Today I lunch I got to chat over Skype with my Pastor in Costa Rica!!!!!! We hadn't had any contact for a while, so it was really good to catch up a little bit. One of the first things he told me was that they were praying for me today. WOW! That's great! Thank God! We got each other up to date on some stuff-regarding my official acceptance and the church's connection with the LAM.
And good news! My church used to share it's building with a hardware store and now it can rent the whole thing and has the option to buy it!! That is so wonderful! They are starting to renovate the building to make the missions office-where I'll be working!!! Can you tell I'm a little excited? This is just incredible to me-to see things continue to unfold, one little step at a time. I have never been through anything like this before! It seems so much like a dream coming true! But I know it's not just a dream, it is part of God's awesome plan for my life.
And with that, good night! Come read again soon!
Friday, August 29, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Two God Stories
God story #1
I went to orientation with the Latin America Mission in late June. It was 10 days of a lot of stuff-lessons, songs, pictures, swimming and a sweet trip to the Everglades. Before orientation ended I was told that I was unofficially accepted as a missionary of the Latin America Mission (LAM). I was pumped to get my official acceptance and start the whole support raising process. I'm still pumped about the process, but I will openly admit I get a little nervous about it too. But I know this is an opportunity for God to really show Himself to me. I know that He wants me in Costa Rica. When He wants me there, He'll get me there. I know He will be faithful and provide for my every need.
So, orientation ended and I was the only LAM candidate that hadn't left yet. The LAM shares their building with a couple other ministries and I happened to be downstairs near one of them. I met a girl in the hallway who was super nice. She asked me if I was going to go on one of those missions trips and I told her yes. She said, "I want to support you monthly and pray for you! Send me a prayer letter!" I thought to myself, "Oh my goodness, my God is amazing! I haven't even left the office of the LAM or received my official acceptance and I already have someone who I barely know wanting to support me regularly!" I know The Lord is in control of this whole process. What a lesson in trust and faith!
God Story #2
So I'm working here in Grand Teton National Park. I have a little dorm room that has wifi. I appreciate it, though it is slow. However, most of the time I opt not to be in my room. Why would I when there is wifi in a big open lobby with monstrous picture windows of the Tetons? It almost seems wrong to have my face stuck in my computer when I could be absorbing the beauty of the mountains, but the computing must be done (and I mountain gaze regularly during my lunch break).
Anyway, one evening I was in the lobby on my computer, writing a Carrie Chronicle (if you don't know what that is or if you would like to receive it, please give me your e-mail). A couple came and sat near me. We got to talking and it turns out, they are Christians too! They took interest in my love for Costa Rica and what I will be doing there and they said-"We'd love to pray for you and support you!" I thought "Wow, God! What a divine appointment!" So, before I got my official acceptance (which was also my permission to start raising support) I had 2 separate incidences of people I just met wanting to support me! God is so good! I am looking forward to sharing even more stories about the people I meet and God's incredible provision!
Great is Thy Faithfulness, O God my Father.....
I went to orientation with the Latin America Mission in late June. It was 10 days of a lot of stuff-lessons, songs, pictures, swimming and a sweet trip to the Everglades. Before orientation ended I was told that I was unofficially accepted as a missionary of the Latin America Mission (LAM). I was pumped to get my official acceptance and start the whole support raising process. I'm still pumped about the process, but I will openly admit I get a little nervous about it too. But I know this is an opportunity for God to really show Himself to me. I know that He wants me in Costa Rica. When He wants me there, He'll get me there. I know He will be faithful and provide for my every need.
So, orientation ended and I was the only LAM candidate that hadn't left yet. The LAM shares their building with a couple other ministries and I happened to be downstairs near one of them. I met a girl in the hallway who was super nice. She asked me if I was going to go on one of those missions trips and I told her yes. She said, "I want to support you monthly and pray for you! Send me a prayer letter!" I thought to myself, "Oh my goodness, my God is amazing! I haven't even left the office of the LAM or received my official acceptance and I already have someone who I barely know wanting to support me regularly!" I know The Lord is in control of this whole process. What a lesson in trust and faith!
God Story #2
So I'm working here in Grand Teton National Park. I have a little dorm room that has wifi. I appreciate it, though it is slow. However, most of the time I opt not to be in my room. Why would I when there is wifi in a big open lobby with monstrous picture windows of the Tetons? It almost seems wrong to have my face stuck in my computer when I could be absorbing the beauty of the mountains, but the computing must be done (and I mountain gaze regularly during my lunch break).
