Jungle Journey!

Hey Everyone----
So, we just got back from the the jungle in Shiroles, the Talamanca region, in the south of Costa Rica. Krysta, Aiyla and myself led a group of 22 college students from James Madison University in Virginia there for a week long trip. Overall, the trip went very smoothly and the team was amazing! We had great times of sharing in the morning devotions and evening meetings. And we got a lot of work done during the day. We mixed a TON of cement to help lay brick and a sidewalk. We also had quite a few people painting, helping with sanding and varnishing, as well as digging ditches and moving rocks for drainage ditches, as well as various other odd jobs. Even the Sharps (the missionaries down there that we work with) and the Costa Ricans we worked alongside commented on how much we got done and how well the team worked. In the afternoons, after we'd finished working for the day, we didn't have a VBS program but kids from the community would come to the compound to play soccer and other games with the team.

Although I've helped to lead trips like this a number of times, I still get a little nervous and anxious in the beginning and various times throughout the trip, BUT even more than that it confirms my heart for this exact thing. I LOVE being a part of facilitating these kinds of trips- taking away all of the things we worry about at home, such as technology, worrying about makeup, freaking out about wearing the same thing 3 days in a row, maybe not smelling the best all the time, either due to the massive amounts of sweat we produce in this time, clothes/towels not drying all the way because of the humidity or basically bathing in deet everyday. I love the stripping away of all of these things, and seeing people turn their attention away from themselves and learning what God is doing and wants to do in their lives. I LOVE being someone who can kind of host and help to guide people through this kind of experience and time, and then seeing them open up and allow God to work and mold them. And even as a leader and having done this kind of trip 8+ times now, its amazing to see how God still works in me, giving me fresh perspectives and new lessons to learn every time. I love it!

So, we saw the team off at the airport on Sunday and then headed back to our apartment. This, for me, has proved to be one of the more difficult parts. Its very different to finish a trip like that and not return home to family and friends and my home church and English speakers, but instead to just go back to our little apartment in Desamparados, minus the 22 others that we had just spent 24/7 with. Although, I may not seem like it, I like to be around other people, even if I'm not doing a lot of the talking, so saying goodbye to teams like this can be pretty rough. This is a huge factor in short-term missions, though- the teams have to leave and go back home and all- so, it's something I've dealt with in the past and will continue to have to deal with, so I just keep looking to God for the know-how on how to correctly maneuver my way through these kinds of feelings. So, please keep me in your prayers in regards to this. Thanks =)

In other news......my parents come this weekend! My dad will be part of the men's team heading out to the jungle for about a week, during which time my mom with be staying with us women folk! And after the men's trip, my dad and Dave Hansen will be staying a few extra days to hang out with me! Wellllll, and everyone else here too, i guess ; ) So, that is very exciting and I will let you all know how it goes. Also, tomorrow, we are going to meet with a pastor, who I may very likely be working with in programs with/through his church. Sooooo, I will also let you all know how that goes, as well!

After that entire novel that I basically wrote you, I will leave you with this- a video tour of our new apartment and a group picture of our amazing JMU jungle team! I hope you enjoy them! God bless!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHYhiVd9aTs