Learning from Kids.

Hello Everyone:)


It has been quite a busy month! I definitely underestimate how hard it was going to be to balance school and ministry work, and it resulted in many late nights studies so I could catch up on my assignments... But God is good and faithful. I just finished two classes last week and have a few days off before the next one starts! 

I'm trying to cease every moment that I have left serving in the ministries here! Though it has been over 6 months, every now and then, I will still experience somethings that will break my heart and keep me sensitive to what is surrounds me. Not so long ago I came across a boy who left me astonished. 
This boy, who will be in third grade soon, could not write his own name. We were doing an activity and asked the kids to write their name so they'd recognize which craft were theirs. This boy stayed till every kid left to go get a snack, and I came and told him that when he finished his drawing and wrote his name, he could get a snack too. He just said, "I can't". I didn't get what he meant until I saw that he only had the first letter of his name and was holding his pencil looking at me, hesitant to write the next letter.
This little boy, who goes to school every day and will be in third grade so soon could not even write his own name. How sad, and yet, how accurately this represents their reality. 

God has blessed us with opportunities that lead us to attain a good education, job, community and much more. But how are we going to use those blessings that have been given to us to BLESS others? How can we reflect that compassion Jesus showed to those around Him? Compassion is not about feeling empathy or sorry about something or someone. True compassion leads us to action because their suffering becomes our suffering. 

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
— Mark 6:34
When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
— Matthew 14:13-14
This little boy made me reflect on such things...

_____

I have a little less than a month of serving! Please pray for the kids I interact with daily. That the love of Christ will be shown to them through my words and action. 
Please also pray for me as I process this past 6 months and prepare for what's to come!

I thank God for your support and prayers. It is something that lifts me up in difficult times:)

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First Week in CR

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Hello from Costa Rica! It has been a week since I arrived here and due to the difference of climate, schedule, and timezone, I got sick the next day I arrived but after I week, I feel like I finally got over jetlag and my sickness! This past week I visited the ministries that I'm going to be working with and it was a blast. So good to see so many familiar faces and meet new people as well. It's great to be working with the same people again. As for now, it seems as like I will be working with 3 different ministries. I will briefly explain about them below. As for now, I will explain what my week look like. Twice a week for half a day I serve at the Institute here in La Carpio (the building where I gave English classes last time I was here). There I help out with a Refugee Program with the families who have immigrated from Nicaragua recently. The other Ministry is called Las Gradas, a program that helps children by assisting them with their homework or providing aid for
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Ministry: Las Gradas

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Hello Everyone:) Thank you so much for your prayers. It is always so encouraging to know that there are people who are praying for me and the ministries here in Costa Rica. This week I will be sharing about one ministry in particular. As I said in the last post, I'm blessed to be able to serve in several ministries, one of them is called Las Gradas. The word Gradas means steps in Spanish. This is because the whole area is filled with steps so, in order to get from one place to the other, you have to climb these steps. In the picture below you can see the map of La Carpio. It's the biggest slum in Costa Rica and it is located between 2 polluted rivers. The line in the middle is the main street where the buses stop. La Carpio is divided into 9 sectors and Las Gradas is located in the Sector Roble Norte. From the main street, you have to go down the steps in order to get to Las Gradas. The building where the ministries are held is located by the river where people throw
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