Keep walking

Well today has been a great day of relaxing first with friends and then just hanging out with our girls.  I think its safe to say by all the hyperness and giggles that their love tanks are full :) Well I am totally humbled to say this but I have actually felt like giving up this week.  That doesn't exactly sound brave and courageous does it?  But that is the problem with being honest it takes us out of our comfort zones and keeps us real right?  This morning I let out a desperate cry to the Lord, concerning learning Spanish of course.  I have been so overwhelmed this week, feeling like I just do not have enough time to be where I would like to be at and I am feeling like the task is just too hard.  When I prayed this morning I simply said Lord I feel like I am drowning and I just can not do this, I need you to be my saviour and I need you to help me.  As I prayed that I clearly saw a huge body of water and it was overpowering me and I did not know how long I could hang on for.  That was earlier this morning.  Well I just came from saying good night to the girls and one of our little traditions is to sing each girl their baby song before they go to bed, (do not be deceived I can not sing, but my girls don't care) Carmela's song is by Robin Mark, What the Lord has done in me.  As I sang the words "I will rise from waters deep into the saving arms of God, I will sing salvation's song, Jesus Christ will lead me on"  totally forgetting about my prayer and picture from earlier, and I saw a different body of water but this time I was wading through it, and I wasn't over powering, and I very much knew that I was not there walking alone but God was enabling me.   I am feeling encouraged :)  it probably wont change how difficult I will find school tomorrow or how exhausted I will feel at the end of the day but I am encouraged that I do not need to drown trying to do this in my own strength.  I am so glad I picked out that song for Carmela 5 and a half years ago!

love Sandra

a fresh reminder

Our cultural theme this week at school was to talk to people and find out what their customs and traditions are in Costa Rica.  I was very saddened to hear about a lot of the religious traditions that are celebrated year round in CR.  One is a trek  that Costa Rican's make from all over the country to a certian Bascillica in Cartago,  some of them start this trek one week in advance because then come walking from very far away and then once they enter Cartago they walk on their knees to the Bascillica  (of the angels) in order to show how repentent they are and to beg for a favour for the angels.  This is repeated through out the year as every neighbourhood has a different patron saint and when it is their week they all do this similar celebration and beg that paticular saint for whatever it is they are needing, mercy, strength or healing.  I was really disturbed about this as my friend Lorena told me passionately about how her family participates in this.  I went to bed feeling discouraged thinking if only they were not blinded and realized they are children of the LIVING God they do not need to beg and show their earnestness for compassion, not to mention they are not even coming to him, they are going to angels and saints.  How much harder is their life that they do not have freedom to just share their heart like a child to their father who is always listening and always with them.  Instead they are trying to earn something that they can never earn.  They have a heavy weight over them that keeps them from seeking God because they are deceived into thinking their help comes from traditions that only serve dead people not a living God.

When I woke up the next morning I prayed and asked, how in the world do we speak into this I am not even sure how to talk about this with my friend.  AND THEN...

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 was brought to my mind.

"for though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does, the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of this world.  On the contrary they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  

No task is hopeless when it is done with divine power, only God has the power to demolish strongholds, which is what these people are living in, But by God's grace he can reveal himself to them he can break down their idols, he can open their eyes to the truth.

That is the power that we are walking in, not our own authority, how can he not pour out his power and touch lives.

I needed a good reminder!

by the way the picture is of my and my nephew Sam! He mailed himself to me!!! I love that boy.

Sandra

Trecking on!

What a blessing it is to be a part of the body of Christ.  There are so many ways we have been blessed this week and its only tuesday.   We have received two emails from ladies at Sylvan Lake Alliance who just wanted to encourage us.  Then we received a package from Rocky Mnt Alliance, who took the time to send us valentines goodies and a letter to the girls.  This week my mother in law will be speaking at a Missions night and sharing on behalf of my mom and Grandma as well.   I just read her speech, and I am amazed at how big our God is!  We haven't even the slightest clue how He is using our lives, not just us but your lives too.  We have no idea how He uses our obedience to work in the lives of our fellow brothers and sisters.  Isn't it an amazing privilege just to be apart of the journey? What an encouragement to see the body functioning as a body with all its parts moving.  Some in Costa Rica others in Sylvan Lake Alberta and another in Rocky Mnt House Alberta and still others in Calgary and Abbotsford British Columbia.  To explain what this support feels like I would say it is being LOVED.  Today Julia turns two and we will probably make some birthday pudding (don't laugh its easier than cake) and she loves it.  Nathan spoke in a special teachers chapel today and he spoke in ESPANOL.  It is truely amazing to think after just 6 months Nathan was able to inspire and exhort us from scripture passionately and with conviction.  I even heard a few AMENS!   He spoke on unity in the body of Christ and how we function like a beautiful song with many different parts, sopranos, tenors, base and melody.  No part can be replaced or think that it is more important than any other.  That is how we glorify our Father by living in humility and in harmony through the unity of the Holy Spirit. 

