Our first visitor

We have been so busy studying for the 2 months that we have been here, yet it has been such a privilege to be able to study Spanish in preparation for the ministry the Lord has called us to in Jacó.  We do miss our family and friends so much and at times it is really hard to be away from them.  But, this past week we were really blessed to have our first visitor from the States.  Our friend, Glenda, came and visited us for 6 days, and we had a wonderful time showing her around San Jose and Jacó while she was here.  She brought all of Thomas's books that we left at my mom's house, and she blessed the boys with a few new treats as well.  

As I said before, we went to Jacó for the weekend to show Glenda where we would be serving when we are finished with school.  Mike and Revae (the couple we will be working alongside in Jacó) came to San Jose the Friday we were headed to Jacó because Revae is due any day with their third baby girl and they had to go ahead and come to town to be close to the hospital.  Mike's plan was to drive back down early Sunday morning to preach, but when he arrived in San Jose he realized that the clutch in his car went out.  Mike was able to call Daniel to fill in for him on Sunday so Daniel had the privilege of teaching for the first time in our new church here in Jacó.  He taught in English and it was translated into Spanish.  The Lord is so amazing--He always has everything perfectly under control and it was no coincidence that we were in Jacó for the weekend!!  We were so blessed to be there worshipping alongside those we will be serving there.   

All in all, the visit with Glenda was a blessing and though it made us miss home at times, she was such an encouragement to us and to the ministry here in Costa Rica!

Jacob being silly as usual!!                                 Thomas with his new cross necklace from Glenda            

Crusade in Jacó

This past weekend we went to Jacó for the first time since we have been in country.  It was an amazing visit and made us even more excited to get there in the next few months.  We went to be a part of a city-wide crusade that the church was a part of hosting.  The Conquerors, a Christian strength team from Michigan, came to do their strength demonstrations in 4 schools and then the big crusade on Friday night.  It was incredible!  The show was great and their testimonies were powerful as they told of their lives before Christ (drugs, stealing, prison, etc).  They could really relate to many of the locals in Jacó.  This is the first crusade of this kind in the city and there were about 1,000 people in attendance at the local park.  Hundreds prayed to receive Christ as their personal Lord and Savior...it was AMAZING!  There were prostitutes and homosexuals and those who are just living in the dark who declared that they wanted to turn from these sinful lifestyles and begin a relationship with Jesus.  After a time of corporate prayer, volunteers swarmed through the crowd of people who came forward to receive Christ and each person was prayed for individually and many were set free for the first time.  It was a beautiful time in the Lord.  "The Book of Hope" and salvation bracelets were handed out to each person at the end of the night.  God's presence was so strong during the night.  As soon as the strength show began, a rainbow appeared over the park....what a beautiful promise the Lord gave us as we began.  Then, as one of the team members began sharing the Gospel, a dove flew over the park!  It was so incredible!  God showed Himself in so many tangible ways Friday night and we were more than blessed!  What is so great about all of this is that now there is a church that can follow up with those who gave their lives to Christ and can begin discipling those who really are serious about growing in their faith.  When were here in 2004 on a short term missions trip, there was no church to plug people into so this is exciting!  We are excited about getting to be a part of helping with the follow up for many of the people who are beginning a new life in Christ!!!  

We attended church this morning at Calvary Christian Fellowship Jacó, the church we are going to be serving with after language school.  Mike, the Pastor there, introduced us and we were so blessed to be able to worship with those we will soon be serving!

Here are a few pictures from Friday night!!

Thanks for all of your continued prayers.  Please pray specifically for the following:

1.  Our language study--for clarity and that it would "stick" 

2. Our family's health--many have been sick and have been missing school

3. Our family's safety--many have been robbed at gunpoint so we are constantly on guard

4. For the people of Jacó and all those who gave their hearts to Jesus this past weekend

Giving your Best

As we have written before, God is giving us opportunities daily to minister to others in need.  We have been so blessed to do His work and look forward to serving "the least of these."  Friday afternoon was no exception, though I (Daniel) learned a huge lesson in humility, sacrifice and service to others.  We were home late Friday afternoon when a young girl (around 20 yrs old) came to our front gate and called for us to come out.  She began asking us for things in Spanish so Sarah came out to see what she needed.  She had 2 kids with her and told us that she had 2 more at home.  She then began asking us for food or anything else we could give because they had no food.  She even asked us for a baby bottle.  Sarah and I went to the kitchen and agreed immediately without hesitation that we needed to give her food and diapers.  The Lord put James 2:15-17 on our hearts immediately.  It says "If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?  Even so, faith if it has no works, is dead, being by itself."

