Logan's Visit

One of my very good friends, Logan, came to visit me in Costa Rica for three months!! This is what she wrote about one of the days here!!


Today became one of my favorite days in Costa Rica.
It wasn't because of a beautiful sunset, beach, zipline, or even a great game of soccer. It was because of God's hand in the day, the quality people people we spent time with, and the clear passion God's placed in peoples hearts. These are all a bit vague, so let me explain what today looked like and reasons why it was awesome.

What today looked like:
We went to a church in San Jose today. One special thing about this church is that it's completely in Sign (Lesco- Costa Rican Sign Language). So, it attracts mostly deaf members. Cornelio, Cailene, and I heard about it through our friends Isaac and Heidi, because THEY have friends that also know sign and go to this church.

There is one boy who is deaf that attends la Iglesia Vida Nueva. We really wanted to share this experience with him. From what I've heard and seen, there is not a lot of deaf exposure...if any at all. So, a church full of signers was a completely new experience.

The church building was small. There were people sitting outside and peeking through windows, yet we were ushered to a few open seats in the front. The leaders commented on all the new faces and asked us to introduce ourselves. I had the honor of introducing my friends in Sign.

The sermon was fantastic! It was also the only one I've been able to understand for the past 3 months! One of our new friends interpreted the sermon so we could all understand it.

We all enjoyed lunch together and shared stories about our passions, visions, and how we got to this point. This is a personal opinion...but the unity and fellowship that people who follow Jesus share is beautiful. It is amazing. Spending the day talking with these people and hearing their passion has left me excited to pursue my own God given goals. That is a prime example of the importance of fellowship, to encourage one another in our walks with God.

After lunch we drove back home. Immediately after closing the car door, Luis started practicing and reciting "the 5 things to remember in prayer."
1.) Tell God how wonderful He is. Adore God. Worship Him first.
2.) Confess your sins. Specifically..not vaguely.
3.) Thank God (for both the blessings and the challenges).
4.) Intercession, pray for other people
5.) Pray for yourself.

Not only did he understand the lesson, but he remembered it. Granted, the pastor repeated it multiple times by chosing volunteers (Including myself!) to come to the front and recite the 5 parts of prayer. After all the repitition, who could forget it?!

Once we arrived at Luis's house, he shared the lesson with his parents. We all chatted over coffee and delicious bread. While backing out of the drive way and waving goodbye, Luis pointed and signed, "You're cool! You're cool! Bye!!" It was in Lesco..but from the context of the sign in past conversations...I'm pretty sure that's what it meant.

I was soaking in the fact that we just conversed in 3 languages in one day.

Happy Fathers Day!!

Thank you Fathers for being more than "a man with a child". Being a Father is a very intentional act, and we want to thank you for it!

The church hosted a breakfast for the fathers of the church in the morning. During the service we honored them through prayer and a song dedicated for them. It was beautiful to see the Fathers surrounded by the wives and children. 

There was one story that very unique that day. There is one woman in the church that has faithfully attended Vida Nueva for the full 3 years it's been established. She was there when we were sitting on paint buckets under a tree. But, this Sunday was the first time her husband joined the family for the service. The service seemed to really touch this man's heart. Having all three children hug him, and having the wife pray for him with the whole church in agreement was a very special moment. After the service, while talking with this woman, she mentioned being very encouraged. Hopefully her husband will continue to attend church with the family. 

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mothers Day to all our friends and family
        who have adopted us as their 
               "missionary Kids"
      We send our love from our hearts to your home.

Surprise! It's May!

 Here´s a fun fact: In the states there are June bugs, in Costa Rica there are May bugs. This is one of the few times where the American bug is bigger than the Costa Rican bug.

There have been some fantastic surprises the past few weeks. One week, the church bought a new guitar and bass for the worship team! This was a great addition to add a balanced sound to the music. Often times the vocals would be drowned out by the drums and piano. We have amazing singers, so we want a sound system that will show them off! That´s why, the next week, we were excited to find new speakers! To have a new functional system is amazing. However, the best part is feeling the church´s support behind us as a worship team.

A clear sound for worship is nice, however it´s only a small aspect. Worship is a matter of the heart and a lifestyle as well. Last Sunday, the church had a guest speaker who hosted a worship workshop. He gave a refreshing perspective about leading the congregation. It was wonderful to see people from the church attend, not just the worship team.

There seems to be a new addition to our routine. After walking the dog to the field, we have ended in a soccer game with a group of kids. A great surprise was seeing one of the boys the next week as a new student in Selah school! Eros (Our dog) has become quite a celebrity among the children. They literally run from all corners of the school yelling his name in glee as we come walking by the school. 

After observing how well behaved Eros (our dog) is, the neighbors asked for help in training their new puppy. The fun challenge is that their new puppy is a 5 month old, waist high, goofy Great Dane. We spent a lot of time teaching this dopey dog how to sit and to follow his owner. A big part of training the dog, is training the owner. Cailene taught Juan different tricks and exercises that he can practice at home. Juan did a great job positively reinforcing his dog. Training the dog also gives a chance to learn some English vocabulary. The English words are shorter and easier to command. For example, instead of ¨Sientense!¨ we use, ¨Sit!¨ What a difference! 

Throughout life, there´s always surprises. I feel that this month has been a good example of that. Spontaneous soccer games start, plans are canceled, new students sign up, and car brakes go out, anything can happen in a day. However, there are constants as well. There is a beautiful sunset every night, refreshing people to enjoy conversation with, and a God that will provide for every need. Praise God for surprises! Praise God for constants! May is a good month.

                                                  

Happy Birthday Selah!

Isn´t it funny how, in Costa Rica, the English ¨Happy Birthday¨ song is just as well known as the Spanish ¨Feliz Cumpleaños¨ version? So, we decided to start our Radio advertisement with the English song, ¨Happy Birthday dear Seeeeeeeeeelaaahh, Happy Birthday to yooooou! Selah School is having their 3^rd Birthday! Come learn your and your child´s learning style, enjoy cake and refreshments! All for Free! ¨ It was a successful advertisement, we could hear the song play from the porch.

                We planned for this event for weeks! We made goodie bags, stuffed them with candy and a sample of homemade bread, ordered a cake, bought refreshments, reserved the room, and practiced speeches and interpretations! Wow! You can imagine how nervous we were for the actual celebration to come.

                The day finally came for us to put our plans into action. We started setting up chairs, the sound system, projector, and picked up the cake.  People started trickling in, one family at a time. The chairs filled slowly, then at 3:15 it was time to start the presentation.

                The speech was filled with games, visuals, and a test to uncover your learning style. The test was the hidden agenda for this celebration. Yes, we were excited to celebrate a successful 3 years of education. But the hope was to give parents tools to better understand their children (and themselves!) Bonnie was the speaker, and she explained 3 different learning styles: Visual, Kinesthetic, and Auditory. Then she explained what the learning styles would look like at home. The speech was very applicable to everyday life.

Naturally, Selah was advertised as well. The speech encouraged the listeners to learn English because of the growing tourism in Costa Rica, and the opportunity to have higher paying jobs. Bonnie mentioned how Selah uses all 3 learning styles and gives a well rounded education.

After the speech, cake was served, refreshments were given, and some of Selah´s registration forms went out the door. The evening was considered successful.