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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


Monday, October 26, 2009

Moving Day!

Wanted to post this weeks prayer requests. Please continue to life our family in prayer during our transition.


Hi! All is quiet in the McClain house tonight...but if we speak loudly, there is an echo...because everything is packed and ready to go!

We are thankful for the privilege to pray with you. It is with gratitude in our hearts that we write each week to share praises and prayer requests with you, for we are thankful to be blessed with wonderful caring ministry partners.

Tuesday, October 27th (tomorrow) we'll be moving to Guanacaste. Please pray for safety as we travel for us and the movers. Please pray for a smooth trip, as well. The trip is about 6 hours.

Please pray as Brooke works to get the house cleaned and in order in the following days. Matt received the invitation to be part of a pastor's conference put on by CLF starting Wednesday, so Brooke will be with the kids getting the house in order and Matt will be pursuing new connections and ministry opportunities with the pastors at the conference.

The month of November will be very unusual for our family due to several weeks of being separated due to traveling to and from San Jose as well as traveling to renew our Visas. We are not used to being apart from each other for lengths of time like this. Please pray for us as we transition to a new home and work through being separated physically from each other.

We will not have internet access or phone service in our home for most likely several weeks. We do believe we will be able to access the internet in town, however, it just won't be very frequently. We will try to update as much as possible, but please understand if we do not respond to emails right away. Thank you for praying!

Love,
Matt and Brooke :)


Also- PRAISE GOD! We got a dog today! (Nothing like a new dog the day before you move 6 hours away, huh?) She is super sweet (very much like Mac, just wrapped up in a little girl mixed breed) and her name is Reina ("queen"). She is Isabelle's dog and she is not afraid to tell you that. Isabelle told Matt tonight that now that she has her own dog we all could share Wally, her hamster, since she had her hands full with Reina ;) So cute!

Thursday, October 22, 2009

more prayer updates

Well, the vehicle does not look like it will work out, so please keep praying for that.

We did secure movers that have been very professional so far. We praise God for how he lead us to this company.

We are going to get a dog! Well, most likely two! :) We decided that two is just more fun :) and we'll bringing one with us when we move and the second one we'll get when we come through San Jose in November :) Everyone is HAPPY HAPPY in our family today! :)

Thank you for praying, faithful friends!

Prayer updates

Here is an update on the power of your prayers:

We went to immigration Monday to get permission for me to leave Costa Rica with the girls and for Matt to leave with Ethan next month to renew our tourist visas. We were told that, in fact, we do not need any special permission to leave. This was unexpected and a huge blessing! It was hard to believe actually. I called the Us State Dept. to check with them, as well. They agreed, but strongly suggested that we write letters for each of us, stating the spouse has permission to leave with children and get it notarized. So, we were able to do that yesterday, Praise God!

Also, we are going to look at a vehicle today that may (or may not) work for our family. The price is right and it seems that it would be a great vehicle for the ministry and our family. Please pray that we would be given wisdom and that this would be the answer to our prayers. The vehicle is owned by a couple who we went to language school with, who are good friends of ours.

And finally, as if packing and preparing to move 6 hours away is not enough...we may have found a dog :) We saw a few numbers yesterday for dogs up for adoption (which means FREE). I called and we went and looked at a young Lab mix. He was sweet, but very hyper and had not been trained well. We knew he wasn't the dog that would be "our" dog even though he was cute. So, we went to look at a couple more. The woman who has the dogs is a vet and she takes in strays, gets them well and then gives them up for adoption. We looked at a super cute, calm and medium sized dog who is about 5 months old. She is very sweet, appears to be very loyal. She gives kisses, which the girls loved! She also has an adult Lab that Ethan loved. We are trying to decide as a family.

Join us in praising God for the ways he is providing for our family!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

I just sent out this week's prayer requests by email to our ministry partners. Please join us in praying this week.

Dear friends and family,

We'd like to share with you a few ways you can pray this week for our family this week.


1. Tomorrow, Monday, October 19th, please pray as we travel to immigration. In November, we need to renew our tourist visas. For various reasons, we do not feel it would be best to leave the house alone right after we move in. So, Matt and I will be traveling separately to renew our visas. Because of this, we need to obtain special papers stating that Matt has given me permission to leave the country with the girls without him and I have given Matt permission to leave with Ethan without me. The process is a bit more complicated than we first anticipated (why should this surprise us anymore? :] ). So, we need to go to the immigration office, obtain notarized birth certificates for all three children, then proceed to prepare and obtain these permission forms.

