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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


Sunday, February 24, 2008

Lambs among wolves

"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therfore to send out wokers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road." Luke 10:3

I remember praying this scripture during the time the Lord grabbed hold of my heart and broke it for Costa Rica. I specifically remember praying these scriptures for my family as well as for other families that the Lord might send here. The Lord heard and answered those prayers in a very tangible way- we are here- in the field. The fields are still very ripe here and although the Lord has raised many nationals and Americans who are willing to serve him, it still seems the workers are few.

The part that strikes me and speaks to my heart tonight is the reference to those workers - our family- our teams- both national and gringo- being sent out like "lamnbs among the wolves."

We have shared before about the intensity of the attacks that are present in our lives here. They are real, unavoidable and intense.

While at this moment we are not in the midst of such an intense attack, we always have to be on guard. Prayer is a powerful weapon against these attacks, as well as the Word and the armor God has given to each of us.

John 10:10 says, "The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.. " The enmey lies in waiting, ready to pounce and not just to maim or even temporarily put you out of commission, but he is waiting to steal, kill and destroy your life- our lives.

We would like to ask you to pray this week for the specific attacks each member of our team here, both nationals and Americans, might be facing right now in this moment that you are reading this or that one may be facing in the days ahead.

Please pray by name for Pastor Marvin and his wife Zoila; Pastor Rogelio and his wife Neris and the children of both of these families; the many women who make up the adult team; the youth leadership team of Los Guido and the youth of Tejarcillos; Mark and Meg Kuzdas; Melinda Kuzdas; Alex Fine; Bill and Joanie Price and their girls and our family as well. The Lord has brought each of us here to this place at this exact time for a specific purpose- some of which might be personal or in some way different than the other- but all have one thing in common- we are here to bring glory and honor to the name of Jesus Christ.

Please pray against the footholds the enemy trys to achieve- sometimes in very subtle ways. Pray that we would all be remaining in Christ and be so aware of Him that the enemy has no ground to stand on. Pray that we would seek to bear fruit in all that we do- even for those of us in school. That we would not lose focus in the routine of our day-to-day lives that we would not seek ways to bear fruit- more furit that lasts.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Ethan

A little update on Ethan. He is doing quite well in school and truly enjoys learning. His favorite subject in school is math. He can add, subtract and multiply. He also has began to read chapter books.

One of his favorite things to do is to play Legos - they are one of the few things we brought with us of his toys. He also chose to bring his imaginext toys. Every day, Ethan spends a significant amount of time playing with Legos. Right now, the entire top bunk (it is extra) is covered with Legos and Imaginext Toys.

Here is a couple pictures of his latest creation- a castle that he designed and built himself.





I personally think he is brillant, but I suppose I am a little biased. The picture does not do the detail justice, but see for yourself :) If you look very close he even spelled the word "LEGOS" in the base.

He is such a sweet boy. God has given him a huge heart.

This next picture is of the girls and our cat, Cereal. We call her "Gatita" which means "small cat" in Spanish. The girls love to play with her and the cat appears to love it as well. One of their favorite things to do is carry her around and pretend she is a baby. The cat will actually let them put her in the doll stroller and push her around. It is the funniest thing :)



The girls have grown up so much. People often mistake them for twins. They are very similar in some respects, but so very different in other ways.

Hope you enjoy these pictures. I'll post more later :)

Friday, February 15, 2008

Sweet Love...part 2

Hello all, this is Mateo writing tonight. After reading what my wife wrote yesterday, I felt that I needed to tell the rest of the story about Audrey and the piece of chocolate. Well, as we (Brooke, Audrey, and myself) were walking home from school yesterday, Brooke was telling me the story about how Audrey "saved" the piece of chocolate for her. After Brooke finished telling me the story, she laughed a little and said, "Oh, by the way, you have a piece of candy too, dad." I said, "I do, from whom?" "Well, Brooke continued, you had a piece of chocolate also from Audrey." I replied, "I did, where is my piece of chocolate now, Audrey." Can anyone guess what she might have said? If you know my youngest daughter, you may know where this was going! She looked at me with that little mischevious smile and that twinkle in her squinted eyes and said,......" I ate yours daddy", and just continued to smile from ear to ear! What a precious moment that was.
Dear Lord, I am so blessed to have a beautiful wife and three beautiful (and often times mischevious) children. Thank you Lord for my family!!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Sweet love...

