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1 Corinthians 3:4-9

"For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men?

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building."

1 Corinthians 3:4-9


Monday, June 27, 2011

Multitudes on Monday

Well, time has flown by and we leave for the US in two days!!! Normally I am a planner and I start about thee weeks before we leave for the US with my packing lists, gift lists, and preparation. However, this year, life is a little more busy than usual...so I started EVERYTHING last week. YIKES! Today, I have last minute things to do and...uhh...oh yeah- PACKING! Hahaha... no biggie there.

So, this trip back, like every year, I reflect on how good God is to allow us to go back and visit each year. He has always provided for our needs...and our desires to go back and visit family and friends. But also, every year, what happens is this time of refelction on all that God has done over the year. Mainly, how my heart grows more and more attached to Costa Rica and her people, as each year passes.

Last year, we felt such a connection to our friends and church here that it was hard to leave. Circumstances being what they were last year, we were unsure of our future in Costa Rica at that time. So our hearts were sad as we  left, not sure of a permanent return.

This year, however, our hearts are burdened with a feeling that is very new. We've wrestled all week with this dread of leaving loved ones- those here with whom God has uniquely knitted our hearts. For the first time in four years, I feel like I am truly leaving my home...but in a strange sense...to visit what is also home.

This feeling is not new- the one where I feel so at home in Costa Rica that to leave brings sadness, mixed with the feeling of not quite fitting in at our US home, yet feeling that intense desire to see family and friends.

But this time, in these days, it is a different song my heart sings. It is the song of a love so great for the place and people God has placed us that it is painful, scary, and just plain difficult to leave. Even knowing where we are going. Even rejoicing in the blessing of this trip- that pain is there, gripping me. All week long I've been on the brink of tears, wrestling with this in my heart. Almost not wanting it to be there, as if I have become a traitor of sorts. Yet, in the same moment, a sweet feeling of peace washes over me as I realize that my heart is God's home and I am at home only when I am residing with Him. I realized last night during worship what a sweet time in my life this is, to have been given this love. My heart seeps joy and for that, today I am thankful!

So today, I continue to give thanks to the God who is the giver of all good things.

#'s 1025 - 1037
- for the way my heart breaks to leave this land, even if only for a month
-for thoes here who are like family, who in the very sense of the word are
-for those who place hands on us and pray
-for worship in English
-for Marvin Mefford's beautiful voice and how it brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it
-singing praises to my King
-being broken with gratitude, joy and praise
-love for You, Jesus
-being able to say, "See you Thursday!" to my parents
-being loved
-girly birthday parties
-the joy of friendship
-the beauty of restoration

July Prayer Letter

Below you'll find the test to our July Pryer letter. If you'd like to receive these updates through email please leave a comment and your email address and we'll add you to the list!

“Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions.” 1 Peter 3:8 The Message




Potter’s Field Kids (Las Manos del Alfarero)

June has been an encouraging month for us, both in ministry and in our family. We ended the second book in Bible Club and again were so pleased at the hard work and dedication of the kids who completed their books, including several of the 4-6 year olds. We also saw a breakthrough in the English class, as we have finally seen recognition and retention. Several kids gave short presentations at Parent’s Night this month in English and it was very encouraging for us all! And, we are seeing fruit from the months of studying Genesis in both the Potter’s Field Kids and in Bible Club. We wrapped things up last week with an overall review and it was super encouraging to hear how much the PFK kids have retained. Please pray for our teammate, Victor, and our three interns, Michaela, Justine, and Natalie, as they run the ministry while we are in the States. Potter’s Field Kids will continue to run on an adjusted schedule and Bible Club will continue as normal. Please pray for Natalie and Michaela, as they take over the English class and Justine as she takes over the cooking and becomes the official photographer. Pray for these precious kids while we are away. Our hearts are heavy as we leave for this visit to be away from those who’ve become our family here. We are so thankful for Victor, Pastor Phil and Rebecca, the ladies of the church who faithfully help each week, and the PFK interns that the ministry will continue in our absence. Praise God for His provision!

