It's Not Working

This morning as we were walking and talking on the way to school, I asked the children what it takes to be a Christian.

Parker quickly said, "Laying down your life and asking Jesus to come into your heart and be the Lord of your life."

Perfecto!!!

Ally looked up and said, "I've been wanting to talk to you about that."

"Do you remember when I asked Jesus in my heart? (She did this a few months ago). I don't think I did it right. It's not working because I am still making bad choices. I've had a hard time lately. I'm just not really getting it. I think I should be getting better and better and better."

Oh honey!!

"This is a big word for you, but it's called sancitification." I broke it down into pre-school verbage and explained that this is the process that God uses to change us and often times it is little by little and step by step. Each day we have to make the choice to follow Him and throughout her short life God is going to keep changing her to be more like Him.

Her brown eyes looked up at me and said, "That's really good news."

I think she was expecting to be perfect. "God's way does work," I assured her! :)

Homeboy Gospel

God was not slow in answering your prayers.

I asked you to please pray that John and I would have opportunities to share Christ now - even without knowing Spanish. We have been expectant as we were waiting for the Lord to give us a divine appointment. He did – today!

For our bare footing class we had to take the local metro bus into the city of San Jose. It reminded me a lot of NYC and I totally loved being there. Anyway, we had some assignments to do while we were there. No, our children were not with us. As we were looking for a specific location and talking about where it might be, a guy came up to us and said, "Do you speak English?" At first, we were both thinking that we didn't have time to be bothered because we had to complete our assignment. Gently, God reminded us that our purpose in life is people, not homework, and this is the assignment that God had for us right then. We set our homework aside and the conversation began......

It was almost a jolt to our systems to hear someone speak our mother tongue. We have gotten so use to people talking to us and we don't understand what they are saying that when this guy spoke and we did understand, we just stood there looking at him. After 5 seconds of shock and silence were over, we exchanged greetings with him. In his California valley girl kind of way, he asked us if we could take him to a restaurant and buy him some food. "I'll eat it right in front of you. I swear to God." Likely story, buddy!

He told us, and none of this story is probably true by the way, that he was from LA and his father is a Costa Rican and lives about 4 hours away. He said he has been in San Jose for 2 1/2 weeks. He came into the city and was robbed by some women (likely story, huh?) and he needs just $10 to get back to his dad's house. He said his dad lives in Gwanacasta (spelling?). John and I just learned last week that Gwanacasta is such a rich area that Mel Gibson has a home there. It's unlikely that this poor beggar on the street has a dad who lives there. So, he wanted to know if we would take him to get a bite to eat. It only cost 1,300 colones (about $2.75). He must've been around the age 30 or so. It's hard to tell because he has had a hard life and the effects of his living have overtaken his face.

We felt a rush to finish our homework so John gave him 1,000 colones and said that it wasn't necessary for us to watch him eat. I felt like it was necessary and I wanted to take him to the restaurant and physically sit there with him while he scarfed down a meal. I did not want to be a party to his drug addiction. By that point though, he had the 1,000 colones in his hands. After the money exchange, I asked him how I could pray for him. "Are you guys Christians? My mom is a Christian," he asked. Not sure if this is true either, but from his question to us (thank you God), John and I were able to share what I call a "homeboy Gospel." Keep in mind that every other word that came out of this guys mouth started with an "f."

At first I didn't know what to say and then I started praying once I knew God wanted us to use this opportunity to speak to this man's heart. After he said that he knew about Christianity and stuff, but wasn't ready to stop doing what he was doing, I asked him if he felt like a hamster in a wheel running in circles. He confided in us that he smokes marijuana, occasionally cocaine, drinks and lots of sex. He then said, "Sex, drugs and rock-n-roll, but not so much rock-n-roll." At this point, rock-n-roll would have been the saintly of the three. He also answered “yes” to my question. We shared with him the plan that God has for his life and that if he gave his life to Christ he could see the purpose God has for him. I call it a homeboy Gospel because we made sure to be very down to earth, not preachy, and to share in a way that would appeal to him. We also knew he was about to go smoke weed and probably rip off some other Americans so we shared with him that his next joint would only leave him craving another one, but God's love is enough. Only Jesus will leave him satisfied. He agreed, but said he just couldn't change.

Of course he can't! Only God can change him. All he needs to do is lay down his life and watch the Lord work.

