Our Thriving MK

A lot has happened in the 2+ years we have been in Costa Rica. While continuing to think and reflect on some of the most impactful moments and aspects of our time here, Genevieve came to mind.

When we arrived in January of 2014, Genevieve was just a couple weeks shy of her 3rd birthday and still an only child. Before coming to Costa Rica, Polly was a stay-at-home mom and Genevieve had never gone to day care and had barely ever been to school (she spent some time in a kindergarten class on occasion at the school where Polly taught gym and computer class, but never for a full day).

Don't get me wrong, she had already had an opportunity to meet so many people and have great experiences during our itineration (going to different churches each week to raise funds) and did not have separation anxiety when going to kids classes at those random churches during that time.

It was only our 2nd day here in Costa Rica when that all began to change. Genevieve spent her first day at school. She was still so little even though I know at the time I couldn't help but think about how big she was.

And that really was only the beginning. She would go to school Monday-Friday with a Spanish-speaking teacher. Soon she was speaking Spanish like it was no big deal. And in just a little over a month, she was a big sister. Her life was constantly changing. And while she went through culture shock in her own way, in short time she had embraced and even thrived in this new world.

I'll never forget when we were in Panama on a visa trip and she went with me to see if the hotel still had a blanket we had left during a previous trip there. On the way it occurred to me that I had never learned the word for blanket. So I turned to Genevieve and asked her. Without hesitation she responded, "Cobijita." What a humbling moment! (And she still teaches me new words sometimes.)

There have been cool personal, cultural experiences for her along the way, like meeting the president of Costa Rica on 2 separate occasions and even ending up in the national newspaper with him once.

But mostly I've been impressed by her ministry involvement. We always say that MKs are not missionary's kids but missionary kids. They are missionaries who just happen to be kids. In April 2015 at 4 years old was asked to share the story of David and Goliath in Spanish in front of a church full of people. She excitedly accepted the offer and did a great job.

She loves when teams come to work with us from the States, always making friends. And she loves hanging out with the chicas from Chicas de Promesa as well as other kids we work with. And let's not forget about how much she helped me with the OneHope book deliveries last year.

This week is exam week at the school where we do ministry 2 days a week. But since Genevieve goes to kindergarten at the school (all Spanish-speaking) when she goes with me, I decided to still let her go to class this week. At first I didn't know if it was a good plan since I am not doing ministry here this week and don't want to create more work for the teachers. But then it dawned on me that even though I'm doing work on my computer rather than normal ministry at the school these 2 days, she can still do ministry by showing the love of Jesus to her friends at school. These are her days of ministry. I guess I just forget sometimes that God wants to use her too. So while I type this, she's hanging out in school with her friends and I'm praying that God empowers her by the Holy Spirit to be a brightly shining light.

The Impact of Hugs

We have had some amazing ministry and personal experiences in Costa Rica. As we move into our final three months here, I have begun the process of reflecting on some of those. While reflecting, a "simple" question came to mind: Which experiences have impacted me the most?

Of course, this is not really a simple question at all. It takes a lot of processing for me to assess these kinds of questions. But I want to take some opportunities over the next few months to unpack and share some of the most impactful experiences, events and moments from our time in Costa Rica.

It's hard to say which is the most impactful but I want to start with the one which has stood out to me the most during these recent contemplations: Hugs.

I love hugs.

I hug my wife and children multiple times each day. And they hug me. I also often hug other family and friends. I guess you could say that I'm a hugger.

So perhaps it's no surprise that some of my favorite, most impactful moments here have involved hugs. While I cannot share an exhaustive list, I wanted to share some examples.

1. Fatherly Hugs

I wrote a blog entry about these hugs when I had this incredible experience. Let me share a summary. We were asked by a church to help with a children's ministry event. One of the teaching sessions was on fatherhood. I was with the younger kids for this session (up to age 6). The session was followed by a time of prayer. During this time I was approached by the teacher who asked if I would hug each kid with a fatherly hug and pray a prayer of blessing over them.

The first kid latched onto me and didn't want to let me go. I just stood there hugging this boy and letting him hug me. They finally had to pull him off of me to allow a chance for the other kids.

The last kid also grabbed hold of me and just laid on my shoulder for a long time while his aunt stood by bawling. I later found out he didn't have a dad.

I have kids and love to hug them as their dad. And while those kids were not my kids, for that day those kids (especially the first and last) were like my kids and I hugged them as a dad. It was one of the most special and powerful moments of my life.

