This is how we roll....

Here are a few pictures we thought we would share....

Here are Daniel and the boys headed to the store. The boys LOVE to ride on the bike and this is the second most popular mode of transportation here (behind walking)...

Here is the trailer that you, as our supporters, bought so that we can "do church" every week. We load it and the car up with the sound equipment, chairs, etc and transport it every Sunday morning to the open air soccer field where we meet for church. This trailer has already been such a blessing--thanks so much for your continued support of the ministry here!!!This last picture is of our team at a restaurant celebrating Gabo's birthday (guy to the far left by Daniel) Gabo is a Tico from San Jose who moved here to work with us. He speaks fluent English and Spanish. Mike and Revae and their 3 girls (Naomi, Abby, and Michaela) are pictured as well. We are really enjoying getting to know them and partnering with them here in ministry.

Thanks for your continued prayers....

Our God is so faithful!

We just wanted to thank all of you so much for all of the encouraging words, scripture, and prayers that we have received over the past week. We truly feel the prayers of all of you and are truly humbled by all of the care and concern. Our God is so faithful and we are doing just fine. Besides a few sleepless nights for me and a lot of extra caution, everything is great and God continues to blow our minds with the work he is doing here. Of course, this is probably the very reason Satan has attacked us in this way. Again, THANK YOU so much for encouraging us---we are all a team in this and all of you teammates are so special to us!!

We wanted to share a little story about how the Lord is working in the lives of people here. About a month ago a girl named Maria and her friend showed up at our gate asking if we had any work they could do (cleaning, taking care of children, etc). We talked for a long time and something struck me about this girl Maria, but I told them Daniel and I would have to pray about it. She left me a phone number of someone in her neighborhood so I could contact her later. I talked to Daniel, we prayed and about 3 days later, one Sunday night, I felt like the Lord told me to call Maria and offer her work. I called her and she came by the next day and I asked her if she would like to work maybe 2 days a week for a few hours. I felt like this would be a great ministry opportunity with her. Well, she asked if she could come 5 days a week a few hours a day and I agreed. I know the Lord orchestrated this meeting between us because she has been a blessing to us and we have really been able to pour into her. We talk all the time about the Lord and she has asked me to pray with her on 2 different occasions so I am really praying about the time to share the gospel with her. She is married to Lester (they both came here from Nicaragua 2 years ago) and he is unemployed as well and looking for work. They are extremely poor yet so humble and full of joy. He has been able to help Daniel build a few things for the church and Daniel has paid him in return. More than that, Daniel and I have been able to pour into this couple spiritually in an amazing way over the past 3 weeks. We found out that Lester has NEVER been to church in his life, not even a catholic church, which is so hard to fathom. Well, they came to church with us last week for the first time!!!!! We were SOOOO excited and they both LOVED it!! Lester was really nervous about going...we picked them up and they looked so beautiful all dressed up and excited! We then took them to lunch afterwards and were able to talk to them about the service. They came with us again this past Sunday and really enjoyed it again. Again, I am praying for a time to share the gospel with Maria so pray for us as the Lord prepares her heart! She is very open to the things of the Lord. Below are a few pictures of us with Maria and Lester.

Again, thanks so much for all of your prayers...we love you and are so thankful for you!!!!

Please pray for us

Despite getting settled and celebrating Costa Rica's independence over the past 2 weeks, we have had some trying times as well. In short, a guy showed up here from Nicaragua and was told to find our church and we would help him find work and continue to disciple him (There is NO work in Nica) So, he showed up and we as a team came along side him--fed him, gave him a place to stay, a bike to use--he got a job, etc. He is a believer and a really sweet guy. Well, last week we noticed our camera missing and were extremely baffled. We have had many people in and out of our home and we had no idea what could have happened to it. (Of course we initially "accused" the children of hiding it) Anyway, long story short, we found out last weekend it was our friend we have been ministering to who stole the camera. In addition, he stole some money from us last Saturday--Daniel caught him. We were, of course, very hurt and had to make him leave our home. We gave him food, prayed for him and told him we needed time. Of course he was very apologetic and we forgave him but we were very hurt. In the meantime he lost his job and was living on the street this week. We continued to feed him and he came to church last Sunday. After much discussion and prayer with him, we sent him back on a bus last night to Nica to his family. This situation was different because he wasn't some heathen off the street--he professed the name of Christ...he knew Christ...he was sent here by his Christian mentor. We have learned very quickly that theft is such a part of the nature of so many people here--this survival mentality--that they are in bondage to...

