One by One, One on One

It has been way too long since I sent out an update. I am doing well and blessed.  A lot is going on and every day just seems full and busy.  I am seeing the Lord work on behalf of people one by one.  I am blessed to see how He is allowing me to be a vessel of blessing to others, primarily one on one.

It has been terribly dry here. It hasn’t rained since the beginning of November.  The heat has gotten pretty intense and even though right now, we have a “cold front” and it is only windy, but it hasn’t rained.  I am thankful for the wind because it cools down the air (I felt almost chilly for the first time in Guanacaste last night at church). The sanctuary is outside and it has a roof and back wall to the platform but no other walls, so it is like being out in the open.  The wind was so strong that it was knocking over the empty chairs at church yesterday morning!  Tonight, as I write and sit on my bed with the window open and the fan on me, wearing a tank-top and shorts, I am comfortable, almost chilly … sorry to all of you in the snow!!!  J

I so appreciate your prayers!  I can't begin to tell you how much it means to me to hear from any one of you and that you all are praying for me.  Things have been spiritually intense as of late and I can definitely hear the Lord speaking to my heart.  Although clarity isn't full yet, I am starting to have an inclination and potential opened doors. 

During the end of December, the month of January and most of February, we were not having formal PFK (Potter’s Field Kids) program (Manos del Alfarero).  The school year in Costa Rica coincides with the calendar year, so most of this time was school break for the kids.  In December, we had graduations for the kids that passed from 6^th grade to Jr. High (Colegio as it is called here).  They leave the kids program and are able to attend the youth group instead.  During this time, we worked on special events and activities to invite and encourage new kids to join the program.  We went around the various communities with invitations, loud speaker and announcement and talked with kids wherever we would see them.   We would setup game days and meet with the kids to play soccer or plan activities where we would have Bible classes, worship and snacks.  With the graduations and a couple of kids that had stopped coming, we had smaller numbers toward the end of the year and we were a bit far from our max of 40 kids for the program (I believe we were closer to 25 or so).  I created a video in Spanish to share with the church and parents of kids so they would know what the program is about.  I am including it here, but I don’t have an English version, so sorry to those that can’t understand it. 

Once we completed our registration, we have been blessed to have 43 kids (in two groups) signed up and one on a waiting list (since this one and all 3 extras are in the same group)!!!!  It is amazing to see the new kids blend in with those we know and love, get to know them all and have new expectations of what the Lord will do in their lives!!!  I was blessed and privileged to pray with the mom of one of the kids to accept the Lord during one of our registration days!!!!  That was so exciting!!!!!

It seems like I haven’t had as many opportunities to get together with Brandon and Gustavo now that school started and part of their day is occupied with school and my afternoons are occupied with PFK again.  In any case, I was so blessed to see Gustavo coming home from school in his school uniform and a huge smile on his face!  I asked him how he liked school and if he was finding that our time together has helped him.  He said that it has helped him a lot because now he’s able to understand and finish his papers to hand them in quickly!!  It just warmed my heart!!!  Please keep praying for him and his family, as I see improvements, but I also see some of his old attitudes and difficulty.

In January, Sydnie and Emily’s visas were expiring, so we went with Corey to Nicaragua for a short day-trip to renew our visas.  With 90 days on our new visas, we are all legal in Costa Rica until April 7, which is safe since we leave April 1^st J.  The trip was nice and I got to see a new country and get a new stamp in my passport for a country I had never seen.  We went to the town of Rivas and took a stroll in “bike-pushed-taxis”.  Two of us sat in front and a guy sat in back on the bike that was attached to our carriage and pushed us through town.  It was a fun little trip!

During my time here, I have gone to San Jose/Heredia/Alajuela (the capital and surrounding cities, about 5 hrs away) on three occasions (two by bus), all of which have been a huge blessing for different reasons.  On two of them, I have been able to spend some time with a wonderful couple that has known my mom and I since I was a young child.  Miguel Gonzalez (a puertorrican pastor in Costa Rica) and Sarita (his wife, who is from Costa Rica) have lived lives of faith for many years and they are missionaries for life.  He has been an evangelist and founded many churches in Latin America. They were instrumental during my initial calling to missions many years ago on a previous trip to Costa Rica and also during these couple of encounters lately they have blessed me more than they could ever know.

