Why Costa Rica

People often ask us this simple question: "Why Costa Rica?" And we usually reply with this simple answer: "Because God."

It's not about the "where"

Some missionaries feel called to a particular country, region or people group from a young age. As long as I can remember, my brother has felt called to work with the Vietnamese people. He has worked with Vietnamese churches in America for years. He married a Vietnamese woman. I've heard him say, "My mother told me I could grow up to be anything I wanted. I chose Vietnamese." This is my brother's story. But this is not our story.

While Polly and I each felt a God's calling on our hearts to missions, neither of us ever felt the burden to a specific place or people. So when God opened the door to Costa Rica, we had no specific burden there. We prayed about our decision and said yes not because of the burden there, but because we felt like it was what God wanted for us. We would rather be in the center of God's will for our lives than anywhere else.

Not growing up with a burden for Costa Rica doesn't mean we don't have one now. God has put a desire on our hearts for Costa Rica and especially the Ticos (what Costa Ricans call themselves). We now have a burden for Costa Rica, just like we had a burden for young people in and around Dudley. 

It's about the "why"

It's not about where we go or what we do, it's about why we do it. We go to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. And we believe in the fullness of the Gospel. Jesus died on the cross and rose to life again to bring salvation, to heal people spiritually, forgiving them of their sins if they would only put their faith in Him. Jesus also wants to heal people physically, emotionally, relationally, mentally, socially, etc.

The need exists everywhere. We are not simply going to chase the need. We couldn't possibly go everywhere the need exists. But we can go where God is telling us to go and do our part. Costa Rica is our part in this season. Thus, Costa Rica is our heart in this season. We love Costa Rica and we love the Ticos!

The crazy thing is that we already have this love and passion and we haven't even ever been there yet. How much more intense will our passion be once we live alongside the Ticos?! We can't wait. This is a good thing because we are leaving on January 8, 2014, which is less than 10 weeks away! In order to leave on that date, however, we need to raise the remainder of our budget.

You can partner with us by checking out the links in the "Partnering with Us" section on the right sidebar or by going to our giving page at s1.ag.org/brown.

Energized Faith

Polly and I have done our best to stay out of debt. We don't have a mortgage, never carry a balance on our credit card and own our cars. Still, we are far from debt-free.

Laden with debt.

I used to have a bumper sticker on my car that read, "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." The truth is that education is not cheap in the U.S. As such, Polly and I have school-loan debt. Before we leave for Costa Rica we need to get that debt down to the allowable limit as we will not be able to live overseas on our modest salary if we're paying too much in debt each month. Our school debt has been the biggest obstacle for our leaving for Costa Rica. So we've been praying for a solution. And we found out yesterday that we may have our answer.

A glimmer of hope.

A couple years ago, the Assemblies of God came up with a program for students graduating from its Bible colleges. Too many students were leaving school with so much debt that they could not go into full-time ministry. In order to change that they came up with a solution, a grant. There are a lot of prerequisites that need to be met by someone in order to qualify for the grant but for each student who does qualify, the grant will pay up to $400/mo toward school loans for 3 years. That's a serious chunk of change.

I had heard about this a while ago, knowing Polly could be eligible, but I forgot about it until a friend brought it up recently. As I was praying about our loans yesterday, I decided to go online and look up the grant.

How often do we pray for something but never take an action step toward the answer? God WILL answer our prayers and do things His way in His time, but that's not an excuse for us to be passive. He will direct us, but we still need to take the steps.

One of the first things I noticed is that the application deadline is fast approaching, with a September 16, 2013 deadline. That's less than 2 weeks away! Through a few short emails it seems that Polly may actually meet the prerequisites. There is no guarantee that she will receive the grant yet, but we're praying and believing for favor. Would you pray with us for a miracle?

The big "What if..."

As we were walking through our neighborhood yesterday and praying, I began thinking about how awesome it would be for this grant to come through. I was already picturing myself writing the testimony into our newsletter about how God once again showed His faithfulness. Then the "other" thought came into my mind. "What if this falls through? What will I write then?"