In the mean time, Thomas was asking us who was at the gate and what they wanted.  We explained to him that this family did not have any food and Mommy and Daddy were going to give them some food and diapers for the baby.  We packed a bag of food for her, gave her the rest of the diapers we had and went down to the gate to talk to her more.  We found out her name is Elena and her 2 children were Aaron and Ariel.  As we were talking, Thomas came and got me and said he wanted to give the little boy some of his toys.  I went with him to get them and he immediately picked out his favorite toy-- a Spiderman figure.  His Aunt Anne gave it to him for Christmas this past year and he plays with it all the time.  I tried to talk him into giving another toy just thinking that I would be preventing possible issues later when he truly realized it was gone.  He picked out 2 other toys and took them to the boy.  The boy was so excited to get toys and thanked us over and over.  As Sarah talked to Elena, little Ariel devoured 2 of the bananas that we had given them--he was so hungry.  After talking with Elena for a while, Sarah asked if she could pray for them and she agreed.  About that time Thomas came down with the Spiderman in hand and walked right over to the boy and gave it to him.  I was immediately convicted like never before as my son desired to give his favorite toy ("his best") to this little boy and I had tried to convince him otherwise.  As the family walked away blessed, the thought hit me--am I not willing to give my best?  With tears in my eyes I escaped to the bathroom to cry tears of repentance.  "Lord, I haven't given my best, I've held back and I'm sorry."  Then the thought came to me, what if God didn't give His best?  In the Old Testament, not just any sacrifice would do--it had to be a perfect, spotless sacrifice--"the best."  And this is what God gave to us in sending His Son, Jesus, to die for us...HIS BEST... 

As Christians, we should follow our Heavenly Father's example and give our best to those in need.  James 1 says as we are doers of God's Word, He will bless us in all we do (verse 25).   Verse 27 ends with "Pure and undefiled  religion in the sight of our God and Father is this:  to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."  Please join us in praying for Elena and so many others like her here in Costa Rica who have physical and spiritual needs. 

Here is a picture of Sarah with Elena and her boys:

                                                                                Sarah telling Thomas how proud she is of him for                                                                                   giving his favorite toy away...

A Special Gift For Our Family

During our first week here, we began praying that the Lord would give us opportunities to minister to people here while we are in language school.  He has blessed us already in this area by allowing Daniel to lead worship at chapel, to speak at chapel (very soon) and to teach this Saturday evening at the International Youth Group here in San Jose.  He has also given us a huge opportunity to minister to a lady named Concepcion.  Concepcion is a "Tica" in her late 50's who is our empleada--basically she helps us around the house a few times a week.  The school provides help for the students for a VERY minimal (too minimal) cost with things such as housework, cooking and helping with children at times so that we are really able to focus on studying the language in addition to caring for a family and all of the other responsibilities we have here.  This also provides work for extremely poor single women who are desperate to have a job to provide for their families.  Concepcion has been such a blessing to our family and in return we are able to bless her!  She has been helping us for 2 weeks so far and she is already a part of the family.  Thomas and Jacob love her and when she is here she teaches them Spanish.  She is also like a personal tutor for us as she helps us with homework and teaches us new words all the time.  She also constantly corrects everything we say which is a big help!  She is a Christian (which is rare for older "Ticas") and she truly is a treasure!  

As I said before we have been praying that the Lord would use us to minister to people while we are in school.  Well, last week Concepcion was at our home when we got home from school.  I asked her how she was and she began crying as she told me about her mother in Guatemala who is dying of mouth cancer.  She has not seen her in many years and she got a call the day before from a friend of the family that her mom is about to die.  She wanted so badly to be able to go and visit her mother one last time before she dies but she can't afford to go and she is worried that if she goes she won't have any work when she returns.  Immediately I felt like the Lord told me that we were to send her to Guatemala to visit her mom.  I can't imagine not being able to visit my mom as she is dying...it tore me up inside.  Daniel and I prayed about it and checked bus and air fares and flying was going to be a lot cheaper and quicker.  We told her that the Lord told us to send her to visit her mother (such a minimal expense for us and so worth the sacrifice!!) and she was overwhelmed to the point that she kept trying to get on her knees to thank us.  She didn't know what to say.  She didn't understand how people she had only known for 2 weeks would help her with something that, to her, was such a HUGE and IMPOSSIBLE endeavor.  I was able to share with her how we are all part of the body of Christ and we are called to provide for one another in need.  I think we were more blessed to be able to help her than she was.  She was just praising the Lord in our kitchen and we had the privilege of praying over her before she left.  She is now there with her mother and will be for 2 weeks.  Please join us in praying for Concepcion as she is with her mother during her last days. What a small part we were able to play yet it meant the world to her.  Jesus said, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:  to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27  We are so thankful for the honor of being able to serve "the least of these" who are so special to our Lord! He loves us all just the same!!!   Below are a few pictures of Concepcion with the boys...

