Christmas is ALL about God sending his son. Right? This year I have had a lot of time to reflect on Christmas…what God intended and yet how secular Christmas has become to the majority of the world.
We have been blessed to spend time with many of our local friends during this Christmas season. Dan and I were shocked to learn that many of our friends down here have hated the Christmas season for years…most of their life actually. Unlike most of our friends in the States, many of our friends down here have never had Christmas presents.
Earlier this month, one of our friends gave a gift to someone they work with on a regular basis. They put the wrapped present down in front of him. Instantly, this grown man began crying. He said it was the first Christmas gift he had ever received. His instant gratitude…before he even touched the gift or saw what was inside was overwhelming to all.
My prayer is that we will truly remember the reason for this Christmas season as we are cleaning up from all of our celebrations and putting away our gifts. May we really stop for a moment and think about the greatest gift ever given…Jesus…he didn’t have to come down and experience life on Earth but he did! God didn’t have to sacrifice his only son for us but he did out of an abundance of his love for us. I am so thankful that we have such a Good Good Father!
2016 is right around the corner. I can’t believe 2015 is coming to an end. As you are making your resolutions for the year I challenge you to stop and see what God has in store for you. What is he calling you to do this year? I’ve found that it is not always easy to step out in faith but once we make that first step it becomes a lot easier to continue to step forward in faith the next time. Phil. 1:6 “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Join us in prayer that we are really listening to God and what HE is calling us to do in 2016. We know HE has big plans for the next year. He’s calling us to step out in faith once more. I’m encouraged that God uses the weak.
But the Lord said, “My grace is all you need. Only when you are weak can everything be done completely by my power.” So I will gladly boast about my weaknesses. Then Christ’s power can stay in me. 2 Corinthians 12:9
May God continue to bless you in 2016! We love you.
Our weekly update is coming soon (probably tonight). However, Karen and I were able to travel back to Georgia this weekend to visit with family and friends. Probably the most common question we heard is how do we contact you? Some of you were sending texts or calling our old cell phones and some were texting our Skype number.
Here is all our correct contact information:
Our old US cell phone numbers do not exist and will not work while we are in Costa. Please delete Karen's old cell phone number of 678-920-0162. My old cell phone (404-428-0134) actually still exists as it is owned by my company but it is not active while Im in Costa Rica. Please delete it as well.
The best, most reliable way to text us or send us voice chats is WhatsApp. This is an application that can be loaded to your iPhone or Android phone and is used for texting by pretty much everyone in the world (except the US). Our WhatsApp profiles are tied to our Costa Rica cell phone numbers. You will need to enter our Costa Rica cell phones into your contact book in your phone for WhatsApp to see us.
Our Costa Rica cell phone numbers:
Dan - +506 8576 1165
Karen - +506 8576 1181
To dial our numbers from a phone in the US you will need to add the US exit code of 011. So, for example, if you want to call Karen you would dial 011 506 8576 1181. Bear in mind that calling us using these phone numbers will be billed at international rates - this is expensive. Don't do that unless its an emergency.
A better way to call us is to use our Google number - 678-694-7236. This number will ring our computers and phones in Costa Rica and has a voice mail tied to it. This number is also a US number and so will not incur international charges.
You can imagine that we stay pretty busy down here. Please understand that if you call us during the workday we probably will not answer due to our work schedule. Also, we do ministry most evenings which might prevent us from answering. Honestly, WhatsApp is the easiest way to contact and converse with us.
It has been another busy week in Costa Rica. God has been forcing us to rest this past week. The orphanage is still closed and this was our last week of English classes until January. School is almost out down here and we’ve learned that most of our students are busy studying for exams. Then, they will be off on vacation. So rather than have classes with very few students we are taking a break until mid-January.
The team getting their nails done in Verbena
The team in Verbena
We also have a team down here from the Athens area. It was a pleasant surprise to have fellow Southerners down here with us for a week. They are a great team and we have really enjoyed spending time with them over the past couple of days. I can’t wait to spend the rest of the week with them. Tonight Dan was able to speak the message at Chapel. He did a fantastic job as always…he was teaching on the importance of living our lives as disciples rather than just believers. We’ve been blessed with such great teaching at Victory and now we have the opportunity to continue to live out what we have learned and also to share it with others.
