The church has grown in numbers this month in the form of babies and weddings.  We celebrated the marriage of three dear friends this month, who we have seen grow in faith and in their relationship with their fiancé, now spouse.  It is so encouraging to see young couples who in their love for God are able to love each other in a way that shows Gods glory to all they meet.  Seeing as the average age at Pura Vida church is about 23 we anticipate seeing many more marriages in the next  few years.  After the marriages come the babies, and we welcomed baby Samuel, into the Pura Vida family in the first baby dedication in the history of Pura Vida Church Costa Rica!  He was dressed to the nines in surf trunks and a tank top, in true Pura Vida style!

Bebe Samuel

So about the bug and snake trap…… I am sure you all are wondering!  After being away for some time the house was in need of some painting, but with busy kids the only way to do it was at night after they were asleep.  Well it took me only about 5 minutes and a ¼ of the wall to see that this was not going to work as with every stroke about 50 bugs stuck to the wet paint!  That was the first trap.  Then this month we remodeled a very dangerous play structure that was at the local elementary school.  With the help of friends and other parents from the school we spent two days fixing and painting desks and chairs as well as the play structure.  We used old tires to create a climbing structure where the slide had been and painted them bright colors to make it look fun!  We ended up being 2 tires short so we had a pilot friend who had some old airplane tires and he dropped them at the house.  Kyle went ahead and painted them that night so we could put them on the play ground the next Monday.  In the morning we woke up to find a small (non-venomous) snake stuck to the thick and sticky wet paint!

Before

After

Before

After: Chairs and tables restored !

God has been faithful and we are making some changes at the church and have lots of exciting things planned for the next three months!  Although we still are not fully funded through FMWM, keep sending in those pledges if you have not started already, we have received unexpected blessings here in Costa Rica in the form of a new roof, just in time for the rainy season, as well as the materials to fix a driveway that feels more the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland!  We are also looking forward to letting you know how our first membership/church history classes called “Roots” goes this month and keeping you updated about a possible move of the Sunday services to the local elementary school in July.  Keep posted!

Prayer Requests:

-          For spiritual growth and leaders to emerge through the Roots class

-          For everything to fall into place for the move to the school

-          For the ball to start rolling for the construction of a park at the soccer field that we are organizing (permits, local volunteers, sponsors, etc.)

-           For the new marriages and the 4 young couples who are getting married latter this year.

P.S.- Selah gave herself a haircut to prepare for her first day of preschool!

Selah Goes to Kinder !

we praise God for the generosity of our local church in Esterillos as they outfitted 36 children to go school !!! Locals helping locals, the true meaning of community development!

Yes we are back in Costa Rica!  After a month of training and partner building in Florida we are very happy to be back to the heat and the noise of the cycads.  It has been a busy week of moving back into the full swing of ministry here as well as moving back onto our home.  We had a full house this Sunday as Dennis taught  on “running the good race,” leaving our burdens and baggage behind us and striving toward all that God has for our lives.  As a ministry and family we are putting this into practice and God has been so faithful to show us all the things He has for us this year and I am sure more that we are not even aware of yet.

As many of you know we have been in the U.S. working on raising the funds needed to continue to work here in Costa Rica and although we have been released to return to Costa Rica because of extraordinary ministry opportunities at this time we have not reached our financial goal for this year.  If you have been thinking about making a monthly commitment or a onetime donation this is a great time to do that.  Go to our mission agency’s website  https://give.fmcusa.org/leon

Please continue to pray for our family and ministry as we get back into the swing of life here.

-          Selah is on day 2 with 104 degree temp.

-          Spring small groups start next month

-          Elias transition back to public school and that he can catch up

-          As Dennis and the board choose a new national director for Christian Surfers Costa Rica

-          New ministry opportunities in Parrita

-          Ronnie the newest member of our “adopted” family as we all lean to live together (3 teenagers)

-          New leaders with new responsibilities at Pura Vida Church Esterillos

-          Productive training time with Pano and his family at Pura Vida Church Tamarindo in April

Thank you for your continuous prayer, Love Familia Leon

we praise God for the generosity of our local church in Esterillos as they outfitted 36 children to go school !!! Locals helping locals, the true meaning of community development!

First day of school

We thank God for providing for all our needs as we prepared for this trip.  We left Anthony, Esteban, our home, church and dogs in the best of hands with a whole team of loving people taking care of them while we are the US.

We began our journey two weeks ago in Florida where we experienced the best of southern hospitality!  We were hosted by the Fisher family, where we were spoiled with southern cooking, great childcare and the best of tour guides Ormond Beach has to offer.  To top it off we were able to meet wonderful people who wanted to hear about God’s work in Costa Rica and we are building a partnership with many of them to extend His love along the coast. We also got to visit Kyle’s cousin Joie and her family in Jacksonville, visiting the zoo and attending various sport events where her kids were the stars.

Now we are in Denver staying with 7 guys in their 20’s!  They have a house where they are hosting nightly dinners where friends and family can come and share and hear about the ways God is displaying himself in Costa Rica.  Many people here have been on short term mission trips to Esterillos so have a good idea of what is going on and it has been wonderful to connect with people we have not seen in a while and to meet new people.  They have also been showing us the sights, the mountains are glorious!

Next we are on to California to catch up with friends and churches that partner with us there, as well as to spend some quality time with Kyle’s family.  Elias is looking forward to dressing up as a red ninja on the 31^st and to barbeque a turkey with his dad at the family Thanksgiving camping trip.

Love, Familia Leon, Following Jesus in Esterillos Oeste – Costa Rica

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Selah misses her sink baths

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