Costa Rica Blog!

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http://abigailcostarica.blogspot.com/

I Will Follow Him to Costa Rica.

I can never describe to you the feeling I had when I wrote May 17, 2011 over "Provision: Costa Rica" on my Prayer Request board earlier tonight. FULL support was raised! A friend traveled all the way to my home to bless me with financial support tonight & I couldn't believe how selfless & generous he was. You know who you are. . .thank you deeply & incredibly! It was an answered prayer & immediately I was filled with inexpressible joy & praise to my Father. I think back to the time I wrote provision for Costa Rica as a prayer request; (as much as I do not want to admit it & hate admitting it) I doubted it would happen & I would have never imagined His provision to come about in the ways that it did. He has refined my faith & has brought it to a whole new level! I cannot wait to see where He takes my faith next! Praise God for His grace & His ways of molding us into new creations.

My mom came up to help me pack & get ready for my trip (she is so loving); I just finished packing & I am getting some last minute things done before I leave for the airport in 6 hours! Can you believe it came this quickly?! I just wanted to thank every single person for their support & prayers in my journey with the Lord. I deeply appreciate you & the part you play in my life; I praise God for you. You are always in my thoughts & prayers! I won't have my computer while in Costa Rica (it is getting fixed), so hopefully I can borrow a fellow team member's computer & keep you updated through the blog & facebook! :) I am so excited & I cannot wait to see what God is going to do through this experience, not only for me, but also for everybody involved (including YOU). & of course, I cannot wait to share this experience with you, as well as the photos!

Please continue to keep the whole team & the people we come in contact with in your prayers! Love you all. 

Costa Rica team!

p.s. My friend Isaac Lessard is raising support for a long-term missions trip to Japan; as his brothers & sisters in Christ we must support him (if called by the Lord) financially & definitely, without a doubt, in fervent PRAYER! Prayer is far more powerful than money every will be. You can find more information/details about his trip to Japan on his blog & on his facebook page. 

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure & faultless is this: to look after orphans & widows in their distress & to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." 

-James 1:27

One Step Closer.Costa Rica

WOW! I am in awe of the Lord & His magnificence! Always have been & always will be, but it seems to go to a whole new level every time! So an update on Costa Rica. . .within 5 days I went from needing $1,100 to only needing $200! Thank you for your prayers & support; God is so good & you are impacting my life greatly & I can never ever express how thankful I am for you.

About a month ago I started to kind of worry, but like I said in an earlier post, I believe He is going to wait until the last minute to test my nerves, & guess what?! I was right! He has pulled through in HUGE ways! A few people sent me money for a couple of my photos; it is so exciting because not only do I get to share the talents/abilities God has given me with others, but also God is going to bless these people for their amazing financial blessings in my life! THANK YOU for you who purchased a photo, I wish I could express how grateful I am for you in my life. You never cease to make an impact.

I also spoke at Darin Carroll's church in Pueblo, CO on Sunday (you can check him out at: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1513938972); I was able to share my heart with his congregation & share my testimony/adventure with the Lord this past year. I pray the Lord used me as a vessel & continues to do so. As a result, him & his congregation blessed me greatly! Praise God! I played the piano after I shared my heart & I messed up so badly, ha ha, but it was so fun!

Another amazing story of financial blessing was I received a letter from my friend in Alaska who included money for my trip from someone who didn't even know me! THANK YOU to them & my friend in Alaska for blessing me with not only your friendship, but also the willingness to help me. :) My family has been such a huge support as well; my aunt & my parents gave me such a generous offering & I am forever humbled before God for the family He has given me.

What is so funny about all of this is my mom told me a story about how my aunt asked her if I had my money yet & she replied that I wasn't even close, but I was determined to be on that plane no matter what. . .it's the truth! I am so determined to walk on Costa Rica ground because I know my God intends for me to be there for a reason & because I know that's true, I believe with every fiber of my being that the money will come in full! Well guys. . .I only have about $200 left! Let me know if you want to purchase a photo! http://www.flickr.com/photos/pianoplayinabby/

On Monday evening I did a photoshoot with 3 of my closest friends; God laid on my heart to do a shoot titled, "My heart is spoken for." So I had them cut out hearts & write out what the Lord was to them & to whom heir hearts belonged to. It turned out beautiful & we had so much fun! PLUS, I was blessed with a film camera & I am now experimenting with that! :) how exciting! Here is a look at a photo from the photo shoot with the girls & a photo from my film camera!