Anyway, one evening I was in the lobby on my computer, writing a Carrie Chronicle (if you don't know what that is or if you would like to receive it, please give me your e-mail). A couple came and sat near me. We got to talking and it turns out, they are Christians too! They took interest in my love for Costa Rica and what I will be doing there and they said-"We'd love to pray for you and support you!" I thought "Wow, God! What a divine appointment!" So, before I got my official acceptance (which was also my permission to start raising support) I had 2 separate incidences of people I just met wanting to support me! God is so good! I am looking forward to sharing even more stories about the people I meet and God's incredible provision!
Great is Thy Faithfulness, O God my Father.....
Saturday, August 23, 2008
My Great Day
So, I was off on Monday-I have Sundays and Mondays off, which is pretty wonderful. Monday was the last day my friend and roomie April was going to be here. She left on Tuesday and it was very sad. But anyway-my wonderful day. My friend Luciano was off too, so we set off to adventure all through the day.
We started with a 7am float trip on the Snake River. Think white water rafting but slow and not dangerous and you don't have to do anything. You sit on a raft, listen to a guide spout facts and interesting stories, and enjoy the gorgeous view of the incredible Teton Mountain Range. It is an activity that is offered to the guests, but employees can go for free if there is space. SCORE!!! I love living in a national park and getting perks like that! Oh and we saw 5 bald eagles, a bison with two calves, a moose and her calf, white pelicans and (I'm going to butcher the spelling of this) meganser ducks.
After the float trip we had lunch and then went hiking to Bearpaw and Trapper lakes. It is about an 8 mile hike roundtrip that is flat and easy. It follows String Lake and Leigh Lake and has gorgeous views of the mountains! It was a wonderful time. We went faster than I thought we would (which often happens. Apparently I am a pretty speedy hiker. I don't go so fastI can't take it all in though), so we had time to have supper at Dornan's. Dornan's is a great pizza place right outside the park. All the pizza's are named after mountain peaks and all the ones I've had are spectacular!
We then met up with April and a few other friends and hiked to Phelps Lake (there are a lot of lakes around here) where they all went cliff jumping. There is a HUGE rock at the edge of the water and it is really deep there. So, it is very common for people to jump off the giant rock into the depths of the lake. Can you tell it's not my cup of tea? I am a total wuss!!! I'm not afraid of heights, but when it comes to jumping from high places I just can't do it.
So, after everyone but Luciano (who unfortunately has a cast on because he dislocated his wrist) and I (the wuss) jumped off the rock a couple times, we left. We got back to the car just as it was getting dark. And don't worry folks, we had lots of noise, headlamps/flashlights, and bear spray.
And wait-the day was not yet over! Yes, we headed from the far southern end of the park all the way up to the nothern end! (As in not very far from Yellowstone.) We went to Huckleberry Hotsprings-a place I had been wanting to go to ever since I first heard of it when I was here last summer. I had always wanted to go to real, natural hotsprings. Yeah, like, the hot water is there and you get in and relax. It was incredible. (Now if only they had jets...just kidding). April, Dan, Luciano and I were the only ones there, which was nice. I guess they can get pretty crowded sometimes. So, finally, after relaxing and enjoying the stars and moon, we headed back.
And that was my wonderful day. Jampacked full, but lots of fun. I will try to not make all blog entries this long, but I wanted to describe everything well to you. Hopefully pictures will come soon.
The End
We started with a 7am float trip on the Snake River. Think white water rafting but slow and not dangerous and you don't have to do anything. You sit on a raft, listen to a guide spout facts and interesting stories, and enjoy the gorgeous view of the incredible Teton Mountain Range. It is an activity that is offered to the guests, but employees can go for free if there is space. SCORE!!! I love living in a national park and getting perks like that! Oh and we saw 5 bald eagles, a bison with two calves, a moose and her calf, white pelicans and (I'm going to butcher the spelling of this) meganser ducks.
After the float trip we had lunch and then went hiking to Bearpaw and Trapper lakes. It is about an 8 mile hike roundtrip that is flat and easy. It follows String Lake and Leigh Lake and has gorgeous views of the mountains! It was a wonderful time. We went faster than I thought we would (which often happens. Apparently I am a pretty speedy hiker. I don't go so fastI can't take it all in though), so we had time to have supper at Dornan's. Dornan's is a great pizza place right outside the park. All the pizza's are named after mountain peaks and all the ones I've had are spectacular!
We then met up with April and a few other friends and hiked to Phelps Lake (there are a lot of lakes around here) where they all went cliff jumping. There is a HUGE rock at the edge of the water and it is really deep there. So, it is very common for people to jump off the giant rock into the depths of the lake. Can you tell it's not my cup of tea? I am a total wuss!!! I'm not afraid of heights, but when it comes to jumping from high places I just can't do it.
