The Barretts in Costa Rica

School Supply Drive in INVU

2012-01-30T09:27:00.001-08:00

We had the annual school supply drive in INVU on Saturday as part of our Kid's Club. We had a blast and the kids did too!! We played games, did a Bible Story, back to school haircuts, nail painting, face painting, snacks, candy and of course backpacks full of school supplies!!! We gave out 76 backpacks to our precious children and each child was super excited to receive one. In fact, Daniel drove through INVU a few hours later and many children were playing in the streets and still had their backpacks on...it so touched my heart to hear this!!! The moms were very thankful as well and we thank all of you who supported the outreach through donating supplies and money to make it happen!! Many of these children are sent to school a few weeks after school starts or not at all because families can't afford to buy all of the supplies needed. So, again, we are so thankful to all of your for you support. Please pray for these little ones as they start school next week.

Visit from Dad and Jan

2012-01-25T20:05:00.000-08:00

Dad and Jan came to visit us this last week and we had a great time showing them the ministry that the Lord is doing here. We also celebrated mine and my Dad's birthdays as well as Thomas's baptism. We had a great time with them and were sad to see them go. Here are a few pictures from our time together...

Thomas's Baptism

2012-01-23T08:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had a church-wide baptism and dessert at our house and what a celebration it was!! We had 9 that were baptized and the most wonderful part of it all for us was that Thomas, our 6 year old, was baptized!! We were so blessed and are so excited that Thomas chose to invite Jesus into his heart a year ago and was baptized. He was so excited to be baptized and has actually asked us for months when he could do it. Even more, my Dad and Jan were here to be a part of the celebration and that was so special for us as well!! What an emotional afternoon for all of us and such an awesome testimony of what the Lord is doing here in Jaco. Praise God!!!

5 months today!

2012-01-18T20:09:00.000-08:00

Micah is growing so fast....he turns 5 months today! We are so in love!!!

Volunteers Banquet

2012-01-06T14:58:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful time hosting a dinner at a local restaurant for all if the volunteers who have served in the church this year. It was a great time of fellowship and such a blessing to see all of the faithful volunteers that have helped with the different ministries. We definitely could not do what we do without all of these wonderful people--we are so blessed!!! Here are a few pictures of the night...

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T08:46:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all! God bless you!

Micah-- 4 months

2011-12-22T19:38:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how big my sweet baby is!! Micah turned 4 months this week and time is passing way too quickly with him!! Here are a few pix I took of him today--his first time in the excersaucer...

Tamales

2011-12-20T18:26:00.001-08:00

A Christmas tradition here in Costa Rica is making tamales. Tamales are made of masa (like a cornmeal) with vegetables, different types of meat--usually pork--and different seasonings. The mixture is then placed into banana tree leaves that have been cut and cleaned. They are folded into a small rectangular shape and tied off with a thin rope. They then need to be boiled or steamed before eating. Every person makes them a little bit different using their own "family recipe." Many families get together and spend hours upon hours making them and many give them as gifts, share them as a Christmas meal and sell them on the streets everywhere. The talk of the town here at Christmas time is the making of tamales--it really is a such a beautiful family tradition for the locals here. We were blessed today by friends who attend our church. Jose and Rosa invited us over to pick up some tamales that they had made this week. They have been talking about them for a month and we look forward to eating them tomorrow. We love being here and experiencing the local traditions of a completely different culture than our own. We have chosen to really embrace this culture as our own and participate in it with our local tico families when at all possible. We have also shared our traditions with the locals so that they get a taste of a different culture as well. We made cinnamon swirl bread for all of our friends and "family" here and distributed it today...what a blessing it was to "share traditions" with each other. God is so good. We are so very blessed!!! We pray that all of you have a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year! We are so very thankful for each of you!!!

Here is a picture of me with Rosa and her tamales.

Christmas Outreach 2012

2011-12-18T18:58:00.000-08:00

Wow---what a blessing it was to celebrate Jesus with our precious children in INVU!!! I was so blessed to be there with all of those little ones that we love so much!! They had a wonderful time of clowns, cookies, juice, presents, candy boxes, and lots of love! Many of the moms attended as well and it was a blessing to be able to spend the morning with themas well!! We had exactly enough gifts--117 gifts--115 children at the party and 2 gifts sent with a grandma whose grandchildren couldn't attend the party. God is so faithful!!! He knew what we had and He made it work!! We were getting nervous as kids and mommies began pouring into the park. We just prayed and the Lord made it work...it was beautiful! We had 17 volunteersfrom our church there serving and that was such a blessing as well...gringos and ticos hand in handserving--so wonderful!! Thanks to Calvary Chapel Lexington (our home church) who has always been a BIG part of sponsoring the children for the outreach. You guys are amazing and we love you!! Here are a few pictures of our fun-filled day...Our wonderful volunteers waiting for the masses of children!!

Lining up for cookies and juice and then for gifts and surprises...

Christmas Outreach Wrapping Party

2011-12-17T18:59:00.001-08:00

Here are a few pictures of the wrapping party we had for the Christmas Outreach. It was tons of fun as we enjoyed desserts, wrapping and sweet fellowship among members of our church. We were all excited and looking forward to the outreach. We wrapped 117 gifts and filled 117gift boxes with surprises for our sweet INVU children. Here are a few pictures of our wrapping night...

Below are a few pictures of the boys having fun with Christmas Crafts. Daniel cut wood and they made wooden reindeer with Daddy. My Mom sent us a Gingerbread House Kit and though there were a few broken pieces, the boys had a blast making it. They determined that their house had been through an earthquake so the roof was caving in a little...very appropriate for Costa Rica :)

Thanks, Uma, for the Gingerbread House!!!

Thomas Graduated!!

2011-12-06T08:09:00.000-08:00

Our sweet firstborn, Thomas, graduated yesterday from Prepa and has now begun summer break! He had such a great school year and truly LOVES learning! He has also made some really great friends and his teachers were just precious. He will begin first grade in February. Here are a few pictures of the graduation. (Poor Thomas was sick all day and night before the graduation and was still throwing up even before we left for the ceremony, but he was determined to participate so we took him. He did fine and waited until we got home to get sick again.)

We can't believe how fast time flies!!! It was bittersweet for me...

Various Pictures

2011-11-30T18:52:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we hosted Thomas's end of the year school party. His teacher asked us to do so weeks ago and we agreed thinking it would be a great time to minister/love on the parents, teachers and kids who attended. It was great! The kids had a blast and the Lord really opened some doors for us to build more relationships with these families. Each child had at least one parent in attendance and so we had a great time as adults as well. We look forward to more opportunities to love on these families with the love of Christ. Here are a few pictures from the party.

Below are a few pictures of the boys decorating our Christmas tree. We found a mini tree here and the boys were so excited we were buying a Christmas tree this year versus a Palm Tree.

Here is Micah in an outfit that both Thomas and Jacob wore--brings back so many memories!!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T12:24:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful treat to have my mom and stepdad, sisters, brother-in-law and niece all come visit for 4 days over Thanksgiving!!! We had so much fun just being together!!! And my boys just ADORE their cousin, Anna. We so appreciate them sacrificing to come and bless us!! Here are a few pictures of our time together...

The Daniel Family

2011-11-16T08:18:00.000-08:00

Many of you read a blog post from February where our friends David and Eva Daniel from our home church visited us for about 2 weeks to "scout out the land" here in Jaco. They have been praying and feeling led to this area to start a U-Turn for Christ ministry here. U-Turn is a ministry to men and women with addictions and they have been involved in this ministry at our home church, Calvary Chapel Lexington for a few years now. Many of you are fully aware of the way Satan has taken so many captive to addictions here in Jaco and the devastation it has caused. Anyway, it is OFFICIAL!! They (with their 4 children and twins on the way) are moving December 9th. God has confirmed in so many ways His plans for them to be here and be a part of what God is doing here in Jaco. We are just so excited for them and for us!!! We look forward to seeing all that God wants to do through them. We have been house hunting for them this last week and just found a house for them around the corner from us. We aregetting the house ready for them so it will feel like a "home" when they get here. Please be praying for Eva and David--for their last minute packing and organizing; for their travels here; for their transition to a foreign country...that God would be glorified through all and that they would feel His peace through it all as well!!!

On another note, here are a few pictures of the boys with their friends at their soccer game last week...

EcoRun 2011

2011-10-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

Saturday I ran a 10K with a few friends to raise money for the turtle refuge in Hermosa (about 10 minutes from us.) We had so much fun!! Daniel and the boys borrowed a golf cart and drove around cheering us on by banging pots and pans--it was great! My favorite part of the race was when Thomas and Jacob met me close to the end and ran across the finish line with me...it was such a sweet moment for me!! Here are a few pictures of the event...

George's Baptism

2011-10-28T18:54:00.000-07:00

Daniel got a call from his friend, Shawn, at the beginning of the week with good news. George wanted to be baptized!! George is a guy who was homeless on the streets of Jaco for many years and was a drug addict during his time on the streets. Daniel and Shawn got to know him through the homeless feedings Daniel has been a part of on Friday nights. Seven weeks ago George decided he had had enough and was finally ready for help. Shawn took him to Casa de Amor, a Christian rehab center in Quepos, and he has been there ever since. He came back to Jaco this week, 7 weeks later, to get his tooth fixed and told the guys he wanted to be baptized here as a symbol of the change the Lord has done on the inside of him. So, Daniel had the privilege of baptizing him at our house on Wednesday surrounded by all the guys that have been pouring into George and praying for his salvation. It was truly amazing and just more evidence that the Lord is doing something here in the streets of Jaco. The Lord desires lives surrendered to Him--praise the Lord George has finally surrendered! Please continue to pray for him as he has returned to Casa de Amor to finish his time there .

My sweet boys

2011-10-20T15:03:00.000-07:00

Meeting Needs

2011-10-17T19:26:00.001-07:00

Today we had the privilege of going down to Quepos (a city about 1 hr from Jaco) to take food that our church has collected for Casa de Amor. Casa de Amor is a drug and alcohol rehab center for men that is run by some wonderful missionary friends of ours, Kim and Laura Stilwell. They emailed us last week saying that they had great needs at the center for food and toiletry items. We presented the need to our church last week and what a blessing it was this week to see our church members wanting to help!! They provided tons of groceries for us to take and bless the ministry today. So, because Thomas was out of school today we made it a family day and went down with all of the goods and visited with Kim for a while. It ministered to us to be there with these men and they were so excited to receive all that we had, knowing the Lord had provided!! We then took the boys to a fun little restaurant for lunch called"El Avion" (the airplane). It is an actual a C-123 that was abandoned here after the Iran-Contra affair was exposed in the 80's. Later it was moved to Quepos and turned into a restaurant. They had a blast playing in the airplane and we enjoyed a delicious lunch there! Enjoy pictures of our day below...

Daniel with Kim (green shirt) and our friend Alejandro, who is an overseer at Casa de Amor

Here are the guys eating lunch

Here is some of the food we brought from the church donations

Daniel and George, a guy from Jaco who has been at the center for 6 weeks...Daniel knows him from the streets of Jaco--today was his birthday

The boys had so much fun!!!!