Today is Valentine's Day...all three kids had parties in their classes. I made treats for their classes and Ethan and Isabelle and I all made Valentines for their classmates. We all left for school this morning dressed in red. Although Valentine's Day is not celebrated here, our life in these moments is lived with mostly Americans during school, so at least for this year, we remember Valentine's Day.

So, getting to the point of this post...When I picked Audrey up from her class today she ran over to me with her little chubby hand clenched in a fist. With a smile on her face, she opened her hand to show me a pice of half-melted chocolate and said, "This is for you, Mommy! I've been saving it all day for you!" It was one of the sweetest moments I have ever experienced! The chocolate, which was once a star, was somewhat deformed and a portion of it was melted onto her chubby little hand. Nevermind that, she excitedly looked up at me and said, "Eat it, Mommy!" After asking her if I could wait a little bit, she said, "No, Mommy, eat it now! I've been waiting all day to give it to you!" So, I ate the wonderful gift she gave me, trying not to think about how long she had been holding it in her hand or if she had washed her hands before she unwrapped it and held onto it...

Such a sweet moment. To think that she was given this piece of chocolate and thought to save it for her mom really blows me away. What could I ever have done to deserve such love and devotion?

In chapel today at school, a missionary couple who are both students shared special songs and shared somne special moments form their lives as well as a part of their testimony. It was a special time to reflect on the love our Creator has for us, as well as the love we share in and through Christ with our spouse. Cliff, who is an ordained minster, stood before the students in chapel and gave the spouses the opportunity to renew their vows publicly. So, as a group, those couples in the chapel stood and shared their vows again with their spouse. And, yes, Matt and I spoke our vows to each other. It was a good reflection and time of remembrance of that moment 9 years and some months ago when we first said our vows. It was 10 years ago today that he first proposed to me...Then, when I came out of the bedroom after getting Audrey to sleep for her nap, I realized he had snuck away and bought flowers for me - a beautiful bouquet of lilies (Katrina- they are the exact color of orange that I love!!!)

All of this to bring me to this reflection...When Audrey handed me that candy today, she was so happy to give me the gift she had been preciously guarding for me for quite some time based on the appearance of the chocolate. She could have so easily kept it for herself and I never would have known or ever thought of eating it myself. But she was so happy to give it to me.

Isn't this just like what God has done for us? He has a Son who was pure,blameless, perfect that he could have easily allowed to live a perfect life with him forever. Yet, he chose to joyfully share his Son with the world that he created so that we would have a perfect example of the life we are called to live. Christ also could have chosen to keep to himself the gift he was given of a pure life. He could have lived out his life in any way he chose because he was in himself his father. Yet, he also chose to give sacrificially of himself. Just as Audrey came to me today, with her little hand holding a precious gift just for me, Jesus comes to each one of us, with a gift more precious than any other we will ever recieve- the gift of grace and salvation in him.

I stood before one hundred or so people a little over 9 years ago and made a committment to my husband to love him and stand by his side for richer or for poorer, through sickness and through health, for better or for worse, til death do us part. those are words I promised then and still hold true in my heart today. The couple that spoke today also read the poem entitled "Marriage Takes Three," which is one that we love. The point of it is that marriage is not just between a man and a woman, but must include the Lord has the cord that binds the two. This is so true and we know it from personal experience. Tonight Matt shared with our gringo team from 1 Corinthians 13 and our discussion brought up how love is a choice, one that is not easy at times and not within our nature. But, love is so freely offered to us from Jesus- with no strings attached. All we have to say is "Yes, Lord. Here I am. I here you and I want the gift you have for me."

