July 2010 Prayer Letter

Here is the text to our most recent prayer letter:

We’re so glad to be back in Costa Rica! God showered us with His love while we were in the states. It was painfully hard to say goodbye, yet wonderfully exciting to get on the plane, drive through Guanacaste and arrive home to find our dogs, neighbors and friends waiting for us!
Since we’ve been back, we have cleaned the house from corner to corner and totally reorganized, which is key in a small home! We’ve reconnected with the two churches, with our disciples, and gotten acclimated to the neighborhood again. It is exciting to see all that God has done while we’ve been gone. Our kids attend a weekly Bible Club at Calvary Chapel and the past several months they have been studying different missionaries and the countries in which they served. The culmination of the study was a report on a specific country of each child’s choosing detailing how the gospel has impacted the country. Ethan and Isabelle both selected, prepared, and presented (in Spanish) along with several other children. What a joy to see these kids learn about new cultures, the lives of missionaries, and what God is doing in the world.

Much has changed since we left at the end of April, with the first and most obvious being how GREEN everything is. When we left everything was so dry and brown. It is amazing to see the change that has transpired with the onset of rainy season. We LOVE it!!! What we are most thankful for, though, is the impact discipleship has had on Villareal since we’ve been gone. God again, in His greatness, has shown us how little He needs us to accomplish His plan. In the First Baptist church, Pastor Nelson has started a new discipleship group that includes 30 new believers! This group started because five people came to Pastor Nelson looking for a new church. He then immediately began discipleship with them and the group has now grown to 31 people who are not only growing in their relationship with the Lord through studying His Holy Word but are also now part of the church body. From Calvary there are at least 15 new disciples. One man is discipling many of the high school boys who come to the high school youth group, as well as a family of four. Pastor Phil began discipleship with our neighbor, Ronny, for whom we’ve asked for prayer many times. Ronny is now totally sober, attending church, in discipleship with Matt, and leading his family by example in what a life of faith looks like. God has developed the passion for discipleship in other members of Calvary, as well other missionaries in this area. It is amazing to us because when we arrived here 8 months ago no one in either of these two churches was being discipled. Not only is the discipleship material being used weekly, but it has also been used in youth retreats and women’s meetings. God’s Word is being taught, being studied, being memorized, and being spread in Villareal. Please continue to pray for disciples who make disciples who make disciples.

We thank you for your prayers for our financial support. It is with great joy that we share with you that God, being Jehovah Jireh, the God who Provides, has blessed us with many new financial partnerships, which have brought us very near to full support! Praise God from whom all blessings come! Praise God with us for the East Hill team. God used them to share the gospel and open the door to start discipleship in a nearby village where there is no evangelical presence!





For more about our family and the ministry check out:
www.mcclainfamily4him.org