2. Constant Hugs

I'll never forget when I heard that some students at the Latin America ChildCare (LACC) school in Linda Vista lost their house to a fire. I was asked to go and take photos so we could see how we could help. We ended up having the privilege of helping the family build a new home. But more than that we became friends with this family and we became close with the kids. To this day, the 3rd and 4th kids of the family give me big hugs when they see me at the school. And I can feel the love with every hug. It's something so genuine and so precious.

3. Comforting Hugs

One privilege has been the opportunity to pray over kids here in Costa Rica, especially in our LACC schools. Last year during the 5th grade spiritual emphasis chapel I was asked to pray for one of the students, one of the chicos I had been working with, as he was going through a tough time. I couldn't really do much but pray over him and wrap my arm around his shoulder to comfort him as he wept. 

4. Random Hugs

I was recently at the Linda Vista school when a kindergartner randomly approached me and gave me a hug before he returned to where he was sitting on the steps. I do not know why he hugged me and likely never will but I'm glad that he did.

Another recent situation found me at our school in Los Cuadros. Genevieve was with me and wanted to stay to watch a movie other missionaries were showing to a group of students. During the movie this one sweet little girl just kept snuggling up to my arm and shoulder before finally propping herself against my knee for the rest of the movie.

Final thoughts...

As I said, there are other examples I'm sure I could share (and Polly could add even more to that) but these are the ones that stood out to me the most. It occurs to me that all of these hugs have something in common: I didn't/don't deserve any of them. I am blessed and feel privileged to have these opportunities. Maybe that's why these moments stand out to me above so many other amazing experiences we've had here.

Finding the Balance

Last week was our Assemblies of God national pastors' meetings (Asamblea General) in Costa Rica. What a great time connecting with friends and making new ones. This country is in great hands with excellent pastors and leaders.

Beyond the meetings themselves, the 2 days I spent there really offered a good glimpse into the balance between finishing well here and preparing for our upcoming transition and itineration.

Double Duty Scheduling

As we told pastor friends our plans to leave in August, a number of them wanted to be sure to schedule us to come and preach at their churches before leaving. We also scheduled a couple of kids' ministry classes to teach and a potential final trip into the jungle to minister to the indigenous.

We had submitted our newsletter on one of the first day I was at the meetings. In the newsletters we let pastors know that we're beginning to schedule services from when we're home in August until the end of the year. So I was on my phone responding to requests for itineration services.

We were (are) building 2 different schedules. One for the remainder of our time here and the other for our return to the States. This really offers a good picture of where we are right now. We are committed to the people of Costa Rica and our responsibilities here until the end. We want to finish strong and finish well. And then there's the need to set up our schedule for when we arrive in the States to prepare for Bolivia. It's a balance.

Itineration

We are going to keep going strong here. We love the people and we love what we are able to do. And we look forward to still learning as much as we can these final months here. But I want to take this opportunity to focus more on when we'll be home for itineration.

As I mentioned we are looking to fill up our schedule from when we're home in August until the end of 2016. We can't really schedule further in advance because we still await official approval as appointed missionaries, which would be in October. We believe God is in this and that everything will work with this, but we still leave it in His hands and ask you to pray that His will be done as we go to our interview. If we are approved, we will immediately begin filling our 2017 schedule as well.

There are 3 encounters we would like to schedule:

1. Churches - We would love opportunities to come and share our hearts at churches in Sunday or Wednesday services, children's services, youth services, small groups, men's groups, women's groups, etc. This is true both for already supporting churches and potential supporting churches.
2. Pastors - We would love to connect with pastors and/or missions leadership of churches over coffee. While we love connecting with the whole church body, we understand that sometimes this works better for some pastors for various reasons.
3. Individuals - We have a decent amount of monthly support and one-time donations which has come from family, friends and complete strangers. We would love to connect and share our hearts on a personal level with those who partner with us financially or who would like to consider financial partnership.

We are also asking for prayer and really want to work on building our prayer team more intentionally and strategically so stay tuned for more about how we'll be implementing this aspect of partnership.

Please pray that the details will still come together regarding where we'll be staying, how we'll be traveling, Genevieve's schooling and other technically details.

We're doubly excited I guess. Excited for what's already here (ministry in Costa Rica) and what's to come (the transition to ministry in Bolivia).

