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!
You may have noticed these past two weeks that our updates have not been coming out on our normal Sunday night schedule. We apologize for this and hope to be back on schedule this coming weekend. Life, as it does, got away from us for a bit.
This past week has been much fun and we are constantly amazed and thankful for the blessings in our lives. We are privileged to serve in a fantastic ministry with amazing staff members and friends. We are blessed with an amazingly beautiful world filled with fun people with whom we get to enjoy life.
This past week we had the opportunity to spend time with our dear friends Veronica and Carolina (fierce competitors in game night - alas, never the victors). Carolina and Veronica are patiently teaching us Spanish in between their losing game sessions...
Carolina and Veronica - Game night
We also enjoyed an evening with our long time friends Robert & Maria. There is never a dull moment when these two are around.
More of our favorite people in Costa Rica are the Campos family who came over to our house one evening for dinner and games. We met the Campos family when leading an English class here several years ago and instantly fell in love with them.
We continue to serve in our various roles throughout the ministry as well. But this weekend was our once a month weekend of travel and rest. We timed this weekend well in that we were trying to pick a weekend in the rainy season near a new moon so that we could visit the northwestern peninsula of Costa Rica called the Nicoya peninsula. On this peninsula there is a protected turtle nesting beach called Playa Ostional where millions of turtles come to lay their eggs. We were fortunate enough to see one of these “Arribadas” which has been a life-long dream of Karen’s (not going to lie - I was enjoying finally getting to use my 4 wheel drive as much as seeing the turtles). The area where we stayed was quite remote and the roads were barely passable with a good 4-wheel drive vehicle (we had to cross a few streams and a few ponds in the road). But seeing the turtles struggle onto the beach, lay their eggs and struggle back to the ocean was amazing and made the trip worth it. Over 20,000 turtles nested that evening (the before and after views of the beach were amazing. All those turtle tracks turned the beach from smooth sand to a trampled mess). We also found a beautiful B&B near the beach to rest and relax for the rest of the long weekend.
Our view from the B&B - look close - there are monkeys in the trees!
Karen found her happy place
The beach near the B&B
It was almost completely deserted - just the way we like it!
This really is an amazing world in which we live.
Interesting tidbit - even though we live in a tropical country with an extremely abundant rainy season (normally) we are now under water restrictions here in the San Jose valley. Yep, every once in a while, for no apparent reason, they shut off the water at our house for 4-6 hours. Actually, we are lucky. Our friends that live up the mountain (Robert & Maria) lose water several times a week for 12 hours a day. We try to avoid them on those days as we imagine they will be fairly grumpy...
Prayer focus:
Karen and I start teaching English class this week. Please pray for wisdom as we lead these folks in learning and special blessing as we develop new relationships and new discipleship opportunities.
Where do I begin? God is so good. He is stretching us…by trusting Him and living outside our normal comfort zone He is doing mighty things.
We have been so blessed to spend time with dear friends down here. I know Dan has mentioned this before but I’ll say it again. We know the locals can be so much more effective in ministry than us. Our prayer is that we can work alongside locals to develop new ministries in the community. We are praying for like-minded friends to share our vision…God’s vision…and grow it with us.
This week we were able to finally take the next step toward residency by going to San Jose to complete the fingerprinting process. Now it is all a waiting game. For those of you who know what a planner I am, you know this is an area where God is stretching me. I’ve had to learn to take things in stride and accept “Tico Time”. I have a poster in my classroom that reminds me “Life is all about how you handle Plan B.” Plan B seems to happen more than Plan A down here. However, I’m constantly reminded that God’s plan is always better than my plan:)
One of my major prayer requests this week is for our Spanish skills. We are blessed to have such wonderful teachers. Now we have classes 2 nights a week with 2 different teachers. One night a week we have class with Veronica while Allan is teaching us on another night. Their teaching styles are very different from each other but exactly what we need! Dan is doing a wonderful job as usual. He’s my gifted husband:) My knowledge on the other hand is more limited, I understand much more than I speak. Please pray that I can just relax and not be afraid to try to speak Spanish. While I don’t worry about sounding like an idiot in front of kids in Verbena or at the orphanage, its a little bit harder when I am practicing with friends or attempting to communicate with parents at school. Learning Spanish is critical to our ministry down here so your prayers are very much appreciated!
