Ant hill.

I was at a tattoo parlor on Tuesday. No need to trip out... it wasn't for me, I was there for moral support and to give a free ride. My friend was getting a tattoo in Hebrew on her wrist that says "pray." It's absolutely beautiful and very inspiring. Her tattoo artist asked her about it, why she chose Hebrew, and why she chose the word pray. She told him that she is a Christian, and what a great reminder it will be to always pray. Her tattoo artist began to comment on his observation of the Hebrew God and how different the "Old Testament God" is from the "New Testament God." I chimed in that we serve the same God... our God never changes. He is and was and always will be the same. I think people can get so caught up in the misconception of an angry bitter Old Testament God.  In Bruce Almighty, Jim Carey describes God as "a mean kid sitting on an ant hill with a magnifying glass" waiting to burn off our "feelers" and watch us "squirm." I believe this is more or less how that tattoo artist sees God. I talked to him a little bit during the ink session. I understand where he was coming from. I understand that God's ways don't make sense in our minds but in the end, what it comes down to is that God is love. He is not mean, He is good and has always been that way. And here's a little reminder (in song form.)

And remember how Bruce all Mighty ends? Bruce completely changes his view of God after relationship with Him (and of course acquiring all of His powers. A little unorthodox, I know.) Bruce's life is forever changed, he is a happier man in the end and he even gets the girl.

Faultless.

On Sunday morning I went to church. On Monday morning I went to the dentist.


The service Sunday morning was on James 1:19-27. I enjoyed the service and the preacher gave a "good" sermon. In theory all sermons are "good"-- a sermon would only be deemed "bad" if the pastor were spitting blatant lies or the church goer was being convicted in an area they did not feel like being convicted in. No, I think it comes to is this: we call church services "good" IF we were actually paying attention. Allow me to share with you what stood out to me in the service that morning. The pastor reminded us that we are called to "live the Word." He quoted, "Many people mark their Bibles-- but don't let their Bibles mark them." Wow. So how do we "live the Word" and how do allow the Bible to "mark" us? Although there are probably a variety of ways, we can begin with our service. The Bible reminds us in James 1:27, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." The preacher edified and thanked the congregation for all they had done and all the ways that they had served in order to fulfill this mandate. He congratulated them on their many missions trips and successful ministries in Africa and all over the world. It made me cry. Just a little bit. This is where my heart is. I want to help kids for the rest of my life-- I want my life to be a ministry. I'm not exactly sure what it will look like-- but I know I want to look after those in distress and those in need.


Flash forward to Monday morning-- Dentist office
I was in the waiting room-- waiting-- and talking to the receptionist at the desk. She asked me if I was in college, a fair assumption given my age and culture. I told her what I had been doing and where, and she asked me about the conditions of where I had been working. She told me that she lacked any real desire to travel (and do missions) because she didn't want to see. She said she didn't think she could handle seeing people in dire need. I understand that it can be hard to face something so trying as poverty or starvation-- I've never seen starving babies face to face before. There's a lot out there that has yet to break my heart. But her comment made me sad. Because I realized that it is that mentality that prevents so many people from doing something. Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is what prevents us from practicing that true and holy, faultless religion that calls us to help those in need. I don't believe that everyone is called to be a missionary in a foreign country-- but I do believe that we are called to open our eyes and take our fingers out of our ears and listen and see the opportunities God has given us to help the less fortunate. And it starts with you.

Fashion.

.Since returning to Michigan, I have been very cold. Today it is 54°F in Petoskey, MI. In Costa Rica it's 80 degrees plus 84% relative humidity. Perhaps you can sympathize with my struggle to adjust. So I've walking around dressed a little something like this....

Who knows. Maybe I'll avoid frostbite and even make  fashion statement.

Culture shock.

