Roberto's Taxi

Roberto ... If Wednesday's adventure had gone according to our plans, we would never have met Roberto. As we squished into Roberto's Taxi, I let out an exasperated sigh and said, "Gracias a Dios, casi estamose en la casa!" (Thank God we are almost home!") These simple words allowed God's Spirit to move in that moment and Roberto asked, "Are you a Christian?" ... The 20 minute ride home was life giving, rewarding, blessed and the perfect ending to the crazy adventure we found ourselves on that day! God's Spirit prompted me to remember one simple line from last Sunday's sermon that seemed to be just what Roberto needed to hear ... "When the shepherds were in the field watching their sheep, they were 'just' shepherds.  However, when they came to see Jesus, their hearts were changed! (Come close to Jesus and your heart will be changed!)  The shepherds went away proclaiming and telling people the good news."  As I shared this, Roberto changed the radio to Christian music and started confessing that he has walked away from God and knows he needs to return to Him.  He feels like God is calling him to come back and his heart will be changed ... he likened himself to the prodigal son. Our day went nothing as planned, but I wouldn't change this ending for the world! His timing, perfect ... His love, unending ... His plans, higher then ours!

Here's the crew ... warm, dry waiting for the bus!

We have been blessed this week with the company of Pablo, Jessica, Ellie (16) and Judith (9), our neighbors and VidaNet staff.  We've enjoyed meals together, afternoon coffee, a family movie night, chatting around the 'barber chair,' laughing and crying, sharing our hearts, communicating in Spanish and English and a day of adventure visiting ... Volcano Poas!

This is where she stopped!

The Van 
The day started sunny, bright and full of anticipation to visit the Volcano, Poas. Twelve of us loaded into our Van around 9:20 a.m. armed with one umbrella, 7 bananas, 6 water bottles, one pack of gum, a travel mug of coffee and multiple cell phones.  As we wound around hairpin curves through the beautiful Costa Rican country side, our Van fearlessly carried us higher and higher.  The air became cooler, the clouds thicker, the rain heavier and the gentle breeze ... started gusting.  At some point Pablo pounded on the dash because the gauges had stopped working ... soon enough the wind shield wipers decided to take a break as well.  We arrived safely at the entrance of the Park (without gauges or wipers) and decided not to pay the entrance fee since the rain would prevent us from seeing anything spectacular.  We sat for a bit to let the Van rest then started the decent to a warmer, dryer place.  Approximately 2 kilometers from the top, our trusty Van Bertha, decided she had had enough and shut down!

Three hours later ... yup, that's what I said ... 3 hours later, a flatbed tow truck came to our rescue!  Those precious 3 hours were spent sharing our bananas, talking, laughing, telling stories, wondering when and how we were going to get home, listening to music and a short movie to entertain the kids.  We kept thanking God the Van was dry and warm because outside, was not!

 The Tow Truck 
It was like a beacon in the night, this bright yellow truck came through the wind and rain, giving us hope and making the dream of Pizza for supper a reality! The driver kindly agreed to take us to the nearest town so we could take the next leg of our journey by Bus.  How did he take us to the next town? ... Why, in the Van of course.  He loaded our Van on the flatbed with us inside, sitting high above the road feeling like we were on a roller coaster!  For the next half hour we wound down and around the hairpin turns of the Mountain thanking God for His angels!

The Bus
Four hours and three bus rides later ... yup, that's what I said ... 4 hours and 3 bus rides later, we arrived in Heredia. What should have been approximately one hour from where the Van left us sit and still 20 minutes from home.  The buses were full and the streets crowded, so ... we chose the next transportation option ... Taxi.

And thus, we have come full circle to Roberto's Taxi.  By 8:30 pm, we were all sitting around Pablo and Jessica's table, warm, dry, tired and enjoying 3 extra large cheese pizzas, recounting the adventure of the day! The multitude of stories that happened this day will be forever hidden in our hearts ... I trust these pictures will warm your heart as you reflect on God's perfect plan for each of our lives ... Draw near to HIM and your heart will be changed!

Praises
We have a new, permanent base! Can hardly believe it, but God knows just what we need!
I haven't had to grocery shop yet ... Margot insists we need to help them eat all the left overs : )
American snacks for Christmas gifts
We purchased a good used stove and refrigerator and 5 new mattresses that feel almost like home
Margot and her fuzzy red robe, just like my Mama!
Brothers who love to invent and create together ... they still fight like brothers too
Warm blankets for cool nights
Sweet neighbors to share life with
19 young disciples who have a heart to follow God to the ends of the earth
Health and peaceful nights of sleep

Prayer
Businesses to partner with VidaNet for 5 years to fund the new base
Reliable Vans for the base
Safe travel for the students coming back
Unity in the 4 Vida220 teams going on outreach
Friends for the boys
Language acquisition

**Please send us your prayer requests, we want to pray for you!**

Still smiling ... after 2 hours!