We are so pleased to announce that the church, Nuevo Amor, in Tejar has started advertising for our English classes. Dan and I will officially start teaching this class on October 15th. Pray for guidance and new friendships. We met some of our best friends down here when we taught English classes down here in the past.
My precious Elizabeth turned 2 this past week. I have mentioned that the locals know how to throw parties down here. Well they had a huge party for Elizabeth. They truly celebrated the miracle that she is still with us and also thriving! Each time I see her I am absolutely amazed at her progress:)
God has big things in store for Alajuelita! I know this because of the trials some of our local friends/partners are going through at the moment. Satan is trying to take their eyes off the ministry and put them on other obstacles but our precious friends are determined. Pray for God’s abundant blessings on all of the locals that are working with us to build God’s Kingdom. One specific prayer request is for a couple that is looking for a new affordable place to live. The husband did a week’s worth of work and then the employer never paid him. While our friend has a great attitude about it we want him to have that financial blessing that he deserves. Pray that they find a house, better jobs, and that the former employer finally pays him.
We love and miss you guys! You are in our thoughts and prayers each and every day:)
Two of our favorite people in the world back in the States are Art and Mary Martinaeu. Over the years it was amazing to watch these two people sacrifice themselves to show love to others. Their legacy is unstoppable. Karen and I have tried to live our lives in a similar manner - following their example to us. It is sometimes an exhausting way to live but it is always fulfilling in the end. This past week we have been focusing on building relationships while we work and do ministry with the ticos.
We invited people over for game night...
Game night (Mexican train) with friends
We went to a birthday party for a friend's 9 year old daughter...
The birthday girl (Jimena)
And her wonderful party with family and friends
And we had several dinners with different families and friends (no photos). This is church - sharing our lives together to glorify God.
Our staff also led a team from Mission way church in Jacksonville. It is always exciting to see how God works in people’s lives as they experience the people of Costa Rica. This team mostly spent their time at the children’s ranch. They blessed this ministry with their service. They blessed the people of Costa Rica with their love. They blessed the kingdom of God with their sacrifice and I find this beautiful! It is so easy for us to forget that we are blessed in the United States (almost beyond measure). We are blessed to be a blessing to others. Meditate on Luke 14 sometime when you get a chance.
Here is the team video for Mission Way Church:
The only real constant here at 6:8 Ministries is change. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to one of our part-time staff today.
Kayle Shoals has been working with us the past month or so and has been a tremendous blessing to this ministry. Not only did she give several of the staff haircuts but she also gave free haircuts to some of the locals. She especially was a blessing to Josh and Alli as she helped to care for their three boys at times. Karen and I took Kayle out to the Taco bar last night to give her one last new experience in CR before she left. We are going to miss her down here.
Fun story:
Karen and I finally had a chance to go to a different open air market that we have been wanting to try. This market is near Alajuelita but is much bigger with more variety of fruits and vegetables. Today we tried a new (to us) fruit called mangosteen (or mangostan down here). It was super delicious! This has become a new favorite for us.
We are constantly amazed at how small this country really seems at times. We almost always run into people we know in the most unexpected places. Today was no exception - at the market today we ran into the Campos family (who we have not seen in over a year). We have been wanting to get together with this beautiful family for literally weeks but have not been able to contact them. God took care of that for us I guess.
Another fun story:
Costa Rican culture is slightly different! Sometimes you have to let some things people say to you roll off your back. This week Karen had picture day at school. When the photographer was finished taking pictures of Karen’s class, it was her turn. But the photographer stopped and said to her, “Do you just want to wait and take your picture another day?” When she said, “No, why?”, the photographer proceeded to give her a look and pulled out some makeup to put on Karen. Apparently she did not look good enough for picture day (anyone who knows Karen will know how ridiculous this thought is!).
