.In the midst.

Sometimes in the midst of trials, you feel as if your head is under water. You continue slowly sinking-deeper and deeper, into despair. You can't gulp for air, no one is there beside you to pull you from drowning in the rushing rapids of life's troubles-or so it seems.
Do you realize that Jesus is by your side, "though the wind and waves beat against your faith?"*
All that's left to do is reach out to Him, rely completely on Jesus & He will rescue you.

You know, He is so good! He never gives us more than we can handle-because He IS our strength. God knows us intimately, so doesn't that mean that He knows, better than we ourselves, the heart issues we struggle with? God more than knows, and He has promised to be our strength in trials. Although we are tested through life's circumstances, there is a point where we must come to realize that the painful places we are at-so many times they are a tool in God's hand to shape and mold our character to be like Jesus.

Quite recently, a door was closed in my life that had seemed like it was the will of God. Well, the truth was I wanted it to be His will. But I had submitted it to Him- I asked that He would specifically shut the doors if it was not from Him. And it did-yet it was still hard. I had wanted it to work out, and since it didn't, it was a direct challenge to my will. I had a decision to make- would I praise God for demonstrating so clearly His will in my life? Or would I become upset and blame Him for circumstances being completely different than I had wanted or expected? I went to pray and read the Word of God- this is what I read when I opened the Bible:

Zechariah 13:7-9 (New International Version)

The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered

7 "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who is close to me!"
declares the LORD Almighty.
"Strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered,
and I will turn my hand against the little ones.

8 In the whole land," declares the LORD,
"two-thirds will be struck down and perish;
yet one-third will be left in it.

9 This third I will bring into the fire;
I will refine them like silver
and test them like gold.
They will call on my name
and I will answer them;
I will say, 'They are my people,'
and they will say, 'The LORD is our God.' "

In this life, I tend to see through my human perspective- I can only see where I'm at right now. I can't see past it to what God is teaching me and the flesh that He is pulling out of my very being. Being made into the image of Christ is so much more intensive than we ever bargain for when we commit our lives to serve the Lord. Yet, it is so worth it.

So many times I have cried out to the Lord in the midst of seemingly impossible circumstances, and many times more has He raised me up from the mire and set my feet upon a rock. He has brought restoration to very broken relationships, provision in times of need, and He has been my strength when I have all but lost hope. Truly can I say- Jehovah Jireh- My Provider- His grace IS sufficient for me.

*(Quotation: Lyrics from I Will Show You Love by Kendall Payne).

"This is no sacrifice-here's my life!"

So many times, I am surprised by the way that God comes. It is usually through seemingly simple avenues the He speaks to me. It's ironic, because most often the circumstances surrounding God's work would be completely meaningless to anyone but me. Which clearly illustrates the fact that God knows each one of us intimately-He not only grasps the complexities and variations of each individual's personality, He knows every swirl and brush stroke that comprises the very fiber of our being. He "knit" us together in our mother's womb. So many times I've read past that verse and thought-"oh how nice, God was involved in my creation-hmm cool," but if you meditate on that one word (knit), you begin to realize the immensity of the phrase. Knitting can't compare to an effortless work, such as breathing, that is controlled by our autonomous system. Knitting is an intricate art form, where the artisan must take care with each stitch and row, not to add or drop a single stitch. It's almost as if I can see God knitting me together and stopping to think about how He wants to form even one component of my being:


"Hmm, let's see here, let's look at Lysandra Elena- she will be administratively inclined, enjoy baking chocolate chip cookies, and love to gaze at my creation. She will seek Me out, though it be hard, but I will be her strength when she begins to despair. I will call her to a radically different way of life-To listen to & obey My voice, at any cost, because of the love that has been shed abroad in her heart by the work of the Holy Spirit."

And thus begins the story of how God used a girl, with all of her faults and imperfections, to glorify Himself. The title of this post is from a song entitled "No Sacrifice" by Jason Upton. What God has been searing into my heart is the truth that your level of commitment is directly correlated to your amount of sacrifice. In other words, if you are unwilling to sacrifice comfort for serving Christ, you are falling into mediocrity. I know-it stings a little, doesn't it? But at the same time, I see that specific truth at work in my own life.

How many times have I watched TV, facebooked, or just stayed in bed when I was called t0 get up, be still, and spend relaxed time with my Savior?? Too many. And through what God is calling me to now, I can see that He is so faithful. I have been praying about something that could be a very positive experience in many ways. Yet, when I honestly asked God His will, He said "No." Simple and to the point. Now, I have a choice; I can either seize this opportunity, and for me it would be sin, because I would be disobeying what God has commanded me. Or, I can sacrifice this opportunity, knowing full well that the promises God has given me will come to pass in His perfect timing, and the opportunities to come will far outweigh this present one I'm choosing to give up. I believe without a doubt that the reward for obeying, be it eternal or finite, will surpass any sorrow of heart in this present circumstance.

