Costa Rica 2/3 – Gold Refined

Dear beloveds,

I have now been in my Child and Youth Ministry school here in YWAM San José (Youth With A Mission Organization) for two months now. The purification and healing that Jesus is bringing to my heart and mind in these days has been so profound. As I study child care, I am receiving great counselling about my own childhood and as well how to care for children and families. Growing up I always struggled to understand rules and structures and was fighting against these things. This brought up a perspective that God is stern before He is graceful. I feel like I am in a deep process of a reborn mind. I am learning for myself that:

God has never thought a wrong, insensitive or unjust thought about me
God would not change any of my trials, because those were the moments He was closest with me, even when I didn’t perceive it
That I have made the absolute truths of God relative – I have negotiated and rolled over and over what Grace can cover and what it doesn’t, how salvation works, who Jesus is, what is obedience, morals in situations, I have taken words that God has spoken to me and overthought them, making them something completely different

I have recently been praying for a hunger for truth and I have received it. I am currently reading Exodus, Psalms and John and finding so much revelations. Every day I choose to write out one or two absolute truths of God, to hold close to my heart. That on this process, I can slowly have my mind be transformed.

In all of this, I am learning the importance of obedience, discipline and righteousness both inside a family and to mature our characters in the Lord. With my upbringing, I always rebelled against discipline, I saw it as a negative thing. Now I know it is one of the most healthy fundaments of a family. When a child reject discipline, they try to overcome their parents, which makes it so the child can’t be a child and the parents can’t be parents. I am learning that love sets limits, obeys and guides while communicating and understanding. As I am striving to be disciplined by the Lord, I am understanding the goodness and fruit that comes with it. I am like gold refined in fire, and it is beautiful. To learn the goodness of the Lord, it’s so peaceful. Deep worship and love for scriptures is being instilled in my heart. I encourage you to seek too, you will find (absolute truth from John 7:7-8)

And I have discovered that for my school, I am going to need to stay out here in Latin America to do a two month missions trip of working with children 40 hours a week. I am currently looking into two options: to continue to stay here and work in some of the communities I have been working with or to go to an orphanage and psychological reconciliation centre in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Please be praying as I decide in this time. I will be coming home in June now!

If you would like to receive my email updates which hold more specifics about the work and impact I am doing here, please email jojogribben@gmail.com or get in touch with me! Thank you folks!