Feliz Navidad!

It's that time of year!  Below is my Pura Vida Christmas 2012 newsletter.  I hope you enjoy!

Pura Vida Christmas 2012

Pura Vida November 2012

Extra, extra, read all about it!  Below is the November edition of my Pura Vida newsletter.  Check back soon for more pictures and video from FundaVida's Creative Worship/Talent Night!

Pura Vida November 2012

TOMS in La Carpio and Christmas at FundaVida

I've been wanting to post this for awhile, so figured I might as well get around to it!  Awhile back I went into the office at the center in La Carpio where I teach English and saw a plastic bag full of black shoes.  I asked the director what all the shoes were for and she told me they were a donation of TOMS shoes for all the students.

WOW!  It hit me de nuevo (anew) the difference between working in the States with teens and working in poor communities in Costa Rica with teens.  In the States, my Young Life kids bought expensive (or what I would consider expensive!) TOMS shoes (http://www.toms.com/) because they loved the styles and the fact that for every pair they bought TOMS would donate to a pair to a child in need.  And now the kids I work with here are on the receiving end!  The girls LOVE their TOMS and wear them a lot.  The boys aren't quite as convinced of the fashion statement that is TOMS shoes, but they've discovered they make good shoes for playing soccer :)

And I actually got a pair as well as there were some leftover!

Isn't this kid the cutest thing ever?  They got some for some of the girls who have kids as well!

And, as you all might know, I LOVE Christmas!  And I don't love mornings :)  As I was heading in early for a teen club meeting with FundaVida I was dragging my feet (don't get me wrong, I love what I do, I would just rather do it later in the day) To my great delight, the ladies in the kitchen had decorated for Christmas.  Yes, Costa Ricans have all their decorations out in early-mid December.  It's amazing!  

Pura Vida Newsletter--September and Submission

Hey friends!  Below you will find my latest newsletter!  Enjoy!

And a note about submission.  As some of you who read this blog have found, it often acts as my diary (open for the world to read).  So I feel compelled to share a word about submission with you today.  Perhaps if only to put it out there for public record so that I am held accountable to what I feel God leading me to do.

It's an off-putting, dare I say alienating word--submission.  It conjures up a whole host of images and emotions.  And yet it is something we are encouraged to do, compelled to do, as those who have chosen to follow Christ.  And I am, once again, being called to do it.  It.is.NOT.fun!

I read this morning (after an insightful and convicting message last night and affirming talk after with my pastor) about submission in (....yes, you guessed it) My Utmost for His Highest:

"First be reconciled to your brother...' Our Lord's directive is simple--'First be reconciled...' He says, in effect, 'Go back the way you came-- the way indicated to you by the conviction given to you at the altar; have an attitude in your mind and soul toward the person who has something against you that makes reconciliation as natural as breathing.' Jesus does not mention the other person-- He says for you to go.  It is not a matter of your rights.  The true mark of the saint is that he can waive his own rights and obey the Lord Jesus."

OUCH!  He always cuts right to the heart of the matter.  "It's not a matter of your rights."  But doesn't he know that I AM right.  Doesn't Oswald know that what he's [my neighbor and brother in Christ] proposing is ridiculous, dare I say outlandish.  Why would I submit to that?  No one would disagree with me (particularly no one who lives in the US).  It's unfair!

"What causes fights and quarrels among you?  Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?...Submit yourselves then to God."
-James 4:1, 7

"Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority..."
- 1 Peter 2:13

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving." -Colossians 3:23-24

Amen.  There's nothing left to do than submit.  And oh, how it hurts, the injustice of it all.  In fact, it reminds me of another injustice, an even greater one, the fruits of which I now live in each day, I drink in morning and night.  And I remember, it is for FREEDOM that Christ has set me free.  And that includes a FREEDOM to submit--not for my sake, certainly not for the unjust, ridiculous, law-keeper's sake, but for HIS sake, to bring HIM honor and glory, to love and obey HIM, and to live in the light of His truth and grace.

