two years

We've now lived in Costa Rica for over two years!  On June 3, 2008, we left the USA with our 3-month old baby, several plastic bins, some suitcases, and a lot of anticipation and nervousness. 

Were we crazy?

Yes, actually, looking back, it does seem like we were!

Did we know what we were getting into?

No, we sure didn't!

Wasn't it hard?

Yes, it was hard.  It is hard. To be honest, it's the hardest thing we've ever done.

Was it the right thing to do?

Yes, it was, even with all of the challenges and struggles we've gone through in the past two years. 

We felt that God was calling us to join EMI in Latin America and, out of obedience, we moved here even though the timing of it didn't make sense.  Not only was Timothy only 3 months old, but I had had a difficult pregnancy followed by some difficult issues following his birth.  We were tired, and were just starting to get used to being new parents after weeks of packing, moving, many doctors' appointments, and even more good-byes.  And, quite honestly, we were not really prepared for what was ahead of us.  But, it still was what God wanted us to do.  He has worked in our hearts and changed us, molded us, challenged us, convicted us, and strengthened us in the past two years more than either Dan or I have ever experienced before.  Yes, it's been hard, but it's also been good and right.

(In my next post, I'll share some of the memories that run through my mind as I look back over the past two years.)

VBS follow-up

A long time ago, I wrote a post about our church's VBS, and ended it with a promise to write how we followed up with the kids and families we met during that week.  I'm finally getting around to writing that promised post!  You might want to reread about our VBS program here to remember what we did...

On Friday night, after a full week of programs with the kids from two different poor neighborhoods in Atenas, we had a program for the families of the kids who had attended throughout the week.  We had it in the town plaza, in front of the public school and next to where the outdoor market is (so a very central, well-known location).  A lot of the kids came dressed in blue jeans and white shirts like how we had dressed all week, and they were ready to perform the songs that they had learned, complete with dances or actions, for their parents.  It was fun to watch how excited the kids were to do this, and everyone did a great job.  Then, we showed a clip from a movie similar to the Jesus Film, and gave a presentation of the gospel.  Our pastor, Yeremy, spoke to the parents afterwards about the importance of Jesus being Lord of the family, and gave the parents an opportunity to commit their lives to Christ and to pray for their families.  It has been so encouraging to see some of these mothers, one of the fathers, and many of the kids still attending our church months later. 

Here are a few photos from the event:

Do you see Timo right in the middle?

Yeremy talking to the crowd

a girls vs. boys singing competition

Ever since this event, each Sunday morning, members of our youth group go to these neighborhoods to pick up any kids or families who would like to come to our church that morning.  Several women and quite a few children have come to faith through this ministry and attend our church regularly.  It is such a blessing to see their faces in our congregation each week!  We continue to pray for the neighborhoods el Invu and los Olivos.

I remembered that I still needed to write this post because we recently found a house for rent in el Invu and considered moving to it.  What stopped us was finding out it was going to be quite difficult to break our lease on the house we are currently renting.  Please pray for us to have peace about staying here if that is the Lord's will.  If it is not, please pray that we would be given wisdom on how to make the move possible.  Of course, we want to be living where God wants us to be, and that seems a little unclear to us right now!  Thank you for your prayers!

los volcánes

We are constantly amazed by the beauty that surrounds us here in Costa Rica, especially living in a more rural area.  The landscape is definitely very different from our native Midwest USA!  I love living in the mountains and seeing so much green (especially now that the rainy season is beginning!).  The scenes that seem most impressive to me, though, are the volcanoes.  A month or so ago, as we walked out our front door, Timmy said, "Mommy, I wanna see 'cano."  I realized he was talking about volcanoes we can see from the side of our house, and I had a "We're not in Kansas anymore" moment when I realized that these volcanoes we see every day here are normal for my little boy.  Here a couple of photos of one of them, Volcán Turrialba, with smoke pouring out of it (taken from our porch)  I was greeted by a similar scene yesterday morning when I woke up with the sunrise at 4:30am (yep, it rises early here!):

(The photo at the top of this post is of us in front of Volcán Arenal, which we visited while Dan's parents were here.  It was our second time there, but our first time to see even part of this huge volcano that is often covered in clouds.  We were excited!)