Yes ma’am you guessed it, this diet of rice and beans has got me fartin ( :
But I couldn’t care less because Im in Costa Rica !!!!! (However my bunkmates may have a different opinion on that)
An eventful 14 hour travel night lead us from Atlanta, to ft. Lauderdale, & finally to the beautiful land of pura vida (pure life)!!
Upon arrival at the airport, we hopped on a bus that lead us straight to home sweet home!! For the next three months I have the privilege of living at a base with all 47 of my squadmates (and a handful of squad leaders) and it is so AMAZING !!
Here are a few of the house rules:
- The shower time cuts off at 5 mins (and the water may or may not be freezing) hehe
- Don’t eat in your room or rats will crawl in your pocket and you will likely die (shoutout to Johnny on that one)
- Don’t throw used toilet paper in the potty, put it in the trash can (if you forget, the Lord will convict you and you will have to fish it out) (may or may not have happened a few times already)
- If you don’t shower in the morning, DONT TELL THE LOCALS… they will consider you disgusting and no tellin what they might do to you
- Check your bunkbed carefully for lizards before you get in it each night because you don’t wanna squish them ( I’ve already found three but secretly I love them and don’t mind cuddling with them at night )
- One bowl of cereal for breakfast, one small sandwich for lunch, and one plate of rice and beans for supper ( and praise the Lord for every bite !!)
- Most importantly love without limits, go out of your way to bless your teammates, leaders, and hosts, get up in the middle of the night to kill spiders for them, draw fake tattoos on their arms EVERY time they ask, encourage them in every situation, share your snacks and coffee ( this one is a struggle), and pray for them constantly.
Through every circumstance, I am constantly in awe of how blessed I am to be on this journey. Honestly, I feel so incredibly spoiled. I have a shower, a real bunkbed with sheets and a pillow on it, everyday I get food to eat & Im surrounded by people who love me and pray for me and lead me closer to the heart of the Father. And you should get a look at the view from our backyard, it takes my breath away every. single. day.
Being here feels so natural to me, my soul is refreshed. Im finally learning what my life is all about and falling deeper in love with Christ every day.
I am here first and foremost to seek and serve Him WHOLEHEARTEDLY, and secondly to seek out and serve those whom He loves most (which, is absolutely everyone !!)
Learning and knowing this truth has actually sparked a lot of questions in my heart…
- How in the world do I love all these people??
- What does it look like to chase You (Christ) wholeheartedly?
- Do I have it in me to live a life of service and humble myself to be a servant of the Kingdom?
As I wrestled with these questions and concepts,, one thing came to mind that settled it all for me…
More of Him and less of me.
Thats it.
I don’t have the capacity to love all the people I meet or even all my squamates, but Christ does.
I don’t have the humility to live a life of service, but Christ in me is teaching me how to have a servants heart.
I definitely don’t know what it looks like to seek him wholeheartedly, but through the trials and distractions, He is showing me how He can be found everywhere.
I don’t have all the answers and I never will, but the One who calls me His own, His princess, His bride, His friend…
HE DOES, HE CAN, & HE WILL !!!
I don’t have wifi most days, but please message me, or set up a FaceTime date, or “DM” me anything you have questions about (with regards to the world race, or personal stuff, or what you are cooking for dinner,, I wanna hear about all of it !!) I will get back to you whenever I take the hike up to the coffeehouse with wifi if its possible but know that I love you so much and I am so incredibly thankful for each and every one of you !! If I could, I would send you each your own lizard for your bed !!
PLEASE KEEP ME IN YOUR PRAYERS !! Specifically regarding health, (some of my squamates are pretty sick, so pray for them and safety for the rest of the squad). As well as for fundraising,, in order to stay out here I still need to raise about $3,000 so if you have it on your heart to give, please pray about it and know that it would help me tremendously !! PRAYER IS SO POWERFUL AND IT WORKS !!!
I love you all fiercely, Love Elyse