Pictures....

2011-10-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of Thomas with his science project at the kindergarten science fair. It was so cute seeing these little people present their projects to the parents and teachers. And it was all in Spanish so we were especially proud of Thomas for presenting his in Spanish as well. Thomas did a project testing different shapes of boats made of aluminum foil. He tested which one floated best. He had a great time with it!! In addition, here are a few pictures of little Micah. He is 6 weeks old and growing so fast!!! He is such a joy!

God is so good!

2011-09-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

This is somewhat of a long story but I hope you are as blessed by it as I was on Thursday when it happened.

Thursday before lunch a friend, Karina, from INVU (the neighborhood where we do the women's Bible Study, Kids Club, etc) came by to visit and to see if we were interested in buying any men's cologne. She comes by quite often to say hello and we helped her move a few weeks ago. She is out of work now and walks the streets daily strolling her 2 little boys (ages 2 1/2 and 6 months) and looking for work. (She has a 12 yr old daughter who is in school) She shared w/ me that her landlord had come by that morning asking for at least half of the rent she owed by that day because it was originally due on the 11th. She had no money but told the lady she would get it to her. (Karina even mentioned that she felt bad lying to the lady and telling her she would have it that day for her not knowing how she would get it.) She then asked a friend who sells cologne if she could try and sell some for her and she could earn 6 to 8 dollars per bottle. So here she sat and we chatted and I prayed for her. Rewind to an hour earlier--- I had received a phone call from my friend Leslie that there was a group of 3 people who are with a Christian organization in Jaco for a few days filming a documentary on prostitution, sex trafficking, etc. She was wondering if I personally knew any prostitutes personally that are no longer in the "business" and who might be willing to share their story. I began praying and I called 3 different girls I knew to see if they would. One said no and two were unavailable and I was going to call them back later. Leslie called me back as Karina was at my house and I shared w/ her the news of what I knew thus far. I also shared with her that Karina was there and all of a sudden I felt like God told me to ask her if she knew anyone that would be willing to share. I told Leslie I would call her back and she said, "Oh, by the way, they are paying whoever agrees to interview $50-100. I talked with Karina and asked her if she knew anyone and she immediately said "yes, I am that girl." I was totally unaware that this was her past, and she was totally willing to share. I told her, "And, by the way, they are going to pay you a little to do it." Well, the crew immediately came over and they filmed Karina and her interview in our back yard. The interviewer was in tears as Karina revealed that she was tricked into coming here years ago, paid $300, and was sex trafficked in and they worked her like crazy to "repay" the money that she would never be able to repay. Horrible situation!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway, as everyone left and Karina and I were there she began to tear up as I asked her how she felt about it. She showed me the money==they had given her $100--the exact amount she needed to pay rent for that day---what a miracle from the Lord!! But more than that, she shared w/ me how FREE she felt because she had never shared her full story with anyone before. She was FREE!!!! She has accepted the Lord as Savior and is involved in our women's Bible Study and another Bible Study as well. She is really trying to grow and she was just speechless at how the Lord not only provided for their financial needs that day, but also freed her in a way that she had never been freed before. It was just beautiful!! She then asked if she could come over next week to share her full story with me over coffee--she felt she wanted to tell me all that has happened to her. What a day this was for all of us---such a perfect example of how we never know what a new day is going to bring here in Jaco--God definitely gets all the glory for His love, goodness and faithfulness that He lavishes on those who are seeking Him. If the Lord sets you free, you are free indeed! Praise the Lord!!!!

Feliz DIa de Independencia Costa Rica!! Happy Independence Day, Costa Rica!

2011-09-18T19:41:00.001-07:00

Thursday was Independence Day here in Costa Rica. We had a parade in town and all of Jaco was decorated with red, white and blue flags. We had a fun day as a family since Thomas had the day off of school. Thomas volunteered to participate in a cultural/typical Costa Rican dance with a few kids from his class. He performed at 2 different assemblies at the school and absolutely loved it!! He definitely had dancing in his blood!! Here are a few pictures of Thomas dancing..

A few pictures of the boys

2011-09-02T19:31:00.000-07:00

We are just so in love with our little Micah--all four of us! Here are a few pictures from this last week. On Monday, the boys and Daniel built a tree house in our front yard. They are loving it and so are all the kids in the neighborhood. Here are a few pictures of the tree house as well.

watching cartoons with big brother

treehouse fun

Micah is here!

2011-08-23T16:20:00.000-07:00

Well, our sweet baby boy, Micah Carlton Barrett, has arrived!! He was 7lbs 6oz and 19 1/2 inches long. He is just perfect and we are all in love with him! The boys are doing so great with him--always wanting to hold him or help me with him. It has been so much fun to see them with their new baby brother! I am feeling well--still pretty sore but this is to be expected with a c-section. We arrived back in Jaco last night and are trying to get back in to aroutine. Thanks so much for all of your prayers for us--we felt so covered the morning of and it was so evident that we had many praying. Here are a few pictures of our sweet boy...

Jacob sharing his favorite blanket and doggie with his brother...

Thursday is the day!!!

2011-08-14T18:36:00.000-07:00

So we have now arrived at the week of Micah's birth!!! We are so excited as we prepare for Thursday. I have a scheduled c-section for Thursday at 9:30AM our time (11:30 EST) and we would really appreciate all of your prayers. Daniel's parents are flying in the night before the birth to help us with the boys during our stay in San Jose. We will be having baby in San Jose at a private hospital (about 1 1/2 hours from where we currently live). We will stay in San Jose by the hospital until Monday. PLEASE pray for us--for the c-section, for Micah's health, for the doctors and nurses, for Daniel's parents safe arrival, and that we would be a witness to all we meet in the hospital this week. We love you and thank you for all of your support!! Here are a few pictures of the boys with the big belly....

Happy Boy

2011-08-09T18:39:00.000-07:00

There is a family in INVU that we work with and the mom, Carmen, has helped us with kids club for a couple of years. They are very special friends to us and we love them dearly. While the mission team was here, we were identifying needs in the community to help with and one was a new bed for her son, Segundo. The four of them live in a cabina (one room), which is pretty common, but they all sleep together because they don't have another bed nor the space for one. The team didn't have time to build a bed for them so Daniel decided to build him a trundle bed last week. It was such a fun project and God provided materials/money to purchase a mattress at a VERY discounted price all in one day. It was amazing to see His provision and even more special to see the excitement on Segundo and his family's faces when Daniel was putting it in place. Carmen, his mom, said he didn't want to get up the next morning because he loved his little bed so much! Such a little thing that blessed in such a big way...here are pictures of the finished project...

Southside Church Mission Trip

2011-07-27T19:17:00.000-07:00

We hosted a team from Virginia last weekfrom Southside Church. They were a group of 39 teenagers and adults and came to do construction projects, kids club and family movie night. They did some amazing work and we are so blessed to havehosted them! They worked on building a house for an elderly lady who attends our church. Theybuilt a cinderblock wall on a home in INVU (the neighborhood we work in). They built new picnic tables and benches for the park and brought new swings to replace the broken ones we have. They re-roofed the public school in Hermosa. They built soccer goals for a school in a little pueblo of 100 people about 1 1/2 hours from Jaco up in the mountains. Allin all, it was a blessing to have themand we will continue where they left off to finish Alyssia's house as well as other projects that we had planned to do. Thanks Southside for all of your hard work!!! The following are a few pictures from the week...

cleaning up the park

building new picnic tables and benchesfinished productIn line for beans and rice

building a wall in the back of a home in INVU

Building a house for a member of our church, Alyssia (pictured)A picture of the house thus far...

More Pictures from BWO

2011-07-18T13:45:00.000-07:00

We have had such a wonderful time this week with the mission team, BWO. They have blessed us and the people of Jaco so much---we just can't thank them enough for all they have done!! There were many people who gave their lives to Jesus this week as a result of all the ministry going on. Please pray that we are able to follow up with these people and help disciple them in their relationship with the Lord. Also pray that they would come to church and begin to be fed spiritually on a weekly basis. We are just more than blessed for all this team has done!! The medical team saw hundreds of patients and because an OB/GYN was part of the team she did free Pap Smears and STD testing for almost 100 women. It was so amazing to see people's spiritual needs met as well as their physical needs. We took the cosmetology team out on Thursday and Friday nights to minister to the prostitutes like we did last year. We did hand massages, prayed with them and even scheduled some of them for appts with the doctor for free medical exams. It was a blessed time and weare praying that the seeds planted with these women will grow however the Lord sees fit.

The VBS and Sports Outreach teams ministered to many children and on Saturday night we put on a big family night at the soccer field where we meet for church. We rented inflatables and had carnival games with prizes for the kids to enjoy. We fed them and then the Evangelism/Drama team did a few dramas ending with the story of Jesus healing the blind man, Bartimaeus. We had a pair of men from the team who have a ministry in The States where one teaches while the other paints what is being taught. It was incredible to see the painting of Jesus healing the blind man come alive as Terry taught and Chad painted. Many in attendance at the family night gave their lives to Christ after the teaching. All in all, it has been a wonderful week though we are exhausted! God is doing amazing things here in Jaco and we are so blessed to be a part of it. Below are a few more pictures from the week...

Outreach for FamiliesEvangelism painting/teaching by Chad and TerrryMedical clinic

Believers World Outreach

2011-07-13T16:03:00.000-07:00

We have been extremely busy hosting Believer's World Outreach this week. They are a mission team of over 60 people and have been with us the past few years. They are brokenup into 5different teams including street evangelism/drama, vacation bible school,medical,cosmetology, and sports camps. We are having so much fun with them and they are really making a huge impact in Jaco with the Gospel. They will be here through July 19th and our next team arrives that same day. Here are a few pictures from the past few days...

Happy Birthday Jacob!

2011-06-13T19:16:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby turned 4 this last week! Happy Birthday Jacob!!!

The boys with our intern, Greg

Fun Times with Youth Group

2011-05-24T13:33:00.001-07:00

We have been having a great time leading youth group here in Jaco. We have a great group of kids and the Lord keeps sending more. It is a very diverse group, yet they mesh very well. Daniel led the group on a digital scavenger hunt last week and they had a blast--even in the pouring rain! Here are a few pictures from the night. Please continue to pray for theseprecious teenagers. Here in Jaco they are facing so much more than they would in other areas in regards to "worldly" influences and just plain darkness. Please pray for them as they learn about Jesus their Savior and the plan He has for their lives.

Bible Study, Stitch Removal, Etc

2011-05-22T14:23:00.000-07:00

Bible Study for the women in INVU has been going extremely well! Thank you for all of your prayers and PLEASE keep praying. Pray that the hearts of these women would be open to Jesus and the hope they can find in Him for their lives. I have really gotten a chance to develop some sweet relationships with a few of them and I am excited about what the Lord is going to do with it. Please pray!!! Here are a few pictures of our Bible Study last week. We started a study on the names of God and getting to know God and His character through His names. I am going to teach on a different name every time and just continue to pray that the Lord uses it to reveal Himself to these precious women. One of my friends who attends our church taught the ladies how to make animals and flowers out of marshmellows for craft time....they had a ball!

our kids playing with children in INVU

Also, Jacob's head has healed just beautifully! We are very pleased with the results. Daniel took the stitches out on Tuesday and he looks good...thanks for praying for him!!

