Home Sweet Home

It's hard to believe I have been home for just over a week and a half. I have had time to rest and recover from all the wonderful adventures, now it's time to jump into our busy holiday season. For that reason I will keep this post short.

My heart is overwhelmed with thankfulness to everyone who has participated with me in this journey. Whether you have prayed, given financially or read the blog. Thank you. I hope we can meet soon and catch up soon.

It has been a joy to see so many beautiful faces!

The airport greeting committee

 And a heartbreak to leave so many behind.

Praises:
Made it home safely
Seeing friends and family
Christmas is almost here!!! 🎄

Prayer:
Guidance and clarity

1 Week!

Seven more days until I fly home, this is bitter sweet. It's hard to believe three months have flown by so quickly.  I have been and am trying to pack as much as I can in these last few days.

We went to the beach on our off day.

Monkeys tried to take our lunch. Little stinkers came in a packs!

Oh you know just totally normal, eating candy canes in November on our way to the beach, where it was 80 degrees.

My sweet friend and I spent a lovely morning walking around San Fransisco.

Starting tomorrow, I'll have a very full last week with teaching Bible Study, getting last minute gifts, Thanksgiving and saying goodbyes.

Praises:
Productive last few weeks - completed memorizing Proverbs 31 with our small group, finished reading an assigned book, etc.
Being brave - I now enjoy walking to local stores, rather than dreading it.
Spanish - I went to a bread store and bought bread without any problem.

Prayer:
Transitioning back to the States - this are always really hard for me.
Flights - I fly back on one of the busiest days of the year, yikes! Please pray that I make my layover on time.
Teaching on Tuesday - I'll wrap up our study on Ruth this Tuesday in our small group.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!

ESL & Friendships

On Saturday we went back to Frailes for our last ESL class. Things have gone really well; we had a good number of people attend and express intrest in learning. These few classes were simply a test run, the plan is to continue with regular classes in January. I'm thankful to have been a part and look forward to how the Lord uses this in the future.

Playing Tic Tac Toe and practicing pronunciation

Playing the Name Game

Caleb and Jociel 

Jon teaching the Bible lesson

On Thursday I had a wonderful time with my sister in Christ, Brittany, and on Friday I spent the evening with another sister, Kimia. Both of these women have been such a blessing. They encourage me to be more like Christ and to stand boldly in the face of adversity. 

Brittany and I at the mall

Dinner with Kimia, Chicken and vegetables

Praises:

Friendships

A good response to ESL

A productive week

Went to a local restaurant by myself and tried to order a coffee but left with two milkshakes. Haha. The praise is that I went by myself and tried to speak Spanish (& ended up with 2 milkshakes) :-)

Prayer:

Sleep

Preparation for heading home

Where to invest my time for the short amount I have left

4 More Weeks

My new friend Kimia, she is a student at the language school

Before I know it, this last month will fly by and I'll be on my way home. I am happy to see family and friends and to return to the comforts of home. Yet I wish for more time in Costa Rica to learn and rise to the challenges of living in another culture. I feel like I have finally gotten into a routine, am making friends, and slowly figuring out how life works here.

I am filled with mixed emotions and am not quite sure what to do with all of them. The time I have left is short and I want to make the most of it. Yet, I also need to prepare for the return home and for the steps that follow, whatever those may be.

Thank you for praying for the ESL ministry this past Saturday, it went really well! We are working with both children and their parents. Everyone splits into three groups, young children, older children and parents. On Saturday, our goal was to figure out what level everyone was on, for the most part everyone but the older children are beginners. We will teach at least two more times before I leave; this coming Saturday being one of those.

Praises:
ESL went really well
I was able to speak in Spanish and understand my ESL group
Spent time with a new friend, Kima, she is such an encouragement

Prayer:
For me to use these last few weeks wisely
That the Lord will let me know of anything that I need to learn or know before leaving
ESL next Saturday

A Quick Review

A lovely husband and wife, Rich and Cherry Smith, came down for a survey trip to Costa Rica. They are looking to join our team and spent several days with us. Please pray for the Smiths as they look to God for guidance.