Oops! Moments

After 30+ years of living in the U.S. (mostly Massachusetts), I arrived in Costa Rica with my family to learn the language and culture of Latin America. 2+ years in, we feel like we have learned a good bit of each. Of course, 2 things remain undeniably true:

1. We have made and still make mistakes culturally and linguistically in Costa Rica; and
2. Latin American countries are not exactly the same, neither in language nor culture.

With truth #2 in mind, we expected some cultural and linguistic differences when we visited Bolivia last week to check out the place where we feel the Lord is calling us.

Costa Rica Oops Moments

Before we look at a couple of those oops moments in Bolivia let's go back to truth #1 above and relive my 3 worst oops moments (so far) in Costa Rica.

1. Hole punch

Shortly after our arrival in Costa Rica, I went to a local store looking for a 3-hole punch.  The problem: I didn't know the word for it. I found a dictionary in the store, but it didn't have the word. So I found a word for "hole" and a word for "punch."

Armed with "hoyo poncho," hand motions and "uno, dos, tres," I gave it my best shot. I knew it wasn't right, but I didn't know what else to do. The worker looked at me and in perfect English asked, "You need a 3-hole punch?" In hindsight, I should have asked if he spoke English first.

2. Walk of shame

You know...that time I was the only man walking down to the front of a church with hundreds (perhaps thousands) of women.

3. False cognate

I was talking with 2 tica friends (though we were in Panama at the time) once about the health concerns of foods with preservatives. Well that's what I wanted to be talking with them about anyway. I quickly found out the word was not "preservativos" as I had suspected...it was "preservantes." "Preservativos" happens to be another word for prophylactics. Oops.

4. Deaf or Left-handed?

I once told a tica friend that Polly knows sign language because her parents are deaf. Actually, that's what I meant to say. What I did say was that her parents are left-handed. Why the confusion? Surdo = left-handed; Sordo = deaf. My dad, for the record, is a lefty...as may be Jonah.

Bolivia Oops Moments

Okay, back to Bolivia. While we didn't have many oops moments there, two do stand out. One was cultural and the other linguistic.

1. A Bolivian greeting

During our first day in Bolivia, I met a local pastor who oversees an LACC school. At one point he shook my hand and came in for a hug. Well, it seemed to me he was coming in for a hug anyway. I'm a hugger and many ticos are huggers so it seemed right. As I hugged him he put his hand on my shoulder, pushed me away and said, "Okay, okay." It was awkward but no biggie.

It wasn't until the next day that I found myself in a similar situation. I finally figured out what was going on. My missionary friend in Bolivia had forgotten to give me the heads up on the proper Bolivian greeting between two men: They shake hands, with the same hand pat the back of the left shoulder of the other man twice and then shake hands a second time. That pastor must have thought I was crazy.

2. Tico

Having learned Spanish in Costa Rica, it should come as no surprise that I use a number of words that are common here but nowhere else. I used them a few times and got blank stares but I generally did well to avoid them. Only one provided a funny moment.

I used the word "tico" when I referred to people or things from Costa Rica. That's the word I always use in Costa Rica and throughout Central America. Well, apparently this term for Costa Rican has not made its way to Bolivia. To make matters worse, they do use the word, just differently.

So when I told a group of pastors, "My son was born in Costa Rica so he's a tico," they laughed. Only later did I find out that they use it to mean "little people." While my son is in fact little he is not a "little person" and that's not what I meant to tell that particular group of pastors.

Living Selflessly in a "Me, I, Mine, My" World

How do we live selflessly in a world filled with so much selfishness?

Don't misunderstand me. I have encountered numerous people in my life exhibiting selfless behavior, with my mother being high on that list. And I have witnessed selflessness in random situations in life, like in the 2013 Boston Marathon when many runners continued past the finish line and to the hospital to donate blood for those impacted by the bombings. In fact, I often comment on how kind and generous the Costa Rican culture is in general, with one of the most common questions heard here being, "¿En que puedo servirle?" which means "How can I serve you?" And it's not just empty words; they mean it.

But let's be honest, we see and experience a lot of selfishness in this world too. Just watch a video of people shopping on Black Friday, tackling people as they fight for the same toy. Or pay attention in traffic as people cut others off, at times traveling illegally to do so. Or just see how often people are "too busy" to help others in need. I believe that selfishness exists because sin exists in this broken world. We tend to think of ourselves first. Many times, I'm as guilty or even more guilty than the next. And this is precisely why I was so moved by the example of selflessness I witnessed this past weekend.