My Poor Baby!

2011-05-10T18:18:00.000-07:00

Well, we were wondering how long it would take for our rough and tough little Jacob to get his first stitches. Today was the day, but at least he almost made it to his 4th birthday stitch-free!! He was swinging on a broken swing at a house where we minister to the mothers of kid's club kids and he slipped right off landing on his head. The bad thing in my opinion is he split it on the side of a concrete "ditch" where open sewage runs from the homes (as they don't have great drainage). He is up to date on his shots but I am tempted to take him for another tetinus just to make sure. Here are pictures of the damage...please pray for quick healing!!

Easter at Kid's Club

2011-05-07T17:53:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun celebrating Easter with our kids at Kid's Club. We had a big easter egg hunt for all the children. (which they do not do here so we had to explain the tradition) We hid eggs full of candy and 12 special eggs that we used to tell the resurrection story. Each egg had a reminder of each part of the resurrection story. We used these resurrection eggs to describe each part of Jesus's death and resurrection. We then made foam crosses and decorated them. It was a fun morning and always full of organized chaos--whatever that is! Here are a few pictures from the day...

This is a new painting of our Kids Club tree on the wall facing the park. Tierra de Aventura means "Adventure Land" which is the new name of kids club. A friend of ours, Phoebe, from Wales painted it before she returned home...we love it!!!

2nd Women's Bible Study

2011-04-26T12:27:00.000-07:00

We had such a wonderful time at our 2nd Women's Bible Study in the INVU barrio. Because of Easter, we used the Resurrection Easter Eggs to tell the Easter Story to the women and and we had the women who were able to read participate by reading different scriptures fromeach egg. We gave a invitation for the women to receive Jesus and to write down prayer requests so we could be praying for them. It was a sweet time with the women and a few of them actuallyspoke up and participated while I taught. Daniel carved crosses out of wood and the women decorated them to hang on the wall in their homes as a reminder of Jesus's love for them. They absolutely loved this craft and had so much fun using their creativity. It was such a blessed time once again and I just give all the glory to God who is truly leadingevery step of the way with this precious time with these women! Thanks for all your prayers!!!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T18:59:00.001-07:00

Happy Resurrection Day to all!!!

!Thomas and Jacob with our ministry partners' kids...they are more like brothers and sisters!!!

Thomas's Birthday

2011-04-22T12:52:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Thomas turned 6 years old this week!!! Wow time flies! We had a wonderful birthday celebration for him with lots of his friends! A sweet couple from our church let us use their pool and picnic area and we had a wonderful time! Here are a few pictures of the birthday boy...

A visit from Uma and Anne

2011-04-21T12:14:00.001-07:00

My Mom and my sister, Anne, came to visit us for a few days this week during my Mom's spring break. We had so much fun with them and we celebrated Thomas's 6th birthday while they were here. One of the highlights of their visit was the canopy zipline tour and Thomas was able to go this time. He LOVED it!! We were so blessed by the time we spent with them and it was lots of fun showing them Jaco and what the Lord is doing here. Here are a few pictures...

School and tennis fun

2011-04-15T19:18:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of the kids from today. We have had an incredibly busy week and today was no exception. Thomas's school held a fundraiser to raise money for the kindergarten program so we moms donated food and someone donated a few bounce houses for the kids to enjoy. The boys had a great time! Then we were off to tennis lessons for Thomas and he is doing so well in tennis! Here are a few action shots of him including a picture of him with his coach, Matias, from Argentina.

Thomas's teachers, Teacher Lucrecia and Teacher Joyce

Thomas's tennis coach, Matias

Bible Study for Moms in INVU

2011-03-19T12:51:00.000-07:00

In an earlier post I asked for prayer for the Mom's Bible Study Iwas beginning this month. Well, we had our first meeting this past week and it was wonderful! It was everything I had envisioned when I prayed for direction, order, organization, etc. We had over 15 moms there and about 8 women from our church helping me. It was such a blessing!!! We served the ladies lunch, I taught a Bible Study on the love of God and what it truly means and we decorated acrylic picture frames for a craft. It was so much fun! God is just so faithful and I spoke with a few women afterwards who were really blessed and were asking me when we were doing it again. Then, this morning at kid's club 4 of the moms came and asked if we could do it more than just once a month. I am just so blessed that they were so touched and I give all the glory to God because He put the entire thing together in my heart!! I look forward to the next one and where this will continue to lead us. My relationship with these women is already at another level just this week in passing since having the meeting last Monday. The Lord has given me a verse these past few weeks that I am clinging to and keeps me going in His work. I Cor. 15:58 "Stand firm, let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." May this always be our heart---to give ourselves FULLY to God's work for His glory!!

Please continue to pray for these moms, most of whom do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives. Also, please pray for me as I follow the direction of the Holy Spirit in every detail of the planning and preparation--especially what He will have me share each time. Thanks for praying!!!!!

making picture frames...so fun!!! Alicia, my "Tica Mama"some of the volunteers from our church

David and Eva

2011-03-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

We took our dear friends, David and Eva Daniel, back to the airport yesterday to return to the US. They have been visiting with us for almost 2 weeks praying and seeking specific direction for their family as the Lord is calling them down here to work in Jaco. They have a vision to start a 2nd phase rehab center for addicts with an emphasis on discipleship, life skills/job training. The Lord revealed so much to them as they were here with us and we were so blessed to be able to be a part of it!! Please pray for them and their 4 children as they are beginning the process of support raising with the possibility of moving down in the next 7-10 months or so. We are super excited!!!!

Special Trip to Coronado

2011-03-13T20:30:00.000-07:00

Gabe, David (friend from SC), Bruce (member of our church) and I (Daniel) had the privilege of going to Coronado this week to work with a rehab ministry there in the mountains. Coronado is located in the mountains at 7,000 feet above San Jose. There our missionary friend, Keith Britton, runs a rehab facility for drug addicts and also works with a feeding ministry for needy children. Our church partnered with them about a year ago and we are really excited to see all that they have going on there. There are currently 12 men in the program there and each of us had a chance to teach during the Bible Study times. We had some great conversations with some of the men and really got to pour God's love into them while we were there. Our church collected many items that the center needed such as clothing, blankets and toiletry items and were able to take them and bless the ministry. We were really excited to hear that the night after we left Javier, one of the guys in the program, prayed and received Christ as his Lord and Savior. Please keep Javier and all of the guys in your prayers. The Lord is doing a great work there. We look forward to visiting with them again soon.House where the guys live.

Us with the guys at the facility

David and Gabe leading Bible Study

Our New Pet and other things...

2011-03-02T11:03:00.000-08:00

Well, we now are the official owners of a pet turtle. The boys are very excited! Daniel found the turtle crossing the road and decided to bring it home for the boys. They have had so much fun "playing" with it and to be honest, it is extremely low maintenance. (This is the only reason I let them keep it.) Our backyard is cemented in and he cannot escape so we let him play outside during the day and at night we bring him in to an atrium area that we have. The boys have named him "Max" and are very proud to introduce everyone to him.

This is a picture of our friend, Jose. He and his wife Rosa are caring for their 2 grandchildren and they attend our church. He sells sunglasses and flowers on the streets to make money and she cleans houses at times and cares for the children. They have become great friends of ours and stop by regularly to visit. Yesterday he came by with his new bike that the church bought him. (Rosa needed a bike she could ride as well in order to transport the children.) It is a 3 wheeled bike with a basket on the back. He asked Daniel to help him build a bench to go on the back for the kids to sit in. The finished product is here in this picture and it turned out great!!! We are so excited for them and their new "ride."

Please pray for us as we begin a new Bible Study in the neighborhood, INVU, where we do weekly Kid's Club. For some time the Lord has been stirring my heart about reaching not only the kids in this area but also the families. Many of the moms have begun coming to Kid's Club so I feel like the Lord has given me the idea to do a "Moms of Kids Clubbers" meeting once a month. Our first one is Monday, March 14th and I will lead a devotion, we will do a craft, and have snacks. PLEASE be praying that the ladies come and that the Lord touches hearts. We are really excited about this and what the Lord might do with it. Thanks for your prayers!!

School Supply Distribution

2011-02-13T12:46:00.000-08:00

We had a great time giving all of the school supplies out to the kids in INVU. They were excited to say the least and we had enough for every child to get a bag of supplies! Many times we have NO IDEA how many extra kids will show up because they have heard that something is going on in the park. Anyway, we shared with them why we were there and why we continue to reach out to them every Saturday. We also shared with them that these supplies were gifts from God that he supplies through people in the church. We continue to pray that the love ofChrist will continue to go forth and we will continue to be used to live out the Gospel to theentireneighborhood. Thanks to all who donated towards the school supplies---the kids and we were more than blessed!!

Happenings

2011-02-07T09:45:00.000-08:00

Thomas on his first day of school

SO SO sorry we have not blogged in a few weeks. I have been super sick with "all day" pregnancy sickness since we returned home and it is all I can do just to get through each day being a wife and mom to my family. Praise the Lord I am beginning to feel better little by little as I am almost 3 months along so I am welcoming some relief!!

A few days after we arrived home, a friend, Todd Honour, from CC Lexington came to work alongside us for a week and just get a firsthand view of what we are doing here. He and Daniel did a few little construction projects and he just did life with us for the week. It was a blessing to have him here with us!

Thomas returned to school today! He was super excited and we are excited for him as he begins a new year with all of his friends. The public school in the area starts on Thursday so we are busy this week preparing all of the backpacks with school supplies to provide for each of the children in INVU, the neighborhood where we minister weekly. We will be handing out all of the backpacks on Wednesday and will be sure to post pictures of the event.

Kid's Club is back in full swing. What an awesome ministry! We are LOVING being a part of blessing these kids each week and many of the moms are starting to come as well. Daniel and I are really praying about a way to reach these moms on a deeper level such as a weekly Bible Study or something. Please be praying for this as this has been on our hearts since we returned.

Thanks for all of your continued support and prayers--we love you and are so thankful for you!!!

Doing Fine

2011-01-19T06:35:00.001-08:00

Sorry we have not blogged in so long---this trip to The States has truly been a whirlwind of doctor's appointments and family visits (with a bit of sickness along the way:)). We return to Costa Rica tomorrow and we are looking forward to getting back home and getting settled. Thanks to all of you who have emailed to check on Thomas and his surgery. It was a great success--even better than the first one and we know it is due to all of your prayers! THANKS SO MUCH!!! We also realized while being here that Thomas's glasses prescription has been wrong for the past 5 months (we had to get him glasses in Costa Rica in August and he was "misdiagnosed") so we were able to get an appointment, have him fitted for glasses and will pick the new glasses up today---all in a matter of days. We feel so blessed that the Lord has shown us favor in this area as it was a little scare for us. We keep praying and the Lord keeps guiding us.