Verbena joy
The team in the central park of Alajuelita. They were singing and some locals decided to join in with the worship.
Please pray for our dear friend Margoth and her nephew. Margoth’s sister has a son with Autism. They also have a new baby, Santiago. Unfortunately, the baby is having some health issues. Please pray for Santiago’s health. Pray that it is nothing serious. Pray that the doctors will have wisdom as they check him out Monday morning!
Blessed Beyond Belief…It is hard to believe that Thursday is Thanksgiving. This past Wednesday we had our staff Thanksgiving dinner since the team we are currently hosting will still be here on Thanksgiving. We enjoyed spending time with the other missionaries and reflecting on all of our many blessings. It is so easy to get caught up in our busy lives that we forget to stop and actually thank God for all of the blessings he pours out upon us each and every day. Dan & I are guilty of this even in Costa Rica. We are so blessed to live in a nice area of Costa Rica….our condo is in a relatively quiet area. We feel very safe with the guards who look out for us. There is never a day where I have to worry about whether or not I will have food to eat. All of these are blessings that the majority of our friends in Alajuelita can’t claim on a daily basis like we do. This past week there was a water main break and we lost our water for almost 12 hours. Unfortunately, it took this outtage for me to remember what a privilege it is for us to have water…warm water on a daily basis. I need to do a better job thanking God for all of my blessings rather than focusing on my wants. I challenge you this week to take time to truly thank God for all of your blessings. I also challenge you to be a blessing to others this week. Black Friday is coming up and many people get caught up in the shopping and all of the sales. Take advantage of the sales to be a blessing to someone who isn’t as privileged as you!
We hope and pray that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Dan and I love and miss each and every single one of you! Take care and know that you always have a place to stay in Costa:)
We are very sorry for our tardiness on getting the week 14 update out to you all. By the time I got around to writing the week 14 update, we only had a few days left in this week so I decided to put them both together. This will be a long update - I will not be offended if you get bored and don't finish. However, there is a prize at the end of the post! So, here we go:
First - some fun stories/events we experienced this week.
Costa Rica is truly a beautiful country, full of natural wonder. Here is a fun cloud formation recently seen in CR:
This is called a lenticular cloud and typically happens over a volcano from what I understand. This is one over Arenal Volcano here in CR.
Recently, we have started the transition from the rainy season to the dry season. You would expect this to mean less and less rain throughout the month of November. Interestingly, there has been more rain in the first two weeks of November than we have had since Karen and I moved down here. The rain, with a combination of crazy Tico drivers led to this during the past week:
Too much weight, not enough support in the ground = bridge failure! Gotta find a new route to Arenal...
This past weekend, Karen and I were invited by one of her students to an Indian festival called Diwali (Festival of lights). Always seeking to expand our cultural understanding, we gratefully accepted. During the evening we met many new friends and ran into a bunch of "old" friends, observed some typical Indian, Hindi, and Sikh cultural dances and music, had a fantastic meal, and nearly died from the closing fireworks display (at least according to some - I thought it was fun!). At the end of the evening, we randomly started talking to a couple as we were walking to the car. They were a local Christian couple who attend a church we visited in the past. It never ceases to amaze me how small this country really is - you will run into people you know in the most random places here.
Diwali prayer table
Hindi prayer plate
My inner eye is a bit off-center...seems about right!
Did I mention the dinner was excellent?!?!
When you break it down, discipleship is really about investing in others. One way Karen and I do that is to have breakfast, lunch, dinner, and game night with our friends, new and old.
During one of these past weeks, Karen and I were blessed to have breakfast with our friends Rocio, Raquel, Raquel's baby-Gianni, and M (Rocio's mom). They cooked a typical Tico breakfast for us (which was fabulous) and we spent the morning talking, laughing, and worshipping God. Its always such a pleasure to spend time with these ladies!
At one point during the breakfast, Karen was holding Gianni and Raquel looks over to him and says, "Mommy, look how tan Gianni has gotten!" Without thinking, I blurted out - "Well, with Karen holding him he can't help but look tan."