So, after everyone but Luciano (who unfortunately has a cast on because he dislocated his wrist) and I (the wuss) jumped off the rock a couple times, we left. We got back to the car just as it was getting dark. And don't worry folks, we had lots of noise, headlamps/flashlights, and bear spray.
And wait-the day was not yet over! Yes, we headed from the far southern end of the park all the way up to the nothern end! (As in not very far from Yellowstone.) We went to Huckleberry Hotsprings-a place I had been wanting to go to ever since I first heard of it when I was here last summer. I had always wanted to go to real, natural hotsprings. Yeah, like, the hot water is there and you get in and relax. It was incredible. (Now if only they had jets...just kidding). April, Dan, Luciano and I were the only ones there, which was nice. I guess they can get pretty crowded sometimes. So, finally, after relaxing and enjoying the stars and moon, we headed back.
And that was my wonderful day. Jampacked full, but lots of fun. I will try to not make all blog entries this long, but I wanted to describe everything well to you. Hopefully pictures will come soon.
The End
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Welcome to Carrie's Blog!
Hi!
Welcome to my blog! This is new to me, so thanks for your grace in this. I plan to update this every few days-letting you know what's up in my life. I am currently an appointee with the Latin America Mission and am working on this whole support raising process. I am going to have a lot of stuff on here. I hope to have some good stories, creative ideas for supporting me, and of course, some pictures!
It is late at night and no one is going to know that this post exists until I send out an e-mail with the link, so I will wrap this up. I'll just tell you I spent the day with my friend from Honduras (Luciano) and my wonderful parents in Yellowstone Nat'l Park and I just had the last 3 days off work. Life is good! But, tomorrow is back to work here in my current home sweet home-Grand Teton National Park.
And-why is this called "La gringa mas latina" and what on earth does that mean? God has given me a huge part for Latin America and its people and the church there. (Hence I am going to be a missionary in Costa Rica!!) I love speaking Spanish and being immersed in the culture. Several people have told me that I am the most "latina" (Latin American-ish) white girl from the US they have ever met, which in Spanish is "la gringa mas latina." So, there you have my blog title.
A quick other note-While I blog, I will talk about people-they tend to play a big role in my life. :-) I promise on my blog I will not say anything about you that will make you lose your job (or make me lose mine). If you are in a sensitive country and have already read this I'm sorry. I hope you don't come to any trouble. If you prefer to not exist in this public life of mine, please let me know. I'd rather you were a part of things but if you have a stalker, I sure don't want to make your life more miserable. But don't be scared. I won't share your life story (unless you tell me to). I just might mention you like I did Luciano. That's all. So, be at peace.
Ok, I'm going to bed now. Really. More to come! Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave me a comment or e-mail me at smithcj1@latinamericamission.org
May the grace and peace of the Lord be with you!
Welcome to my blog! This is new to me, so thanks for your grace in this. I plan to update this every few days-letting you know what's up in my life. I am currently an appointee with the Latin America Mission and am working on this whole support raising process. I am going to have a lot of stuff on here. I hope to have some good stories, creative ideas for supporting me, and of course, some pictures!
It is late at night and no one is going to know that this post exists until I send out an e-mail with the link, so I will wrap this up. I'll just tell you I spent the day with my friend from Honduras (Luciano) and my wonderful parents in Yellowstone Nat'l Park and I just had the last 3 days off work. Life is good! But, tomorrow is back to work here in my current home sweet home-Grand Teton National Park.
And-why is this called "La gringa mas latina" and what on earth does that mean? God has given me a huge part for Latin America and its people and the church there. (Hence I am going to be a missionary in Costa Rica!!) I love speaking Spanish and being immersed in the culture. Several people have told me that I am the most "latina" (Latin American-ish) white girl from the US they have ever met, which in Spanish is "la gringa mas latina." So, there you have my blog title.
A quick other note-While I blog, I will talk about people-they tend to play a big role in my life. :-) I promise on my blog I will not say anything about you that will make you lose your job (or make me lose mine). If you are in a sensitive country and have already read this I'm sorry. I hope you don't come to any trouble. If you prefer to not exist in this public life of mine, please let me know. I'd rather you were a part of things but if you have a stalker, I sure don't want to make your life more miserable. But don't be scared. I won't share your life story (unless you tell me to). I just might mention you like I did Luciano. That's all. So, be at peace.
Ok, I'm going to bed now. Really. More to come! Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave me a comment or e-mail me at smithcj1@latinamericamission.org
May the grace and peace of the Lord be with you!
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