How would you define the value of a pencil? To most North Americans they would probably say it is worth very little if next to nothing. There is no value in the pencil because it is cheap to replace and espeicially in public schools there seeems to be a never ending flow of pencils. People and children do not value pencils because they are not taught to value or take care of their supplies.

But here I can see that the children and people very much value even the smallest of materials, aka pencils. The life of a pencil in Costa Rica is longer than i've ever seen before. I saw the tinniest pencil the other day and it blew my mind that students would continue to use such a tiny pencil, when pencil's in the U.S. sometimes barely last a day before they are snapped in half or lost. Here Give Dignity uses 200 pencils in a year for all students and all classes. I went through over 500 pencils in a year for only 25 students in the U.S. 

When we are taught to value the little things, in turn we value the big things more. A pencil may seem insigificant to Americans who have so much, but to those who have little, they value their one pencil and take such great care of it until it is no longer usable. Do you take for granted the little things? Or do you value them and teach your children to also value those things?

It brings to mind the Bible verse, Luke 16:10, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.” 

This month has been filled with creating new English classes, helping with youth group, learning Spanish, building relationships, and a boarder run to Ecuador. I am currently helping to develop 4-6th grade and have taken these classes over, and I have also been creating a pre-intensive program and curriculum along with continuing to teach 1-3rd, and 7-8th grades. Youth group has been a blast and it has been fun to see the teenagers in a fun capacity as well as in the classroom. I have been working to develop my Spanish and while it isn't perfect, it is improving! Finally, I took a boarder run to Ecuador to refresh my tourist visa. 

God is constantly faithful and I am overwhelmed by how He is providing for me and I am also so thankful for all my friends and family who have supported me in so many ways. Community is so important. God is constant and faithful in even the little things.

Time truly flies! I can't believe it is already October and i've been in Costa Rica for 2 months! God has been so faithful to provide for me in every way and I love living life here. My co-workers are amazing and care so much about the children. They are also incredibly helpful to me and have guided me along this journey the past 2 months. 

Last Saturday October 7th, my church IBC (International Baptist Church) came to GiveDignity to do a kids program! It was so much fun and such a sweet time to talk about God and have some conversations with the children about Salvation. I am so very thankful for the amazing young adults group from IBC that I am apart of. They have also been a source of support and encouragement!

Classes have been busy, but also so much fun. One of the biggest blessings here is not dealing with difficult behavior in comparison to public schools in the U.S. My 1-3rd grade students have been showing progress in learning the alphabet and they are so curious and love playing and exploring with interactive activities. I have continued to work with my kids at Puente Educativo in 7-8th, as well as helping to develop the 7-8th grade and High School English programs at GiveDignity. It has been so fun getting to know the students and developing relationships with them. ​

Along with teaching classes in Costa Rica, I teach online classes a few days a week to children all over the world and I also work for Perception Funding online as an assistant to the web designer. These jobs are only a small part of my time, but I find great enjoyment in them and feel blessed God has provided me with some small ways to make some money.

As I go along in this journey it has just made me see what is important in life and really sacrifice everything to God. I count it a small cost that God has asked me to give up merely physical things moving here when Jesus sacrificed His LIFE so that we MIGHT have the opportunity to live. Jesus gives this gift, but we can still reject it. Imagine, he died without knowing if anyone would even accept His gift. He died to give merely the opportunity for salvation, the opportunity to live with Him forever in Heaven, the opportunity to escape death and hell. Yet, many reject it. What would you be willing to die for? Would you die for your house, car, money, phone…etc. Of course not. If I asked, “would you die for your phone if it was about to sink deep into the ocean?” Any rational person would without a doubt say no. However, ask a parent if they would die for their children and most would say yes. Do we have this same burden for the unsaved? Do we feel they are worth sacrificing ourselves, not necessarily physically, but being willing to sacrifice our time, money, resources, and comforts? Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Are we burdened enough with the fact that the unsaved will face hell if not for those who are willing to share the gospel and be the hands and feet of Jesus. He commands us to “Go into all the world and share the gospel” He doesn’t command us to change hearts, but rather to simply share. “If anyone wishes to come after Me,” he said, “he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25). I don’t say all these things to say physical comforts and possessions are wrong. But rather to ask, where is your heart? Is it connected to the physical or is it connected to the eternal? What are you willing to die for?

