The difficult “good-bye” to Micaiah’s dear Kathia

It is incredibly hard to believe that our time here is at its end.  This is officially our last day in Costa Rica.  It almost doesn’t even feel real that we are leaving, but tomorrow, we will depart very early in the morning for Texas.  It takes me quite a while to process things, so I am thankful that we have a bit of time in Texas for reflection and thanksgiving to the Lord for all that He has done.

We have met so many amazing people while we were here!  We have heard so many incredible testimonies and seen the Lord at work in so many lives.  After Costa Rica, our new friends will be going all over Latin America.  We don’t know if we will see any of them again this side of eternity but are so thankful that we have had this special time.

Brian’s language class

Carson’s mejor amigo

Micaiah’s mejor amigo

Our dear friend from South Korea

Micaiah’s girls

So much has happened since our last post…so sorry that we have not updated in so long.  But we are expecting our third child!!! I am about 4 and a half months, and it is a girl!!!  The kids are super excited to have a little sister on the way.  This was quite the surprise, but we feel so blessed. I have been really, really sick as usual, but the Lord has enabled me to graduate from the school…Brian, too.

The graduates!

We feel that God has grown all of us in so many ways.  Carson really made good friends and enjoyed his time here greatly.  On the last day of school, Friday, he cried and cried as he had to say goodbye to his friends and teachers.  We praised the Lord because he was so hesitant to come here after our difficult time in Oaxaca last summer.  He has matured greatly, and is a sweet little boy.  I look forward to homeschooling him again in the Spring.

Micaiah also has truly matured.  She went from crying and vomiting every day in her little class to absolutely loving it.  She made a really special bond with her teacher Kathia.  It was heart wrenching the final day to see Kathia balling and crying when she knew it was time for us to leave.  It left us all crying because of how she loves Micaiah.  Our little girl can understand and speak Spanish now…probably much better that her Mommy!

Micaiah’s teacher

As I mentioned earlier, we graduated from language school…it’s official!  Now don’t be fooled, we are far from fluent, be we can understand and hopefully be understood which was our goal.  From now on, we will be learning and practicing.  We are so thankful for the wonderful foundation that we have now from the school!  If anyone is thinking about attending a Spanish language school, we highly recommend this place.  The administration and teachers are so special.  We have made relationships with many of the Ticos here.

Carson and a friend taking a break from soccer

Well, there will be much more to come as we reflect and share more, but I had to write one last post from Costa Rica!  Thank all of you for your support and prayers.  We love each of you and can’t wait to see so many of you when we get back.  We are excited about the next step…praise the Lord for His goodness and mercy towards his children!

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Here are a few pictures from Costa Rica!  This small country is full of diversity and amazing places to visit.  Here they have beaches on both the Atlantic and Pacific, numerous volcanoes, cloud forest, rain forest and mountains.  We have been blessed to be able to visit many of these places on breaks from school.  Here are a few pictures of a dive trip I was able to go on.  The school offered an amazing deal to get certified, and I could not pass up the opportunity.  Jill on the other hand has ABSOLUTELY no desire to go under water.  We went to Isla del Caño for three days and we were amazed by everything we saw.  It also didn’t hurt to spend the weekend with some great people!

I will be shooting off more post in the next day or so to catch everyone up on things here in Costa Rica.  Thanks for all of your prayers and kind words.  We miss everyone!

My first Scuba experience!

Seth, Andrea, Brian and Ted

Isla De Caño

Some of the Sights

An estuary that we  traveled by boat 45 minutes and then another 45 minutes in the ocean to reach the island.

We saw plenty of these guys.

The current blowing us back and forth

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The sunsets are amazing here with the mountains in the back drop!

It is hard to believe that we are nearing the completion of our first trimester here!  Time has really flown by.  I remember laying in bed the night before we left for Costa Rica and wondering what life would look like here…How would Carson do in a classroom setting after home schooling last year?  How would our baby, Micaiah, do in her own little Spanish class after never being away from her Mama?  How would Brian and I do in our classes?  What would life look like in Costa Rica?  Where would we live?  Would we have friends?  Can we make it without a car?  So many questions, so many prayers…and God has abundantly provided for us and answered all of them!  As usual, He is always faithful and true to His words and His children.  This first trimester has certainly held many trials, but that is where our faith has been strengthened and proven.