Today, I encourage you to reflect on the love that Christ has for you- a love that is greater than even the love of a spouse or parent or any love found on this earth.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Audrey Ann

Audrey Ann is 3 1/2 years old. Letely we look at her and are simply amazed at how fast she has grown and how quickly her life is flashing by. She is so tall and her hair has gotten so long. She is so very smart and mischevieous. It usually only takes her once before she learns how to do something. All she has to do is see someone else do something and she thinks she can do it, too. She has little fear of anything and wants to learn to do most everything. She has a timid streak when it comes to new people or new places, but for the most part she is very independant.


One of my favorite times of the day is laying with her while she falls asleep. Since she was a baby, she has never wanted to be cuddle or rocked to sleep. She has always been a child who would just lay down on her own and go to sleep. However, shortly before we moved, she began wanting us to lay or sit with her until she fell asleep. Once we got here, we've cherished these times. Admittedly there ar times when even in these moements she pushes our buttons...asking to get a drink, then go to the bathroom for the 8th time...but for the most part is one of the sweetest moments of the day to have her ask me to rub her belly or her leg (there is always a part of her that needs "rubbed.") Then she sings her little sleepy song that she has sang since she was a baby or she sighs really long and loud and then she is out.

The other day, before she fell asleep, she leaned over and asked "I'm a good girl, Mommy?" And I said "Yes, Baby, you are a good girl." Then she said, "But Sissy's not...?" And I said "Sissy is a good girl, too. God gave Mommy and Daddy two good girls." Then she asked, "But Sissy get in trouble sometimes?" "Yes, Sissy gets in trouble sometimes, but so do you and so does Bubby. Even Mommy does stuff I shouldn't do sometimes. Everyone does." Then she said, "Yeah Mommy, you got your stuff, too."

At that moment I wanted to laugh and that cuteness of her comment but also thought of how true it is. Yes, we all have our "stuff" that we do that we shouldn't do. Audrey is so right.

Praise the Lord for his grace and mercy that he bestows on us that come to him, broken and dirty, wanting desperately to learn to walk again.

Within the last week, Matt and I have really searched out what the Lord wants from us right now in these moments. We realized how little time we were really putting into our family and how much time we were taking to focus on a slew of other things. So, we have spent the past week really taking the time to focus on each other and the kids. It has really been a great week. Yesterday, we all slept in a little and later in the morning all went to the feria together for the first time. Matt played with the kids at the park while I did most of the shopping. Then we spent the afternoon getting some much needed organizing and cleaning out of some things done and getting caught up on some other things. We spent the whole day together though and it was good.

Please join us in actively praying against the attacks of the enemy in areas like our marriage and our family. Please pray that we open our eyes to the "stuff" we hold on to that allows the enemy a foothold in our lives.

We are so thankful to all of you who keep in touch with us and read our blog and the ministry website- whopray for us daily, weekly or when the Holy Spirit prompts. Thank you for your investment in our lives.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

What is love?

Ran across this today and thought it worthy to share...
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did :)


What Love means to a 4-8 year old . . .

Touching words from the mouth of babes.
A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?"
The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined.
See what you think:

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.
So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."

Rebecca- age 8

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"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."

Billy - age 4

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."

Karl - age 5

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"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs."

Chrissy - age 6

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"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."

Terri - age 4

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"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."

Danny - age 7

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"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more.
My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss"

Emily - age 8

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"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."

Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

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"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,"

Nikka - age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

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"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday."

Noelle - age 7

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"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well."

Tommy - age 6

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"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.

He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore."

Cindy - age 8

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"My mommy loves me more than anybody
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night."

Clare - age 6

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"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken."

Elaine-age 5

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"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford."

Chris - age 7

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"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."

Mary Ann - age 4

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"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."

Lauren - age 4

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"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." (what an image)

Karen - age 7

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"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross."

Mark - age 6

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"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."

Jessica - age 8

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And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.

The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,

"Nothing, I just helped him cry"

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Monday, February 4, 2008

Where have all the commercials gone?