Tuesday was Costa Rica’s Independence Day. Monday the students at Country Day School celebrated together. Each grade level in the Elementary School learned a song and dance. They all performed together at the celebration in front of their peers, parents, and staff. Of course we celebrated afterwards with plenty of yummy typical Costa Rican food. I am attaching the video of second grade’s performance. You can also see a picture of my students dressed in the traditional Costa Rican attire.
One thing I feel like the school is missing is God’s presence. I felt the urge to see if I could start leading a Bible study, with any interested staff, once a week before school. Of course it has to be approved and I haven’t heard anything back yet. Please join me in praying for that situation.
Tuesday the skyline was absolutely incredible. It made international news. Even non-Christians were stopping, taking photos and commenting that the sky looked like Jesus should be coming through the clouds any minute!
Mission Way Church sent a team down on Thursday. They went straight to the Ranch which meant the team house was empty. So Dan and I spent the night at the team house Thursday and Friday night to make sure that no one broke in while everyone else was away. All was calm…and we were very thankful!
Of course we went to the orphanage as usual this week. Friday night they didn’t have a lot of help so we stayed later than usual to help get everyone fed, changed, and ready for bed. I finally had the chance to hold Elizabeth. I can’t get over how much she has grown! It was such a blessing to be able to hold her again. Her bandages are all off. She is doing fantastic! Thanks for all of your prayers.
Saturday morning we went to Verbena to play with the kids and help with the feeding center. We were blessed to have Robert & Maria, and Allan & Laine help us out this weekend. I wish I had a video of the kids jumping up and down with excitement as they hugged Allan. They were thrilled to have him around again! Words cannot express what an incredible sight it was to witness their love for him. He is such a great example for these kids…especially the boys. These children, boys and girls, need more local examples of godly men. Allan has been and continues to be a great role model for these children. We had a huge turnout at the feeding center this week. There were over 70 kids in attendance.
When we returned from the feeding center I had the privilege of spending some time with Miriam. She is such a blessing to us. Saturday she surprised me with a beautiful gerber daisy plant! I don’t know how she knew but I had just been admiring that exact plant at the market earlier in the day. I am so thankful that I was able to sit down and talk to her for a little while. Her love for God is so evident in everything that she does. God has to smile every time he thinks of Miriam because she is a true example of a godly woman. When I think of the heroes in Hebrews 11, I think Miriam should be added to that list!
Saturday afternoon we showered and headed up to the Ranch. We were able to have dinner with the team and Dan spoke at Chapel. He reminded us of our purpose on Earth to build God’s Kingdom. I am blessed beyond belief to be married to such a wonderful man!
We enjoyed spending some quality time with the team, staff, and Wutka family at the Ranch. They are making some excellent progress on the buildings. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to stay too long today. However, the team is coming to Alajuelita tomorrow afternoon so we will spend more time with them soon.
Fun story:
As I was stepping into the shower this morning, I looked down to make sure there were no tarantulas in the shower with me. I was thrilled to be showering alone with no unwanted creatures. Then, I realized that was something I would never even consider back home in the States….just one of those moments where I realized my outlook on some things has definitely changed lately:)
God is so good! Most of you know that Karen’s little girl from the orphanage, Elizabeth, has been fighting for her life since her last surgery. She developed infections near or in the brain that were causing her brain to swell. This caused her to be paralyzed. Once we found out about this infection, Karen immediately started contacting you all to pray. Well, Elizabeth has gone from “we don’t think she will make it through the night” to being back home in the orphanage recovering nicely. She is not paralyzed and the infection is gone. Please continue praying for her healing.
Karen loves going to the orphanage. She is there at least two days out of the week and soon we are adding another day. The nuns are really starting to trust Karen and are teaching her how to better care for the orphans. They have been teaching her how to feed the kids through the feeding tubes and how best to care for those with trach tubes. Please continue to pray that God will bring more volunteers/workers to the orphanage. The nuns have so many kids to love on and only two hands each.
Fun fact - we’ve learned that Karen needs to travel to the orphanage with a change of clothes. Every day this week she was peed on and once covered with food that Kristal apparently didn’t like!
