Break My Heart For What Breaks Yours

Step by Step

2012-01-27T15:13:00.000-08:00

This past week has been amazing. God has been showing me so much and working through so many of the people in my life. I have been blessed to spend much needed time with my family, visit with friends, and reconnect with lost friends. It has been such a blessing. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has committed to pray for me and my work, and for sponsoring me financially. I wouldn't be able to return to Costa Rica without you!

As of right now I am about 1/4 of the way funded! Praise God! And thank you all so much for donating and partnering with me! I am still fundraising and hoping to leave late Feb. or early March. It's all in God's timing!! If you would like to donate you can subscribe monthly, or give a one time donation here on my blog!

God has been doing so much in Costa Rica with 6:8 Ministries. I can not wait to be there and be apart of God's work there! We are now working in 4 different feeding centers, finishing up Child Sponsorship, and still in the early stages of raising funding for the Childrens Ranch! So many great things happening!

Thank you again for all of your prayers, support, and encouragement!

Hopeful

2012-01-17T12:24:00.000-08:00

I have been home from Costa Rica for 3 months now. This time has been a blessing, a burden, wonderful, stressful, fun, adventurous, prayerful, difficult, God filled, and a much needed time with my family and friends. As I prepare to return to Costa Rica I have several fears, but above all the worries I am so joyful to be fulfilling God's plan for me! I will again be working with 6:8 Ministries caring and loving on the people of Alajuelita, San Jose, Costa Rica. I will continue to be a light for God's people and know that I am living out His will for my life.

Making the decision to leave again is difficult. I will be leaving my family for long periods of time and all of my friends. God has blessed me with a ridiculously awesome family. I have parents that I know love me and want what is best for my life. A sister who is always so caring and loving and wants me to live my life for God. I have an awesome set of grandparents, who even though they don't always understand why I would want this, they are still supporting me and just want me to be happy. All of my friends, members of church, other family members, and coworkers have been so encouraging! They are keeping me accountable on what God is calling me to do, always praying for me, and keeping me in God's word. I am tremendously blessed. God has placed so many awesome people in my life. I pray and strive to be as much of an impact in their lives as they are in mine. Even though this is difficult, I know God has an awesome plan for me and I am so happy and blessed to answer His calling!

6:8 Ministries is welcoming me back and has been praying for my speedy return. I am not sure of my departure date yet. I am still in the early stages of fundraising, but will be returning as soon as I have the funds. Throughout all of this process, I have said I will be leaving on God's timing, not mine. When my funds are raised, that is when I know God wants me to be there. Please be in prayer for me. I invite all of you to take a moment and talk with God about how He may be calling you to help. If that is through prayer, words of encouragement, or financial support. God will provide. He does this by having His people support those in need. Thank you for being apart of God's awesome plan!

Thank you Lord, for all of your blessings. For calling me, sending me to Costa Rica, and showing me one of my purposes in life. Thank you Lord for my amazing family that loves me unconditionally and for all of the people you have purposefully placed in my life. Thank you for my friends who have been such a blessing and for their encouragement. Thank you for providing me with so many great role models and mentors who continue to show me how much you are taking care of me. Thank you for reconnecting me with some lost friends. Lord, I pray for my friends and family who might be effected by my absence. I pray you give them peace and the knowledge that this is of You! I pray for the 6:8 ministry staff who may be going through difficult times as we prepare for the wonderful things you have planned for the ministry. I pray for the community of Alajuelita, that they are open to your word God, that they see us as a source from you and that we can show them that Your love is never ending. Thank you Lord for your love and mercy. I pray Lord that you break our hearts for what breaks yours. Amen.

My Costa Rica Family

2011-10-19T16:50:00.000-07:00

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here I am. Send me!" -Isaiah 6:8

God is incredibly amazing. There are so many stories and God moving experiences I would love to share with the entire world. So many things happened and I was blessed to witness many lives being impacted. I am extremely thankful God sent me.

Looking back on all of the seasons of my life, God has constantly provided me with amazing friends, family, and godly role models. My time in Costa Rica was no different. God created us for friendship. He saw that Adam needed friendship and intimacy not only with Him, but with other human beings. God constantly provides for us. He provided me with a close group of friends that have become my

Costa Rica

family.

