The peace...
of Christ has taken over me. I would have never thought that I would be sitting here
writing a blog, in August of 2015, from Costa Rica again. I told myself (and family and friends) that it would only be one year, then I'd be back in the states. Yet God had a different plan. And I am at peace with it.
I apologize for the lack of blogging in the
past 8 months, but a lot was going on.
During the 4th quarter of school here in Costa Rica, I was
also finishing up my master’s degree.
That required 45 hours of work from me, along with my full-time work I
was already expected to complete.
Thankfully, I made it through, and was still able to enjoy the end of
the school year with my precious students.
Towards the end of the school year last year, I was feeling
conflicted on what to do. I knew God had
called me here for a purpose, and yet I didn’t feel that my purpose was
completed here yet. My school had gone
through some changes, and I was unsure how I felt, but God kept speaking to me. As I prayed, I didn’t feel a calling to go
elsewhere, so I committed myself to another school year, and signed an
open-ended contract. One of the major
blessings that helped my decision to stay was the fact that the parents of my
students had actually petitioned to keep me for another year, and move up with
the kids to 3rd grade. I was
ecstatic! It had taken me almost a whole
quarter to build the relationships with the kids and the parents, and I was so
excited to be able to keep them for another year.
However, this summer, I was able to spend time back home in
Minnesota and Kansas, and oh do I miss life there. I miss my family, church, community, friends,
co-workers, and life in general. Yet, as
I said, I know God isn’t finished with me here yet. He has given me the strength, wisdom, and
power to complete His will for me in this season of life, and I’ll continue
doing that until He calls me back.
“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the
eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd
of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he
work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for
ever and ever. Amen.” – Hebrews 13:20-21
So, fast-forwarding to today, we have completed 3 weeks of
school so far, and I couldn’t be happier! God has definitely blessed me and equipped me to do work through Jesus Christ. It feels so good to have my students back, and to be challenging them in
3rd grade now. The school is
moving in a wonderful direction, including integrating language arts and social
studies. This has allowed me to use some
of my “expeditionary learning” experience in writing curriculum for language
arts. Although it is a lot more work, I
love teaching this way and am thrilled to be able to write this
curriculum.
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| La Finca- Iglesia Del Nazareno Poas |
I’m also at peace with being back in the beautiful country
of Costa Rica (although I have been
sick for about 2 weeks now, have computer issues, and haven't been to the beach...) On a positive note, I did to see my uncle
Dave, and hear him preach at La Finca- a Nazarene church up by Volcan Poas. I hadn’t been up there yet, so it was a great
chance to go up there, join him at church, and spend the afternoon at La Paz
Waterfall Gardens. It was an amazing display of God's creation for sure!
La Paz Waterfall Gardens
Today was a wonderful day spent with the Webbs and Carol as I explored a new church in a town nearby. I'm utterly grateful to have such wonderful people here willing to help me. The church in Tibas was great as I was getting to know Costa Rica, but I was lacking a strong community there. As I spent time in Kansas, and at my church, I realized how much I miss my community there. So one goal I have is to search for that here in Costa Rica. So be praying for me as I am looking for that.
Thanks for reading... I'm hoping to be able to keep up with this now that I have a little more free time on my hands!
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