A visit from Uma and Anne

My Mom and my sister, Anne, came to visit us for a few days this week during my Mom's spring break. We had so much fun with them and we celebrated Thomas's 6th birthday while they were here. One of the highlights of their visit was the canopy zipline tour and Thomas was able to go this time. He LOVED it!! We were so blessed by the time we spent with them and it was lots of fun showing them Jaco and what the Lord is doing here. Here are a few pictures...

School and tennis fun

Here are a few pictures of the kids from today. We have had an incredibly busy week and today was no exception. Thomas's school held a fundraiser to raise money for the kindergarten program so we moms donated food and someone donated a few bounce houses for the kids to enjoy. The boys had a great time! Then we were off to tennis lessons for Thomas and he is doing so well in tennis! Here are a few action shots of him including a picture of him with his coach, Matias, from Argentina.

Thomas's teachers, Teacher Lucrecia and Teacher Joyce

Thomas's tennis coach, Matias

Bible Study for Moms in INVU

In an earlier post I asked for prayer for the Mom's Bible Study Iwas beginning this month. Well, we had our first meeting this past week and it was wonderful! It was everything I had envisioned when I prayed for direction, order, organization, etc. We had over 15 moms there and about 8 women from our church helping me. It was such a blessing!!! We served the ladies lunch, I taught a Bible Study on the love of God and what it truly means and we decorated acrylic picture frames for a craft. It was so much fun! God is just so faithful and I spoke with a few women afterwards who were really blessed and were asking me when we were doing it again. Then, this morning at kid's club 4 of the moms came and asked if we could do it more than just once a month. I am just so blessed that they were so touched and I give all the glory to God because He put the entire thing together in my heart!! I look forward to the next one and where this will continue to lead us. My relationship with these women is already at another level just this week in passing since having the meeting last Monday. The Lord has given me a verse these past few weeks that I am clinging to and keeps me going in His work. I Cor. 15:58 "Stand firm, let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." May this always be our heart---to give ourselves FULLY to God's work for His glory!!

Please continue to pray for these moms, most of whom do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives. Also, please pray for me as I follow the direction of the Holy Spirit in every detail of the planning and preparation--especially what He will have me share each time. Thanks for praying!!!!!

making picture frames...so fun!!! Alicia, my "Tica Mama"some of the volunteers from our church

David and Eva

We took our dear friends, David and Eva Daniel, back to the airport yesterday to return to the US. They have been visiting with us for almost 2 weeks praying and seeking specific direction for their family as the Lord is calling them down here to work in Jaco. They have a vision to start a 2nd phase rehab center for addicts with an emphasis on discipleship, life skills/job training. The Lord revealed so much to them as they were here with us and we were so blessed to be able to be a part of it!! Please pray for them and their 4 children as they are beginning the process of support raising with the possibility of moving down in the next 7-10 months or so. We are super excited!!!!

Special Trip to Coronado

Gabe, David (friend from SC), Bruce (member of our church) and I (Daniel) had the privilege of going to Coronado this week to work with a rehab ministry there in the mountains. Coronado is located in the mountains at 7,000 feet above San Jose. There our missionary friend, Keith Britton, runs a rehab facility for drug addicts and also works with a feeding ministry for needy children. Our church partnered with them about a year ago and we are really excited to see all that they have going on there. There are currently 12 men in the program there and each of us had a chance to teach during the Bible Study times. We had some great conversations with some of the men and really got to pour God's love into them while we were there. Our church collected many items that the center needed such as clothing, blankets and toiletry items and were able to take them and bless the ministry. We were really excited to hear that the night after we left Javier, one of the guys in the program, prayed and received Christ as his Lord and Savior. Please keep Javier and all of the guys in your prayers. The Lord is doing a great work there. We look forward to visiting with them again soon.House where the guys live.

Us with the guys at the facility

David and Gabe leading Bible Study

Our New Pet and other things...

Well, we now are the official owners of a pet turtle. The boys are very excited! Daniel found the turtle crossing the road and decided to bring it home for the boys. They have had so much fun "playing" with it and to be honest, it is extremely low maintenance. (This is the only reason I let them keep it.) Our backyard is cemented in and he cannot escape so we let him play outside during the day and at night we bring him in to an atrium area that we have. The boys have named him "Max" and are very proud to introduce everyone to him.

This is a picture of our friend, Jose. He and his wife Rosa are caring for their 2 grandchildren and they attend our church. He sells sunglasses and flowers on the streets to make money and she cleans houses at times and cares for the children. They have become great friends of ours and stop by regularly to visit. Yesterday he came by with his new bike that the church bought him. (Rosa needed a bike she could ride as well in order to transport the children.) It is a 3 wheeled bike with a basket on the back. He asked Daniel to help him build a bench to go on the back for the kids to sit in. The finished product is here in this picture and it turned out great!!! We are so excited for them and their new "ride."

Please pray for us as we begin a new Bible Study in the neighborhood, INVU, where we do weekly Kid's Club. For some time the Lord has been stirring my heart about reaching not only the kids in this area but also the families. Many of the moms have begun coming to Kid's Club so I feel like the Lord has given me the idea to do a "Moms of Kids Clubbers" meeting once a month. Our first one is Monday, March 14th and I will lead a devotion, we will do a craft, and have snacks. PLEASE be praying that the ladies come and that the Lord touches hearts. We are really excited about this and what the Lord might do with it. Thanks for your prayers!!

School Supply Distribution

We had a great time giving all of the school supplies out to the kids in INVU. They were excited to say the least and we had enough for every child to get a bag of supplies! Many times we have NO IDEA how many extra kids will show up because they have heard that something is going on in the park. Anyway, we shared with them why we were there and why we continue to reach out to them every Saturday. We also shared with them that these supplies were gifts from God that he supplies through people in the church. We continue to pray that the love ofChrist will continue to go forth and we will continue to be used to live out the Gospel to theentireneighborhood. Thanks to all who donated towards the school supplies---the kids and we were more than blessed!!