

3. Blessings for my family.

If you could have any super power, like a super hero, what would you want? To be able to box. I used to box some, but only when I got mad. Now I would just like to box.

How can people pray for you? Pray when they can. Pray for my family. Pray that we would be more unified. Pray for our house. For blessing. And to know more about God.

If you could say anything to the world, what would you say? I would say the words of that new rap artist, Mecatelio or something like that...he's a druggie, you know. He smokes marijuana and all. But he says the truth in his song. He sings "para la violenica", "stop the violence". I think he's got it right there. Stop the violence. That's what I would say, too.

Fact versus reality

"I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” -Martin Luther King Jr

This is a quote that came out on facebook just after the news of bin Laden´s death was annouced world wide.  As this quote started circulating around the virtual world, it was received by many with ¨way to go¨, ¨touching statement¨, ¨too true¨, etc. etc., etc. I think many people whole heartedly agreed with what Martin Luther King Jr. said since he, an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader, is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world. He is most remembered for using nonviolent methods in seeking liberty of all people and is often presented as a heroic leader in the history of modern American liberalism. The only problem with this quote, however, is only part of it is from Martin Luther King. A girl named Jessica Dovey commented on what happened to bin Laden and followed it with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. Over time, as it was quickly posted and reposted, quotation marks were removed and left as stated. In truth it should read: "I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy." Jessica Dovey... "Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” -Martin Luther King Jr.

Here is another example to consider. This picture was also posted on facebook immediately after the Royal Wedding with many compliments like "Too funny, I bet the wedding couple didn't even know!" and "I wonder if the sisters planned it after the movie", or "Wow!! They really look the same!!" 

But in reality, this photo is also doctored. With a little research, it should look like this:

In both instances, with the quote and the picture, people were commenting as if what they were reading and seeing were truth. They were taking whatever they saw and attributing as reality. But the fact is, they were commenting on only elements of the truth.

Who said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand"? Many would say Abraham Lincoln, which is true, and in one of his most famous speeches, but the actual author of the quote is Jesus Christ (Matthew 12:25 and Mark 3:25) Or thinking that some where in the Bible it is written "God helps those who help themselves". It's not there!! (Not even in the Message!!!! And I did double check, just to make sure even this fact was straight.)

How often do we do this? We misquote all the time believing it as truth. We let others tell us things and believe them without checking them out for ourselves. How often are our eyes deceived by false images and our ears fooled by what others say?!? Just this past week we all saw how one man told the nations that the end of the world and judgment day would come about on May 21, 2011. Many, many people were completely conviced by "Biblical proof" that the end was nigh. And yet how many actually checked what the scriptures said for themselves? How many took what one man said and compared it to the actual Word? The same Word that says the following (this is the entire chapter of Matthew 24 taken from biblegateway.com)

Matthew 24

The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times

 ¹ Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. ² “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
 ³ As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
 ⁴ Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁵ For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. ⁶ You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁷ Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of birth pains.
   ⁹ “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. ¹⁰ At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, ¹¹ and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. ¹² Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³ but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
   ¹⁵ “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’^[a] spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— ¹⁶ then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷ Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. ¹⁸ Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. ¹⁹ How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! ²⁰ Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
   ²² “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. ²³ At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. ²⁴ For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, I have told you ahead of time.
   ²⁶ “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷ For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ²⁸ Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
   ²⁹ “Immediately after the distress of those days
   “‘the sun will be darkened,
   and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
   and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’^[b]
   30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth^[c] will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.^{[d] 31} And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
   ³² “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. ³³ Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it^[e] is near, right at the door. ³⁴ Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

The Day and Hour Unknown

    ³⁶ “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,^[f] but only the Father. ³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹ and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
   ⁴² “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. ⁴³ But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
   ⁴⁵ “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. ⁴⁷ Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ ⁴⁹ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. ⁵⁰ The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. ⁵¹ He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The point is, as a nation, as individuals, we need to wake up, to start asking again. In college, we were taught to research EVERYTHING (to the point of nausea at times), and then to quote our resources. We were taught to question, to research, and to learn. To struggle with ideas and theories. To accept some and reject others. But we often forget that when we get back into the "real world". I challenge you, and myself included, to start researching again. To start asking questions. When people "quote" other sources or give us "facts", instead of blindly accepting them, research them. Now a days it can be as quick as a google search. There are so many resources out there, it's pure laziness not to.

I pray that even as you read this, God will put a hunger in you for the truth. I pray that your hunger for truth will keep you from being deceived by the simple distractions of this world. I pray that you will know the truth and the truth will set you free and you will be free indeed.