I know that we came here to learn Spanish, but the Lord has had so many other things in mind for us here to grow us and stretch us and” love on” us.  One of the most amazing thing to witness has been the maturing of our children.  They really have adjusted so well…better than we ever could have imagined.  Micaiah loves her class and loves her little friends.  She is such a big girl now.

Finally!

Carson has also matured greatly.  We have about a mile walk to school in the morning and back in the afternoon, but he doesn’t complain much.  He also has really enjoyed his summer camp, and says he doesn’t speak Spanish…but we have heard him talking to people when he thinks we aren’t listening…little toot!  He has made many good friends and fortunately, many of them are staying another semester.

Carson and his two friends are the only boys in their class.  One is American and the other is a “tico.”

Carson’s class

A birthday bash

Look out!

We have met so many amazing people and heard incredible testimonies.  Some of our dear friends are leaving in one week to move onto the next step in their adventure with the Lord.

We love this family!  They are from New York and are returning there to help with Spanish speaking churches.  We have learned so much from them and their example of showing the love of Jesus wherever they are.

Our dear friends who are leaving for Peru!

This is our sweet Korean friend who will also be returning to Peru in April.  She has been in all of our classes.  We love she and her husband dearly.  They speak no English, so we are amazed at their perseverance in learning a TOTALLY different language!

And this sweet lady is a dear friend.  Poor thing, she is in all our classes too.  We have enjoyed getting to know she and her husband who will be going to Nicaragua in April.

It is overwhelming and exciting to know they are finishing this “season” and stepping into the next.  During our last chapel service, we were praying for some of the families who were leaving.  I thought of the verse that says,”who is sufficient for such things?”  And really, who is ready?  Who is adequate?  And the Lord answers,  “Christ in you, the hope of glory!”  It is indeed a mystery how the Lord uses earthen vessels to accomplish His purposes and establish His kingdom in the earth.  It is like Moses who initially knew that he was to deliver the Israelites from the hands of the Egyptians.  He struck down an Egyptian man in his flesh and his power and assumed that this was the time and way for deliverance…God had to strip this learned and powerful man down in the backside of the desert.  He had to “undo” Moses.  For 40 years he tended sheep and was humbled.  Now he was ready.  When he turned aside to see the burning bush, He encountered God Almighty, and when God said, go deliver my people, this time Moses knew he was not capable.  This is a man now ready for God to use.  Scripture says Moses was the most humble man on the earth, and so God could do amazing things through him.  We see later on in scripture that when God said He would send an angel with Moses but He, himself would not go with the Israelites , Moses pleaded with God.  His cry was, “Lord I will go nowhere without you with me.”  This confession shows our readiness to “minister.”  It is our union with Jesus.  None of us are qualified or fit for anything unless it is Christ at work in and through us!  To Him be the glory in the church!

We are looking forward to the upcoming visit to Texas and then onto KC to meet our new, little niece!  God is so good!  I have longed to see and hold my sister’s children!

God is good!

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Some time off in Jaco

My parents made a trip down this past weekend.  We had a wonderful time.  We went to the Los Suenos resort near Jaco.  It was fabulous!  The kids loved seeing their grandparents, and we did too!  The resort backs up to rain forests and overlooks the ocean.

The Course…

Jill

We we able to take a river tour where there are many crocodiles.  The guides would get out into the water with the crocs with chicken legs to feed these monsters.  It gave me the creeps, but it was fun.  One guy would even ride on their backs.  There apparently is a pecking order with the males, and this one is the alpha!

Would you trust this guy?

Luis is having lunch with a friend

Big Daddy with bigger Daddy

Crazy!

Notice the people on the bridge…  Free show!

We also got to take a canopy tour.  Mom, of course was not interested, and Micaiah is too little…so Brian, Carson, my Dad, and I braved 15 zip lines through the trees.  We all were thrilled.

Watch out Tarzan!

Like Father, like Son

After the second line it was all fun.

When we arrived back at our house, Micaiah thought we were going back to her Nana’s house.  When she realized that we were not, she started wailing.  Then of course my mom started crying, and Carson soon followed with, “Can’t we go home?”  I really felt like this is part of suffering for the sake of Christ.  The emotional suffering is hard as well.  The kids don’t fully understand, but I pray someday they will.

We are at the midway point of our first semester in school.  I can’t believe time if flying by.  Learning a new language when you are old is quite a challenge, but we really feel privileged to be here.  Things really are going well.

