EASTER... ADOPTION

Holy Week. Passion Week. Easter Week. 

The week celebrated of our Savior's death and resurrection. Thankful...

The week that made our full adoption possible. 

ADOPTION was God's Plan A. I'm sure since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, He longed to have intimate relationships with His people again. He longed for them to be able to come boldly and confidently into His Presence. He longed to hold them personally and to give comfort to each one of us individually.  That was able to happen only because of the cross and His adoption of us! 

This week my heart has been really aching to just have Eric and Ziggy here.  To just be able to hug them and tell them how much we have already loved them.  To shower them with blessings and love and FAMILY.  We are getting close to getting our referrals - the actual pictures of them, their medical records, education info, etc! I check my email every few seconds to make sure I don't have an email titled "Referral" (I might pass out when I actually receive it). I am so anxious to see their faces, to know their stories, and to be their momma.  

I think I am feeling a small bit of what God was feeling for us before Jesus and the cross.  He couldn't wait to love on us personally through His Word and His Holy Spirit. He was passionately waiting to send His Son. He longed for us to be in His family so desperately He was willing to watch His Son die... so we could know Him. He wanted to be our Abba Daddy. 

Because of Jesus' sacrifice we can be adopted into the family of a loving and just God. But think about it...

⁴ But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. ⁶ Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” ⁷ So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
Galatians 4:4-7

Adoption is costly. We have been raising LOTS of money personally (and continue to do so) just to be able to get our kiddos. We used a lot of time, tears, and paper for the adoption of our boys to be processed. Our adoption into the family of God... cost Jesus His blood... His life.

Adoption rescues. Not that we are trying to save the world, but we will forever change the family tree of Eric and Ziggy. They will be taken from the status of ORPHAN and given a family. They will be rescued from the streets... where they would be sent after aging out of the orphanage... and placed into our home and family... a family overflowing with love. Jesus rescued us from eternal separation from Him, from sin, from ourselves.  He adopted us because of His great love for us... we needed a Savior. 

Adoption changes names. AHH!!! Our boys will have our last name!! That is the most awesome thing ever! Their complete identity will change... from having a last name of a family who left them to have the last name of their new, forever family!!! O YES! In the same way, when we are ADOPTED by our Father, our identity is completely changed! We go from slaves of sin to being legal sons of God! God, the Judge, has declared us so!!!! AMEN! We have new names in Him! We have new identity and worth and purpose and plans as sons and daughters of the living God! 

Just like Eric and Ziggy are our sons (although living miles apart), we are sons and daughters of the King of the Universe. We are heirs. We are deeply cared for. He longs to be gracious to us. He wants the best for us. He desires to talk with us, to spend time with us, and for us to run to Him and cry "Daddy!" 

I know what it is like waiting for an adoption to be final... and I'm sure during this week 2,000 years ago God was so anxious to hug His children tight! Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit in each believer... WE ARE ADOPTED! WE ARE SIGNED, SEALED, and DELIVERED! 

cOsTa RiCaN sErViCeS

My last full post about Costa Rica I think. 

I just couldn't go on without saying something about the services that were held each night. I loved them...

Three of our fellas spoke at the services - Andrew, Matt, and Jacob.  They all did phenomenal. 

The services would begin with singing. Because many of us didn't know each others' languages we decided to sing 2 English songs, 2 Spanish songs, and 2 songs in Gyuami.  It was wonderful. It was a beautiful snapshot of heaven for me. 

Then, the speaker for the night would begin.

To give you a taste of what the first night's translation journey looked like, check out this video of Andrew:

 THIS IS MY FAVORITE STORY: After this chaotic and wonderful time, Anabeli asked if anyone wanted to accept Christ... BEATRICE (our interpreter) RAISED HER HAND!  She had felt God pursuing her and she was super curious about our faith and the reasons we were in Alta Mira.  She realized her need for a Savior and a Satisfier of her soul... She wanted Jesus!!!! We partied with her and our other NEW sister in Christ that night (pictured below).  Beatrice asked the hard questions over the remainder of the week... trying to figure out this new faith of hers. We were all excited to lend our ears and give our answers. She asked the WHY questions, the HOW questions, and the WHAT NOW questions. I'm thankful that she asked and that she cares about her faith.  So many times we just go to church... claiming we are Christians but never truly take ownership of our faith and embrace the reasons behind it and the difficult answers that are found in Scripture.  At the end of the week, I asked Beatrice why she become curious in Jesus... her answer was that she saw Him in our faith. She saw us having fun (as opposed to her previous thought that Christianity was boring) She saw us being free - not limited to a book of rules. She saw our joy and our love for each other. She wanted it! YES!!!! That's the point in it all! Our lives and love should scream JESUS to the world!!!!!! 

