Beginning of Outreach

Hey everyone!
Sorry for not posting earlier. Our outreach here has been jam-packed all the time, which is a great problem to have!  I'll try to give you a brief overview of the things we have done so far. I can't believe we have been here almost two weeks already.
Our flight arrived the morning of the 15th, and we came straight to the base here in San Jose. We were able to settle and rest that day and went to our first Spanish church service the next morning, which was fun because I could understand quite a bit of it! 
Our first week, we primarily worked with Homes of Hope (Casas de Esperanza), which is a ministry that builds homes for families in the slums and who are well-connected with a local church. We sanded down furniture multiple times and stained it, and then went to the actual sites where we dug holes and laid foundations for three homes. It was an amazing time even though it was several long days of manual labor. I really enjoyed it We also got to love on the kids there, perform some skits and dances, and do other ministry with them. It was so good and so rewarding to be with the kids.
This week we started with working with Freedom Streets, which is a ministry that helps gets prostitutes off the streets and gives them another way to make money, by making jewelry instead. We first sorted out food to give them, ranging from apples and beans to milk and tamales. Then we went and met with about 10 ladies, collected beautiful lanyards they had crafted, and handed out kits for them to make earrings. Later, we went to an orphanage for disabled kids, who are all cared for by nuns. It was a very sobering couple of hours. We just loved those kids in whatever way we could, whether it was feeding a baby or running our fingers through the hair of a paralyzed child. Our contact Steve said a lot of them were probably abused to the point of their severe disability. I can't help but cry at the thought that people do that to children. It breaks my heart. But through it all, seeing the sweet ladies who take care of all the kids was so inspiring. I have a tremendous amount of respect for their dedication to those kids and the Lord. What a ministry!
For Christmas, we were blessed to go to our contact's home, which was incredible. Steve and his family moved into a beautiful, new home one month ago, and they were already willing to host a wonderful Christmas lunch for about 30 people. It was an amazing day with a gorgeous view, light rain, and fellowship with my team. We also watched the extended version of the first Lord of the Rings. Classic YWAM holiday. 
Yesterday and today we have been doing work around the base, and tomorrow we go back to work with Homes of Hope! We are so excited to see the kids again because we spent so much time with them last week.
In everything that we have been doing, I feel so content. I am absolutely loving being here, and I just feel like I'm made for this. It's so awesome, and God has been doing so much in and through me and my team. Something God has been developing in my life is my hunger for the Word. It's crazy how much I want to read every single day. In the past, I'd always rather listen to sermons and whatnot, but I've caught the reading bug.  I love it. 
In closing, I have a request for prayer because after this, I'm pretty set on doing a School of Worship in Denver, which starts April 1st. It would give me enough time to go back to Cali, spend time with my family and friends, and raise some support before going back to Colorado for three months. So prayer and support would be much appreciated! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and lift my team up in prayer. You are the best.
Hope you all had a beautiful Christmas Day celebrating our Savior. In 2013, let's serve God better and more than we did this year!
God bless,
Lynelle

Outreach in 3 Days

Yes, it's real. I can't believe it, but I really do leave in three days.
Every Wednesday night we have "family night," and we talk about what's going on and just take time to fellowship with each other like a family. Last week we did a "giving night" during that time, where people pray and ask God to show them what to give away and who to give it to. I've heard insane stories of people giving away thousands of dollars and other stuff, but I couldn't wait to see what would come out of our own giving night. One girl decided to buy my friend Gabi a roundtrip ticket home so she could be with her family because her cousin had unexpectedly passed away the night before. It was so sweet. Another guy on staff gave his car away to someone else on staff, who had been praying for a car. Just a couple examples of many awesome, serious God moments. Family nights are usually 45 minutes to an hour, but this night took over three hours to complete.
Saturday, we had Lovefeast. We all dressed up fancy, had dinner, received special awards, and each room performed for everyone. My award was, "Most Likely to be a Disney Princess." Haha! :) My room did a boy band mash-up dance to the songs Bye Bye Bye, Quit Playing Games With My Heart, and One Thing. It was super fun :) The staff ended the night doing a dance to "Hot Cheetos and Takis," which is the most ridiculously catchy song I've ever heard. It was amazing! We have the best staff ever :)
So, Thursday we have to clean out our dorms and be completely packed up! My team will head down the mountain Friday afternoon and wait there until leaving for the airport at around 8 pm. We board around 11:30, and will arrive in Costa Rica early in the morning :) SOOO stoked.
Please pray for my team, for unity, health, traveling safety, prepared hearts, and wisdom for whatever we encounter during our time there. I have also completely lost my voice, so please pray for that specifically. Thank you so much!
Hopefully I'll still be able to post once a week or so. Love you all!
~LC

Outreach Prep Week

Last week was solely focused on preparing for outreach. As you can probably imagine, we were all SO excited to get started :)
We were each given a personal schedule so we would know when and where to be to learn the dramas and skits. I'm in six dramas, and they are all so special and unique.
Tuesday, we learned two dramas put to song. The first one is called "All the Poor and Powerless," and it is the product of a vision God gave to a staff member named Mary. It shows Jesus coming alongside broken people and showing them how to live the way He created us to. It's beautiful.
The second is "Facade." It shows the main character putting on different masks to hide who she really is because she is ashamed of what lies underneath. But then Jesus comes, breaks those masks from her face, and loves her for who she is.
That night, we did story time by the fire. Each student had learned two Bible stories by memory and told one in front of the group. It was really cool to see how people portrayed the stories differently even if they were repeated.
Wednesday, we had kids ministry! Mary taught us how to make balloon animals and showed us what else we would be taking with us in the kids ministry bags for outreach. After that, two girls and I learned a little skit also for kids ministry called "Smiles," which shows joy being spread around through smiles. :)
Thursday, we learned a really powerful drama called "Forgiveness." This one is so much fun because my whole team gets to participate, including my outreach leader, Lars. In this one, I play Satan, which is so much fun. Haha! It shows the main character being led by Christ as the beginning, but then he gets caught up in temptation, and I come in and lead him into a bunch of other things that of course don't fulfill him. He ends up getting mad at me and makes the run back for Jesus. But the temptations and I get to throw him to the ground and beat him up until Jesus steps in to take it for him. Then all the evil people fall to the ground at the end. It's so awesome!
After that, the girls on my team learned a dance called "Shackles." It's a lot of fun, really fast-paced, and we got a good two hour cardio workout while learning it. ;)
We learned our last skit on Friday called "Ragman." It's the oldest drama they have which shows the basic Gospel of Jesus taking away our hurts and sins to the cross and conquering death. Mary said this one never fails to be one of the most powerful dramas they have, and people get saved left and right.
The whole week was such a blast. We are continuing to grow as a team and hear from the Lord about outreach.
We leave in NINE days. How did that happen!? I think time speeds up when you join YWAM!
Thanks for keeping me and my team in your prayers!
Blessings,
Lynelle