Immediately I was reminded of God's constant faithfulness and my response to that thought was this:

If this falls through and Polly doesn't get the grant then it will be just one more thing to write about how we tried so many options but how God finally came through another way.

You see, the reality that hit me is that God will meet this need and provide a solution, regardless if it's this one or another. The means isn't what matters, God is!

We will pray.

We are praying for favor in this solution unless that door closes. And we will pray with confidence, believing and expecting great things. A friend and I were talking last night about God's faithfulness. I was sharing an awesome miracle I had read about from a missionary friend yesterday concerning his daughter. In short,

The missionary's daughter needed surgery to remove a tumor from her spine and the missionary wanted to have it done in the U.S. instead of Japan.

• He "just happened" to mention it to his regional director
• Who "just happened" to mention it to the executive director
• Who "just happened" to have a son who is an orthopedic spine surgeon at a pediatric hospital in San Diego.

Dr. Mundis performed the surgery this past Monday and all went well.

When I heard that, I was amazed! Not surprised...amazed. As my friend said last night, "Miracles don't surprise us, they energize us." I completely agree. I am energized to believe for awesome things regarding our school loans.

Baby Love

Well, it's officially public information: we are expecting our second child. Many people, possibly you, have offered warm messages of congratulations, celebrating this news with us. Since a number of people have already asked us a number of questions, I decided to address some of the bigger ones here.

What is the due date?

Dates can change (Genevieve was 10 days late) so we'll avoid specifics and just say the beginning of March.

Was this baby a surprise?

Yes and no. While we were not planning this child, we weren't shocked either. We're happy because we wanted about 3 years between children. Genevieve will be a month or so past 3.

Where will the baby be born?

Our target departure date  for Costa Rica is January so the baby will be born in Costa Rica.

Will the baby be a U.S. citizen or a Costa Rican citizen?

Both. Costa Rica will recognize the baby as a citizen because he will be born there. Meanwhile, the United States will recognize the baby as a citizen because Polly and I are both citizens. We will have to file paperwork for both, but it's apparently pretty easy. While I'm sure there could be some cons to dual citizenship (two countries that could charge taxes), there are also pros:

• He can travel to countries not friendly with the U.S. on his Costa Rican passport.
• He can live in either place without worrying about visas or such.
• Costa Rica's education is cheaper.

Will we find out the gender? Will we announce it?

Yes and yes. We should find out in about two months (we don't have the date yet, but I'm guessing October). It will benefit us to know because it will be easier to bring gender-specific stuff to Costa Rica than buy it there. You will know shortly after we do.

Do we have a gender preference?

The cop-out answer would be to say that it doesn't matter and we'll be happy either way. While that's not untrue, we still have a preference. Genevieve wants a girl. While it would be easier to have a girl from a practical standpoint, Polly and I want a boy. Hey, there's a reason I chose to use the generic "he' instead of "she" when talking about the baby.

Will this impact our work in Costa Rica?

Having a baby always impacts anything you do. With that said, it will not impact our target date or our objectives. It may mean that Polly has to work harder with language school but there are always sacrifices made when having a baby, and let's be honest, it's not typically the baby making them.

We are very excited for what's in store and we are thrilled that there will be another member of our little family to enjoy it with. After hearing his heartbeat the other day, it's starting to feel more real. And of course, considering the fact that we will most likely be gone for 3 years, there is a real possibility that we come back to the U.S. as a family of five rather than four.

One of Those Days

Have you ever had one of those days? As ambiguous as that phrase is, I bet you know what I mean and I'm sure you've had more than one of them. Well, today is one of those days for me.

So many causes.

So many things can cause one of those days, ranging from minor to serious. Some of my past examples include:

• Being stuck in traffic
• Running late for work
• Receiving bad news
• Receiving an unexpected bill
• Losing money
• Having car troubles
• Waking up with a cold
• Waking up "on the wrong side of the bed"
• Getting into an argument

A changed perspective.

I want to share something that changed my outlook a couple of years ago regarding "one of those days." I cannot recall the cause way back then but I remember that I was having one of those days. At one point I finally just said, 

This has just been a bad day.