Volcán Irazú

Yesterday we took advantage of the beautiful weather and clear skies and spent our family day at a volcano.  Volcano Irazu is about an hour from where we live and it was breathtaking!  At the bottom of the main crater there is a lime green lake so it was an amazing site!  Thomas and Jacob had a lot of fun collecting little lava rocks and climbing on the bigger ones.  The drive up the mountain was just as enjoyable as the actual volcano because of all the green farmland and beautiful flowers.  We really enjoyed spending time as a family outside of the walls of our home. We have so much schoolwork to do each day so by the end of the week we are exhausted and ready to spend some "fun" family time with the boys.  The following are a few pictures from our adventure:                                       This was a "slum" area that we passed on the way

Instituto de Lengua Espanola

I thought I would post some pictures of our school, Instituto de Lengua Espanola, where we are studying Spanish (since we are spending soooo much time here during these few months!).   There are also a few pictures of Thomas and Jacob with their teachers.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays we have a break in the middle of the school day and we have chapel.  There is worship and teaching and each one we have been to so far has really blessed us tremendously!  It is a great way for us to be fed spiritually 2 extra times during the week.  And to be able to worship with the friends we are in classes with has been a blessing as well!  Daniel had the priviledge of leading worship this past Tuesday in Chapel and it was amazing!  He has really missed leading at Calvary Chapel Lexington so this was a treat for him.   He is now going to be in the rotation to lead each week so we are really excited about that!  He has been playing and singing at home a lot with the boys and Thomas keeps asking for a guitar because he wants to learn how to play.  I would love to have another musically gifted member of our family!!!  

For those of you in the northern United States, we have been praying for you today and will continue to after seeing the news of all of the ice storms and power outages. We love you and thank you for your prayers!

This is me and my favorite professora, Alejandra   Thomas and his teacher, Pamela 

  Daniel leading worship at chapel                         Jacob's teacher, Kattia, and her assistant

Here is a picture of the chapel at schoolThese are classroom buildings...

                                                                                 This is the entrance to the school

These are pictures of Thomas and Jacob's school..their building is right behind our classrooms

El Museo de los Ninos and other news

Saturday we decided to get out of the house and take the kids to do something fun.  We went to El Museo de Los Ninos. (The Children's Museum) with some friends from school.  It was so much fun!  It cost less than $6.0o for us all to get and it was definitely worth it.  The local "Ticos" are very proud of the museum.  It is located in the old prison (from the early 1900s) and it is now a huge tourist (and local) attraction.   Attached are a few pictures of our time there.  Thomas and his buddy, Cohen. 

Space shuttles are his favorite!!     Here is a simulation of a "terremoto" (earthquake) in a home. Only in Costa Rica would this be a part of the museum.  The kids loved it!

Below is a picture of a man in front of our home who was walking the streets selling furniture that he had made.  We heard him yelling as he walked down the road that he had highchairs and table sets for sale.  It was Sunday morning and we were getting ready to leave for church but we couldn't resist looking at what he had and we did end up buying the table and chairs set shown below for about $20.  The most amazing part of this is that when we were packing up to leave in the US, we knew we couldn't take any furniture and one thing I really wanted to bring but was unable to was the table and chairs set that Faith (Daniel's brother, Ben's wife) painted for the boys.  They loved it and always played at it or ate at it.  It was so great for them, but we had to leave it at my mom's.  Well, the Lord knew that and I know this was Him blessing us with an authentic Costa Rican set and as a result we were able to bless this man by supporting his woodworking business.  We were so blessed by this and the boys LOVE their new table and chairs.  Here are the pictures below.

In front of our house...and this one is in our house...