first day of school: lessons learned

 

After homeschooling for the first trimester of the school year (which goes from mid-February to mid-December here), the kids started going to school when we returned to Costa Rica last month.  They now both go to a private bilingual school that Timmy started going to a couple of years ago.  This year, Timmy started prepatoria (Costa Rican kindergarten) and Tabitha started pre-kinder (preschool) for the first time.  The only one who cried on the first day of school was Mommy! 
And, it turns out, Mommy had the biggest lesson to learn that day.

Such a big boy now!

My baby is going to school!?

Ready to do this new adventure... together!

When we were walking up to Timmy's classroom, his classmates saw him and started cheering and clapping, calling out, "Timo! Timo! Timo!"  It did my heart good to see how loved he is by the kids in his class.  Tabitha's class meets every day, but we made the decision to only send her three days a week this year, and we're both enjoying having special Mommy-daughter time on the mornings that Timmy goes to school without her.

I have to admit -- I did more than just a little crying after dropping the kids off.  I did a.lot.of.crying.  Like go home and completely lose it and sob and sob and sob.  Looking back, I'm embarrassed (sorry, Dan!), but I also understand that the emotions had as much to do with all of the emotions of returning to life in Costa Rica as it did with the kids going to school.  Sending them to school was just a reminder of how our decision to live and minister in Costa Rica changes so many of our life's decisions.  I really loved homeschooling Timmy for the first part of kindergarten, and I think it's likely we would homeschool if we lived in the States.  Here, though, we feel strongly that our kids need to gain fluency in Spanish to be able to be fully part of our community and that the best way to do that, for now and for our family, is for them to attend a local school.  We have seen Timmy's Spanish progress so well from going to school and we are excited to see that continue and for Tabitha to follow.  Homeschooling may still be in our future, but, for now, (which is really all I need to know right now!), they are attending school to learn Spanish.  We are grateful to have such a great school to send them to here.  But, still, it was hard for me as I wrestled with how our decision to live here affects our decision on how to educate our kids.  And, as I got more and more emotional (i.e. not thinking rationally), I even got to the point of crying because maybe if we lived in the States, we could more easily have another baby.  Like I said, it was definitely a low point...

walking into school: when I started tearing up

As I calmed down on that first day of school, I was reminded of something I've had to learn over and over again as a missionary wife and mom... I cannot compare my life here to what I think my life would be if we lived in the States.  That's not our life.  This - living and working in Costa Rica - is our life, for now and for as long as God wants us here.  So, we make the decisions that work best for our family and for the life and ministry God has placed us in.  Comparing and contrasting with what life in States looks like (or, really, what I think it might look like!) does nothing but make me lose the joy that I can have in this amazing life God has given us in Costa Rica.  And, I love this life!  How cool is it that our kids get to grow up learning a second language and being part of this beautiful culture? 

The kids may have learned some new Spanish words and some new letters on the first day of school, but it was Mommy who learned the most important lesson of the day.

Easter flowers

 

We moved into our current house in January 2011.  We love the front garden and throughout our first year here, we were surprised by different flowers that bloomed at different times.  Our favorites have always been what the kids call the "Easter flowers."  They bloom every year around Easter time, so it's become a tradition to take photos of the kids in their Easter outfits with these flowers every year.  This Easter, we were in the States and I was sad thinking about our special flowers blooming without us.  But, when we returned to Costa Rica, they hadn't bloomed yet!  They waited for us!

So, while it's not in their Easter outfits, we still have 2014 photos of the kids with our favorite flowers!  I was so grateful for this special little blessing.  And, even though their bloom is gone for this year, sweet Tabitha is still thanking God for the Easter flowers every night during our family devotion time.

a new day dawning

We've been silent here on the blog as our lives have quickly, unexpectedly, and crazily changed over the course of the last year.  To start back up, I'm posting a journal entry I wrote last month as we ended our four months of training and transition in the States.

Journal entry from April 16, 2014:

I am the LORD, your Holy One, Israel's Creator, Your King.

This is what the LORD says - He who made a way through the sea,

a path through the mighty waters...

 

Forget the former things;

do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

 

I am making a way in the desert,

and streams in the wasteland.

 

Isaiah 43: 15-16, 18-19

 

We have gone through an unexpected winter - both physically and emotionally.  We had not planned to spend December through April in the States this year.  We have experienced winter unlike anything we have experienced in the past six years.  Freezing temperatures, ice storms, snow, bundling up, staying inside because of the cold - we experienced none of this in Costa Rica!

 

 

In the same way, we had not expected the huge changes that have come about in our lives this past year.  The EMI office closing here, all of our teammates leaving Costa Rica, joining a new missions organization, coming to the States for months of training and transition - all of these are things we had not anticipated or planned for. 

