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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, July 26, 2009

Bon Voyage...

Well, one more week has passed since my last post...sorry again...the days have flown by...Audrey has turned 5! WOW! If you can believe that! I missed being able to post something about her birthday...I will soon, but it was a great day!

The EWO team has been here for the past 10 days and it has been quite a whirlwind for us- but they have been great and God has used them for sure!

We've been busy back and forth to the local hospital with different tests and things trying to narrow down Izzy's cause of asthma, Audrey's stomach issues, and some things I've been dealing with...So far, everything has come back normal and clear of anything major and that is good! So we continue on trying to find the source of these ailments.

Tomorrow, Monday, we will be leaving bright and early for the states!! :)

WOHOO!!!

We'll be taking a month long rest and relaxation visit and are very much looking forward to it! We'll be staying with friends and just cannot wait to see our families and friends!

Once we get settled, I'll post more and get some pictures up here. My computer went out last week and so I have been offline for most of the week. We figured out it is a faulty keyboard and have ordered the replacement...hopefully I'll get it going by Wednesday...errr...well, rather, Matt will get it going...heehee...since I am so technologically inept!

Anyway, I'll catch up more soon!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

I apologize for the lack of posts...as you might expect, it has been really crazy around here. The Rock Hill team has come and gone. You can read their team blog at www.clfcostarica.com We had a great time getting to know them and enjoyed watching God work through them.

Rock Hill left Friday and in the afternoon the East White Oak team came in. It is great seeing their familiar faces, those who we've met before.

I ask for pray for them this next days as they serve mainly n Tejarcillos. Pray for God's guidance, wisdom and protection.

Today, especially ask for your prayers for Isabelle. We are still trying to figure out the right medicine for her, the best plan of action, are running different tests to determine if there are certain allergies involved, etc. In the meantime, she has somewhat had her life robbed from her. She does not feel well and is trying to adjust to the medicine. She has some good days, some not so god days and some days where she feels down right rotten...like today. We are awaiting test results for certain common allergies that we should get back Friday. If some symptoms she is experiencing from the new medicine do not go away by that time, we may have to switch to yet a different medicine.

I just ask that you pray for her. I've been home with her since Friday evening...just watching her as she goes about the day, trying to note what gets her tired, how she feels after certain activities, when she seems to feel the worst, best, etc.

I hate seeing her not feel well. I don't feel quite comfortable leaving her with anyone else yet...and she just isn't up to going anywhere...although I think she is starting to get stir crazy.

My only prayer is that symptoms will let up once we get to Indiana next week. Her little lungs could sure use a rest! And fresh air!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Adios, East Hill...Hola Rock Hill

This morning we said good-bye to East Hill team from Pensacola. We had a great two weeks with them and made some great connections this time around. Last time they were here, Matt and I were still in school and we hardly got to know them at all. It was a wonderful blessing to spend so much more time with them this time. We have been blessed by their presence here and they will be missed. My girls are asking for them tonight and Ethan misses his buddy, Jerod.

This afternoon, a brand new team to the ministry arrived. Rock Hill from South Carolina will be serving with us for the next week. Most of them have never been out of the states before, so they are all n a bit of a shock with all they are seeing and learning about our lives here. And they have so many questions, which s always fun. Meg and I were talking about how much fun t s to have a brand new team like this because everything is new and they have so much they want to learn and know about. Matt and I had the chance to sit and talk with some members of the team tonight after supper and t was fun learning about them and answering their questions.

Their main focus will be in La Carpio, but they will also hold a special Mother Daughter dinner in Tejarcillos with brand new moms as the focus.

Please prpay for ths team ths week. Pray for good health, stamina and for them to be open to God using them in the ways He has planned. Pray for them as they see so much that s so very different than all that they are used too and that despite being out of their comfort zone, they will look to see the face of Christ and seek to serve Him.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

East Hill team

We are nearing the end of the Pensacola East Hill Christian School team's time here. It has been a joy watching them work and getting to know all of them. Janene and Pam are always wonderful to work with and this time has been especially fun. It has been really nice getting to know them better as well as the kids on the team and Crisitna, too :)

Please continue to pray for them to finish strong with the VBS in Tejarcillos and for God to give them good health and strength and endurance.

Check out www.clfcostarica.com for their team updates as well as pictures from their time here.