We ask that you please pray for this whole process to go smoothly and only take us one trip to the office. Often times, things like this take two or more trips. We really need to be able to accomplish this Monday in order to have the rest of the week to prepare for our move. Please pray for short lines, understanding and patient Costa Rican workers, clear language from both the workers and from us, as well as an overall short process. We all 5 have to be there for the entire process.


2. Please pray also for all the things that need to be finished this week for the move. It is crunch time, so to speak, and this is a really big move. Please pray for each of us, particularly Matt and I, to be slow to anger, to be patient with each other and with our kids, and for the kids as the deal with all the emotions of moving.


3. We ask that you continue to pray for our transportation needs. We are trusting God to provide for this real need for our family. Will you please join us in praying?


4. Pray also that we can secure trustworthy, reliable movers this week. Please pray for this expense as well.


We thank you for praying with us.


In Christ,

Brooke :)

(for Matt and the kids)

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Update on my Dad

I wanted to ask for prayer for my dad and my mom. Dad is still doing well, but things have been tough this week. He is struggling to do the therapy, exercise and seems a little down in the dumps. My mom does, too. Please just keep praying for them as they continue to walk this new path in their lives. Thanks so much! They have both recovered from the respiratory infections- PTL!

Well, we're moving!

I am a little late this week in posting this and for that I apologize. It has been w worldwind at my house...and the dust has yet to settle.

Yes, the title is right. We are moving in about 11 days or so!

We have been praying for sometime about the next step in ministry God has for us...after months of prayer, we know without a doubt that God is leading us to an area in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica called Villareal. It is a small village that is surrounded by other villages and small towns and near a large beach city called Tamarindo.

We went on a vision trip to the area at the first of the month having just a few contacts- that God had lead us to over the course of about a week. We were literally hearing about Tamarindo every other day or so for about a week. It was truly amazing the way God has guided us and opened doors for us and also has provided for us the past month.

Here is the most recent prayer letter we sent out Monday. You will find specific prayer requests that God is already amswering! More about that at the end of the post:

Dear friends,

We are attempting to communicate more often with our faithful supporters. In an effort to do that, we will be sending out more than just our monthly prayer letter. It is our intention to send weekly or bi-weekly prayer request emails. If you would like to be removed from our prayer letter list and/or the weekly prayer request emails, please respond to this email with a short message asking to be left off the next mailing.Thanks so much for standing in the gap for our family!


Please pray this week for our family in these ways:

1. We will be moving to a new area of ministry very soon. This is something very exciting for our family as well as something that brings with it a long list of things to do. Please pray for the packing that needs to be done, securing of a moving company, and the process of downsizing that needs to take place for this move. Pray for Brooke as she tries to do all of this as well as continue with homeschool.


2. Please pray this week for Matt as he travels to the province of Guanacaste, more specifically, Villa Real, to look for and hopefully secure housing for our family. The largest nearest city is a beach town that is touristy. Therefore, prices for most things are not any less expensive than what we are used to in the city, specifically to rent a house. Please pray that God would lead Matt to the best house for us for what we can afford. Pray that the acquaintances we've met there will be able to have plenty of places lined up for Matt to look at during the few days he is there. Pray for safety as he travels.


3. Please pray for the much needed funds to purchase a suitable vehicle for our family. We have had the wonderful blessing of having the use of a ministry vehicle for the time we've been in the city. This move will require a vehicle more suited to the area we'll be serving, more specifically something with 4-wheel drive. We have begun the process of looking for a vehicle and have some funds raised already, however, still fall significantly short of the approximate $10,000 needed to purchase a reliable vehicle. Along with purchasing a vehicle, we will incur expenses due to the nature of a move. The new location is 6 hours away and we are anticipating a hefty bill from a moving company. Please pray for these funds as well. Please pray that God would provide in a mighty way and soon, as we are looking to move within the next month.


