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.
Monday, October 16, 2017
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Good news
So much has happened since the last blog update, sorry about that, we are trying to fix that. If you aren't on the email list please let us know and we can add you. Thanks!
Wanna hear some great news?
The first house is move in ready and we move in today!
Praise God! We can't thank you enough for your prayers, finical gifts, for coming down and working in the rain and humidity to work on the house. What an amazing way to see the body of Christ come together! There is a team here from Georgia who is finishing the final touches and cleaning it from top to bottom. God knew that we needed people with energy, strength, and bringing down someone to install lights and doorknobs. It's those little things of seeing God's fingerprints.
Hopefully, we can sit down and write out a little more detail on the past couple of months. God continues to work in amazing ways!
Prayer requests:
Wanna hear some great news?
The first house is move in ready and we move in today!
Praise God! We can't thank you enough for your prayers, finical gifts, for coming down and working in the rain and humidity to work on the house. What an amazing way to see the body of Christ come together! There is a team here from Georgia who is finishing the final touches and cleaning it from top to bottom. God knew that we needed people with energy, strength, and bringing down someone to install lights and doorknobs. It's those little things of seeing God's fingerprints.
Hopefully, we can sit down and write out a little more detail on the past couple of months. God continues to work in amazing ways!
Prayer requests:
- We are still waiting on our residency but I know that God has that taken care of too. We need that approved before we can move forward with PANI.
- The busy summer starts at the end of this month. Pray for the teams that are coming down and that God would work wonders in their hearts and life.
- The interns that are coming to work alongside the teams, Josh and I, Colleen, Charles, Spencer and Neil. Pray for endurance, strength, grace and safety.
We are so thankful for you all. Praying that God continues to work in your life as well.
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
The beginning
I grew up in a Christian home. I had awesome parents who served the Lord with their life. My Dad was a pastor of a local Florida PCA church. I learned what it was like to be a Christian and how a Christian was supposed to act and I became a master of it. All the mean while my self-righteousness was the leading cause of the chasm between God and I. When I was 18 God severely shook my world and began to reveal to me my hypocrisy and self-righteous life that I lived. In the summer of 2006 I had opportunity to serve God in Costa Rica for a few months. This was an amazing time for me but I knew that God wanted me to further my education of Him. When I came back my Dad mentioned checking out Eternity Bible College. Even though it was across the country I got excited about the adventure of leaving the nest and pursuing God on my own. At the time EBC wasn't accredited, friends told me that I should go to a school that was accredited. My desire was to pursue God and His call on my life even if credits were not officially recognized.
The life changing adventure
Within my first week of attending Eternity Bible College I knew God was going to rock my world. God used the professors to quickly break down what I knew about the Bible from years of Sunday school classes and began to rebuild my foundation with His story. The more I learned about Him my relationship with God became more intimate. The professors were intentional with their lectures and even more intentional with their relationships. I not only learned more about God but what it was like to be intentional with God given relationships. I was surrounded by a group of leaders who were passionate about following God and telling His story. The leaders of EBC knew that God was calling them to do something crazy by giving students an affordable life changing education. Even though many doubted the sustainability of such an idea, they went full steam ahead preparing students for a lifetime of ministry. Unintentionally, the leaders of EBC faithfully pursuing their mission from God, even with known difficulties, helped build in me a faith that is not based off things that are safe and secure but rather dependent on God. This has helped me tremendously as I lead my family into many unknowns in the mission field.
The Adventure continues
I am currently writing this from Horqueatas de Sarapiqui in Costa Rica. Over two years ago God called me, my wife Allison and our three children to help start a family based orphanage for boys with 6:8 Ministries. We are currently in the construction phase of the first family house. My wife and I hope to be moving into this home early this year and receive the first child by then end of 2017. The vision is to have ten family homes that can host four to eight orphaned boys. Our vision is to raise these young boys into godly men who will go out into their communities and raise a family in light of the family life modeled for them. This is a huge project that will take many years. These children that will be coming to us will not only get a family, but a mom and dad that models grace, forgiveness, love, an understanding of sacrifice, and English (great for future employment) and Spanish education.
By God's grace He has called us to build and maintain relationships with local Christians in the community as well. We have been able to support a local church ran feeding center. Throughout the year we have short term mission teams and a group of interns come from the United States to help with the various projects. My wife and I are able to model and use the things that we learned at EBC for them like living intentionally, trusting God in His projects that are way bigger than ourselves and devoting our lives to God without hesitation. I also use the bible education that I received not only for personal edification but also in teaching others of His glorious grace during our chapel times when teams are here.
It has almost been 10 years since I first began my education at EBC. Alli and I feel so blessed to have had the season of learning and growing. The time spent at EBC was a key factor for who and where we are today.
The life changing adventure
Within my first week of attending Eternity Bible College I knew God was going to rock my world. God used the professors to quickly break down what I knew about the Bible from years of Sunday school classes and began to rebuild my foundation with His story. The more I learned about Him my relationship with God became more intimate. The professors were intentional with their lectures and even more intentional with their relationships. I not only learned more about God but what it was like to be intentional with God given relationships. I was surrounded by a group of leaders who were passionate about following God and telling His story. The leaders of EBC knew that God was calling them to do something crazy by giving students an affordable life changing education. Even though many doubted the sustainability of such an idea, they went full steam ahead preparing students for a lifetime of ministry. Unintentionally, the leaders of EBC faithfully pursuing their mission from God, even with known difficulties, helped build in me a faith that is not based off things that are safe and secure but rather dependent on God. This has helped me tremendously as I lead my family into many unknowns in the mission field.
The Adventure continues
I am currently writing this from Horqueatas de Sarapiqui in Costa Rica. Over two years ago God called me, my wife Allison and our three children to help start a family based orphanage for boys with 6:8 Ministries. We are currently in the construction phase of the first family house. My wife and I hope to be moving into this home early this year and receive the first child by then end of 2017. The vision is to have ten family homes that can host four to eight orphaned boys. Our vision is to raise these young boys into godly men who will go out into their communities and raise a family in light of the family life modeled for them. This is a huge project that will take many years. These children that will be coming to us will not only get a family, but a mom and dad that models grace, forgiveness, love, an understanding of sacrifice, and English (great for future employment) and Spanish education.
By God's grace He has called us to build and maintain relationships with local Christians in the community as well. We have been able to support a local church ran feeding center. Throughout the year we have short term mission teams and a group of interns come from the United States to help with the various projects. My wife and I are able to model and use the things that we learned at EBC for them like living intentionally, trusting God in His projects that are way bigger than ourselves and devoting our lives to God without hesitation. I also use the bible education that I received not only for personal edification but also in teaching others of His glorious grace during our chapel times when teams are here.
It has almost been 10 years since I first began my education at EBC. Alli and I feel so blessed to have had the season of learning and growing. The time spent at EBC was a key factor for who and where we are today.
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