We have recently started inviting a new friend of ours, Aaron, to English class. Our English class is on Thursday night. So after serving at the orphanage, Karen and I pick up a few people, have dinner with them, and then drive them to class with us. One Thursday night, we were having dinner with Aaron. He was the only one with us that particular rainy night. The rain ended up being so severe that night that the pastor cancelled class. We took advantage of the extra time to get to know him better. He has both a heart for learning and a heart for God. Its so good to meet more and more of the younger generation, who are sold out for God, here in CR.
Speaking of young people in love with God, we also had a chance to spend an afternoon with our friend Andrea. Andrea is on the worship team at our home church here in Alajuelita and is a local missionary. She and a group of folks from Iglesia Cristiana have traveled to a remote area of Costa Rica a couple of times on missionary journeys. We love Andrea like crazy and cannot wait to be serving with her again in the near future.
One of our favorite families here in Costa are Victor and Cynthia. Victor and I work fairly closely together in 6:8 Ministries handling the finances. Both he and his wife are amazing servant leaders in the kingdom of God. Recently, Victor and Cynthia asked us if we would help their son, Jesus, prepare for his final oral exam for his English class. So, Karen and I went over to their house one evening and spent a couple of hours practicing with Jesus and his cousin (she also had an oral exam). Again, much laughing ensued - but I think it was mostly directed at our Spanish... Both Jesus and his cousin ended up doing great on their final exam. However, Karen and I now have Jesus' speech stuck in our heads - possibly forever: "I am Jesus. I live in San Jose, Costa Rica. My country is very small but very beautiful..." and so on.
Ok - you made it. As promised, here is your prize:
We have a turtle that roams around the two team houses here in Alajuelita. He loves watermelon! Seriously - don't get between him and watermelon!
Prayer needs - please pray for wisdom and guidance for Karen and I as we are starting a new ministry down here. We will have more details in future updates. In fact, please pray for all of the 6:8 staff for wisdom and guidance. We have a couple of teams coming down to close out the year and want to start the new year strong as a ministry.
Please pray for the health of the orphans and nuns. Karen went to volunteer at the orphanage this week and discovered it is closed for at least two weeks due to sickness. While this does give Karen a break, she would rather be loving on the babies at the orphanage.
Also, Karen is starting a women's Bible study for some local ladies. We will be purchasing the materials for the class in the near future. It will cost about $25 per person for the entire course. We are trying to make this class completely free for the women. If you want to sponsor a woman taking the class, you can go to http://68ministries.org/about-68/the-68-staff/ and scroll down to Vigliotti Family and click "One-time Gift". Thank you so much for your willingness to build the kingdom of God around the world!
I survived Parent/Teacher Conferences and a full moon that coincided with all of the Halloween activities and birthday parties!
We had another wonderful week of English class. The attendance continues to grow. More friends…more laughter…and more English and Spanish skills for everyone!
In addition, we were blessed to spend some quality time with our friend Junior this week. It is hard to believe that Junior is already 15 years old. We have thoroughly enjoyed watching Junior grow up over the past couple of years. This week, he started joining for us English classes. While we were eating dinner together, before class, we realized he is no longer in school. When his family tried to enroll him in 6th grade last year he was about to turn 15. The school said he was too old to be in 6th grade and he would have to attend a special school. Unfortunately, that mean’t classes that ended after dark…which translates to a dangerous time in many of these neighborhoods. Therefore, Junior has not been in school for over a year now. We had some of the locals talk to his family at the feeding center on Saturday. They discussed different options for Junior and his schooling. Hopefully, he will be able to re-enroll again when the next school starts again in March. (Remember the Costa Rican school year goes from March-December. Their long break begins the middle of December and the next school year starts in March.)
While talking to Junior I also asked him about his cousins that I fell in love with 2 years ago. Many of you will remember one of my favorite pictures of me and Nani and Natalie sitting together in front of a pink wall. Junior told me that they were actually living close to Verbena now. I asked him to bring the girls on Saturday so I could see them again. Saturday they all appeared…Nani, Natalie, Brittany, and their new baby sister, Naomi. I cannot express the joy I felt when I saw these precious girls again. While I didn’t have a chance to get a picture of them, they told me they would be back next week so hopefully I can get a picture then!
