2015 by month: January

I think it is a very good thing when life is too full to actually blog about it.  However, we do want those who pray for and support our life and ministry in Costa Rica to know more about what our days look like, so over the next few months, I'll be sharing this year's events by month.  There are so many things that I would love to write whole posts about, but these monthly lists will have to suffice! 

Here is January 2015 in the life of our family:

moving Costa Rica style

At the end of 2014, we made a much needed move to a safer and healthier house.  The first weeks of January were busy with trying to get unpacked and getting the house ready to live in (a bigger job in a rental here than what is typical in the States), in hopes of being completely settled in by the end of the month.  We hit some pretty major roadblocks in this process.  One was discovering that our new house had some really bad mold and mildew issues.  It took us weeks to get this cleared out; thankfully, now our new home seems to be mold-free!

Another major roadblock was a week without running water.  Those were just stinky days (literally).  And, then, there was the day the owner of our house told us that we would need to move out ASAP because someone wanted to buy the house (after telling us that she would not sell).  We had only lived in the house three weeks, had just finished most of the unpacking, and, since it had taken us over six months of searching to find this house, we couldn't imagine moving again!  We started a frantic search for a new place.  We, and many of our friends, were praying hard... and, the sale fell through!  Praise God!

The other huge roadblock was finding out that we had lost a very significant amount of monthly financial support.  It's taken us a while to process this emotionally, and we are still in need of raising more money to be able to continue working here long-term.  The task is daunting, but we have seen God provide for us over and over again for the past seven years, and we trust Him. 

In the midst of all of this craziness, God had a special plan: January was a month of so many visitors!  Two of the families from our EMI team came back to visit Costa Rica, and, during their trips, spent time with us.  It was so great to connect with them.  A couple that had been in our newlyweds small group ten years ago came to Costa Rica to celebrate their anniversary, and took a day out of their trip to spend with us.  These visits provided such encouragement during an otherwise difficult month!

exploring San Jose's children's museum with our life-long friends and former teammates

January is a month off of school and our church's and ministry's regular Bible classes and studies, so the main ministry focus of the month is planning and carrying out la escuelita del verano (VBS).  Many new kids from our church's neighborhood came, and, as every year, I loved seeing the young people of our church serve out of love for Jesus.  This year's program focused on missions, and the kids learned about godly people from the Bible and faithful missionaries of the past.  It was a great week!

I was the official snack lady most days

craft area

Bible teaching area

lots of songs

acting out a skit about the life of John Patton

water games

Timmy loved all the games

Tabitha completely surprised me by answering a question... in Spanish!

2015 VBS team

To end, I have to share a funny story.  The jovenes (youth) from our church had done the skits, dances, songs and teaching all week, while us señoras handled things like snacks, crafts, and general crowd control.  At church on Sunday, they made a surprise announcement that they would choose a couple of adults to do one of the dances with them.  They chose one of the dads and... me.  Being pulled into an impromptu dance routine is pretty much the stuff of bad dreams for me.  I tried to hide in the back and pray no one noticed, while the dad (in the green shirt in the photo below) played his part perfectly.

trying to hide in the back!

Can you tell I was blushing?

January 2015 was definitely a month of highs and lows for us, but looking back now, it's the fun highs that stand out!

He is risen!

He is risen indeed. 

I love those words -- such hope, such victory, such joy!  Christ, who died for us, is risen. 

Every year, when I hear those words on Easter, I think of the remote little villages in the Carpathian mountains of Ukraine, where the tradition among some is still to greet each other with "Христос воскрес!" ("Christ is risen!") and then the other person answers back, "He is risen indeed!" all year long, any day of the year.  Can you imagine how beautiful that is?  Unfortunately, it is so traditional now that most (maybe even all) of the villagers don't really think about the significance of their words as they say them.  I remember being there and praying that someday, revival would happen in those villages and that that traditional greeting would be the joyful expression of understanding the importance of the resurrection.  Can't you see it?  Every day, greeting your neighbors with "Hey!  Christ is alive!  He died for us and now He's alive again!!", and then they answer back "So true!  He is alive! And, we get to live with Him forever!"  I get tears in my eyes imagining it!

And, now, so many years after my time in Ukraine, I'm imagining what it would be like if we as believers all over the world greeted each other this way, not just on Easter, but every day... always remembering that Christ's resurrection is what validates our faith, always remembering His victory over death after His sacrifice on our behalf, always remembering the hope of eternity we have in Him.... always living every day in the joy of Easter.  Really, we should live this way, shouldn't we? 

