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

A-B-C (easy as 1-2-3??)

For the past two weeks now, Luke and I have been working with a group of 6-10 year olds every morning at the daycare center in La Carpio. We were previously working with a much younger group of toddlers but the need came up for these older kids. This new group of kids had been failing 1st grade and were in pretty desperate need for some extra attention.

We have been very busy trying to come up with ways to help teach them the Alphabet and the proper way to write these letters. It has been very interesting and different to work with this age. It is not something we are used to and personally would not be my first choice. The new experience has already given us the opportunity to practice patience! I am sure any parent of a child learning to read and write knows what I am talking about! It can be quite a daunting task and it is difficult to see a light at the end of this learning tunnel!

This week we have been able to take things a step further and we are so proud of them. We are now practicing writing words with the letters they have been working with. It has been interesting to see how they progress. One thing that stands out immediately is how much more advanced the girls are. We have even had to split them up by gender because the girls were too far advanced to work side by side with the boys. This makes me wonder how much Latino culture may play into this.

In addition to being behind, all of the boys struggle with attention problems as well as discipline issues. Even when we have only one boy present he usually must spend much of class in "time out" and often we have had to just send them home. It is so heartbreaking to see them suffer so much. There is no such thing as discipline at home, they are lucky if their parents even know where they are during the day. All of this simply continues the vicious cycle of female battery, gang involvement and family violence. We often find ourselves overwhelmed with trying to compete with the ideas these young boys are faced with as soon as they leave our class.

In contrast, young girls in La Carpio must cook, clean and take care of their younger siblings. This work for them starts at birth. It does not matter if they have older male siblings. The work load always falls on the first female child. Sadly this causes the girls to miss out on many opportunities. If mom is sick or unwilling to take care of the family the girls are held out of school etc. in order to cook and clean for their father and siblings. Many of the 6 year olds we are working with are constantly distracted in class because they must bring their younger siblings with them and care for them throughout the day. At first glance this is seen as something sweet. How calm and motherly the older sister cares for her brothers and sisters! Once you are able to recognize that it is in fact a hindrance it truly breaks your heart for them. Many visitors are not able to catch the underlying issues and actual suffering of the young girls.

It is our prayer that these young kids might have great opportunities in life through education and the working of the Holy Spirit in their lives. We hope that they might be able to fight against the twisted ideas of gender in this society and hold firm to the truth given in God's word. We ask that you might join with us in prayer for their young lives and their futures. We pray that they might grow to be honest, godly men and women of great  self-worth and integrity.

14 You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

-2 Timothy 3:14-15 (NASB)

*Feel free to leave your comments/ideas on this topic!

Ladies English Class

I have been teaching a group of ladies for 3hours every Saturday since January. This small group of women have been a blessing and a challenge. Most of them can not even read or write properly in Spanish and many have not made it past the 3rd grade. The majority of them are Nicaraguan and are living illegally in this shanty town (This is very common in La Carpio). They currently all work as daycare workers for several daycares set up by the Humanitarian Aid Foundation.

I was asked back in January to teach English to these women. I am sure you can imagine the difficulty it has been. I have found myself not only teaching them English but also teaching them fundamental skills such as telling time. My academic year with them is coming to an end.  My goals for these women started out simply being to teach them English, but as our understanding of La Carpio and their role in it as daycare workers has grown so has my desires for them through this class.

As any leader or teacher, my foundational desire is to duplicate myself. In other words I hope to be able to touch their lives and in turn they may be able to touch the lives of others. The best way I felt I could do this was not only through education in the English language but much more importantly with Biblical education. Luke and I have found that there are several churches in this shanty town. Many of the people we have met claim to be faithful members of these churches yet, it seems that their knowledge of the Scriptures and of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is lacking. (Many of the churches we have visited in Costa Rica do not place focus on any strong discipleship, leaving their members quite malnourished of the Scriptures and there applications.) It has been my desire to try and fill these voids in education through my simple class every Saturday. This has been a challenge as I have had to fit many different subjects into a short amount of time every week. Throughout this class I know I have grown a great deal as an educator and I hope my students have grown as well.

FROM LEFT: Gloria, Jorling, Yessenia, Summer, Yessenia's daughter, and Emilce

 I ask that you keep these women in your prayers as we gear up for the end of this class. I also pray that their interest in the Scriptures will continue to burn within them and they may continue to study the Bible and develop deep relationships with a personal Savior.They will be working the next several weeks on their final project. For their final project I have asked them to properly prepare and deliver a class to a group of children Luke has been working with on Saturdays. Our desire is to be able to have others take over these tasks so that we may be able to reach more with both Education and hope and salvation through Jesus Christ.

7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

-Proverbs 1:7 NASB