The first time I went, I was also blessed to receive an offering from the Lord to use as He would direct, with no stipulations on what that would be.  It was challenging and convicting, and I saw it as a huge responsibility to seek the Lord for what He had in mind for that offering.  After I returned, I prayed and sought the Lord for what He would have me use it for.  As I prayed, one person kept coming to mind, but I didn't know what need she had.  After a couple of weeks of praying, I consulted with Pastor Phil and he mentioned the same person and that he had observed that she had a need for new eye glasses!  I had no idea, but was blessed that the Lord had directed my heart toward the same person, so I saw it as confirmation from the Lord.  I later agreed with her to take her out for a surprise.  It wasn't until we were on our way that she learned where we were going and she was blown away by how the Lord had worked on her behalf.  She had already gone to get an eye exam, although she didn't have the money for the glasses.  She had been praying and the Lord had told her to not speak of her need to anyone, but rather to commit it to prayer.  The store is located on her way to work, so she always carried her prescription with her and would often (if not every day) stop and ask about more information regarding the glasses and tell them that she would return with someone to cover for her glasses, as she felt the confidence from the Lord as she prayed!!!  This day was the day that I would take her and be blessed by hearing of her faith and how the Lord answered her prayer because He chose to allow me to be a channel of blessing!!!!  This whole experience has challenged and grown my faith!!!  It also served as a testimony to her daughter, who does not yet know the Lord, that God answers prayers and loves her very much!

The second trip, Sydnie, Emily and I joined Erika (my new closest friend here) to go to San Jose and Heredia and we had a refreshing time of going to the mall, eating at Wendy’s, shopping a little bit and walking around in weather that required a light jacket!!!  I was also immensely blessed to meet up with someone that the Lord had also put on my heart to use some of the offering money to bless.  I later learned that she needed to buy school supplies for her kids and it couldn't have been more timely!!

Last week, I went to San Jose/Heredia Thursday through Saturday with Rebecca (Pastor Phil’s wife) and Erika.  I have been very blessed with the friendships that the Lord is establishing for me here in that they have been a comfort, too.  The Lord truly filled our time with amazing blessings. I had a huge desire that I couldn't explain that Erika would meet Miguel and Sarita.  The Lord opened the doors for Erika, her daughter (Natalia) and I to join Miguel and Sarita for a day and it was AMAZING!!! This couple is one of the most inspirational missionaries I have ever met in my life!!!  They walk by faith and share what it’s like to walk by faith in ways that draw anyone and everyone to desire to do the same.  Erika was so blessed and now she can’t wait for her husband to meet them!  It’s crazy how amazing it was to sit and walk around just fellowshipping in the Lord hearing of their experiences!!

Potter’s Field just recently decided to send one of the interns that went through the program in Montana with us to Costa Rica.  She remained at the ranch when we came down and has been with them for this time.  Mariah arrived on Thursday afternoon (the same day I left for San Jose) and came to an empty apartment.  I got back and now we are adjusting to living together and sharing all the things that have been routine for us here as new to her, although I feel bad that we can only fit her bed in the living room as it is such a small apartment.  The bed she is on is a provision from the Lord after the most unbelievable long story, that I will have to leave for another time, but suffice it to say that the Lord has been showing Himself faithful provider.  She will be staying here until we leave (April 1) and has already been fully assimilated into Team Costa Rica!!!

On Monday night, after PFK was over, I was walking home immersed in my own thoughts and almost ran into a lady from the church that greeted me with “Can you pray for me?”.  I was a bit surprised and asked her if right now, so before praying I started asking her why and seeing if I could minister to her beyond prayer, as she obviously wanted to talk.  I was blessed that she opened up, sometimes with tears and shared her burden.  I didn't immediately have an answer for her, but rather listened.  After a while, I shared a few things and the Lord touched her heart that she needed to see the Lord as her defense and not try to guard herself and protect her heart, that her defense mechanisms were actually hurting her.  She was very touched and cried some more, so I prayed for her and we were both super blessed.  I can’t explain it, but lately it seems that the Lord is bringing to pass Isaiah 50:4 as He reminded me of this promise a couple of weeks ago.  