Pura Vida September 2012

Lis: A Changed Life

One of the things I am doing with FundaVida (www.fundavida.org) in addition to helping with their programming for at-risk teens is collecting and writing stories about kids whose lives have been changed through the holistic presence that FundaVida has in some of the poorest, most violent communities around San Jose.  Below is a story about Liseth, one of the girls who participates in the bi-weekly discipleship program I help lead.  

I'm excited to be joining the other teen program leaders and youth leadership/discipleship kids on a trip to serve the indigenous Bribri people who live in a remote area called Talamanca in the southernmost part of Costa Rica later this month.  It will be a challenging trip, taking kids from the inner-city to experience poverty and need on a whole new level as we serve alongside a local church and nonprofit seeking to provide educational and income opportunities to these communities.  Many lack sanitary living conditions and struggle from subsequent illnesses and malnutrition.  

Please pray for us as we seek to bring hope, light, and tangible assistance to this area, as well as help these young FundaVida leaders better understand that leadership starts with serving.  Our tentative theme is it is better to give than receive (Acts 20:35). 

Lis:  A Changed Life

Pura Vida Newsletter--July 2012

Extra, extra read all about it!  An update on ministry with at-risk teens in Costa Rica!

Pura Vida July 2012

Pura Vida Newsletter--May 2012

Here's the latest edition of my Pura Vida newsletter.  If you would like to be added to my email list and receive regular newsletters, please email me at ali.c.campbell@gmail.com.  Happy reading!

Pura Vida May 2012

There are no coincidences!

Don't you just love that?!  In living a life of faith you know that there are no coincidences.  God says that He knows every hair on our head and every day of our lives.  And on top of that, He's so good!

As I was sitting in church last Tuesday at my young adult group, SuperNova, they were announcing that Crossover (a famous Costa Rican worship band, several of the bandmates lead worship each week at my church!) was going to open for the Jesus Adrian Romero concert on Friday.  WHAT?!  How did I miss this?  (Oh, yeah, I was in the US most of April :)

Jesus Adrian Romero is a huge Christian artist and I love his music, and of course, I love Crossover as well.  My next thought--oh, but I have FundaVida Teen Club on Friday night AND a birthday party for a good friend after that.  Sigh.  Oh well, next time....

So I go to club on Friday night and there are just a handful of kids.  The director, Alvaro, pulls me aside and says, "Hey, what do you think about us going for a drive?  Maybe go to the national stadium and sit on the steps, get some soda, and do our lesson there?"  Great idea!  The kids were really excited about doing something different and fun.  The national stadium opened last year and it is a HUGE deal in Costa Rica.  It was a gift from China and is one of this soccer-loving country's most prized possessions.

As we got close to the stadium, though, we realized it was teeming with people.  Did you figure it out yet?  Yep, you're right--the Jesus Adrian Romero concert!  I, nor Alvaro, had any idea the concert was at the national stadium!  So we got out, set down a tarp and soaked up the music from outside on the lawn as we discussed how a supernatural God does supernatural things in our natural lives and world.

There certainly are NO coincidences with God!  Not only did He bless us abundantly through the music, but it was a great example for the kids of the fact that God is always at work around us and desires to give us good gifts.

The view from outside the stadium!

Exciting announcement--joining the Commission to Every Nation family!

I'm excited to announce that I have been officially accepted to the Commission to Every Nation (www.cten.org) family!  Commission to Every Nation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides spiritual and financial accountability to those serving in ministries around the world! Founded in 1994, CTEN now assists over 450 individuals serving in more than 50 countries as they pursue their own great adventures to bring hope and life to a world in need.  After much prayer and research, I'm excited to join the team at CTEN and believe they will provide me, along with the leadership of the local organizations I will be serving with and my home church in Indiana and local Costa Rican church, with the support and accountability I need to faithfully carry out the work I believe God is leading me to do in Costa Rica.  

For those of you who have been financially partnering with me over the past 2+ years, I hope you will consider continuing to partner with me, as I follow the passion God has put on my heart for youth to know and love Him, and in the process for their lives to be transformed by this love that brings complete, holistic healing for a future free from poverty and violence.

To continue supporting me through Commission to Every Nation, you can make a tax-deductible gift by check or online via credit/debit card:

To give online, go to: www.cten.org/alicampbell and click “Donate” where you can sign up for a recurring monthly gift or special gift. 

