The expression “hit the ground running” perfectly describes our return to Costa Rica after 5 weeks in the US visiting churches, and is the main reason it has taken me so long to get you all an update. Let me start by sharing with you all about the amazing time we had getting to know Western New York and Pennsylvania area, then I will fill you in on all the exciting stuff happening here in Costa Rica.
Before we left for our time in NY and PA we knew a handful of people who had come down on a mission trip a few years ago, we were anxious about meeting new people, sharing and traveling in an area we had never been before. Starting with our first contact, Ted Miller, who went above and beyond being an amazing host, to our last weekend spent canoeing on a beautiful lake and sharing with the wonderful team from the Gowanda Free Methodist Church, let me say we have never been received so well! All my fears and insecurities were swept aside as our family was welcomed into churches and homes where we were able to share about the work that God is doing in Costa Rica. It was great to put faces to the names of the people who have been faithfully supporting the ministry in Costa Rica and get to know them. It was inspiring to see churches growing as God worked through them in their communities and it was amazing to see the history of the Free Methodist church in this area of the world. If you follow us on facebook I am sure you saw all the fun things we go to do and see all the amazing churches we got to share in. If not let me give you a quick overview of our trip and share some pictures.
Birth place of the Free Methodist Church
Selah and Dennis manning our information table
Even Kyle got up front to share
NO family camp is complete with out a water war!
Feeling like celebrities!
cramming as much US history into the kids as we could in Washington DC
After sharing more than 25 times at 10 churches and 2 family camps, sleeping in 15 different beds and driving through 4 states we were tired and ready to come home. It was an answer to prayer to come home to everything at our house and the church in order. We are so grateful for the team of leaders we are blessed to work with here in Costa Rica.
We kicked off our return with the annual surf contest that we host with Christian Surfers here in Esterillos Oeste. We were able to enjoy God’s creation and share His message of hope and love to the surfing community.
We have two big events coming up soon. The first is an evangelism training that we are hosting for the Pura Vida churches. We pray that we will see a renewed sense of urgency in reaching our neighbors for Christ as we equip people in the churches to share the gospel with their friends and family.
The second event is the first annual conference for the new Shoreline Mission District. This is new territory for us but we are excited to look back on our first year and plan for the future.
Pray:
We ask that you be in prayer for these two up coming events. That through them we can multiply disciples, leaders and churches to the glory of God and the extension of His kingdom. To support church planting click here.
We are now without a car for our family. The car we had was just too small for the needs of our growing family, we needed to upgrade to a full size 4×4 SUV. Our mechanic thought we should sell our car ASAP because of some chronic problems. Luckily it sold fast and well, but now we are without a car to move our family around. We have already raised about $3000, but we need another $13,000. We are praying for a Toyota Land Cruiser under 15 years old, and the kids really want it to have A/C. To give an extra gift to this need click here, add a note that it is a special gift for a new car for our family.