We have launched a new ministry! Project Naciente The mission of Project Naciente is to provide new beginnings for abandoned mothers through discipleship training, social reformation, and sustainable economic relief.  Our vision is to run a 2-3 year program where a single mother and her children will live on campus of Living Waters Ranch, while being discipled, educated and vocationally trained. Life on Life We hope this email finds you well in these strange times.  We all have felt the many mixed emotions brought on by Covid-19.  Many of you already know Covid-19 has greatly affected our ministry to mission teams and locals.  In compliance with local laws our after school program “El Pozo” and feeding centers have been canceled since mid March.  All of our missions teams had to postpone their summer trips till next year.  This has been a huge bummer and very hard for us to work through.  But God has been so good and has taught us so much.  Here is a quick update on what doors God has opened since the March. Alli and I have been ministering in the country of Costa Rica for almost six years.  6:8 Ministries has been doing it for over thirteen years.  We have noticed that many of the generational pains are contributed to a fatherless home while leaving the moms to raise their kids with little support or opportunities to thrive.  We have been working to create a Single Mothers Ministry.  The idea was always met with excitement but also fear and uncertainty.  One fear was; when will we find the time to start this life on life ministry with our busy schedule?  Well, God pumped the brakes on everything we were doing and opened the door for us to pursue the project, A.K.A Project Naciente (spring of water).  Let me introduce you to Ana and her three children, Daris 15, Hannia 9, Edward 5.  They have been here since June 5.  All seven kids play and work together while learning English and Spanish.  We enjoy the opportunity to minister to the kids while we work outside with them.  We also started an English class with them.  There is a ministry partner planning to lead a digital bible study for Ana and her daughter.  Ana does amazing work maintaining the cleanliness of the buildings and making traditional foods.  She is also working on her education.  She has a goal to learn how to read, so that she can read her Bible.  Not only have we been busy learning this new ministry but we have had the opportunity to really pour into our four children during this transitional season of our daughters adoption.  It has been very hard but very rewarding.  Since Covid we still have not been able to officially adopt her but she has been now living with us for over eight months.  How the time has flown!  She is incredibly smart and has a great grasp on the English language.  She is so beautiful and bright, God has been so good to all of us. Lastly, we have stayed very busy with many ranch projects.  Normally we have teams to help us with the projects.  I thank God for my right hand man Chile, (Carlos,) who works tirelessly for Jesus.  Mema (Alli’s Grandma) is always a huge help to the family and maintains the paths clear of pesky weeds.   Please pray for us as we continue to seek wisdom and guidance on God’s ministries.  We feel so blessed to be a part of something way bigger than ourselves.  Pray that God will continue to open the door to make much of His name.   Matthew 5:14-16 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

More than a disruption.

Does anyone else feel like we are living in a movie right now?  Or just a really bad dream?  We are all feeling the affects of Coronavirus.  A month ago I was like most of us thinking how everyone was over reacting to something that was very far away.  I didn't think there would be any implications to us and the ministry.  Oh how I was wrong.  I want to share with you just how we are being affected, where Costa Rica is at in the fight, and a small family update.

1.) A large part of our ministry is to the people that come on mission trips with their churches and schools.  The groups not only help in the ministry but they provide work for the locals. Our spring teams have cancelled.  So we have had to cut back to keep people employed.  This has caused a lot of financial hardship on the ministry.  I know we are not the only ones suffering from this global problem.  We have taken measures to stretch the salary money for local staff as far as we can. We are concerned that teams will back out or travel bands will restrict people from coming but we are still planning on serving along side mission teams this summer. We are like everyone else 100% dependent on God. We are waiting and trying to be faithful with the day. Please pray for the ministries daily bread.

2.) Local ministries have come to a complete halt due to strict regulations on gatherings.  Right now Costa Rica is in a state of emergency with some very strict rules.  The boarder is now closed to all tourist and plans to re-open April 13th 2020. However, time will tell if that restrictions increase.  We are praying that Costa Rica gets a handle on the virus.  Once things are safe and legal we will start El Pozo back up. 