To give by check, please send your check made payable to "CTEN" with a separate note indicating you would like the gift to be credited to "Ali Campbell" to:

Commission to Every Nation

PO Box 291307

Kerrville, TX 78209-1307

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at ali.c.campbell@gmail.com.  Thanks for reading!

Illegal Immigration--not just a problem in the US

This is the second in my series on organizations I will be helping with in this new season of life and ministry in Costa Rica.  For the first blog, scroll down to the entry directly before this one about FundaVida.  Now, I'd like to introduce you to New Horizons, a project by Christ for the City International in La Carpio, a largely immigrant community in San Jose.

La Carpio is a squatter community in San Jose, surrounded on two sides by a river and on the third by a large landfill, that arose in the mid-1990s at the height of Nicaraguan illegal immigration to Costa Rica.  Around 40,000 people live in the 1 square mile of La Carpio with an average of 6 per "home."  Most of the residents in La Carpio do not have titles to their land and live in houses constructed of scrap metal and wood with exposed cement or dirt floors.  Over half of the people living in La Carpio are undocumented immigrants from Nicaragua (the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere) and other Central American countries.  The majority of its residents live below the poverty line and opportunities for work are few.  Those who do find work often work for a third of the pay a Costa Rican would receive with none of the social security and medical benefits Costa Rican workers receive in jobs such as construction, waste collection, and as maids. It is arguably one of the poorest, most violent slums in Costa Rica.

Below are some pictures of La Carpio:

One of the organizations fighting the cycle of poverty and violence in La Carpio is Christ for the City through their New Horizons project.  New Horizons has a plot of land at the end of La Carpio where there is a huge field for recreation, outdoor and indoor meeting areas for youth events and educational opportunities, two computer labs, and much more!  

There is no high school in La Carpio and so many kids stop going to school after 6th grade because their families either can't afford to send them to a school outside of La Carpio or they just don't.  New Horizons offers a systematic way for kids to move through high school by taking classes in each of the materials they need to pass and then taking the tests to pass them.  The idea is sort of like a GED.  I may help by teaching English through the Institute.  Learning English is one of the fastest ways for teens to rise out of poverty because it opens up a wide variety of job opportunities, even without any other formal education.  

Additionally, there is a great need for mentors for teen girls who have grown up in neglectful or abusive homes and are often sexually active by age 12 or 13.  There are opportunities to form relationships with girls through a Saturday recreation and bible study program, teaching Zumba (which I became licensed to teach in the States), and/or small group discipleship.  

Here are some pictures of the Saturday program I was able to volunteer with recently:

To read more about New Horizons, Christ for the City and the two American missionaries I will likely be helping out (Andrea and Seth Sears), please visit their blog:  http://richinfaith.blogspot.com/2010/08/day-in-la-carpio.html

Also, take a look at this video made by another missionary who works with New Horizons.  He has an amazing skateboard outreach to teen boys, as well as computer program that is providing real and tangible opportunities to learn skills to get better jobs!

Bringing HOPE to at-risk youth in San Jose

As promised, here is a closer look at FUNDAVIDA, one of the three organizations/causes I will be working with in the future here in Costa Rica.  The majority of my time/focus will be with FundaVida, I believe, and I am excited about the work they are doing with at-risk youth in three very high risk, poor communities around San Jose.

Here is a short video about their work.  It is a little older, but the newer ones are not in English just yet.  So sit, back and enjoy this introduction to FundaVida:

Click HERE

There are a couple areas in which I will be helping with FundaVida:  teen outreach clubs, English tutoring, and mentoring/discipleship.  While I am still just getting to know FundaVida, I've been volunteering now for about a month, I am still figuring out exactly what my role will look like.  I do know, though, that I will be helping once a week in two different communities with their teen outreach clubs.  I am also doing English tutoring in the third community they work in once a week.  And I will be helping with the discipleship group of student leaders for the teen clubs, and hopefully starting my own individual mentoring/discipleship with teen girls that grows out of relationships formed in the teen clubs, and as I help get some dance outreach going as well.