Coldest potty break ever!

The boy who hardly ever stops ...
asleep on the bus!

Dylan y Adam

"The nearest thing to Heaven is being in the center of God's will ... delighting myself to do His will and delighting myself in Him."  What is the greater purpose for moving our family of 6 to CR? For our family to be in the center of God's will for such a time as this!  Our human plans and purpose for this move are being transformed as we delight ourselves in Him and say ... "One day at a time Sweet Jesus, that's all I'm asking from YOU!"

Adam y Dylan

As a parent, there is no greater gift and joy then seeing ones child delighting in God and thriving when in the center of His will!  Although our boys "came along for the ride," God is faithfully showing us a specific purpose for their presence here in CR.  Acknowledging that our purpose will change as God moves us from one place to the next, we rest in His steadfast love and we delight to be in His will.

Adam's Purpose
Four year old Dylan lives at the base with his grandparents, Samuel and Margot.  He is shy, doesn't talk much and was keeping his distance from us.  Adam wanted to play so he would knock on the door and make himself at home with Dylan's toys!  Each day we noticed Dylan venturing out a little more.  One day Adam was riding a little car around the base and Dylan was watching from his door.  A few minutes later, Dylan drug his Big Wheel out and sat next to Adam!  I asked if he wanted to ride with Adam ... "Si".  Little by little, these little men are becoming friends ... We thank God for sending Adam to CR to befriend Dylan!

Joseph's purpose ...
leading by example!

Family Life at the base
(when I say family I'm referring to our family of 33!)
This week we had sessions with Glenn Hatcher.
the Kingdom of God: where what God wants done is done.
Destiny: the non-transferable assignment from God ... if I don't do what God has called me to, perhaps it won't get done!

Rainy afternoon family game time ... Spike ball in the rain and mud ... playing marbles and BINGO at a local retirement home ... family worship times ... making Gringa chocolate chip cookies for Micah's birthday (Wissler family secret recipe!) ... Micah getting "egged" to celebrate his 14th ... helping with a Christmas party at a "Youth center" ... sunshine and wind blessed our family cleaning day on the Base before Christmas break ... sharing our stories and loving each other on the common ground God has brought us to ... thanking God for a neighbor's oven and her sweet company ... a multitude of cooks in the kitchen to make Escabeche (delicious onion soup from Belize. Yes Mom, I said delicious!) ... 200 homemade tortillas ... family shopping trip to Heredia to buy "Secret Santa" gifts ... family Christmas party filled with games, laughter, Nacatamales (Nicaraguan Tamales), worship, praying for one another and hugs good bye ... Festival de La Luz, enjoying the beautiful parade and celebrating Navidad with the city of San Jose' ... feeling a mothers love from Margot as she welcomes me into 'her' kitchen, gives Adam a mid morning snack, makes us cafe, and a sweet Sunday afternoon treat of Arroz con leche ... Sunday lunch at Pollo Mino, he remembered us from our last trip! ... boldness and wisdom to drive through the wild and crazy streets ... warm days, cold nights, beautiful rainbows and fresh Manna for today ... family life, we love these kids, God is Good!

Praises
-healing for Jedidiah after he passed out due to dehydration
-Dylan's heart opening up to Adam
-confidence from God to be bold
-cell phones are in working order
-understanding the meaning of the Message
-God's angels offering protection ... Luis and Antonio
-lots of attention for the boys
-Daryl learning the roads and driving confidently ... at least I thought he looked confident!
-2 Christmas services today, celebrating the beauty of Christ's birth bilingually
-growing relationship with Delynn and Gloria

Pray with us
-language acquisition
-reliable vans for the base ... TWO would be a blessing
-the students traveled home for 10 days ... some are from non christian homes
-physical healing for Byron's heart
-wisdom on purchasing furniture for our home
-Christmas away from home
-patience in relating to our boys
-time alone for Daryl and I
-grocery shopping : )
-wisdom and heart connections for the leadership team of VidaNet

Tortilla and salty cheese, YUM!

Driving buddies

Cuco ... what's one more energetic boy in this family!

6 Nationalities represented in this picture ...
 Belize, Ecuador, Honduras, USA, Costa Rica, El Salvador 

Costa Rican Ladder

Sunday Lunch ... notice the dog sitting behind the soda bottle
waiting for our chicken bones!

Family Coaster ... Daryl's getting lots of experience driving!

Family work day, taking the unused roof rack off the bus.

Weekly groceries ... Margot and Samuel.

Playing Marbles with a blind man!

Critters ... This centipede was as thick as my finger
 and as long as my phone, crawling up our couch!

Testing their strength ... Push-ups with Adam's help!