We miss all of you and pray you are enjoying your summer!

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We hope that all of you are enjoying your summer!  We’ve heard that it is boiling in Texas…so sorry.  It’s really nice here.

I am feeling better this week, and no one else is sick.  We are so thankful!  Carson had his last day of 1st grade.  I can’t believe that he is a second grader.  We are so proud of our big boy!  He will go to a VBS next week, and the following we he will start his intensive Spanish camp that involves sports and crafts.  They will only speak to him in Spanish, so we hope this really develops his language acquisition.

Our second grader!

We are learning a bit about the history of Costa Rica.  Many Jewish people moved here for business opportunities, and one of the main cities back then was called the City of David.  The first Costa Rica flag had a star of David on it also.  Very fascinating!

Also, every day we hear what sounds like “bombs” going off.  For the longest time we had no idea what they were.  As you can imagine, we thought of many possibilities.  We finally realized that one of the churches nearby sets them off several times a day to remember saints or if there’s a wedding or special occasion.  One day they were going off and a huge bolt of lightening struck right outside of our house.  Carson was angry and said, “Why would that church do that Mom?   Now we have no power.”  I said,”Carson, that was not the church, that was God.”  Micaiah ran to the door and said, “I want to see my God, momma.  I want to see my God.” So precious…I do too!

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Car and Kaya enjoying movie night.

Hello All!  It has been quite some time since our last post, and we do apologize for the delay!  So much has happened, and we feel that we are finally emerging out of a fog.  My dear grandfather did pass away, and we did make a trip back to the States for the services.  The Lord showed His unending grace and mercy because my grandfather accepted Jesus in the last days of his 93 years on earth!

Car and his Paw Paw almost six years ago.

A recent photo of Kaya and Paw Paw.

We stayed almost a week and upon our return, I discovered that I have mononucleosis.  Praise God it is a mild case because I can still function, but the doctor said that it could be August or later before I feel better.

Flight to Texas

In and over all of these things, God is faithful and good.  He gives us each day our daily bread.  School is going really well!  Brian and I love our classes and teachers.  We have already learned so much, but as with spiritual growth, the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know!  The kids are doing great!  Carson is really doing well in his class.  He has a wonderful teacher, and is in a class with Ticos (Costaricans) and other missionary kids.  We are so thankful that God has given him a good attitude through all of the transitions.  Micaiah is doing well also.  She had a very hard time initially, but she is adjusting.  She has fun in her class and is saying many things in Spanish.  She told me her favorite friend in her class was Pee Pee.  I thought, who on earth is Pee Pee?  Finally, one day as we were going to school, Micaiah shouts, “There’s Pee Pee Momma.  There she is!”  I asked the daddy of Pee Pee what her name was.  It was not Pee Pee.  Come to find out, Micaiah’s teacher said that the precious little girl says “I Pee Pee!  I Pee Pee!” quite often, hence Micaiah’s best friend here is Pee Pee.

Kaya with her “packpack” ready for school.

Car at another park.

I was really struggling with the trials and recent “mono” diagnosis as well as empathizing with others who are experiencing difficulties, when I felt like God said, “I am not withholding healing from you or my other children.  I am desiring to give you something greater than you perceive “healing” to be. I am going to give you the grace to endure and overcome this.”  Some days are difficult, but I am learning the true meaning of “one day at a time.” Give us this day our daily bread.  I have found new meaning to a simple, precious truth!

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We definitely want to praise the Lord for many things!  The school is really a blessing!  The staff is wonderful!  They are so kind and loving and helpful.  They really love the Lord and feel it is their ministry to minister to missionaries.  The other families here are really great as well.  We feel blessed with this opportunity to get to know these people during this year.  We have already become close with a young couple who are going to serve in Nicaragua after completing the program.

The kids are doing well in their classes.  The first day, Micaiah cried the whole time and vomited several times.  The second day was much better the ladies said.  Now, she cries when we drop her off, but today when we picked her up, her teacher said that she talks a whole lot and repeats everything they say in Spanish back to them.  They only speak Spanish, so Micaiah will probably come back speaking the best Spanish!  Carson really likes his class and his teacher.  She is really funny with a wonderful personality.  He has made friends with some boys and really has not complained. We are so thankful that they are adjusting.