So, this year, after dressing in our pretty Easter dresses, painting and hunting for our eggs, and singing the traditional Easter hymns in our church, I'm praying that Easter will carry on in our hearts.  I'm praying that my heart will want to exclaim to everyone I meet, "He is risen!" all year long, every day of the year.  Join me in praying for this, friends?

 

He is risen!  And, we'll be celebrating for eternity!

 

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.  Do you believe this?"

(John 11:25)

¡Feliz Navidad!

Merry Christmas from Costa Rica!

The Word became flesh...

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning." - John 1:1

As part of my personal Advent celebration, I've been daily reading a chapter from "Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus," a compilation of Advent readings, edited by Nancy Guthrie.

This quote from the second chapter immediately grabbed my attention, "When a person makes his home among people, he moves in with them.  He identifies with them.  The incarnation is the moving in of the eternal Word so that he utterly identifies with us in every way.  He took the whole nature of a human being, fully and totally identifying with all it means for us to be human..."  What first struck me was how amazing and how counter-intuitive the incarnation is!  Jesus is God, and He left His throne in heaven to become a human, humbling himself not only to man's body, but to a helpless baby's body, so that He could identify completely with us.  He chose to live a complete human life, from birth to childhood to adolescence to adulthood.  Jesus experienced everything we experience!  And, He came for us, to save us!

"He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.  He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him.  Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God." - John 1: 10-13

He lived a human life, in order to reveal Himself and His truth to us.  He lived a perfect life, so that His righteousness could be imputed to us.  He died for us so that our sin's penalty would be paid and we could be saved.  He conquered death, revealing His glory and giving us hope of eternity with Him.  God became man to give us the right to become His children, to His glory.

"The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.  We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." - John 1:14

This is the Christmas message.  It's so much bigger than a sweet baby boy born in a stable (and so, so much bigger than I can express)!  The truth of the incarnation is incredible, and provides such an important springboard for talking about the gospel.  And, that's why we are where are, doing what we are doing, right?  To quote the book I am reading again, "When a person makes his home among people, he moves in with them.  He identifies with them."  The author was talking about God becoming flesh, but it struck me that that sentence describes missionaries, too!  We move to a foreign place and work to make a home among a new people.  We work to identify with them.  We live among them in order to reveal the truth of the gospel to them, to God's glory.  While this change and adjustment is so tiny compared to Jesus', it was very special to me to identify with Christ in this small way. 

I pray that this Christmas, we can stay focused on the true awesomeness of the incarnation.  I pray that as our family does our daily Advent activities, plans and participates in Christmas events, celebrates with our church family, and prepares to move (two days after Christmas -- ahhh!) that we will keep in the forefront of our thoughts our purpose for being here - to live among the precious people God has called us to, so that they may join us in knowing Him and worshipping Him.  

"From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another.  For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made Him known." - John 1:16-18

our news

Bad news: the neighbors' smoking and very aggressive pit bull have not improved. The smell of marijuana (we think) has regularly been added to the scenario.

Good news: After months of looking, and after a house we pursued falling through, we are thankful for the provision of a new house. We signed the lease on this new rental last week, and we'll move right after Christmas.

Sad news: I love this house, and hate having to leave it for this reason.  It's going to be really hard!

Hopeful news: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him..."

We'll be saying good-bye to this beautiful home of ours at the end of the month!

Thank you to everyone who has been praying about this situation for us for the past six months! 

Giving thanks

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Days like Thanksgiving can be hard for us living in another country, far away from our families and without all of the resources to make the traditional Thanksgiving meal we grew up with.  It helps me to remind myself of some of the unique blessings I have because of the life of ministry we are living here in Costa Rica.  Here are my top ten:

1. Surrounded by natural beauty

Seriously, I so often look around and think, "I can't believe I live here!"  While we live real life here (and not the resort life some may associate with Costa Rica), we are blessed with daily views of God's amazing creation.  Whether it's in the breathtaking views of mountains and volcanoes I see just driving around town, or in the intricate details of the tropical flowers and birds in my garden, the natural beauty I witness here is awe-striking.