We also found out some exciting news while being here. I am pregnant! We are thrilled to be expecting #3 and look forward to finding out the due date when we return to CR. Please pray for me as I am extremely nauseous 24/7--not fun but totally worth it!

Again, thanks for all of your prayers and words of encouragement during these crazy 3 weeks. God is so faithful and we have felt His presence in a sweet way as He has taken such good care of our little Thomas! Below are a few pictures of Thomas's "new eyes".

The boys with their cousin, Anna

Please Pray for Us!

2010-12-27T07:11:00.000-08:00

We are leaving today for The States for 3 weeks because Thomas, our oldest son, is having surgery. Please pray for peace for him and us and that the Lord would work through the doctors to care for our little one. Thanks so much for praying and we will post updates as we have them.

Merry Christmas to all!

2010-12-25T11:56:00.000-08:00

We pray that your Christmas is truly blessed! Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given..."

Camping Trip

2010-12-23T19:19:00.000-08:00

So, Daniel decided to take the boys on a camping trip yesterday for the night. They have been talking about wanting to go for a long time and because the evenings here have been somewhat pleasant they decided to take advantage of it. They went with our friend, Bruce, who owns property on the beach in Esterillos, about 20 minutes from Jaco. This was the first "official", out of the yard camping trip for the boys so they were really excited! They had so much fun and look forward to going back sometime soon. Here are a few pictures of their adventures... eating beans in a can

my monkeys scaling our wall at home...

Christmas Cookies

2010-12-20T17:43:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of us making Christmas cookies today as a family. We had so much fun!Jacob and his best friend, Jude

Christmas Outreach

2010-12-13T12:35:00.000-08:00

We had the Christmas Outreach thispast Saturday and it was a huge success!!! Thanks so much to all of you who sponsored children and to all who prayed for us and for the families represented. It was so much fun and the kids were truly blessed! For those who don't know, we do a Christmas Outreach every year for INVU, the neighborhood where we do kid's club. We invite all of the families and we have food, clowns for entertainment, the Christmas Story, presents and clothing for all. It was LOTS of fun and we had so many wonderful volunteers from our church who were a big help as well!! Daniel and I are praying that this is just one more way to reach the families, deepen relationships and gain trust to minister to theindividual parents of these children as well. We are really praying for that in the new year. The following are a few pictures from the Outreach Event.

Our "Christmas Tree"

2010-11-28T17:52:00.000-08:00

So, we have been talking about getting a Christmas tree since we will be here in Jaco for Christmas. We have seen a few fake trees that were more like branches and were very expensive so we explored a few areas in different parts of the rain forest here trying to find a tree. Well, much to my surprise, Daniel came home on Friday with this "Christmas Tree." He didn't realize how much taller it would stand in a planter versus in the ground so we have one TALL tree!! It took some getting used to for me but after lights and pretty ornaments it has definitely grown on me (no pun intended.) The boys love it and have realized that there is plenty of room underneath the leaves to put lots of presents :). The name of this palm tree is actually a "palma navideña" or Christmas Palm so it is quite fitting. We did have a wonderful time decorating with the few decorations we brought with us from The States. We have also had fun making ornaments as a family. We look forward to this Christmas Season and pray that we are able to bless the people here with the excitement that we have in celebrating the birth of our Savior! May MANY come to know Him this season here in Jaco!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2010-11-24T19:10:00.000-08:00

The boys and I have had fun celebrating Thanksgiving this month by making crafts and talking daily about what we are thankful for. Costa Rica doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving so we have been really intentional about teaching Thomas about Thanksgiving and why we celebrate. We have had so much fun!! We even had a couple come from The States and brought us candy corns so we could make turkey treats--so fun!! Here are a few pictures of our activities...

The boys goofing around...

Our special turkey cookies

My beautiful friend!

2010-11-16T19:17:00.000-08:00

Psalm 45:11 "The King is enthralled by Your beauty; honor Him, for He is Your Lord." This verse came to mind when sitting in the dentist's office yesterday with Zeneyda as she received her long-awaited new teeth. You see, Zeneyda, who helps us a few days a week at the house, is a 28 year old Nicaraguan girl who has come here in search for work to send back to her mother who is raising her 3 children. We met her through a good friend and the Lord opened doors for her to begin helping us out about 6 months ago or more. She has been a real blessing to our family and she is just so beautiful inside and out. Her mother is a Christian and she walked with the Lord as a young person but has since strayed for one reason or another. When she was helping us one day she was complaining about pain in her teeth. Her jaw and right side of her mouth were inflamed and she was suffering from regular headaches. We began talking and she explained to me how her teeth have been rotten for many years due to malnutrition as a child and have caused her much illness. It was so hard for me to imagine how much she has suffered for so long for something that is so rare in The States. Daniel and I began praying about how to help her and decided to first take her to a dentist. He proceeded to tell her that she needed all of her teeth pulled but 3 and that he would replace them with dentures. She was too young to keep the rotten teeth because she would continue to suffer and it would increase in time. The Lord really impressed upon our hearts to help her in whatever way we could and over a two month period the Lord provided the money THROUGH ALL OF OUR FAITHFUL SUPPORTERS to pay for her to have all of the necessary work done. She was without teeth for a month and it has been an emotional ride for her but I can't even begin to describe the joy in her eyes first when we told her the Lord wants us to help and second when she smiled for the first time with her new teeth. I even think the dentist was a little teary as were the 2 nurses helping us. It has been such a wonderful testimony of God's faithfulness and provision and we are really praying and have already seen the fruit of God using us to help her out. We are praying that she will fall in love with her Savior as she was before and that she would give Him all the glory for what He has done. We KNOW that the Lord has used us as a tool to reach her and we are so humbled and grateful that He would allow us the privilege of being a part of His work here. The following are a before and after picture. I have to say the pictures don't fully do justice to the beautiful girl that Zeneyda is...we are so excited for her!!!! THANK YOU TO ALL WHO SUPPORT US IN MAKING THIS POSSIBLE!!!

before

after

Feeding for Flood Victims

2010-11-07T18:32:00.000-08:00

Well, we had a busy weekend feeding those who were displaced by the flooding. Thomas's school was turned into a shelter for families whose homes were wiped out by the flood waters. We fed them breakfast a couple of mornings and did a movie night on Friday night where we showed Toy Story 2 in Spanish. It was a lot of fun and they were really appreciative. Many of them were at the shelter and only had the clothes on their backs. The river had washed most of their stuff away and looters had even invaded the neighborhood on Saturday night so there was more stuff taken from the area. One lady in particular had a 2 year oldboy and shehad only 1 shirt for him and no shoes. She was asking if I had any extra boys clothes for her son. About2 months ago I cleaned out Thomas and Jacob's drawers and had a garbage bag full of clothes and shoes to give away. I remember praying that the Lord would show me who to give these to in the right time. Well, I knew after talking to her that this bag was for her. So, on Saturday I took the bag up there to her and she was more than thankful! I was so humbled that the Lord used me to meet a need she had. He is so faithful!! The following are a few pictures from the shelter and the feedings we were doing...

(Update---the rain has stopped and the water is receding...there is a lot of mess to clean up and it will take a long time but thank you Jesus the rain has stopped!!! The families from the shelter were able to return to their homes today (Sunday))Our local grocery store inside and out

3 week old twins asleep at the shelter

Rain, rain go away

2010-11-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

We have had rain, hard rain, for 4 days straight. As a result, streets have been flooded, rivers have been rising and it has just been a mess. Well, we woke up this morning to more flooding than I can imagine. All of the roads are flooded. The grocery store has water almost waist deep. The rivers are all overflowing and houses that are near them are being washed away. Many houses and businesses are flooded. It is just a HORRIBLE situation. There have been 17 dead so far and hundreds displaced from homes or missing. We are just so sad for everyone and are praying about how to help. Daniel has already been out 2 times this morning checking on people we know to see how they are doing. The only thing we can do is pray that the rain subsides (the news says it will at least rain through tomorrow) and get out there and help bucket water out of these homes. It is a truly overwhelming problem--one I have never seen before in person. Please pray for the people here. It is truly a mess...

Here are a few pictures...

The center of town A river in the center of town that also runs beside the neighborhood we work in. The little bridge you see is a foot bridge.The river here has risen so high that people's homes are beginning to break off and fall into the river...terrible This road usually has a river running under it but the river is now running over it...This is another part of town near our houseThe beach is trashed and all the water is muddyThis is a river in the center of townThis is a house in INVU where we do kid's club

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

2010-10-31T15:01:00.000-07:00

My little tae kwon do boys in action...

In the past few weeks we have had a lot of crazy things happening very close to where we live. A couple was murdered in their condo in the middle of the day a few weeks ago and the guys have never been caught. The condos are located within walking distance of our house. Then last week a friend who attends church with us was shot in the head while working. He is the director of a drug rehab facility and he was on the phone when 5 guys approached him with guns wanting to rob the facility. They shot him in the head but the bullet was not strong enough to penetrate his skull so it entered his head on one side and left a few inches away. He came to church the morning after still in shock as to what had happened and I think all of us still are in shock as to how close he came to death. We have heard of an increase in gang activity in the area and I assume it is happening all over the world. The crazy thing here is that we don't have a good police system working on our side to catch and prosecute these guys so they get braver and braver by the incidence.

The other night Daniel went out for a while and I found myself somewhat fearful for the first time in a long time. It was early evening and nothing had happened but the thoughts of these incidences played in my mind and I became fearful and even felt defenseless. The Lord spoke to my heart immediately as I began to pray and said to me "I did not give you a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7 He also reminded me that "perfect love casts out fear." I felt such peace knowing that the Lord heard me and was with me in that very moment, not wanting me to fear anything. His power and His love are given to me in abundance and I need to rely on it. Along those same lines, He has also given us wisdom to make wise choices. We try to be cautious and use wisdom in all the decisions we make without living in fear or letting fear control us or our decisions. The enemy would love for us to remain in the bondage of fear, but we refuse to do so, knowing that the Lord has called us here and the safest place we can be is in the center of His will for us.

I thank you so much for praying for us on a regular basis and even ask that you would continue to pray for our safety. Crime tends to increase as December approaches so we want to be on guard at all times. Thanks for praying!!!!

Visit From My Girls...Part 2

2010-10-19T19:47:00.000-07:00

The entire week with the girls was full of fun!! Because the eye glasses/exams were such a hit and so needed in our first two ministry locations we ended up not having enough to do this outreach in the riverbed. We did, however, go down there and pass out toothbrushes, toothpaste, and Gospels of John door to door. We offered to pray with people as we visited each home and every person we saw asked for prayer. It was such a blessed time for us to get to pray with these people in such need. One lady's mother had died 15 days before and felt like we were sent to her from God. She wept as we prayed over her. Many others had sick relatives and they, too, were brought to tears as the Holy Spirit was present during our times of prayer. It really blessed us to spend some time with the least of these.