He kept thanking us for talking to him. John shared Christ and Him crucified as well as some key verses. This guy, his name is Ronnie by the way, said he just isn't ready to give up his life, but said that he is exhausted and worn out by the way he is living. He then asked us for 300 more colones. I told him we would be happy to give him 300 colones if he would come and sit-down to talk with us over lunch. He had every excuse in the book as to why he couldn't so obviously he wasn't THAT hungry. He kept asking for the money and I said, "Yes, if you will eat with us." He declined again. If I was going to give this brother some money, then the least he could do was listen to the plan God has for him in detail.

At the close of our encounter, I told him we were going to be praying for him everyday for the next 2 weeks and that he should be prepared for God to shake up his life. I said, "You should be prepared because as we pray for you, God is going to pursue you and you will not be able to escape Him." We really believe that God is going to do something powerful in Ronnie's life. He said he would be watching and waiting.

Unfortunately, we won't be able to see what God does, but we rest assured that the Lord is going to hound him until he pounds down the gates of heaven. Please join us in praying for this man, Ronnie. It will be awesome if we can see him in heaven one day.

John and I walked away from the situation praising God for using us right here and right now! He didn't wait for us to speak Spanish to share His word. Hopefully this is just the first of many opportunities. It was breathtaking to be in the streets of San Jose, with my awesome husband, sharing Christ and doing what God has made us for. Glory to God!

Random

Our internet is up and running again! Awesome.

I started another post earlier and it got wiped out. I'm too pooped to write much, but just thought I would say we are up and running again.

This morning I found a picture of my dad and step-mom. When I pulled it out of its jacket b/c I wasn't sure what it was, I started crying. I had that same feeling of not being able to breathe that I had the day I said good-bye to him at the airport. I really miss them a lot. God is more than able to provide the comfort I need. I'm sure I will feel renewed in the morning.

Please pray for opportunities to share Christ. The language barrier makes it extremely difficult to truly make a difference. I was able to ask a taxi driver in broken Spanish if he believed in Jesus Christ. He said yes! At least I tried. A couple of times I have wanted to go deeper in conversation, but my vocabulary wouldn't let me. Oh, to speak in tongues would be great about now. Too bad I'm a Baptist!

Chill....it's a joke. :)

I'm serious about the praying for the opportunities though. If you could also pray for us to continue to learn the language that would be great. Tengo ir dormir! Or is it, tengo que dormir? Who knows if that even makes sense, but it's suppose to say I have to go to sleep. 3 verbs in a row - ouch!

No DSL

The DSL company came yesterday and cut our cable line (on purpose). They are suppose to restore it in the next day or so. So, if you are trying to call us or e-mail, we don't have e-mail or phone until it is restored.

I am writing this from one of the missionarie's brothers home in Costa Rica. They live in the sweetest pad on a mountaineside overlooking the city. We are enjoying a day of no Spanish, good food and hanging by the pool. This was much needed. I snuck up (well, i did ask) to use the internet for a minute so I'll blog about are date later.

We'll be in touch when our DSL service resumes.

P.S. the good thing about not having phone or internet is that I read almost the entire book "To Train Up a Child" last night. WOW! If you are having discipline problems with your kids, I highly recommend this book to get some focus, persective, encouragement and to take back the reigns. Good stuff~ just thought I'd through that in there.

A Date

Tonight we are going on our first date in Central America. I was jumping up and down as we learned that one of the missionary's daughters would be available to babysit. She is 16 and was born here. I think I’m going to tell her to only speak Spanish to the kids. They’ll love that – not! Does anyone even use that expression – not – anymore? Guess I'm out of touch with pop-culture. I do know "that's hot!" So the babysitter will speak Spanish and that's hot! That doesn't quite make sense, does it?

Anyway, we are super, duper excited. We are going to see the movie Transformers and then eat Chinese from across the street. The only bad thing about living across the street from a Chinese restaurant is that the aroma constantly makes its way into our house. Just this morning Jaxson said, “Mom, I smell something so good. What is it?” To bad my cooking doesn’t taste half as good as the Chinese smells.