Laine- She is a true gift from God. She has become one of my closest and dearest friends. It is crazy how much we have in common and how God is using both of us in such similar ways. She is extremely on fire for God and I can not wait to see what God does through her and how He uses her in my life. Praise God you are my sister in Christ!

Brant and Gel- They are the most amazing couple ever! Both of them took me in and made me feel so loved and wanted. Brant is an amazing spiritual leader, and has such a hunger for God. Gel is the sweetest girl you will ever meet. She is like my little sister! I love you both so much! God has such amazing plans for you both! I can not wait to hear all about your ministry and see the amazing things God will do through you.

Chaz- The best roommate ever! She is my confidante, my friend, my sister in Christ, and the best person to make me laugh. Chaz has such a fun spirit, God has used her to touch many peoples lives and to bless me with a great friendship! Some of my favorite Chaz quotes include, but are not limited to: "I have leprosy!" "There's nothing sadder than a broken down mariachi band." "Feel my mullet!!" "I'd never feel comfortable getting a butt tattoo" "I have so much hair, it's like I have Lego hair- I can just take it off." Chaz you are amazing! I love and miss you so much!

Jota- J.D. is an amazing person, he is willing to do anything and everything. He is completely in love with Jesus Christ and is willing to serve in any way. He put up with me and has become a dear friend! I can not wait to see what all God does in his life and to hear about the people he impacts with his kind heart. God has amazing plans for him and I know J.D will always answer the call! You are amazing Jota! Thank you for all that you do and for all of the love you show God's people.

Heather and Jeremy- The Hicks family is amazing! They are great servants of God and I was blessed enough to see and hear about the ways God has moved in their lives. Jeremy is a great worship leader and was always trying to make everyone feel wanted and to help us get accustomed to being there. Every time he sees a need, he is trying to figure out a way to fix it. Heather is simply great. She took me in and has given me more advice and guidance than I have ever expected from anyone. Their girls are the sweetest little girls ever! I have been so blessed to love on this family. Thank you guys for taking me in and showing me so much love. I will forever cherish our friendship!

Pastor Miguel and Karina- have the biggest hearts. They are both so committed and fully engulfed in Celebration Church and serving their community. They are so loving, and have been such great role models for the young people in the church. Miguel is a great mentor to the youth and I know all of the boys really look up to him and respect him greatly. Thank you both for all of your love and prayers. You have such a sweet family. I am so blessed to have you in my life!

Amanda and Brian- The coolest missionaries I will ever meet! Amanda is ridiculously amazing, she is extremely talented and has such a passion for Gods people. Children are drawn to her and she always greets them with opened arms. Brian is extremely gifted in several ways, one of which is being a tattoo artist. He comes off as extremely hardcore, but has such a kind soul. He is extremely caring and it has been a blessing to watch God work through him. Thank you both for everything you do, and allowing people to see you don’t have to be a cookie cutter Christian to be a missionary. You both are amazing and I love you so much!

Manny, Kevin, Allan, Jefferson, Jerry, and James are all amazing young men. God provided me with a group of passionate, fun, loving, hungry, willing to serve, and caring young men. I love these guys so much! They each have such a kind and warm heart. They all are hungry for more of God and I have been extremely blessed to see Him moving in each and everyone of these boys. My time in Costa Rica would not have been the same without them. God has used them to impact my life more than I could ever impact theirs. I am so blessed and so thankful to have them as my brothers. My prayer for them is for God to continue to provide them with Godly role models, for them to continue to open their hearts up to Him, for them to stay hungry for God and His word, for them to become the spiritual leaders for not only their families but for the entire community. I know God has amazing things planed for each and every one of them. I am so excited to see them continue to grow in Christ.

Thank you Lord for all of your blessings. Thank you for gifting me an amazing group of people to call my brothers and sisters in Christ. Thank you for all of the amazing God moments I have been able to share with them. Thank you Lord, for all of our time spent together and for the memories we share. Thank you for my Costa Rican family who continue to bless my life everyday. I pray God that you continue to bless their ministries that they will continue to glorify you in all that they do. I pray for them to be poured into with your love, just as they pour out your love onto others. I pray we all have many more memories to come. I pray you continue to break our hearts for what breaks yours.