4. Please pray for our hearts not to be heavy as we leave the people, churches and team we love here in the city. God has given us a wonderful privilege to take discipleship to this area of Costa Rica and we desire to leave filled with joy at the opportunity ahead of us and not sorrow for what we are leaving behind. This is a time for us that is very similar to when we first left the states to come to Costa Rica.


Please contact us with any questions you may have about the new area, ministry, or how to you can help in a greater way.


Thank you in advance for praying!


In Christ,

Matt, Brooke and kiddos :)


Matt has been in Villareal since Wednesday morning. He has spent most of his time with Pastor Nelson of one of the churches will be working with. It has been so wonderful because Nelson has went practically everywhere with Matt, introducing him to people and showing him houses. Matt has probably looked at 15-20 houses since Wednesday morning! He found one that will work and even found a computer and sent me pictures of it! He talked to the landlord today and told him we'd be back the last week of October to move in! Then, without Matt even asking, he LOWERED the rent $100! How does that happen? Well, God is truly paving the way for us! That is how! We were willing to pay the rent because it was less than we had expected and less than we are paying now, but Matt was going to ask if the landlord would come down, but he didn't have to! the landlord (I didn't get his name...) OFFERED! (BIG smile on my face!)

Matt has also spent time with the second pastor we will be working with and they both expressed their joy the we will be coming soon!

Please join us in praying for God's provision for moving expenses as well as a vehicle. We are in the process of looking for a vehicle, trusting God to provide even though we are still significantly short of the estimated amount we'll need for a vehicle, plates and taxes. We have had plenty come to our attention, but not quite what we are looking for. It is hard to be patient and wait for the BEST that God has for us, but we are waiting on Him.

Please pray for safety for Matt as he comes back home tomorrow. We all miss him!

Thank you for praying! I will try to keep the updates more current. Sorry about falling behind.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Give Back

Below is a recent post from a blog of our friends, Don and Heather, who are serving Jesus in Guatemala. Check it out here. It really impacted me and has caused me to give significant thought to how I spend the money God gives to me and my family. It doesn't matter that we serve God as missionaries in a foreign country, what we have in our bank account is NOT ours. It doesn't matter, as some say, that we have sacrificed so much, time, family, lifestyle...what we have is NOT ours.

May you reflect on your own life today as you read our friend's words and thoughts and ponder on the book of Nehemiah. How will you give back today?



I have been preaching out of the Book of Nehemiah for the last several weeks, and it has been encouraging to me as well as the missionary community. We have learned about passion for God's glory, leadership, planning and defense of a vision and mission, social and economic fairness, as well as the ways in which Satan tries to ensnare us and get us disconnected from our calling. And we have only covered the first 6 chapters!

Wow! What an amazing section of scripture. I have been exceptionally influenced by the 5th chapter. I just can't ignore or push aside these scriptures anymore when it speaks so thoroughly to our responsibility to those who are struggling.
I think many of us want our financial decisions to be separate from our relationship with God....but they just are not.

God's glory is wrapped up in how we use our money.

There are over 800 scriptures that reference finances in the Bible. Over 25% of Jesus' teachings was dedicated to money. He taught more about money than he did about the Kingdom of God.

And the deal in Nehemiah 5 was that there were some larger families who didn't have enough money to feed themselves. They had to mortgage their homes, lands, even daughters to pay for food. Interest rates were so high they couldn't get out from under their debt.
(And this is what the people of God were doing to the people of God!)
So, Nehemiah steps in and reminds the people that it wasn't right. It wasn't right that the rich were getting richer and the poor, poorer. It wasn't right that some Jewish leaders were eating leg of lamb with asparagus and lemon sauce while others were starving to death.

And Nehemiah's passion was greater than just for the people who were poor. In fact, Jesus said the poor will always be with us. No, Nehemiah's passion was for God's glory, because the world outside the walls were looking inside the walls, and saying, "they are no different from us. They just care about financial gain and bigger homes, and better gadgets just like we do. Their religion is no different from ours. We care about those things as well."

And so, Nehemiah convinced his people to stop and care better for one another because the world was watching. It did make a difference and God hated it. God cared about this.

So, they stopped. They returned all the money made on interest. They returned the deeds to houses they had acquired through deals. They gave back lands to poor people.

And this wasn't socialism or communism. This wasn't about everybody having the same amount.
This was about taking care of the poor, and not blaming the poor. This was about calling rich people to never make a dime off the backs of a poor person.

