First star to the left, then straight on till morning

So I would love to show you guys what God has been showing and breaking me down in my life.
Here is a short film that I watched this last weekend. The film is about child prostitution and overwhelmed me emotionally and broke my heart. Im warning you it will probably do the same to you. it is around twenty minutes and intended for mature audiences so copy and paste this link into your search bar or something im not smart enough figure out how to put it up here haha.

http://indieflix.com/film/fields-of-mudan-4596/

The film really broke me down and made me think. These are children, who should be living lives as children. They have no voice, no one to say stop. I ask why? I dont know all the answers but I guess is where the world goes with out God. No Love, No right or wrong.
Any thoughts?

This movie really made me ask where do I fit in? I dont think im going to be able to sit at home working a comfortable job or go to college to get a better job and make more money. I need to be the difference, I need to be out on the streets telling people about God and just how much he Loves you and you dont have to run away. With God's love comes hope or at least in my opinion.

Prayer Request-
How God wants me to make difference or where? or how should i prepare?
Outreach to Peru and Lima
Finances for our group
Protection

Praise Report-
For God meeting me where im at and holding on to me
That God has protected me
That I have a better understanding of what God wants me to do

And please feel free to facebook me or something its getting lonely here in Costa Rice

While Swabbing the Decks

So for this blog I wanted to talk about what God has kind of hit me in the face with over and over again: Love. So through out this DTS God has taught me many different things about Love; like how he loves me and how im supposed to love myself. This week however he used verses i thought i already understood and its what i would call a life verse. The verses im talking about are 1 Corinthians 13:3-8a
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails.

I have heard these verses so many times and im always like aww thats so cute i really want that when i get married. It always reminded me of that once scene in A Walk to Remember where they are getting married. There is the link to the clip if you dont remember and if you dont know the movie im talking about then go watch it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYff31l7yLg

The point is i thought this verse was like for marriage or how you knew you loved someone.
Im not saying that you cant take it and apply it to that part of life because i think thats great and you probably should feel this way about someone you really love or its the "signs" to tell how you know they are "The One". I guess im just saying i restricted the verses to that area.

Ssssooo on to what God told me or showed me or my reasoning and my thinking path.
entonces 1 John 4:8 tells us how God is Love. This means God is all that stuff 1 cor 13 talks about. Our speaker today, Jack Kody, brought this verse up and talked about how God is love therefore he is patient, which is long suffering. He is there through all the crap we put our selves through, all the partying, drugs, pointless relationships and everything that does not take use closer to him. He is there waiting for us. Not only is he waiting there but he is kind so he is not waiting there to yell at us but waiting there with open arms ready to hold us and show us his love. So God is love, by the way his love never fails.
I want to add that this love is not something you understand with your mind but something you experience.
I feel like Gods love is something i could write on a lot more talking about personal experiences that i have had in the short time I have been at this DTS and all the countless stories i keep hearing. So if you want to hear more just let me know but im going to continue on to what else God taught me.

Gen 1:27 tells that we are created in the image of God. This means, i personally think, that we are supposed to love with the love God has for us. Not just our wife and family but everyone around us. I find this really hard and i know alot of times i say things are self seeking or rude, or i want someone who has hurt me to fail. For me these verses have become a way i should strive to live my life. I will not lie i still have not memorized it but i have it book marked in my bible and its cool to see how im going through the day and i check my self with this verse and ask is this Love that im showing? So i challenge you to live a life full of love.

Sorry i have seemed to ramble and developed some incomplete ideas. Love is such a massive subject and i continue to learn more and more each day.

Ssoooo to wrap up. Im going to end with some praise and prayer requests.

Praise-
God has shown me so much and I have been able to help people who really need help and show them Gods Love.
I got to see the Ocean. My blog is nautical themed i obviously love the ocean.
Im making so many new amazing friends.
I could go on and on haha...

Prayer Requests-
That God will help me see the open doors i need to walk through.
Finances- specially if i plan to continue to work in missions (specially if i plan to go to australia haha)
For freedom street the prostitute ministry here at the base that I really enjoy working with, they have just started up and need help. Here is a link to there page: http://astreetnamedfreedom.blogspot.com/
Protection

Thanks all feel free to message me on Facebook with anything.

The Duldrums of My Life plus Where Im Headed

A day in the life of a San Jose DTS YWAMer person. So I usually start it by skipping breakfast which is usually cereal with my favorite, lukewarm powdered milk, I have decided that the extra half hour (or so) of sleep is way better. After that we have our quite time and then some sort of group intercession, group intercession can get pretty crazy. Haha

Then we drink lots of coffee and prepare ourselves for teaching. I actually love teachings and the teachers we have had so far. They are usually on fire for God, have amazing testimonies, and are very passionate about what they have to say. We even had a pro skater speak, he was down here for a skate outreach.

We then have a snack which I like, then more teaching followed by lunch which somehow incorporates rice and beans. After lunch we have lots of different activities ranging from more teaching to a movie or small groups. Then after that learning session of sorts, we have work duty for two hours. My area of work is transportation. I usually wash all the cars amazingly well and make sure they have all the stuff they are supposed to have. Sometimes I get fix some miscellaneous item on the van and I even get to drive every once in awhile. Right now we are also working on this old '83 Diesel Rabbit that has been converted to run on I think vegetable oil. It has been sitting around for almost two years but we almost got it to start today.