What is your life screaming? 

Thankful for one of the people living with us for the entire week... saw Jesus so vividly through our team.  So THANKFUL for Beatrice and her new relationship with an amazing Savior. So thankful I have a new sister and that her life is REDEEMED and SAVED! 

So amazed and grateful for our time in Costa Rica. 

Words can never say all that we experienced...

How awesome our God is...

how amazing our team was...

and all that we saw...

The fellas

ALL the ladies... including leaders and interpreters! 

This sums it all up:

ThE bOyS' pRoJeCt!

Onto the fellas! 

Here they are... sweating like CrAzY! 

Austin, Hunter, Matt, Jacob, Andrew, Will 

SO... the boys' project was kind of last minute addition to our agenda.  You have to understand that raising money for this trip was... hard... and a bit scary! The money wasn't coming in too quickly.  Some of us got a bit nervous that the money would never be raised.  Then, Laura (team leader) called and asked Jacob if he thought we would raise enough for the trip PLUS some construction plans.  Jacob was doubtful but told her if we were able to raise the money the guys would be happy to do the work.  OF COURSE... God showed up and showed off. We not only raised our trip money but more than enough for the construction too! HIP HIP HOORAY! So... the construction planning begin.

The boys THOUGHT they were going to be adding onto the church that was already there.  When we arrived in the village we learned that the building pictured here served as the pastor's house and the church was the outside area.  You can see the hill to the right and can imagine the run-off that accumulates in that area when it rains. In the rainy season (basically May-November) the church area would flood so bad they would have to cancel church.  So... the men of the village informed the fellas that they would not be building an addition to the current church... but building a brand new one!!!

This picture shows the flat area they were to build the church on.  This place was leveled by ONE man, a shovel, and a bucket!!! WHAT?!?!?!?! The fellas had NO idea what kind of men they would be working with at this point.  These men were INTENSE and could put Chuck Norris to shame ANYDAY... ANY TIME! But... the fellas noticed a problem... there was no wood. We brought up a chainsaw, nails, hammers, and roofing tin... but no wood. The men of the village already had a plan... the wood would come from the rainforest. DUH!

So... they trekked into the rain forest, cut down 2 MASSIVE trees (that the boys ran from as they fell), "Chainsaw man" cut up the trees, and the boys carried the wood out.  

Now... that explanation was really cute and seemingly easy... but that is far from actuality! "Chainsaw Man", as they called him (his real name was Eric... COOL HUH?) cut wood for countless hours the 3 days they worked on the church! I mean he was cutting rainforest trees with a CHAINSAW... NO OTHER POWER TOOLS!! He was a beast! 

The  beams that were cut were about 16 feet long and about 300 pounds each! The boys carried each and every post through the rainforest, on a trail that was definitely less traveled on!!! This 'trail' was about 3 inches wide and winding INTO THE RAINFOREST!!!!! It was CRAZY! 

I think this is how all the boys felt when they saw what they were doing! HAHA!

BUT... they did it... JOYFULLY!  

They brought wood down countless times each day... but they smiled after they set down the wood and could breath again.  They knew that there was no way they were continuing in their own strength and joy... only Jesus could do that!

Let me take this time to tell you about Tony... the man in the red shirt. I think he ministered and showed more to the boys than the boys can even tell.  Tony was about 5'2... and easily the strongest man we had ever met. He was so intelligent. He mapped out the entire church building plan himself and was the leader of the construction.  Tony also let the boys stay in his home. The boys took over and hung hammocks in his house (hoping it wouldn't fall down). The boys were a little uncomfortable in their hammocks... missing the softness of their beds and may have complained a bit.  About the time they settled in for the first night's sleep... Tony and his family (wife and 6 kids) came in with potato sacks and laid down on the floor.  Every night... this family slept together on a hard, wooden floor.... humbling. 