Tuesday, Erika and I began partnering in counseling a lady, which she will take over once I leave.  It is amazing that I can’t even resort to my old habits of saying that I have nothing to offer, because the Spirit is evidently filling my lips although I don’t feel ready.  The Lord has been using the verse in 2 Corinthians 10 to remind me that those thoughts or “imaginations” as it says in KJV are thoughts that exalt themselves against God’s goodness and character and that they need to be cast down and my thoughts taken captive to the obedience of Christ.

I can’t say that I understand all that the Lord is doing and where we are going, but I am seeing an amazing pattern that fills me with faith in two ways:

1. The Lord is faithfully directing my steps and words to bless people that are hurting and need it deeply, particularly one on one and one by one.
2. I may not know where I’m going next or who I will talk to next, but the Lord already has it planned out and I will see it unfold as I am faithful to listen and obey.

I would love to hear from you via email, facebook, skype, text me, or Viber.  If you want the numbers or contact, please send me a private message as I do not want to list the numbers on the blog for privacy reasons.  Unfortunately, both texts and Viber require internet connection, which has not been very good in the apartment.  My US number that most of you have will become active April 1^st which is when I return to Montana. 

The End of the Previous Year and The Start of the New Year

It has been a little while since I have published a full update.  Things have gotten a bit hectic and amazingly, the new year is now here and moving fast!  We are just catching up with a couple of team videos and I am including three in this entry.

This is the video for November

This is the Story of Brandon

This is the video for December

Merry Christmas!!! Feliz Navidad!!!

For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

This scripture is very traditional of Christmas, but have we really thought about what it means to us?  It isn't all about a child.  It is about the Child that would be so much more and it describes it in detail. This passage has been taught about in service on Sunday and it was read again in the Christmas eve service that I went to at another local church.  We sang about it in service and it is definitely sinking in.

This Christmas, I am celebrating it in Costa Rica among new friends.  The Lord has been faithful to grant great people to hang out with and celebrate this blessed day.  At a distance, I would like to wish my friends and family a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

I love you all very much and I thank you all for your support and encouragement.  May the Prince of Peace be your Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God and Everlasting Father!

Basic Needs

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? 

And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? 

And how shall they hear without a preacher? 

And how shall they preach unless they are sent? 

As it is written:

“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, 

Who bring glad tidings of good things!” 

Romans 10:14-15

How often when we read this passage, do we find an exact basic need that we just know must be fulfilled?

We have been getting to know the kids more and more, as well as understand their background and difficulties.  With each one we get to know, our heart becomes attached to them.  With many of them, our heart also breaks for the difficulties and trials that they go through, hoping that in some measure we can be a blessing to them and make a lasting impact.

Gustavo!

In a previous update, I spoke of Gustavo.  One of the primary reasons his behavior is a bit unruly is because he gets easily bored in classes, particularly because he does not yet know how to read.  He is 8 years old. Because of his behavior, the teachers in school have given up on him.  They report him to the principal, who in turn, reports him to his mom.  His mom has pulled him out of school during his second attempt at first grade, as opposed to being passed by the teachers without knowing how to read, as some other kids.  It is so sad that this is not an unusual story.  The hardest part is that the parents will pull them out of school, or leave them in school although they do not learn how to read, but do not or are unable to teach them to read, as many of them cannot read themselves.

Our team visiting with Gustavo's family

We visited Gustavo and his family and got to know them a bit better.  They are from Nicaragua originally.  He has an older brother and a baby brother, and is surrounded by cousins.  His mom and dad work a lot, so he is always hanging out along the street or at his aunt’s house with cousins.

Gustavo with his grandma visiting from Nicaragua, his mom,
his baby brother and his cousin.

The Lord has put it on my heart to try to teach Gustavo to read.  I have begun giving him private reading lessons and I have been amazed that he responds really well with me alone.  We get to hang out and I am using learning applications on my iPad.  This has been stretching for me, as I have never done it, but as I have been stepping out, Gustavo is interested and engaged, and as long as there are no other distractions, I can see him learning.  The beaming glow of excitement when he comes to learn is heartwarming to say the least!!!