Ángel is Maleku, one of the indigenous tribes in Costa Rica. He pastors a church on the reservation. We spent the weekend with him and his family at their home on the Maleku reservation near San Rafael de Guatuso. We were there for ministry, planning for a missions trip there next year, and passing time with friends.

On Saturday, we visited a number of spots that would be nice for the team to have a chance to see some of the local beauty, which included a trip to a national park and its beautiful light blue river (Río Celeste) and gorgeous waterfall (among other attractions).

I can't share all the selflessness I witnessed from Ángel that day, but allow me to share a few.

Not Inconvenienced

We went to the spot where he normally enters the park, but that entrance was recently closed. As we were getting ready to leave, Polly noticed an American trying to talk to a hotel owner to no avail. As it turned out she was looking for the entrance to the park to see the waterfall. I told her that her and her friend could follow us as that's where we were headed. I told Ángel and he took it a step further. He invited them to hike with us as it's easier and more informative with a tour guide, which he essentially is as he knows the trails very well. They did join us and we had a good time making new friends.

Hop on My Back, Part 1

The hike was an hour or so, mostly through pouring rain and with many inclines. At one point, Genevieve's little 4 year old legs couldn't take it any more. I was already carrying Jonah on my back so I couldn't help her. Without hesitation, Ángel got down and offered her to jump on his back.

Hop on My Back, Part 2

Nearing the park entrance after a long hike, we came across some hikers stopped along the path. We learned that a woman had injured her ankle and could not continue on. Her husband asked if we could let the park rangers know. Instead, Ángel once again offered his back to a complete stranger. He carried her until we came across a park ranger on a 4 wheeler.

Do You Need Help?

As we were driving away from the park we encountered a woman with a flat tire on the side of the road. A man had already stopped to help, but inspired by the selflessness I had witnessed, I decided to stop and offer help. Good thing too because the man was struggling due to the terrain. I couldn't move fast enough to help as much as intended because Ángel was that much faster. He came up with the idea to get the car up and retightened the bolts.

Shirt off his Back, Part 1

Notice how Ángel was shirtless in those last couple photos? Well that was because back in the park, his daughter was cold and wet. So he literally gave her the shirt off his back, completing the remainder of the cold, wet hike shirtless.

Shirt off his Back, Part 2

When we arrived back at Ángel's house, he told me to pull in front of the house. I didn't know why until I saw him with the hose and that very same shirt, cleaning all the mud off my car. I helped as much as I could but he was determined. He did help me clean my boots when he saw me rinsing those off too.

These were more than a few selfless acts. These were examples of the way my friend choosing to live his life: selflessly. The way I believe God wants us to live our lives. It's a Christlike mentality. I learned a lot from my friend. Hopefully rather than just being moved internally I can lead a more selfless life too. Not just occasionally offer selfless acts, but truly live a selfless lifestyle.

What does the Bible say?

Mark 12:29-31 (ESV, emphasis mine)

Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (ESV, emphasis mine)

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Romans 12:9, 10 (ESV)

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

7 Reasons I Love to Run

There are basically 2 types of runners: Those who love it and those who tolerate it. I fall into that first category...I love running!

It's funny because every time I start on a run, I don't enjoy it. My legs don't want to keep moving. But after about a mile or so I find my groove and can run for miles and miles. This morning I began thinking of why I enjoy running so much.

Disclaimer: The thoughts shared here are my personal thoughts from my personal experience. I am not a medical doctor, psychologist or professional health expert. 

1. Running gives me energy

It seems so paradoxical doesn't it? Running takes a lot of energy, so how can it give it? Well, this is not a scientific article looking to answer the technicalities of that question. You can look up metabolism and all other relevant factors on your own. What I do want to say is that on the days that I run, I am less lethargic and more ready to conquer the world.

2. Running helps me eat better

While running makes me hungrier, it doesn't tend to make me hungrier for bad stuff. My body craves a healthy balance of carbs, protein, etc. to replenish itself. I tend to make healthier choices. There's also a psychological component at play for me. The thought of eating super unhealthy makes me feel like I would be wasting the time and effort investing in my running. Since I don't want to run for nothing, I tend to compliment my running with healthier eating.