In closing, this is my earnest desire and intercession for you:

Colossians 1:9-14 (New King James Version)

Preeminence of Christ

9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood,^[a] the forgiveness of sins.

Footnotes:

1. Colossians 1:14 NU-Text and M-Text omit through His blood.

My God richly bless you, and may you see His hand at work in your life!!

Love,

Lysandra Elena

Beginning of the Beginning

Originally,
This was my Costa Rica blog. Now, I've decided to put my thoughts up, and more specifically what God is teaching me at any given time.

Well, I've reached a significant mark. I finished another semester of college! While working part-time at that! It is amazing just how much the physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion has begun to catch up with me. I've been going and going. Now I just want to get away from it all. I want to go on a retreat to the beautiful mountains of NC, with the Christmas tree fields and the birds singing, where the stars are clear, bright and shining. Where I'm reminded of my childhood home, in the country, and oh it was so beautiful. It also brings to mind when we went down into the Grand Canyon Arizona with our Jeep. On the way out, my mom turned off the lights and we just sat there, in awe of the in stars. Without the humidity, and light pollution, you could see all of the constellations. How I marvelled at God's creation. We began to worship then and there, in our little Jeep, with Hannah, Candace, Casiphia, Mami, and myself. What a wonderful memory.

I can't wait to return to Arizona (SOON!). I am hoping this summer coming up, or the next, to fly over, and maybe go on that much talked of road trip to CA with Candace. I've always wanted to go to LA, see all the sights, maybe even work on my surfing skills : ) Then again, Mi Abuelita has talked of going to Bolivia next summer, but that also depends upon the political/security situation-things have been pretty heated over there lately, it has been dangerous for U.S. Citizens. We shall see-Lord willing, everything will come together for both of these trips.

Something I realized today is just how much I have been striving. It was only when I stopped to take a breath (figuratively) that I realized how tuckered out I am. It sneaks up on you- one day, you are totally surrendered before the Lord, then little by little, life begins to steal your peace. Someone says something negative, money gets tight, problems arise, and before you know it, you don't recognize where you're at. Well, how do we fix this problem? you might ask. It's simple, I believe. Worship the Lord, Read His word, repent of carrying the burdens, worries, and sin that so easily entangles. Be quiet before the Lord-meditate upon His word and His attributes. Ask Him what it is that has been pulling you down and holding you back, then kick anything that has been stealing our affections. Take out the trash that life so easily piles inside of your heart. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us of all our sins. I am going to rest in Him. It's the only way to live. Great is your faithfulness, Lord God!!

~Lysandra Elena~

Recap of our trip

Wednesday July 30th- We went to the park downtown and passed out flyers for an outreach the following Saturday.
We went to a high school that was having a Senior fundraiser, with games and a local radio station hosting the event. It was very exciting to perform there because the energy of the crowd was so high. We were able to do our Intro (skating and dancing together in one amazing piece), as well as our dance "Forgiveness." The students truly enjoyed it and we were excited to see them respond so positively.

In between schools, we grabbed some lunch. We went onto an elementary school performance and that went well too.

Thursday, July 31st- Breakfast at 7am, Performance at an elementary school
Performance at a private school, Pasos de Joventud. It went well and the kids were really interactive. We enjoyed playing with them and the kids responded positively. The principal thanked us and invited us back again.

Friday, August 1st- We went to San Jose de la Montana- at first, the students weren't very receptive, but we prayed and pressed through. God really touched their hearts, and after we performed, many kids told me that they enjoyed the dancing and how it really had meant a lot to them.
That night, we performed at Oasis Cristiano at Excelensia Mercedes Sur.
Afterwards, we had a time of fellowship at the Pastor's house. The teens from the church showed us a dance that they put together, and it was really fun to watch. I enjoyed getting to visit with all of them and can't wait to see them again.

Saturday, August 2nd-
Outreach at Centro Cristiano de Heredia. It was in the morning, and the turnout was mostly skaters since there was a skate competition and some cool prizes such as a board & trucks. When it started raining, they almost cancelled the competition, but it stopped just long wnough for them to finish up. We came back to the hotel for lunch, then pedicures. Then we went to McDonald's to call & e-mail our families.

Sunday, August 3rd-
We went to the 7:30AM service at Centro Cristiano de Heredia. We danced for the first and second services during the offering, then we went to the soccer game. It was La Liga vs. Los Heredianos. La Ligua won!!! Then we went shopping at the mall with Gabhy and David, two locals that often hung out with us. That night, we rented Martian Child and had a movie night. Afterwards, we prayed for Gabhy, and God really ministered to her. It was cool to see God touch her life, and let us be used for His kingdom in the process.