one of our favorite views in our Costa Rican hometown

2.   Good coffee and fresh produce

I was not a coffee drinker before moving to Costa Rica.  But, we live in a coffee town now; the coffee we drink is grown, harvested, dried and roasted here in our little town.  It's really, really good... and has converted me into a coffee lover.  We are also spoiled year-round with wonderful fresh fruit and vegetables from our farmer's market.  We might not have easy access to cranberries or pecans for today's Thanksgiving dinner, but the local fruit here always tastes so much more real (does that make sense?).  One time after taking a bite of pineapple in the States, Timmy scrunched up his face and said, "That is NOT piña!" (piña = pineapple)

our kids watching a local farmer dry his coffee beans

3.  Small town living

While it took some adjusting, I love living in a small, Costa Rican town.  I love that whenever I'm out running errands, I almost always run into someone I know.  I love that our kids (along with pretty much every other school kid in the whole town!) are in the Independence Day parade and that our son has been part of the town's yearly musical festival.  I love being able to walk to the stores, and I love sitting in our central park and people watching.  Life in a big city appeals to me, too, but I am thankful for our little town during this stage in our lives.

Tabitha in our town's Independence Day parade

4.   Worshipping in a second language

One of my dreams when we moved here was that my Spanish would improve to a point where I could truly worship and commune with God in Spanish.  It's been a long process that included a lot of Sundays of standing outside the church building in the intense tropical sun, bouncing my crying baby in a sling (can you mamas relate?), or arriving home from church completely exhausted from the mental work of staying engaged in Spanish during the worship, sermon, and conversations.  But, now I feel that I can truly worship God in Spanish, and it gives such a precious glimpse of eternity worshipping Him with people from every nation and language.

worshipping with our church here

5.  Women's ministry

I love working together with some other women from our church to build up our women's ministry and to reach out to other women in our community.  I am blessed and challenged each week as I facilitate a women's Bible study and work to encourage and strengthen other women.  This ministry strongly pulls at my heart, and sharing my heart and life with these women is one of my main highlights of our life here in Costa Rica.

this year's women's conference - an outreach event to our community

6.  Life of adventure

Choosing to live in another country has opened us up to a life of adventure.  Whether it's going after a snake with a machete, or maintaining the constant battle with the ants, or tackling the red tape adventures of the immigration department, life is never without a new adventure here.  We also get to enjoy the adventure of exploring new places, learning a new language, and meeting new people. 

one of our favorite Costa Rican adventures - a hike to this turquoise river

7.  Kid-loving culture

One of my first impressions when we moved here with a baby was that Costa Ricans absolutely adore children!  Babies and children are usually the recipient of admiration and love wherever they go.  Especially during this stage of parenting little children, it is such a blessing to live in a culture where kids are so highly valued and loved.  Our kids are growing up far away from our families, but they have many Costa Rican "grandparents," "aunts," and "uncles."



 having fun with our pastor - one of their Costa Rican "uncles"

8.  Closeness as a family

Sharing in this adventure (with both its highs and lows!) together has made us grow closer as a couple and as a family.  Building a new life in a new country has strengthened us in ways that I don't think we would have experienced elsewhere.  Our kids have a very close relationship, maybe because, as third culture kids, there are few other kids their age that understand them as fully as their sibling does.

our little family in front of our home sweet Costa Rican home

9.  Changed perspective

My perspective has changed throughout our years living here.  I find myself being thankful more often for things that I used to take for granted.  Hearing the pelting rain on our metal roof six months of the year has led me to thank God for simply the roof over our heads more than I ever did before (even if there are several persistent leaks!).  The reality of frequent power outages and having water coming into our house from the street only certain hours of the day makes me so thankful when the light does turn on with the flip of a switch, or when water pours out of the faucet in more than a trickle.  Additionally, living in a more event-focused culture, rather than my native time-oriented culture, has taught me to slow down and invest more in what is truly important: relationships.

10.  New home

Something clicked after about two years living in Costa Rica, pretty soon after our daughter was born here.  This started to feel like home.  Now, four years later, this definitely feels like home... to the extent that I feel a little strange and out of place when we are visiting the States.  I don't quite "fit" there any more, but, at the same time, I don't completely "fit" here either.  I'm kind of a foreigner in either place!  This has led me to a greater understanding that my true home is in Christ, with the hope and promise of an eternal home with Him.

with the flag of our adopted earthly home

This year, we celebrated Thanksgiving a couple of days early because today needs to be a normal day.  Timmy has school and art class, Dan teaches class tonight, and I have Bible study to prepare for, so we'll be having a meal of black bean soup, corn bread, and roasted zucchini... and we'll be counting our blessings.