Contentment.

I once heard that "it is impossible to be content."--At the time, I thought that was a logical statement. How often am I in one place, no matter how cool it is, that I am always planning something ahead. I'm worried about something in the future. I'm trying to figure everything out--distracted from what is in front of me.

For the Christ says in Matthew 6: 25-34:


"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
   “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."


This past week I came down with some kind of sickness--it consumed my whole body.  There was no other place I'd rather be than home.  Soon my perspective change, here, in Costa Rica is home. This is the place the Lord has provided for me. 


                                                                                                              A 'mother' to care for me. 


            A roof over my head [very important during these rainy, rainy days].


Food. 
                                                                             A warm blanket.  


                             Spanish TV [though takes a lot of energy and not worth the trouble when sick].


And soon--there was no other place I'd rather be than right where I was--sick and all.  I was content.  There was nothing more I needed nor wanted.  He provided everything.


Impossible to be content?  I think not.


How often do we miss our blessings because we are caught up in the, 'not yet happened'?


By day 3 I was ready to be back in the office--and when I showed up I was ready to work.  Needless to say, for missing a whole day and half of work--you would never even know.  It is amazing the way we respond and react to the 'trials' that we face daily when we are content in Christ. When we are content and obedient to his call on our life.  Who actually wants to go to work? I DO.  I get to use my gifts, my passions, and abilities to do His work--there is nothing more satisfying than that. I need nothing more and want nothing less.


May we become content and obedient to Christ and gorge on the blessings that come from Him daily.

On the Home Stretch.

What a crazy past two weeks it has been.  With my parents in town, hitting the 2/3 mark of my time here in Costa Rica, and as the work piles up as we try to complete the project by the end of July, it has been a trying period to stay organized, manage time, and get the things that need to get done, done.

My parents came to visit!  What a blessing it was to spend a few days with them and share with them some of the familiarities of my life, right now.  Taking them to 'hole-in-the-wall' restaurants, being their translator, as they do not speak any english, helping them get acquainted with the Latin American culture, are just a few of the fun and exhausting experiences we had.

I had the opportunity to take a day off and travel to Guanacaste, located in Northern Costa Rica.  We went to a few beaches, enjoyed some great fish, went snorkeling, endured a incredible amount of rain [at times 1.5 feet on the roads--which seemed more like rivers], and my dad even spoiled me and got me a surfing lesson!!  As many of you know, I LOVE snowboarding--I can never seem to get away from it--so what better than to try surfing.  I found it to be a difficult task, but take a look--I even got up a few times:

Last Thursday my parents came down to Atenas and my host family had them over for dinner--talk about an exhausting night.  As my host parents practiced a little bit of their english, I was responsible for translating anything that wasn't understood.  It was a blessing to be where I am at with Spanish to be able to have conversations. At times I would start talking to my parents and it would be in Spanish, shortly after realizing that my parents had NO idea what I was saying--embarrassing. BUT, how amazing that I don't even have to think anymore--it has been a huge blessing.

Have reach a conversational level of speaking Spanish, this has allowed for more opportunities to relate with the people throughout the community.  Yesterday, I had the opportunity to accompany a fellow intern and we went out into the park to find someone to strike up a conversation. Simply to talk, get to know them, introduce ourselves and let them know what we are doing here in Atenas.  As we talked with a few people it wasn't as awkward as i thought it would be.  My initial thoughts were of fear, judgement of man, embarrassment. but as we just had conversations with people it was so, comfortable.  We had the opportunity to talk about Christ. Sharing who He is and what He had done in our lives.  My thoughts soon vanished and I cannot wait to go out and do it again. The awkwardness is quickly taken away when the person realizes you can speak at their level--I find this parallel to Paul's statements in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23:

"Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to may win those under the law. To those no having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings."

As the weeks start rolling into the finish, pray that God would give us opportunities to become like those around us, [not of the world but IN the world] so that we may share the gospel of Christ and its blessings to the community of which we have been put in.

Also, please pray for financial support. As my time comes to an end I still have finances that need to be filled. I have yet to look to the finish line of my work here in Costa Rica and I know that our God provides for whatever we need, wherever He has us, IF we are obedient to Him. If you would like to support Christ's mission that I have embarked on click the "How to Donate" tab at the top and follow 1-2-3. If you would like to do it through mail, contact me [which I would love anyways] and I will help you out with anything needed.

It has been my pleasure to continue sharing with you the work that God is doing here in the Community of Atenas, as well as throughout Central and South America as I serve with EMI to help build hope into people's lives that they might know to come and love the God and Savior for whom I serve so diligently.

In Christ's unfailing and everlasting love,

P. Grant Larsen

4+2=6

Progress.