I've been in the United States since Tuesday. It's been really hard to adjust so far. I'm having what is called "culture shock." Here is a list of a few things that have been making me trip out.
11. Cold weather-- very very cold weather
10. I can use my cell phone again-- and text.
9. How awesome Starbucks is.
8. When placing an order at a restaurant or coffee shop.... what language do I order in?
7. Multicolored Autumn leaves.
6. Country Music--yuck.
5. Hunting season is coming?
4. Liquid laundry detergent
3. Cable television.
2. Pumping gas at the station.
1. Remind me again where I'm supposed to put the toilet paper? 

Slideshow.

Part of my "homework" for my debrief time in Mexico was to make a slideshow of my time spent in Costa Rica. Enjoy!

Leaving.

I haven't updated my blog in quite sometime. I haven't felt like writing much lately. You see, I leave Costa Rica on Saturday and I'm not sure if I can think of much more than that. And I'd rather not think about it. But the approach of my departure is immanent and I regret to say that I started packing tonight. The only consolation I can find at the moment in jamming out to The Beatles on Youtube. Although I feel incapable of expressing my feelings-- the "bitter-sweetness" of leaving (oh how I hate that cliche)-- I will tell you the "plan" so you know what to expect and when. I will refer to it as "the plan" because I'm not sure if I'm ready to accept it. Saturday morning I leave Costa Rica-- the place that's been my home for the last several months. I will have to leave Jaco in the middle of the night Saturday in order to make it to San Jose for my 6:55 am flight. I will be traveling with Lisa who has been my side kick and friend since January. We arrive in San Diego, CA at 8:32 pm. We will be picked up and then drive across the border into Mexico. Did I mention I hate traveling? I will be spending ten days in Mexico visiting my friends, debriefing my time in Costa Rica with my school, picking up my things that I left there, and saying goodbye. On September 20th, I fly from San Diego to Detroit, Michigan. A few days later I plan on returning to my home town Petoskey. And that my friends is the plan for my departure from Costa Rica and my return to the Great Lake State. This is going to be a super hard time for me and please continue to pray for me. See you all soon.

Wash your mouth out with soap.

Every afternoon when I work at the ramp, a child always comes to me telling me all about a crisis that they are in. "He's not sharing." "He hit me." "He called me a ........"
When it comes to the "not sharing" crisis, I usually start by asking, "Did you ask him for it?" A lot of the times the crisis is resolved by just reminding the kids to ask each other to share and say "Por favor."
"He hit me," can usually be resolved by reassuring the kids that it was probably and accident or telling the offender that fighting and hitting is not allowed. At the ramp we have fun and play... we don't fight.
"He called me a....." is usually where I run into problems. Part of the problem is that I have only learned so many curse words in Spanish. They don't teach you those words in high school. Sometimes the problem is that I don't actually know when a child is using a "bad word." I can usually pick up on a verbal fight when I hear the phrase, "Your grandma!" Insulting someone's grandma is a pretty big offense. I have found that solving this crisis is a little more difficult for me. I often don't actually hear the insult and have to go of the word off the offended. And what do you say to that anyway? It stumps me a lot of the time. It's not like I can just haul them into the bathroom and wash their mouth out with soap. I hardly think that would solve the problem. I tell them that here, at the ramp, we don't talk like that. So I tell them that saying bad words is sin and that this place is a place where we glorify the name of the Lord. We glorify Him with our actions and words. If they can't do that, they cannot play at the ramp. 
A few weeks ago, a little boy says, "LIZZZZZZZZZZ! That girl gave me the finger!!!" I did not actually see this happen so I told him to calm down and remember that he was responsible for himself and his actions and to pay her no mind. I told him that he is not to give her the finger back because that's sin. He turned to me and asked, "So you never say bad words?" I told him that I honestly try not to. But in all honesty this morning I hit my elbow really hard and I said a bad word. I don't normally curse. Like I said, I honestly try not to. But it makes me think, I tell kids almost everyday to glorify the Lord in all their actions. But I think what it really comes down to in the end is this: Do I glorify the Lord in everything that I do?