The girls blessed Daniel and I in a HUGE way by sending us off to a hotel for a night while they kept the boys (and spoiled them!). It was so refreshing for us and we were so humbled by their generosity!!! The following are a few more pictures from our wonderful week with them...

bathing in the pool one morning because we had no water!!

A Visit from My Girls...Part One

2010-10-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

Last week we had a WONDERFUL treat!!! Four special girls, Mary Zanca, Annalee Jewell, Ellen Lloyd and Cindy Thompson from our home in Lexington, came to work alongside us and serve with us for the week. It was the most amazing week and the way they served us selflessly all week long was more than humbling! They loved on Daniel, the boys and me minute by minute and we feel so loved, refreshed and encouraged after their visit! Besides serving us, they were trained to do eye exams by a ministry in The States and they brought over 150 pairs of eye glasses to bless the people of Jaco. We were able to minister in 2 different barrios where we are already serving and the results were AMAZING!! To witness people who had not seen clearly for years and could not afford glasses now be able to see again--WOW--it was beautiful! To watch their faces light up as they could see clearly through lenses--many were celebrating, laughing, rejoicing...it was beautiful! We were able to pray with a few of them and we passed out The Gospel of John to each patient. We also shared over and over why we were there---to show the love of Christ--to be His hands and feet not only to meet physical needs but also to meet spiritual needs as well.

Our theme verse for the week was Acts 26:17-18 "I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." We pray that God continues to do this to those with whom we spent time. That He will open their spiritual eyes to His truth, love and grace.

Here are a few pictures from the eye exams...Part Two of this post to follow...

Short Visit to The States

2010-09-29T19:12:00.001-07:00

Well, our short visit to The States was a lot of fun and extremely busy!! We were there for my sister's wedding and it was a magical experience to say the least! The wedding was at my Mom's house so we were busy all week helping them get ready for the big day. It was such a blessing to see all of our extended family and many friends that we have not seen in a long time. Daniel was one of the Pastors officiating the wedding so it was really special. We also met my niece, Anna (my sister Becca's baby), for the first time!! The boys were so happy to meet their baby cousin!!! We had the privilege of sharing at our home church for their Wednesday night service. This, too, was such a blessing and so encouraging as we visited with many of our closest friends. We got back to Jaco yesterday and we are looking forward to a group of 4 ladies (very good friends from Lexington) coming next Saturday to serve alongside us for a week. We are very excited!!!! The following are a few pictures from the wedding.

Our new baby cousin, Anna

First Youth Group

2010-09-12T20:45:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, we have a real heart for teenagers and even served the teenagers in our church, Calvary Chapel Lexington, before moving here to Costa Rica. When praying about what the Lord would have for us here, we have continued to remain open to His leading/timing in whatever ministry He would have us take part in. We thought at some point it would be some sort of Youth Ministry since we worked with teenagers for many years in The States but again, wanted to wait on the Lord. Over the last few months our church has really been growing and with more and more families attending there are more and more teenagers coming. We have been praying about starting something for Youth in response to youth and parents asking for something more structured for them. Well, we had our first "official" Youth Group meeting this past Friday night at our home. It was soooo much fun! We ate pizza, played games and Daniel led a Bible Study. We had 4 teenagers there and it was such a blessing to see all of them open up and begin to gel so quickly. The Lord definitely answered our prayers for this night and we look forward to what the Lord has in store here. Please pray for us and for the teens in Jacó. This is an extremely difficult place for a teenager to grow up and very few positive influences exist at all. We desire to see them receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, take ownership of this faith, live it out authentically and as a result draw others to HIM. Here are a few pictures from Friday night...

Staff Retreat

2010-09-05T18:46:00.000-07:00

Last week we had the opportunity to go on a staff retreat as a ministry team to Arenal (the Volcano). It was so much fun for all of us and a wonderful time for unity and rest among our team. The kids had a blast swimming, riding horses and running around outside freely without the constant worry of being hit by a car or strange people nearby. It was truly a joyful time and we returned refreshed and ready for all that the Lord has for us over the next few months. I am still waiting on the rest of our pictures but here are a few from the trip...

We are Celebrating!

2010-08-23T08:05:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Palmera (our friend who makes art out of palm branches) has had a rough road. In short, he had a bad knee injury which put him in the hospital for a few weeks. As a result, the Lord began to use this time to speak to him. He gave his life to the Lord and began a miraculous change (from drugs, demon possession, cutting, etc). While he was in the hospital in January, his 3 children were removed from the home from social services (with good reason.) Over these past 8 months God has really been working in him and he is truly a changed man. He has been following all the rules that PANI (social services) has set including attending counseling and Narcotics education classes, all while growing spiritually and being held accountable by men in the church. Well, on Thursday night he got a call from PANI and they told him he was going to get his kids back on Friday. So, on Friday we welcomed his three kids: Eileen, Rainer and Angel with open arms!! We had brownies and coke, Kentucky Fried Chicken and we celebrated. It was such a time of rejoicing, weeping and a true testimony to God's faithfulness. Here is a picture of the family reunited.

Fun Times...

2010-08-13T14:35:00.000-07:00

Since mission teams and visitors have gone for a few weeks, we are catching up on many things we put off doing so we have been equally busy this last week. From Thomas splitting his head open, to roasting marshmellows over a fire with the neighbors, to school celebrations for Costa Rican Mother's Day--we have had our share of fun as well. Many of you have asked how the adoption process is coming along and we are still in a time of waiting. PANI has everything they need and we need to attend one parenting workshop at some point. We are waiting for a call about attending the class and other than that--we are just praying and waiting. We know God's timing is perfect and if this is His plan for our family then it will definitely be worth the wait. At times we are anxious because we are ready to add to our family but again we know that God's timing is perfect and we trust Him fully. Please join with us in praying for this process and for this time of waiting that at times can be difficult. God's Word says that "Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength...They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31" We are trusting in Him with all of our hearts, not leaning on our own understanding but in all our ways acknowledging Him because we know that He will direct our steps. (Prov.3:5-6)

Thanks for praying--we love all of you! The following are a few recent pictures...

Thomas taking his first communion at church after inviting Jesus into his heart

Roasting marshmellows with the neighbors in the front yard

Thomas's Mother's Day goodies he made for me at school this week

Our "Mommy and Me" picture for the Mother's Day board at school

When Thomas split his head open, Jacob wanted a bandaid just like his brother...

The Weed Family and Angela Greco: Family Mission Trip and Tons of Fun!!

2010-07-31T13:30:00.000-07:00

We were so blessed to have The Weeds and Angela visiting with us for 10 days! They are a family from our home church and their daughter Kellie and friend Angela were in our Youth Group there so they hold a special place in our hearts! They came to WORK!!! It was great! Randy and Daniel did research and found a more efficient stove that produces less smoke called a Rocket Stove. They ordered it off the internet and Randy brought it down for us. They spent a morning teaching a local woman how to use it as she is having many health problems from cooking over open flames all day long. We are testing the stove on her to see if she likes it and who knows, maybe in the future we can bring more in for other families. Dalia was so excited to try it out and we will follow up with her in the next few days to see how she likes it. The Weeds also built a new picnic table for the kid's club park, cleaned it up and painted everything again. It was great! They then blessed us by taking us for some R&R to Volcan Arenal for 3 days where we relaxed, swam in hot springs, hiked to a beautiful overlook and overall just enjoyed the beauty of God's creation. We had an amazing time with them and they blessed us sooo much by being here. We miss them already! Here are a few pictures from our adventures:

Some of the baseball equipment collected by Lisa Henry (from our home church)--brought by The Weeds to bless the local guys Daniel plays baseball with on Friday...they were SOOOO excited!!!

Randy playing baseball with the guys on Friday

Randy, Gabe, Daniel and the girls working on putting the stove in place for Dalia to use.

Dalia, the owner of a brand new stove!!

The new stove in place next to her old one

The girls tasting "Pipa" (coconut water) and leche de coco (coconut milk). Dalia's friend cracked them open for the girls to try...

The group with the finished product!!

Kellie raking in the park

Jacob was a big help shoveling trash and dirt

Painting the park tables (they built that new picnic table)

Ziplining through the trees

Hiking to the volcano overlook

group shot minus Daniel at the hotel in Arenal

Family photo at the overlook at Volcan Arenal

We love you Weeds and Angela and thank you so much for such a wonderful time!!!!!

Thomas's Decision

2010-07-29T20:46:00.000-07:00

We have had a really busy June and July with hosting mission teams and The Weed Family/Angela Greco (from our home church.) Thomas and Jacob have been a part of all the ministry that has been done and have loved every minute of it. 2 weeks ago while a team was here, Thomas (our 5 year old) began asking me very thought provoking questions such as "How is Jesus so powerful?" and "Mom, what exactly is life? What does life mean?" (Alot of this was due to the fact that he has heard the Gospel message over and over for these all of these weeks of ministry.) We had 2 very "deep" (for his level) conversations and I saw his little heart softening for the things of the Lord before my very eyes. He was sharing with me all about the Gospel and what Jesus has done for us as sinners and how we can have eternal life in Him, etc. It was such a wonderful conversation and I felt like he was really moving towards being ready to invite Jesus into his heart but I didn't want to push it in any way. Well, this week at the volcano Daniel and I had another "deep" conversation with him and he told us he was ready to invite Jesus into his heart! You can imagine how elated we were! Daniel asked him if he wanted to repeat a prayer that he prayed and he said "No, I want to pray myself." It was so beautiful---the faith of a child is so sweet! We celebrated with him when he finished praying and he announced to us very proudly, "Now I am a Christian!" We are more than blessed to have seen our little guy put his trust in our Lord and Savior and are so humbled that the Lord let us be a part of it! Even more, it was totally the Holy Spirit speaking to his little heart and drawing him to Himself. It is such an amazing feeling to know that he will be with us for eternity because he has put his faith in Jesus!!!! Thanks for all of your prayers for our family--it is through your prayers that our sweet Thomas has joined the family of God!!!!

Believers World Outreach #2

2010-07-20T20:53:00.000-07:00

Our team from Believers World Outreach left yesterday and we were sad to see them go! They were a wonderful group and we really connected with a lot of the individuals on the team. They finished up the week of soccer camp, surf camp, and vacation bible school. Then on Friday night, a group of women came with Revae and I and ministered to the prostitutes on the street while the men went and fed the homeless with Daniel and Mike just as they do every Friday night. For the women, we set up tables and all of our materials and offered hand massages to women as they passed by "headed to work." We had a few girls walking around passing out flyers about what we were doing and this gave us a non-threatening way to begin talking to the girls. As we massaged their hands, we asked questions and tried to get to know them somewhat. It broke my heart as I talked with girl after girl (and a few guys as well dressed as transvestites) because I could see straight through them and the emptiness that they have inside. Many were very young girls and many had been on the streets 6 months or less. As the night went on, we were able to meet many more of the "veteran" ladies who have been working the streets for years. After each massage, we had a special gift bag of goodies (lotions, soaps, Bible etc) and the Father's Love Letter (a letter from Jesus full of scripture and describing the love He has for them as His children, etc) They were beautiful and definitely a big hit with the girls. We then asked if we could pray for anything specific and we were able to pray with every girl about something....it was a special time. I know seeds were planted this night and we are looking forward to doing it again soon. I also am praying for divine appointments during the day in town where I have a chance to reconnect with some of the women I met. I can't help but look at them through the eyes of Jesus and the love He has for them. It gives me great compassion for them as well and I am praying about future opportunities for the Lord to use us with these precious girls.