3. Running makes me feel better

Along with the benefit of added energy and healthier eating, there are other aspects of running that help me feel better. Running helps me lose and/or maintain my weight. Running helps me build stronger muscles. I feel better all around on days that I run.

4. Running helps me spiritually

When I'm not faithfully running, because I love it so much, it's a good gauge of where I'm at spiritually. It generally means that I'm not doing well in the area of self-control. This means I'm probably eating poorly, my devotional time may not be as strong, my prayer life may not be as consistent and my decision making may be more me-centered. It's not a guarantee of those things, but it's a good indicator for me. On the flip-side, when I am running those other areas are generally stronger in my life as well.

5. God speaks to me when I run

I don't know why but running is a good thinking time and prayer time for me. And this is also the time when I generally feel like God puts things on my heart. During my run this morning, I felt like God put the idea for a 3 week series for Chicos on my heart. Last week, He put another idea for Chicos on my heart. In 2010 it was during a run that I felt like God told me we were pregnant. I told Polly. A few days later when she checked, it turned out we were. There's something about running that brings harmony to my conversations with God. (No I don't hear His audible voice, but I know He puts things in my heart.)

6. Running helps me enjoy God's creation

I love being in nature. I love fresh air (I try to avoid the congested city streets as best as I can). I love looking at mountains with the sunlight shining on them. I love seeing trees and flowers. I love seeing people and saying good morning to them. All of these things are part of God's beautiful creation. And I love to enjoy them all.

7. Running gives me fun, new experiences

Whether it's running in a race or going for a run with friends or running through a new part of town or meeting people along the way, I love the fun, new experiences running offers me.

So all this begs a simple question: If I love running so much and it makes my life so much better, why do I get out of the habit of doing it sometimes? The answer: I have no idea.

Our Sweet, Precious Genevieve

Of the many things that blessed me this weekend, one was a little more personal and closer to my heart than the others. It had to do with Genevieve. There are 3 things which really stand out with regard to her.

1. The Missionary Kid

The church who hosted the children's ministry retreat we helped with this past weekend is the same church where Genevieve shared the story of David and Goliath in Spanish in front of the who church back in April. If you missed that, you can view the video here.

At the end of the video she says, "No importa si es pequeño porque Dios es grande y nos ayuda." This translates to, "It doesn't matter if you are small because God is big and He helps us." The children's ministry leader was there that morning and heard that mini sermon. She said that she felt like God used that to come up with the motto for the retreat this year, which was, "Soy pequeño pero camino con Jesús." In English this says, "I am small but I walk with Jesus."

Knowing that God used our little 4 year old MK (missionary kid) to speak into the heart of a leader showed/reminded me of something important: a missionary kid is not necessarily simply a kid of a missionary but a missionary who is a kid. When God called our family to Costa Rica, He had Genevieve and Jonah in mind too. They are such a blessing, generally bringing a smile to people's faces but in this case, God used her through her words when she shared. We are so proud of her and humbled by her all at the same time.

2. The Kid

During a special prayer time at the church on the night before the retreat, God really impressed Genevieve on my heart. It struck me that she had such an opportunity to participate as one of the kids. As much as she is a missionary kid, during this retreat she was allowed to just be one of the kids. She was going to be ministered to in the same way the rest of the kids were. The last time she was at this church she shared as a missionary. This time she participated as a kid.

Polly and I were praying that God would do a work in her heart and life this past weekend. We prayed that she would have a genuine encounter with God and be anointed/empowered by the Holy Spirit.

We don't know how much impact the weekend had on her. We know that she listened to at least some of it and that she prayed and that she was prayed over. I believe it was a positive experience for her. We are so grateful that this church thought of her and invited her to be a kid who got to participate.

3. The Big Kid

Genevieve is growing up so fast. The fact that she was comfortable leaving us (even though we were at the same campground) and staying with her group and even sleeping in a room with her friends reminded us how big she's getting. She's not a little baby anymore. We loved watching her having fun and making new friends. We loved watching her take little steps of independence which will serve her well in the future...a LONG, LONG time from now.

God Calls Kids Too

I don't remember how old I was when I first felt the call of God on my life. My earliest memory of feeling at least some semblance of that call was from back in the 90s. I believe I was 9 years old, but it's possible I was older. Missionaries Neil & Kathy Vanaria, who are now dear friends, came to my church one night to share about what God was doing in Papua New Guinea. I remember feeling like that's what I wanted to do. Even though I don't remember every specific and detail, the point remains the same: God can/does call children too (see the story of Samuel from 1 Samuel 3)! The theme from the weekend was "I'm small but I walk with Jesus" (I'll share more about that theme tomorrow).