Jon and Joni started hosting a Spanish Bible study in their home on Monday nights. We are currently studying the different roles of men and women. Since the Bible study is entirely in Spanish this is excellent language practice for me.

Our last Krav Maga class

Fernando and I pretending to be the bad guys riding a moto.

Last week I started to study for an ESL (English as a Second Language) class I will teach out in the country. Pastor Edgardo would like to start ESL classes for children (and their parents) as a ministry outreach in his community. I'll teach on Saturday for about two hours; since it is a large amount of time I plan to play lots of games. This is an exciting opportunity!

We went to the beach last Monday; it was a beautiful day

In additional to ESL, I have been studying Ruth and 1 & 2 Peter for different Bible studies. In 1 & 2 Peter, Peter talks a lot about suffering, in 1 Peter 2:21 he says "For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps." Thus, as Christians we can expect suffering and count it an honor when we do. Then in Ruth, we learn that she left her father, mother and homeland to live with a people she did not know. Ruth left everything she knew following her mother-in-law to a culture where she would be among the poorest. During some of my loneliest and hardest moments, I find encouragement in Ruth's life and strength in the words of Apostle Peter. I am very thankful for all that God is teaching me.

We stopped at Rio Tarcoles, a bridge known for crocodiles. We saw about 20! It was scary and super cool!

Praises:

Studying Ruth, 1 & 2 Peter
The Spanish Bible study on Monday
ESL opportunity
Making new friends (on Saturday and Sunday I met two sweet young ladies around my age. Hopefully I'll be able to spend more time with them soon).

Prayer:
ESL - that I will be able to reach the children where they are while still being able to challenge them in English, that I will have enough material for two hours and that they will be receptive to hearing God's word
For grace to love and encourage others when things are hard
For me to love and grow in God's word

Mountains

Do you ever feel like you've reached the end of yourself? Like you have nothing left to give anyone or anything? Like the mountains in front of you are too big to face?

When our nightmares haunt us in the day and the mountains in front of us reach the sky, we are not alone. In fact, in our own strength we could never overcome those mountains or face our nightmares. John 15:4-5 reminds us that without remaining in the True Vine we can do nothing. Apart from Christ we are helpless. He is our strength, our source of power to face living the nightmares and climb the heights of mountains.

In 2 Corinthians 12:9 Christ tells us "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." I don't know about you but it blows my mind how in our weaknesses His power is made perfect! Verses nine and ten go on to talk about boasting in weaknesses so that Christ power may rest on us. Not only boasting but delighting "in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

When I focus on Christ, remaining in the Vine, the nightmares do not seem so dark nor the mountains so tall. When we've reached the end of ourselves and have nothing left to give, let us remember Who is the source of our strength then give a little more and climb a little higher.

This week my Spanish teacher taught me about commands and the proper verbs and pronouns to use for them. As part of my homework she asked me to write a recipe; I wrote a recipe for making coffee. It may seem small but to me it felt like a huge accomplishment.

Praises:
Strength in Christ
All the rain
Spanish - I can see progression!
Bonding time with my small group

Prayer:
Energy to get things done
Sleep / rest - I have not been sleeping well
Continued guidance and direction
Time management

One Month

It is hard to believe that a month has come and gone! The past two weeks have been super busy. Here are a few things I've been doing:

Spent an evening with the GAP girls watching Cinderella

And we made high heel cupcakes

The GAP students American students who are doing a gap year between high school and college. They are in Costa Rica studying God's word and doing ministry. A few of the girls are in our Bible study. And last weekend all the GAP girls came over for movie night. They are such a joy to work with.

One of the leaders for the GAP students, Brittany, is quickly becoming a very close friend. She has been a wonderful source of encouragement. We celebrated International Coffee Day with peanut butter chocolate chip coffee smoothies!

This week I visited an ESL ministry. Jon works with a pastor who would like to start an ESL ministry at his church. I am exploring opportunities and different ideas for the ministry.  

