Divine Appointments: 23D & 9:03am

We wonder as Christians why we hear of our Lords miraculous hand moving in other peoples lives but we question where His hand is in our own. I have felt this many times in my life whether it was as a college student, traveling around the world, or doing the day to day of shopping, cleaning, and working. But, what happens when we actually start praying for God to MOVE, WORK, & CREATE in our lives? He does, and he wants to do abundantly more than we even ask him to. But just like the 5 loaves and 2 fish, we have to give him something to work with. Over the past four months now five months of not having a job or a home really, I have been giving my body, mind, and heart to the Lord. At times I have just had to throw myself on the ground praying for more of him and less of me. Other times he will keep me up all night in the spirit, tossing and turning for the burdens of my brothers and sisters in the Lord and not in the Lord. The best position we can be in as believers is on the ground! I do not want to exalt myself or think myself more highly than I ought because unfortunately the enemy wins when this happens in my life. I just wanted to share two stories of Gods faithfulness when we give him our 5 loaves and 2 fish.

23D.
From Costa Rica to Denver Colorado I was assigned 23D. Alright I can handle sitting in the back of the airplane without a reclining chair, but I cannot handle not sitting next to my husband. Instead of taking it out with the flight attendants I took it out with my husband. His response, chill out, will figure something out! Humble Pie met my face quicker than I would have liked, I was being a complete idiot and jerk about the whole thing. We boarded the plan and in seconds before I could even ask to switch seats with someone or ask the stewardess to help a sista out, I gave the Lord 23D because He had a greater plan than I did. For the next 5 hours I was ushered into divine conversations with a 22 year old girl who was just living in Costa Rica for 3 months. She grew up in the church her mom is a college pastor, but abusing her position in authority in the church and has left her relationship with her daughter broken and a mess. This girl next to me was hurting in more ways than one. She did not trust anyone in the church, anyone that was a "christian", and was receiving love in all the wrong places. I was sitting there amazed at how God loved this woman tremendously, and the fact that I was sitting next to her to encourage and love on her was a testament to his love. We talked, cried, laughed, and prayed together. It was truly a divine appoinment.

9:03am 9-6-2009
My time came. I called Marci at 9:03am in Anaheim. "Jennifer, you need to get her within the hour if you are going to see this happen." "What, are you seriouse!" "Yes, she just admitted 5 minutes ago and she is 9 centimeters dialated (I get the chills writing this)." My mom and I jumped in the car got to Kaiser Permanente in 20 minutes and we ran to Labor and Delivery. It was almost like I was having a little one or something, the urgency, you know? "Are you Jennifer?" Yes. "You need to put this rob on and go in that room quickly." I was there, Hi, thanks for letting me be here, and then 2 minutes later her water broke! Are you kidding me?? No, Marci the midwife, was counting and helping the mother breathe along with her husband. I thought I was literally in a yoga class because everyone was so calm! I mean this woman giving birth was unreal, right, so Marci said she is the 2% of women. I watched in utter amazement, my whole being welling up with astonishment, joy, fear, peace. I saw the head, we all saw the head. I just thought how is this hole going to get any bigger right? And why is the mother not moaning, screaming, anything (she was not on drugs either). I had the camera given to me by the husband the head was fully out, and the husband came in and pulled the rest of the body out with the help of the midwife (chills). The mother starting crying as she saw her beautiful beautiful child who just came into the world. I thought I was going to faint, I was so overwhelmed with joy my heart felt like it was going to jump out of me. And then it was over. 20 minutes later this little life entered this world and was being craddled by his mother. All I wanted to do was run into a corner and cry because God just let me witness this moment I had been praying for for 2 years. It happened, and my pappa was completely in control of orchestrating the whole beautiful moment that eternity stopped for to welcome this life into the world. So for those of you that know I have been going back and forth with pursuing nurse midwifery, I decided I am going to go for it I will never know until I try:)

So, you want God to work?? Give him your 5 loaves and 2 fish and He will do abundantly more than you ask.