Through volunteering the last several weeks there are a couple things I have discovered about FundaVida, its leaders, and the youth:

• All of the leaders come from VERY rough backgrounds.  They have dealt with abuse, addiction, family dysfunction, and pain in intimate ways over the course of their lives and they can speak from personal experience into the lives of these kids.
• All of the leaders are wise and have unique gifts for working with youth.  I am excited to be joining an established group with great leadership!  They have really taken me under their wings.  The director, Eladio, said he has been praying for a female to come alongside and feel the need for a female leader in the two communities I will be focusing in, and when I called him to inquire about working with them, he felt very clearly that I was the answer to that prayer!
• These kids are not only dealing with REALLY serious issues in their lives (abuse, drugs, violence, family dysfunction), but they are so open and ready to be loved and looking for change--a different way of living life than their families and friends.  The harvest is RIPE!  

I can't wait to share more with you in person, hopefully, next month when I am in Indiana, but in the meantime, please check out the pictures below and visit the FundaVida website (particularly the pages on the NEEDS of these communities.) (For English, choose the "EN" button at the top right hand side of the screen.)

Below:  Me with some of the other youth leaders of the teen clubs at a retreat in the mountains.  They are starting a new study on healthy dating relationships this month that I will be helping with.  Given that 40% of the youth grow up in single parent households, many to teen moms, and almost all kids are sexually active at a young age, this is a really important topic!  I got the opportunity to talk with one of the girls during lunch about the unhealthy relationship she is in right now.  I am hoping to win the right to speak into her life and remind her that she is a daughter of God and He wants the very best for her!

Below:  The teens playing "ninja" at club.  It was fun teaching them this game!  These kids have a TON of energy and are not accustomed to having to listen and follow instructions as well as kids I have worked with in the past--it is a challenge, but one I am learning to meet!

Below:  All the kids hanging out at club--this is in 25 de Julio in Hatillos, one of the highest crime areas of San Jose.  Check out these statistics on the drop out rate in this community:  http://www.fundavida.org/need/drop-out/?lang=en

Below:  Me and Kelly.  This is a super sweet girl that I felt an instant connection with!

Below:  Me and some of the kids at club!  I feel so blessed to already be starting to form friendships with them and so quickly.  

Below:  Watching the little ones (0-4 years old) at FundaVida's Saturday program while their moms, most of them teen moms, where in a class designed to teach them parenting skills and help shape their faith.

Below:  I just couldn't resist including this video from club.  This is a really funny game where a guy has to come out and give the girls his best "pick up line" and if the girls approve they invite him to sit with them.  Little does he know what he is in for!  My years of Young Life experience are coming in REALLY handy as a lot of these kids have never seen such high quality programming and games.  It is a great way to attract kids and humor is an amazing way to build friendships with kids and break down walls so they are ready to open up their hearts!

March Madness in Costa Rica!

Okay, so it isn't basketball.  It isn't even a sport.  But my life has felt like "March Madness" here in Costa Rica the last six weeks or so!  It has been chalk full of all the excitement and uncertainty of what will happen, starting with one winning team (or in my case, idea) in mind only to have a huge "upset" before the final round, and stories of faith and taking home the "title" against all odds!  Okay, enough with the sports analogy...we all know I am not the biggest sports fan! But I hope I have your attention :)

Here are some "sports" analogies I can track with (pun intended):

If you have raced with men on foot 
   and they have worn you out,
   how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble in safe country,
   how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?
-Jeremiah 12:5


I have loved this verse since the first time I read it, and I actually memorized it in Spanish during my language training.  It had such significance for me as I was struggling to learn Spanish.  And now as I am transitioning into a new season of life and ministry, I am reminded of how good God is and how He protects us in trials and never gives us more than we can handle. 


But that matters little. What matters most to me is to finish what God started [the race-NIV]: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God.  -Acts 20:24 (Message)


The NIV says "my only aim is to finish the race" but I love this Message version.  God started this work here--He brought me here and what matters most is that I finish the work He has prepared for me to do here--to finish the race in Costa Rica.  And I love that I get to "work" telling everyone I meet about the incredibly extravagant generosity of God.  And the rest just doesn't matter as much.  The hard parts, the loneliness, the feelings of failure, the safety concerns, the bad Spanish days.  They all pale in comparison. This month has reinforced this for me.