3.)  As most of you know we are not able to leave the country because we are in the middle of adopting our beautiful daughter Shelsya.  Of course the adoption process is slowed as the country fights Coronavirus.  So we are carrying on as normal life.  I'm still getting up at 5:30 to milk the cow and kids are being homeschooled.  We are spending lots of family time together.  I have been able to pour more into our children these past couple of days than I normally can during this time of year. There is a lot of upkeep work and little projects that need to be done.   For that I give thanks to God. 

4.  We added a new staff member to our team in February.  Her name is Alexis.  She is overseeing Our El Pozo ministry ( Children's out reach ministry).  She did children's ministry training and was getting ready to launch a new discipleship program (it will be delayed a little bit).  We were having El Pozo 3 times a week and were seeing great progress in the numbers of children coming and the relational depth with the kids.  Please pray that we can start back up as soon as possible.

   We had several teams help us with construction on the second family home.  It now has 4 rooms completely concreted.  We used a small concrete mixer and lots of manual labor to pour the floors. Not only were they a huge help but each team that helped pour the floor paid for the supplies.  Please be praying that God will provide opportunities for teams to come and the fiancees to continue projects.

5.  Our biggest ministry need as a whole right now is wisdom and discernment as we seek to love our neighbors and run the ministries.  Second we are looking for people to donate or join the 12 for 12 campaign.  The donations will go to help the ministry as a whole to stay a float during these dry times. 

Though these are times in our world that seems hopeless for so many we have hope. 

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:14-16

A video update

Hey everyone,

I wanted to give a quick update that we are using more and more social media to update people.  If you have not already follow us Alli on Instagram and find both of us on facebook.  You can also like 6:8 ministries facebook page.

Click the link below to find the latest video update.  There is a lot of stuff happening and we are thrilled to be a part of it.

McArthur Family video update


Please free to email me as well.

Josh@68ministries.com



Josh

Highlights of 2018

"Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." 

Romans 5: 2-5

We have a lot to look forward to in this upcoming year; hopefully being placed with two kids, the next family house being started, learning more Spanish and growing in Jesus. 

It is also fun to look back on what has happened, right? These are some of the highlights of the year. Of course, there were hard moments and seasons, but that is when we grow the most. And we will choose to be joyful and grateful. 

In January Josh and I completed the first step in the adoption process.  We met with P.A.N.I. (Children's protection service of Costa Rica) where they informed us about the whole adoption process.


As our ministries have grown there was a need for more staff.  So we prayed to have the ranch grow with staff.  Mema, Alayna and Chris became full time staff. Glory to God!

When we moved into the first family house, it was livable but needed more work done. So for the time being, we closed up a hallway and let it sit for over a year. Little by little, with teams and free time, the school room, hall closet, bathroom, two bedrooms, were completed from floor to ceiling and the first family home was officially finished.

El Pozo was moved to a bigger location. We are amazed by the growth and what God is doing there. El Pozo is the community outreach center in Horquetas "where we conduct community ministry programs that allow people to drink the living waters found in the gospel of Jesus Christ." It is exciting to see it grow and impact so many children.

In July, we celebrated 4 years of living in Costa Rica.  It has flown by. We have seen the ranch be turned from overgrown cow pastures into a beautiful place for children to call home.   God has given us animals, gardens, fruit trees, corn, plantains, and yuca. It is now a little more self sustaining. We have thoroughly enjoyed the growth. 4 years ago the ranch property was purchased and the work was started on the Living Waters Children Ranch. Four years of progress Here's the video if you haven't seen it. It's fun to look back and watch it all unfold. 

We had a fun but a very busy year with 15 interns and 24 church that came to minister  along side of us. They were also instrumental in helping us build a new fence lines, lay new water lines, and complete several building projects one which was a playground for all the kids to enjoy. There were many lives changed and new friendships built.

In May a social worker and a psychologist came out to interview and built a portfolio on us for the adoption. That was an incredibly emotional weekend that we were happy to do but also very happy to have it completed. We were grateful for the opportunity to learn more about each other and to move another step forward in the adoption.   

Adoption fundraising was a complete success.  We are so grateful for everyone who was involved in the purchasing of a shirt or financial donation.  