Believers World Outreach

2010-07-16T12:32:00.000-07:00

All week we have been hosting Believers World Outreach, a mission organization with adults and students from all over the US. It has been a wonderful time of ministry with the team and we have also really enjoyed getting to know the individuals on the team. We have done vacation bible school in 3 different locations, soccer camp, surfing/volleyball camp, and cosmetology (haircuts, manicures/pedicures for any and everyone!). In soccer camp we were able to use the jerseys and balls that Lexington High School and White Knoll High School (from our hometown) sent down for us. The kids had a blast!!! In VBS and the other camps we have connected with so many new kids and families and it is expanding our foundation for ministry here. It has been so much fun to be a part of serving this community this week. For cosmetology, we have 3 ladies from The States who work in salons and they have been working overtime cutting hair and blessing women with manicures/pedicures--all while sharing the gospel and loving on them. It has been such a beautiful ministry! Here are a few pictures from the week thus far...the team will be with us through next Tuesday.

waiting in line for haircuts

Pictures of life...

2010-07-09T13:54:00.000-07:00

Daniel's parents came to visit us!

Surprise birthday party for Maria!!

We have been gearing up for a mission team from The States. They are arriving today and are with Believers World Outreach. They will be here for 12 days and we are really excited about all that the Lord will do in and through them. This mission organization is extra special to Daniel and I because this is the group we were with when we brought our Youth Group in 2004. On this trip the Lord planted the seed in our hearts for Jaco, Costa Rica. We are excited to see Mark and Debbie, the couple in charge that led our trip in '04 as well! I will definitely post pictures during next week so that you can see what they are doing here.

Here are a few pictures of every day life here...some of our sweet kids we minister to every week at kid's club. Others are of family and friends...

Our Amazing Intern

2010-07-02T20:49:00.000-07:00

Many of you know we have the privilege of hosting an intern for 2 months this summer here in Jacó. Alicia Keel, who was part of our youth group at CC Lexington, is here with us for the summer and she is blessing our socks off! We have a lot in common and she is just like part of our family so we have been having a blast with her here! She is a wonderful help in everything--from washing dishes to helping Thomas and Jacob with whatever to helping us plan and host mission teams. We are so happy to have her here and I really am going to cry when she leaves in August. Maybe by then she will just decide to stay forever :) We love you so much Alicia--you are truly a gift from the Lord for us this summer!!!

Calvary Chapel Lexington Mission Team

2010-06-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful week last week with the CC Lexington team (a team from our home church in Lexington, SC)!! They did 2 kid's clubs in 2 different barrios; they painted the church office including building a dividing wall and putting in a sink and new cabinets; they gave our normal kid's club park a total makeover including cleaning the entire park, new netting for the goals, building benches/picnic tables, painting and repairing the swing set. They also did a movie night in the park and everyone was able to sit on the newly built benches. We served popcorn and Kool-aid and watched the veggie tales movie "Jonah" in Spanish. It was an amazing week with an amazing group of young people and adults! It was so refreshing to have "family" here visiting and working alongside of us---we were so blessed! We had kid's club this past Saturday in the newly remodeled park and it was so beautiful to see the kids so excited!! We had parents come out all week to see the new park and has definitely been the talk of the neighborhood! This team definitely left Jesus's handprints all over this town and we are so grateful for their sacrificial service!! Below are a few pictures of their week...Thanks team for everything---you are amazing!

And yet another birthday...

2010-06-08T08:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Jacob! We celebrated Jacob's 3rd birthday on Saturday...I can't believe my baby is 3 years old!! He had so much fun celebrating with a few of his little friends. Here are a few pictures of the festivities...

Baptism

2010-06-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

We had another dinner/baptism service at our home this past Sunday. It was such a joy to witness Geovanny, Denise and their son, Vinny, getting baptized as a family! They began attending our church only about 2 months ago and the Lord is really doing a work in their lives! We also had fun fellowshiping with our church family---we are truly blessed to be here!

Happy Birthday Daniel!

2010-05-27T13:02:00.000-07:00

Sunday we celebrated Daniel's Birthday. Lauren (a friend from The States) has been visiting us for a few weeks and she babysat while Daniel and I got away on our own. It was wonderful!!! The boys had a great time baking a cake for Daddy, making cards and singing "Happy Birthday" (in Spanish, of course!).

Happy Birthday Daniel!!

At church on Daniel's birthday

Happy Birthday Madelyn!

2010-05-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we had the privilege of hosting a birthday party for little Madelyn, Veronica's daughter. (Many of you will remember Veronica as we have been ministering to her since we arrived here in Jacó.) Veronica has had a rough life, to say the least, and comes from a very poor family. She mentioned to me really wanting to have a special party for Madelyn this year and asked if she could use our house/pool. Her family from Orotina (a town about 1 1/2 away by bus) came and we had a great time! I think it was a blessing for them as well to get out of Orotina to enjoy the festivities. The Lord used this to again show me how the things that we think are so small and insignificant in our world could mean the world to someone else. This is ministry. Veronica would have never been able to give her daughter a party the way she was able to here and all we did was make ourselves AVAILABLE. All I did was make the cake and love on the people as they came. How easy was that??? She was teary as she thanked me and I know this was an opportunity to serve and minister to her family--none of whom know Jesus. God is so good....He even cares about the little things like making birthdays special for little four year olds. Here are a few pictures from the party.

Marriage Retreat

2010-05-09T13:53:00.000-07:00

We have an awesome opportunity this coming week to attend a Calvary Chapel Marriage Conference for all the CC missionaries serving in Costa Rica. Pastor Rob and his wife from CC Vista, California are coming to speak/share and they are bringing a group to entertain our kids while we are in the conference. The conference is being held near La Fortuna and Volcano Arenal. We are really excited about a spending few days out of Jacó getting fed and recharged spiritually. We will share pictures when we return. Please pray for safe travel as it is definitely a rugged, mountainous road to get there. Also, pray that the Lord speaks to our hearts and challenges us in ways He sees fit!

Park Feedings and Prayer

2010-05-02T19:32:00.000-07:00

Gabe and Daniel have begun helping another Christian brother in town (named Kendall) feed the homeless on Friday nights and pray with them. They meet at the park on Friday at 9:00PM and the guys (and girls) come for a bite to eat and Daniel, Gabe and Kendall are able to pray over them. It has been a really neat time for them and we are praying about where this will lead. A few of the guys that they have helped get into rehab they have met from these Friday night feedings and a few of them who are clean and growing in the Lord went with them this past Friday night to feed the guys. It was exciting to see these guys serving as well. Again, we don't know what will develop as a result and we are just waiting on the Lord to open doors--whatever they may be. In the meantime, they are loving on these guys and sharing the love of Christ with them with the hopes that the Holy Spirit gets a hold of their lives and they are forever changed! A verse that really spoke to Daniel this past week is Deuteronomy 15:11 which says, "There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land." We are called by God to love God and love others---if these are the first steps in pouring God's love over these men who so desperately need Jesus then so be it!!! Here are a few pictures of this past Friday night in the park...

Prayer Request

2010-04-27T19:40:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, we are in the process of adopting here in Costa Rica. It is a difficult process due to many past problems Costa Rica has had with adopting children out of the country. The current law is that only citizens and residents of Costa Rica can adopt here. When we applied for residency a year and a half ago we knew we were in for a loooong process due to every one we talked with about their own experiences. After praying, we felt that as soon as we got residency we would begin the process of adoption. Well, we got our residency in 5 months--record time--and felt like this was definitely of the Lord. We have done all of the paper work (which took time getting everything from The States) and we have been waiting on appointments with a psychologist and social worker. We were finally called 4 weeks ago or so for an appointment at the PANI office (the gov't agency that regulates adoptions). When we arrived for our first of 3-4 interviews, they decided that because English is our first language and they have never had to deal with a situation like ours before, that we should look for our own bilingual psychologist and social worker to do our interviews in English and in Spanish. They wanted us to have a fair chance in our heart language. Well, we left wondering what this all meant and knew we had to get everything done in the 60 days they had given us. By talking and networking with different friends here both in San Jose and in Jacó, the Lord has provided us with the most amazing CHRISTIAN social worker and a wonderful psychologist!!! It has been such a blessing to meet with the psychologist and we look forward to meeting our social worker this weekend as she comes to Jacó to do our home visit. We have felt and seen the hand of God all over this--directing us and hand picking the 2 special ladies with whom we would work! What a blessing it was to have to find our own ladies to work with when initially we left the PANI office quite puzzled yet knowing confidently that the Lord had purpose in all of it. And now we are seeing it played out before our very eyes!

Anyway, I say all that to say please pray for us the rest of this week and this weekend. All four of us have individual interviews on Friday with our psychologist, Mariela, and we have our home visit and more interviews on Saturday with our social worker, Susanna. (I am really curious to see how Jacob is going to sit through an individual interview--should be interesting :)) Pray for God's favor upon our family and that we would be able to minister to these ladies as we spend time with them. Also, a minor detail--it is against the law to spank here in Costa Rica. Today we were asked by our psychologist how we discipline our children and we were honest and told her that at times we spank. I know God is soooo much bigger than that but I also know the enemy would love to use such a minor detail to stumble us....not gonna happen!!!!

Love to all of you and we will keep you posted!! Thanks for all your support and prayers!

Happy Birthday Thomas!!

2010-04-20T19:20:00.000-07:00

Thomas turned 5 years old today and I can't believe how fast time flies! We had a little Pirate birthday party for him on Sunday and it was a lot of fun!! We also had my dad and stepmom visiting with us for a few days so we were really excited to have them here! Here are a few pictures of the festivities...

The boys with Pops and Mayme

Kids eating the candy after the piñata (Jacob's favorite part!!!)

More Baptisms

2010-04-15T08:02:00.001-07:00

Palmera came to us last week and was ready to be baptized. He insisted on doing it that day and wanted to be baptized in the ocean. Ruhal, another guy we have been ministering to off the streets, also wanted to be baptized. So Daniel and Gabe granted their request and it was a beautiful time of celebration! The sun was setting over the ocean and it was just amazing! Here are a few pictures of the baptism....also, please be praying for Palmera because he was taken to the hospital Monday with major knee pains. He is still recovering from his knee surgery. Well, we found out it is very infected and he has to have an additional surgery within the next week. Pray that this is a time of rest and growth in the Lord for him as he waits.