 

 

This unexpected winter has been hard in some ways and wonderful in others.  It is so hard to find yourself being redirected, but it is absolutely amazing to see God directing you to His best for you.  In spite of this being a time of a lot of travel and busyness, it has also been a time of quiet and calm for me as we made the transition from EMI to Global Outreach.  This winter provided the time I needed to transition emotionally, to learn that it is time to move on to the new thing that God has for us.  God has been working in my heart to teach me about surrender and about forgiveness.  We have been able to process through everything that happened, as well as allow ourselves to get really excited about the future as we share our vision with others.

 

 

And, as actual winter ends and we see trees budding and blossoming, grass becoming green again, and flowers sprouting from fertile soil, I feel a new spring dawning in my heart.  God is directing me, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past."  He is doing a new thing!!  A new chapter of life is beginning; new life is springing forth.  Like the beautiful new blossoms on the trees, new growth is happening and it is... lovely, beautiful, from God. 

 

 

I love being here in the States to experience spring again, for the first time in years.  But, I have peace in my heart; it is time to go back to Costa Rica.  It is time to start this new thing, to see what God has planned and prepared for us.  God has brought us through this winter.  Now it is time to see what fruit God will have us bear as this new thing dawns in our hearts. 

 

 

Thank You, LORD, for both the winter and the spring.  Thank You for both the sorrows and the joys of the past year.  We praise You for leading us to this next chapter of life; please help us live out all You have prepared for us fully and abundantly!

 



To Mexico's "Forgotten People"

We just said good-bye to Dan as he left to head out on a project trip deep into Mexico's Copper Canyon.  It will take him four days of travel to reach the remote people group he will be working with to design a health clinic and women's shelter.  The following article and photo are taken directly from EMI's website:

 

"Approximately 60,000 Tarahumara people live in the Copper Canyon area of northern Mexico. Many years ago, there were over a million. They have become a forgotten people, ignored by the government to the point of becoming extinct. One news report team recently called the Tarahumara "the poorest people in the world," many of them still living in caves and stone huts.

Seventeen years ago, Pastor Tomás and his assistant Brenda (Tarahumara Ministries) were led to reach out to this people group. Travelling for hours and days on donkeys and walking through the canyons, they searched out the people. As Tomás would say, "These people have been waiting over 2000 years to hear about the life-saving love of Jesus." However, the Tarahumara do not have a word for "love," and thus it has been difficult to share this concept with words. But through 17 years of loving dedication, Tomás has built up trust amongst the peoples' guarded hearts, and the fruit of his labor has become evident as several people have now responded with a genuine faith in Christ.

Sadly, women are treated poorly in the culture, and all types of abuse run rampant – even to the point of death. Girls are usually "married" by 12 years old, often with child. In general, men dominate the culture and women are not allowed to express themselves. However, women recently have begun to realize that they can hope for a better life. They desire to seek sanctuary to avoid abuse, and they desire to learn life-skills training to help provide adequately for their families.

The project will include a building with two main functions: A health clinic, and a women's shelter. Currently, the community is plagued with high infant mortality rates, death in pregnant women, malnutrition, and cases of tuberculosis. In fact, health care is so poor that less than half of children currently live to age 10. By providing a clinic with rotating doctors, the healthcare for the 300 families in the area will significantly increase. The women's shelter will provide a safe haven for abused women while helping them develop basic life skills, like health and sanitation, agriculture, and proper child care.

The CMA church in Canada is currently raising money for this project, with plans to begin construction near the middle of 2014.  EMI plans to initially provide a preliminary design with 3-D renderings for the dual-focused building in order to support fundraising efforts. Later this year, once the ministry has confirmed the preliminary design, EMI will finalize the architectural drawings and provide structural drawings for construction."

This week, Dan will be with the Tarahumura people to help meet these physical needs in rural Mexico so that the Gospel can be preached among this lesser reached people group.  Please pray for safety as he travels through a dangerous part of Mexico.  Pray for wisdom and discernment for him as he makes decisions and plans regarding this project.  The Tarahumura have been called the "forgotten people" of Mexico.  I'm praying that Dan's time with them would remind them that they are far from forgotten, but that they are indeed beloved by the Almighty God. 

Nine years!

Today, we are celebrating nine years of marriage.  I was laughing a bit today thinking about how shocked I would have been to know on our wedding day that by our ninth anniversary we would have lived in Atenas, Costa Rica longer than anywhere else as a married couple.  I wouldn't have been shocked that we were missionaries or that Dan was using his engineering skills on the mission field.  But having arrived back from studying in Ukraine just ten days before our wedding, and Dan having just moved back from Guatemala the day before we got engaged, Costa Rica was not a country I was even remotely thinking about at that time! 

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's will that prevails." (Proverbs 19:21)

On that day, we also didn't know all of the adventures - fun, hard, exciting, scary ones - that were ahead of us.  We have had many joys and some trials, and I am thankful to have been able to walk through each of them with the love of my life.  I love you, Dan!

