I don’t know who wrote this, but I loved it!
“Emptiness Precedes Fullness. We cannot receive from God until we have empty hands. He who recognizes he has nothing to offer God will receive everything from God. Self must be done away with for Christ to be wanted.”
A friend commented yesterday that learning Spanish is like playing Catch Phrase or Taboo and I must say that I agree. The key is thinking of all the other ways to say things that use words that you do know to get around to the one word that you’re trying to get the person to guess. Life is constant word game.
Yesterday I was proud of myself because I told my host mom that my friend was moving in with our neighbors. And I didn’t have to say, she is moving in with the people who live in the house most close to us. Ha!
In other news. I HATE finding cheap flights. I’m terrible at it. Is this anyone’s skill that they could share with me some tips? I need to get to Cancun, Mexico for an area conference in October as cheaply as possible.
I know… don’t post for a week and then post twice in one day. Spread the love Shannon! But alas, this is when I had time.
Today I went to the artisan market with (from left to right) Abby, Taylor, and Hannah.
We had a blast shopping at the market, practicing Spanish with our new friend Juan Jose, getting bags and jewelry, eating taco bell and ice cream! One of my favorite Costa Rica things thusfar is Mango ice cream from Pops. Delicious!
Seriously, the market is a great way to practice Spanish. I have decided to try to be in class, studying, or speaking for 7ish hours a day. That could be reading, watching movies or TV, something to get Spanish in my head. This was great. Once the shop owners/taxi drivers/venders realize you’re trying to speak Spanish, they are so helpful. Even the ones who speak English will be patient to speak Spanish to help you. So… I guess we’ll just have to shop some more all in the name of learning :)
I haven’t written in a long time! Whoops…
This story just makes me laugh so I hope you’ll enjoy it. There is just so much humor that comes from not understanding a language. Last Thursday I was walking home and ran into my host mom at the store on the corner. We had a short conversation of which I understood these words: India, visitors, friend, buy, shirts. WHAT? First I thought she wanted me to go buy something for her at the store… but shirts? That doesn’t make sense. So… I kind of expected to come home to Indian friends visiting who of course I didn’t know. But nope. When I walk in there are authentic and beautiful Indian shirts and dresses all spread out the in the living room and friends and neighbors all looking at them. Kind of a like an Indian garb tupperware party! I still have no idea what is going on, but my host mom starts asking if I like things and are they pretty. Well yes… but pretty for me? Pretty for you? Would I wear them? Would they fit me? Do I need to buy something? Who is selling them? So many questions. Eventually she holds up a dress that I really like. I have no idea what size it is… nothing… but I like it. So I’m holding onto it I guess :) Then I figure out that my host mom is actually selling these items… still no idea what, but people are paying her… $20ish per item. Totally reasonable. So I buy this dress figuring if it doesn’t fit me it will fit something. I did turn down buying all the others items she suggested, b/c really… I don’t need them. But the dress is really pretty and miraculously fits! Its a little short, but I really like it.
I later find out my host mom used to own a clothing store and occasionally gets shipments from an old vendor. Ah… makes much more sense now. Kind of… :)
than being in a hug position with no one to hug.
Megan sent me a card today with a penguin on the front with his wings outstretched and inside it read the statement above. I loved it. And its true… I can’t think of many things that are worse than that.
I have had my days since being in Costa Rica that I felt like I was in a hug position (vulnerable and lonely) with no one to hug (no one who knows me). But by the grace of God those moments and days have been few and far between. He has blessed me abundantly with the women in my class and other friends at school. They don’t know me as well as people at home, how could they its been less than three weeks? But they want to know me and they listen to me and that is enough. What a blessing!
But more than people… God has been constantly reminding me that He is the one who knows me, who is my constant companion in life. He walks with me and hugs me and reassures me of my identity and His love for me.
There is a song that I have hated ever since I learned to play guitar. Light the Fire. If I taught you how to play guitar, you hate this song too. It has three chords, its super easy, and you can go home after lesson 1 able to play something! Perfect for the first lesson. By lesson 12 when we’re still playing it I want to pull my hair out. Needless to say, other than guitar lessons, I never sing this song by choice.
Guess what we sang in chapel today? You got it.
And yet… the words stuck out to me like they never have before. Read them while trying to remove the annoying melody from your head…
“I stand to praise you, but I fall on my knees. My spirit is willing, but my flesh is so week. I feel your arms around me as the power of your healing begins. Your spirit moves through me like a mighty rushing wind…. Make me whole. Lord you know where I’ve been. Light the fire in my heart again.”
I still don’t love the whole song :) But you get the point. This is my life. It reminds me of Isaiah falling on his face before the Lord crying Holy, Holy, Holy because he literally couldn’t stand in the face of the glory of the Father. Also my life… my spirit is willing, but my flesh and sin nature is so weak. I feel like Paul when he says, the things I don’t want to do, those are the things I keep on doing. And yet… the Lord pursues me with His forever “hug” and his healing hand and I know that I am being changed and made new and every growing in the likeness of His Son Jesus. Praise be to the Lord that He knows us – where we’ve been and where we are going- and yet sets His love on us and calls us sons and daughters.
I know its been less than three weeks, but it is still nice to have little reminders of home. I had heard that it takes mail 3 weeks to get here, so I haven’t been checking since I haven’t even been here three weeks. But today one of the other families from NC came and excitedly told me there was mail from Raleigh in the box and it was for me! We all love to see the name of our hometown :) So, I got three letters and I loved it! I went and checked immediately… so a HUGE thank you to my letter writing friends. You are amazing and made my day!
Today we celebrated the 4th of July at school with a team from the States who are here doing VBS for the missionary kids. We had hot dogs, played games, and it was great. I was mostly excited about the cupcakes with red white and blue sprinkles. I was so excited that I even ate the frosting (which I don’t normally eat)! :)
Every day here feels a little bit more like home. I am continuing to bond with my host family, so thank you to anyone who is praying for that. Today the two year old grand-daughter played with me for a long time and it was so fun! I’m thankful for all the Lord’s provisions of friends and my host family and little tastes of home!
"None but God can satisfy the longings of an immortal soul; that as the heart was made for Him, so He only can fill it." Richard Chenevix Trench
"Men are in a restless pursuit after satisfaction in earthly things. They will exhaust themselves in the deceitful delights of sin, and, finding them all to be vanity and emptiness, they will become very perplexed and disappointed. But they will continue their fruitless search. Though wearied, they still stagger forward under the influence of spiritual madness, and though there is no result to be reached except that of everlasting disappointment, yet they press forward. They have no forethought for their eternal state; the present hour absorbs them. They turn to another and another of earth's broken cisterns, hoping to find water where not a drop was ever discovered yet." Charles Spurgeon"Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. Isaiah 55:1-3 (ESV)
