Remembering Grandpa

Jen and I recieved the sad, unexpected news of her grandfather passing away today at 1pm. We just wanted everyone to know that we will be taking the first flight out in the morning (1/29/07) bound for Atlanta and will arrive around 9pm. The funeral is Wednesday and we will be returning to CR on Friday. Please remember us in your prayers as well as our family, safe travels, and unexpected finances. Jason's Grandmother also passed away a week ago (on Sunday 1/21/07) so keep his family in your prayers as well. Well try to stay in touch and post more as it comes. Thanks.

Week 2

Week 2 Lecture

Throughout this week Paul Childers and his wife Susi were guest speakers during lecture. These classes were focused on hearing the voice of God and obeying. In summary, we were given pointers on trusting the Lord at all costs. God speaks to us in ordinary life, sometimes out of the box and others through dreams and visions. The Holy Spirit can inspire specific tools such as the Bible (intuition), wisdom from others, and pastor’s input with spiritual authority. If you’ve read “Screw tape letters” by C.S. Lewis then you may also know that the world provides many distractions. Doubt, past experiences of being wounded, and not understanding or getting wrapped up in theology are just a few we discussed. Above all Jesus wants us to transform from “religion” into a “relationship”. There are 12 different principles we went over in class that help as a referral to what we may need to really understand hearing the voice of God. (If you want I can email or post them, just let Jen or I know.)


This week we have started reading “Making Jesus Lord” by Loren Cunningham. So far, a few chapters in, I have put together that the greatest word coming to mind is idolatry. We put all kinds of stuff in front of God. Work/careers, finances, and even family just to name a few… I’ll get back with you later as we finish the book and come up with a formal opinion.

Bowling!

Yesss, they have bowling down here… and no not with those small balls either!

One of the adventures we took was last Friday with several other students to go bowling. 10 of us all decided to go and one of the Costa Rican guys (Issac) wouldn’t go because he was concerned about his money situation so Jen and I offered to pay his way. He darted back to his room and changed. On the bus ride over to a neighboring town we found out that this was Issac’s first time to ever go bowling. We were so glad we asked because even though he was horrible, he seemed to have the time of his life. The bus ticket was about 20 cents each way and bowling turned out to be about $5 with shoes for an hour. Jen decided not to play to save money and I scored a measly 108. The first bowl of the night was dedicated to Nick Stillwell… bottoms up!

DAY 1: CHILD PROSTITUTION...a voice for the voiceless

Thank you for joining us on this journey of prayer for these voiceless victims.
All of the following information was taken directly from the 30 Days of Prayer for the Voiceless booklet by Paul and Susi Childers.
* 10 million children worldwide are engaged in some facet of the sex industry. Each year at least one milllion children, mostly girls, become prostitutes.
* In Thailand, 10-12 year old girls service men in the sex incustry. They typicallly have sex with men 10-15 times daily and sometimes as many as 20-30.
* In South Africa, there are 40,000 child prostitutes.
* Children are more susceptible to HIV and other STDs.
PRAY... Psalms 12:5
~ that God would arise and defend the little ones
~ that God would raise up lawyers, moviemakers and government rulers who will bring an end to this savage exploitation

Our Costa Rica Top Ten!

Top 10 Fun Facts we’ve learned about Costa Rica:
1. Instead of saying, “Did you sleep well?” here they ask, “How did you wake?” "Como amanecio?"...Instead of saying "Hola" as "Hello" when greeting each other on the street, they say "Adios"...but when leaving they don't say "Adios" for goodbye unless they are leaving for a very long time.
2. Instead of Diet Coke we have Coke Light
3. There are so many stray dogs around here (Jen’s going crazy) but we have yet to see one dead by the side of the road. They have incredible car sense. We have one little brown runt the size of a chihuahua on our corner that runs all the others off. Across the street there is a home that has multiple dogs that end up waking everyone up with there midnight monolog.
4. YWAM (Youth with a Mission) is translated as JUCUM
5. You can’t take glass, bottled drinks with you from the store… they pour it in a plastic bag for you to drink with a straw.
6. You have to leave plastic bottles out of the trash b/c people will come around and rip open the bags to find them and "recycle".
7. Everyone has an alarm systems on their cars, they are often set off by loud tractor-trailers that drive by, but no one pays them any mind. So if there were any car thieves out there, this is the place to be.
8. “Tico Time” is a term used to say people here are always late… it always runs 15-30 min. behind schedule. (it’s teaching Jason to be more flexible)
9. A 20 min bus ride into San Jose’ is approx. 40 cents one way per person
10. If you flush toilet paper… have a plunger close by. (they throw away all toilet paper)

Week 1

As I said during week 1, Becca Johnson PhD (psychology) spoke to us on our “Identity in Christ”. After much discussion, prayer, and personality tests, Jen and I both confirmed just how different we really are. Wait, did I say different? I meant to say polar opposites. Anyway, we had an idea of this before we even got married but the difference was this class helped hone in on our uniqueness created by God. After realizing we were created this way for a reason then we could move on and learn to love one another in our differences. The verse given was in Psalm 139, “You are fearfully and wonderfully made.”