So, we are going to a movie for $4 per person. That is half of the price of an American movie. Although groceries, and I’m not kidding about this, are 3-5 times HIGHER than American prices. A lot of services, restaurants and activities are much cheaper. Just last night we ate at a food court in the Hiper Mas (like Super Wal-Mart) and we all ate an awesome Tico (Costa Rican) meal for $10. Our entire family was well fed, with drinks and salads for a mere $10. We were very happy about that. When John asked the babysitter how much she charges per hour she said 1,000 colones per hour – around $2. Another wowie!! Hopefully we can save in cheap activities what we are spending in groceries.

Tonight we will take a taxi. Did I mention it is quite an experience for our family of 6 to fit in a compact taxi? John sits in the front while the other 5 of us squeeze into the back. Normally only 4 people are allowed in a taxi here. I don't think it is like that in Lima. The seatbelts don't work in most cars anyway. So we have to ask a special favor each time we take a taxi ride. Some drivers say yes and some say no. How do the car seats fit in you might ask? They don't! Just as car seats are a must in America, they are a don't in Central America. The baby sits on my lap whether it be in the front seat or the back seat. To answer the question I know you have in your mind....yes, this is scary. Yes, I am constantly praying. The driving is LOCO!!

We have decided we can’t eat like Americans here b/c the cost is outrageous. For example, Ramon noodles are $5 a box (like $1.25 a box in America), cheese is $6 and a Costco size box of M&M’s was about $28. No, I didn’t get them. But beans and rice are cheap, cheap, cheap so we bought a pressure cooker and are determined to eat like the nationals. Plus, we can get a fresh loaf of bread for .50 at the bakery. Yummy!

This has nothing to do with our date, but speaking of money…the only time I have had culture shock is when I go grocery shopping. My pulse goes up, my chest gets tight and I get very quiet (I know, I know…a rarity for me). I mentioned to John that shopping gave me culture shock and he said, “No, I don’t think it’s culture shock, I think it’s sticker shock."

The good news is that we get a field parity supplement from the IMB to help off-set the higher cost of food here. We have budgeted $800 a month for food. I know, that is ridiculous. In the states we spent about $140 every 2 weeks for the 6 of us. So we are looking at a huge jump. I’ll let you know how that goes.

I digress. We are going on a date tonight and I’m happy. It will be fun and cheap and I’m sure an interesting cultural experience. I’ll let you know how it goes.

A quick thought

I was so scared to give up my life to follow God.

I did. It took God almost 3 years to get me to let go.

We are here and I am reminded everyday that God made me for this.

I didn't want to let go of my comfort, my rights, my routine and my easy American life. I did! God was right - this is better.

I have less than I've ever had, but now I have more God than I've ever had.

I wish I would've let go sooner.

Life, home and pictures

Well, we are in our little home and finally settled in and getting comfy cozy in 650 square feet. I know it sounds tight, and it is, but we are enjoying the small space. Not so much to clean or worry about.

Language school starts at the end of August so right now we are doing something called "barefooting" Mon-Fri. from 7:30 a.m. - 11ish. While the kids are in school, we, along with 4 other missionaries, meet together with a spanish teacher who speaks to us only in Spanish and tries to teach us new phrases and lots and lots of Costa Rican culture. It has been very interesting to say the least. My new favorite phrase is "Epsanol es muy difficile para mi."

The kids are enjoying school and picking up one or two Spanish words a day. John is picking up like 20 a day while I am probably on the same pace as the kids.

Our house is nestled right across the street from a beautiful park. It is on a main road that is very noisy, but our fans drown out the noise at night. Besides, we like hearing all the hustle and bustle of life. A good perk of living on a busy street is that there are cool places all around us. For example, the chinese restaurant is literally in front of our house while the butcher and bakery are catty-corner. How cool is that? The other night we needed dinner and John just walked out our door and returned within 5 minutes with a $4 roasted chicken. Now that's the life! Pura Vida! And then, if we walk one block down there is a small grocery store, a convenient store, a salon, a pharmacy and the taxi line. We truly are centrally located. School is only 8 minutes away. The other missionaries are about 10 minutes from us as we chose to stay in the house we are in. Originally, they were going to move us to "Baptist Row" but we realized this location is amazing. So here we are!!!

There are lots of stories to tell, but that will have to be one day at a time. Just wanted to give you a head's up to our daily routine. You'd be amazed at how much we accomplished in one week. Today we finally got the last of our bags unpacked and it feels great to have a steady home for the next year.

Until tomorrow.....

Our Flight In

So many ingredients that we don't want to leave out the flavor of our arrival.

To sum it up....craziness.

