LIFE is good

So much has happened since I blogged last I really don't know where to start!!

Since, my last blog I have had some 1st time experiences that have totally changed me :)
Well I had the chance to visit the Caribbean Sea for the first time in my life... and it was beautiful!!
I went to the city of Puerto Viejo with a group of SCORE missionaries for one day and one night!! What an experience that was :)
We stayed at the El Pizote surf lodge ... and there were two phrases that best describe it... 1. Rustic 2. In the Jungle
It was pretty neat, but quite a different experience for us to say the least!!

My second 1st experience here in the CR was... I had the opportunity to lead a young lady (21 yrs. old) from the poor village called Alajuelita, to the Lord IN SPANISH!!!!

It was the first person who I lead to the Lord using only Spanish!! I am so thankful for the opportunity and I know the Lord's presence was there because His provided me with a peace like I have never experienced before! God is so good and I give Him all the praise and glory for this lady named Valeka, who is now my sister is Christ!!! I hope to follow up with her when the next group travels to her village!!

Here are a few pictures of the experiences I mentioned above!!!

Costa Rica June 2011

Hello everyone it sure has been awhile...

This summer I am spending two months overseas. I am serving as a SCORE international intern in Costa Rica.
It is a unique opportunity too because my brother Troy is here with me and he is SCORE's photography intern.

It is such a blessing to be back here in Costa Rica!! I love it so much; the culture, the people, the weather,etc.
This past week was my first week here and I had the opportunity to travel with several short-term mission groups from the U.S.
and participate in their mission work.

I went with a Church group and helped them prepare for a movie night at a newly planted church in the city of Coronado.

I went with several different sports groups to assist with their clinics and games. It is such a blessing to have the opportunity to translate for the groups.

Here are a few pics from this past week :)

Last day of Theology :(

Today is officially the last day of Theology class. It has went by so fast, it feels like class just started. This class has been extremely beneficial to me, even though it is a required course at Liberty I have really enjoyed it!!

In class today I learned about the difference between sects and cults. A sect is a group that does agree on the basic principles of Christianity but differs in their ethics and polity. Then a cult is a group of people that changes the doctrine of Christ and salvation, which ultimately affects eternity. We also discussed how any good Christian or any good church is capable of becoming cultic. Secret societies or organizations are some common examples of cultic groups.

Another topic that we discussed was the question, " Did Jesus go to hell?" Many Christians do believe that Christ did descend into hell in order to preach to judgement to the wicked people of Noah's day. Others believe Christ went to hell in order to free the Old Testament saints who were there waiting for atonement. Then there are some that believe that He went to hell in order to provide a second chance for them to believe in Him.

My personal belief on this subject is that I do not believe that Christ descended into hell. I believe this because when Christ was on the cross and talking to the thief beside Him, it clearly states that Christ promised that the thief would be with Him in paradise when he died, the same day. Since the Bible does say this, then that would imply that Christ ascended to heaven and did not descend to hell. This is just one point out of several that support my belief that Christ did not descend into hell.

In class we also touched on the question, "Was Christ capable of sin?" I happen to believe that since He was 100% man and 100% human then he was capable of being tempted, as found in Scripture. The best way to state how I believe concerning this question is through the statement, Christ was able not to sin. Sin was indeed hypothetical and yet since He was Christ, He conquered sin.

I am so thankful and proud to serve such an AMAZING GOD!!! He is awesome and this class has increased my capacity to love Him more.

May God Bless You, Dios le bendiga
Ashley :)

Day 3 of Theology :)

Today is my third day of Theology class. I had absolutely no trouble waking up this morning due to the fire alarm that woke up all us girls living on M30!! So, I came to class hoping to learn as much as possible today.

So at the beginning of class this morning Dr. Caner did a little devotion about God's call on our own individual lives. He was encouraging us to not let men's rejection discourage us or even stop us from fulfilling God's specific plan He has just for us. He went on explaining that sometimes His call is extremely clear for some of us and for others it may take more time and patience in distinguishing His plan for us. One awesome point that Dr. Caner shared was that we should not do God's will because of other's approval but rather because of the burning desire and passions the Lord has instilled within each of us. Last Caner challenged us to not let the expectations of men keep us from doing what the Lord calls us to do, even if it does seem extremely challenging!