Feeding centers update - this week I met with a new (to me) church pastor in Aurora to discuss starting a children’s feeding center. This is such an amazing opportunity to help this church in building the kingdom of God. When I asked how many kids should we expect, the pastor responded that for other kids programs they have done in the past they had between 100-250 children between the ages of 3 and 12. That’s quite a range and quite a few kids! Initially we are going to have to limit the number of kids that can attend the feeding center to a list of 70 children and let it grow slowly from there.
Aurora is a very large and very dangerous area. The drug gangs have pretty much completely overtaken this area and their leadership no longer cares for the people in the neighborhoods. It is not unusual for them to rob or assault the people who live in this community. This church in Aurora has done its best to fight this change but unfortunately it has lost its influence among the younger generation of the area. Hopefully this feeding center will be a great influence tool for the church and its pastor.
Saturday has quickly become one of our favorite days of the week. Every Saturday morning we get to serve the community and church in Verbena at the children’s feeding center we host in that community. We usually walk to the community, call the kids in the neighborhood out, spend an hour or so playing with and loving on them in the square, and then we take them to the local church for the feeding center. Jorge leads the kids in a time of praise and worship and then gives a short teaching before we feed them. Karen noticed a little boy who was trying to feed himself. He was really struggling so Karen went over to help him. The child was so hungry that he was inhaling the food as fast as Karen could scoop it out. His friends told him to slow down but he was so hungry that he wanted to gobble it up immediately. That just reminds us that sometimes these kids are just waiting for God to provide their next meal.
Fun story - Our Spanish is definitely improving (though we have a very long way to go). This week one of the older kids asked Karen if I was Tico because my Spanish was so good (I have no idea what I said but it must have been good!). Also, when Karen told the kids that we were living down here now for the next two years (at least), they started cheering and jumping up and down (the little kids love Karen).
Hopefully we will remember to take more pictures next time - sorry, it just is not something I think about very often.
Another fun story - This past Friday we were able to visit with our friends Raquel and Rocio. Raquel just had her baby a few days ago (a little boy, 9 lbs. 11oz - big boy!). His name is Gianni. Both mom and baby are doing great! Grandma Rocio and great-grandma M are also doing great and loving having a baby in the house again. Once again, I failed at getting a photo of us all. Someday I’ll think about these things!
Oh what a week this has been! I survived my first Open House in Costa Rica. Let me just say it is VERY different from what I experienced last year in the States. There were so many parents in attendance that they filled up every single chair in my room and then the remaining parents stood around the edge of the room and in the doorway. They seem very appreciative & supportive. I think this is going to be a wonderful year! Afterwards the teachers on my grade level went out together with the principal for dinner and drinks. Several parents came over to our table and ordered drinks with us. Did I mention how different things are down here? :)
Things at the orphanage are going well. I volunteer typically two afternoons/evenings a week. The head nun is really beginning to trust me. This week she taught me where she keeps all the clothes for each child. Now she lets me feed them, change their diapers, choose their pajamas and get them ready for bed before I leave. God always amazes me! I originally started volunteering at the orphanage because scripture teaches us to take care of the widows and orphans. I’ve truly realized that I get more joy from serving that being served. Seeing the smiles and hearing the laughter from these orphans when I love on them each day is such a blessing. Oh how I wish I could show you pictures of their precious faces or send a video of them laughing when we play together. You’ll just have to come visit and experience it for yourself. Another miracle took place this week…Elizabeth is doing so much better that they went back in and operated again. It seems like just yesterday that they told me she might not make it through the night. Keep praying!
Dan here -
One of the current focuses of 6:8 Ministries is to expand its children feeding centers using the Verbena feeding center as a model. The Verbena feeding center is basically run by a Tico named Jorge. Each week Jorge gets the children excited about praising and worshipping God. He also delivers a wonderful brief 10-15 minute lesson each week that is incredibly appropriate for the kids in attendance.
Jorge and I have started meeting with church pastors around in the area. This past week we met with the pastor of a church called Nuevo Amor in Tejar (some of you may remember this church and its feeding center). We are rebuilding our relationship with this church and, with the help of its leadership, expanding the feeding center to include more Bible lessons.