Part of my job at Country Day School is to co-lead the 2nd and 3rd grade student council. They had a Halloween Bake Sale on Friday. While they did raise quite a bit of money, they also had a BUNCH of leftovers. These sweet students know that I help with the Verbena feeding center each Saturday. So Friday, when they had all the leftovers, they suggested that I take them to the kids in Verbena. God is so good! I feel like the kids at school are starting to realize how blessed they are while also thinking about what they can do to help others who are less fortunate than them. We had just enough goodies to give one to each of the kids at the feeding center and one to each of the cooks at the feeding center. What a blessing!
Karen giving out treats to the kiddos - there were around 55 kids this weekend
Dan and I are also getting used to the typical nuances that are part of Costa Rican living. This week we were without water for 6 hours one afternoon while they were rationing our water supply. Unfortunately, we have not seen a schedule for this rationing…so random days we will find ourselves without water for 6 or so hours at a time. With Crohn’s Disease I have to be extra careful with our water supply. That means I either have to boil the water after it has been shut off or we use bottled water for all cooking, toothbrushes, dish washing, etc. for 48 hours. Thankfully, I haven’t gotten sick from it. We also experienced a 4.7 earthquake on Saturday. No damage…we just felt the earth shaking..while we were sitting in the car in traffic. It was kind of unusual to see everything around us moving back and forth. Finally, one of the local volcanoes has been erupting again this week. We really haven’t been impacted by it much other than the fact that there is a little more dust in the air:)
We were blessed to have dinner with Pastor Miguel and his family this weekend. Not only were we able to catch up but we were able to share our dreams and visions for the local community. It was such an inspiring meeting. I know God has big things in store for this community and I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds. Keep praying for more like-minded friends to come alongside us. Also pray for wisdom in how to implement everything and finally for provision of funds. Thanks!
Dan here: This week I was reminded of the story of Caleb. You remember Joshua and Caleb were part of a group of 12 men sent by the people of Israel to spy on the promised land. The 12 men came back and reported that the land was indeed good but there were giants and fortified cities. They caused the people to be scared - to want to play it safe. But Caleb silenced the people and said that they should go and take the land. They can do it because God is with them. Sadly, they chose to play it safe and wandered in the desert for 40 years.
Long story short - 45 years later (Caleb is 85, at this point, in Joshua 14) we hear from Caleb again. He still has the same faith and fire to go and live in God’s promise. Of the 12 men who went to spy on the land, only Caleb and Joshua believed in the promise of God and survived to step into the promised land.
This makes me think - 10 of those guys decided not to trust God but rather to play it safe. They decided to settle for survival instead of thriving in God’s promise. Do you even remember the names of those 10 guys? What kind of legacy did they leave behind? Their only legacy is that of people saying, “I just don’t want to be like them.”
Sometimes I feel like we still see the spirit of these 10 guys in the church today. How many people are settling for just survival instead of living in the promises of God? How many Christian leaders are settling for a timid church that just pays the bills instead of teaching boldly and raising up new disciples who want to change the world and glorify God? It’s certainly easier and safer to settle for “just okay”. It gets us out of church in time to watch football and play golf. But I want to be a person who chases after God with all I’ve got. I’d rather be a part of a group of people who live to glorify God in everything they do. As a result, my life may not be long - it certainly won’t be normal, but it will be worth it - because our God deserves our best.
I feel like God has been putting people into our lives that feel the same way. The heart of what they are saying to us is, “I don’t want to do church like the older generation did. They played it safe. We want to be radical for God.” It is so amazing to see how God is using the local church here in Alajuelita to reach people who have only ever seen religion instead of Jesus.
This has been another busy (good busy) week for us. We’ve spent time rebuilding relationships with old friends, building new relationships through our English class, and loving others while sharing meals with them.
Karen continues to visit her special needs orphanage regularly. The nuns are continuing to trust her with more and more responsibility. I might have to go in there and tell Fatima (the head nun) that they cannot have Karen permanently - she is mine! (I’m so selfish sometimes!)
Karen and I are working with a local couple here in Alajuelita who are helping us. They are helping us to learn Spanish and teach our English class. Laine and Allan Gutierrez are such a blessing to all they encounter and especially to Karen and I.
