Nov/Dec 2008 Newsletter Link

Here is a link to my November/December 2008 newsletter. http://lifepointozark.com/media/pdf/2008-12_lovelandNews.pdf If you would like to receive these newsletters via email, please send me an email at sunshineloveland@gmail.com

I Want to Hear Your Voice!

What is official you might ask. Well I now have Skype set up on my computer and that means I can talk to anyone who also has Skype on their computer for free! YES for FREE! We can talk from two different countries for as long as we want without any charge! Now how wonderful is that?

So what do you need to do so we can talk? (If you don't already know.) Go to http://www.skype.com/ and download it for free. It doesn't take very long at all. My skype name is FunshineCR and it will get us together! I look forward to being in contact with the outside world again! I have already used it today and it works very well!

Let The Learning Begin...Again!

Last week I began language classes again. 16 weeks done of 45 weeks in total! It's great to be back in the swing of things and have a routine once again. Who knew that I would grow up and enjoy a routine. But I do. Yet I have found that classes this trimester will not be as "easy" as last trimester. (Though they were not exactly easy last trimester.)

I only have two classes this tri; 2 hours of grammar and 2 hours of language. I am being stretched as they are really focusing on the verbal aspect more and no so much writing this tri. Which is good since Spanish is spoken, but I'm a visual learner. Yet I am thankful for the way this will have to make me think on my feet and not try to picture everything I am trying to say.

Language class is going to be the one that I think will have so much homework every week. Every week has a theme; for example this week will be on the Catholic church. And every week we are required to have read an article (in Spanish) and present it in class; prepare a Bible study to give (right now only 10 minutes but will quickly become an hour long!); interview 5 Ticos about the theme ; memorize at least 5 words a day and so it continues. I do have to say I have some nervousness about the class and being able to learn and speak what I need to.

However, I am thankful and praise God for how He has been helping me to learn Spanish. Even today at church He helped me understand the teaching. It also helped the speaker spoke very clearly. But I love when He gives me His ability to hear His Word in Spanish, comprehend it, and the be able to apply it. The lesson today was also exactly what He and I have been talking about this week. Isn't God amazing!

Please pray that I will have good time management and be dedicated fully in learning Spanish. Pray that I will learn what it is I need to learn and be able to use it when I need to. Pray that I will do none of this is my strength or think it's my ability. For it's only through Christ's strength and His ability that I can even attempt to learn another language.

Thank you for all your prayers!

November/December 08 Newsletter

I have finally emailed out my Nov/Dec 08 Newsletter...a little late but better than never. I am going to try to see if there is a way to but them here on my blog but for now that's not the case. So if you are interested in receiving my monthly newsletters please send me an email at sunshineloveland@gmail.com stating so and I will put you on my list for next month's. My church has put a copy on their website of my October 08 newsletter so here is a link for that. http://www.lifepointozark.com/media/pdf/2008-10_lovelandNews.pdf

My 29th Birthday!

On 11 January I got the great privilege of entering into the final year of my 20's! Though I wasn't exactly that excited to turn 29 I was very excited to spend my first birthday at my favorite place in the whole world...the beach! It was incredible.

My friend Kim, who I was excited to spend more time with and get to know went and so did my new friend Nicole, who I had the honor of being her big sister for school and help her to adjust to life in Costa Rica. What a better way to adjust to life in Costa Rica than visiting the beach for the day! I was also blessed by so many birthday wishes and an amazing birthday video as well.

The day at Jaco Beach was perfect. It was bright, sunny, and hot the entire day and I finally used enough sunscreen to not even get a burnt this time, not even a slight bit of redness! I think I might finally have this using sunscreen thing down

Looking back over the 20's has been a journey that I can't even describe besides having God's protection all over me and His begging me to fall in love with Him. I started the 20's out rough and running as far away from God as I could with my involvement with partying, drugs, addictions of all sorts. It's amazing to remember that girl and even think that she was me.

Thankfully God rescued me yet again and called me to His work in missions and began transforming all my dirty, ugly, shameful, and embarrassing ashes for His amazing beauty full of redemption, glory, and honor. I still wonder why He has chosen me and would want to use a mess like me but thankfully He does. For that I am eternally grateful that He does not leave us where we are at but longs to take us into an incredible life and journey with Him as long as we are willing.

My prayer for this 29th year is that I will fall so so madly in love with Jesus. That I will run to Him, FIRST. That He will become my First Love and that I will truly see Him as my Husband. I want to be wholeheartedly and immediately obedient to even His softest leading. Please pray with me as this is my deepest desire.

Thanks to all who made my birthday a celebration of what God can do in a life.

I was all ready for this and finally got to bring my hat with me! Nicole's first beach experiance in Costa Rica and Kim, her first time to Jaco.