Jorge and I have other meetings scheduled and been dreaming and praying together to see what God has in mind for this ministry. Please pray for wisdom for Jorge and I to hear from and understand God’s will in for His kingdom in this area. Also, please pray for Jorge specifically who has already started being attacked in his life because of this ministry.
One of the other positive things that came out of this first ministry is a request from the church for us to start teaching English classes to its members and the community. This has been a very effective way for Karen and I to build relationships within the community and with the church leadership. Please pray that we will be able to get this organized and will get the needed help in leading these classes.
Karen here with a fun story:
Dan and I are trying to balance work with our jobs and work with the ministry. While most people have their afternoons and evenings to relax and get typical chores/errands taken care of, that is the time that we do all of our mission work. We recently realized that we hadn’t really had a true sabbath, where we rest and spend the day worshipping God, since we arrived here. So we decided we need to take one weekend a month to take a break from ministry and work. For us that involves traveling and exploring God’s magnificent creation down here.
This weekend we traveled to Manuel Antonio, one of the popular tourist beach spots. It is known for all of the wildlife that surrounds people on the beaches. We had a chance to experience the wildlife firsthand. Saturday night as we were leaving the beach we saw monkeys all around us. They were climbing on the telephone wires to get to the nearby fruit trees. Then, they would pick the fruit off the trees and eat it.
Think Marcel from Friends!
The "Ring of Fire" has been very active lately
Today, we found a beautiful secluded area under a tree in the Manuel Antonio National Park. We learned the hard way, that the tide was a bit higher than normal. I’m sure all of the other tourists had a great laugh as we had just pulled out our picnic on the beach towel when a huge wave came in and soaked our food and towel and threatened to carry our sandals away. Thankfully, I was able to save our sandals and we learned a valuable lesson! Looking back, Dan and I expect that the reason the tide was so abnormally high was due to all of the recent earthquake activity around the "Ring of Fire"
We also saw plenty of raccoons and iguanas. They are quite bold. Before we pulled out our food, the raccoons ran over and tried to get into my insulated cooler bag. Once we scared them off, we watched as they went up and down the beach searching other people’s bags and carrying off whatever food they could steal.
Additionally, under the tree where we were laying was a nest/hole that an iguana was using to rest. When he woke he poked his head out and started eyeballing Dan. For most of the morning this iguana was mad dogging Dan and would occasionally try to sneak up on him while he was reading. Dan would scare him off and all would be good for an hour or so. At one point, Dan was laying on his back, reading his book and eating his pizza bread (unaware that the iguana was creeping up on him). Suddenly the iguana charged, jumped on Dan’s chest and tried to grab the bread. Dan threw him off and chased him away but learned not eat pizza bread while laying on his back in Manuel Antonio!
This is the iguana that was mad dogging Dan all day. Look on the log if you can't see him...
It has been a month already! We feel like we are just starting to get settled into life down here in Costa Rica (I have a feeling we’ll be saying that for awhile). Thank you all so much for the prayers, phone calls and emails - it has made this first month much easier to bear.
We had the pleasure of attending church at Iglesia Christiana Alajuelita with Miguel and Karina. This church is our church home away from home. It was wonderful to talk to many of our old friends and to see how God has been blessing the church and the community through this church. It truly is amazing to see how much our church has changed over the past year. We had just a few minutes to talk to Miguel and find out how he has been growing new leaders and programs within the church. Hopefully, in the very near future we will be able to sit down with him and Karina for dinner or coffee and get a more complete picture.
We started our Spanish classes this week. One of our friends down here in Costa is a language teacher. She has agreed to tutor us and another missionary family. Its hard to describe how bad we are at speaking Spanish, but I think you can imagine how hard we laughed that night.
Yesterday, we went to the Verbena feeding center. I held a little boy, Amelio, who was maybe two years old. The food was incredibly hot when they brought it out. However, poor little Amelio was so hungry that he didn’t want to wait for it to cool off. As soon as he took the first bite his entire little body shuddered. So then we both started blowing on it as fast as possible so he could eat it sooner.
