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.
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.
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.
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