Cultural transitions

San Vito, costa rica
I laugh, because one or both heads are cut off, always!
the trusty dirt bike took us on a 5 hour day trip
It is unbelievable how quickly an experience can escape you, the reality of being back to America has left me in a state of shock yet I haven't fully comprehended where I am at. I think part of me desperately desires to be back where the only thing that mattered in our lives was Jesus, one another, and the beautiful Tico's around us. Some how I have been spun out looking for a place to live, looking for a job, and trying to keep first thing first, which is Jesus. The weight of sin which so easily entangles weighs upon my body each day I wake up not knowing what today may look like. I am in need of my Savior even more today than yesterday. I know he has a plan for our lives, I know he has a purpose in this time of waiting, I know he see's me and cares deeply about my heart. Please pray for us, as the Lord leads us into another season of growing, changing, yearning, and seeking his Kindgom purposes here on earth.

Beautiful Cuervito

My students in Cuervito 

The Dance

Teaching

Jaqie

Freddy & Michael

Freddy was never without machete 

Enjoying Pipa 

She has the sweetest spirit 

Cuervito is the place where we stayed for the past month, population 100.  Cuervito has the most breathtaking views of all southern costa rica.  Our hearts left so full of gratitude, love, and anticipation as we walk towards the call to what is next in the Lord.  Our hearts had grown to love the caretaker and his family (they watch over the rentals) so it was a sad goodbye, especially because we could not fully communicate the love we had developed for them.  I (Jen) had the opportunity to choreograph 6 beautifully excited yet unsure Tico kids a hip hop/reggatone dance (they chose this)! It was awesome.  I felt like I got to bond with the kids and be apart of the community a little bit more.  It reminded me of how much I love dance and teaching dance to children.  Our last day in Cuervito the caregiver and his daughter Jaqie (above) took us on a horse back ride around the finca (farm).  We again were astonished by the beauty of the land as we ate coconuts, star fruit, oranges, and sweet peppers along the way.  We saw a sloth sleeping in the tree and captured the beautiful coastline! Cuervito will forever be imprinted in our minds for all it represented to us: Gods glory, the holy spirit, seeking the kingdom in our lives, patience and waiting, our marriage deepening in love, Freddy and his family, and rest in our sweet Savior.   Praise His name for He is living and active in and around us and throughout the world.  

Sounds

Rolling thunder, the constant pelting of our tin roof by gravity driven pellets of rain, , a choir of multitudes upon multitude of crickets, and every unthinkable six and eight legged creature you could imagine adding it’s piece the symphony, the bullfrogs filling in the tuba section, , the chainsaw felling another tree in the nearby farm, the macaws calling their lifelong partners at dusk , the squirrel monkeys squeaking at each other telling of danger or of the tree with the best fruit, dirtbikes motoring up and down the dirt roads carving down the slopes to the coast.  These are the sounds we hear in this peaceful place.  They are much different than, the phones ringing , freeways, ipods, t.v.’s, requests of bosses or clients, kids crying, dryer buzzing, school bells, or weird noises from our cars, but still there is a different sound.  It is much easier to quiet the “louder” sounds while in this jungle paradise, but there still are the sounds of my spirit, the questions, the fears, the doubts, the wonderings, the hopes, the dreams, the memories.  These quieter sounds aren’t drowned out by the “louder” sounds here,  in fact they’re multiplied, and it is in this state that I’m convinced of the need to listen to the sound of the Spirit of Christ, less I go insane.  Though I’ve proven deaf times over, I know His promises are true, to lead me into all Truth, to be counseled by Him, and for Him to pour the love of Christ over me.  The Psalmist seems to grasp this when he says, I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child is my soul within me.  The hunger and need for food is still there, but it is no longer the anxious cry for the milk of the mother, but the solid food of the calm expectation and hope of YHWH’s provision and answer.   Much of my reading here has been about men and women of the last 150yrs and the book of Acts that have fought through the sounds without and from within to find incredible transformation in the presence and power of the Counselor.  May we too be deaf to the world, and keen to the voice of the Spirit.