We also experienced our first water outage. Dan’s still not exactly sure why the water was out for most of the day. However, it came back on hours later. Thankfully, the people who had lived here before us, left us several 6 liter jugs of water. When the water came back on it was very cloudy. With my stomach issues, we had to use bottled water to prevent any possible infections. After 48 hours, the water was finally back to normal. We’re so thankful for clean water!
As you know, Elizabeth is not doing well. We’re headed back to the orphanage tomorrow so I will give you an update then. The last we heard is that she’s not doing well and they’re not sure if she’s going to make it or not. However, we know God is the ultimate healer and he’s going to take care of her!
I survived another week of school! My class size is now up to 18. Its amazing to me how different the system is here. Earlier this week the school realized they had maxed out their special education slots. In other words, the resource teachers don’t have any time left to help new students. Therefore, the administrators tell the parents that the child can enroll but the family will have to hire a private tutor to come in the school to help the child. So 2 of my students now have private tutors that come in during normal school hours to pull them out for extra assistance. Tuesday night is Open House. All of the parents in my class will come in to hear all about our school year. Say a prayer that everything goes smoothly!
Dan here - Karen has the night off - she is resting for another week of school.
Nearly everyday Karen and I have the opportunity to practice our Spanish, but today was a reminder that learning to speak Spanish well has to be a top priority for the next few months. Today Josh (another missionary here) and I were called to counsel and help a friend of ours from one of the neighborhoods in which we work. He was having a very, very bad day (I’m not going to share the details). Josh and I were able to tag team him with our Spanish but it would have been a good opportunity to counsel him at a deeper level if we knew more Spanish. We pray that God uses the little we could do and say to help him in the days to come.
Its been so good to begin to settle into our new routine. The summer season of mission teams is officially over and our staff is taking some time to decompress and recharge. But even in this downtime our ministry doesn’t stop. This week, we have had the opportunity to serve the orphans, feed the kids in Verbana, mentor our teenage friends, and continue building new relationships with local churches in the area of Alajuelita. Additionally, our staff has started the discussions of what ministry will look like in the future.
We’ve had time to fellowship with the members of the staff here at 6:8 that are new to us. Josh and Alli McArthur are an amazing young couple with three boys under 5 years old. There are some people that just fit in down here - they are an example of this. They are currently serving with us here in Alajuelita but will be moving out to the children’s ranch when their house is finished being built (probably early 2016).
Additionally, Rob and Yvonne Wutka are a new (to us) family who live full-time at the ranch with their 4 children. They have taken on the daunting task of building the ranch from literally nothing. They work tirelessly through the heat, humidity, rain, flooding, bugs and wildlife to carve out a place of beauty that will affect Costa Rica for years to come.
Our other staff members are old friends: Charles Parker has been serving with us in the summers for a while and has lived in CR for two years. Neil Clarke is our resident Irishman and served with us last summer during the busy season. Both are as amazing as always.
6:8 had a staff appreciation dinner to celebrate the end of the summer this past Saturday. It was great to have the Gringo and Tico staff all together in a relaxed atmosphere to be served for change.
We will have more stories over the coming months and years involving our amazing staff. But for now, please keep them all in your prayers. The sacrifices they make are tremendous and the spiritual warfare they struggle with can be oppressive. Please pray for strength and peace for them and their families.
Karen is settling in well to school here. Her first week of school with the kids was wonderful. She came home one day this week and said, “Why would anyone want to go back to teaching in America after experiencing this?” Please continue to pray for her, her students, the staff, and the parents of Country Day School. Pray that Karen can be a shining example of Jesus to all she meets in school. She could use prayers for wisdom!
I have started transitioning into my role of handling the financial responsibilities of the Alajuelita ministry over this past week. Rob Wutka used to handle the finances for the entire ministry but it proved too burdensome for him since he was mostly out at the ranch and has a big enough task handling its construction. Pray that the transition goes smoothly and that I’ll be able to handle the new responsibilities with grace and ease. I will be working closely with a Tico who doesn’t speak much English but understands it well. I don’t speak a ton of Spanish but understand it well so it will be a fun few meetings at first!