During this week we also read a book called “Is that you, God?”. Loren Cunningham, the founder of YWAM, wrote this book. It was truly a biography about the truths in following God’s provisions and calling for our lives. Hearing the Lord speak and following these visions are two different things. We had to turn in reports of how it impacted our thinking and application for life. Jen drew a picture and I wrote a paper called “Obedience” (if anyone is interested in reading it I can either post it or email it to you, just let me know).

Typical Day?

Where do we begin? More or less we can start where we left off on the last post. It’s hard to believe that we have been here almost 2 weeks! We are having such an incredible time. Life here at the base is getting better. Jen and I live in a house with 8 other girls and share 2 full bathrooms (even though the toilets and showers are separated). 3 square meals a day packed with carbs and hearing the gospel… what more could you possibly need?

A typical day begins by awaking around 6:15 to eat breakfast around 6:30, consisting of either cereal, muffins, pancakes, eggs, or the main staple… beans and rice. After b-fast it’s off to the shower (notice I didn’t say hot shower). Between 7-8am we have personal quiet time with God then it’s prayer time or worship depending on the day from 8-9. Everyday during the week we have class between 9 and noon. Each week we have different topics and different guest speakers which are translated into spanish as well (bilingual learning). Week 1 Becca Johnson PhD (Psychology) spoke on “Identity in Christ” which was a blast, learning about our quirky selves and others. This week Paul and Susi Childers from the Kona base in Hawaii are speaking on “Hearing the voice of God”. We’ll go more in-depth later, on what we learned and so forth. At 12:30 we have lunch (usually beans, rice, and yuca) then small groups from 2-4pm. We do our work duties from 4-6pm, Jen cleans the girl”s house (i.e. sweeping, mopping, toilets, sinks, etc.) and I am on the maintenance team (doing everything from moving and setting up beds to fixing showers to unclogging toilets). Dinner at 6 and then usually we have free time or some nights we have “family time” where we do something with the other students such as watching a movie or going out on the town.

INJUSTICE

Paul and Susi Childers spoke to our team this week in Costa Rica. Wednesday afternoon, Paul showed us their latest project...more appropriately, their mission for the lives of multitudes. As we sat watching and listening, our minds and eyes were opened to a heart-breaking reality. This reality is "gender injustice". The abuse and suppression of the female gender has become one of the most pressing issues of our new century. In actuality, it has been one of the most serious issues for centuries but finally, the horror, abandonment, and hoplessness of millions of women and girls is being brought into the light. On the question of this issue being one of the greatest issues of this century, Loren Cunningham, founder of YWAM, wrote in his forward to a Voice for the Voicless, " Because it is the biggest, most far reaching, and most hidden."

The Childers have created a book which addresses one issue each day for 30 days. Each day consists of a photo Although Jason and I have only seen a glimpse of the surface of these injustices...once our eyes have been opened, we are compelled to do what we can and whatever God calls us to. You are all our friends and family. We wanted to share these things for you so that we could all gain knowledge and pray...and for some of us take whatever action we can. I believe God's heart is torn open for these women...I believe He is angry at the injustice done to His creations! Jason and I definitely experienced these emotions as we watched the faces of these women flash before us on the screen. However, as Jason mentioned to me yesterday, the greatest thing these women need is hope...hope in a God who loves them and a way to share this love is prayer...many people in prayer for the women, for those who are called into action, for guidance to the leaders in each nation, for guidance and passion to rise up in the church.

For 30 days, Jason and I are going to pray for each issue in the book. We would love for anyone who understands the need to pray with us. If this is something you feel on your heart, I will be putting a new post up each day with the new issue... I will also include links to organizations which serve in each area.

Here also is the website for Paul and Susi Childers: http://www.photogenx.net/
This site gives more information about the issues and mission of this couple.

Thank you and we love and appreciate you all!
Jen

Thanks!

