Hello friends and family!

Last year Benjamin traveled to Nicoya, Costa Rica with his school (Christ Classical Academy of Charlotte) to serve with the ministry of Youth With a Mission (YWAM). It's quite a surreal moment for a parent, to take your kid to the airport and wave goodbye.

This year is his senior year, and his school is returning to continue the work begun there. This time around, however, I won't be waving goodbye at the airport, because his school has asked me to come along as well!

I'll let Benjamin tell you a bit about his last trip, and why he has a heart for returning:

In the months leading up to my first trip to Costa Rica I was struggling to hear the voice of the lord. I had been telling myself that I needed to hear the voice of the Lord clearly to be ready for this trip, and if it didn't happen then I must have been doing something wrong. I wrestled with these feelings for a while, and when the time came to get on the plane I still felt like I was being avoided or ignored by the Lord. I was nervous, and to be honest I was wondering if I was really fit to be doing mission work alongside some of the people around me considering the things I had been internally dealing with.

We arrived in Costa Rica and I prayed for guidance and once again to hear the voice of the Lord. The days went by and I felt like I was still getting nothing. This all changed on Tuesday morning. We were about to begin our morning devotions before we started the day and quite frankly I didn't know where to start. I decided to find a quiet place and just try to focus on a sign from him. I sat there with my bible in my lap, and in the back of my head I heard a verse; Mark 8:11-13. I didn't know why this verse in particular was in the back of my head, but I decided to look it up. I was shocked by how direct this verse seemed. In this verse the Pharisees urge Jesus for a sign, but he responds by saying "Why does this generation seek a sign? Surely I tell you that no sign will be given to it". I went throughout my day thinking about this verse. I had been so busy seeking out a sign for the past months that I completely ignored the one sending it. I was so caught up in proof like the Pharisees.

That verse stuck with me throughout the week. As we picked up smashed glass bottles from a soccer field and mowed. As we handed out bibles and talked to the locals with our very broken Spanish. As we painted buildings around the base camp. As we played with children during family night. As we met new people who didn't even speak the same language as us, but had just as large of hearts as we did for Christ. Even in the littlest things like the quiet times in the evening when we got to watch the sunset. I remembered the verse in every little thing I did in Costa Rica because I didn't want to get caught in the mess of searching for signs of Christ when he was in all the people, places, and moments. For me, Costa Rica was the sign I was searching for. Not a sign of whether or not the Lord speaks, but instead how he does it and the ways he does it. Costa Rica will always be a reminder to me of just how the Lord moves, and I can't wait to return again!

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The team will be involved in serving the YWAM base in their ministry to the surrounding community, including house-to-house ministry, local church work, and investing in local leaders.

We each need to raise $1900 for the trip. Unlike prior years when donations were routed through the school office, we’ve been asked this year to handle the support-raising individually — thus this family-specific GoFundMe. Any funds raised over and above the needed costs will go towards the larger team funds or be given as a gift to the ministry on-site.

Our deadline is approaching soon: we need half by February 7 and the remainder by March 1. Would you consider helping us get there? Any amount is appreciated, no matter how small, and your gift motivates Benjamin and me to be good stewards of our time and opportunities on the trip. Personally, I’m grateful to serve a great ministry in a Spanish-speaking context, to serve on a team with a school that’s meant a lot to the Burrells over the past twelve years, and to seize all the moments and experiences I can get with my exceptionally amazing son before he heads off to college in the Fall.