You know you live in the tropics when you paint something and it acts like a bug and snake trap!

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 !