We will begin our Spanish classes with some of the staff this coming Tuesday. Pray that we all are given a supernatural ability to learn Spanish quickly and for God’s glory.
Also, we will begin our off-season ministry as a staff this coming Tuesday. Pray that God will give us wisdom, compassion, and energy/strength for the ministry He has planned for us. Pray that we will be able to strengthen the relationships we have and build new ones where necessary.
So we’ve survived 2 weeks in Costa! Dan and I feel like we are starting to settle in to life here. Sometimes life here feels so natural and other times we are quickly reminded that we are indeed living in a third world country.
One of our adventures this week involved trying to determine where we can buy a replacement light & new windshield wipers for our 4 Runner. Sounds easy enough, right? You would think so but its not…trying to get directions to an auto parts store is easy enough if you could simply get an address from a local. However, since most of the streets down here don’t have names it is quite difficult. Plus, the fact that locals have a tendency to confuse their left with their right can cause an easy task to become very complicated.
This week we hosted the last team of the summer season. Dan and I really enjoyed spending time with them at the orphanage followed with dinner and chapel together. Thursday night Dan was able to speak the message at chapel to the entire group. He did an amazing job teaching about the kingdom of God.
I love to see how God is working in various individuals who live all over the world. This team from Texas was full of strong believers. There was one particular young man that really touched our hearts. His name is Edward. Edward is contemplating moving down to serve with 6:8 in some fashion in the future. He would be a great addition to our staff. Keep him in your prayers.
Dan and I felt like we actually had the opportunity to begin our true ministry this week. We were very thankful for the opportunities we had to minister to the orphans and the team. In addition, we were able to meet with some of the youth we have worked with over the years. Not only were we able to worship with them at church yesterday, but we were also able to spend time with them today in San Jose. They introduced us to some new believers. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for them.
One other possibility we discussed is to start an ESOL class for teens and adults at the church we visited last night. This is something we have done, at a different church down here, in the past. It was one of the most rewarding experiences we have had and allowed us to develop some wonderful friendships with locals. Pray that we will be able to form meaningful relationships where we can truly disciple others. We are also hoping this is a way that we can minister to a different congregation. Our vision is to have all of the various churches in Alajuelita working together to develop God’s kingdom in this dark community. The stories we have heard so far from the new friends we have met are absolutely incredible…stories of drug dealers and murders who have completely turned their lives around since they met Christ. God’s plans for this community are so much better than anything we could possibly imagine.
Your prayers are very much appreciated. This week I met the other teachers I will be working with each day. They are a breath of fresh air. It calmed a lot of my fears and made this adjustment to school here much easier. Tomorrow I have the opportunity to meet some of the kids and their parents. School starts on Tuesday. I can’t wait to meet all 17 of my students then.
Praises:
First, we are starting to develop new friendships around the community both at work, in the ministry, and in our local community.
Second, we were able to do real ministry this week rather than just school work.
Third, we met some new like-minded believers at church who are on fire for God.
Fourth, we have a possible opportunity to start an ESOL class at one of the local churches. Pray this door will be opened completely.
Prayer Requests:
Dan & I want to be good stewards of our time and resources down here. Pray for wisdom so we can serve the people of Costa Rica to the best of our ability.
School starts Tuesday. Pray for a smooth transition and that the kids will be a blessing to teach. Pray that I have the wisdom to deal with all of my students.
Safety for our vehicle. Cars in Costa Rica aren’t very reliable. Pray for supernatural protection for our vehicle. Pray that all the crazy sounds we are hearing are nothing serious and that the car is able to serve its purpose in helping us do ministry down here. Our friend’s license plates were stolen from the front and back of their vehicle this week. Crazy enough our car was parked directly beside it and they didn’t touch it. Pray that God will continue to watch over us and our vehicle.
We want to start our Spanish classes soon. Pray that we are able to find a time that works for us and our instructor.
Thanks in advance for all of your prayers. We love and miss you guys!