Polly and I had the privilege of leading the teaching about missions/evangelism to all the kids. The leader Adriana put together the lesson but thought it would be nice/fitting for missionaries to teach it. We shared the importance of going and making disciples as mandated in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). After we were finished with the teaching, we had a special time of reflection and prayer. We gave each of the kids an electric candle and shared how we were to carry the light into the darkness.

Adriana had also mentioned the desire for us to have a specific call for those feeling a specific call on their lives, as she was called at the age of 8. After some time of general prayer for all who were ready to bring that light into their world around them, we made that call. Nobody came forward. We just let it be. If nobody was going to respond to that specific call, we were still going to have a nice time of prayer for the general call.

After some time, however, one girl came forward. Our missionary friend Caitlin had already been pouring into that girls life that day so we had her come up and pray over her. Then a group leader grabbed my attention as she came up with 3 little boys who said they were going to be pastors. One in particular seemed very sure about that and was more than ready to pray about it. Finally, Adriana brought me another girl who said she felt God's calling on her life. I prayed over her and really sensed that God had plans for her life.

It was a beautiful time of prayer as we were privileged to have the opportunity to pray over these children responding to the call of God on their lives. How awesome that this church saw the value in this and made it a priority! And we're grateful that they allowed us to be a small part of it.

God has some big plans in store for these kids lives. I can't wait to hear what they're doing years from now.

A Fatherly Embrace

God, Our Heavenly Father

During one of the teachings at the children's ministry retreat we were blessed to participate in this past weekend, Polly and I were asked to go with the 4-6 year olds during the prayer time. The lesson was on fatherhood. There were a number of kids at the retreat without a father so this was a very important and special lesson time. The kids were taught how God is the heavenly father and how He will never leave or abandon them. After the lesson was over, I prayed over a couple kids. I thought we were done, but I was then asked to do the sweetest thing I've ever been asked to do in my life.

A Fatherly Embrace

I was asked to give each precious kid a fatherly hug and pray over them. They brought me the first kid who was clearly touched by the lesson and he clung to me. I clung to him to. I hugged him and prayed over him as he held me tight and wept. I asked God to let him feel the loving embrace of his heavenly Father and that he was always know that God will never abandon him. After a few minutes of hugging and praying over him, the leaders tried to pull him away so they could bring another kid. He wouldn't let go of me. It was one of the most precious experiences of my life.

After that little boy finally let go, I continued to hug and pray over each of the kids, including Genevieve who was with this group. The last kid brought to me was a sweet little 3 (almost 4) year old boy who was brought to the retreat by his aunt and uncle who were helping. As soon as his aunt handed him to me, he clung to me and hugged me tight. I just stood there with him in my arms for a few minutes praying over him. Meanwhile his aunt immediately began to bawl after handing him to me. Polly had the opportunity to pray over her. Afterward I discovered that this adorable little boy was abandoned by his father very early on in life and struggles with it.

While I know that those little kids without fathers still went back to homes without fathers, I was still blessed with the privilege of hugging them as a father would. I didn't deserve that opportunity. More than that, I pray that they had a real encounter with their heavenly Father and that He continues to heal their hurts as they put their trust in Him.

Thankful

I am thankful that God is our heavenly Father and that He will never abandon us. Even as someone who grew up with my dad, I still need the warm embrace of my heavenly Father. And I need to teach my children the value of the same for their lives.

I am thankful that I have 2 precious little ones who I get to hug and pray over regularly. Reflecting back on this special moment, I am challenged to do this even more and to be the best dad that I can be to my children.

I am thankful that I grew up with both parents and didn't have to go through what so many children go through. I don't want to ever take this blessing for granted.

Prayer Requests - June 2015

A huge component to our success in Costa Rica is the prayers of our family, friends and other ministry partners (though if you're praying for us I'd like to think of you as a friend). Sometimes people ask us how they can be praying for us specifically. So, every month I will try to share updated prayer needs and also share when we hear an answer to a specific prayer. Thank you so much for praying!

I will break this down into two areas: Personal and Ministry. I will also subdivide each of those areas as best as I can think to.

