The Big Picture in Detail

When you look at a tree, what do you see?  Is it the texture of the bark that catches your eye? Maybe you look at the shape of the leaves.  Sometimes it is the ants crawling over the roots that grap your attention.  If you are like me, you wouldn't see any of these things at first glance.  You would see the tree as a whole organism in relation to its surroundings. I look at things holistically.  But sometimes I miss the trees because I am looking at the forest.  God is helping me to see the trees a little more every day. 

One of the privileges I've had while here in Costa Rica is attending local worship services.  What I saw was quite different than the kind of church I have grown up in at home.  During the service all ages were singing, dancing and taking turns playing percussive instruments.  Everyone was part of the service.  I was even asked to share my testimony and something else with the congregation.  So I sang the only song I knew in Spanish. It shares how Jesus is our Rock, King and Savior.  What a meaningful opportunity.  

One of the services was part of a denominational conference.  I participated with a youth choir in leading a song during worship.  I was the only blode haired blue eyed one present, but I didn't mind.  All of God's children are the same. We know that we are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).  People from at least 5 different countries were present and we were all worshipping the Lord together.  Here I was experiencing the details of what the big picture will be like in heaven.  

In Revelation 7:9-12 we read 

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.  And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”

 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,  saying:

“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”

  (NIV) 

We cannot have this big picture at the end unless the details are present.  I was only witnessing 5 nations and maybe the same number of languages.  Can you imagine what it will be like on that day in heaven when all the details join together?  

The big picture is meaningfull but how much more meaningful is it when you know the value behind every detail?  It is our responsibility as disciples of Jesus Christ add the details.  If the big picture includes people from every nation, tribe and language those are the details to gather.  Jesus has all the authority and we have been given the task of bringing the details together.

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:19-20) - NIV

Living with New Lenses

C-O-S-T-A  R-I-C-A,  Costa Rica!!  I have been teaching here for about two weeks and I am learning so much. God has been showing me His costant provision and encouragement.  I will let you know now that I will not be able to include pictures in the blog posts I write here in Costa Rica.  When I get home I will have a post just with picutures and captions :) 

To start off, all my travels went well.  I got to sit next to wonderful people on the airplane and bus.  This was an answer to prayer.  Both were encouraging and they were willing to help me with my Spanish!  My Costa Rican host family is very nice and I am learning a lot from them.

The weather here is very humid since we live right off the Caribbean Sea.  This is the first time I have seen teal green water.  It is beautiful!  Most houses and buildings do not have air conditioning.  All of us survive with open windows and lots of fans.  The school where I am teaching is also this way.  There is only glass in some of the windows and the rest are open to the sea breeze. 

I didn't have too much time to transition between Wycliffe and teaching here in Costa Rica.  I got to spend two days with my family between the end of my Wycliffe experience and before this one.  I arrived late last Sunday night and jumped right into teaching an hour and a half lesson the next morning. Phew! 

Right now I am teaching at the lower level school.  This includes preschool through 3rd grade.  I am teaching classes in English language, grammer, spelling, reading and oral English skills.  I have been able to work with 1st-3rd grade.  I have worked with third graders before but first and second have been an adventure. God is giving me the patience and strength to work with them every day.   

I can see how God is working in my heart.  In the two weeks I have been here I haved gained an even greater passion for teaching, which I didn't think was possible.  God is teaching me to rely more on Him  and to let go of things that are pulling me down; things that don't really matter.   

The biggest change for me is my view of God's Word.  For two months I worked with Wycliffe Bible Translators.  Their whole mission is to show the importance of having God's Word in your heart language( this is the language you think, dream, and pray in).  However, it wasn't until I was here in a culture where English was not the national lanuguage that I realized the impact of this truth.  I read God's Word with news eyes.  I know that God understands me and I can understand Him. May God continue to speak to all of us in our heart language!  

Walking from Wycliffe into the World

It is hard to believe that this is my last day at Wycliffe!  These last two weeks have been fun filled and stretching.  First I participated in Wycliffe's summer day camp called "Around the World with Kate and Mack".  Every morning I got to lead at least 20 fourth and fifth graders through all sorts of interesting activities that challenged them to think globally. 

God showed me great room for growth by allowing a child with social difficulties to be a part of my group.  I realized my patience levels were not where I thought they were.  The first day was hard but by the end of the week this child made me smile.

God taught me about loving people even when they are different from us and especially hard to manage.  God gave me his love for this child even though it wasn't easy.  On the last day of camp we got to dress in cloths from around the world.  I represented China. 

That week I also got to eat dinner with Dan Moury and his family(from my home church).  I had a great time fellowshipping with them and being able to talk about home.   I found out that they too have pet chickens like my family!  I was glad to hold a chicken again :)

This last week was full of final meetings and a presentation about the project I have been working on with Alisa all summer.  In the busyness I still had the opportunity to work in the call center for a radio campaign Wycliffe was doing through Moody Radio.  I answered many calls and got to hear stories from donors.  It was encouraging to hear the stories from the other end of work being accomplished on the field.  I got to share one of the stories on air.  It was my radio debut :)   

The last few weeks have allowed me to meet and interact with interns from Wycliffe Associates .  I have enjoyed hearing their stories and learning how God brought them here to Orlando.   It is incredible to see how God brings people together from all over the United States to serve Him in this capacity.  

Though my time here at Wycliffe has come to a close, the journey is not over.  While here,  God opened the doors for me to live in Costa Rica and teach English there for a month.  I will be leaving on Sunday.  Each step of faith I took this summer has lead up to this jump in faith.  I am seeing how my job at Wycliffe has prepared me for this coming adventure. Each day God has been giving me a heart for the people living in Central America.  I appreciate your prayers as I lean on God and continue to seek His will for my life.   Stay tuned for... Costa Rica!