My Primary Role

2010-04-12T19:03:00.000-07:00

Since being down here in Jacó, the Lord is constantly teaching me things about myself and areas that I need to grown in. Some of it has been wonderful and some of it has been downright hard! But I am so thankful that God cares enough about me to be involved in every detail of my life, pruning me to grow more and more like Him. It is a beautiful thing! I was reading and journaling the other day and God spoke to me so clearly about something. I found such freedom in it as a wife and mother and wanted to share it with you. Being down here, (just like being anywhere, really) there is an abundance of needs and many of them are knocking on our doors daily. Sometimes when I am praying in the mornings I find my mind racing as I think about this need or that person who needs this or this person who is in that tough situation, etc. I get worked up at times and want to be able to be used to meet every need immediately and it gets overwhelming. Well, the Lord reminded me so clearly the other day of my primary role on this earth at this moment--first as a wife, next as a mother and last as friend/confidant/mentor/etc to others. It was so freeing for me as I began to remind myself that I am called to respect my husband according to Ephesians 5 and I began to write practical ways to do that on a daily basis. I then began to write out ways to bring my children up in the training and instruction of the Lord (without exasperating them :)--Eph.5) and how I am to practically do that. It was as if I was freed from the pressure of HAVING to try and meet EVERY need every day outside of my home when my home should come first. He also spoke to me clearly and reminded me to have fun--find joy in every moment with my 3 crazy boys...time flies!! And as I have been more intentionally focused on my primary role as wife and mother, God is still bringing others in need to our home daily and he is equipping me daily to meet those needs. It is beautiful! I love our precious Lord and how He guides and directs us as He sees fit---all we have to do is stop and listen...

He gave me this verse that day: 1 Thess. 5:16-18 "Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I am striving for these three things on a daily basis and I invite you to as well!

My First Ministry (pictured below)

Thank You Jesus for the Cross

2010-04-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

I have been pondering all morning what today, Good Friday, signifies and how we are so unworthy of Jesus' love yet He willingly died for us. What an Awesome act of sacrifice---so hard to wrap my mind around yet I am more than grateful and humbled at My Jesus' love for me! As is tradition, every Catholic Church in Costa Rica has processionals (like a parade of people processing down the street) during Semana Santa (Holy Week) that reinacts the events leading up to Jesus resurrecting on Sunday Morning. This year Palmera was asked to be Jesus for Jacó's processional and though he is not Catholic he immediately said yes. They thought he had "the look" with long, wavy hair but to him filling this role was much more. This is the first Easter in many, many years that he is sober and has an understanding of Jesus' true sacrifice for his sins. He was able to share with many there how God has changed his life and he is a new creation in Christ. Though these processionals are very much a cultural tradition it was beautiful to see the truth of Christ's love become so real to Palmera. In fact, he couldn't stop smiling while "playing the role" of Jesus as he was being beaten because he said he felt so happy and free in Christ. The following are a few pictures of Palmera...please continue to pray for him as the Lord does a work in His life...

Isaiah 53:5-6 "He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our sins. The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

Happy Easter and God bless you!

Happenings

2010-03-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

Busy times here in Jacó-sorry we haven't blogged in a while. For those of you who have asked, Palmera is doing great! For the past month Gabe and Daniel have been walking very closely beside him for accountability and he is growing in the Lord daily. The news station from San Jose was interested in the art he creates out of palm branches so they came yesterday and did a story on him. He began telling them about how the Lord has changed his life and they were intrigued by this as well so they included it as part of the story. It will air next Monday and we are all looking forward to seeing it. Also, Palmera wants to be baptized and as soon as the hole in his leg heals, they guys will baptize him in the ocean...what a blessed time this will be! We will post pictures as soon as we have them.

Ever since The Conquerors mission team left our kids have taken on their roles. They are constantly breakdancing, tearing up books and trying to bend frying pans. It is actually really funny--the guys obviously had a great impact on my boys! The following are a few pictures of the boys showing their skills...

Lastly, please be in prayer for Jacó this week. This week is Semana Santa (Holy Week) here, but it is definitely the most unholy week of the year. People come by the tens of thousands to party, party, party---drugs, alcohol and prostitution is at it's peak this week. We are praying that the Lord will use us as we are out and about all week. We want to be available to anyone the Lord brings our way. Pray for the people here--for spiritual awakening--and for us for safety....we love you and thank you for your support!!!

Jordan's Visit

2010-03-13T13:15:00.000-08:00

We had such a blessed week with Jordan visiting for his Spring Break from College. Hopefully he got to relax a little because I feel like he was pulled to and fro as he participated in everything we do on a weekly basis. The boys had so much fun with him and as he was leaving Jacob asked if he could go with him! It was a wonderful visit and we hope he was as blessed to be here as we were to have him. Here are a few pictures from his week here...

The pictures above show Jordan leading worship with Daniel on Sunday Morning...Jordan helping stuff bags w/ beans and rice for the beans and rice ministry we do after Kids Club on Saturday mornings....Celebrating Jordan's 22nd birthday on Wednesday while he was here...

We have a PO Box!!

2010-03-10T12:50:00.000-08:00

Many of you have asked for our address and since we have been in Jacó we haven't been able to get a PO Box. (They only have 300 or so available for our town of 15,000 people...not sure why) Anyway, March is the official "if you don't pay your bill you lose your box" month so we were granted an official PO Box last week!! Our address is:

Daniel and Sarah Barrett

Jacó-Puntarenas 4023

PO Box 132-4023

Costa Rica

Also, Jordan Williams, a former student in our youth group at CC Lexington, is here visiting us this week for his college spring break and serving alongside us. We are having so much fun with him and will post pictures in the next few days! What a blessing to see our former students walking with the Lord and desiring to serve Him with their lives!

Un Milagro (A miracle)

2010-02-24T11:57:00.000-08:00

We want to share with you a miracle that has happened before our very eyes. For those who doubt the power of God and His ability to perform miracles, please read further. The first week we arrived here to Jaco, we met a guy walking back from the beach named Palmera. Everyone calls him this because he makes baskets, purses, animals, etc out of palm branches and sells them in town to support his family. He offered to make our kids something. We began talking to him and realized very quickly that he was under the influence of some major demonic powers. He shared with us about his addiction to cocaine and marijuana, his addiction to cutting (he showed us the HUNDREDS of scars all over his body), and the fact that he has worshiped satan for a long time but decided it was better to begin just worshiping himself. He shared how empty he was and how much pain he was in...it was very difficult to hear and I don't know why he felt the need to begin sharing all of this with us. Well, we as a family prayed for him right there on the beach, invited him to church and committed to praying for him from then on. We later realized that everyone in town knows Palmera because he is "the guy who makes stuff" and he is constantly causing problems in the street due to his addictions. We began seeing him almost daily and developed a friendship with him---I hate to admit that Daniel had a lot more faith than I did that he would ever come to church let alone anything else because he was so far gone.

Back in November he came to church for the first time and it was a miracle. He was obviously wrestling with spiritual things inside and he paced the entire time. He then brought his kids to kid's club on Sat. morning because they live in the neighborhood we work in. We returned from Christmas in the States and saw him once before his 3 kids were removed from his home due to all that they were witnessing with him. He was totally broken. He was angry. Later that week he got in a fight with a group of security guards in town and they broke his knee with a metal pipe. He was taken to the hospital, operated on and got an infection. He ended up having to stay there about 3 weeks. We truly believe this extra time in the hospital for him was of the Lord. He asked his wife to find us and get a Bible brought to him. Daniel, Gabe and Mike decided to travel to the hospital to visit him--and what a visit it was! After talking for a while, he said he wanted to be done with the drugs, the cutting, etc. He wanted to be free of all this. Daniel asked if they could pray for him and as he began praying, Palmera began weeping uncontrollably. After praying, he said he felt his body get all warm while they were praying and he truly felt the presence of God there. They asked him if he wanted to accept Jesus into his heart and begin living for him and he said he did. He received Christ and had never felt more peace before in his life. That night in his room he had an experience where we was awakened by a demon face to face with him and he began renouncing it with the name of Jesus and has not seen one since. He is a NEW CREATION!!! It is a miracle!! A few days later the hospital had talked about amputating his leg. We were all praying and a few days later he was brought home. We have been over at his house regularly visiting with him and his wife. They have asked us to just sit and read the Bible to them and pray with them so they can hear God's word. Palmera weeps every time! While he was in the hospital, we kept in close contact with his wife who began seeking the Lord as well. She, too, is a new woman and so hungry for The Word!! To witness these transformations in progress has been nothing short of a miracle! We know Satan is not happy that he has lost one of his and is constantly attacking--he will not give up so we are really praying for Palmera and his wife, Gabriella, that they would remain steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord....that they would rest in His love and peace--for it is there that we find safety (Ps. 4:8). Please pray for them with us---they are in a WAR and praise God He is getting the victory! Here are a few pictures of Palmera...

Baptism and School Supply Drive

2010-02-17T14:31:00.000-08:00

Lots and lots of amazing things going on here in Jacó! We have been so busy that I am trying to catch up with blogging...

We had a another baptism/dinner celebration at our home and what a blessing it was! Alejandro, Jorge, Alondra and Julissa were baptised. Alejandro came to us off the streets in May desperate for a change. We helped get him into "Casa de Amor"--a Christian drug rehab/discipleship program run by Calvary Chapel Quepos (45 minutes from us)--and he has been there 9 months. He is doing great and is walking with the Lord while transitioning back into society. He came to visit 2 weeks ago and was baptized. It was so special! Jorge gave his life to Jesus when one of our mission teams was here evangelizing in the streets. He returned to Nicaragua shortly after that but returned here to Jacó and has been growing in the Lord and working here. Alondra and Julissa are 2 girls that attend our Kid's Club we do on Saturday. They accepted Christ and wanted to be obedient through baptism so they were also baptized. It was a wonderful evening of food, fellowship and celebration of new lives in Christ!

Another thing we have been working on is collecting school supplies to provide to the children in INVU, the neighborhood we work in. The kids returned to school last week from their summer vacation. (The school year here is opposite of that in The States because during June, July, and August the rainy season is beginning--this is their winter) Anyway, many of the kids in this neighborhood won't go to school unless they have the necessary supplies and many start 2 or 3 weeks late waiting to get them. The public schooling system here is really sad in many ways and many children drop out of school while still very young. We were able to give each of the kids we work with most of what was on their "School Supply Needs List" and we delivered them on Monday night. It was such a blessing to go house to house blessing these families and making sure they know this is all a gift from the Lord. The kids were super excited and just being there reminded me more and more of why the Lord has us here! It was beautiful!

The Conquerors Strength Team

2010-02-13T11:52:00.001-08:00

Many of you know we had the privilege of hosting The Conquerors Strength Team this last week here in Jacó. The Conquerors are a group from Michigan who travel all over the world doing amazing feats of strength and then sharing the gospel. We did a few events at the local schools and then "ambushed" the neighborhoods one by one with the Gospel using The Conquerors' feats of strength as a great "attention grabber" (to get people out of their houses). The week was a great success and we really appreciate all of your prayers! Many prayed to receive Christ as their Savior and many asked for prayer for sickness of a child or loved one. We then passed out The Book of Hope (Libro de Vida--in spanish) which is a book of relevant topics applicable to different ages and what the Bible has to say about each topic. We also passed out information on the church throughout each neighborhood with the goal of plugging these new believers into a church. We had a lot of fun ministering alongside this amazing team of men who desire nothing more than to see every soul in Jacó sold out for Jesus!! It was wonderful! We are, of course, very tired from the week. Jacob was sick all week with what we think was a parasite. After medication he seems to be doing much better. Again, thanks to all of you who were praying specifically for this event...it was a success!! Here are some pictures from the week...