Just a beautiful view of the beach in the morning at low tide. Can you believe that all that sand would be covered by tons of water within several hours? You can see how far the wet sand comes up. It's quite amazing to see how quickly and how far the water rises at high tide. Where does all that water go to?

Some fun rocks that decorate the shores.

Perparing to say goodbye to the beach as the sun was heading toward the horizon.

Earthquake Update

I am safe and well. However there are many people who aren't safe or doing well that live very close to me. The earthquake was a 6.2, lasted for almost 55 seconds and was located by Volcan Poas, which is about 25 miles from me. There were 200 aftershocks within the first 40 minutes and continue to be a lot of them. Thankfully I haven't felt more than a couple of them. There have been at least three deaths, two of them children. There are many inquiries and a lot of destruction, especially where the landslides occurred.

Please pray for the people affected by this earthquake and who have lost their loved ones and/or homes. Pray for those who are injured and that they will recover. Also pray for the recovery and rebuilding of the areas destroyed. Thank you so much for your prayers.

Pray for Safety and Calmness

I just wanted to share a quick prayer request. We have been having some earthquakes these last two days and we just a few moments ago had a really strong and long one with tremors. The news is talking about the one yesterday was from the Volcano Poas which is about 45 minutes away from here. The big and long one we just had and the tremors now were centered in Cartago which is about 20 minutes away. Please pray for safety with what may be happening with Poas and also for our nerves. Pray also for the new students who just got here and are experiancing these things as well! Thank you for your prayers.

I'm Offically Legal!

About 5 months ago I began the application process for my student visa and had been awaiting to know if they would find me acceptable to stay in their country longer than 90 days. On Monday I found out they approved me and I should get my stamp in my passport next week sometime. Praise God! This way I don't have to leave the country every 90 days for 72 hours. I am allowed to stay until August now. YEAH!!!

My Two Homes

On 12 December 2008, I began my journey back home to Missouri early that morning. I was happy that I would see some of my dearest friends later that day. Yet I was almost nervous about going back to Missouri and could not imagine not being in Costa Rica. As my plane began to take off, the back wheels weren't off the runway yet, I began to cry! I realized I would be devastated if I did not get to come back to this country. This is when I realized God answered my prayer much quicker than I ever thought possible; to fall in love with Costa Rica and her people.

I made it safely back to Ozark, Missouri. I got to relax with my amazing friends, worship at LifePoint Church, visit with my friends, see a few of my kids I use to work with, and just celebrate life and what God has done so far in our lives together.

The thing that shocked me the most was how easy it was to get back in the groove of life (except life is so much more stressful and fast paced in MO and cold than what I had been used to.) It was also crazy to me how it almost felt as Costa Rica had been all a dream or I was living in a dream. I really began to get confused with which place is home. But I'm so blessed to have two places to call "home".

I am also blessed to have my "adoptive" family who have taken me in and treat me as if I was truly one of the family members. I am so grateful to God to provide such people in my life and grateful to those people for just being willing to love on me. I was thankful to have spent a great Christmas with all of them and then start New Year's with my beloved friends.

As the New Year began, I was quickly sadden to think about how I would once again say good-byes with not knowing when I would return again. I found myself excited to get back to my life in Costa Rica but even more sadden to leave. In fact I almost didn't want to leave. I found myself now unable to imagine life once again in Costa Rica and not be in Missouri. So wierd how that works.

Early Saturday morning of 3 January, I left to return to Costa Rica, after some semi-minor hassles at the airport. (No one told me about an embargo and my bag couldn't be overweight!) I was greeted in Houston with a nice surprise of having a friend on my flight, sitting right next to me. I also was able to meet up with my "little sister" (who I would show how to get around in San Jose.)

We got back and finally got off the plane as we were welcomed by the Costa Rican way of not really knowing what was going on. Our gate was taken by another plane and so we had to go to some "temporary pad" but we were still half way on the only landing strip at the airport! Even our pilot didn't know what was really going on and said he would give us more info when he found out what was going on. BUT we made it eventually after a bus ride and waiting for bags. It felt so great to be back.

The thing that felt the best (besides 80's and bright sun dancing on my skin) was that I felt like I was returning home from a vacation. Who would have thought. Thank you Jesus for allowing this to feel like home!

I have been nothing shy of being busy since returning. I have the privilege of helping new ILE students adjust to being here and that means being an interpreter. Thank you to Jesus that I really didn't lose much Spanish while I was gone for three weeks. I have enjoyed getting to know the new students and trying to get them out on the buses, show them the favorite spots, and just be someone there for them.

I am excited about the possibilities this trimester and can't wait to see what God will do in it all. I just want to be where He wants me and I feel that I am exactly there!