Celebrating the Completion of Book #2

We had a wonderful dinner tonight with the ladies from the INVU Bible Study!  We went a restaurant to celebrate the completion of the "New Life in Christ"  Book #2.   It was a wonderful celebration of accomplishment because this culture is not a culture of "completion" or "commitment."  Most things are started and never finished and to get a commitment is very difficult.  These women committed to studying God's Word every Tuesday night and we are seeing growth in them!  It is exciting to watch them begin to minister to others in need of Jesus as well as to become involved in the local church!  It was such a joy for us to bless them with a nice dinner and they felt like royalty with good reason---they are daughters of the King!!!  We missed 4 of our special group members due to sickness and night school exams, but we will celebrate with them at a later time!  Here are a few pictures of our night together...

Yahaira y Ana

Gerarda y Katalina

Arlen, Yamilet, y Beatriz

Rosa y Dale

Lisa, Johana, y Carmen

The group (minus Hellen, Michell, Isabel y Maria--we miss you!!)

 

Sarah y Zeneyda

 

Presentation of certificates of completion

I love these precious women!!!

Mission Teams

For the last 2 weeks we have had the privilege of hosting 2 mission teams, one from Chattanooga, TN and one from Orlando, FL.  It was so much fun and these groups did amazing work!!  They led kids clubs;  did a movie night outreach;  taught kids and families about dental health/caring for your teeth;  did haircuts;  built a rancho (outside covered area for an outside kitchen); built bunkbeds, picnic tables, and shelving; shared testimonies and loved on the locals.  Getting to know different members of the teams was really special for us and we were so blessed to have them here!  We already miss them!  Here are a few pictures of their time here...more pictures to follow.  (Our camera with most of the pictures seems to have walked away:)

Yamileth's Baby Shower

We have a wonderful time at the INVU Women's Bible Study on Tuesday nights and this past Tuesday was no exception!  Yamileth, who is part of the group, is having a baby boy in July so we threw her a baby shower!  We had so much fun planning together and it was a really neat time of seeing the ladies come together as a group to bless one of our own!  Yamileth was overwhelmed and cried at the thought of us doing this for her.  This is her 3rd boy and she had never had a baby shower before!  We had a wonderful time playing games and celebrating the new life of this little one.  She has even asked us to help her name the baby so we are praying hard for a name!  Here are a few pictures of the festivities...

Happy Birthday Jacob!!

We can hardly believe our second born, Jacob, turned 6 yesterday!  WOW how time flies!  We started the morning with doughnuts at his classroom, and enjoyed a fun family dinner at one of his favorite restaurants.  We love you, Jacob and are so proud of you!

Human Trafficking Awareness Day

Today we had our first official "Human Trafficking Awareness Day" as a church and it was amazing!  We showed the documentary "Nefarious: Merchant of Souls" and we had an extended time of small group prayer.  Seeds of Hope (SeedsofHopeHome.com) shared about their ministry as a refuge home to young girls who have been prostituted or trafficked and we talked about our next steps in continuing to pray corporately and to fight against this growing epidemic here in Jaco.  We were also able to connect with 2 other local churches that are interested in fighting this as a team.  It was awesome!  Thanks to all of you who participated and for all of you who were specifically praying for this morning.  We felt the Holy Spirit's presence there and it went exactly as we had prayed!  Thanks be to God!!