I immediately felt convicted. God creates every day. And everything that God creates is good. There are no bad days! It would be disingenuous to suggest that some aren't more challenging than others, but they're not bad. This creates a philosophical shift in our thinking because no matter what discouragement may come along, there are encouraging things too.

Psalm 3 says (in the ESV):

A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

1 O LORD, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul,
there is no salvation for him in God. Selah

3 But you, O LORD, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the LORD,
and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah

5 I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.

7 Arise, O LORD!
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.

8 Salvation belongs to the LORD;
your blessing be on your people! Selah

David was having "one of those days." But I love how David responds. He acknowledges that the Lord is the lifter of his head. And as verse 5 points out, even the fact that we wake up is cause to thank God.

What caused today's "one of those days"?

I just had a bit of discouragement with raising our budget. After an amazing 25 day period, we haven't seen any movement in our budget over the past 4 days.

It's hard work to raise a budget. It's tough to not be in control of our own future. Yet, we'd have it no other way. God has never let us down. His ways are always better than our ways. I trust Him to be in control more than I trust myself.

Thankfully I have an encouraging wife who reminds me to hold on to faith. I do believe that we're leaving in August. I know that doesn't add up using our logic, but I'm reminded of Proverbs 3:5, 6 which says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

I will trust in the LORD. Like David, I know where my help comes from. I know who lifts my head when it hangs low. So today, rather than simply pray to see the hand of God (provision) I will pray to see the face of God (intimacy).

I wrote this blog because I knew that I would read the Bible and be encouraged. When I write, I can read my own advice. Maybe you're having "one of those days." I pray you'll be encouraged and put your trust in God.

3 Lessons from the Potty

While I learn from books, teachings/sermons and conversations, many lessons come from real life events, moments when you experience an event and then realize it has application to a greater truth. One such lesson came for me yesterday.

Potty talk.

We had been talking about potty training for a while but had never really committed to the challenge. On Thursday, Polly finally decided that it was time to commit. After Genevieve's nap, we began the concerted effort to potty train Genevieve. This meant putting her in underwear instead of diapers. For the remainder of Thursday, Genevieve didn't tell us when she needed to use the potty and experienced accident after accident. The whole day Friday brought more of the same. The potty remained unused

Neither Polly nor I were instilled with confidence that Genevieve was going to use the potty any time soon. While we knew that it wouldn't likely happen overnight, we were hoping for progress. It was feeling a little hopeless. Then Saturday came.

Genevieve told us each time she needed to potty when she was wearing her underwear and used the potty each time. What a difference a day made! I know there will be more accidents to come and that we still have a ways to go in this journey, but Saturday brought hope!

The truth is that we knew she would eventually use the potty all by herself. But it took her actually doing it to bring hope. Up to that point, we were simply acting in faith. Here are 3 lessons this taught me:

You need to take that step of faith.

The positive results of Saturday would not have happened unless we finally took a leap of faith and put Genevieve in her underwear. Most things we are wanting and waiting for will not happen until we first step out and take action.

Today's results don't dictate tomorrow's results.

Although things seemed hopeless on Friday, we knew that it was only a day and a half and that the positive results would come. She was going to use the potty eventually. It would have been unreasonable for us to quit based on Friday's results. Tony Palow, pastor at Assembly of God in North Providence, RI had a great quote in his sermon today. He said, "We often give up instead of press in." That's true in many areas. When we're ready to give up, that's the time to press in.

Momentum is important.

There is a lot be said about the power of momentum. Positive results start multiplying quickly. It's exponential in growth. Some call this the snowball effect. What starts as a little snowball gets big rather quickly with a little momentum. And the bigger it gets, the more momentum there is. It's a great cycle.

The application.

We began raising our budget for Costa Rica last April. Over the first 9 months, we raised 17%. It would have been easy to be discouraged. But we knew the results of the first 9 months didn't dictate what would happen in the months to follow. Sure enough, 2013 kicked off with our best month yet. In fact, from January through April, we raised an additional 25%. The snowball was rolling.