Out of so much ugly, and dirt God still shows so much beauty

2011-09-04T22:03:00.000-07:00

What a blessing of a day! I am so thankful I got to see so many miraculous things today. First off we went to church this morning at Celebracion. Everything was in espanol, even the worship. But somehow, even though I couldnt understand 99% of it, it was still extremely moving. Just seeing this community come together to worship our Lord and to hear the good news is amazing.

This afternoon we went on a prayer walk with the Jacksonville team and visited 3 families in need. We had went to the grocery store to buy some food and while dropping it off at the second house, we realized the family wasnt home. Here in Costa Rica you cant just leave a package on the front porch and expect them to receive it. There was another girl that we work with inside her home that had been waving at us, and the team decided we should give the food to here family instead. We found out that she should be giving birth any day now to her fourth child... and she is 19 years old. yes. 19 years old and has 4 children all by the same dad. The later rarely happens here. After hearing this the team was overwhelmed by the blessing it was to help this young girl in need.

Before getting back on the bus to head to Casa Azul we stopped at a panadería or local bakery. It was delicious! But even cooler is the fact that a man came up to Brant (another staff member) and asked us to pray over him, that his eye would heal and he would be able to see again! What faith this man must have to come up to complete strangers and gringos for that matter, and ask them to pray God heals him. It was amazing. We literally stopped what we were doing, and in the middle of a bakery 20 people prayed over this man who couldnt see. Jesus proclaims the blind will see, and I pray this man is healed. What an experience.

This is just one story to the many I have already seen or heard about. God is so amazing and so faithful. He tells us no burden is to heavy. Here in Costa Rica we ask for many miracles. For people to be healed, for families to stay together, for children to not starve, for peoples lives to change, for children to be loved, for women to not be used as prostitutes, for families to have an income. We pray for big things multiple times a day. And God provides. Not always in our timing, not always in the way we think would be best, but in His timing and in His will, He provides.

Thank you Lord for all of your miraculous acts, all of your miracles, and for the eyes to see it. Thank you Lord for bringing these families into my life, for me to have the privilege to have a relationship with them. Thank you Lord for allowing me to still see beauty despite all of the filth, the poverty, the hurt, and the suffering. Thank you Lord for allowing me to be a light into this dark dark world. I pray I continue to shine light on this community. I pray these beautiful children will continue to grow with your love and that they could become great spiritual leaders not only for their families but for this community. I pray you continue to pour out your love and open the hearts of the Ticos Lord. I pray for safety over the team leaving tomorrow, and for the continual safety for the 6:8 staff. Thank you Lord for all that you do. I love you with all of my heart and soul. Please continue to break my heart for what breaks yours.

Finally Arrived!!

2011-08-31T22:04:00.000-07:00

What a great day! All of my flights went well and I arrived safely! Praise the Lord! Only a few things during the flight from Miami to San Jose were interesting. The pilot announced that everyone needed to take their seats immediately and seemed a little panicked but nothing ever happened, as we started to land in San Jose we circled around one of the volcanoes! Super cool! Wish I would have gotten a picture. Then as we go to land, it looks like we are going to land in the middle of a field!! But thankful no, there was actually a runway. What an exciting flight!

Once landed Dan and his oldest son Luke (5 years old) picked me up and took me out to eat dinner. I had a chicken ciabatta sandwich with the BEST avocados! So good! After dinner we drove to Alajuelita, passing the richest and poorest parts of Costa Rica. Its crazy that they are a block away from each other! Once arriving to a neighborhood where several of the staff live, Dan and I joined their weekly team small group. We will be studying 1 Corinthians the next couple of weeks. Im sure I will enjoy the small group time since Ill be missing my lifegroup so much.

