cOsTa RiCa!!!!!

Can I just say... 

I AM PUMPED ABOUT COSTA RICA!!!! 

We leave in one month and 2 days! That's nuts! I haven't talked about it much... because... honestly... I've been a little afraid of the trip. I have been fearful that we wouldn't raise the money, that I had no purpose in the trip, and that it wouldn't work out.  Gosh... I should learn the things I teach. In my head I knew God had it all under control... no problem for Him... but my heart had issues. 

BUT (isn't that a great word when you are talking about God working)... we had a meeting last night with the team... and OH WOW... God is so good. 

First... the money is coming in! We only have about $1,000 left to raise! That's it! That's huge considering at the beginning of January we were short about... $20,000! 

Second, my purpose issue... God totally slapped me in the face. We were talking about the schedule for the days we would be in the village (I'll explain in a bit), and guess what we get to do each morning! BIBLE STUDY WITH THE WOMEN!!! Yep! That is my heart and God is allowing us to do that first thing each morning! God knows me and He loves me and He knows exactly how to confirm that we are in the right place in personal ways.

Now... let me tell you where we are going and what we are doing.

We are going to a village on a mountain... Here's some info to give you some perspective:

*We have to hike 2 hours up a mountain in the rainforest after a 2 hour drive to the trail to even reach the village. We'll get to see toucans and monkeys on the path!!!! ...And we 'get to' carry backpacks up the mountain with all our junk in it... hmmm...
*The first time this tribe of people was reached with the Gospel was 2 years ago by a Swiss missionary.
*They do not truly know the concept of marriage - many of them just 'pair up' when they are 13-14 years old. 
*Many of the families have one man and many wives. The woman in the village feel very unloved and insignificant because of this.  Get this - God is going to use us to tell them and hopefully show them HOW MUCH they are loved by the King and Romancer of the universe!!! Yahoo! 
*The men work in the fields all day everyday and return back to the village each night.
*We have the privilege of leading youth Bible studies in the afternoons! This is exciting! We have the opportunity to talk with them about families - here on earth and the family of God! We get to speak truth into the next generation of leaders in the village!!! 
*There is a school in the village... aka a big enough building to fit all the children. 
*There is a church in the village.
*They have electricity and WIFI - I know we are just as surprised as you!
*We'll be sleeping in hammocks! We will wake up with chickens and horses staring at us.
*We get to play with beautiful kids in the afternoon!!!!!
*We MIGHT or might NOT get a shower. I'll be fine with my Baby Wipes! 

Now that you kind of know what we are going to be experiencing... HOW AWESOME IS THAT!?!? 

It's pretty hilarious because none of us really knew what we were signing up for... we just wanted to be used... so we said YES! 
We got to see some pictures of the village yesterday (our team leader went down last week to set up our trip and sent us some pics). It's beautiful and heart breaking. We are all so excited about going... and nervous because we have know idea what we are doing! 

PLEASE be in prayer for us.  There's so much to pray. Just pray for God to take over in every way. That lives are changed. That we are humble servants. That we love each other and the villagers well. I know our parents and family would want us to pray for safety... and please do... but pray most of all that God is gloried... whatever that means.  

I love our team... absolutely love them! God is so smart when He puts mission teams together! Check us out (I know they'll appreciate the great pics): 

Our Amazing Team: 

my hubs and leader man... Jacob

Matt

Haley & Hunter

Kirsten

Stephanie & Presley

Will

Me & Caitlin 

Andrew

Austin

If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God..
2 Corinthians 5:13

l.a.t.e.l.y.

lately... life has been crazy. it's been very busy... i could barely keep up.

Last week I had got to go to an interpreting conference for Troy in Charlotte, NC. I was wish some lovely ladies... and we were the bomb with technology.

While I was eating at swanky, yummy pizza places like this,

my husband was sitting in a tree like this

After a week in Charlotte, I was ready to be back home with these fellas :)

Our sis-in-law, Ashley, came down on Tuesday to do an Origami Owl jewelry party as a fundraiser to GET ERIC HOME! It was great! If you want to order online, just go to www.ashleymorgan.origamiowl.com and place your order! If you want the proceeds to go to Eric, when you put you name in the order put YOUR NAME/MORGAN so she knows it's for us! Here's cute pics from when some of the fam came down for the partay! 

In other news... we are still trucking along in the home study and adoption process, still making clocks, and still praying like a crazy woman for Eric... ready to get him home!

We are also planning a mission trip with our college students to COSTA RICA!!!! We are super excited, and a bit nervous about this!!! We have a super solid group growing - 12 total! Our college group has been digging into what it means to truly have faith... ACTIVE FAITH... and what it looks like to ACTIVELY BELIEVE GOD! So... some of them are putting their words to actions and heading to Costa Rica with us during Spring Break! That's March... not far away.  The nervousness comes in for me and Jacob when we stop looking UP to the Lord and look at the finances and realize we are raising money for an adoption... and now a mission trip! AHHH! Seems impossible. But... He who calls us is SO faithful... so we will trust and actively believe Him.  We are so excited about this trip.  We'll be traveling with Praying Pelican Missions again, with Laura, our same trip leader from Belize.  We will be going to a remote part of Costa Rica, hiking up a mountain to a village, staying with this community, ministering to whatever needs they have, and just enjoying God's work.  The first missionary made it to this tribe 8 years ago, and we are the first team to ever go work with them.  We have no idea what this trip is going to look like yet, but we are excited for this adventure! Please be in prayer for our team, the people in Costa Rica, that God would (as we know He will) miraculously raise all the funds, and that every step of this would be for His glory!

So, for everything in our life, more than ever before, we are believing God. I love Beth Moore... I think we are best friends... she just doesn't know it.  We are both pretty spastic and we both love Jesus a lot and I LOVE her Bible study "I'm Believe God." The 5 phrases from that book, called the Shield of Faith, have been my lifeline for the past 6 months.  Take them as truth... and they'll change your life. But - when you say it you have to say them in a high-pitched, excited, Elmo-y voice, count them off with your hands, and then bat your hand 3 times when you scream out "I'M BELIEVING GOD!" We do this every week at Bible study and college. Haha! They love it! So... let's practice:

SHIELD OF FAITH:
#1 God is who He says He is
#2 God can do what He says He can do
#3 I am who God says I am
#4 I can do all things through Christ
#5 God's Word is alive and active in me

I'M BELIEVING GOD! 

What are you believing Him for?