YWAM Base, Costa Rica

At the beginning of March, I (Dan) once again had the opportunity to support another great ministry by helping them realize the dream God has given them for a new facility to make and train disciples.

This time the team served Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The ministry is led by Diego and Salla and their team currently includes Kimo and Laura and some other DTS students. From their base in the remote town of Corral de Piedra (go ahead, try to find it on a map), they conduct Discipleship Training Schools (DTS) to equip participants with skills in a particular area of Biblical concern (for example, justice and mercy) and to prepare them for cross-cultural ministry.  They engage with the rural community to improve the quality of life there, work with young, single mothers to teach them not only to care for their little ones, but to care for themselves by restoring their dignity in Christ, and also strive to strengthen family relationships in a place where infidelity is very common. They host teams from the United States to help with a Bible distribution program to hand out Bibles to every household in the entire province of Guanacaste! Everyone at the YWAM base in Guanacaste instilled in me as a project leader an excitement to be a part of what God is doing through them and also great anticipation for what more He may do with the new facility we designed.




Kimo and Laura on the left with their little ones, two DTS students in the center with Diego and Salla on the right.

Last November, Sarah, the kiddos, and I had the opportunity to meet Diego and Salla at the YWAM base since it is here in Costa Rica. When we arrived at the site, we talked a while about the history of the vision they have had for this site. They had recently purchased a 5-acre site only about 100 yards from their existing base. Their desire is to develop it to include a multipurpose building for up to 200 people, DTS classroom space, a preschool, and student, team, and staff housing, along with all the necessary support spaces for these functions. They told us about the previous professionals they had hired to provide a design, but who didn’t really listen to their needs. They explained how the nonbelieving architect didn’t understand the spaces or the relationships required for a Christian ministry. They told us how this single professional attempted to design all of the infrastructure needs for the site that would normally take multiple specialized designers. In the end, all of the investment they made in these previous designs was wasted. I was able to respond by describing our team which would have at least 8 specialized volunteers, and that our architect and planner are both principles in their respective consulting firms. They would all be dedicated Christians who understand the exacting requirements of Christian ministries. As I listed all the expertise that the EMI team would offer, the look of amazement slowly grew on Salla’s face until at last she said, "That is exactly what we need."


Out team of professional, specialized, volunteer designers and engineers working together to develop the Master Plan

For example, the missionaries requested a "prayer room." However, even they didn’t know exactly what it would look like. Through the master planning design process, the "prayer room" evolved into a "prayer area" located at the heart of the site. It was placed where everyone needing to move from one part of the site to another would have to pass through it. This emphasizes the central place of prayer in all that YWAM does and will do on that site. This is a prime example of how Christian professionals who understand the functions of ministries can provide compelling design solutions to the glory of the Lord. Here are some preliminary renderings of the idea.

Conceptual rendering of the prayer area located at the center of the site.

Apart from the master plan, we provided a design for the multipurpose building which will be the first they will build. It will be one of the busiest buildings on the site. YWAM will use it as everything from a dining hall to a concert hall, from a gymnasium to a sanctuary, from a café to a conference center. They even wanted some classrooms for their DTS and other ministry training. Additionally, it will be used both by the people on the site as well as the entire community. Therefore, Diego and Sala wanted it to be open and welcoming to the community. I am really excited about this design.


Volunteer architect, Jim, working on the design of the multipurpose building

I am also excited about how EMI will be able to support Diego and Salla through this building process. This was the first full project I’ve done in Costa Rica and the proximity promises to allow us to do even more than usual to help YWAM realize their vision. For example, during the trip, I could confidently tell Diego and Salla that this project trip was just the beginning of a long-term relationship to which we are committed, not only until they are occupying this building, but until they can completely develop their entire site according to the calling and vision that God has given them. This is something we have never really been able to do before, but we hope to capitalize on the proximity of the ministry in order to provide the most comprehensive professional services possible.
 

The team taking a much deserved coffee break from their hard work

Missionaries are good at missions. They aren’t always as good at implementing building projects. But almost every missionary encounters himself in the midst of a building project that could potentially distract them from their ministry. I don’t want that to happen to Diego and Salla. I want them to be able to focus on their ministry using the gifts God has given them while we focus on realizing their vision for the ministry base using the gifts God has given us.

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Romans 12:4-8

Since I am so proud of our team, I want to include some of our final renderings.  We produce these to give to the ministry in order to help them raise support for the construction costs of the project. In fact, we were able to personally put some of these renderings into the Diego's hands just a couple of weeks ago. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do:

This is the Master Plan with the Multipurpose Building shown in the lower left (North is up).

Here is another view of the Master Plan from the North

Here is a view of the Multipurpose Building from the entry road.

This is a view of the Bonfire Amphitheater at the back of the Multipurpose Building.

We hope to be able to update you soon on the progress towards starting this exciting building project!  Please pray for YWAM Guanacaste as they raise the funds to make these plans a reality!