After getting to meet everyone and get to know a few of the staff, we arrived at my new home. Casa Azul-6:8 Ministries Team House. I have only seen a little bit of it but so far it seems to be pretty different from any of our homes in the states! First of all the house isnt completely closed off. In front room, the outer wall doesnt go all the way to the ceiling! There are bars there but it is open to the outside. No A/C but thankfully we have a giant fan in our room. I am rooming with another intern Chaz. We have a lot in common and Im sure we will get along great! Our room is super tiny, only 2 sets of bunk beds and 2 shelfs that we squeezed in will fit. But no big deal.. I doubt we spend too much time in here anyways.

Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day and I am exhausted! Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

Thank you Lord for everything you do. You are constantly showing me how good you are. Thank you Lord for bring me to Costa Rica and for working through me. I can not even describe how blessed I feel to have you using me for Your glory! Thank you Lord for opening my eyes and I pray you continue to show me your grace, mercy and love. I pray you open up the hearts of the people we will be trying to reach. I have heard so many great stories of transformations already and I know there are many many more come. Thank you Lord for all of your many wonders. This place is beautiful, but I know a lot of people are hurting. I pray for your healing Lord. Please pour down onto these people and open their hearts to fall in love with You! Please bless this team and please continue to break my heart for what breaks Yours. Amen.

9 MORE DAYS!!

2011-08-22T15:47:00.000-07:00

I am so excited! I have been counting down the days and it is getting so close!

Just to let everyone know fundraising went GREAT!! God used so many people to support me and I am SO THANKFUL!! Thank you all for your generosity, I feel truly blessed to have you all apart of my life!

Several people have been asking if Im ready to go, and honestly Im not sure. Im really excited but it hasnt really "hit" yet. Its been a long journey just to get this far and I really cant believe its already almost time! Ive been trying to be obedient to God and reading His word and praying He continues to prepare me. God has given me several people full of advise and best wishes. God has provided me with so much, He is so faithful, yet I have a few fears... Im worried I wont make the impact Ive been praying for, I am possitive I will miss my family and the luxury of seeing/talking to them every day and Im a little sad I will be missing some of the amazing things I know God will continue to do here in Oklahoma. Overall I know God will take care of all of my fears and I know He will stay faithful! Honestly I believe if I wasnt nervous a little bit I wouldnt be allowing God to push me out of my comfort zone. I prayed for Him to break my heart for what breaks His and to use me in a big way. Funny how God always answers your prayers!

This past week and the week to come are very busy. I am trying to pack, see friends, clean my car/room, work, and spend quality time with my amazing family. Ive had such great joy getting to spend so much time with the people I know full heartedly support me. I am so blessed that God has provided me with so many amazing people in my life! I love you all and ask that you keep me, the people of Alujuelita, and 6:8 Ministries in your prays.

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you Lord for all of the amazing things you continue to do in my life. You are so faithful Lord, and you never cease to surprise me. Thank you for this opportunity and for allowing me to be a tool for you. Please keep preparing me Lord. I want to be as ready for this adventure as possible. I ask you stretch my limits and truly break me of the boundaries I set up for myself. I pray You give me obedience to be focussed on this trip and this trip only. I pray You opens up the eyes, ears and hearts of the people of Alujuelita. I pray the people at 6:8 Ministries makes a huge difference in these lives and that You Lord get all of the glory. I pray for everyone here to stay healthy and happy and have You move through them in a completely different way than ever before. I pray you watch over my family and continue to use them for Your will. I pray you transform us, Lord and I pray you continue to break my heart for what breaks Yours. Amen.

In preparation... mentally.. physically.. spiritually..

2011-07-14T22:03:00.000-07:00

Deuteronomy 30:19 NLT

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!"

Being a procrastinator its so easy to fall into the "oh I dont leave for 6 more weeks, I can do this later" state of mind. I keep thinking I can just wait, I can do this in a few weeks, or why would i buy bug spray almost 2 months before I leave? This doesn't work. I refuse to not be packed till 4 am Aug 31 when Im trying to get in the car to leave for the airport. I also refuse to think I can wait till the week before or even during, to read the list of scripture I am determined to enjoyed. And I am refusing to wait till I am in Costa Rica to walk a million miles a day. I think in short, I want to be prepared for this trip in so many ways I never thought I would need to be, I keep putting it off, and thats just not okay. Therefore I have lots of work to do and it's going to be great!!