This post is for us to say thanks for all of our gifts (not limited to these pictures).

Nick thanks so much for the camera, this blog wouldn't be the same without it.
Ashe, the bracelet is getting some good lovin...
Walt, Robin, Abby, Logan, and Lt Walt we are reminded of ya'll and what we are doing while keeping our valuables safe.
Mom (Cathy) thank you for the iPod speakers, they are coming in handy and the book of Rush and I. We miss him so much but this is an item that I couldn't leave home without.
Last but definitely not least we would like to thank God for placing us here and worshiping you in a totally different culture. This is a picture of me (Jason) outside of the church we went to this am.

Random stuff and Info. changes

Thank you for asking! Some have asked us where to send letters and support now that we are in Costa Rica...actually there are several answers to this question...

If you would like to send support directly for us then use this address:
(Support will be directly deposited into our personal account set aside for this mission)

Jason and Jennifer Haynes
c/o Patricia Haynes
3318 Octavia St.
Raleigh, NC 27606

If you would like to send us money to go into a ywam fund for us and which will be tax deductible please send to:
(Very Important! If you do this method please make checks out to Grace Biltmore and put "YWAM" in the memo slot...please do not put our names on the checks, instead send a seperate piece of paper with our names if you like.)

Grace Biltmore
P.O.Box 5718
Asheville, NC 28813

Finally, letters etc. under 6lbs. can be sent directly to us at the YWAM Costa Rica address until we leave to travel on our outreach...this will be around the beginning of April. We will keep you posted about exact dates.)

YWAM San Jose
Attn. Jason and Jennifer Haynes
Apdo. 252-2070
Sabanilla, Mts de Oca
San Jose
Costa Rica

Incase of an emergency we you can call the base before 10pm at 506-227-2070.

We cannot thank you all enough for your love, support and prayers!

More on our first full day.

We awoke around 7am to no electricity that led to no hot water that led to a frigidly cold shower. After breakfast we had orientation of base rules and were set out in small groups on a treasure hunt in our small town called "San Francisco". We had to accomplish small tasks such as finding the post office and ask how much it cost to send a postcard to the US, pick up a menu from a restaurant, take a picture with a taxi driver, and finally the trip lead to a park where we had lunch and sports. I played soccer while Jen played Frisbee. During the afternoon free time Jen and I walked around town and bought Coca-Cola Light... yeah Light not Diet! (remember Jes?) Anyway, the staff had an amazing welcome dinner for us students. It consisted of Steak Fajitas with chips and salsa.

Some of the pictures don't do this place justice. It is more beautiful than we remembered and the people here are so kind. We are some how humbled with our bare room and intermittently cold showers. We are still on the edge of our seats for what God has in store for us... So stay tuned for more updates and pictures!

We Made It!!!

As you can see we finally arrived to our long awaited destination... San Jose, Costa Rica. It’s a bit different leaving snow in NC to a tropical region was 80 degrees F is the high with a nice cool breeze and 65 F is the low at night. So we left off with making our flight but we must explain that what happened afterwards... never a dull moment in our lives. So we arrive in Huston, TX for our connecting flight only to meet another DTS student from named Ashley, a quite bubbly schoolteacher from FL. The flight into San Jose was a bit bumpy upon arrival due to "surface gusts" and we pulled in to our terminal only to wait approximately another 2 hours on the plane. Midway through waiting we saw a fire truck pull up with lights on, then another... then another with firemen hopping out putting on there turnout gear and air packs. Soon we were updated by the pilot that we were now in custody of the Costa Rican government. We disembarked the rear of the plane with an escort to waiting bus shuttles. Then we were taken to a holding area where we waited. At this point we still don't know what the heck is going on, but we did end up meeting 2 other DTS students that were on the same flight (5 of us total now together). After about an hour or so, over a loud speaker a gentleman with a spanish accent said that we were allowed to go to customs. It turned out to be a BOMB THREAT! Our flight made national news...There we picked all of our 150lbs of luggage and exited the airport in the crowded sea of taxi drivers and beggars. We recognized our shuttle folks and crammed our suitcases and backpacks into a van and headed to the base. The ride was crazy, weaving in and out of traffic, dodging people and scooters, with horns blaring all the while watching a surreal scene of the sun setting over the mountains with partly cloudy skies. We were received with a warm welcome of many families, small children playing and had dinner of soup and salad. Jen and I were shown our amazing room with over 20 cabinets and a closet for hanging cloths. We settled in and unpacked for the night and crashed into a soundly stuperious sleep.