8 weeks and counting!!

Oh my word!!! It is absolutely crazy to think that we only have 8 weeks left of language school and we will be heading to Mexico City.  It is amazing to think a year ago we were praying about having a suitable place for our family here in Costa Rica and now we are praying for a place to call home in Mexico City.  You know from our first day of Spanish we heard over and over that we are here to learn so much more than spanish and I couldn't agree more, I don't even think I can express all the ways we are grown and been STRETCHED beyond ourselves.  But God is sooo good to us and we have never been so convinced that he holds us in the palm of his hand, he is our protection and our peace in every circumstance!  We are learning from the depths of our souls that he is more than enough, only his love will satisfy us and fulfilling his purpose for our life will satisfy us.  The blessings that come from walking in obedience are incredible!  We have the privilege to learn the beautiful spanish language and understanding a culture we never would have been exposed to.  Carmela turns 6 thursday!!! Yippee we will be sure to post pictures from her party.  Have a great night.

love Sandra

The Story of the Comodor

I just have to share with you the story of the Comodor.  4 years ago a woman named Cecila opened up a "pulperia" a little corner store in her house as a means of income for her family.  What Cecila didn't know was that God was birthing something much bigger than she could even imagine. Very quickly Cecila was struck with the desperate situation that most of the children in her neighbor hood were living in.  Some would ask for a cup of rice and others would ask for beans or flour.  She knew that these kids were really hungry.  So she prayed and knew that just giving them what they were asking for was not the answer.  

Through the help of another man who was working with drug addicted men.  The Comodor was birthed.  She now 6 days a week provides a meal to over 50 children in her neighbourhood.  The story is even more amazing.  Cecilia is not paid for what she does she does it because she believes God holds these children very close to his heart and it is his will that they are fed.  She has many volunteers that come and go as different missionaries pass through Costa Rica and are able to help her.  From week to week Cecilia never knows if she will have enough money to feed the kids.  But each week she will receive a bag of rice and beans from past missionaries or someone will donate a chicken or eggs.  Whatever she has that is what the children will eat that day.  We are so excited about the privilege to work with Cecilia each Saturday as a family!  Nathan and I are tag teaming the littlest kids when it come to the teaching time.  This is a challenge as on empty tummy's listening and concentrating is not easy for them.  Discipline is another challenge, as many of the kids are from very unstable homes.

Will you pray with us.  for volunteers that are possibly living in CR that would commit to serving these kids, that they would not have to bear the pain of faces coming and going but know a sense of stability in their lives.

Would you pray that Cecilia would financially see blessing as she provides for these family's.

Would you pray for a plot where they can build the Comodor as the landlord is continually raising the rent and not wanting them to meet there anymore.

The reality of Cecilia not being able to run el Comodor is unbelievable sad! God has told her it is his will to feed and love these kids pray that he would provide a way!!

FIRST THREE DAYS OF SCHOOL!!!!!!!

Well, we have finished the first week of our last trimester here at the Spanish Language Institute.  Though Sandra and I are excited to get back into routine and excited to keep learning Spanish, yesterday sure did feel like my head was on the moon.  Each day of course brings a fresh perspective and so after we get the fog out of our brains and get used to learning more rules we will probably come back to earth and feel at home. 

God has been so faithful to us these past 8 months and has given us the ability to speak and understand more and more Spanish everyday.  With every opportunity we have to be the love and light and hope of Jesus to the beautiful people of Costa Rica we thank Jesus, in whom we move and have our being.  Thank you for praying for us in this language learning process and please remember to pray for our language acquisition throughout the rest of this trimester.  Nathan 

The adventure of Jesus

Culturally Different

Just thought we would pass on a few of the "cultural differences" that we experience here in beautiful Costa Rica....

1. No yawning in public. Especially in class. It shows you are bored and not interested in what they have to say. So we see teachers with contorted faces trying to hold in their yawn. It is so funny.

2. Do not ever blow your nose in public. You sniff and sniff and sniff an sniff some more but NEVER blow it....you go to the bathroom for that.

3. We found a sign in the pool area that read "Please avoid all intimate contact in the pool"...a sign you don't see too often in Canada.

4. Typically, when Northamericans don't have an opinion on something we say "I don't have anything to say about that." But here, if you say that they accuse you of lying and think that you are rude for not sharing what you think. They think that you are dumber than dumber for saying something like that!!

5. Costa Rican's celebrate their 16 brithday like it's their last birthday. It is a huge celebration that often takes place at a church and and a hall. It is sometimes bigger than a wedding. They have tons of food and many people attend and celebrate together the journey into adulthood.

There is a picture of a shirt with a line through it insinuating "no shirts allowed" right?? Well, it actually means that you are not allowed to hang your laundry outside.

Some recent and not so recent pics!

A fresh cup of perspective

Its amazing to me that I can lose perspective so quickly. Here I am someone who was happy to finally graduate high school and even that was a bit of joke (if you knew me you understand). Then I went to College and some how managed to get A`s ok but I have to mention that one teacher who kindly suggested that I take an english course. All that to say I am here learning Spanish and somehow I have turned into a perfectionist! I had no idea I was even capable of this! This thursday I had my final exam in my conversation class. For some reason after walking into the room and seeing my teacher`s tape recorder and her pad and paper ready to catch my every error I FREAKED out and was nervous. At the end of the exam I told the teacher that I thought that was the worst spanish I had ever spoken this semester and she agreed!!!! ( I later found our I got %86)

Here is the perspective,

twice a week we have chapel in between classes and I went there feeling sorry for myself and how I had ended my semester on such a negative note. When the worship started I genuinely tried to open my heart and worhsip this great God that is so much bigger than me. But you know how hard that is when our eyes are focused on ourselves.

The first taste of perspective came as I looked infront of me and saw Danielle our speaker a fellow student who has a disability that has her walking with canes. She was sitting on the floor (she can`t stand) with her arms reaching to heaven and praising God. (what a beautiful picture, God`s beauty shines when we walk in our weakness so that his power is obvious to those around us).

Perspective number two,

We had a special time of prayer for another fellow student Debra who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer this week and is on her way home to the states to start therapy. Debra prayed first, she did not pray for her own healing but she prayed for her heart. That she would keep her eyes on him who has called her and that she would remain faithful through his strength. (let me tell you the spirit of the living God could be physicaly felt in that room his peace was unmistakeable)

Me.....I am once again reminded we are all broken scattered pots of clay not one of us is whole and we never will be until we have entered into the presence of Jesus. But we all have purpose in each of our lives and though we have pain and brokeness, we are tools in the hands of a God so much greater than us. Its not people who have it all together that God uses but people just like Daniele and Debra and me who in different forms daily need to be refreshed & strengthened by keeping our perspective on God. We do not see the end from the beginning, we were not there when the earth was created..when he gave the limits to the ocean and flung the stars in place.

As you can imagine I was a crying mess almost seeing into the future and feeling a complete peace over my spanish, over our ministry and over my entire life. What a privilage to be on this journey, weakeness and all.

Love Sandra

the picture is of Izzy hitting a pinata at her birthday party last night!!! of course, we are in Latin America :)