A good message for all of us.

And how can any of us read Leviticus 25:35-40 and not be affected deeply about how we should treat those who are below us on the economic scale?

I was reading the other day a study about how the very rich spend their money. Interesting.
Hannah Shaw Grove and Russ Alan Prince did a paper about people who were rich enough to own a private jet. (John Travolta has 5)
Anyway, this is what they discovered these people spend money on YEARLY...on average.

1. $30,000 a year on alcohol
2. $98,000 a year on experiential guided tours
3. $107,000 at spas
4. $117,000 on clothes
5. $147,000 on watches (I don't get it???)
6. $157,000 on resorts
7. $168,000 on chalet rentals
8. $226,000 on cars (remember...per year)
9. $248,000 on jewelry
10. $404,000 on yachts
11. $542,00 on home improvements
12. $1.75 million a year on art

I know this is going to sound really snide and ugly.....

But I wonder if any of these people have ever seen a little baby die because of lack of food? A little boy with crooked and bloody feet because of not having shoes? A young father reeking of feces and alcohol because there is no work and there's nothing else to do with his time, and living has become hopeless?

We, the church should demand more of ourselves. The world is watching. The world has heard us defend these actions way too many times because of our political slant or on the grounds of stimulation of the economy.

And this isn't about Us vs. Them. Whoever We think They are.
This is about all of us looking at our financial decisions and asking the simple question: Is this what God would do with this money? Because it is His money to begin with. Isn't it?

And I want you to know that as we talked about this as a missionary community, we were (and are) asking the same questions of ourselves. Many, if not most of the people who give to us have very little in terms of worldly value. I'm not sure how some people continue to support us, and with such sacrifice.
And God is glorified. We are thankful. And we just happen to be your hands and feet here in Guatemala. We are here because of you getting this.

But we need to be consistent with this message in the workplace and among our friends. We need to stop being Republicans and Democrats and start being God's people, taking care of the people who are truly without...because the world is watching.

And so is our God.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Si (Rudyard Kipling)

Para los amigos que hablan espanol...aqui esta el poema se llama "Si" por Rudyard Kipling.

Si (Rudyard Kipling)
--------------------


Si puedes conservar la cabeza cuando a tu alrededor
todos la pierden y te echan la culpa;
si puedes confiar en tí mismo cuando los demás dudan de tí,
pero al mismo tiempo tienes en cuenta su duda;
si puedes esperar y no cansarte de la espera,
o siendo engañado por los que te rodean, no pagar con mentiras,
o siendo odiado no dar cabida al odio,
y no obstante no parecer demasiado bueno, ni hablar con demasiada sabiduria...

Si puedes soñar y no dejar que los sueños te dominen;
si puedes pensar y no hacer de los pensamientos tu objetivo;
si puedes encontrarte con el triunfo y el fracaso (desastre)
y tratar a estos dos impostores de la misma manera;
si puedes soportar el escuchar la verdad que has dicho:
tergiversada por bribones para hacer una trampa para los necios,
o contemplar destrozadas las cosas a las que habías dedicado tu vida
y agacharte y reconstruirlas con las herramientas desgastadas...

Si puedes hacer un hato con todos tus triunfos
y arriesgarlo todo de una vez a una sola carta,
y perder, y comenzar de nuevo por el principio
y no dejar de escapar nunca una palabra sobre tu pérdida;
y si puedes obligar a tu corazón, a tus nervios y a tus músculos
a servirte en tu camino mucho después de que hayan perdido su fuerza,
excepto La Voluntad que les dice "!Continuad!".

Si puedes hablar con la multitud y perseverar en la virtud
o caminar entre Reyes y no cambiar tu manera de ser;
si ni los enemigos ni los buenos amigos pueden dañarte,
si todos los hombres cuentan contigo pero ninguno demasiado;
si puedes emplear el inexorable minuto
recorriendo una distancia que valga los sesenta segundos
tuya es la Tierra y todo lo que hay en ella,
y lo que es más, serás un hombre, hijo mío.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Update on my Dad

I wanted to give a little update on my Dad. He is doing well, recovery and physical therapy both going well. He and my mom both have caught a little bug though and I would like to ask for your prayers for both of them. My mom has COPD and any little thing like this can set her off on the slope to pneumonia. Please also pray for my Dad because he is experiencing some trouble breathing and does not know why. Thanks you for continuing to pray.