After work duty we have dinner, which again usually has rice and beans haha. I actually do love rice and beans. Then after dinner we might go out and feed the homeless in downtown San Jose or have a bible study watch a movie or talk about our outreach. Through out the week we also have homework we are supposed to work on. We have five books we are supposed to read and then a book report we have to write after each book. We also have a journal we write in recording what we have learned and the events of the week and we turn it in every week.

So this brings me to what we are working toward and preparing for: Outreach. There are two teams in my DTS and we pray to see which team God wants us to go on. After praying and the staff deciding based off what we believed God said to us and other unknown reasons they place us in a team. God placed me in the team that will be traveling to Peru and Bolivia. What is really cool is that the outreach has a backpacking focus and there is a chance we might go to Machu Pechu. The one problem is that the plane ticket is $850. So that brings the total for our outreach to 2350 if my math is correct haha and I have sold my car for 1000 dollars so it looks like im going to be short 1350 for my outreach. The money has to be raised by about three weeks from now. So being praying that God will provide and if you feel that you want to contribute to our cause you donate through my paypal button below or contact me or my parents and we can arrange it.

Prayer Requests:
-Protection
-Outreach
- What God wants me to do after my DTS possibly YWAM bible school in Australia
- Finances for our outreach (and Australia ?)
- Freedom Street

In Stormy Seas We Sail

So I thought I would have another Blog out by now and I started writing another but its a delicate subject and taking a lot more time than I thought and will have to wait for another post haha.

So anyways God has been moving so much in my life. I came here and found out how burdened I was and God has, I felt, each week been removing a burden. I will not lie right I feel so free and excited to go out and do God's work.

I have just started working with the prostitute ministry here in San Jose through YWAM. I have only been out twice, but it has opened my eyes and moved me so much. The first thing we did was pray outside the largest brothel in San Jose. It was so sad and disgusting to see these older white men who are probably someones grandfather and were usually married leave with young women who had no hope in there eyes.

The second time I went out we hung out at a park that has male prostitutes we hung out and talked to them just playing soccer and showing them love that does not have to be paid for. I was able to talk to a street vender with my broken Spanish and his broken English. He was really cool and like so many people was looking for purpose and hope in his life. After a long conversation I asked what he wanted to do in his future and he almost started crying saying how he was 27 and stuck in San Jose with no idea what he wanted to do stuck in a life of parties, drugs and alcohol.

So those are some of the things im up to. Please pray for me and that God will pave the way and be a light in this dark place.

Also be praying that I will trust God with my life after the DTS. Im considering attending an intense nine month Bible School through the YWAM base at the sunshine coast in Australia. I feel and believe God wants me to develop a better foundation in his word and in my life and this is a place I have felt has been pointed out. So pray for discernment and that I am able to trust in God in any direction he leads me.

Also pray for protection.

Why I Set Sail

Yes all my titles will be nautical themed...

As most of you may know, I, Christopher Jacob Benjamin am currently residing in San Jose Costa Rica. Some of you however might not know why I am here. I am here with a group called Youth With A Mission (YWAM). This group basically trains youths and equips them to go out and spread God's love to all the nations. I have no idea at the time why I chose now in my life or even YWAM to attend. Before I came here I was in no place to go out and spread the Love of God with others. I was was making bad choices and in the wrong places. I was mad at God. He took everything that I valued and found meaning in. I felt abandoned and forsaken. I was living for myself. Well God has plans for me. I had on a few occasions almost left for different DTS's before I chose San Jose. I felt then that was what God wanted me to do. I however changed my mind and allowed my self to surrender to the world. I chose to be distracted from his plans and walked away from him rather than towards him. Well I guess God really wanted me cause he took all those distractions away. I felt after he was done I had nothing so I decided to go on a DTS to escape all the shit and pain removing distractions brings. Haha.

So I get to San Jose Costa Rica no clue what im doing here, but knowing some changes had to take place. I came to San Jose for selfish reasons, but found out that it was not really my reasons that mattered because God wanted me to go. I wanted to Go to San Jose to run away. I wanted to go backpacking and escape from all the pain and monotony back in the CO. So I thought hey a DTS will get me out of the country away from everyone. A small part of me was like well I will be able to actually find time to see what place God will take in my life, I found out this was the real reason God wanted me here. I came here believing there is a God, and at the very least I will leave here KNOWING there IS a GOD. I can not deny what I have seen, what he has done in my life, and what I know without a doubt he will do. By the way this is only week four.

My favorite parts of this so far is discovering the Love of God, the christian community and friends I have always desired., The mentoring and being able to help other people. I came in feeling God was distant and not really being able to feel love or trust anyone. God has showed me personally and through others how much He loves me and cares for me. I had no direction no paths I felt confident in now I feel like I have purpose and the directions I could go are endless.

So this is a very brief and detail lacking summary of what has happened here in San Jose (pretty much 1/100 of the story of why/how I got here and even less on what I have learned/done here) There is bad grammar, I did not even tell stories or jokes. So pretty much this first excursion into blogging sucks. My purpose at this very moment in time is to start writing about specific events and things I learn. So we will see....