We talked a great deal about creation today, We learned that in fact there are exactly 3 kinds of life. There is an unconscience life that consist of vegetables, trees, plants etc. in other words they contain no soul. The second form of life is conscience life. This consists of animals which have no soul as well. Last, there is self-conscience life, which are of course humans and we of course do have souls.

We talked about the "age of accountability" or the "age of conscience." The fact that we are not judged on our sin nature but rather based on our conscience. Another cool point that Dr. Caner brought to memory was that, "God brought everything into existence but He actually formed us as humans into existence." This proves that we are in fact individually created and designed for a specific purpose. We also discussed many different quotes that were about evolution and creationism. These are just some of the topics we covered along with many others. I hope you have a wonderful day :)

Jesus loves you sooooo much He DIED for YOU!!!!
Praise and thank Him today!!

Day 2 of Theology :)

Today is TUESDAY... which means that it is the second day of Theology class! I really looked forward to coming back to class today and learning more. Here are a few things I want to share from today's lecture!!

In theological debates many different Logical Fallacies can be used. Below are some of the different types:
*AD HOMINEM- which is an attack on the person rather than on the question of topic
*RED HERRING- which is where an irrelevant issue is brought up so that the attention is then directed away from the main topic
*GUILT BY ASSOCIATION- is equating socializing with someone to advocating their beliefs
I found these very interesting and helpful to be aware of when in a theological conversation, debate, discussion, etc.

In class we also talked about inspiration. The Bible was inspired by God and therefore it is inerrant. Inerrant simply means that it is infallible and without error. This means that we can not go wrong with the Bible. Many people have tried to disprove the Bible, and all they had to do was find one little error and they then could disprove the entire Bible. Even greater they would then disprove Christianity in itself. It would then be pointless to worship God or try to be like Him if the Bible was disproved, but thank you Lord is was not disproved. The fact that we link the authenticity of the New Testament to that of the Old Testament, shows that if any error was to be found in the Old Testament then the New Testament would automatically be disproved.

There are 4 links between God and us. They are as follows; Inspiration, Canonization, Transmission, and Translations. These four links simply prove that Scripture is the Word of God. The fact that the Bible was inspired by God, means it is from the mouth of God. Canonization of the Bible, means it was collected by the people of God. The the transmission of the Bible, means it was copied by the scribes of God. Last, the translations of the Bible were proven to be translated by the servants of God.

These again are just some of the cool things I learned in class today. I could totally keep going, but I will stop here until tomorrow! Have a relaxing day :)

Later

*Theology Intensive*

I cannot believe that it is already summer!!! This week I am taking a one-week intensive course here at Liberty. I am taking Theology 201 with Dr. Ergun Caner. So to be perfectly honest, I was rather intimidated about taking this course at first. However, after the first few hours I felt completely comfortable and learned so much. The word, "Theology," itself was a little intimidating to me because I had no clue of what to expect.

So, I just wanted to share a few things that I learned today in this course with you and maybe they will help you learn something new today! We talked about the key issues that Theology involves, here are a few: 1. The Name of God, 2. The Nature of God or His defining characteristics, 3. Love vs. Wrath. I also learned that truth with no love = legalism, and love with no truth = liberalism. Also, Theology is not man talking about God, but rather how God reveals and defines Himself.

Sometimes we may wonder why is it important to study Theology, and we can find in the following 2 verses the importance of studying Theology.

1 John 5:13
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

John 5:39
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.


We also talked about how religion is not Christianity. Religion is defined as a set of rites and rituals by which man seek the favor or to stop the wrath of a god or gods. I would like to leave you with one final thought/statement.
Jesus Christ will NOT give you salvation, hope, joy, peace, etc. but Jesus Christ actually takes your sin and He BECOMES your; salvation, hope, joy, peace, etc. This is a very powerful statement and I believe we should always praise Him for what He has done for us and what He will do for us in the future. I will be updating my blog daily with new information I learn in the course. Hope that you enjoy reading it!!

May God Bless You
Ashley :)