Prayer Requests for 28 June - 3 July

Renacer

*Please continue to pray for our water shortage.

*That the government will give us permission to begin building on our new cabana.

The Girls

*PRAISE - Ibelda recovered well from her surgery! But, on Monday she ran away. (Read the post before this one for more info.)

*Laura - she has had a lot of medical concerns that has caused her to leave the program temporarily and stay with her mother. Her mother has to keep returning to the doctor's office because the medicines are causing issues. Pray for the doctor's wisdom to find out exactly what is going on with her body and how to best treat it. Also pray for her sobriety and that she can return back to our program.

Myself

*Pray for my older brother, Robie, who has lung cancer which was caught early but they still gave him a time of 5-8 years of life.

*Pray for me as I prepare for the team that is coming in from the states 5-15 of July.

Choices

We make choices daily that guide the direction of our life. Some choices we make seem minuscule such as what am I going to eat or wear today; while others can change the direction of our life.

My girls are dealing with some of these life changing choices on a daily basis. They have made the choice to leave their addiction filled life, do what they want when they want life, only look after myself life and do whatever it takes to care for me life. They made the choice to enter a life that is structured and filled with support and love for them. A life where they have to face all the hurt they stuffed way deep down inside and sealed it up to never be thought about again. A life, in which, they fight daily to remain sober and begin the change process. This is a daily and sometimes a moment by moment choice for them.

Sadly, some of the girls let a sporadic or festering thought of running away to overwhelm them and they throw this new life away for the old life. Monday three of our girls did just that. Yessani, who is 14 and has a 2 year old child, has been at Renacer for about 2 weeks and just wasn’t “buying into” this process. Marcela, who is 13 and has been here for 3 months, always seemed to struggle with staying. Yet, she really made some amazing changes and was well on her way to a new life.

Then there’s Ibleda. It shocked me the most that she ran away. She is 17 and comes from a pretty rough and very poor family. She had 5 months in the process of change and her changes were incredible! The shy, angry and resistant girl grew into a girl who accepted love, saw that she had what it took to change, began to grow in interest in the things of Christ, and even a physical change that was incredible. She just had her appendices taken out several weeks ago and recovered well. I was hanging out with her just earlier that morning and was herself yet just a few hours later she was gone.

Obviously, I wish these girls made a different choice but ultimately it’s their choice to make. So now all we can do is pray that the Lord will protect them and that they will not return back to the empty life of drugs, abuse and the street culture.

Tuesday, I did an initial interview with Ana Cristina, 14, in which we discuss her beliefs. She has been at Renacer for just over a month now and I thoroughly enjoy her. She has a desire to learn about who Jesus is and what He is all about. While we talked she expressed to me that she really has no belief and doesn’t even know if she believes that God, Jesus and the Devil actually exist.

I think she has a hope that He does exist but just doesn’t know. Instead of sitting back and doing nothing, she is making a choice to find out the truth and I get to be a tiny part of that. I am overwhelmed and yet very excited to help her discover the truth about our amazing God and Savior. Please be in prayer for her as she dives head first into this life changing journey.

Some Are Getting It!!!

Tuesday, I was teaching the Ester girls (2nd phase) on how to apply the Word of God to their lives. This was the third lesson in a series I was doing; the first two were - what is the Bible and how do we get to know the Bible. The girls are excited about this series and are enjoying it.

With every lesson they have to memorize a verse. They get a sticker if they memorize it during that week. This has been a hit! Who knew a sticker was such a motivation. Well, and that after 8 stickers they get a candy bar – that sure would get my attention. All nine girls have memorized each one and even I have. It’s been a good challenge for me to know these verses in Spanish.

We start out by reviewing their homework, which only a few might have even done it. Tuesday I didn’t really expect any one to have done it. I assigned 25 verses a day so that at the end of the week they would have read all of Psalms 119. I gave them a few questions to answer such as; what is the Word of God, what does it do for our lives, and how can they apply this to their lives. I was amazed that 4 of them did it! The truths they pulled out were awesome. It was such a beautiful sound!