The night before we left we had planned to pack all of our 19 suitcases, 6 carry ons, 2 stroller and 4 small children into our friend's truck. Of course, it would be too easy if it weren't raining. So, we had to change our plans and readjust the entire evening b/c it wasn't possible for all of that stuff to sit in a down-pour uncovered all night. It rained for like 6-8 hours and we scrambled to get the new plan in motion. It all worked out and we made it to the airport at 4:58 a.m. with 25 pieces of luggage, 4 small children, 2 strollers, 1 car-seat and 2 pairs of adult hands! WOW!!! Yes, it was as hectic as it sounds.

Due to the rain the day before, my dad ended up taking us to the airport so we said our good-byes quickly as we hauled our luggage and children out of the van. It happened so fast and he drove off and I was left there sobbing and feeling as if I could not catch my breath. It was difficult to have to keep going with the morning with this pain in my heart.

As we made it to through security, they pulled us aside. Lucky us!!! We were chosen to be frisked and to have every single one of our bags searched. I tried so hard to be patient and loving, but I said kindly, "Did you have to pick a family with four kids under the age of 6 and lots of carry-ons as we are trying to move out of the country permanently?" They even frisked the baby! This sounds funny now, but at the moment it was far from it.

The flights were smooth, easy and without interruption. In fact, on each flight the people who sat around us all chipped in and helped bring our bags and car seat off of the plane. It reminded us that God is in everything and He provides help with all of our struggles. The flight to Costa Rica from Atlanta was neat b/c there was a team going on a mission trip and they took up half of the plane. We were able to tell them we were going on a trip, too....for like 3 years! :)

Once we were in the airport is was LOCO!!! We had to physically take all of our stuff to 3 different check-out points. Oh....did I mention that when we got off of the airplane we went to put our children in their brand new, never before used $600 jogging stroller (thanks St. Cloud Pavement Pounders) that was purchased for Costa Rica (in case you don't know, we don't have a car). I noticed immediately that the stroller had oil on several places. I was kind of like, oh....that's not good. But what really was not good was the fact that wheel was completely broken. It ended up shattering 2 days later. It was quite an ordeal for the 2 of us, but God showed us a lot about our fleshly responses and our need to trust Him for everything. It worked out so far and we were able to have a new wheel overnighted to a team in Nashville who brought it to us and we have a perfectly good, oil-stained stroller that gets the little ones around just fine. :) We are still working with Delta on trying to get them to pay for the wheel and get the covering replaced.

Soooo......all that to say - WE ARE HERE!!! There is so much to write, but I thought I would start off with that. I am going to post the pictures of our luggage and the other 2 family's luggage as well. We had 8 kids under the age of 6 in total and well over 70 pieces of baggage. And no, we did not have any help from baggage handlers inside of the airport. They were not available until once we got outside. The hard part was over at that point. At times I felt like my head was going to pop off. I just tried to smile and stay focused. I think I prayed more that day than I ever have.

We are here....

WE ARE HERE! No computer, no phone, lots of Spanish - beauty all around us.

More later when we are hooked up electronically.

Adios Estados Unidos, Hola Costa Rica

We're outta here....sad but true. We're putting the finishing touches on our 19 suitcases and we'll be leaving on a jet-plane bright and early tomorrow morning.

Don't forget there is a 3 hour time delay from East Coast time. :)

We will not be settled into our permanent home for 2 or more weeks so don't be surprised if you do not hear from us for a bit. We will post as soon as we get Internet.

Thank you for all of your prayers and friendship. We couldn't do this without you ALL!!!!

Excitement, excitement, excitement! I think we are in a state of euphoric disbelief.

Our cell phone has been disconnected and I will e-mail out our new phone number once it is set up (with the computer, of course). It will be a local St. Cloud number that you can call and we can call out for free (thanks, packet 8). Please keep in touch - please!!

We leave, but you have our hearts. Love to you all!!!!

Adios.......

St. Cloud Pavement Pounders

Friends, Friends, lots of fun
Especially when they like to run

I've made some buds in our home town
We like to go running when we're feeling down

Each Tuesday and Thursday we hit the road
And run the streets while we talk a load

Just for kicks we like to race
We use each other to keep the pace

We share laughs, P.R.'s, bumps and bruises
Our running stories quite amuse us

I'm leaving my club and it's quite sad
Their the fastest friends I've ever had

What could we talk about you might say
Running, running, all the day

Marathons, 5ks and gatorade
We rejoice in the strides we have made

What will I do without them, I ask?
I'll put my shoes away til' I can run at last

St. Cloud Pavement Pounders, you're so much fun
Can't wait to come back and go for a run.....