Recently, with an eye toward leaving for Costa Rica in August of this year, we kicked off the 100 Days Campaign. We knew that we would need the 100 day period starting May 8 to far surpass our fundraising to that point. With over half our budget to raise, we recognized the need for a big miracle. We took the step of faith and pressed in. Things have started off strongly. After 18 days, we had already raised an additional 11% in new commitments. If we keep up that pace, we will be leaving on our target date.

So, we need to keep pressing in and keep that momentum going. Would you consider helping to keep that snowball rolling? A monthly commitment of any amount will do exactly that. You can set that up at http://s1.ag.org/brown or by clicking the "Partnering with Us" link above.

100 Days Campaign

"When are you leaving for Costa Rica?"

That is probably the most commonly asked question that Polly and I have experienced over the past year. Unfortunately, it's a question with no simple answer. In fact, I feel as though we can never answer the question without first qualifying the answer. An answer that itself has been a bit fluid during that time. So, I thought it would be helpful to answer that question here on the blog, with qualifiers of course.

One of the factors that makes the question a tricky one to answer is the fact that for a time, we only had a vague answer. When Polly and I responded to God's call on our lives to go to Costa Rica, the timetable for it was one of many unknowns. Pretty early on in the process we narrowed it down in our hearts and thinking to spring or summer of 2013. That was as close to an answer that we could give for a number of months. We usually began that answer with something along the lines of, "Probably..." or "Well, we're thinking maybe..."

We thoroughly enjoyed our experience of spending two weeks in Springfield, MO for Pre-field Orientation last June. Beyond learning and wisdom about missions in general we also became aware of an extremely important piece of specific information. We learned that due to the tourist visa situation in conjunction with the importance of being present for the first day of the semester of language school, there are only three dates during the entire year that a first time missionary to Latin America with Assemblies of God World Missions (AGWM) can travel to San Jose, Costa Rica. Two of those three dates immediately jumped out to us -- May 8, 2013 and August 28, 2013 -- as those were the two dates that fell within the parameters of us leaving in the spring or summer of 2013. We felt strongly that we would leave on either of those two dates. Our answer had narrowed down a little more. We usually began that answer with something along the lines of, "Either..." or "Depending on how things go..."

We remained confused about which date to truly target for quite a few months after narrowing things down to those two. I put both into our calendar. The first I called "Target Date" and the other "Alt Target Date." We were clearly undecided. This actually made things tougher for us. Answering ambiguously with spring or summer of 2013 was easy. Having two dates nearly four months apart was tough. When we were leaving depending on how we were feeling that day. We listed May 8, 2013 in our written materials only because it was the sooner. If we were going to be wrong, we would rather have been wrong being ambitious than being conservative. I figured it would be better to have to wait four more months than rush everything for four more months.

I'll never forget the first time I booked a church service for a date after May 8, 2013. In making that decision, I was acknowledging that I felt that the August 28th date was the one we should target. In fact, Polly and I both felt agreement and peace about this. Of course, this didn't mean that the answer became more definitely. We usually began that answer with something along the lines of, "Hopefully..." or "At the earliest..." Then came the conversation that changed everything for us.

We were Skype-ing with John & Dina one night. We were telling them about our latest campaign we were calling the "Cup of Coffee Campaign" (still ongoing). We got into a conversation about our goal and the need to raise our budget at a quicker pace. I don't remember the exact words that John used, but I remember him saying how there just came a point for them when they had to just pick a date (for themselves to get to Costa Rica) and stick with it. They needed to change their language to express their earnest faith that they were going to leave at the time God put on their hearts to leave. I felt challenged.

Let's be honest, faith can be tough. Since generalizing is not normally a good practice, let me speak for myself here (though I'm sure I'm not alone). It's scary to take the leap of faith. All the doubts start creeping in: "What if I'm wrong and look like an idiot?" "If I don't leave in August people will think that either God doesn't care or that we weren't listening to Him." I dealt with all those questions. In truth, I still deal with them. But I come back to this: I'd rather take the leap of faith and find out that I was wrong than not take the leap at all. The one thing that I am certain of is that God does care and that we will get there at the exact time we should. He's not going to be the one to mess up or make a mistake. If a mistake is made, it will be my mistake. My pride might be a little hurt, but my trust will still be in the Lord. And I'm thankful that God is there with me even through my mistakes.