 
We are so very thankful for Potter’s Field Ranch and PF Ministries and the HUGE support they are for the ministry here, both in the form of financial support as well as sending awesome young people who are seriously committed to obediently serving Jesus. One of these ladies is Michaela Schwarz. She is serving her second term with us and is a blessing to all those who know her. The Lord has done a truly amazing work in her life and we’d like for you to join us in praying for her and for His continued work in her life. The following is her testimony of God’s mercy, grace and love in her life. “Though I was raised in a Christian home and I called myself a Christian all of my life, my words were contrary to my actions. I was around 12 when I started becoming rebellious, which grew worse as I got older.  In high school, I started going to youth group and really liked the church, though I was still a different person at home and with my friends than at church.  But after some huge problems in my family came up, I lost any desire to follow God.  I started cutting, starving myself and started getting into drugs.   I soon became extremely weak and sick.  After being rushed to the ER by my parents, I was sent to a rehabilitation center.  I got kicked out after only being there for a few hours, but after a week in the hospital was allowed back in. After spending 3 months there, I left and started back up all the things that I was doing before.  It wasn’t until the youth pastor of the church I had attended sat me down and told me some really hard things.  He and his wife explained to me where my choices were leading and showed me the life and freedom that is found in Christ alone. I finally broke down and ran into the arms of the Father who had been calling me to him for so long.  God put a passion for children and missions on my heart and almost exactly a year out of rehab I was heading off to Potter’s Field Ministries in Northern Montana. It’s amazing who God chooses to use for His glory!  Now I’m working with the ministry full time and am growing in His abundant grace every day, ready to follow wherever He leads.  Hebrews 12:1-3”
 
We are so thankful the Lord has provided for this visit to the States! Please pray for us as we spend much needed time with family this year, as well as several supporting churches. Pray for a special night of sharing in July (see next page for more). Please pray that all we do and say be glorifying to Jesus and that His great work here in Costa Rica be made known there. Please pray for the PFK kids as they reach the half-way mark in school– pray they find the courage to keep studying. Pray for those who lack loving, caring homes. Please pray for those who suffer from neglect. Please pray for Pastor Phil and Calvary Chapel Church. We are thankful for those God has allowed us to serve with over the years. Please pray for fellow missionaries serving in San Jose, the Kuzdas family. Pray also for the Droke’s here in Guanacaste, as they make disciples and shepherd new believers in a poor, spiritually dark area called Matapalo. Praise God for the opportunity to study God’s Word (in English!) with Ron and Meredith, while our kids get to have P.E.-pool time!



Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Multitudes on Monday (on Tuesday)

Due to a power outage in our neighborhood yesterday, I couldn't post...

However today I am in awe of our heavenly Father, His goodness, His grace, His mercy, His deep and wide love for me.

When I started this journey about six months ago, I wondered about how long it might take to record 1000 gifts...1000 seems like such a big number. Yet, when I ponder the scriptures that talk about the number of grains of sand and the number of stars in the sky...the number 1000 is so very small.

Yet, today marks for me the passage of 1000 gifts...time passes by and I've marked down, made a rememberance marker of God's glorious works in these past 6 months...thank You Jesus for this journey that will never stop...of giving thanks, receiving grace, be filled with joy!

#'s 986- 1004
-floaty ring toss with Justine and Michaela
-seeing fruit in the PFK kids- they have retained what we've been studying
-"Yo quiero nadar en el rio de Dios!"
-Corey doing dishes
-watching Little House as a family
-reading of Your work, Lord, in the lives of young women
-seeing how influential one man can be in a community- God please open Alvaro's  heart to You
-answered prayer-renewed strength and spirit in Michaela
-another restful night sleep
-hearing the girls play quietly early in the morning
-good morning kisses from matthew
-good morning smiles form Ethan
-Isabelle making her bed
-having a yard full of grass
-the amazing, caring, and beautiful way You created man and gave him dominion over the earth
-that You enjoyed watching Adam name all the animals
-that You are Creator of all things, yet You love me so deeply
-thankful that the fkea bites I have are a reminder of those who've suffered excruxiatingly more than I for the sake of the gospel and for the sake of the name above all names- Jesus...

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Sunday, June 19, 2011

Happy Father's Day!

To my hubby...

...Wo's a great Daddy to our three blessings...






















...as well as acting father to so many other precious blessings...






I love you!





To my Dad...



To my little brother...




And to my Daddy-in-love...





And to so many others...Happy Father's day!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Let it rain...

Every once in awhile a kid just needs to be a kid...

Partnering with Potter's Field Kids allows us the opportunity to share the gospel, make disciples, teach kids English, feed hungry kids, tutor them...and, sometimes-

just let them be kids :)













A fantastic time was had tonight by all...in a tiny little town...in a sweet little church...on a muddy dirt road...as the rain fell down...Laughter rang out as if the church bells were ringing...

Thank You Jesus, for such a sweet time with  group of precious kids!

PS: I got soaked, too...one of the girls pulled me in...it's just that nobody got a picture of me :)

Happy Birthday, Matthew!

Sunday, we celebrated 36 years of life of Matt. We started the day as we always do on a birthday in our family, waking up the birthday boy and singing "This is the day...!" and also of course, "Happy Birthday!" Then the kids gave him the cards they gave him and some chocolate and I gave him his present that I successfully kept a secret, thanks to the help of Natalie, Justine and Michaela!

We went to breakfast at our favorite restaurant in Tamarindo...because breakfast on the beach has become a family birthday tradition...and visited some friends in tamarindo also...Saturday, we spent the day at Playa Conchal with another family and Justine and Natalie. It was a great day, except for the Portugues Man of War stings at the very end. Thankfully everyone is ok :)

Here are some pictures of the weekend...