We do need prayer for Micaiah.  Before we left for Costa Rica, she was very ill with high fever.  It turned out that she had a bladder infection.  Our pediatrian had her tested for VUR, and she does have it.  It is a congenital condition where when she urinates, instead of the urine going down and out, it goes back up into the kidneys.  If there is any bacteria in the urine, her kidneys can get infected.  This can lead to not good things down the road.  Most kiddos grow out of it, and they put her on an anti-biotic daily to prevent infection.  We were told that if she got another infection, she would probably need corrective surgery.  Well, this past weekend, she got another infection.  We are going to see a pediatric urologist here to see what needs to be done.  The good news is that they can perform the surgery here, and the hospital is very good.

On Monday, my great-grandfather who is 93 had a massive heart attack and died twice.  They brought him back, but he is not doing well.  Please pray for my mother and my family and for him.  I will probably return alone for a few days because we feel that this would really be hard for the kids.

Thank you all again for you love and support!

The beach at Manuel Antonio National Park

We just returned from Manuel Antonio which is about 3 to 4 hours from San Jose.  It is a national park with lush forests and beautiful beaches.  It was absolutely gorgeous!  We stayed at a hotel that has direct beach access but has no phone, TV, or Internet.  The kids loved it, and I think we did the impossible…we wore them out!  In the mornings, we would hike through the rain forest, and in the afternoons we would hit the beach.

We saw these guys on the way to Quepos.

Another beach in Manuel Antonio.

Just perfect

Jill and Kaya emerge from the forest.

We were able to see lots of monkeys.

Kaya had a blast looking for seashells.

Daddy and Kaya

The sun going down on Playa Espadilla.

The wildlife was amazing.  I said I would not leave until I saw a sloth.  The pressure was on…we not only saw one sloth, but 4 sloths.  They are so cute, but I hear they can be quite grumpy.  That is the only thing that stopped me from trying to hold them…that and their really long, sharp claws.  We also saw monkeys, tons of happy monkeys.  They were everywhere, and boy can those guys jump!  Big iguanas crossed our paths, and beautifully colored butterflies gently hovered over the rich landscape.  The only frightening things we saw were a swarm of the African  bees that were the big scare several years ago.

Jill’s idea of “happy monkeys”

They were everywhere

Looking for food

Monkey see… Monkey do

The reason Jill came.  The three toed sloth.

Jill and Kaya in the park

We were to cheap too pay for a tour so we just waited for the tour in front of us and stop and look up.  My plan worked to perfection.  They even let us use their spotting scope.

The beaches were breathtaking!  They attract serious surfers because of the rip tide that creates huge waves.  We had to be careful with the kids because the lifeguards have to save 5 to 10 people daily.  And of course the beach attracts all different types.  We met people from all over the world there – France, Switzerland, Canada, Mexico, the US.  The area itself was very dark.  People make a living off of selling little crafts and tourist gifts just to get by.  They seemed to have no joy and no purpose.  I am reminded that the only hope in this world is Jesus.  Without him, life is meaningless and hopeless no matter where you are or what you are doing.  All the more that we let our light shine so those who live in darkness will be drawn to Him.

Now that we are back we are buckling down to begin orientation Wednesday and start school the following week.  Please pray for the kids to adjust well…especially Micaiah since she has never been away from me.

History buffs… Read about the history of this airplane here!

A break from the beach

Carson could not wait for Kaya to wake up so he took matters into his own hands.

The ride back to San Jose.

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Micaiah

One week has passed since we arrived in beautiful Costa Rica!  We have settled in rather nicely and have begun to find our way around.  The kids really like it because we walk everywhere and there are kids parks on the way to every destination.  We have found grocery stores, restaurants, museums, and new friends.

Micaiah enjoying a local pizza restaurant.

A new friend.

We have met many different missionaries here from China, New York, Alabama, Pennsylvania, and you guessed it Bryan, Texas.  They will be leaving here for Ecuador, Chile, Honduras, El Salvador, and NYC.  It is really encouraging to see God’s plans being carried out.  “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be my witnesses starting in Jerusalem, Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”

A sweet woman from Hong Kong came over last night and reminded us of the importance of prayer.  She moved to Costa Rica years ago to be a missionary here.  She speaks Chinese, Spanish, and is learning English.  She is very sweet and wants to be prayer partners.  She shared many stories about bringing people to the Lord here and warned that it can be dangerous.  I don’t know if I have been ignorant or just really trust the Lord.  The Lord assured me that “He who is in me is greater than He who is in the world.”  The Lord will protect us so that we can fulfill His purpose wherever we are.  When our day is up, He will take us.  He holds the keys to Hades and Death.  Until that day, nothing can take us before He says, unless we remove ourselves from His protection.  That is very comforting in the day we live in!