Through all the craziness it has been sometimes difficult to find rest and rejuvenation but God has been so faithful and the verse Matthew 11:28 comes to mind, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." God is our source of rest and we can cast all our cares, worries, and burdens on Him as He is faithful to pull us through. 

I have been doing a study through Revelation and while i've studied the book many times, it always brings to mind the fact that sharing the Gospel and reaching people for Jesus is so necessary. For the time is coming that Jesus will return and those who have not accepted Jesus will live a life of torment and hopelessness. Now is the time to give your cares and worries to God and to share about Jesus unashamedly for we do not know the hour He will return.  

​Have you ever prayed something like, "I will do anything you ask me to do God." But have you ever really meant it? What happens when God calls you to do something hard, unexpected, or out of your comfort zone? Will you still say yes to Him when it doesn't make sense to the world or even to yourself?  

The Bible says in Matthew 16:24, "Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'" Jesus is after everyone's heart. He is after full submission and reliance on Him. In our comfortable American lives it is so easy to not NEED Jesus in our everyday life. We don't normally have to pray for food, water, or shelter and thus our reliance upon God is rooted in the "bigger" things in life. We pray when we are thinking about a new job, a move, or entering into a relationship. But what would it look like if we had to depend on God for everyday life? Would we have a stronger connection with Him? Or would we feel abandoned by Him having in a struggle to get through life? I would argue that our connection with Jesus would be stronger if everyday we had to come to Jesus and rely upon Him for even simple things such as our daily bread. Jesus wants us to take up our cross daily. He wants us to rely on Him and trust that He is a good father and He will provide for us. It may not always be the way we expect, but He is working on our hearts. And at times He may not answer prayers in a way we may think but He is working to bring us into full submission with Him. When we rely on God, we commune with Him and spend time with Him. That is what God wants a relationship with each and every person. He loves us more than we could ever imagine and He wants us to accept that love that He displayed by dying on the cross. 

In Matthew 19:24 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Jesus wants us to follow Him with our whole heart and not seek after earthly treasures or possessions. Are you willing to give up whats most precious to you if God asked? I'm reminded of Abraham and Isaac and how He loved God so much that He was willing to sacrifice His only son out of obedience to God. I aspire to have the faith and trust in God that Abraham did; to rely on God in not only some areas of my life, but ALL areas of my life. 

In this same way, God has given me a passion for children and specifically he has given me a heart for underprivileged children or those that have experienced trauma. I started working with kids at a young age. At 10 years old I started babysitting, by 12 I was teaching kids in Sunday school and then at 19 I went on my first missions trip to Myanmar.  And since then, I have been to three countries on six different missions trips. Each time, God called me more out of my comfort zone and deeper with Him. While I love traveling, it is an entirely different thing to give up all that is familiar to you and fly to a different part of the world. But God burdened my heart for these children and their families in La Carpio and I gave up my life to seek after His plan.

I have now been in Costa Rica for a few days, which I have used to set up my life here by grocery shopping, figuring out transportation, and plugging into community here. Even routine tasks feel overwhelming and challenging. As with any move, the first few weeks are a blur and overwhelming as you try to get settled and unpack, but even more so when moving to a new country. I have a great support team here so far and the group of people I will be specifically working with are so sweet and considerate of me. I have been blessed by their generosity and helpfulness these first days. 

Yesterday, I had the first opportunity to go into La Carpio for the High School ESL class that I will be helping Jorge teach. For those who don't know what ESL is, it is English as Second Language. I have been trained in ESL methods and instruction for the past 4 years in Texas and I am very excited to use my expertise and talents to serve this ministry and ultimately God. While waiting for the class to start, I got to talk with several of the teenagers and I was very impressed by how much English they have learned from Jorge so far. I am very excited to be able to come along side him and support the program that he has taken so much time to already lay the foundation for here.  
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God works through us no matter if we are in the United States or another country. Continue to serve God, and love and witness to others even in the mundane things of life. But, if God calls you to do something unexpected, or if He calls you into a different life than you expected, will you answer?