Therefore, tonight I finally picked out travel insurance... I am now covered if anything major goes wrong and even added additional coverage for Hazardous Activity. I feel pretty confident Ill be covered. I have also decided to start walking/jogging more (even if it is 110 degrees outside.. It might be that hot in Costa Rica.. who knows!) And I have been reading more of the verses on the healing scriptures list. Deuteronomy 30:19 is one of my new favorites! It just pushes me to actually live and really has opened my eyes. God is so good!

I also want to give a huge thank you to all of my supporters! I just never thought going on this trip would bring about so much love and sacrifice. I have had so many friends and family tell me how much they love me and how proud they are, it has been such a blessing!! I am so thankful that God has put all of these amazing people in my life! Thank you all for the prayers and financial support. You truly do not realize how much this means to me. I am so blessed!

Thank you Lord, for all you have done for me. Thank you for this opportunity to go out of my comfort zone and travel worlds away to try to impact and pour into others lives. I feel so blessed to experience You using me for your will. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for letting me be apart of this and for showing me that this is one of the reasons why I am here on Earth. I pray you continue to prepare me for this journey and that you equip me with your word so that I may pass it on to the people of Alajuela. I pray you open their hearts Lord, so that they may hear of your love. I pray you continue to open my eyes and soften my heart for the needy. Lord I pray, You continue to break my heart for what breaks Yours.

The Date Is Set!!

2011-07-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

I am happy to announce that last Sunday I booked my flight for Costa Rica!! I am so excited! I leave Aug. 31 at 6 am, arrive there at 3:40 pm and will be leaving Oct. 13th!! I am so happy and so blessed that God has made this happen! I literally jumped up and down! Then 2 minutes later reality sunk in. I am leaving for a 6 week long adventure in 2 months and I have nothing else prepared.

So after spending about 2 hours at Academy with my dear friend Kelsey Schulz, I returned with some awesome clothing and shoes for my trip. I have a backpack, camelback, pocket knife, passport, and flip flops ready to go! I just need to find some skirts, bedding, rain jackets, possibly some rain boots, bug spray, and I'm sure a million other things I haven't even thought of yet! I'm sure everything will come together nicely though.

As far as fundraising goes, I am extremely pleased and VERY GRATEFUL for all of my supporters and how amazing my friends and family are. So far I have raised about $1800. I also have a pancake breakfast fundraiser scheduled for July 23rd! So far it looks like there will be a great turn out! God is so faithful! I don't know why i even worry about some of these things.

In all honesty the other day it hit me that I had been really focused on all the worldly things I was trying to prepare for. That just isn't going to work. I really need to be focused on letting God continue to prepare me for this journey. I'm going to dive into His word more. After praying about what to study, I found this list of "Healing Scripture" verses that was from high school small groups. I've decided to study all of them and hope to memorize several. Also the lifegroups pastor at the Edmond campus gave me this amazing book, "When Healing Hurts" that I just haven't finished yet. Hopefully after this reading and continuing to pray and seek God, I hope I am as prepared as God needs me to be. I am so excited to see how much God works through me and how much I will grow during this journey.

I am so thankful, Lord. Thank you for all of your blessings and all of the good you bring to my life. Thank you for this adventure and the memories I will treasure always. Thank you for pushing me out of my comfort zone and really guiding me to follow your will. Thank you for giving me a family who truly supports me and has faith you will keep me safe. I pray You use me for Your glory and You break my heart for what breaks Yours.

In The Beginning..

2011-05-16T15:16:00.000-07:00

Hello all!

As of right now I'm pretty sure you have heard I am planning on going to Costa Rica for a mission trip. I have just applied about a week ago and am still waiting on a few reference letters but will hopefully be hearing soon if everything will be finalized!! I am so excited! God has been doing so much and I am so grateful of everything thats been going on in my life. I will definitely be keeping everyone updated! This is the blog I will be keeping while I am there and during any other adventures!

If you would like to check out the ministry I will be working with you can check out their website.
68ministries.org

Have an amazing week and thank you for all of your prayers!

God Bless!

Whitlee