Costa Rica Update

Just what goes on here in a week? Here's a basic run down of what's going on at Viña Anonos:

Monday (lunes):
Afternoon English classes with the kids and teens
Evening small group Bible study led by Julie at Rosa's in the Mangoes

Tuesday (martes):
English classes with Karen in the Mangoes
English with the teens (kids in the house to play)
Women's exercise with Julie at the Casa Nueva

Wednesday (miercoles):
English classes with the kids and teens
Evening small group Bible study led by Rodney (translated by Julie) at Fransica's house in the Mangoes
Evening small group Bible study led by Luis at David and Terri's house in the Mangoes

Thursday (jueves):
Evening women's Bible study with Elidey in the Casa Nueva
Evening in-depth Bible study "The Rock" with the older teens and 20-something's with Rodney in the Casa Nueva

Friday (viernes):
Women's exercise with Julie in the Casa Nueva
Youth Group (for ages 11+) in the Casa Nueva

Saturday (sabado):
Skateboarding ministry in the Planche with the skaters with Steve and Tito
Every other week, trip into the city to give away food to the homeless and pray for people in the streets
Prayer and worship nights in the Casa Nueva

Sunday (domingo):
Church in the morning with Sunday School for the kids

There is so much that is constantly going on in the house, around the community, and in the Casa Nueva that I feel like this "schedule" doesn't even begin to capture it all. This is such a bare bones reflection, but I feel it's important to share. Worship pracitices, guitar lessons, pastoral meetings, visiting and getting to know members of the community, and counseling drug addicts are only a few of the other things that go on here.  We are constantly making and strengthening connections with people in and around the community. As these groups continue to grow, pray for more workers!! Please pray for continued growth of the groups and with it a continued hunger for the Lord. Pray for these people as they seek God in breaking free from alcohol and drug addictions. There are other people who would like nighttime Bible studies, but we need more people to lead them!!! It is also our desire to train up locals to take over in ministry opportunities. People who have a passion for leading worship, teaching the children, discipling the youth, and making a difference for the Kingdom of God in Los Anonos!!!

New challenges have come up within the last few weeks, too, including an increase in drug crimes and violence in the community, the recent earthquake (which shook several already shaky shacks causing the people living there to panic and question their safety in any subsequent aftershocks), and continued uncertainty about whether or not the municipality is going to continue to remove houses from the community.

Last week I helped survey the community in coordination with Niños sin Fronteras (Children Without Borders, a nonprofit organization that provides free medical and clinical services to all children in the area free of cost). From the survey, results indicate people are most concerned about the river and the event that it could raise again this rainy season (causing flooding and damage) and the drug culture in the community. While I will write more about the results of this survey in my next post, please join me in pray for now about these two things: Change in the drug culture here and safety for the people against natural disasters.

Earthquake!!

Just lived through an earthquake!! Welcome to Costa Rica! Here´s the scoop from insidecostarica.com...

A 6.0 magnitude earthquake rocked Costa Rica  at 4:57pm Friday.

The quake was felt throughout the country with an epicentre in the area of the Tilaran, west of the Arenal Volcano, with a depth of 70 kilometres, lasting almost 20 seconds, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Centre:
World Data Center for Seismology, Denver.

The exact location is: 10.105°N, 84.261°W

Featured Profile: Randall

Randall Josue Castro Alvarez

Age: 19

Date of Birth: Some time in August. He refused to tell me because it's coming up. If the other guys know the date, on your birthday they will smash eggs on your head to "make you a cake"

Occupation: Student. Randall is studying at one of the institutos here for computer repair. He does some awesome computer graphics.

How long have you lived in Anonos? My whole life.

Favorite Bible verse: Psalm 72

Favorite color: Purple

Favorite song: Doesn't have one

Favorite Soccer team: Argentina

Favorite flavor at Pops: Piña Colada

Best part about living in Anonos: The people and the hearts of the people here.

Worst part about living in Anonos: The crime

If you could have three wishes, what would they be?

1. To see Cristo el Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

2. To have money to help people

3. To know the Bible better

When did you come to know the Lord? About 2 or 3 years ago.

How did you come to know the Lord? Through Rodney and Herman.

How has He changed your life? I feel like a different person. I really feel the Lord right now and He is speaking into my life. I am seeing Him answer my prayers. It's awesome!

What do you feel is God's plan for you life? To capture other people for God. Starting with people here in Anonos.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would you change? My mentality and

how I think about things of the world.

What is one of the most memorable times with a team? When the Mechanic Falls team was here this year, I went out to pray with Ben Jr. and some other people and some one accepted Christ in the Mangoes. It was so special. We also saw someone freed from a demon.

What is one of your favorite memories from Anonos? I remember playing Legos with Pipo when we were 3 or 4 years old. We have been friends our whole lives and I loved playing with him when we were kids.

If you could live any where in the world, where would you want to live? In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I would love to see the statue of Christ there.

If you could tell people in the States anything, what would you want to say to them?

Believe in Jesus more and more.

Life in a coloring book

So I was coloring with some of the little girls in the community the other day and ran across this picture in one of the coloring books. It struck such a resemblence to yours truely that I fought a little girl for the page and colored it for myself....(Ok, so I did embelish it just a weeeeeee bit....I added the shorts and goggles to make it look identical to me, but still, it bore a striking resemblence, don't you think????!!!)