Weird Girly Things I'm learning...

Not a whole lot of things have happened since I last blogged, except God has been teaching me some cool things. So, with my personality I love to have control of situations and know what is going on for the most part. I like spontaneous, but only if I can still do what I want to do. Selfish and self-centered? Yep. Just a bit. I also worry too much about my future and, let's just be real here, who I will marry. Coming to GAP I have had quite a bit of marriage prep courses... So it really gets a girl thinking. Another key thing about me, when I start liking a guy I fall fast and hard then eventually wake up and realize how ridiculous I had just been. All this being said I recently realized I have a problem. My problem is refusing to give things to God and taking them into my own hands and figuring it out on my own. You see, people have told me to "give your feelings for _________ to God." Every time I was ever told that I nodded my head and would say "Yeah, I'll do that" and not have a clue how to do that or even what that means. So this last week while I was struggling with giving my emotions up, again trying to figure out how to do it on my own, it hit me. The first step to giving things to God is sometimes letting Him show you how to give things up to Him. At this realization I called out to God to show me how to start this process, and guess what?! He answered with a big fat yes. I can only imagine His joy over knowing that I am finally getting the picture. The best part, that night I was already being tested. I guess He really wanted to see how serious I was about this new change. I'm not sure I passed with flying colors exactly, but getting through was so much easier with His help and calling out to Him in my weakness. So girls, moral of the story, when someone tells you "give your feelings for ______ to God" nod your head, smile, then PRAY. Tell God what you're feeling, thinking, that you need His help and just ask Him to give you a hand in how to figure it out. I promise He will, and you will feel a lot better about it! Eventually I started looking at John Doe as a buddy and it makes being around him less weird and tense (completely on my part). So give things to God and it will be easier to not care about what others, especially guys, think about you.

Love & Rockets
Allysa<3

Current Villa Life and Mission Trip to Nicaragua

Hey friends! Things are going great here in sunny Costa Rica. Spanish classes are going along and our Bible teacher taught his last class with us before leaving for Nicaragua. He and his wife and their two little boys will be leaving for the States in about two weeks. Things at the orphanage are going really good, the kids are really getting into the Bible stories we are doing with them! The last two weeks the oldest boy has been reading the Bible stories. Next week another boy is going to read as well! It is so exciting to see how God is working in their lives! One of the new boys does not seem to like the Bible stories though. Be praying for him that God will soften his heart, heal his hurt and really let us help and love on him. The interns for next year have been decided, I am so excited for them! Three girls, Marissa, Abby and Stacey and one guy, Zack. They are some really good friends of mine here and I am so excited God has put this together for them! With momma Sonya not coming back next year the four interns are going to have quite a few new responsibilities compared to past interns, so really keep them in your prayers as well. I’m not quite sure what is in store for me next year, but I know it’s going to be great! I think God still has things to teach me here before showing me what I need to do next year. I really want to serve somewhere but I’m not sure where. Last Monday morning we got up around 4 AM to leave by 5 AM so we could get to the border somewhat early. Fourteen hours we arrived at the camp we were staying at for the week. Tuesday morning we had a really good time to sit and read Bible until lunch. After lunch we had an hour of free time which we spent in the pool before the kids arrived. For three days we held a little two hour camp for kids who are supported by Compassion International. The kids showed up at 3 and we did different water games, shared testimonies, and sang songs before finishing in the pool. The pool time was probably the craziest part of the whole trip. You have about 100 kids in an Olympic sized pool all jumping in, climbing on you, begging you to swim with them, let’s just say we were ready for them to leave at 5 every day. Wednesday was different, we went to a town called Granada and took a water boat tour to “Monkey Island.” That was interesting… It was not quite what we were expecting, there were only four monkeys on this little rock with trees. When we got back to the main land we went into the town and took a carriage ride tour! It was really neat to see what all the old buildings were, the architecture in the town was so beautiful! We had a little bit of time to spend walking in the town to buy souvenirs and explore. So, here’s a tip if you’re ever here in Central America, do not ever take the bamboo flowers the kids make for you. Even if they say it’s free, it never is and they will follow you around begging for a dollar. You can try to give them the flower back and they will still say no and ask for money. I guess you learn something new every day. After that adventure we went back to the camp and ate lunch. We were looking forward to the pool because the kids wouldn’t come for two hours, or so we thought. As I was walking back to my cabin I heard the laughter of kids and thought to myself “Oh no, please let me be hearing things” but nope, the kids were definitely there two hours early. They were also planning on staying until five like all the other groups too. However, it was a really fun time with the kids! We started a whirlpool that turned into a conga line. The next day the kids came at 9 in the morning so we could have the afternoon to pack and rest before the long drive home. Last year when going back into Costa Rica it took them 5 hours at the border, sometimes the border patrol likes to give problems just because they can. This year it only took us two hours, which meant we were able to make it back to San Jose before 4 which is when traffic gets bad. We were expecting to be home super late but we were home around 3:30 in the afternoon. With that early arrival, Christy, Amy and I were able to go to my Bible teacher’s house and hang out with his wife Bekah and their two boys. John was in Dominican Republic teaching this week so I think Bekah was rather lonely, she said she missed us a lot. We missed them and it really made me think of how hard it’s going to be when they leave for good. So this is what is happening here in beautiful Costa Rica! We're getting really close to the end, keep us in your prayers that we may finish strong!
XOXO,
Allysa