There are mountains on the horizon but due to the amount of ash you can't see them

Turrialba Volcano is one of five active volcanos in Costa Rica and last week it erupted, spewing  tons of ash. Volcanic eruptions are fairly normal for Costa Rica, but for Turrialba to consistently spew ash for two weeks is uncommon. Thankfully, ash is the only thing we have to deal with and it is more of a nuisance than anything else. So cleaning the house happens quite frequently.

It is definitely not fall, but it smelled like it! One of our candles started melting because of how hot it was in our apartments today. 

Praises:

Time with the GAP girls

Time with new friends

Learning how to pronounce words in Spanish

Becoming familiar with San Francisco

Learning so much simply by being here 

So many wonderful smelling candles :)

Prayer request:

God's continued grace in areas of my life

Wisdom in discerning His will and place for me in Costa Rica

For the volcano to stop spewing ash

and as always learning Spanish

Week 2

The torch declaring independence from Spain for all Central America

This has been a super full week!!! On Thursday Costa Rica celebrated its independence from Spain. At 6 p.m. on Wednesday the whole country stopped whatever they were doing and sang the national anthem. Everyone had Thursday off so some friends and I celebrated by hiking to a few waterfalls.

On Wednesdays Joni and I meet with a small group of college girls, Rene, Christy, Kenzie & Michaela. We will be memorizing Proverbs 31 and studying Ruth together. Please keep these girls in your prayers as they are here for the school year to study God's word and do ministry.

Finally, one evening this week Jon and I were chatting when suddenly I remember some people from the States had given me money to give to our friend Eduardo. When I told Jon, he paused and looked at me surprised and excited, "Ready?" "Yes!" "I need any money you have for him. How much is it?!?" As it turns out Eduardo had a bill due the next day for the exact amount that I had for him. Eduardo, being a man of faith, told Jon earlier that week about the bill and said he wasn't worried because he knew the Lord would provide. Thank you for those who gave to him, you were more of a blessing than you will ever know.

Praises:
Provision for Eduardo
The girls in our Bible Study
Making new friends
Serving with the McGinnis Family - I am so grateful for them
Feeling confident enough in Spanish to walk to the markets by myself

Prayer:
For God's grace
The small group on Wednesdays
Learning Spanish
Getting all my homework done
The McGinnis Family as they start their Fall routine

Pastor Eduardo & I

Meghan & I in the street singing the anthem

The waterfall (it is much bigger than it looks :)

The hiking crew

Safe & Sound

Thank you for your prayers. I've arrived safely and am slowly starting to transition to my new culture. I'm beginning to recognize familiar land marks, learn where to buy groceries, and how to get around. The McGinnis Family, who I am interning with, live about a mile from my apartment, I feel safe walking to and from; it is safe enough for me to walk alone, as long as I'm in before dark. Learning the language is very difficult but all I have to do is walk out my door to practice.

The transition is much harder than I thought it would be. It is overwhelming and stressful at times but I am so blessed to have so many people willing to teach me and to guide me in this transition. 

Praises:

Lots of good coffee

Growing spiritually

Always learning something new

Living in a beautiful country

Prayer requests:

Learning Spanish and the culture

Transitioning well

Against spiritual warfare

Jon, Joni & I

The view from my window

My adventure buddy, Mrs. Patty

Costa Rica!!!!

Hola Amigos!

I have a wonderful opportunity to participate in a short term mission internship this fall.  I will be serving in San Jose, Costa Rica with the mission organization ABWE International.  I leave on September 1, 2016 and return on November 27.   

I believe that God has been leading me toward missions since I was in the youth group at Calvary Church.  Every year Calvary hosts a mission conference for a week.  Attending these conferences each year, I began to meet our missionary families and hear their stories.  Later, I studied at Columbia International University which is very mission minded. I also spent the summer of 2013 in Peru working at an orphanage. These played a major role in giving me a heart to see the nations reached with the gospel.