Another thing the boys were in awe of was Tony's relationship with the Lord. Tony was the first to wake up each morning, headed outside to sit on His porch, and spent HOURS reading the Bible and journaling!  Church was not just something he did or something he built... HE LIVED IT EVERYDAY! Tony... what a man! 

And the church started coming together. 

I loved coming back after each session with the women or the children and seeing more work done! 

Like I said earlier... despite the amazingly hard work they did each day, the fellas always had time to love on the kiddos! 

Thursday morning... this is what the church looked like.  We were to leave Thursday afternoon... we were a little nervous it wasn't going to get done! It lacked several beams and an entire roof. 

But... of course... when we walked up from our time with the ladies... THE CHURCH WAS COMPLETED!!! 

Proud... and tired men. 

So... now church will not be canceled on account of rain! 

I loved the boys' perspective - although they weren't directly preaching or teaching people with their words, they were building a place where TRUTH and God's love will be preached for years to come.  The message will reach 100's more in Alta Mira because of their work! 

The church. 

Our prayer is that the ENTIRE village, every single person, of Alta Mira would be saved. That they would all come to know the Lord and that the village would be radically changed for the glory of God. A BIG request for an even BIGGER God.

The amazing pulpit built out of rainforest wood! This thing would be some bucks in the states! 

And check out the pews in the back! This church went from an area that could seat 15 people to a place that could seat 65!!! Go Jesus go! 

All for Jesus... all because of the cross.

It didn't matter about the language barrier or the culture differences... the cross tied us together! This is hanging in the church now. :) 

So proud of our boys and AMAZED at all the work they did! 

tHe GiRlS' mInIsTrIeS

On with the story...

I want to divide the posts in the different ministries we did... that will explain our trip in the best way I think! 

So... first up... the GIRLS' MINISTRIES! 

Here we are PLUS Tracy, the other leader! 

Caitlin, Kirsten, Haley, me, Stephanie, Tracy, Presley

READY TO DO WORK! 

Us girls focused on 2 main ministries - children and women! I have NEVER been more blessed AND STRETCHED in my life! To give you an overview of the people's hearts we were working with... we asked the children and the women on the first day we were with them if they had ever heard about Jesus.  VERY few raised their hands or acknowledged that they had.  Only a couple of the children knew John 3:16. They had never been exposed to the Bible stories we have grown up learning... including the cross of Jesus. They were hungry for some of Him! Look at this precious face!!!!! Anabelli made the kids close their eyes to get their jello snack... LOOK HOW EXCITED SHE IS!!! How could we not just want to love them like Jesus?  

Each day we shared a story, with a skit (HILARIOUS) with the kids, then fun songs and games, and finally snack. We chose to focus our days on Jesus and the cross, Jonah and the whale (Jonas y el GRAN PEZ!!!!!), and David and Goliath! The skits were hysterical! Anabelli PERFORMED/TOLD the stories while instructing us how to act them out! It was perfect.  It had everyone laughing... even the women of the village - which was a HUMONGOUS deal!!!! Before we knew of the construction of the church, we had planned for the boys to be involved in the children's ministry - for them to help with skits and playing and all that.  Well... God had other plans. So, the 6 of us girls were stretched and pushed to love and laugh and act with all of our might... without our counterparts' energy and involvement.  God was faithful and it was GLORIOUS! 

There were about 25 kids (I think) everyday who came to learn, play, and just see the white people. :) The little kiddos latched on immediately! There was no hesitation in them to love and to accept and to laugh and to play. BUT... we noticed... the older they got (especially the girls) the more the hesitation grew, the less they wanted to expose their smiles, and the more guarded they acted. I'm not sure when or why it changed... but it definitely foreshadowed what was to come with the women. 

Playing was a favorite of everyone.  My favorite sound all week - better than monkeys in the distance, locusts, parrots, and other rainforest sounds - was the laughter of these people... especially the kiddos. We did children's ministry in the afternoon... so to go from the women's ministry - which was hard... really hard... because of the initial lack of joy - to the children's ministry and hearing their laughter was PERFECT! 