During one of our learning sessions

It is slow and I don’t know how far we will be able to get while I am here, but I am hopeful that once he is able to learn to read and write, he will do much better in school as he won’t be as bored.

There have been some very sweet moments, some bittersweet and others that have been heartbreaking.  One example of the bittersweet moments is when I was asking him if he would like me to teach him to read.  He proceeded to tell me that we all (short term missionaries) come and leave, and leave him alone.  This was very hard, but the Lord had me answer that although it was true that I was leaving, that if I taught him to read, that it was as if a little piece of me stayed with him.  He agreed and we have stepped forward down this path together.

Gustavo, his baby brother, Stuart, and I

I am determined to prayerfully love him consistently, to express that my love is because Jesus loves him even more and to see him reading, writing and loving Jesus.  There are barriers that surround his heart and only the Lord can fully melt them, but He is working! Every time we have a lesson, he always asks “¿Mañana otra vez?” meaning “Tomorrow again?”.  Once he came late, but he normally comes early, even an hour early today, which is so not "Tico-Time"!!!  (Note: "Tico" is "Costarrican" and "Tico-Time" is always late!)

Gustavo praying with Rebecca during Kid's Club

There is also another boy, who is 11, that doesn't know how to read either.  It is almost a crime that at that age he wouldn't know how to read and keep going through grades.  He also needs this personal attention, so I am praying about teaching him too.  I have yet to speak with his mom and him about this, but the burden is there.  Please pray that the Lord will lead me wisely as this is not normally what the program does, but it is very necessary to minister to this basic need of these kids that the system has failed.  Please pray for these kids!

Making application from Romans 10:14-15 … 

How can they read the Bible if they cannot read?

Life goes on...

Wow, I can't believe time has passed so fast since I last sent an update!  Sorry for not communicating more often.  The days fly by with busyness and activity.  Other days, just allow us to catch up on laundry, groceries, etc.  Then Saturdays I have been cleaning quite a bit, cooking and practicing for worship for Sunday and still barely time to write to you all.  I have worked on this same update for a while now, so some of the information is a bit older than the other.

We have definitely exchanged our clouds of rain for clouds of dust.  The dry season has been going on and we haven’t had rain for several weeks.  On about two occasions it cooled down and the wind picked up, clouds came, a drizzle fell and all was gone.  Last night, it finally rained and it was such a blessing and it was a wonderful refreshing feeling.  Today, it is actually kind of dark, but it never rained.

It seems like this month has been one of injuries and pains, yet the Lord has shown Himself faithful as always.  Toward the end of last month, I ended up taking a tumble off a bike and hurt my ribs quite a bit.  I am all better now, as far as that is concerned.  Then Sydnie, one of my teammates, severely hurt her foot playing soccer.  For both of us, on each occasion, we ended up going to Liberia (1.5 hrs away) to find the clinic that had X-Rays where we could find out if there was a fracture.  Praise the Lord that neither one of us had a fracture!

Last Monday, after my ribs were almost completely well, I was trying to get out of the way of a car on the narrow road both the church and the apartment are on.  I ended up slipping and sliding down the slope on the side of the road and scraping my knee.  It is getting better and healing, but not as fast as I had hoped.  I guess it has become a bit frustrating to continue dealing with injuries.

I have been playing guitar somewhat regularly at church for worship and also for Bible Club.  It has been a blessing and I am certainly enjoying it.

When I entered into Costa Rica, I was given a 60 day visa.  At that time, it seemed like a long way away, yet shorter than the other two team members.  Well, I am about 10 days away from the expiration of that visa.  Next Monday December 3, a small team of ladies from the church will be driving south to Rio Claro, Costa Rica to minister to the ladies at another Calvary Chapel outreach from the church in Villarreal, where I am serving, to setup a ladies Christmas event.  This town is close to the Panama border, so I will be going with them and taking some time to cross the border and renew my visa.  Please pray for safe travels and grace with the visa.