Anyway, what is worse, we woke up this morning and we had been robbed. Praise the Lord they did not get in the house but they took all of Daniel's tools and 3 pairs of shoes that were drying right beside our front door (inside our gate). It poured rain last night and in the rain Daniel helped a guy fix his bike so he took his tools out of his car and didn't return them there because he didn't want to get wet again. He hid them under a chair but we think someone saw the shoes and climbed our BIG fence (with spikes on top!) to get them and saw the tools as well. I will be honest, I am a little nervous...I just don't want anyone in the house. I know the Lord did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind and this is what the Lord has reminded me of all day. I am writing all of this just to ask you to pray for us because it has been a difficult, emotional 2 weeks. Please join us in praying Psalm 91 over our family and our home. We love you and thank you for praying!

Dia de Independencia (Independence Day) Costa Rica

Yesterday, September 15, was Costa Rica's Independence Day. This is a huge day of celebration here just as the 4th of July is in the States. There are usually big parades and everyone dresses up in the traditional campesino clothing. Because of the big swine flu scare this year, the big parades were cancelled and the local school here in Jaco had a "mini" parade. We dressed the boys up in their campesino outfits that Concepcion made them and with our teammates we went and experienced the festivities. Here are a few pictures from the day.

First flood of the rainy season

As most of you know, it is rainy season here in Costa Rica. In Jacó, that means most days it is dry in the morning and it rains mid-afternoon/evening. We are told that it should rain nonstop in October and into November so we are bracing ourselves for the flooding that will occur here. Well, on Friday night we got our first taste of the "flood" waters. It rained for many hours--we have never in our lives seen this much rain--and as a result, our pipes that drain water from the back yard to the front street were clogged so water was coming into our house from many locations. Our bathroom pipes overflowed to our bathroom and it was flooded. A side door in the house doesn't close all the way so water was pouring in there. And our kitchen had the most water--more than 4 inches and Daniel and a friend spent hours filling buckets and pouring them into the sink. It was a crazy night!!!! When it began dying down I had to run out and pick something up for a friend and passed many houses that were half way under water---it broke my heart and the Lord quickly convicted me of my complaining--so many have it so much worse than we do. Many people were in waist deep water. It was unbelievable. We immediately began praying for these families that live in the lower lying areas. As rainy season continues, they are really going to suffer. Please join us in praying for these people and if the Lord would have us try and help in any way. Here are a few pictures from our fun-filled Friday night! (One is of the rain at our front gate)

Happenings

We continue to get settled here in Jacó and there is never a dull moment. We have officially moved out of the church building we were renting and are now meeting Sunday mornings on an open air soccer field. It is a great facility and definitely much cheaper. For many reasons, it is obvious that the Lord has lead us here for now.

Soccer field where we hold our church services

Club de Niños is going great! We had about 40 kids on Saturday and it was wonderful to get to know even more of them by just spending a few hours with them on a Saturday morning. The boys are slowly making friends, though Thomas is having a hard time adjusting at times to all of the new kids that are demanding our attention--and of course none of them speak English so it is even more intimidating to him.

The Lord has brought a new friend into our lives named Veronica. We met her about 6 months ago when we were visiting Jacó while we were still in language school. She is now a new believer--has come out of a life of heavy drugs, prostitution, etc and is now really getting on fire for the Lord. It is such a blessing to chat with her about the changes the Lord is making in her life. From her former friends, to her clothing, to the music she likes, not to mention all of the other MAJOR changes He has done is her life--Christ is so evident in her life now and she truly is a new creation in Him! She seems so at peace, so free! She and her little girl stayed with us last weekend and we had a wonderful time together! She taught me how to make "gallo pinto"--the famous beans and rice dish in Costa Rica. We listened to music, shared scripture and really got to know each other. It was a great time! She continues to feel the pull of the enemy in her life through different situations so please join with us in praying for Veronica...she is one amazing girl!!! The following are a few pictures of us cooking...Veronica and her daughter

On a side note, here is our latest visitor...our little iguana friend visits us daily in our back yard. The boys LOVE him and are always wondering where he is and when he is coming back.

Jacob pointing at Mr. Iguana

As always, thanks for praying for us. Please continue to pray for Jacó--it is a dark place with evil everywhere. We continue to pray for divine appointments and the Lord is definitely answering our prayers!! We love you all!