After
13 months of
living out of suitcases, visiting 6 countries on 4 continents, sitting with refugees and sipping tea in Lebanon, sweating through summer in Cairo, 3 months
climbing the hills of Amman, and then experiencing winter in the great
Northwest of the USA, we finally arrived again in our beloved Costa Rica!
We
spent the last few weeks of our time in the US doing a road trip. Through some
fellow missionaries in Costa Rica we made a connection with a couple who works
for Disney who gifted us 2 free days at Disneyland which was a dream come true
for the whole family. It was spring break for a couple of states so the lines
were a bit long but that didn't bother us a bit. From LA we headed east and
visited some of Karen's family in Arizona and then on to Texas to visit my
family. We boarded the last flight of our long journey last Saturday and
arrived safely here in Costa Rica.
After living out of bags for so long we are definitely ready to
settle down some place more permanent. As some of you might remember, several
years ago we were able to purchase a small home on the south side of San José
but unfortunately the mission center is on the east side of town and travel
between the two areas is quite difficult. As we enter into this new season of
ministry we have felt that it is very important for us to have a home that is
easily accessible for people from the center so that we can use our home for
discipleship and ministry. The afternoon after we got back into the country we
headed out to see what was available in our area and we have already seen five
houses and found one we are hoping might be the house that God has for us.
We ask for your prayers in this process, first that we would
be able to sell our other house quickly, second, that we can get approved for a
loan for the balance. And third, this will mean an increase in our monthly expenses
so please pray for God's provision as well.
Ministry wise, the focus of this next season will be on
gathering a team of like-minded people who are committed to seeing a mission
movement begin here in Costa Rica as Costa Ricans are sent out to reach those
who have never heard the Gospel around the globe. We recognized while were in
the Middle East that the vision that we have is much larger than we can hope to
accomplish on our own and that together with a team we could accomplish so much
more. We have 2 couples and a single fellow that have been on our minds for a
long time. Please pray that God will give us clarity and wisdom in this process
of team building.
We are excited for the new things that God will bring in
this next season of our lives here in Central America and we will make sure to
keep you all up to date as things move forward. Thank you all again for your
prayers and support.