Our last days of PFK and Bible Club for the year are very quickly approaching.  The kids are soon out of school, some graduating and we will be taking a break from the program for the school break.  The church will be re-locating to another plot of land in the same town but across to other neighborhoods.  Please pray that the Lord will direct our steps during the school break to invite new kids of the new neighborhoods for the upcoming year.

Team Costa Rica Video ... The Arrival!!! and PFM Update

This month, I have been privileged by having my story included in the Potter's Field Ministries update newsletter.  The story about me can be found here:

Many Are the Plans...

The entire newsletter talks about all the aspects of the ministry and can be found here:

Potter's Field Ministries - October 2012

This is our first video from the field!

This song (the Spanish version) has been our theme this month
(I am suspecting it will be for the entire time here)!

The Good, the Great, and the Somewhat Scary

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed

That I would see the goodness of the LORD

In the land of the living.

Wait on the LORD;

Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart;

Wait, I say, on the LORD!

-Psalm 27:13-14

Nothing like the Lord to give us the strength to work and be blessed in the midst of anything He has chosen!!  How wonderful to believe we will see the goodness of the Lord and even to see it fulfilled!!!  Waiting on the Lord should produce that strengthening!

We have now been in Costa Rica just shy of three full weeks. We have had lots of rain, which is understandable, given that it is the rainy season. It has been quite hot for me, not as much these past three days, a couple of days ago it was perfect... Although I am told this is the cold time! Today, it is beautiful and sunny and feels great in front of the fan! :) The heat will come as the dry season starts, beginning at the end of November or so.

Regardless of the future weather changes, I have learned to appreciate more than I had anticipated my rain jacket and pants! They have been invaluable, particularly since we walk everywhere!

I am starting to get the hang of things and get into a routine to work and do things according to our schedule. There are some things that I am figuring out, like how long it takes me to wash a couple of shirts and underwear or how to dry them fastest, since we wash by hand.

For the “Manos del Alfarero” (Potter’s Field Kids or PFK), which is Monday – Wednesday, Emily and I teach English on Monday.  Last week, we were using “Simon dice” (Simon says), to teach them body part names and motions in English.  During PFK, I help out with homework or studying for tests with the kids on Tuesdays and I help out Don Victor with making the meals on Wednesday.  The first time I was helping them study, I felt unqualified.  I hadn’t read the material beforehand (not that I had the material to read ahead of time), so I was scrambling to read it and make it useful to them as we reviewed.  Sophia, one of the girls in the group I was helping study, was telling me she had no idea and I felt like I didn’t really do much to help her.  This was in the photo on the previous blog.  Several days later, she came up to me to give me a huge hug and thank me for helping her study because she got 100 on her test!!!  I was so blessed and touched!!!!

I have started teaching the Bible class on Thursday's Bible Club.  This is the day that all kids come and registration is not required.  I end up teaching the same passage for 30 minutes with variations for 3 different classes of different ages in a row, so by the end, I am a bit overwhelmed, but so blessed!  It's awesome to see kids learn of the Lord and get excited about something new. I have started asking them for prayer requests and it is so sweet to hear the things that have been burdening their hearts and praying for them.

We have several packets of letters from people from the US to the kids.  Most of these are in English and we need to translate them, so Sydnie and I have been working slowly on translating them.  We will then share them with the kids and get letters from them in Spanish.  Those will also need to be translated to English to send back the States.  It feels strange to read other people’s correspondence, but it is sweet to know that the kids will be blessed with the letters.  Some kids have quite a few, but others don’t have any, and that is sad to us.

One of the things that are part of our job that I seem to enjoy the most is kid’s visits.  I have a list of names and phone numbers of all the parent’s kids.  I call the parents and after a complicated set of conversations to figure out where they live and when we can go, we set out to go see them.  The calls are complicated because there are no addresses and everything is X meters in Y direction (N, S, E or W) from a specific landmark.  As we don’t know the area well yet, the landmarks are not that useful to us.  I have gone on a couple “exploratory” walks with Corey, Emily and Sydnie to find out where the kids live.  What makes the visit special is that we meet the parents, learn of their family and their lives.  It is more personal than the group time we get with the kids at PFK or Club.