Then we began our study. We talked through a simple tool on how to read the Word with purpose. Is there a promise to believe? Is there a sin to confess? Is there a command to obey? Is there an example to follow? And is there a stumbling block to avoid? I had them do a verse alone and then we discussed it. We did this for several verses. I was amazed at four of the girls’ responses. Their responses were deep and personal. They dug things out that were beautiful and how to apply it to their lives. I was excited to see them get it.

I can’t wait to see more of what God does! Please keep praying for these girls as they begin to learn to see the value of the Word of God for their lives.

Prayer Requests for 17-23 June

I am starting a new weekly post for my weekly prayer requests. I will only list 3 a week, unless something comes up. Will you enter the throne room of God with me and these requests?

(Also if you haven't done so already, you can sign up to have any new posts sent straight to your email so you won't miss out on a single one. Go to the left hand side, under my picture and sign up for them now. Then come back and enter God's throne room with me!) Thanks in advance for praying.

Renacer We have a serious shortage of water and are having to ration it. We normally work off of two large water tanks and we are down to the bottom of one and the other is empty. Please ask God to provide us with safe and clean water and plenty of it.

The Girls Ibelda had her appendix taken out on Tuesday and is now back at Renacer. Please ask God to provide a quick and healthy recovery.

Myself I have a lot on my plate right now with preparation for a team that is coming in July and also for returning back to the states for fundraising. Please ask God that I will use my time wisely, get everything in place and to trust in God's amazing provision.

In My Weakness, He is Strong!

Last Thursday, I started on the left foot (as they say here in Costa Rica in place of the wrong side of the bed). My alarm went off but somewhere in the snoozing process I turned it off instead of pushing snooze. Therefore, I woke up at 6:45am, when I have to leave my house at 7:10am to meet the van that takes us all to work. (I can’t call and say I will be 30 minutes late because then 5-10 other people would be 30 minutes late and the only other way of getting to work is an expensive cab ride.) That morning, I also had a heavy heart and wasn’t really excited about the day.

I had scheduled 5 individuals (spiritual counseling sessions) for the day and just didn’t have the strength to speak or process Spanish less alone counsel the girls. Thankfully, God knew my weakness and I had no other option but to rely on Him. I was relived when my boss told me I couldn’t work with 2 of the girls that day due to them having other individuals that same day.

I started off with Maria Isabel, a hyper 14 year old, who has been here for about 2 months. This was her first individual with me so we began with the basics of Christianity. When she came to Renacer she believed in God but really had nothing to do with Him and wasn’t interested in learning about Him. During our time together in the Bible studies her interest has grown and she has looked forward to Bible study! Praise God.

We reviewed the Roman Road and what Jesus did on the cross for us. Then I asked the crucial question, “Have you asked Jesus to be your savior?” She replied, “No, pero lo quiero.” (No, but I want Him.) I asked her if she wanted to pray her own prayer or if she wanted to repeat one after me. She surprised me and said she wanted to pray. It was so beautiful to hear her heart’s longing for Him and her words of asking Him to be her savior. Praise God! Please pray as she continues to grow in her new faith.

Later that day I had another individual with Grethel who has been at Renacer for almost 4 months or so. Our last conversation she stated she was not a Christian and wanted to do more searching into it. So I followed up with her.

First, there’s the forgiveness issue, that almost all the girls struggle with. “Can God really forgive me of all these sins I have committed? I did drugs, fought with people, hurt people, sold my body, and so much more. How can God forgive all of that?” Second, there’s the struggle of the old life of sin verses the new life of holiness that God gives us. She told me that she does want to be a Christian and wants Jesus as her savior but there are just some things she doesn’t want to have to give up. We spent a lot of time in these two topics.

Grethel is unsure of what to do next, but she is processing it and hopefully spending time with God on these things. In Bible study she pays close attention and has great insight. Please pray for her as she is sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading but stuck with the enticements of the world. Please pray for as she seeks God and a relationship with Him. Pray that she will find Him much more valuable than what the world can offer her.

At the end of that day all I could do was sit back and say “Thank you, God, that was all You. Thank you for making me weak and having to rely only on You. Thank you, that you have called such an unworthy person to have such an incredible job of sharing You with young, broken lives. Thank you, that I get to have a front row seat to Your work.”