Monday, August 4th-
We went to San Jose with Pastor Ignacio to see the church plant that our home church, Manna, is helping to start up. We prayed for him and took pictures. Then we went shopping in downtown San Jose. We met up with Gabjy and went to a cute restaurant for lunch. It had Tico food (that is, food that is typical of Costa Rica- Rice and beans, soup, small coffee, and a guanabana juice). We continued shopping, then caught a bus back to Heredia.

Tuesday, August 5th-

Shopping downtown Heredia

Dinner with the Pastor of Centro Cristiano and his family, Freddy y Anna Soto, Magda's family, David y Sandra, and the team. It was very special when we prayed for them afterwards.

Wednesday, August 6th-
We packed up our luggage in David's truck- it sure was piled high! Our flight was supposed to be at 10pm, but instead it was at 11 or 12pm. So we began our journey back to the US. It's always a good time to reflect while you're flying back home, and that's what I did- along with catching some shut eye ; )

Here are my journal entries, with comments, from our trip this past summer.

7/30/08
We're in Costa Rica!
When we started practices, it seemed like we'd never get here, but here we are half-way through. Here's a recap of our activities so far:

Wednesday, July 23rd
Arrive at Manna Church at 2AM (!)
Depart for the Raleigh airport. Our flight was supposed to take off at 7am- but it was cancelled due to inclement weather. At first, we were told we wouldn't get a flight until the next day. Then, God worked it out so we all made it (on two different flights), to Atlanta. Our flight to Costa Rica was also delayed a few hours, so we finally made it into San Jose, CR at 12:30am (our time). All in all it was almost 24 hours later that we arrived in Costa Rica. What a trip! But we sure did see God's hand in orchestrating a flight to Atlanta, and the last leg of the trip into Costa Rica. By the time we got to Liberia, CR, it was 3AM (our time- 25 hours later...) We stayed at a hotel called Daisyta (it was beautiful).

Thursday, July 24th
We got up super early and went to two schools: Teocali, a bilingual private school, and another public school. At Teocali, they had a cultural presentation for their national holiday, and they even let us join in their broom dance- where the person left without a dance partner had to take the broom and sweep. It was quite an experience. When we came back to the hotel, we rested and then had some team bonding time swimming in the pool.

Friday, July 25th- We went to the festival and bought delicious ice cream treats. The vendors had tiny little carts, with an ice block that they would shave the ice off of into a cup, pour syrup on top, put some powdered milk in, and then pour sweetened condensed milk on top. There was a parade of all the schools, with different displays, etc. After the parade was over, we went back to our hotel, moved our belongings into El Salon de Victoria, the building they've rented for Centro Cristiano de Liberia, and got settled there. That night we went to the rodeo, which was pretty cool. The riders would come out on the bull and start hitting their spurs into the bulls sides and the bull would buck maybe 6-10 times, then the rider would either jump off or be thrown off. When the bull had calmed down a little bit, three men on horseback lassoed the bull and brought it back into the pen. I was glad it wasn't the other kind of rodeo where they actually kill the bull because that's just cruel.

Saturday, July 26th-
Outreach at the park; RUSH performance.
We went early on Saturday morning to set-up for the outreach. When we started, there was a small crowd watching and the response was very positive. After the performance, when we were packing up, a gentleman told us that we were very good and he really enjoyed the music and dancing. Some skateboarders also had a chance to try out our "patineta's" boards. They sure liked that : ) Another positive thing that happened was that a man from a local newspaper interviewed Magda, one of our team leaders and also a native of Costa Rica, about what we were doing. He said that if we come again next year, he wants to go around with us to each school and do a big story on why we do what we do.

Later that day, we prepared for an outreach at El Salon de Victoria by handing out flyers. I walked a few blocks around the general area with Carlos and Andrew. At the outreach itself, Audriana shared the good news about Jesus and we can have a personal relationship with him. Several people either rededicated their lives to the Lord, or came to know him for the first time. This is why we do what we do. We wanted to see people come to know the Lord, and the lost ones come back to Him. We also had fun teaching everyone a dance during worship, and it was exciting to interact with the natives. I really enjoyed it.

Sunday, July 27th-
We traveled by bus & car to La Playa Hermosa (The beautiful beach), a gorgeous paradise on the Pacific with crystal blue waters. It was breathtaking!! After a relaxing day playing soccer, swimming, playing water volleyball, and laying out, we departed by bus to Heredia. It was a long trip. We almost didn't make it that night because our bus broke down. It started smoking, and we thought something was wrong, and our leader was wise enough to tell us to run to the other bus. We were crammed like sardines, most of us standing, for 2 more hours. I sat down after awhile but it really wasn't that much more comfortable. We finally got to San Jose, and a schoolbus that had been rented for us took us the rest of the way to our hotel paradise, Hotel Ciebeles San Rafael de Heredia. It was like coming home, since I stayed at this same hotel last year. I ran in and went right to bed.