Covered by your love divine
Child of the risen Lord
To hear you say "This one's mine"
My heart is spoken for

(MercyMe)

Surrender & A Life of Abandonment.

I am tagging this post onto the last; ALL last week the Lord was teaching me what it was to surrender. Last Wednesday, I went to a women's group for the first time & God made His point clear when the leaders introduced the topic: SURRENDER. These wise women went on to say that surrendering is an act of worship; it hit me. . .it's more than just giving up something, it goes so much deeper than that, it is a way for us to worship our Father. We read Daniel 10 that night & if you haven't read it, DO IT NOW! Fantastic scripture & it impacted me greatly; it is a story of a vision Daniel has & he falls into a deep sleep with his face on the ground (even his posture was in physical surrender) & the man in his vision says:

"'Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding & to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, & I have come in response to them.'" -Daniel 10:12

It inspired me to be in complete surrender to my Lord, in worship & humbleness. The very next day I spent most of my day with my cousin Jon & we were sitting at my kitchen table when I decided I wanted to read my devotional out loud with him. . .guess what? The devotional was all about surrendering & living in total abandonment. I read:

• "Are you prepared to surrender totally & let go? The true test of abandonment or surrender is in refusing to say, 'Well, what about this?' . . .The moment you allow yourself to think, 'What about this?' you show that you have not surrendered & that you do not really trust God." -Oswald Chamber (My Utmost for His Highest)

It was like the Lord sucker-punched me in the face because when He spoke into my heart to do something earlier that week (what I talked about in the earlier post), I immediately asked God, "Well, what about YWAM? What about my goals?" That was the complete opposite of being surrendered over to my King. Last week was definitely a week of learning & being refined. . .every day is an opportunity for that, but it was just especially evident last week (if that makes any sense). Let's just say after that beautiful awakening, I have buried those questions.

my cousin Jon & I in Old Town
on a beautiful sunny day!

I do have a lot of beautiful things to share with my readers, I hope ya don't mind that I do. Last week I read my devotional & it quoted Matthew 6:8 ("'. . .for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.'") & that night I was with some family & old friends, sharing my faith walk with Jesus this semester & our old friend asked to meet me at King Soopers; he ended up blessing me with groceries. I wanted to cry, but all I could do was smile & giggle with the joy of the Lord burning in my heart & soul. While walking around the store with my family & friend, my uncle looked at me & said, "'He knows all our needs before we ask Him.'" My uncle had no idea I had read that verse that very same morning! Can you believe it? Wow, the Lord is faithful to His promises & His Word is LIFE. Praise God for my old family friend & for his obedience to the Lord; thank you from the bottom of my soul!

Me, Mariah, Kelsi, Kimmi, & Leslie;
Costa Rica retreat in Estes Park

Tomeka & I in Estes Park

Another thing that happened was I met with a friend, that I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting while on my way to the Passion Conference, & he purchased a photo from me to help send me to Costa Rica! I thank you with everything I have; you have no idea how much that blessed me & I thank God for your impact in my life everyday! Also, I went on a retreat to Estes Park with my Costa Rica team & we had a blast learning more about each other by sharing our testimonies, playing games, eating together, laughing, & talking. I also watched the sunrise on the morning of May 1; absolutely beautiful & God takes my breath away each & every time I view it, plus the friends I get to enjoy it with are even more beautiful! I even went on a random road trip with my best friend Kendra to see her family & my cousin Jon & our friend Isaac. SO FUN! :) The Lord has been so gracious to me this past week & is faithful BEYOND measure; I can't fathom His love & faithfulness. 

Kendra & I the night of our road trip!

May 1; isn't He so beautiful?

Kendra, Brent, Marty, & I; sunrise!

 UPDATE: I was blessed with a total of $350 for Costa Rica last week so now I am at $1,100 left! I am so thrilled & I owe my life to those who blessed me with such generous spirits & I am so grateful to God for their presence in my life. I wish I had a heart like theirs. This weekend I am headed home to see my family for the first time in months, celebrate Mother's Day, & play the piano/speak at a church for Costa Rica! :) THANK YOU for all you are to me & do for me. I don't deserve you. I hope you enjoy some photos from my week/weekend! 

Me, Lorie & Evie, Leslie, Rachel, Kendra, Danielle, & Cortney;
some of us OutPost gals celebrating Leslie's birthday!

". . .once you do get to the point of total surrender to Him, you will be the most surprised & delighted person on earth. God will have you absolutely, without any limitations, & He will have given you your life." -Oswald Chambers (My Utmost for His Highest)