The Costa Rica Mission: Preparing

I will be leaving for Costa Rica very soon so I thought I'd share some thoughts and some of the ways God has been preparing me to go. 

1. God has been teaching me to bathe my ministry and trip to Costa Rica in prayer. In the first chapter of Acts the apostles pray together over everything they do. They include God in their ministry and let him know what's going on. I know that seems silly, "Of course I'm including God in my ministry! That's what ministry is all about!" But I know so often, even though I'm doing something for God, I forget to let him be a part of it by putting it in his hands and asking for his help through prayer. So God has been reminding me to make him a part of Costa Rica and give it completely to him by praying about it! Acts 1:14 "They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers."
2. God showed me that "little guys can do big things too." In Acts 2, the apostles bring about 3000 people to Jesus in one day. That's huge! I think when people read the Bible they mistakenly think of the apostles as sorts of "superheros" of the Bible. But that's not the case. The apostles were just average people. There was nothing out of the ordinary about them. It was not by their own skill that they were able to do big things, it was through Jesus. So there is no reason that I can't do the exact same things they did. With the help of Jesus, I can bring 3000 people to Christ in one day too. After reading this, God reminded me that even though I'm small, through him I can do just as big of things as the apostles did. Acts 2:47 "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."
3. God has been showing me that if I step out in faith and follow him, he will provide. I had no idea how this summer would work out for me. I didn't know how long I'd be working, I didn't know when I'd be going to Costa Rica, I didn't know where the money for Costa Rica would come from, I didn't know how I'd get money to pay for school. But I raised more money than I needed to go to Costa Rica and I received an $8000 scholarship for school this next year. God has provided for me because I was faithful to his calling. He told me what to do and I followed and he took care of my needs. God is the provider.

So keep praying for me in this next week or so before Costa Rica. Pray that I will be brave and all anxiety will be gone from my heart. Pray for the people I am going to be working with, that God will go before me and prepare them and that they will be open to the gospel. Pray that I will be able to know when God is opening a door for me. And pray that God will be working in and through my ministry while in Costa Rica.

11 more days! =)