Costa Rican tradition ... Micah was "Egged" for his birthday!

Feliz Navidad from our family to yours!

Tiempo de Comunicacion

Here at the Vida220 base the students get 2 hours a week of "Tiempo de Comunicacion" ... Communication time.  Yesterday, the boys invited 'the boys' in to sit on our couch where the wifi is good for their two hours of communication with family and friends.  During this precious 2 hour time frame when the box of phones, laptops and electronic devices are unpacked nothing else matters.  Last week we were in the middle of a game and at precisely 3:00 they all jumped up, apologized and headed towards the wifi end of the base!

Today I'm thankful for the 24 x 7 communication time we have with God!  Regardless of our human limitations and at times pleading, God chooses to move in amazing ways. As we suspected, He continues to be our faithful Father.  Daryl and I both have found ourselves multiple times this week crying out to God in earnest ... "Father, help us!"  Help us adapt to this change in culture, language, routine, pace of life ... We've both had times of wanting to curl up inside ourselves, to hide away from all the change and find something that makes us feel normal.  However, tiempo de comunicacion with God has been our life line and strength this week.  When we choose to face our circumstances and commune with God faithfully through prayer, we have the privilege of seeing miracles happen before we even ask!

Be Still and Know ... Matthew 6:25-27 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Uno ... One

Life at the Base ... Our days are full of God moments! What a privilege we have of raising our boys in this environment!  We pray for people and they are healed.  We live and converse with young people whose hopes, dreams and desires are to build God's Kingdom in mighty ways.  We worship bilingually and feel the Holy Spirit uniting our hearts. We take afternoon naps and hear the sound of soft rain on a tin roof.  We were blessed to celebrate a Christmas party with the families of El Nido  ... sometimes serving God means holding a screaming child or having balls thrown all around you for 3 hours.  I was pushed out of my comfort zone having dinner out with the volunteers of El Nido ... God is my constant companion.  We know angels all around us as Daryl drove the van safely to church through the windy roads where traffic signals are not usually followed.  We learned the bus route and figured out how to get our phones recharged (minutes added). We cleaned at the Dream Base .., trusting in a God of miracles to make this dream a reality.  We have a huge soccer field down the road for the boys to play in.  We have a sweet cook, Margot, who loves to share life with us ... we decided we like rice and beans better than beans and rice! We are blessed with Samuel to fix things for us and make us feel comfortably at home ... just like plumber Hoover.

Pray with us
Finances and favor to purchase a permanent property for VidaNet
Micah's birthday is this Wednesday
Finding a special way to celebrate Jesus' birthday
Byron's heart ... he's one of our students, pray for physical healing
For Daryl and I to remain sensitive to each other's needs
A house in town for us to call home
Getting our phone plans figured out

Praises
Health
God's constant provision, we are lacking nothing!
New friends to celebrate Jesus' birthday with
Neighbors that lend me their oven space
Daryl is understanding more Spanish each day
Friends to show us the bus route
Line dried clothing before it rained
Sound nights of sleep
Bus rides
Trees to climb

Dream Base

Merry Christmas

Tree to climb in!

Cleaning up and praying

Merry Christmas

Praying for God's favor

God's big back yard!

Puede Ser

This boy ... he doesn't miss a thing!

"We will see" This is how life feels right now
... we will see what happens, when it happens, if it happens and how it happens!  It's been an emotional, overwhelming, life giving, exhausting, sun filled, rain drenched, mud puddled few days!  We are sleeping peacefully after the first night, we are waking with the roasters, our ears are adapting to a new language and we're even speaking some words, we ventured to a little store down the road and bought a power strip, a mirror and prayed for someone, some of us are loving the food, others are trying new things, we've experienced tears, laughter, sharing our hearts without words, healing, and the peace of Jesus' presence during worship.

Home Sweet Home

We are currently living at the Vida220 base which feels much like camping.  We have a small living area with 3 small bedrooms for the boys approx 6'x 8' and one larger bedroom for us.  We share the shower/bath area with the guys and our eating/meeting/hangout area is outside in a pavilion with tarps and tin roofs to extend it.  The first night was rough, I cried myself to sleep and was still tearful when we woke the next day ... we were exhausted from the day of travel and our luggage situation.  Saturday morning Daryl and I had a much needed talk date as we basked in the beauty of our view, with clear blue skies and warm breezes ... this was indeed very healing for our soul.  We didn't say much to each other, just cried together, got it all out then prayed, worshiped and laughed together!  God is so faithful ... while we were crying the neighbor started playing very loud worship music in English!!!  So healing for our soul!

Pushing the van on the way to church!

Today, Sunday we worshiped with a local Mennonite church, had lunch with the pastor and wife who is the granddaughter of Titus and Edna Martin (from Stumptown)!  We enjoyed their company and will enjoy future fellowship with them!

