.little daylight.

tonight´s gonna be a good good night! no, really, God is grand. full of surprises, and constantly sharing his goodness, whispering into my mind "tranquila. i love you. i´m with you. i know this is going on, and i see you. tranquila" so he fills my life with good good life.

i´m safely in costa rica, staying once more at the ywam base in san josé. it was a bit of an adventure to get here in the first place, egged on by the base just having moved clear across town in the last week, so all of the phone & internet systems have been a bit off, so had some trouble on communicating my arrival dates, so after a few hours waiting for a ride, God blessed me with a nice taxi driver who knew of a safe hotel with internet near the airport, so i spent a good night there, hoping that people would be able to receive my email telling them of my current predicament, and one of the guys from the base was able to pick me up early this morning on an airport run to pick up one of the other girls from the Community Development school, and we arrived on-base around 9:30. God´s full of kindness!!

the new base is a chaotic, ecclectic, wonderful place full of potential. i´m writing at an internet café, so i won´t get much into the details, but i have a place to lay my head, and great people to spend my time with. blessings come in giant packages. thanks God! i´ll write more. but thanks all for praying. it was such a blessing to see so many of you during the 3 weeks home. i´ll write again soon. much love!

Please pray for the gathering at my house this afternoon. For good time together, for clarity of thought for me, for my ability at sharing. More than anything for our Papa to feel content to sit with us awhile, that it be a time to bring him glory and not simply to be a lovely picnic on a Saturday afternoon. Again, if you can come, do. 1pm at my house in La Mesa. And if you do come, please bring a beach chair, I realized today that this was another gap in my planning :). If you don't come with chair, not to worry, we'll find something, even if that something has you sitting contentedly on a blanket, in the sunshine, holding some fizzy pomegranate drink.

So... this might have been one of my favorite moments. Two of the little girls in the bunch are Tulio & Norelia's daughters, so we've known one another for 9-ish months from being at the YWAM base together, so when we had a chance to visit their home village for a change, it was grand to see them include us so readily into game time. The girls had shown me their game of jumping up and flinging yourself down on the ground again. My limbs being oh so much longer than theirs, that my feet kept quite in motion after they had landed & fallen into a fit of giggles at my clumsiness.

Before the gathering tomorrow, I wanted to make sure to share a few pictures of what I talked about in the last post. This first picture is in the village of Los Saltos in the Darien province. This is the seat of political power within the Embera people group of Panama. Most elected chiefs over the whole people group set up office here and retire here after their 5 year service. We spent a week traveling around to various villages in the Darien Province with Tulio Rosales as our guide (a passionate guy who is part of YWAM and longing to inject in his people group a sense of how God truly impacts and transforms not only individuals but a whole community). It was during this trip, and a handful of other communities that I was able to visit over the summer that I sensed God moving me to notice what a difference a change in worldview and expectations of that world can make in a community for health and life and vitality, or towards lethargy or fruitless striving.



The girls in the picture were some that would hang around our thatch-roof platform hut and giggle at our strange behavior and habits. The hut in the background was one that - in the name of progress- chose to add corrugated metal sides to the house which only made the heat a million times MORE unbearable. Tulio would shake his head so many times during our travels and say something like "if only my people would understand the value of the traditional ways of life, and seek to bring changes that would enhance their lives, not simply do their best to mimic the [majority group]." He taught me and all of us so much in regard to what God can do in a community if only we would apply what we know of his plans and purposes in the Bible. And he'd tease us to embrace our inner warrior as he'd let out a traditional Embera warrior cry, telling us that from so many generations removed from our warrior ancestors, we all needed guides who are closer to their roots. Thanks Tulio.

This next picture is one of a set of traditional houses in Tulio's village of Errebache. I think you'd like to see the website the photogenX team worked so hard on with Tulio to share his village with, well, everyone. So check this out.

so this was initially an email to send out to people, but knowing myself, i thought it would be best if i included it here too, to try and actually just get it out :) so many posts and emails get stuck in dusty corners of my mind. if you can come, please do!

So here goes the letter...

It’s late afternoon. The rain taps heavily against our thatch roof. Fifteen feet above ground, our round covered platform keeps us dry in the hours-long rain. Geckos chirp from the wooden beams. The heavy tropical heat has been lifted for a bit as the wind whips rain into our open-air house. We sit here on our sleeping mats, preparing our talk for the village gathering this evening, absent-mindedly slapping at mosquitos amidst the giggle of half a dozen children sitting at the top of the ladder, waiting to see what we’ll do next. I translate another question…

I’ve had the priviledge in the 3 months since the end of my Discipleship Training School with Youth With A Mission Panama to be a translator for YWAM, assist in marketing and all-around support for an international arts & cultural festival called Una Voz (one voice) (http://www.unavoz.net) held on July 18, and working alongside a photography Discipleship Training School from A Voice for the Voiceless (a human justice focused branch within YWAM) whose heart is to utilize their photography as a means to advocate for those who are suffering injustice, such as human trafficking, sexual slavery, child prostitution & pornography. For 2 months I had the priviledge of working alongside this group as they shared a passion for speaking up for those who are silenced, many times speaking to groups who dealt with heavy struggles facing silencing of their own. We were approached by so many people inspired to share their own stories and their desire to find ways to reach out to those outside of their sphere, discovering strength in the power of God to transform lives.

It’s been a busy summer! Something God has been growing in my mind and on my heart has been the need to learn more about community development. Something’s brewing on his mind about where he’d like me to serve him, and all I can see are the many people and circumstances he has brought up in the last 4 months highlighting his next moves. I graduated from San Diego State University with loads of details of development of children & families (my major) and have had so many questions in my mind as to how to walk with him with my field of study, and at times during my Discipleship Training School with Youth With a Mission this past spring wondered if maybe I had misheard God when choosing my major in college. He laughed, shaking his head slightly, “No, you ridiculous girl, I’ve been guiding you all along through a preparation pathway you could never anticipate. Just wait for it, I’ll let you know. Keep seeking me.” He would say this over and over.

Finally, he confirmed his upcoming plans for my walk with him. I will continue with Youth With A Mission, but this time I will be going to the San José, Costa Rica YWAM base, going through a school called Foundations of Community Development. After a little over 3 weeks in San Diego, I’ll be flying out September 23 to begin 6 months of training both in lecture and field practice, learning to meld my training in child & family development with the broader focus of the community, and the need to disciple a community and walk with them in applying biblical principles before any changes of expression of foundational worldview become lasting in a community.

Please pray with me that God would raise friends who will commit to long-term prayer and financial support, that I can raise the funds needed for the school while I am still in San Diego, and that I may be able to sell my car for a fair price.

I’d love to share more with you and hear about your lives as well. Those of you who are available, I will be hosting a get-together at my mom’s house on Saturday, September 19 at 1:00pm to share some more about what’s been going on and where I’m headed off to. Please let me know if you are able to come.

The details:

Saturday, September 19, 2009
1:00pm
La Mesa, CA
RSVP: 619.414.0582
If you are able to come, please bring a small side to share. I will be providing drinks and entertainment.

If you are not able to come, please pray for our time together, and be well. And send me an email or facebook message, I’d love to hear from you.