AROMA : Month 7 Scrapbook

last month of Costa Rica. 

It was a very sweet and intimate time. The Lord spoke to me a lot and I’m so thankful for the conversations we got to have. Through spending with the Father, He continued to challenge me and constantly revealed new things to me in this season. 

This was a season packed with learning and leaning into growth. I had many visions over this month and heard the Lord speak in creative ways. I was challenged to dive deeper into the scriptures that I had heard my whole life. I heard the Lord speak passion and purpose over my life. I learned and pressed into what prophecy actually means. I learned what my core values are !! My eyes were opened to what it looks like to rest in the Lord. I finally. It was a season of learning the power of prayer. 

 

a word that continued to come up was AROMA. 

“For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance of life to life.”

2 Corinthians 2:15 – 16

 

I could smell the aroma of Christ in that place. I also know that all that time I got to spend with the Lord taught me that I too am the aroma of Christ and I get to leave a trail of fragrance of Jesus wherever I walk. 

 

Another one of my favorite songs says

“let fragrance arise of our love to you”

 

so abba, let fragrance arise out of me because of my love for you. 

 

 

on to just a few pictures from this month !!

 

 

we took a ministry trip to a sustainable garden!! one of the local pastors that we met invited us to camp out on his property in the mountains. He taught us all about sustainable living and we got to help him with some manual labor. it was such a memorable weekend !! 

this was the view from our tents!! it was quite the scene to watch the sun go down over the mountains with the horses roaming around too. 

 

I shared a tent with Gretchen Jean!! We shared a space during our time with Jesus that morning. I loved getting to unzip the window and watch the sun come up that morning as the dew drops fell from the top of the tent. 

 

 

sorting, cleaning, sifting dirt !! we helped the pastor organize his garden shed and clean it out to make it look so cute ! We also helped gather some fresh dirt to garden with. We sift out all the rock and sticks and them trash bagged the dirt for future use. I got a little burnt after this day:)

 

 

all natural dinner!! edible flowers!! no chemical at all!! Yummy! this whole meal was made with ingredients straight from the garden and man was it delicious! It was the perfect end to a long, hot day:)

 

THERE WAS A EUCALYPTUS TREE !! The pastor let us take home a few pieces that I now have pressed in between the pages of my bible to remember that weekend! We even got to make fresh eucalyptus and lavender tea !

   

emma lou and I after our breakfast date!! During the last week of ministry, one of the ladies that we worked alongside of spend special time with each individual team! we met up with her at a cutie little crepe and coffee place for breakfast ! 

 

we took one last beach trip to Jaco before leaving costa!! And found a smoothie place:) Jamie was stoked!!

  

our last morning making breakfast!! Gallo pinto and eggs will be missed!! I think about these mornings quite often. So much joy waking up to worship music and getting to cook for the squad !!

 

PACKING DAY!! We prepared to leave Costa Rica – our room was too small for all our big packs to lay on the ground so we had to pack on the front porch haha!! I miss going up and down these steps from our room to the main floor !

 

we made a mattress pile!! while we were leaving the base, on our tasks was to take down all the bunk beds and stack the mattresses together in one location sooo… of course we jumped on the pile of mattresses. I’m also soaked because I danced in the rain right before this:) 

 

our last sunset at the base. God really popped off !!

 

Gretchen saying goodbye to the house while I hung up the last few sheets on the laundry line to dry before leaving 🙁

 Goodbye to the place I called home for 3 months! This is the living room where we spent most of our time as a squad. In this room: lots of testimonies were shared, lots Dutch blitz was played, lots of books were read, lots of hair clumps were blown by the wind across the floor, lots of drawing words of encouragement of the chalkboard, lots of worship, lots of dance parties, lots of movies, lots of memories !! Thank you thank you thank you God !!

 

then we went to debrief !! We stayed at a Christian camp called la Montana for a week to help transition from Costa Rica and on to the Dominican Republic !! I’m so thankful for the space to process and prepare well. It was equal parts rest and fun… exactly what we needed. 

  

we had quite the run in with some bugs… and some massive spiders tried to join the party. no gracias !!

  

We took a hike through the beautiful woods to a natural pool. The water was absolutely freezing but we all jumped in ! We only stayed in long enough to take a quick picture 🙂

   

my squad mentor Madie Hanni !! Wow wow wow. I just love her. Madie does all our the communication from our squad back to Adventures in Mission. She leads our squad so well !! I’m so thankful for the ay she pours into us spiritual and I can’t wait too see her soon!

  

Travel day !! If you ever wondered what it looks like to travel with 30 people with 30 other human-sized backpacks… well here it is. Thankfully it was a fairly easy travel day and bonus points for no one getting lost:)

LANDED IN THE DOMINICAN !!

and welcome to our new home.

  

this is one of my favorite views on our base. I like to sit here with my coffee each morning and talk to Jesus. thankful for a pool for sure !

 

  

smiley layna. smiley Gretchen. 

 

That’s a wrap !! Keep your eyes peeled for more info on what ministry in the DR looks like !! I can’t wait to share 🙂

 

with much love, 

Layna Jean