On July 13th, we made it a family day to pick up and drop off our portfolio. We met our paralegal in San Jose to pick it up. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be.  We then drove it to the P.A.N.I office. The rest of the day was spent together dreaming, praying and being excited for our future. We hope it is something the boys will remember.

In October after a long 3.5 months of waiting for the official approval to be adoptive parents we received notice of our approval. We took another step forward.  We were invited to the last seminar class at the end of November.  We completed that class and received notice in mid December that the matching process had begun.  Now we wait for a phone call.

Josh and I celebrated 10 amazing years of marriage. God is so good! Those 10 years went by really fast. A lot has happened. 

We flew to the states for two weeks and soaked up time with grandparents. It was a refreshing time to get away where we enjoyed, simple foods, fishing, throwing the toilet paper in to the toilet, swimming, Micah learning how to play chess, Judah swimming with more confidence, exploring Saint Augustine, celebrating our 10th and my parents 32rd anniversary. 

Caleb’s public profession of faith where Josh and I baptism him in the river. That was pretty special!


We are grateful to see the change and all that God has done this year.  It makes us even more excited to see what God is going to in 2019.  

Please pray with us that we would be matched quickly

We thank you for your prayers, financial partnership and your friendship. 

We are Blessed to be a blessing. 

T-Shirt Fund Raiser

Alli and I are excited to announce that we have begun to fundraise for our adoption.  We have decided to sell t-shirts to help with the fundraising.

We loved the idea of selling a t-shirt because it raises awareness, celebrates adoption, and helps fund the safe arrival of our little ones.  We have designed the t-shirt to reflect our heart but not to preach (or be overly preachy).

Here is the story of how we designed the t-shirt and what God has been teaching us these past months. 

I first heard the song Reckless Love a few months ago.  It quickly became a favorite of mine.  I believe the song does a great job highlighting the pursuing love of God that isn't thwarted or slowed down.  In the eyes of the world the love is reckless and does not follow the guide lines of our conditional human love.  If you have not heard the song please listen  here. The chorus goes like this 

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

Oh, it chases me down, fights ‘til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine

I couldn’t earn it, I don’t deserve it, still You give Yourself away 

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

As I listened to the song it would amp me up.  The gospel truths penetrate my heart and call me to fight for my children until they are found.  In all honesty, adopting is not easy and in fact is very hard. There are many hard, discouraging and difficult moments.  However, it calls me to remember that God would leave the ninety-nine to find the one. His pursuit for His children is relentless and unfailing.  This gospel truth has inspired us to pursue, fight and be relentless in our search until our kids are found.  The quiver of arrows on the shirt represent a successful warrior going into battle full of arrows (Psalm 127:3-5)

We have crew neck and v neck for sale.  Both are ultra soft and comfortable t-shirts.  If you are between a size we recommend going for the larger.  The cost is $20 plus $5 shipping.  It is super simple to order all you do is:

1. Click the button for v or crew neck below
2. Put the correct cost amount (including shipping) ex. 2 x 20= 40 + 5= $45
3. Click Donate with paypal or credit card
4. In the Memo put sizes and shipping address. Click pay and you are done

If you would like to help us sell shirts and can be a distributor we are giving away 1 free shirt if you order 10 or more.  What we would need is an order with sizes and your shipping address.  You can do this by clicking the button below and in the notes put the sizes. Please email joshmc6@gmail.com or message us if you are interested in doing this.

These shirts are being pre ordered and we hope to have them shipped out by the end of May.

Sizes: S,M,L,XL (XXL $2 MORE)

                                        V-Neck

  Click to Buy V-neck

                                   

                        Crew Neck

Click to Buy Crew Neck 

If you would like to make a 501-3c tax deductible donation to the McArthur Family to help them fight until they find their kids, Click Here.

That we make much of Jesus

As a mom, I generally know where my children are. One loves being next to me, stepping on my feet, sitting in my lap or running laps around the house. The other two are currently into wrestling, swinging on vines like Tarzan, playing or chasing baby goats. It's wonderful! However, for a while now I have felt like I don't know where some of my kids are.  I am not talking about the boys but the children yet to be adopted into our family.  Since getting our residency our hearts and efforts immediately went to figuring out the next steps for us to adopt locally in Costa Rica.  I have at least two more kids that are not in my home yet, they are somewhere in Costa Rica but I don't know where they are and that is hard because this Momma wants her kids to be together! For right now, God has asked me to wait on Him.