The boys are adjusting and have all stated they love where we're living, lizards and all! They are having fun interacting with the students, there is a creek to play in, space to kick soccer ball, trees but no climbing yet, and unlimited kindle time today because it's a rainy Sunday afternoon and they can't be outside!  School ... well, I think when Dad starts language study, we'll start school again.  It's sort of like an extended Christmas brake!

Thank you for praying for us ... we know all these God moments are first of all because He loves us, and second of all because you're praying us through this journey!

Pray with us: 
-healing for Daryl's hip, it's a bit better but not 100%
-for wisdom as we discuss expectations with Delynn, Gloria, Manuel and Liz who are the directors of the Vida220 school.  we have had sweet connections with these two couples and very much look forward to ministering with them!
-wisdom on choosing a house to rent.  There is a good possibility we will rent the house that Delynn and Gloria are currently living in.  It's in the town of Heredia and within walking distance to everything we would need ... super markets, markets, parks, Daryl's language school, churches, El Nido, etc ... it's city living.  The boys love the house already because it has a small courtyard and an outdoor living room (under roof).  It is very cozy.  This house is not within walking distance of the base but for 3 months of language study it's more important for us to be closer to town than the base.  Once the youth teams come next summer it would be better to find a house closer to the base or buy a car ... not something we were planning on but may be a necessity.
-for Daryl and I to keep our communication and our hearts open, to freely cry together when we're feeling weak and incapable, for alone time when we're surrounded by people, for wisdom in choosing a church ... we plan to visit several before making a decision.
-pray for the boys in these days/weeks/months of transition.  We will be moving and living in transition for quite a few months.  Pray for them as they adjust to a new normal life of change!

Praise with us:
-for the moments of peace as the waves are churning around us
-beautiful times of worship and Jedidiah's constant singing
-meaningful connections and conversations
-lots of opportunity to practice Spanish.  We were concerned we would not have much opportunity since we're not living with a host family.  There are plenty of English speaking opportunities but there are lots of Spanish speaking opportunities also.
-Adam loves greeting people on the road with 'Hola, como estas?" and of course they all love him!
-God is holding our every moment and taking care of our every need!

Carol's Blue Bags

Saludos de Costa Rica! 

12.1.16 Yesterday we met Carol, one of God's angels who just happens to work at the Southwest check in counter.  We arrived with our entourage of 18 suitcases and containers and were directed to the shorter check in line, outside.  This is where we met Carol ... she looked rather unhappy to be working the morning shift and her first words to us were, "There's an embargo and we're not accepting boxes or containers." ... What? ... we were in shock ... literally, speechless ... try to breath, don't panic ... 9 of our 18 pieces were tote containers.  I really don't remember the next several minutes ... However what I do remember is my dear sista Stacy intervening to provide the peace of God in the midst of this storm ... I'm almost certain she said, "Peace, be still!" She talked rationally to Carol and determined our two options:  find the nearest Walmart and buy luggage or buy 9 Southwest bags for $25.00 a piece.  And ... Carol's voice still echos in my head ... "Don't forget you have to be completely checked in an hour before the flight!" ... this meant we had approx 40 minutes! Walmart was not an option, neither was half of us flying today and the rest tomorrow.  Somewhere in this decision making process Carol's demeanor changed and she became our angel! She personally went to get us 9 blue bags to repack our totes in. We quickly learned, one really can repack for 3 years in less than 30 minutes.  With the help of our sweet traveling companions we sorted the 'necessities' from the 'send laters,' we stuffed and repacked each others unmentionables and ... with barely 10 minutes to spare Carol gave me a thumbs up and signaled to us that she would check us in without having to wait in the long line.  We are now the proud owners of 9 beautiful, blue, Southwest duffel bags as a memento of our move to Costa Rica and Carol, one of God's angels. 

So, here we are ... 18 bags, 6 carry-on's, 6 backpacks, one purse, one computer bag, and 9 lovers of Jesus ready for take off!

24 hours later ... here's a glimpse of our God moments since arriving in CR:

-pillows sent in the trailer stuffed in our washing machine 

-someone to take out the bathroom trash

-small trash bags, what were they doing packed in my suitcase?

-beds, blankets, and a place to call 'home'

-worshiping in Spanish ... Holy Spirit You are welcome here!

-reading the Bible in Spanish

-clear blue skies and a beautiful rainbow

-a creek to stomp in

-And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those that love Him who have been called according to His purpose!

-friends to walk with us through this transition

And I'll leave you with the words of "my song" through this journey to CR.

"Letting go of every single thing, I lay each one down at your feet ... Mighty Warrior, King of the fight, no matter what I face, You're by my side."  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_aVFVveJNs

We've had our moments ... we feel your prayers ... we thank God for each of you!