Costa Rica actually chose to disassemble their army and put money into building up their children.   They have a fantastic children’s museum that would take hours to tour.  The kids really enjoyed it as they have old trains, helicopters, planes, and fire engines that you can enter.  We would love to go back!

This went real well until Carson learned he could squirt his little sister!

Micaiah thought this was the best thing ever.

What a great place for kids!

Banker

Train operator

Ready to squirt Carson. Payback!

Carson with a fire truck from El Paso, Texas

Carson was able to go in the cockpit and take the controls.

Overlooking San Jose

Park in downtown San Jose

Downtown

Carson at the Costa Rica National Museum

Also, something funny…most people do not have hot water heaters because they are very expensive, but they do have these little devises on the shower heads.  When you turn the water on in the shower, you hear this little clicking noise, and warm water will trickle out.  I did not know how to work these little things, and I asked Brian what they were.  He said they call them “widow makers.”  That’s comforting isn’t it?  There are these electric wires hanging over the shower head.  Everyone assures us they are perfectly safe…well, we do have warm water to shower in.  I told Brian we are going to call them something else.  I do not want that contraption to live up to its name.

Widow Maker

Tomorrow we plan to visit the Pacific side of the country where there are beautiful beaches, rain forests, and fun, wild animals!  We wanted to be able to do this before school starts and things get really busy.  It sounds like it will be quite an adventure!

Manuel Antonio National Park

Again, we miss everyone and thank you for your prayers and love!

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Our New Home!

We are here!  We made it with all 14 bags.  We really feel that the Lord has been gracious to us every step of the way.  It was very difficult to say goodbye to my parents on Wednesday.  Micaiah, who is two, waved her hand over my mom and said, “God is watching over you.”  Then she turned to my dad and said, “God is watching over you.”  Then she looked at her bubba and said the same.  She finally did the same to her dadda and me. It was so cute!  I really felt that the Lord was bringing us all comfort through little Kaya!

On Thursday, we awoke early to go to the airport.  We did not know how we would get all of the bags and kids up to the check-in, but there was a dear man who loaded all the bags which totaled over 800 pounds and pushed them all the way to check them in.  We were “over” on every single bag, but the night before Brian had upgraded us to first-class on the leg from San Antonio to Houston for a small fee which enabled us to have 70 pounds per bag instead of 50.  We would have paid an arm and a leg for that!

We arrived in San Jose and our big brother was waiting for us to take us to our new house.  He is so kind and had even gone to the store to get us some food for the first couple of days.  We love our little house.  It is perfect for us!  It has three small bedrooms…the kids are even sleeping in their own room!  In the front yard is a beautiful avocado tree, and in the backyard is a mango tree…my two favorites!  Across the street is a park for the kids to play.  They love it!  They are really adjusting well.  Praise the Lord!

Park Right In Front Of Our House!

How Convenient

View From The Park

Mango Tree In Our Back Yard

Avocado Tree In Our Front Yard

We have met really nice families from all over the world.  Everyone has been really nice and super helpful.  We have been taken around and shown markets, restaurants, parks, and stores.  The weather is really nice.  It is very cool in morning and evenings and sunny during the day.  The local people are sweet, and we can see the mountains surrounding the city.

There is also a really nice park with ducks and fish that the kids like.  It is called parque chino and was donated by San Jose’s sister city in Japan.

Parque Chino

Carson At Parque Chino

A really nice family from New York took us to a market where local farmers bring their fresh vegetables, fruit, eggs, coffee beans, etc.  There was some unidentifiable produce there, but we always like to try new things.  This is where we saw many of the other missionary families shopping for their weekly supply of produce.  Carson and Micaiah have already made some neat friends.

Kaya At The Park With Her Stroller Full Of Fruit And Vegetables

While we were at the park I busted Jill across the street with a cup of coffee in both hands.  She had gone an entire day without a cup.

The days have been exhausting, but it has all been worth it.

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