Also, please continue to pray for our girls. Isabelle is on a second antibiotic, an anti-asthmatic medicine, to help get her back to her normal self. If she is not feeling more peppy and with more energy by next week, we will be back at the doctor with her. Yesterday, I took Audrey in and found out she has a respiratory infection. Three meds for her. She is a sick little thing right now...you know she's sick when she hardly talks and her little eyes are droopy all day. When she is sick, the house feels so different. She can be so wild and she keeps me going, sometimes to the brink of exhaustion with all the running after her that I do...but I'll take that any day to her being sick...and not hearing that infectious laugh of hers. Matt got them all three laughing last night and it was good to hear her laugh, albeit, somewhat seal-like barky cough...but a luagh none-the-less.

So, just please keep praying against the attacks the enemy keeps pulling out o us and our girls. Pray for sweet rest for them and all of us when we head to the states at the end of this month as well.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

God answers simple prayer

Yesterday God answered a simple prayer of mine that he has been hearing for almost three years.

We traveled to Guacimo yesterday with the East Hill team. You may remember this area from back in April when our team went and visited Patricia and Pablo for the day. It is about two hours away from San Jose. We received the invitation back in April on that day to come back and hold a VBS for the church. So, the planning began and it was decided that the East Hill team would be the perfect team to bring with us. The team leaders are super organized and no matter how many kids show up, no matter the weather, no matter what happens, everything always runs smoothly with Janene and Pam. :) They are like the VBS directors dream team ;) [And that comes from a former VBS director herself] :)

The last time we were there, Patricia had told me that her sister, Mercedes, was coming to live with her very soon. Now, three years ago, when I first came to Costa Rica, I met a little boy named Jeffrey on the very first day of the trip. I fell in love with this little boy and he will always have a piece of my heart. I also met Jeffrey's big brother, Jonathan, and his little sisters, Gretel and Alison, who was just a baby, and his mom, Mercedes. (Patricia's sister) When Matt and I came to CR together on what was our vision trip, we were able to spend time with the whole family one evening in their home. I remember playing with Jeffrey and Gretel and talking with Merecedes. Throughout the year and some odd months before moving to CR, we sent letters and pictures back and forth and we prayed for them every night.

Fast forward to last week...I received a phone call one night from who? Mercedes! Imagine my surprise to hear her voice. She wanted to call me to tell me that she was in Costa Rica again living at Patricia's. She was so giggly and excited on the phone ands she wanted to make sure that we were coming with the team and if our kids were coming. We talked and caught up on our lives.

So, Wednesday, God saw fit to reunite us and it was such a sweet day! Lots of hugs and happy tears :) I recognized Gretel immediately when I first saw her and she came running up to me as if we had just seen each other yesterday. And a little later I saw Jeffrey- I cannot tell you how sweet that hug was from him :)

And a little later Mercedes came down to the church. It was a very sweet reunion. All of this was wonderful and we were able to spend several different moments catching up and spending time together.

I am so thankful that God answered the prayer of mine to reunite us one day and for Mercedes and her family to meet ours. But the sweetest thing God did for me that day was to allow me to see my son Ethan playing with my sweet little buddy Jeffrey. I introduced them right away and they hung together at different point s throughout the day. Near the end of the day, I watched as they walked down to the creek bed together, arms around each other, and began throwing rocks into the creek, like they'd been friends forever. Of course, this is really nothing new for Ethan, who is a friend to all. But I had prayed long ago that God would one day allow Ethan and Jeffrey to meet and it was so sweet to watch them play together.

Would you pray for this church in Guacimo. Would you pray for the pastor and his wife. Their seems to be an interest in discipleship, but I really think they have no idea how to even begin. Would you pray for Patricia and her family and Mercedes and hers that they would walk in the way of the Lord and now that they are together, hold each other accountable. Would you pray for those sweet little children that God would provide positive, godly influences in their lives. And thank God with us for waht he did through the team from East Hill on that day. It seemed that the church was greatly encouraged, especially the women. There were some 40 women or more their that day and they were so thankful to Neris for her teaching and said they had never experienced something like that before. The kids loved the puppet show and the drama and had never seen anything like it.

Here are a few pictures of the day.


Reunited after three years :)



Jeffrey Brooke and Audrey


Mercedes Alison and Brooke



God is SO good - Ethan and Jeffrey


boys being boys


Alison and Mercedes


Ethan and Jeffrey

Inthe scheme of life this is one thing that God could have passed over and never thought twice about allowing me the opportunity...however, to me, it was a small reminder of his infinite care for even the small things that are desires of ours. We serve such a loving, caring god. Praise Him and thank Him today for the small things in life.


Our families together