Back in the Groove

2010-02-03T12:17:00.000-08:00

Well, we have been back in Jacó for 2 weeks and we are very settled. In some ways it feels like we never left because we just picked right back up where we left off and the kids have done such a great job adjusting to being all over the place! Daniel jumped right back in to leading worship on Sundays and teaching a CORE group bible study in our home on Thursdays. We are currently studying through the book of Galatians and it has been great! We have also been busy getting ready to host The Conquerors strong man team next week. They will be here all next week doing "ambushes" in the neighborhoods and local schools doing demonstrations of strength--from folding frying pans to breaking bricks--they do it all and definitely draw a crowd. We had them here last year and their ministry was really effective. At the end of the "show", they share testimonies and present the Gospel. Then we as churches pray with individuals and are able to follow up with them at a later time. We are looking forward to them being here and we will definitely post pictures after next week.

Please pray for us as we are praying about starting free English classes soon. We are working on the details and this could be a great ministry opportunity for us in the community. There are so many people here who want to learn English so we are really excited and want to bless them. Just pray that all of the logistics come together and, above all else, God is glorified in all that we do!

Below are a few pictures of our time in the States....what a blessing it was to be with family and friends...

My mom reading with the boys With their buddies, Bo and Roma Dad's 60th birthday party Daniel's parents with all the cousins Sledding in Chattanooga Dad and Jan with the grands...

We're back!!

2010-01-21T12:03:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that yesterday we arrived safely back to Costa Rica and to our home in Jacó. We are all really tired but are so happy to be back. Of course it is a drastic temperature change from what we experienced while we were in The States so we will begin to adjust to the hotness again! Thank you all for a wonderful visit home! We were so blessed to see all of you and spend time with loved ones. Thanks for all of your prayers---we are feeling them daily! We will blog more and post pictures soon! Off to more unpacking....

Christmas Outreach

2010-01-09T19:21:00.000-08:00

As promised, here are the pictures of the Christmas Outreach we did in 2 different barrios in Jacó. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who prayed and gave financially! The outreach was such a blessing to us and to all of the children/families involved! The outreach consisted of clowns, refreshments, the Christmas story and a present for each child. It was wonderful and we look forward to building relationships this next year with many who attended. A few families came to church the day after the outreach and, Praise the Lord, one lady gave her life to Christ right after church!! It was definitely a day of rejoicing! She came over to our house after church for a visit and we were able to talk briefly about the decision she had made! We look forward to getting back to Jaco next week to begin walking alongside Jaquelin and her daughter Angelina. Again, thanks for all of your support for the outreach---it was a tremendous blessing and God was glorified!!

This is Jaqualin (who committed her life to Jesus the Sunday after the outreach)

Home for Christmas

2009-12-20T13:25:00.000-08:00

We are so blessed to be able to visit The States for Christmas!!! We are visiting friends and family and have been so encouraged and uplifted with everyone we see! We will not be blogging much until we return to Jaco in January, however, we will blog about the Christmas Outreach soon and post pictures. We just want to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year! We love you and thank you for your support and prayers!!! God bless you all!!

Happenings

2009-12-09T10:24:00.000-08:00

Sorry we have not blogged in a few weeks---we have been really busy between hosting our church Thanksgiving Dinner to planning for the big Christmas Outreach and everything in between. We are so blessed daily by all that God is doing here. We continue to meet new people every day and just listening to other's stories and pouring in to them when the opportunity arises has blessed us more than anything! We took a bike ride 2 weeks ago and found a little "barrio" tucked away across a wooden walking bridge. The poverty took our breath away. There were five little makeshift houses and all the people that lived there were a family. The Grandmother has 4 children and each of them has a house. Among the 4 of them there are 13 children. They have no power and dirt floors. They cook over a stove outside, yet many of them are suffering from health problems because of breathing in the smoke all day long. We talked to them for a long time and they really touched our hearts. The boys had a great time playing with all of their dogs and chickens. We went back and visited last week and Thomas and Jacob took the kids some toys to play with. We have prayed and as a family are going to "sponsor" this neighborhood for Christmas. Our boys are really excited about going and buying Christmas gifts for the family. We will also share the Christmas Story with them--similar to what we are doing with our Christmas Outreaches in the other 2 barrios. We are looking forward to developing a relationship with this extended family with the hopes of sharing the love of Jesus with them. Daniel is really praying about how to reconstruct the outdoor stoves (possibly adobe style) in order to help them with their health problems. Join with us in praying about how we can be a part of helping this family.

Below are a few pictures from the Thanksgiving dinner as well as random pictures of daily life.

Our new iguana friend in our back yard...

Park Clean Up

2009-11-22T18:51:00.000-08:00

What an AWESOME day we had yesterday! Daniel led a team of men from the church in a "clean up the park" day in the barrio where we do kid's club on Saturdays. The little playground was falling apart, the soccer field was grown over and there was trash everywhere. The men did a wonderful job and the kids were soooo excited! Many of them were right there watching and helping as the men worked. We were entertaining the rest of the kids in an empty field beside the park with water games and races. It was such a blessing to the kids and to the community and as soon as the men were done there were kids playing soccer again and others climbing all over the play equipment! What a joy it was to be a part of this special day! Below are a few pictures of the day.

Soccer field before

Soccer field after

rope ladder before

rope ladder after

clean park at last!!!

CORE Groups and Christmas Outreach preparations

2009-11-13T15:09:00.000-08:00

Wow, we have been extremely busy but having so much fun! We just kicked off CORE groups with the church--one in English and one in Spanish. They are basically home fellowship groups and we are studying through the Book of James. Daniel is leading one of the groups and we are having a lot of fun! It is a great way for us to go deeper in the Word with those in the church as well as develop relationships to a deeper level. We are excited about what the Lord is going to do through these groups!

We are also gearing up for our big Christmas Outreach this year. We are having 2 separate outreaches this year in 2 of the poorest "barrios" (neighborhoods) in Jacó. We are sharing the Christmas story, serving refreshments, having clowns lead games, and giving each child a gift. We are getting people in our church here as well as people in The States to "sponsor" a child for only $10 which will pay for the gift. The gift will include clothing, a toy, a Gospel coloring book, crayons and candy. We are SOOOO excited about being a part of blessing these precious families this Christmas! It will definitely bless us more than it blesses any of them for sure!

Below are a few pictures of our Kid's Club kids that will be participating in the Christmas Outreach! Please join us in praying for these families now--that their lives will be forever changed by hearing the truth of Jesus' love!

"Banana Picking" and Special Visitors

2009-11-03T19:47:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of Daniel and Thomas cutting bananas down at Warren's house. (Warren attends our church) Thomas thought this was sooo much fun!! There are also a few pictures of us with Carolyn and Ashley who came to visit us over their Fall Break from Palm Beach Atlantic Univ. Carolyn was in our youth group at Calvary Chapel in Lexington and Ashley is her roommate in college. We had so much fun with them and they were a true blessing and help to us while they were here!

Update on Maria and Lester

2009-10-25T20:52:00.000-07:00

As many of you remember, we met Maria and Lester right after moving here and have been ministering to them since. They have come to church with us for about 2 months and we have developed and incredible relationship with them during this time. We shared the Gospel with them one night at our house about 3 weeks ago or so and they were very interested in learning more. Since that time, Daniel bought a Bible and devotional book for each of them and I have never seen anyone so excited to receive a gift. It was such a beautiful moment for both Daniel and I. They began reading their Bibles and one day Maria came over and said they were ready to accept Jesus as Lord of their lives!!!!! We had them over last Saturday night for dinner, walked them through the Gospel and THEY BOTH PRAYED AND INVITED JESUS INTO THEIR HEARTS!!!!! Praise the Lord!!!! We were and are sooo excited! With tears in their eyes and pure joy beaming from their faces, they prayed with us and it was such a life changing moment for all of us! What is more, Sunday we had a baptism celebration and dinner at our house for the church and they along with 4 others were baptized in our pool!!! What a celebration it was!! Please see the attached pictures of the baptism! It was such a night of rejoicing to see what the Lord is doing in the lives of people here who are surrendering to Him! We feel so blessed to have already seen the fruit of the ministry we are doing here--this is a true gift from the Lord!

Thanks to all of you who are continuously praying for us and for Jacó. Please pray for Maria and Lester as they begin this new journey with the Lord!!!!

Youth Conference

2009-10-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to all of you for praying for Daniel while he was speaking at the Youth Conference in the mountains! He definitely felt the prayers and the conference was incredible!!! All of his talks were very well received and he had an awesome time getting to know kids from all over Central America. Here are a few pictures from his time there.

Homemade Tortillas

2009-10-14T16:33:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures of Maria teaching us how to make homemade tortillas. Tortillas are a staple both here and in Nicaragua. Thomas helped her cook and they had a great time cooking and playing in the dough. We love Maria!!!

The finished product--Thomas's favorite--black beans and cheese on a tortilla dipped in sour cream...he got a little carried away with the sour cream!!!

Upcoming Youth Conference

2009-10-05T12:23:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to ask everyone to pray for Daniel (and me) as he will be leaving Friday morning to speak at a 4 day Youth Conference 2 hours north of San Jose. He was invited by the International Youth Group in San Jose and they will be traveling to La Cumbre Youth Camp in the mountains. Pray that the Lord would give him clarity as he teaches and that student's lives would be forever changed and drawn to Jesus as the Lord speaks through Daniel. Please pray for safe travel as the roads are not great where they are going. Also, please pray for me. :) It will be our first nights alone in Jaco without Daniel and 4 days and 3 nights with 2 crazy boys (and no Daddy around) can be trying. Pray for peace and safety for us as we are here alone.

As always, thank you so much for praying and serving alongside us here in Costa Rica.

This is how we roll....

2009-09-28T12:11:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures we thought we would share....

Here are Daniel and the boys headed to the store. The boys LOVE to ride on the bike and this is the second most popular mode of transportation here (behind walking)...

Here is the trailer that you, as our supporters, bought so that we can "do church" every week. We load it and the car up with the sound equipment, chairs, etc and transport it every Sunday morning to the open air soccer field where we meet for church. This trailer has already been such a blessing--thanks so much for your continued support of the ministry here!!!This last picture is of our team at a restaurant celebrating Gabo's birthday (guy to the far left by Daniel) Gabo is a Tico from San Jose who moved here to work with us. He speaks fluent English and Spanish. Mike and Revae and their 3 girls (Naomi, Abby, and Michaela) are pictured as well. We are really enjoying getting to know them and partnering with them here in ministry.

Thanks for your continued prayers....