Portuguese Man of War sting...

OUCH!


"This is the day! This is the day! That the Lord has made! We will rejoice! We will rejoice! And be glad in it! And be glad in it! "


Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Audrey's card

Ethan's card

Family photo after breakfast on the beach...PS: the girls are not drinking Imperial- those are just the to-go cups the restaurant has...

Add caption

Multitudes On Monday (on Tuesday)

Being broken...why does getting there have to be such a mess?

If you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding and if you look for it as if for silver and search for it as if for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding." Proverbs 2:3-6

This week has been a boiling point of sorts...that has left me broken before my King...weeks of stress piling up combined with strange sicknesses, Portuguese Man of War stings, car troubles, and an evening in the emergency clinic...just about did me in...But in this world, we will have trouble...and I am thankful that My King, Jesus, is bigger than he that lives in this world...Thanks be to God for HIS strength...for HIS understanding...and that from HIM all blessings flow!

#'s 865-879 in a never-ending list of YOUR good gifts...
-Victor's heart
-the gift of interns
-learning of Your work in the lives of young women
-how You weave our lives together in such cool ways
-the bond we have through Christ
-matthew McClain <3
-doggies
-fish in the ocean
-rice with veggies, black beans, and filet of fish
-Genesis = beginnings
-imaginative play
-sisterly love
-my pajama pants
-mornings cool enough to drink my chai tea without sweating and to stay in my PJ's for as long as I want! :)
-ice cold water

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Monday, June 6, 2011

Multitudes on Monday

As I sit and listen to the rain, I am deeply thankful for the life God has planned for me. I am deeply thankful for the little I have to complain about. I am deeply thankful for the family I have. I am deeply thankful for the friends he has brought into my life. I am deeply thankful for HIM.

May you today bask in His goodness and stop for a moment and give thanks to Him.

#'s 781 - 795

- manta rays (sting rays) floating by us in the ocean
-the stingray shuffle
-fish flapping around in and out of the ocean
-Ethan snorkeling in the Pacific Ocean Puerto Viejo) as if it was as normal as the sun rising and setting
-Eden, Ezekiel, Elijah, Audrey, Isabelle playing all day together, happily, and without a care in the world...except those sting rays...
-sand soup!
-french toast
-sushi
-date night
-a heavenly Father who relentlessly pursued me and rescued me, paid an incredible ransom for me, showers me daily with grace, mercy and love
- girl game night
-rainy days
-the incredible  intricacies of God and His creation
-that He is I AM...and I am so not...
-that we literally have no words to describe Him- He is indescribable

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Brooke's babblings...

"Babbling Brooke"...that's what he used to call me...

I used to be in band in junior high and high school. I remember in 6th grade I tried out for the flute and the clarinet. My band teacher told me he needed me in the drum section, as it was painfully obvious I was tone deaf...  :)  so, began my drumming career. I played the snare drum, and actually really enjoyed it. I liked playing the different traps and being able to keep the beat for the rest of the band was kinda exhilerating. I learned to play bass and cymbals as well, and in high school even played set in the pep band. It was really quite fun. And probably theraputic in many ways, to be able to pound out frustrations on an inanimate object. Wait...I mean...yeah...

I played through my junior year and in my senior year I dropped out completely of band. Why? For a long time I chalked it up to just not having 'enough time.' That's always a good excuse, right?

Well, the truth is, even then, I wasn't really a quitter. I've always been kinda type-A when it comes to finishing a task...until of course, I became a mother and then I just had to learn to walk away and forget it until the baby stopped screaming or supper was prepared or the spilled cereal was cleaned up, etc.

But, back to high school band....so, the real truth is- I quit band because I was so scared that year. I was running away from God, despite His clear calling and persuing me. I was running away because that year I suffered great loss. Three people in my life died tragically that year. It was too much too bear for me.

One of them was my favorite teacher, my band teacher, Mr. Fred Albro. The one who discovered my tone-deafness...

His death rocked me to my core. I saw him every single day at school. He teased me relentlessly. ALWAYS. He pushed me farther then I'd ever been pushed to succeed. But he allowed me the opportunity and gave me the encouragement I needed to step out and do what I was most afraid to do- play that big drum set in front of all those people at all those basketball games. I still think I didn't know what I was doing, but he always encouraged me. To this day, I can see his face. See his smile. I remember the time he threw the eraser at me...and almost hit me...

Two other friends of mine also died that year- one from leukemia and one in a car accident.

But the death of Mr. Albro was by far the most painful and most difficult and the reason I couldn't be in band again. I couldn't even set foot in the band room. And I didn't again until after I graduated.