I LOVED this little one - check out her hair!!! It's beyond awesome!!! She had super thick bangs that obviously got in her face.  So the remedy... put them on top of your head!!! DUH!!! I adore her... 

Here are the twins... the cutest sight ever.  They were 2 and you can't get more precious than them! Not only are their faces pinch-able... they were bow-legged and pot-bellied!!!! To see them just stand just melted your heart! But... do not be deceived... these boys can SMASH a soccer ball! 

This is Carlita... but we preferred to call her La Mono!! She was a MONKEY! She climbed people! At ANY given time you could look around and Carlita would be in the arms of someone on our team! Many times you didn't even have to pick her up... she would literally climb you... and then swing from person to person!!! It was HILARIOUS! But... who would really want to put her down anyways??? 

Here's some pictures from our skits and more of the kiddos...

And... although the boys were EXHAUSTED each afternoon... they made it a point to love on those kids. 

NOW THE WOMEN... Oh, my heart!!!! 

The moment I found out we were going to be doing women's Bible study while we were in the village... I couldn't stop thinking about it. I had NO idea what it would look like or if the women would even be accepting of us. BUT... as with everything else on our trip. GOD DID IMMEASURABLY MORE! 

Waiting for the women...

This was a picture on the first day we met the women.  They were beautiful... they really were, but my heart ached for them.  The women are expected to cook, take care of their homes, and tend to the children all day everyday. We found out that the women never met together... only say each other in passing or at events.  I can't imagine not having encouragement and love from other women... and... I have never met a group of people so guarded, no smiles, seemingly little joy, and a complete look of confusion when we told them we loved them... and that Jesus loved them.  We would hug them... and they wouldn't hug back. Some of us would keep on hugging them until they patted us back! haha! VICTORY! We didn't care if they just wanted the white girls to stop hugging them... at least they hugged back! The first morning we made really fancy Gospel bracelets with them.  The girls and the translators were working hard to make sure the concept of each bead was clearly understood by each woman. I, without a translator (haha!), struggled through with a mixture of Spanglish and sign language (that's my go to when no one can understand me) explained/acted out the bracelet. MORE STRETCHING... more relying ONLY on Him to make my words my sense. 

That night... I just asked God to tell us what to do with the women... How could we get into their world? How could we love them in a way that would help them love us back? How could we show His love to them in the short time we had? HOW? 

Wash their feet...

Jesus washed the feet of His disciples to show why He came and the love He had for them.  So... we went by His example.  And... it proved to be the most precious, amazing, (I have no words that can describe)... time EVER! 

Most of the women didn't have shoes and walked EVERYWHERE they went. Their feet were calloused and unclean by the time they arrived to Bible study. Washing their feet, telling them about Jesus and His servant-love, and sharing our favorite verses/testimonies with them was so much more than I had imagined. 

LOVE.

We also gave them Love Letters from the Father (in SPANISH) after we finished washing their feet. It spoke of the promises of God and how much we absolutely LOVES us! They smile and nodded as we read them each statement.

Changes were beginning to take place. We saw smiles...

The last morning we told the entire story of Jesus and the cross.

We made simple, wooden crosses with each woman. They giggled at us and our crafting skills... you should see the amazing bracelets and bags they make! 

Before we left, Anabelli made each woman tell what the week meant to them.  I was thankful she did.  Sometimes you walk away from a mission trip not knowing the fruit of your words and your actions.  These women, who were strangers and statues before, told us we were welcomed there, they loved having us, they loved our stories, and they were encouraged.  Some of them said they heard about Jesus for the first time... and they really liked it. And we, in turn, got to share our hearts about what our time with them meant to us. We told them again and again how loved they were and that we absolutely cherished time with them. Tears were shed. HUGS WERE GIVEN... BOTH WAYS! One lady even learned how to say "I love you" in English so that she could tell us! These women will forever be in our hearts. I can't wait to run up that mountain (I gotta train first) next time to give all these ladies HUGE jump hugs!  Really... words cannot explain the transformations we saw from the first day to the last. They smiled. They enjoyed each others' company. I hope they learned the love of Jesus and that He is with them and sees them. He treasures them. 

These ladies are beautiful. I would LOVE to spend everyday with them... all up in their chores and their lives. This is where my heart is the fullest. 

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21