Michael's second blog entry 

Monos

squirrel monkeys 

Squirrel Monkeys are our latest neighbors.  In front of the house we have these tall trees with some sort of fruit that is about the size of a walnut.  Apparently the monkeys really enjoy this treat so they come and monkey around for a bit; jumping from tree to tree, gliding up the tallest branches, hanging from the limbs to taste this juicy treat.  It has been a lot of fun capturing the wild life here! Michael is usually the first to spot them as he is eager to capture every living thing in this jungle around us.  

We come home in a week, crazy how time fly's.  WE could not be more thankful for this month retreat the Lord has given us here.  It has been perfect in so many ways.  Our prayer is the work the Lord has started in us, he would continue as we come back to reality.  And our devotion to Abba would not dwindle because of earthly responsibilities.  I think of what Jesus said to Martha, "Why do you work for food that perishes, but for the food that does not perish but has eternal life?"  I have been asking myself this, how will things be different next time around? 

Some of my loves

God loves his children so much! And he delights in giving us the desires of our heart.  I am sitting on the porch watching a fresh rain come down from the infinite sky full of cumulus clouds floating across the great blue expanse.  The Oso Pennisula is to the left of me which is a dark silhoutted  land mass across the sea, popularly known as a national reserve where surfers and divers conjugate. Directly in front me is the gulf of Zancudo that is shaped like a crescent moon, this is probably one of the most popular areas for deep sea fishing.  The town is a mix of shanty beach shacks and million dollar vacation homes.  Below me, the caretaker and his family are cooling off in the pool after a sticky day of humidity and daily chores.  Michael sped off down the road to a little fishing town called Pilon where he will retrieve the fresh catch of the day for our dinner the next few nights.  I thought now would be an opportune time to reflect on a few of my loves or passions whatever you may call them, the Lord has lovingly let me indulge in while I have been in Costa Rica.

Cooking

i love using everything in its rawest form and here I get to do that! There is no trader joes where everything is pre-packaged.  Which I realize when you don't work or have anywhere to be it is not a problem at all! Beans can take up to 2 1/2 hours to cook and a fresh stew usually can take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours.  But it doesn't matter because you have all the time in the world.  I love the aroma of garlic and onion sautee'd in some olive oil with a pinch of oregono.  Some of my homemade happenings have been...

+hummus: garlic, tahini, garbonzo beans, olive oil, broth, garlic, and lemon

+tomato sauce: tomatoes, carrot, celerary, garlic, onion

+lentil & vegetable stew: lentils, carrots, onion, cilantro, potatoes, homemade broth, garlic, and curry powder

+salsa: tomato, radish, green & yellow onion, lemon, garlic & cilantro

+ceviche: char, lemon, tomato, onion, cilantro

+tortillas: super easy maize & water

reading

atleast 5 hours a day. For those of you that know me I love the idea of reading, growing in knowledge, hearing the stories of others lives, and being inspired, but I would rather be with people.  Here what a joy to actually finish an entire book.

 Some of my happenings...

+Enrique's Journey by Sonia Narizo

+Feel by Matthew Elliot

+The Son by E.L Towns

+Compilation of sermon & journals from John G. Lake

+The Bible: Ezra, Nehemiah, 2 Corthinians,  John, Acts, & Psalms 

Photography

The landscape here is breathtaking.  Everything from the mountains to the sea to the sunsets.  I have yet to really capture Tico culture as I am trying to not look as such an intruder, but soon enough this too shall come. 

His Glory

Psalm 104

Blessed the Lord oh my soul, Oh Lord my God you are very great!

You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment,

Stretching out the heavens as with a tent.

He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds as the chariots; He rides on the wings of the wind.  

He makes his messengers winds his ministers of flaming fire. 

May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works, who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke! 

I will sing praise to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.  May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.