In August of 2015, I went on a short-term mission trip to Costa Rica; there I met Jon and Joni McGinnis. I felt a bond with their family and with what the Lord is doing in Costa Rica. In March of 2016 they came to the Calvary mission conference and asked if I would consider coming back to Costa Rica to work with them long-term. After much prayer and consideration I have decided to join their team as a missionary. Before joining them full time, I will be taking at three month assignment to get a better look at ministry in Costa Rica. During these three months I will work alongside Jon and Joni as well as local pastors and their wives. I will also disciple young women, help with visiting teams, serve in the local church and develop the internship program. This is an exciting chance for me to experience what it is like to live and minister in Costa Rica.

I will live near the McGinnis Family.  I will share and apartment with a young missionary near San Francisco, Costa Rica, a suburb of the Capitol San José. This will force me to learn the language, how to buy foods, how to navigate the city and how to live on my own.

I believe there are two essential parts in a ministry partnership; those who go and those who support. Those who support are the backbone of the ministry, the prayer warriors and the givers. Without them, no ministry would ever take place. They are needed to help support ministry, like the spine supports the body.  My short time on staff at Calvary Church has shown me the importance of prayer warriors and givers.  So, please keep me in your prayers daily as I begin this journey.  I am blessed that Calvary Church, where I am currently on staff, has so graciously offered to pay my salary for those three months. This will cover most of my expenses; however, I still need $2,500. 

This internship is just the beginning. I plan to return to Costa Rica and join the McGinnis’s team long-term, we hope by November of 2017. However, a lot must happen before that time. I will need to raise $3,400 for monthly support which will cover housing, insurance and ministry expenses. Also, a onetime amount of approximately $36,000 which will cover shipping cost, buying a vehicle, language school and so on. Would you consider partnering with me in this work of the Gospel? I hope you will follow me on this journey through my blog at barefootbekah.blogspot.com. 

You may give online atabwe.org/give by inserting my name in the subject line. If you will commit to pray for me please send an email to bekah.turbeville@gmail.com.

Thank you for taking time to read this blog post. I hope the Lord grows you in your relationship with Him.

Your friend,
Bekah Turbeville 

New Lessons, New Name, New Post

Hi Friends,

"Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:2) I praise God for all the work He is doing in your lives and trust this post finds you well. To give you a brief update would be difficult, so instead I've tempted to summarize the lesson God is teaching me.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6, emphasis added)

In all of life's circumstances we are to trust the Lord. From our perspective things look much different, than from His. We only see a small part, while He sees the full picture clearly. Proverbs says to trust in the Lord with all your heart, not just some or almost all but with all your heart! And not to rely on the small part you see, "lean not on your own understanding." This is so difficult, especially when we are in the mist of a trials. We want to complain and cry out "Lord! Why are You doing this!? Don't you see my pain! I can't take much more, this hurts! Make it stop! Please!"

Yet, James 1:2-4 says "Consider it pure joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything." Trials are to be thought of as a joy or something to be thankful for. We thank God because the testing of our faith develops perseverance. These, both the trial and persevering, are tools God uses to make us more like Christ, "mature and complete, not lacking in anything."

Romans 5:3-5 tells us "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our suffering because we know that suffering produces perseverance (there's that word again); perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."  Our hope should not be in the ending of our trial, some future event or in anything this world offers. But all of our hope, all of our investments, should be in the eternal Kingdom. If we put our hope in the things of this world, it will fade when the world does. Yet, God has promised something more for us, He promised eternity with Him in glory, an eternal inheritance, which we did not earn, and to carry us through difficult times. How much better could it get!?

It really doesn't.

In the end, God is teaching me, to persevere, choose joy, and to keep an eternal perspective. I am thankful for all He is doing in my life and am very blessed to have so many praying for me. If you are one of those, thank you; I cannot tell you what it means to know that you are praying. May "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace." (Numbers 6:24-26)


New Lessons, New Name, New Post.

Your Friend,
Bekah Turbeville