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1 Corinthians 3:4-9

"For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men?

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building."

1 Corinthians 3:4-9


Tuesday, December 11, 2007

"I will be with you wherever you go."

And the Lord said to Joshua, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

This is such a very familiar passage of scripture and one so very dear to my heart. I have found comfort in these holy words many times in my life and at many different points where the path of life seemed to be heading in a new direction.

Once again, I find strength in these ancient, holy words. Words that ring ever true- unchanging, but forever changing me.

For several weeks, Matt and I have been pondering what our place is in the ministry here in Costa Rica. We have strong desires to be more involved, but managing school and three young children is very limiting, so up until this point we have had only a very minimal part in the ministry side of things. However, I must say that God uses even the limited time we have with these people who are so very dear to us to continue to build the bonds we have with some and form new bonds as well.

So, as a family we pray for the two ministry areas and the ways we can share Jesus in these cities. But also, Matt and I have been praying about which area God has planned for us to minister in. We see the ways in which both the national team and the gringo team are stretched and pulled trying to manage two areas of ministry and two people groups. recently, Pastor Rogelio approached both Marvin and Mark with the news that he feels called to Tejarcillos and would like to begin full time service in this area in January. At the same time, Pastor Marvin and Mark were feeling the Lord leading them to serve in Los Guido-Our God is so all-knowing and amazing to work in the hearts of these men at the exact same time with the same purpose.

When we learned of this news, Matt and I really began searching for what this meant for our family. In the way that only God can do, he also brought both Matt and I to an agreement- the Lord is calling our family to service in Tejarcillos. Matt came to me one night and said "I don't think we are supposed to leave Tejarcillos." I started crying (imagine that!!!) and said "I don't think so either!" So, we agreed to pray about this a few more days and then talk with Mark. Once we sat down with Mark to tell him what we were feeling and what we had decided- with tears in his eyes he told us he has been praying for Rogelio and pleading with the Lord to send someone with a heart for Tejarcillos- the people and the vision and for Rogelio and his family as well. Little did he know that we were that family! The Lord knew though! Mark had some very important things for us to pray about and also some much needed encouragement. We agreed to talk with Marvin and Rogelio very soon.

A few days passed and we made arrangements to talk with the two pastors. What a blessed time we spent with them! Marvin shared with us with great emotion the news we shared with him was an answer to his prayers as well as he too had prayed for Rogelio and his family and asked the Lord to provide people who can be an encouragement and support for the Diaz family- and now we tell him we fel the Lord leading us in this way. Rogelio as well, shared his request of the Lord providing families to serve in Tejarcillos. What an encouraging and exciting time we shared that day with these two men of God!

There are so many ways God has affirmed this decision- there really is no way we can deny that this is from the Lord!

So, what does this mean? Well, first and foremost it means we need you to pray specifically for Tejarcillos - every day if you fell so lead. Please pray for Rogelio and Neris (sounds like "Netty") and their four children: Roger (sounds like "Ro-hair"), Lesvia (sounds like "Les-bia"), Elvis (Ethan's best friend) and Daniel. Pray for the youth leadership team- for these kids the church is the only place in their lives that is safe, secure and where they are loved. For these youth- knowing Jesus Christ is the only reason they live. Some have lives where there is not one safe, happy, speck of light except Jesus Christ and the family they have in the local body of believers. I ask you to fall on your knees for these children- please kneel before the throne of our Lord and ask the Lord to bless the lives of these young people. Pray for their families to come into to the light of Christ. Pray for the Holy Spirit to be present in this dark, dark place that is bound in the chains of evil. Pray that God would bind the enemy and that his light would shine throught these youth. Pray that this very spiritually and physically young church would become strong and be used as a fortress of refuge for those in very real danger and that this very new pastor would be used by the Lord to bring the fragrance of life to the thousands who live in eternal condemnation- separated from eteranl life with Christ Jesus.

Pray for our family as we seek wisdom and guidance from the Lord. Pray that he would open our eyes to the needs that exist that he can fill by using us and our lives. Pray that those that we minister to would look at us and see Christ, not Matt and Brooke. Pray for the ways God will work through our children. I cannot even begin to describe to you the joy that fills my heart when I see my young son playing in the midst of several other Tico boys and think nothing of it. The joy I feel when I see our girls break through to the other children and adults- the smiles that come to their faces when they see the girls get out of the van.

It is very true that the poverty we see in this area is beyond anything I could ever imagine. It is very true that the level of violence in this area is at a level which we have never seen. It is true that prostituition is the profession of most in this city and that drugs are everywhere- everywhere.

But more than all those things, is the TRUTH of scripture that rings louder than any sound that comes from the darkness that exists in the city of Tejarcillos.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9
God has lead us to this decision and he has not sent us alone- he is right here with us and will stay with us wherever we go. It is with that knowledge and promise that we are excited to share this with you!

The need for prayer is very real. But the TRUTH of scripture is that our story from start to finish has already been written by the greatest Author ever. He knows all the twists and turns- and he is right here with us holding on as we take the turns with our hands up!

I wanted to include a picture of the youth leadership team so you have names and faces as you pray.


From left to right their names are: (back row) Ariel, Pastor Rogelio, Neris, Ana, Rebecca, Esmelda, Vitza and Lesvia (front row) Jessica, Ellie, Jessica, Wendy, Francela and Rebecca.

The next picture is Pastor Rogelio and his family.



Thank you in advance for your prayers.

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