Project Jesus for Children

Alright, now that I have caught up updating you all on the wedding and such, I would like to catch up updating and telling you about what has been going on in ministry in the last months.

Shortly before my wedding, I had been praying for quite a while about ministry and praying that God would open up some doors, when I met another Canadian missionary at my friend's bridal shower. Ministry came up in conversation and I mentioned that I was looking for more ministry. Something stable/ a little more structured than my past ministries. Well, after a couple minutes, Holly, a fellow missionary, spoke up and said that her family's ministry was looking for more people to help out. I was a bit reluctant seeing as so many "open doors" had fallen through in the past, but of course I was interested. So I spent a few weeks before my wedding, checking out and job shadowing the ministry. The more I learned about this ministry, the more I realized that I had a heart for it and that so many children from so many different backgrounds were being reached by this curriculum. So I made a decision shortly after my wedding that this was the ministry I would be working with.

The ministry is called Project Jesus for Children and it's vision is to keep Jesus in the school's here and teach about values. They have created a curriculum approved by the education board called "Vital Values with Jesus". The program works with the Jesus Film for kids and teaches about the life of Jesus/values through different scriptures and movie clips. It has been well recieved and is working on a national level all across Costa Rica, as well as Nicaragua and Honduras. The family who started this organization is origionally from Cochrane, Alberta, so it is really neat to meet/work with some fellow Canadians who are also from Alberta! This ministry doesn't support any specifec denomination as the ministry focuses on what we all have in common like having a relationship with Jesus, believing in the Word of God and that we can only recieve salvation through Jesus.

One of the many blessings of this ministry, is that they actually do all of the fundraising and pay an average salary to those working in the Organization. They have expanded so much that they are constantly looking for more people to keep up! God has really blessed this ministry and there are so many fruits coming out of it. After praying about it, I have decided to leave CTEN, my awesome mission's organization, and join Project Jesus for Children. This will be my last month recieving donations through CTEN. Next month will be my first month being paid by Project Jesus for Children.

However, with that being said....I would really like to mention that although I will be recieving a salary, that the Project always has needs continue this work and to keep expanding the work. I am going to put the information to donate to them on this blog for those interested in supporting the Project as a whole.

Also, I would really like to say thank you to all those who have personally supported me in these last years. Part of my reasoning of switching organizations, is that it has been increasingly harder to fundraise (its not my strongpoint) and now that I'm married, I'm not sure when I will be able to share in Calgary again. I also like the idea/ find it easier to find supporters for a project overall rather than for myself. 

This is a humble organization that is non profit. Donations go towards the expenses it takes to donate books to schools in need, do teacher training sessions, visiting all the different schools and being a support to teachers and expanding the work to new schools. Below is a link to see a short video on the ministry;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kx4K-vyuK4#t=59

For Information on/ and to Donate to Project Jesus for Children, Click the link below.

http://www.projectjesusforchildren.com/index.php

Thank you/Wedding update!

Well, it has been quite an eventful few months with planning my wedding, having my family visit, getting married, and going through some ministry changes! I will share about what is going on in ministry on my next blog post (within the next week). But first of all I wanted to thank everyone for all your support especially while I was in Calgary visiting. I was so blessed to have a bridal shower at church and just be able to visit with so many people. I was surprised by how much encouragement/generosity was shown there.

I know I haven't had a chance to personally thank each one of you and with being in Costa Rica, it is a bit more complicated to do so. So with that said, I have not forgotten and I truly am grateful for each of you that were there and shared in that special day with me. For those that weren't there, I am so grateful for each one of you as well and the love and support that you have shown me. God knows how many times your encouragement and support helped me get through some tough situations here on the mission's field. With that said, I'm sure some of you are wondering how the wedding went!

The wedding went well, it came and went by so fast, but it was truly a special day and in my mind couldn't have been better. The day was perfect for me and Jorge's outdoor ceremony and everything was decorated beyond what I could have imagined, thanks to Jorge's sister in law Irene. She did a fantastic job! I wouldn't have had such a beautiful wedding if it wasn't for her. Most of you know me well enough to know that I am a "no fuss" kind of girl….formality isn't my cup of tea, just being down to earth and spending time with people and keeping things simple is what I prefer. Because of this,I didn't want to be stressed out planning a wedding and lose focus on the real importance of the day, so I showed Irene what I liked and she pretty much planned my whole wedding! This was such a blessing, and I think God knew that I needed the help!! You see, after living on the field for 4 years and having to live month to month on mostly a rigid budget…..I couldn't even imagine deciding on the most basic things for my wedding….all I could think about was the money and how much it would cost. I really couldn't have pulled off such a beautiful wedding without the support of my in-laws, parents and Irene. I am so blessed.

I am so happy that my family/best friends were able to come to my wedding!

Just as I wanted, my wedding day wasn't stressful in the least, I felt so much peace and just relaxed, enjoyed my last night as a single with my friends and just spent time with them that morning as I got ready for the day. It was so surreal that it was my wedding day…..I literally felt so relaxed like any other day, that I felt weird….I thought to myself…..shouldn't I be nervous or something? :) I guess it is only God that gives that peace. I knew that it was Him that brought such a godly man into my life and I had no doubts that he was the one God had in mind for me.

Anyways, that's a bit about how the wedding went and let's face it…..most of you would just like to see the pictures….so here are a few more! Thanks for your patience with this update, time just flew by!