Just had to inform you of the pitfalls of watching a major sporting event in a foreign country- we watched the Superbowl tonight: WOHOO GIANTS!!! and back to back Manning brothers victories!!!!! But here is the crazy thing- the commercials. ALL CR COMMERCIALS! None of the ones we love to laugh at or complain about ...So, guess we'll have to check the internet to get our laughs...Hey- we did get to see Tom Petty perform- what was that about? Anyway, we are thankful we got to watch it! What a great ending! Maybe next year, Tom?!?!?

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Volcan Poas

Yesterday Matt and the kids and I took off for an adventure and a much needed family day! It was so great and we all had so much fun!

It had been a rough week and we had decided it was time for a family day, so we headed out in the morning for Poas Volcano. This was such an exciting trip for me to be able to take my family on because I had been able to visit Poas when I came to Costa Rica on my first mission trip here in June 2006. So, we were able to take many pictures in places I had been during the time that the Lord first called me here.

So, for those of you that were with me on that trip, you might remember some of these spots :)





These plants are so huge. I call them umbrella plants because they look like upside down umbrellas. They line the path that leads up to the top pf the volcano. The natives actually call them "poor man's umbrella's."


This a family shot at the top of the crater. It is the most massive thing I have ever seen (I've never seen the Grand Canyon...) and such a reminder of the massive power of our God. The main crater is about 300 meters deep and has a diameter of 1320 meters. The crater has a lagoon filled with rainwater rich in sulur and gases and is permantly active.


This is Matt and the kids at the second crater called Botus Lagoon. It is about 800 meters above the main crater and is filled with cold rainwater. It has a diameter of about 400 meters and is about 14 meters deep. This was a new area for me. We found the trail as we were walking down from the main crater and decided to try it. It was well worth the walk. It was beautiful!


The kids and I :)


Along the path we met this little friend. Many of you know how much we loved the squirrels at our old homw in Frankfort. What a great surprise to see this little guy. We hadn't seen any squirrels here yet- so this was great. He came right out from the trees and jumped up on my knee. Then he ran out and jumped on Matt's arm. The picture isn't that great, but if you look close you can see him on Matt's arm.


Then he walked around onto Matt's back. You can see the backpack and he is right next to Matt's neck. It was great! The girls loved it. On the way down, we saw him again and fed him some nuts we had in the backpack.


This was taken just before we reached the entrance to the volcano. This is the exact spot that the mission team and I pulled over at to take pictures and admire the view two years ago. I was so excited that we found the same spot! It was fabulous seeing the countryside of Costa Rica. We saw it on the way and stopped on the way back so everyone could see the view.

Now, just for fun...I found these pictures from my trip here in 2006.


Here's our friends Jim and Rose with these huge umbrella plants :)
[PS: We miss you guys :)]


Here's some of "our" kids from youth group at the crater of Poas.
[We miss you guys, too:) ]


Here is the same spot where you can see the amazing view of Aleluia and even farther in the distance is San Jose.

I was reminded yesterday, as we stood at the top of the main crater, and then again as we stood at the view point, justs how big our God is and just how big this world is he has given us to live in. As hard as it is to be away from all of you we love so much, as difficult it is to be in school again and try to learn the Spanish language, even the difficulty that comes with ministering in the areas we serve in, our God is still bigger than anything we will come up against. And yesterday was a refreshing reminder of the power that our God has. And that we, too have though him. It is such a privelege to be here serving him. He called us and there is a cost that comes with following him where he calls us. But really, there is no cost greater than the cost of not following Jesus Christ. We continue to praise the Lord for the great things he has done for us. We continue to seek for God to be glorified in all we do and say.

Friday, February 1, 2008

pictures

Finally the pictures I promised from Dominical! Enjoy!

We really hope to get back to a beach somehwere soon- it was a much needed day of relaxation! And so beautiful!


Mommy BelleBelle and Audrey


The Price's, The Diaz family and the McClain's



La Familia McClain


Audrey loving the waves


PLaying in the sand with Daddy


Neris and Daniel


Our little beach cabana. Someone had constructed this at some point and we inhabited it for the day :)


Where is Ethan?


Daniel Isabelle and Audrey playing in the sand :)


Beautiful sunset