Allan is helping us with Spanish on Monday nights (this is in addition to our other Spanish class on Tuesdays with Veronica). He forces us to communicate only in Spanish and therefore practice our conversational Spanish. He also teaches us phrases that the “locals use” - I’m pretty sure he makes most of them up just to see if we will say them.
Laine is helping us with the English classes on Thursday night at Iglesia Nuevo Amor. Our class has doubled in size in one week and, if history is any indication, it will double in size again in a few weeks. We have so much fun in class. We teach the students English, the students teach us Spanish, and together we laugh a lot!
We still have so many more people to meet with and enjoy. Not surprisingly, Karen is keeping our calendar full. But honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
We have built weekly times of rest into our schedule. God has been reminding us of our passion and mission. He has been using these times of rest to reinforce our thinking with teachings from the Bible and leaders we trust. In future updates, we will talk more about this growing passion. For now, please continue to pray for wisdom for Karen and I to understand God’s will for our lives. Also, please continue to pray for unity in the local church here in Costa Rica. There is a reason that Jesus prayed for the future church being one. Also, why Paul spent so much time praying and writing about the church being one in spirit.
Funny story - Here in Costa, the hot topic in the community is the amount of public urination that happens (especially in the San Jose valley). It’s become such a problem that a company even invented urine repelling paint - pee on the wall and it will pee right back at you! Well, you know Karen is a naturally friendly person. Yesterday, as she was out exercising, she noticed one of the security guards in our area standing around (probably waiting for a bus) so she waved as usual. Yeah - he was peeing. She was mortified when she realized what he was doing!!! From now on, she might not be as friendly on her morning runs.
What a week this has been! Emotionally, this has been the most difficult week yet. We feel like God has definitely put some ideas on our heart for our future ministry in Costa Rica. Sometimes God allows us go through challenging times in order to prepare us for future endeavors. Dan and I truly believe that the challenges and the emotional roller coasters we have been on this week are preparing us for some BIG things. Please pray that God will give us wisdom and peace.
Thursday night we began teaching English classes at Nuevo Amor, one of the local churches. It was a blast! We laughed more Thursday night than we have in weeks. It was such a blessing to spend time conversing, laughing, and developing relationships with new friends. Dan and I are really looking forward to meeting even more students this week. Pray that we can be effective and show them God’s love while we are helping them learning English.
We are also working on our Spanish. This morning, as we were walking to church, I was praying that God would help me with my Spanish. I want to learn but I am such a visual learner that it has been difficult at times to fully understand the sermons on Sunday. Don’t get me wrong…I have really been trying but its not always easy. Well this morning in church, as we were singing, the pastor turned around and gave me a hug. He also gave me a set of stapled papers and informed that it was the sermon for the week. Don’t you just love how God works? Here I was just praying, only moments before, for help with my Spanish. Then suddenly, the pastor pulls out his notes for me to read as he speaks?! God is so good! I’m reminded of the verse in James 4:2…You don’t have because you don’t ask. Sometimes God just waits for us to ask. When I asked he provided:) After the church service I told Pastor Miguel what a blessing it was to be able to read his notes as I listened to him. With a smile he told me that he would give them to me every week from now on! I’m so thankful for a God who takes care of the little things along with the BIG things. I’m also very thankful for his servants who truly listen to him and step out in obedience. Miguel didn’t have to give his notes to me but he did and it was such a blessing!
Dan and I believe that one of our gifts in ministry is our desire and ability to invest in the people around us. We have especially been diligent about spending time with the Ticos and Tico staff here in Costa Rica. We were blessed to be able to spend time with much of the Tico staff this past Friday playing games, talking, laughing and just enjoying being with each other. Additionally, we were able to spend an evening with one of our dear friends here, Carolina, celebrating her birthday. We are constantly reminded how blessed we are to have such wonderful friends.
Here’s my update on the orphanage…Elizabeth is such a miracle. She is more attentive every single time I see her. I love playing with her. This past week we played ball together. Another huge event happened this week at the orphanage. They received a new baby-Antonio. He is precious. Antonio is 13 months old. Pray for him and the nuns who take care of him! I’m praying they bond quickly. Anyone who enters the orphanage can see how attentive the nuns are and how much they love each and every child in the orphanage. Pray for the orphans and the nuns. They have a special place in my heart. I know God loves them even more than I do!