After those three deaths in a matter of mere months, I ran from the relentless pursuit of God. I don't know what was going on in my head, but I didn't want to hear the voice of God, yet I for sure wanted Him to hear me. I wanted him to know how angry all of this had made me. I wanted him to know how hard all of it was. I wanted him to know how badly I hurt inside. How I felt like at any moment I might crack and fall to pieces and never be able to be put back together again. But, I wouldn't let myself crack, Instead, I tried to quietly and slowly destroy the life He'd given me. I didn't go off the deep end, I truly believe because the Lord showed me great favor and grace, but I tried in several ways to make myself punish for my rebellion, which I clearly knew was wrong...

Praise God, He was relentless, His love for me never changed and I ran into His arms several years later and He has held me tight ever since.

But that fear, that self-perceived need to be punished still shows its ugly head. Just as in the Garden of Eden, when the crafty, cunning serpent so easily deceived Eve, his same tactics work on me, even today.

I've been thinking of those days in my life recently. I look back and wonder how my parents survived those years. I wonder if they really even knew the depths of my hurt. I really don't think anyone did. Yet, God my Father did. He knew each one personally, because you see, he had already felt each one on the cross. I just didn't know that then. I just didn't understand how safe His arms were. I just didn't want to think about the price He had paid for my sins. I couldn't fathom that He had taken that punishment that I knew I so rightly deserved.

I think I've mostly been remembering those days recently because I see in Ethan more and more some of my traits...that is soooo scary, by the way. Seeing yourself in these precious babes God gives us to train and care for. One thing I see is that he has rythym and is always tapping out the beat to the song playing or to the one we are singing or just to the one in his head. He loves the drums and I often catch him in the storage room at church practicing on the drum set there. So, that is pretty cool- seeing him develop a shared interst of mine. Then there are things, like sin struggles, faith struggles that are not so cool to see in my not-so-little man. Just this week, he shared with me how hard it is for him to understand how he can just all out talk with God. Like, how is he supposed to talk with him like he and I talk? He struggles with how to change out of the practice of acting on his own desires as opposed to acting out of what He knows is God's desire for him. He shared with me his frustrations that night- "I accepted Jesus, then got baptized...now what?"

Good questions. Little man-boy. Mama. Two completely different people. Same struggles.

This call to make disciples rests so heavy on my heart. And the thing is- I don't even have to walk out the front door to do it. God has given me these three little people to make disciples. What a privilege. What a weight.

So that night, I wanted to run.

How Lord, do I train this little man-boy. He is growing so fast. And I mess up so terribly every day with him. This world pulls at him. He seeks you, but my example speaks louder than anything I can ever speak to him.

And, God in his mercy and grace speaks to me. He speaks for me.

7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8 When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”
9 Do not hide Your face from me;
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
10 When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the LORD will take care of me. 
Psalm 27:7-10




'For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you" Deuteronomy 4:31

So, God in His infinite wisdom has used this week to remind me of His awesome power. He has used this week to remind me of who He is. He has reminded me again of my first love- Him; of the gift of marriage- Matt; of the blessing of children- Ethan, Isabelle, and Audrey; and of His call on my life.

I started reading the book, Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I'm only on chapter one, but even in the first few pages of the introduction I was caught up in great worship and drawn into a sweet embrace with my heavenly Father I've not quite expereinced before in a book other than the Bible itself. I've been journaling like crazy and there's some real uncomfortable-ness happening in my heart...in a good, Potter-molding-the-clay way.

I've been a Christian about thirteen years now and this week, a simple few moments with my sweet son and some awesome moments with my Great God have brought me back to those years long ago and caused me to revisit those moments when I began tackling all the Big Questions in life. And it is such a good thing. It is so good to revisit that time before you surrendered your life to Jesus. It is so good to go back to the Cross, with Him, be there in that moment, when He breathed your name.

Never let God become so common that He becomes familiar and lacks awe.

He is the I AM. He dweels in unapproachable light; He is the Glorious One, yet He comes near to us, draws us to Him, left that light to enter the darkness of this world and took every single sin upon Him. He is on one knee, asking each one of us for our hand in marriage. Eternal bliss lies in wait. Will you reach out. Will you give Him Your hand. Will you enter into matrimony with Your Almighty?

He is HOLY, HOLY, HOLY! Perfect, set-apart. There is nothing that can compare to Him. No words can describe Him. He reached down in love, succumbed to death,  to give us life. To give me life.

Today I read through 1 Peter 1.
I must: prepare my mind (Romans 12:1-2 and take every thought captive), be self-controlled (Galatians 5:22, Proverbs 15:1), set my hope freely on the grace given me by Jesus.

"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us..."
 A.W. Tozer

Then, there's this song that keeps me running. Straight to Him. Maybe it will with you, too.
http://youtu.be/FJ2_Gg6ka-k