So, I'm done with the qualifiers. From now on, when people ask when we're leaving, I'm going to answer them that we are leaving in August!

Now, let's discuss a simple reality: We cannot leave until our budget is raised. You know what then, I guess we're just going to have to raise our budget by August then. This is where our latest campaign comes into play: the 100 Days campaign.

It occurred to me on Tuesday, May 7 that the following day was to be the "other date" we had considered for leaving for Costa Rica. After doing a little simple math, it also occurred to me that there were about 100 days from May 8th until the time we would need our budget raised in order to leave for Costa Rica on August 28th. A little more simple math (very simple math) brought to my attention that to raise the additional roughly $2,500 in monthly commitments, we would need to average $25 in new monthly commitments every day over that 100 day period. That's a big need. But it's not bigger than God's ability.

Two days into this 100 Day Campaign, we have received $100 in new monthly commitments from a total of three people (1 at $50/mo, 2 at $25/mo). That's obviously an excellent start. We need to keep that momentum rolling though. Will you considering partnering with us by joining our sending team and making a commitment to give $25 every month so that we can go and serve the people of Costa Rica? You can't do $25/mo? That's okay, can you do $5 or $10 or $20? You can do more than $25/mo? That's okay too. You can choose any amount up to the $2,400/mo we need. We're just looking to reach the average of $25/mo per day. And I have a goal of never being more than three days behind, so that a $100/mo commitment would catch us right back up. Don't wait until tomorrow to set this up...jump on board today!

You can set up a commitment attached to a credit card or set up the commitment without it being attached to a credit card (Acct# 2713097). That's your choice. If you want to know more about what we'll be doing in Costa Rica, please feel free to check out the Engage CR or FAQs pages by clicking the links here or at the top of the page.

As always, you can email us at mikeandpollybrown@gmail.com if you have any further questions.

30 in Thirty: 29 - Fishing with Pop

For today's 30 in Thirty celebration, Polly and I went fishing. Considering the fact that we've been fishing together on numerous occasions, it's easy to see how that could seem like a pretty simple, mundane event for a celebration activity. And if it were just another day of fishing, I would feel the same way. But today wasn't just another day of fishing. Polly and I were joined by her cousins (unfortunately Chris got called into work and couldn't stay), Aunt Penny and Pop (Polly's grandfather)! To understand how special today's event was, you first have to understand something about Polly's family.

Pop has been fishing for a very long time. He even used to work for the New Jersey Fish & Game. And he taught all 3 of his daughters (including Polly's mom) and all 9 of his grandkids how to fish. It is impossible to get together with Polly's family and not hear stories of fishing. It's a significant part of who the family is. And for me, that's all it's ever been...hearing the stories. I mean, sure, I've been with Polly's family fishing while on vacation at Thousand Islands. But I've never been fishing with Pop. So today was an very special day. I was honored to be a part of it. Even cooler was that Rosedale Lake, where we fished, is one of the lakes Pop used to stock when he was working for the Fish & Game. And better yet, today was Pop's 86th birthday! So when Polly's brother Leroy began contacting all the grandkids to arrange this event, we were so excited that we had this weekend free on our calendar (that is not often the case these days). I didn't catch any fish (in fact, Polly's cousin Stephen was the only one to catch one), but that didn't make the day any less special. Someone took a picture of Polly and me fishing on either side of Pop. Unfortunately the camera's memory card was apparently full and the picture did not make it. I wish I could share that moment with you because it's a moment that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Here are a few of the pictures that did make it today:

The chalkboard at Gram & Pop's house

Genevieve wanted to help Pop blow out his candles

The grandkids

Stephen holding his rainbow trout with Pop

Sometimes, it's the simple activities that have the biggest impacts. I'm so glad that I finally got to take part in this amazing tradition that I've heard so much about for the last 9 years!

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