Personal

1. Spiritual

• Continued growth in our intimacy with God.
• Protection from any spiritual attacks of the enemy.
• Genevieve understands so much more now and asks lots of questions and has told us that she has asked Jesus into her heart. We pray that she will continue to seek Him out all the days of her life. And that we will lead her and Jonah in the ways of the Lord.

2. Physical

• We seem to be running through colds or allergies one after the other since rainy season started.
• My knee has been bothering me off and on lately which has kept me from doing a lot of intensive exercise. The last few times playing soccer, it's been significantly better, but it's not 100%.
• The kids as they continue to grow and develop (i.e. Jonah's teething, etc.).

3. Relational

• Continued friendships with both Christians and non-Christians among both Americans and Costa Ricans for all of us.
• That we will have opportunities to share Jesus in the context of our friendships with non-Christians.
• For a strengthened marriage, parent-children relationships and sibling relationships

4. Emotional

• As we miss family in the States.
• As we say good bye to friends returning to the States or their mission field (for those from the language school).
• Anything else that comes us through culture shock or life in general.

5. Mental

• Continued growth in our ability with the Spanish language.
• Continued growth in my ability to interpret.
• For the kids to continue to grow and develop mentally (i.e. Genevieve as she learns to read, etc.).

6. Financial

• Among other things, we miscalculated our personal budget in December and are still in the process of working our way out of the slight debt incurred as a result.
• God provides for our monthly ministry need every month through various means. We are still looking for monthly financial partners. 

7. Practical

• Polly and I need to get our Costa Rica driver's licenses very soon.
• We need to finish up with Genevieve's residency.

Ministry

1. Chicos/Chicas

• For favor as Polly helps with the Chicas ministry and as my friend and I continue to pioneer the Chicos ministry in the community of Linda Vista. We have been meeting with the Chicos for about a month now and have really been able to start building good relationships and have had some great discussions and such.
• We also are still praying for the ability to purchase a house attached to the school for Chicos to meet in. We already have money to purchase it (our missionary mentor and area directors have worked all this out) but need the seller to agree to sell it to us and at the right price.
• One of the girls in Chicas, her parents, 3 brothers and sister lost their home to a fire a little over a week ago. We have been helping to get things together for the family and will hopefully be helping to rebuild their home for them. The girl's name is Engel (pronounced like Angel).

2. OneHope Project

• Traveling mercies as we travel throughout the country to distribute these books (they contain a basic plan of salvation and cover some age appropriate issues) to the churches.
• That these books would be useful in young people and their families coming to and growing in Jesus.

3. Children's Ministry

• We have been asked to help teach at a children's retreat for a church we have done ministry with in the past here.
• Other opportunities we have to teach children or train leaders.

4. Bible School

• I have been asked to help with the Children's Ministry track at the local Bible school, including teaching a couple classes a week likely starting in the Fall.

5. Missions Teams

• We have a number of teams coming this summer to help in various projects. Please pray for favor in each of these situations.

A Day in Our Life

A friend recently asked if we had a regular daily schedule for our ministry here in Costa Rica. The easy answer, no. While some days' schedules mostly repeat on a weekly basis, that is far from a hard rule. Sometimes things come up which change plans for that week. And sometimes they change as the day goes along. There is no "typical day" in Costa Rica for us. They vary quite a bit.

But I decided to write a blog following a random day in our life anyway. Knowing we had a number of items on the agenda for yesterday, I figured it would be a good day to follow. So I told Polly of my plan. Little did I know that yesterday was going to serve to prove my point of our daily inconsistency and flexibility I mentioned above. I almost decided against even going through with the blog, but I think it's a fair representation so I decided to go through with it anyway. Some days are calm and dare I say relaxing. Others are...well, you'll see.

Normal Wednesday

A "normal" Wednesday would consist of:

• We have breakfast as a family
• I go to Linda Vista for Chicos from 9a-3p while Polly stays home with the kids
• I come home and play with the kids
• We have dinner together as a family

As you can see, our Wednesday schedule is sort of like a normal work day.

Yesterday's Planned Schedule

With the need to work on our residency and a Children's ministry meeting planned, yesterday already wasn't supposed to be a normal Wednesday. Here's what we had planned:

• Have breakfast together as a family
• My meeting at the Caja to find out how much social security tax I will "voluntarily" pay Costa Rica to be a resident at 9:45
• Polly's meeting at the Caja at 10:45
• Drop Polly and the kids off at home and go to Linda Vista for the 2nd group of Chicos
• After Chicos, come home and pick up the family and go to the Children's Ministry meeting
• Let Genevieve play at the park with the other MKs
• Return home and have dinner together as a family

So, yesterday was supposed to be a little more hectic and crazy than usual. But we would get a lot accomplished, both with our residency and our ministry.