After many many hours of work, here is a sample of the progress that has been made on a simply 3D model of "Cienega." It is the Phase 1 building for a new Christian University that Amor Ministries wants to plant in the Yucatan Peninsula. This will be the seed for Christian education near the Cancun/ Puerto Morelos, Mexico area.

Enjoy :-)

** Also check out more photos added under the photo tab above! **

Halfway and Some more.

As the halfway point of my internship and mission experience has come and gone, God daily continues to bless the work being done here in Latin America. Me and my team are hard at work diligently working on the design of the Phase I building for the Christian University complex that we designed earlier this year in February. As the architecture design begins to wrap up and the structure for the building is coming to completion our anticipation for the building completion runs high.  Just a few months ago this vision for a new Christian University in the Yucatan Peninsula was simply a dream, a desire, a thought, we are now seeing the physical production and it is truly coming alive!

It is a blessing that I do not take for granted as I daily get to work and serve alongside some amazing people who truly want to expand God’s Kingdom.  As an intern it is my job to work and coordinate with the volunteer professionals, preparing and editing drawings and figuring out design solutions as they arise along the way.  It has been a time of growing both in my field of architecture and knowledge but also spiritually.

Every day we open up the office with worship, prayer, devotions, etc. Also, once a week myself and the interns get together to have a bible study. We have been studying and learning on the topic of “Biblical Manhood.” On top of those, once a week I get together with my boss [Tim] who is also my mentor and we have fellowship together. We have been going through the book “Wild At Heart.” This has been a great time of spiritual growth as we discuss topics about how to live a spiritually rich life. How to embrace the adventure and battle that God has placed us in. God has been teaching me that my life needs to be consumed in Him. Everything I do is for His glory. As I have begun to embrace this idea the blessings have been overflowing.  The relationships I have made with my host family, within my church, and within the community of Atenas, Costa Rica are incredible.

One in particular, Jose Pablo, a high school student who is interested in being an Architect and doing missions over in Japan. He comes to the office voluntarily once a week to work and serve alongside of us as he develops his skills and desire to learn how architecture can make a difference throughout the world. I have gotten to have many conversations with Jose. Typically he speaks English as I speak Spanish, it’s quite entertaining. We have had conversations regarding spiritual relationship, missions, service, each other’s past and backgrounds. I have grown quite fond of Jose’s desire to serve. He opened up to me one day, and I could see in his eyes. As he told me about his desire to serve and be God’s messenger over in Japan, I could relate.  The passion that he spoke with resonated so strongly within my heart. “This is why I am here. This is why I am in Costa Rica,” I said to myself. “The passions and desires that God has put in my heart, to make a difference in such a needy world.”

I am here for a purpose and daily God is revealing that to me. God has been growing me spiritually as He molds me into the man He has created me to be. He has been able to use me to serve others. As I daily sacrifice my comforts and own desires to do His will, I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. God, is one amazing boss.

Why did Jesus fold the napkin?

Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection? I never 
noticed this.... The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was 
placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes. 
The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, 
and was placed at the head of that stony coffin.

'Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the 

tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran 
and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She 
said, 'They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where 
they have put him!'

Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple out ran 
Peter and got there first. He stopped and looked in and saw the linen cloth 
lying there, but he didn't go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He 
also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered 
Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side.'

Was that important? Absolutely! Is it really significant? Yes!
In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to 
understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day.
The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy 
knew this tradition. When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he 
made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was 
furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until 
the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, 
until the master was finished.

Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his 
fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss 
it onto the table. The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded 
napkin meant,  "I'm finished." But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it 
beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because..........

The folded napkin meant, "I'm coming back!"

GodisLove. LoveisGod.

Throughout my life I have struggled to define love. Some say it is am emotion. Others say it comes and goes. While others say it just is.  I have wrestled with how to define what Love truly is.  Recently God has laid it on my heart to discover what true biblical love is. Here are a few things God has been teaching me:

"Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply from the heart." 1 Peter 1:22

- In order to love, I must first be purified.

"This is love for God: To obey His commands." 1 John 5:3

- I must be obedient.

"Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love." 1 Corinthians 16:13-14

- I must remain faithful.

"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in Him." 1 John 4:16

- If I am living in God and He in me, then I live in love.

"Love is

.patient

.kind

.it does not envy

.it does not boast

.it is not proud

.it is not rude

.it is not easily-angered

.it keeps no record

.it does not delight in evil

.it rejoices with truth

.it always protects

.it always hopes

.it always perseveres

.it never fails."

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

the Stand.

'For I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned,

in awe of the one who gave it all.

yes, I'l stand, my soul Lord to you surrendered,

all I am is yours.'

My God is bigger. My God is better. My God IS love.