LOVE YOU GUYS!!! MISS YOU A TON!!! KEEP ON RUNNING THE RACE FOR THE LORD!!!

Some Sweet, Sweet Fellowship

Today we had the privilege of partnering with a local church.

When we were in Virginia we found out that one of Parker's teachers was from Kissimmee/S. Orlando. She arranged for us to visit with her home church. Part of our job is to partner with at least 5 churches and encourage them to Pray, Give and Go! Each church is our lifeline and a vital part of what we will be doing. So, it was a God thing that a church near our hometown (20 minutes) was TOTALLY interested in having us visit. God totally set this up for us and it was super evident to us this morning. One guy even knew John's sister from Miami from over 15 years ago. He was able to make the connection because of our last name. What a small world!

The entire experience was nothing short of Sweet, Sweet, Sweet! The people were sweet. The worship was sweet and the fellowship afterwards was sweet. We could have easily stayed for over an hour chatting with all of the fine folks who were coming up to us. It warmed our hearts. 2 separate Sunday school groups said they were adopting our family in prayer. WOW! We are so honored and thankful. I encouraged one nice lady to think about joining us in Lima in a few years on a short-term trip. She said they were too old - between 50-70. I told her that that age group is usually some of the best, most effective workers and can reach people we can't reach!

Something funny that happened.....today when we were sharing together on stage (there are like 500 people in this church), I was saying that we will be planting churches that are.....I looked at John and said, "What's that word again." He said, "reproductive." I said, "I should know that word since we are so good at reproducing." Everyone burst out laughing and some people even clapped. In case you don't get it - we have 4 kids and have spent the better part of 6 years reproducing. It was unintentionally funny and John playfully pulled the microphone from me so I wouldn't get us in anymore trouble. Then, my hubby did his best job ever in conveying our vision and encouraging the people to join us. I was so proud of him and just wanted to run right up on stage and kiss him and hug him. It made me proud to see him shine!

This morning was nice! I can't express enough how sincere, sweet and friendly this congregation was. They are transitioning to a new Pastor b/c theirs retired after 20 years. We have visited many churches over the years and this one was definitely one of our favorites. If you live around us, check out South Orlando Baptist church - you won't be disappointed.

Thank you for having us - it was truly our pleasure.

Thank you God for allowing us to partner with such a sweet extension of yourself!

Saying Goodbye

This week we are faced with saying good-bye to those we love the most.

We have been feeling strengthened, but the sadness is intense and breathtaking.

Last night we said good-bye to our Pastor and his wife. I just wanted to wrap them up and take them with me. I knew the evening was coming to an end and I just kept talking and talking because I didn't want them to leave. Because once they left that meant we would've said good-bye and that means this is all real. By the way, Pastor Steve and Shannon are dear friends and supporters - not just our pastor and his wife. Ugh...it's was soooo sad to see them walk away. We could've swam in my tears. SAD! SAD! SAD! Good, but sad!

Today we said good-bye to Pastor Craig and his wife, Helen. They have been super-duper blessings to our family. Friends, helpers, co-laborers in Christ. Once again.....very hard to walk away. So many memories, emotions, feelings.

Goodbyes are not forever - right? We have the future - even if that means 3 years or so. And if that never happens, there is always heaven.

Even with heaven, I still don't like saying goodbye!

ILC Pictures

It's hard to describe where we have been for the last two months, but here are some pictures of the ILC campus, our quad main living area, our suite, the auditorium where we had classes everyday from 8:00 to 3:00, the cafeteria and the playground outside our quad.

This was "home" for 8 weeks and we really miss it. We ate, worshipped, learned, cried and laughed with 80+ other missionaries. We truly became a family. I realized that after spending 24/7 with the other families and singles, that we spent more hours with these folks after onnly 8 weeks than most people people from back home. So leaving was yet another hard separation and goodbye. Most of them we will never see again until heaven. But we know they are going out to do the same work and apply the same things we learned at ILC. - John

Williamsburg

Better late than never.......here are some highlights from our phamily trip to Williamsburg. We had a blast!