Living la Vida Tica in the South : Joys of Life!!

"Let the JOY of the Lord be your strength." Nehemiah 8:10

This has been my favorite verse for many years now. I love this verse because it tells us that even when we aren't feeling joyful we just need to claim the joy of the Lord. His joy is always there and we just have to seek it to be our strength. A dear friend and many others have been praying this verse for me for many months now and I just want to thank you because the prayers are felt! The past few months have been very trying and extremely tough to push through each day. The past two weeks have been the first time I've felt like myself and have experienced joy for an extended amount of time in a long time! Praise God! He is so faithful and His unfailing love pursues!

Joys over the past month!

Caro's birthday party celebrating with Vida Joven and Young Life leaders! From right to left, Nicki (new year long intern), Jessie (my boss), Ali (YL International team mate), Caro (Vida Joven leader), and Sharon (Vida Joven Area Director and Capernaum). These women are such a blessing to my life!

Painting again!! I painted this horse for my house mom with all my new birthday gift paint supplies! I've missed painting and it brought me so much joy to be able to create this for Olga who LOVES horses!

Olga's 50th Birthday party!!! It was such a blast!! Olga, my host mom, had never had a birthday party so she decided she wanted a blow out party for her 50th and she did!! I spent the entire day decorating with the family and redecorating when the items fell apart, but it turned out beautiful! Her daughter created a lot of the decorations.

July, my tica sister, and I at the big bash!! We had such a wonderful time dancing and celebrating Olga's life! It was neat to see how many people she's impacted throughout her life. She is just an incredible woman for Christ.

Beauty of God's promises across the sky!! Enjoyed them with Lau one of our student leaders and YL kids. She's the girl who I spent my first week with constructing a roof. Lau is beautiful inside and out and really lives her life for the Lord. She cares deeply for her friends and classmates. She longs for them to know Real Love.

80's Club!! Enough Said!!

Escazu! Where I spend most of my time with YL and my team since they all live there! I pass this lovely creek frequently walking around town and love how in the middle of this big city God's creation still outshines all the busyness.

Nicki and Sydney finished language school!!! Celebrated by getting lunch and Pumpkin spice helado from the mercado with their teacher!

Weekend in Nica!! We are required to leave the country every 90 days so our interns Nicki and Sydney joined me to spend 3 nights in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. It was a wonderful weekend of relaxation and exploration! It was great to be able to really get to know these lovely ladies and share quality time together. They're my southern girls here and we love sharing sentiments about the south together! We're noticed often for our "Hey Yall!!" comments.

God's show me more than ever how FAITHful He is and how His LOVE is the only unfailing love where I can find HOPE. I hope you can find encouragement to seek joy in your life! In God's presence is the only place true joy is found no matter what our circumstances bring.