I so love taking pictures and I was given the job to take profile pictures for some of the kids … of course, I am enjoying it and having fun calling them aside to get the shot!

The Bible Club (or “Kloob” as pronounced in Spanish) is so fun, particularly because we get to do songs with the kids!  After Sydnie, Emily and I had been singing “Armor or the Spirit” (thanks Pastor Donathan) to Pastor Phil and Rebecca’s kids, and it was such a hit, I took to translating it to Spanish and it works!  Last Thursday we tried it out at Club and sang it both in English and Spanish with the kids.  It was a complete hit and the kids kept asking to sing it again!  We will have to do it again and get a video!
This photo is from another occasion at Club:

Singing during Club

There has been some heartache too.  Some of the letters that we have for translation are for kids that are no longer in the program for a variety of reasons.  It is sad to have these letters to kids that we don’t have there.  Additionally, the PFK program Monday-Wednesday has a lot of specialized and prepared materials that the kids register for, so if children are not registered, they are invited to come Thursday and register in January for the next session.  This is hard for me, as I would just love to invite them all in, but I understand that we aren’t able to.

Another aspect that has been bittersweet is the departure of Matt & Brooke McClain and their kids, Ethan, Isabelle and Audrey.  Of course, we knew the McClains, who have been heading up the program here, would be departing, but it was interesting and bittersweet to be part of the departure process.  We were just getting to know them and it was a blessing to hang out with them and learn different responsibilities from them, but we also witnessed how the people in the church and the kids in the program were deeply moved and hurting by their departure.  They had impacted so many people in the Spirit of the Lord and the love of Jesus as we would hope we all do.  We shall see them again in Montana when we return in April and that is exciting!

Left to Right: Betty, Sydnie, Brooke, Matt, Emily and I

At Restaurant in Tamarindo with the McClains

The same day that the McClain’s left, Betty also left to Montana and eventually home, so now our Costa Rica team is down to the 3 of us.  She is greatly missed!

Full Costa Rica Team before Betty left

Last week Monday, we came across our first scorpion!!  We were cleaning at the church under the sink and Sydnie grabbed one of the cinder blocks and there it was!!!  Inside the block!!  Corey killed it for us, but it was enough to scare a bit!

Our first scorpion at the church.  About 4 inches long.

The next evening, Tuesday Oct 23, after PFK, we had our first earthquake of 6.3!  That night I kept feeling aftershocks when I was about to fall asleep, so I had a very hard time falling asleep. Wednesday morning, we had early devotions at the beach.  It was very sweet, although we had them at a restaurant, because it was raining, actually started pouring the moment we got to the beach!

We have gone to the beach a couple of times, so here are a couple of shots of how much fun we were having!

Today, I was privileged to play the guitar for the Sunday morning worship service at church.  The Ladies’ Choir from the church sang, Eddie (one of the brother’s from the church that also works with PFK) played the guitar, Sydnie played the djembe (pronounced “jim bay”), Daniel (another brother from the church) played the cajon.

Tonight, I hung out with the kids in the kid’s room during service and I made a new friend: Matías.  Isn’t he adorable?

One of the kids that have stolen our heart is Gustavo.  I was told he is 8 years old (he looks about 8), although he says he's 10.  He tries to get into the class with the older kids thinking it will bring him some different lesson or advantage.  He is super smart and quite mischievous.  He just makes me laugh every time, although sometimes it takes all of me to keep a straight face to ask him to come or sit down.  There is a horse that comes to the outside of the fence at the church, where we have PFK and Gustavo claims it is his, so it takes all of our effort to get him to come to class when the horse is there.  He, like many of the kids, lives really close to the church, so we get to see them when we walk to church, the “pulpería” (little grocery store), or around the neighborhood.  I completely loved when one day as we were cleaning at the church, he was riding his bike by the church and shouted "What time is it?" (in English), so, I responded in English too and he said “Thank you!” in the sweetest English, as he rode off.

Gustavo!!!!

It is relationships like this that make my time here worth it all.  Any eternal impact we may have on the lives of these children is priceless.

More photos at the Costa Rica 2012 Album