Monday, July 28th-
We all slept in after our many adventures the day before.
We went to the mall and window shopped for awhile. The Paseo de las Flores (mall) has a huge movie theatre in it as well, and the movies only cost about $4.50 each. That's half of what it is here- so we went to see The Dark Knight. It was pretty good, if a bit intense at times.

Tuesday, July 29th-
Performed at an elementary school and Samuel High School. Came back to the hotel for some seriously needed rest.

To be continued...

Countdown to Takeoff!

Well, my bags are packed and ready to go. Last nite, we had a time to bring all of our bags, weigh them, as well as have all the parents rally around us in prayer. It was a stellar, encouraging time. Tomorrow at 2 (AM!!) we will meet at the church and drive to Raleigh for our flight to Atlanta, then San Jose, Costa Rica. It will be a busy schedule- as soon as we get there, we're taking a bus to Guanacaste.
Here's an itinerary for our trip:

Wednesday, July 23rd- Arrive at 12pm in San Jose, Costa Rica.
3pm board bus to Guanacaste- we will arrive around 8pm.
Thursday, July 24th- 9am-12pm- presentation at the private school "Teocali"
Afternoon: There is a possibility that we will visit a public school.
Friday, July 25th- We will enjoy the parade and festivities
Afternoon: Street evangelism

Saturday, July 26th- 9am-12pm- Presentation at the park
Evening: evangelism at the park.

Sunday, July 27th- Beach/ Return to Heredia late evening

Monday, July 28th- 9am-12pm - Presentation at public high school "Samuel"

Tuesday, July 29th- Presentation at the Vocational High School.

Wednesday, July 30th- Presentation at the "Manel Benavides" high school.

Thursday, July 31st- Presentation at the "Liceo de Heredia" (this is one of the first high schools in Costa Rica. It's over 100 years old!!)

Friday, August 1st- 6-9pm "Revolutionary Love" cards at the local University/ Program with a local church.

Saturday, August 2nd- Rush rally from 9am- 12pm
Meeting with the youth group from Centro Cristiano de Heredia.

Sunday, August 3rd- Presentation at the 10 am service (Centro Cristiano de Heredia).

Monday, August 4th- Visit "Sarchi", there we will do a program with a local church

Tuesday, August 5th- Canopy tour

Wednesday, August 6th- Visit San Jose in the morning and afternoon
7pm- Arrive at the airport
Team departs for the US at 10pm.

So there 'tis. And now you know.

~Lysandra

This is the final piece of the puzzle.

Production, that is. We are working pretty much every day this week on our dramas & dances. Basically the whole production is coming together, hence the title of this entry. I am so excited to see everything coming together as we head into the final push before we leave for Costa Rica. We have incredible opportunities this year, such as an invitation to perform at a huge national festival. I can't wait until we're there! Yo quiero ir a Costa Rica ahora!! I'll try to put some videos up of our production pieces so you can experience them for yourself ; )

-Lysandra Elena

Travel Schedule

Hi everyone,
Well, now is when the real adventure begins!
We already have dances prepared, as well as skate stunts.
Now we have to tie it all together with dramas (also know as "human videos"). The common theme that the team has agreed upon for our production is Passion; really how God's full and abundant life gives us a passion for God and seeing the lost come to know Him!! Last year in Costa Rica, our dominant theme was Purpose- what does God have in store for you and how does that tie in with your overall destiny? It was really amazing to see lives touched. As I write this, a particular ministry time comes to mind. We were at a tiny church (literally less than 25 people), and there was a girl there that was so beautiful, but God made it apparent to me that she had such a vulnerability because she was so tenderhearted. I started praying for her, as did another team member, and she started weeping. I believe that God was truly healing her brokenness and restoring the dreams that He put within this young woman when she was younger. This was one life that God truly touched; I can only hope that many more young people experienced the power of God's love while we were there! I can't wait to share so many wonderful, life-giving insights that God has imparted to me within the past year since Costa Rica '07. Because *Passion: Costa Rica 2008*, HERE WE COME!!

~Lysandra Elena ; )~

Costa Rica Team '08

Hi Everyone!
This summer a group of teens and adult leaders will embark upon a journey. We will be ministering in Costa Rica from July 21st through August 6th, 2008. We look ahead with much anticipation and excitement as the dates for the trip draw nearer and nearer. Last night, we had a team meeting that consisted of a barbeque and a mini-production planning meeting, as well as a time of prayer. It was awesome to see God impart His vision, individually as well as corporately. Please keep us in your prayers- that we may see the vision that God is sending us out with, and have the "wings" (by God's grace), to get there!

Blessings,

Lysandra Elena