God is so good!

This is somewhat of a long story but I hope you are as blessed by it as I was on Thursday when it happened.

Thursday before lunch a friend, Karina, from INVU (the neighborhood where we do the women's Bible Study, Kids Club, etc) came by to visit and to see if we were interested in buying any men's cologne. She comes by quite often to say hello and we helped her move a few weeks ago. She is out of work now and walks the streets daily strolling her 2 little boys (ages 2 1/2 and 6 months) and looking for work. (She has a 12 yr old daughter who is in school) She shared w/ me that her landlord had come by that morning asking for at least half of the rent she owed by that day because it was originally due on the 11th. She had no money but told the lady she would get it to her. (Karina even mentioned that she felt bad lying to the lady and telling her she would have it that day for her not knowing how she would get it.) She then asked a friend who sells cologne if she could try and sell some for her and she could earn 6 to 8 dollars per bottle. So here she sat and we chatted and I prayed for her. Rewind to an hour earlier--- I had received a phone call from my friend Leslie that there was a group of 3 people who are with a Christian organization in Jaco for a few days filming a documentary on prostitution, sex trafficking, etc. She was wondering if I personally knew any prostitutes personally that are no longer in the "business" and who might be willing to share their story. I began praying and I called 3 different girls I knew to see if they would. One said no and two were unavailable and I was going to call them back later. Leslie called me back as Karina was at my house and I shared w/ her the news of what I knew thus far. I also shared with her that Karina was there and all of a sudden I felt like God told me to ask her if she knew anyone that would be willing to share. I told Leslie I would call her back and she said, "Oh, by the way, they are paying whoever agrees to interview $50-100. I talked with Karina and asked her if she knew anyone and she immediately said "yes, I am that girl." I was totally unaware that this was her past, and she was totally willing to share. I told her, "And, by the way, they are going to pay you a little to do it." Well, the crew immediately came over and they filmed Karina and her interview in our back yard. The interviewer was in tears as Karina revealed that she was tricked into coming here years ago, paid $300, and was sex trafficked in and they worked her like crazy to "repay" the money that she would never be able to repay. Horrible situation!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway, as everyone left and Karina and I were there she began to tear up as I asked her how she felt about it. She showed me the money==they had given her $100--the exact amount she needed to pay rent for that day---what a miracle from the Lord!! But more than that, she shared w/ me how FREE she felt because she had never shared her full story with anyone before. She was FREE!!!! She has accepted the Lord as Savior and is involved in our women's Bible Study and another Bible Study as well. She is really trying to grow and she was just speechless at how the Lord not only provided for their financial needs that day, but also freed her in a way that she had never been freed before. It was just beautiful!! She then asked if she could come over next week to share her full story with me over coffee--she felt she wanted to tell me all that has happened to her. What a day this was for all of us---such a perfect example of how we never know what a new day is going to bring here in Jaco--God definitely gets all the glory for His love, goodness and faithfulness that He lavishes on those who are seeking Him. If the Lord sets you free, you are free indeed! Praise the Lord!!!!

Feliz DIa de Independencia Costa Rica!! Happy Independence Day, Costa Rica!

Thursday was Independence Day here in Costa Rica. We had a parade in town and all of Jaco was decorated with red, white and blue flags. We had a fun day as a family since Thomas had the day off of school. Thomas volunteered to participate in a cultural/typical Costa Rican dance with a few kids from his class. He performed at 2 different assemblies at the school and absolutely loved it!! He definitely had dancing in his blood!! Here are a few pictures of Thomas dancing..

A few pictures of the boys

We are just so in love with our little Micah--all four of us! Here are a few pictures from this last week. On Monday, the boys and Daniel built a tree house in our front yard. They are loving it and so are all the kids in the neighborhood. Here are a few pictures of the tree house as well.

watching cartoons with big brother

treehouse fun