And finally:


Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.  -Hebrews 12:1-3


I could reflect on this passage forever--it is so full of truth and encouragement!  But for this month, I have been thinking about how as much as we struggle, no matter how much pain we go through, it will never equal the cross.  Nothing ever will.  And for the JOY set before Him, Jesus endured the pain, and the insults, and the humiliation.  What humility!  What love!  And what a prize we have waiting for us if we do not grow weary or lose heart.  Not just in Heaven, but here on earth, too.  There is so much FULL, ABUNDANT, ADVENTUROUS life for us to live and to share with others!  


And that is why I am more than JOYFUL to announce that after my own version of March madness,  I believe that God is leading me to stay in Costa Rica--that my adventure, this little stretch of the race--isn't over yet!  


More details to come in future posts about what exactly I will be doing, but here are some highlights from what I've been doing the past six weeks or so:

• A two-day solitary beach retreat at the end of February.  I was able to spend two days at the beach resting, praying, and seeking God and His will for continuing my time in Costa Rica.  I heard Him say to me over and over again:  Just seek me.  Just seek me.  Just seek me.  And that is what I have done for the last six weeks!
• Saying goodbye to Young Life and Wyldlife kids and leaders.  This was the hardest part of the last six weeks.  Two goodbye parties and two last clubs filled with tears and wondering what in the world God is doing!  Though it wasn’t in my plan when I moved down here to only spend 1.5 years with these kids, God knew!  And I am trusting Him with the timing of everything.  It was great to have parents, other leaders/staff, and kids share with me how much my friendship has meant to them over the past year and a half and how much they will miss me.  I am looking forward to continuing many of these friendships as I continue my journey in Costa Rica!
• Important conversations with trusted mentors who know me well.  I have continued my one-on-one discipleship through the program Sonship (going on one year), as well as talking with other trusted mentors and friends about continuing to (1) work in ministry and (2) do that work in Costa Rica.  These friends/mentors have given me Godly wisdom, as well as helping me process life during this transition. 
• Visiting the various programs run by FundaVida, Christ for the City/New Horizons, and LightForce International and Freedom Street Ministries.   I’ve been all over the city each week taking time to talk with the leaders and staff of each ministry, learn more about their core values and work, and volunteer to get a feel for what it is like working with them. 

The next chapter of the Great Adventure

Friends and fellow blog followers, I have some news to share with you.  

As some of you are already aware, before coming to Costa Rica I felt a strong desire to work with the poor and use my background in nonprofit organizational development to serve in an impoverished area overseas.  However, God had other plans, as He often does!  And He made it very clear that He was calling me to serve in a ministry capacity with youth.  Because I was already leaning toward serving in a Spanish speaking country and had extensive Young Life volunteer experience, it seemed like a great fit to come on staff with Young Life in Costa Rica!

Over the past year and a half, I have been broken, stretched, and molded in ways I could have never imagined.  You can read about some of that here in my blog entries.  And all the while, I have served in a ministry where over 250 kids have heard the amazing news that God loves them unconditionally!  What an amazing experience the last year and a half here in Costa Rica has been!

In the past couple months, however, God has made it clear to me that continuing to serve on the international schools team with Young Life here in Costa Rica just isn’t the right fit for me.  While it is sad to close this chapter in my life, I very much feel God’s peace in the decision to move forward in another direction. 

Who knows why God calls us in and out of seasons of life, family, ministry, careers, etc?  If I had all the answers I likely wouldn’t still be living here in the midst of seeming uncertainty!  I’d already be with the One who holds all the answers! 

I am prayerfully considering where God might be calling me next, whether that be to continue serving here in Costa Rica or return to the States in another capacity.  I am going to take the next month or so here in Costa Rica to pray for wisdom and guidance, as well as meet with and volunteer with various ministries serving the poor, at-risk youth, women and children involved in sex trafficking, and more!   

For more information about how you can be joining me in prayer during this time, or help support me financially through this transition, please send contact me at ali.c.campbell@gmail.com.  Thanks for reading!