We have two more rooms in our house that are empty. They have paint, tile, a fan and the trim is done. We were calling them the new rooms because no one is living in them. One night Josh and I  were  sitting down at the table talking about light switch covers and out came the words, "The girls room need some." We looked at each other and teared up. They are now referred to as our daughters rooms. Or as Judah likes to say, "This is my sisters room. Now let's go to my room."

Currently we are still waiting. We are have completed the first of many steps in the process.  However; there are still so many unknowns and uncontrollable things. It is easy to get frustrated and overwhelmed just waiting for an email or phone call. Yet, I know that God is teaching us something, and it is worth it. We have seen so many answered prayers already, from meetings arranged, friends translating, kids being watched, our marriage becoming stronger, the boys begging us to get their sisters home, encouraging words, and the lists goes on. Adoption is not about us. Adoption is a beautiful picture of the Gospel.

Over 4 years ago Josh wrote a blog on adoption and the gospel.  He also has the opportunity to teach on  adoption when teams come down to help. He talks about the earthly struggles that come with adopting; paperwork, time, tears, the unknown, the letdown either pre-adoption or during the adoption process and the financial cost.  The cost is something that we had a hard time swallowing. Why was it so expensive? Why was there so much waiting? Why doesn't God allow it to be easier? And then God....(always, right?) gently reminded us, "Do you realize how much it cost me? It cost me my Son." (For more on this check this blog out The cost of adoption )
Josh ends the message by encouraging the students, adults, teachers, doctors, lawyers, construction workers, and retiree's to actively be a part of adoption.  Whether that means to physically adopt, financially give, or sacrifice time for families that are adopting, we all have the opportunity to take part.  Adoption is not about us. It is a beautiful picture of the Gospel.


We would like to share with you a few things that we are praying for in the adoption.

1. Sibling set of 2
2. At least one girl
3. Timely meetings, paper work and so forth.
4. God prepares us and our kids hearts for this big family
5. That we make much of Jesus
6. Provision of finances

Since we are adopting as Costa Rican residence we are able to adopt domestically.  This comes with a much cheaper price tag.  However, we are in need of some additional funds.  We project that it will cost around $10,000 to complete the process. It may be a little more or less.  We are also looking for additional monthly financial partners as our monthly support has dropped in the past 3 months.  If you would like to partner with us in this kingdom building/ family building opportunity please visit the link below to give a tax deductible gift.  If you have any questions or would like to reach out to us please email me and Josh at allimcarthur@gmail.com and joshmc6@gmail.com.

For a one time gift click HERE

You can visit 68ministries.com and select McArthur family to find how you can give monthly.



Turn our eyes upon Jesus, look full into his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.

We want to tell you something

It’s been over two months since we got our residency. And there are days that we still can’t believe that it happened! A week after we heard the news we had a smile that just wouldn’t go away. So grateful!

Last week we picked up our cédulas, basically cards saying that we are here.

Thank you for praying with us as we waited for the news. Thank you for rejoicing with us. Thank you for partnering with us and giving finically to us as we travel over Costa Rica getting important paperwork filled out and filed.

Having residency opens a couple of doors for us. Living Waters Children’s Ranch can begin the process of being approved by the government to be a suitable foster care facility.


There is something else...we should be able to now adopt a child from Costa Rica! We have always wanted to adopt and feel very strongly that God is calling us to do so. We have been encouraged by PANI (Child care services) officials to pursue one of the two options at a time.  So with a lot of prayer and considerations we have decided to dive into the process of adoption.  We are beyond thrilled and excited about this opportunity.  There are many hurdles to overcome but they are nothing for God.  He has been preparing us for this for a very long time.
We have a meeting next week to meet with a lawyer to get some more details. We need prayer for clarity, wisdom and guidance as we work through this.

The boys are very excited! We are very excited for all that God has planned for this family and the children that will one day be here and can join in the chaos.