Monday, October 5, 2009

October Prayer Letter

In an effort to keep you all more informed, I will be posting the text of our monthly prayer letters on our blog. If you'd like to see them in PDF form click here

Here is our October letter. Please continue to pray for our family and the ministry God has graciously allowed us to be a part of.

The Great Adventure
There is a Steven Curtis Chapman song called The Great Adventure. We remembered this song recently and we thank God that our lives are not boring, dull or monotonous. We thank God that He has given us an adventure to partake in; the choice to pursue or decline a journey designed specifically for us. We have chosen to joyfully pursue this adventure.

We’d like to share with you that God has given us a new adventure here in Costa Rica. God, in His great glory, revealed to us that it was time for a change of scenery. We have always felt that we are to follow the example of the apostle Paul as it pertains to being a missionary. Paul never spent much time in one area. In fact, he spent as little as a matter of days to a maximum of about two years before he moved on to the next place. (Read more about Paul’s time in different ministries in Acts 16:12,40; 17:2,10; 18:11,18; 19:10; 20:1). Paul generally taught pagans all about Jesus, from birth to death and then taught them what God expected from them and how to carry it out (which is the commandment given to all of us in Matthew 28:19-20). Then, Paul would leave a very young, immature church in the hands of God and under the authority of the Holy Spirit and he would move on to another area to share the gospel.

For some time now, we’ve felt that it was time to let the church in Tejarcillos, under the leadership of Pastor Rogelio and the authority of the Holy Spirit, learn to grow and mature on their own. God confirmed this and Matt shared this decision with Mark and Pastor Rogelio this past June. We officially ended our time with the Tejarcillos church last month.

We spent the months of August and September praying and seeking God’s leading about what our next step was to be. We’ve been praying for God to show us what He wants for our family for some time now. We feel He is leading us clearly to take the discipleship process to churches that are in desperate need of it, desire to see their members growing in the Lord, but do not know how to get them there. We are convinced without a doubt that the key to spiritual growth is, in part, the discipleship process. If the Body of Christ is not daily studying God’s Word, not daily applying it to their life, not daily praying and listening to God’s will for their lives, they simply will not grow spiritually. We desire to go where we believe God has gone before us and prepared the way to take the discipleship process (teaching a man to fish so that he can teach others and they in turn teach others) to willing churches and pastors. In this, we fully expect God to lead us to the next place before we’ve even finished, just as Paul was lead from city to city, we anticipate being lead in the same manner. Most likely in this process we will encounter areas with no evangelic presence and will be able to share the gospel and disciple there as well. Above all, we desire to share the gospel and make disciples– we just love to disciple others! We also desire to equip existing churches with the tools to teach their members this process.

You can pray for us as we are praying for where to begin. We have had contacts with several pastors over the past few months from many different areas of Costa Rica, all outside of San Jose. This new journey will involve a move for our family. We have already begun making vision trips to a few places where we have felt God leading us. Please pray for:
-Clarity, wisdom and guidance from the Lord
-Safety as we travel as some places we are praying about are many hours away and that we would find people of peace
-Clear communication with pastors about doctrine, theology and the vision God has given us
-Funds needed as these vision trips are extra expenses above and beyond our monthly expenses.
-Funds needed to purchase a vehicle for our family
-Minimal interruptions in our homeschooling routine while on the road

If by Rudyard Kipling

Found this today on a blog I follow. Pause at the puncuation as you read, not the end of the lines. Think about your life today and the way you take each turn in the road that God has given you to follow.


If

by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man my son!

Friday, October 2, 2009

Guanacaste

Hi! Just a really quick note to say that we have been away this week traveling. We are visiting an area of Costa Rica in the Guanacaste Province called Tamarindo. that is actually just the nearest largest city...we are actually in a much smaller town nearby staying with missionaries we met through friends from language school who have graciously opened their home to us- total strangers. God's family is so amazing!

So, we are visiting several different areas withing about a 20 to 30 mile radius, meeting with local pastors and locals scoping out the area for future ministry possibilities. More to come on this in a few days...but if you would remember our family in your prayers this week, we would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks so much! God is so good! All the time!