 Now that we are almost half way done our second trimester it feels physically and mentally tiring but we never forget the privilege that it is to be here.  What an amazing privilege to be Christ's and your representatives in Costa Rica.  

Feliz Cumpleanos Julia!

love Sandra

In the midst of the Battle...

Well, in case you were all wondering, yes we still are here studying in Costa Rica!!!  It has been a long 4 weeks for us.  After a lovely Christmas time with our family we went to Florida for 5 days to renew our visas.  Well, after one day there Sandra contracted e-coli (we found this out when we got home in CR).  It was a real rough battle for 2 long weeks as Sandra laid in bed with violent stomach cramps and was close to dehydration.  After Sandra felt better, ALL of our kids and I (Nathan) got sick with either the flu or bad colds.  While Sandra was sick the Lord had impressed upon her heart the story of Job and at a different time He had given me the same story.  We had not discussed it with each other for a few days at which time we realized God had spoken the same story to us both.  We are reminded that the struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities and the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  We are in the middle of this battle and we can sure feel it!!!  Some days we feel like we are losing but then God reminds us of Job and his response of accepting the good, the bad the ugly the easy and the difficult giving God the praise and glory through it all.  Please remain steadfast in your prayers as we fight the battle of our lives.

More Than Enough!

Good Morning!

What an amazing God we serve, I can hardly believe that less than 10 months ago we were preparing for our scouting trip to Mexico City to see if we were being called there.  Now we are in Costa Rica already into our second of three trimesters of learning Spanish!  In less then a year we have been to 4 countries, counting today! We are on our way out of the Country so that we can renew our visas.  This morning I was listening to a song called ENOUGH by Chris Tomlin and I was brought back to tears remembering three years ago, our move to Calgary.  We moved from Abbotsford to finish school in Calgary so that we could one day live our dream of being International Workers for the Christian and Missionary Alliance.   I remember moving into a small (dark and gross) basement and knowing it was exactly where were we called to be.  I remember singing the song by Chris Tomlin and dancing around our empty place with my girls and my twin sister (who also lived in Calgary) and believing in my heart that God is so good and that when you follow him with your whole heart you will always be so overcome with his faithfulness and his provision for you, that you can not help but sing and dance  and shout out your blessings.  So this morning I am listening to the same song and thinking wow! Three years ago in Calgary as I pondered the road we had just embarked on I had no clue of what was lying ahead of us, that we would be moving to Costa Rica and learning Spanish and preparing for ministry in Mexico City.  I had no idea that I would know more peace, more of God's faithfulness and more of God's protection that I could have never dreamed of or imagined!  All totally out of my comfort zone.  I remember our first days here in CR and remember feeling completely overwhelmed by culture shock crying almost every day as I processed what we were doing.  I believed in my heart that if I sowed seeds in tears I would one day reap a harvest in joy.  Today I am so full of joy! He is soooo good.  He is so much MORE THAN ENOUGH.

love Sandra

The 12 Days of Christmas (our Costa Rican version)

The 12 Days of Christmas  (our Costa Rican version)

On the first day of Christmas

My true love sent to me

A cockroach in a pear tree

On the second day of Christmas

My true love sent to me

Two geckos chirping

And a cockroach in a pear tree

On the third day of Christmas

My true love sent to me

Three guards a whistling

Two geckos chirping

And a cockroach in a pear tree

On the fourth day of Christmas

My true love sent to me

Four hungry monkeys, etc.

And a cockroach in a pear tree

On the fifth day of Christmas

My true love sent to me

Five grammar classes!

Four hungry monkeys, etc.

And a cockroach in a pear tree

On the [sixth - twelfth] day of Christmas

My true love sent to me

Six ants a working

Seven snakes a swimming

Eight days of gayo pinto (rice & beans)

Nine Tico’s laughing (at our spanish)

10 red poisonious frogs a-leaping

11 peddlers calling

12 drummers drumming

Five grammar classes!

Four hungry monkeys, etc.

And a cockroach in a pear tree

What does it mean to be REJECTED!!!!!!!!

Well....that is the word of the day for the Kliewer's:  Rejected, yup you got it!!  So I went up to the office (Nathan) at the school to talk with the person who handles the immigration stuff and she said, "Tengo algunas noticias malas para usted, Natan," or "I have some bad news for you Nathan....you have been rejected, you are now considered illegal tourists.  Life is never ordinary with the Kliewer's you should know that.  So as it stands, the immigration office had 20 families that they were to approve for extensions and at the last minute they decided they were not going to accept three and for no legal reason; (at least from my standpoint)....... and yes, we were one of those three.  So what this simply means is that we to have to leave Costa Rica at some point.  And in order to reapply for student visas we have to have legal status and to get "legal" again we have to leave the country for at least 72 hours.   Now that we are illegal we were told that it doesn't really matter when we leave, so it looks like we may go to Panama sometime in January.  Anyway, please pray that down the road after we apply for another student visa that we wont be rejected and we can stay in Costa Rica instead of having keep leaving....quite the pain!