Yesterday's Actual Schedule

Here's how yesterday really went:

• We had breakfast together as a family
• We left at 9:20a for my 9:45 meeting at the Caja
• I went in for the meeting around 10:20
• While in the meeting, they also called Polly back for her meeting
• We discovered that we were supposed to make 3 separate payments to the government
• They told us to make those payments and then come back next Tuesday when we would have to wait until they had an opening to fit us in
• I asked if I could go and make the payment right away and return to finish things up yesterday; they agreed
• Polly and Jonah stayed around the Caja while Genevieve and I went home to get some money, went to the ATM to take out more money, went into the bank to make the 3 payments for each Polly and me, and then returned to the Caja; all this took about an hour
• When I went to the woman who had been helping me, she told me that it was really busy and that we should return after 2p. It was about noon, so we left and grabbed lunch nearby
• While in Subway, it started pouring; we realized we didn't have umbrellas; of course we didn't have umbrellas
• When the rain let up, we left and returned to the Caja
• Finally, a little after 2:00, they took as back; everything went well
• We got in our car at about 3:15, about 6 hours from when we had left the house earlier in the morning; the kids were amazing all things considered, but clearly had enough at that point; so did Polly and I
• We swung by Piedad for the end of the Children's Ministry meeting; we got caught up on the OneHope project I've been working on
• It was still rainy and wet so no park play time with other MKs for Genevieve
• We had dinner together as a family

That's life here for us in a nutshell. Some days are calm, some crazy. Some weeks are extra calm, some are extra crazy. All are worth it in the end. We wouldn't trade any of this.

Thanks for spending a day in our life. And thanks for your prayers. They keep us sane in the moments of insanity.

Start - Finish. The dash matters too!

We've all heard, "It's not how you start, but how you finish the race." While I understand its point I think it's a bit simplistic. How we start can have a huge impact on how we finish. And from start - finish, I believe the dash matters too.

Strong Start

When running a race, a good start can be critical. Especially for sprints. This is why runners start on the blocks and this is why false starts occur. Beyond that, there is a mental component to starting well. When I run a race, I want to start well. It puts me in a good mindset moving forward through the race.

Strong Finish

Our place in a race is defined by how we finish. There was one point late in this year's Boston Marathon when Americans were leading both the men's and women's races. Both were eventually passed by other runners. They ran a solid race. Yet who received all the attention? The winners. How you finish is incredibly important.

So which is more important: the start or the finish? I would pick finishing well over starting well...if I had to choose. But we shouldn't have to choose. We should seek both.

I believe that we usually spend so much time focusing on talking about the beginning and the end that we forget the biggest portion of the race - the middle. What happens in between the start and the finish matters too.

Strong Middle

This is where I think the real battle often lies. This is when you really need perseverance and mental fortitude and focus. Let's face it, it's easy to start well because you're body is releasing so much adrenaline and you're fresh and ready to go. You're usually surrounded by many other runners and fans. And it's easy to end well because you can clearly see the finish line and generally there are so many people cheering you on, giving you the extra motivation. I have run two marathons. The start and the finish of each were relatively easy. What I found most difficult was the middle.

What happens when the initial adrenaline wears off? What happens when the pains kicks in and you realize uphill the battle is? What happens when nobody is standing around and cheering you on? This is where you really need to bear down and fight. The finish may be the most important part but you can never make it to the finish if you don't fight through the middle. The start might be important to build momentum and a positive attitude, but it's irrelevant if you allow yourself to lose the momentum you've built when you hit a rough patch in the middle.

It's easy to focus at the beginning and at the end. The difficulty lies in the middle.

My friend Matt and I are about to start Chicos on a weekly basis. We're fired up and excited to get going. We've planned and prepped. Tomorrow (May 12) will be the first day. I have no doubt it will go well. But we feel that the biggest key will be maintaining our focus and not losing that excitement as the weeks go on. We don't want to get lazy in the middle. We want to treat every week with the same intention and intensity as we do the first.

So, please pray for a great start, middle and end to Chicos this school year.