Panama (5th trip)

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ...

-Philippians 3:20 (NASB)

Well...it is that time again. Our 90 day visas will be up and we are preparing for our 5th visa run to Panama.

Costa Rica is a wonderful country with some of the most beautiful sightes we have ever experienced. Although Costa Rica has/relies on heavy tourism, it does not offer many options to foreigners for residency. Upon entering the country you will be issued a visa, the amount of days given depends on the country of your citizenship. US citizens are issued 90 days. Once your 90 days in the country are up you must immediately leave the country and remain outside the country for no less than 72 hours. There is little to no options for extensions on your 90 days. I say little to no because there are occasional exceptions depending on who you talk to. Officially, there is no option for extension.

All options for residency depend almost entirely on money. There are only a handful of options and most involve at least $200,000 in investments in the country. The only option offered that is not dependent on money (per-say) is to have a child born in the country. There is also a religious residency option but we are told this is usually reserved for those affiliated with the Catholic church. In short, we can apply for none of these options. 

We must operate our ministries on a 90 day visa. We have always chosen Panama as our "visa run" destination due to the cheaper prices of food and hotels. The Nicaraguan border has less options and prices are higher. In the past we have gone to David, Boquete and Panama City. Panama is a more developed country and the roads within the country offer a much desired break from the bouncy Costa Rican roads. It is interesting because you drive through very dense jungles to get to the border but once you cross it the jungles immediately disappear.

Panamanian Indians

This is always a dreaded experience for us although we try to remain positive. It is an unwelcomed added expense and the bus trip leaves us with nightmares for several weeks afterwards. After each trip on the bus we vow to never take the bus again to Panama but come 90 days later we always find ourselves out of options. We have tried both bus options to Panama and both tend to be about the same in experience. Usually the air conditioning does not work, windows do not open, bathroom is clogged and offers unimaginable aromas throughout the bus for the almost unbearable 7 hours to the border. There are other issues with these buses involving the drivers and prostitutes during our stops and at the border but I will not go into all the unpleasant details. (We have heard of others having an amazing trip on the bus to Panama. We are told we have simply had bad luck). The border typically takes about 2 hours to get through as you must wait for all the bus passengers to get through. It is another hour ride from the border to the city of David. This is the largest city close to the border but offers very little in things to do. You can basically eat and sit in your hotel.

We are planning to leave for Panama on Sunday. We plan to take the Tracopa bus. We will be going to David again since it will be the cheapest option and shortest bus ride. It should take about 10 hours to get there if (Lord willing) all goes well. We are preparing mentally for the bus ride and hope the lack of excitement in David will at least offer us some time to pray about our personal future as well as the future of Missions Costa Rica.

We usually take only backpacks and carry everything with us since we stay in hostels.

 We ask that you keep this trip in prayer as well as the future of  Missions Costa Rica. We plan to write more specifically on this when we get back.

Mission Vehicle?

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword.

-Romans 8:35

If you have been following us on facebook, you may have already heard of the Missions Costa Rica financial troubles. We also mentioned it in our September newsletter. We have not been able to meet our monthly budget for a few months now. We have been able to function due to savings up until now. Those savings have now been depleted.

Yesterday morning we lost the mission vehicle to the Costa Rican government because we were not able to pay the taxes (about $4,000) for it. We had the money for the taxes in the mission bank account but had to use these funds to run the ministry due to lack of sufficient donations. The car is still in our name for a little while longer but is confined to a government "parking" facility and we are not allowed to remove it from this facility. We have been given the option to sell it but of course we will have to find a buyer that has no need to actually look at the car first. This happened quite suddenly for us as we technically do not have to pay these taxes until October 19th. There was a mistake in the paperwork made out by the government agent and they do not wish to fix the mistake. The whole mistake occurred when the agent looked at the wrong tab on his computer! Luke and I went down to the office yesterday to make a final plea for someone to fix the mistake but we were not received well. We spoke to a lawyer and we were told that ultimately this agency has all the power to do as they please and there was nothing we could do.

The loss of a vehicle means that the majority of our ministries have officially had to be canceled. We are currently no longer able to work in the shanty town of La Carpio. This includes our daycare work and classes with the women and children on Saturday mornings. We still have hopes that God does perform modern day miracles. He ultimately is in control of this ministry and He will do with it as He pleases. His will is perfect.

We were able to feed the homeless yesterday due to the graciousness of Fabricio and Hazel. They have been helping us feed the homeless from the very start of this ministry. They let us use their car to deliver the food. We believe we might be able to use their car for this ministry for now but there are no guarantees of its availability. We have been so lucky to be surrounded by loving and caring neighbors that have an incredible desire to serve. These neighbors (JJ & Jane, Fabricio & Hazel, Rachel and Flabio & Milania) have really done so much to keep the homeless fed. We are proud to be a part of such a giving group and we value their help, love and support! Thank you!!!

We thank you all so much for your prayers and support of this mission. We would not have made it to this point had it not been for all the wonderful people behind it, fueling it and supporting it! We are so privileged to have such a powerful Father in heaven with whom we can leave all our cares. We ask that you continue to pray for Missions Costa Rica and for Luke and I as well. We will have to make some very tough changes in the next month or so if funds do not come in. This mission has always been about Him and His will so we will leave it in His hands.

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

-Romans 12:1-2