hands and feet...

This weekend we are heading out to Honduras for a trip serving two purposes: first, to serve alongside Tara and Jorge Garcia and ROOM Honduras and secondly to renew our tourist visa here in Costa Rica.

Renewing our visa means that we have been here in Costa Rica for 90 days!  I cannot believe it...in some ways, our time here has flown by more quickly than we could have ever dreamed.  In other ways, we already feel like Costa Rica is our home and feel like we have been here all our life.

It has been a while since I have actually sat down to compose my thoughts here and much of that is because it is difficult to truly process all that has taken place here.

We have started a building project to help build a room for Hogarcito San Juan Bosco and our social network campaign has already helped provide many of the supplies needed for that project!  While our friend, Elizabeth, was here with us for four days we were privileged to actually take the money raised and purchase those materials.  When Diana, the director at HSJB, found out about what had been purchased she was overjoyed.  Even more exciting is that she informed us that because of a little Internet campaign and a whole lot of God construction can already begin this August! Praise God from whom all blessings flow...for real.

I already mentioned that Elizabeth came down for a whirlwind trip to encourage and serve alongside us here.  She was inundated with Costa Rican culture from the very minute she sat in our car when a major road was inexplicably closed causing us to reroute our drive adding an additional 2 hours to an expected 4 hour journey.  Of course, being lost in Costa Rica is unlike being lost anywhere else in the world...with such beauty, it is difficult to mind.  She brought with her goodies from friends (you're the best Christy!) and an entire suitcase of goodies that she brought from her family...the kids were thrilled and loved and it does their hearts so much good to be loved and remembered...from my mother's heart, I cannot put enough gratitude into words for that.  She also brought with her school supplies!  These school supplies are invaluable to a door for service that has opened up for us here.  We spent one whole evening designing and planning curriculum for Hogar AMA, a local all boys home just 20 minutes away from our home here.  We would not have been able to purchase the materials necessary for this to be a reality or be nearly as functional because of how expensive materials like that are here...Again, just at the perfect time, the Lord provided a way for an opportunity to be made a reality!

Elizabeth and I trying to pretend like we aren't scared of snakes...

It was difficult to send Elizabeth home, more difficult than I anticipated (no offense Elizabeth :) ) There were just no expectations for her to stay because she already has a family that needs her and loves her dearly...so I knew the day where we would be taking her back to the airport would be coming...While she was here we spent so much time excitedly sharing with her life here and discussing visions for the future that it was easy to not realize that it would be difficult to send her back.  But it was.  As I fastened Finley's seat belt, and I am sure that Elizabeth was hardly out of sight behind me in the corridor of the airport, Calvary said, "I already miss her."

I think that was the first time it hit us...we have been here long enough now that we miss home...yet we love what we are doing and God has given us such peace that we rarely long for home.  Of course we miss our family and friends dearly, but the Lord has protected all of us from homesickness in ways that I do not fully understand...I am just grateful for it.  We wrestled with the call to answer God's pull for so long that we have been happily resting in the peace of surrender.

But we felt the sacrifice that day.  Between so many things falling through during Elizabeth's visit and missing home, we started wondering what our purpose here is.  I started praying for renewed vision and renewed strength...that we would rest in His calling and follow His leading.  I also prayed that doors would be opened and that we would begin to see how ROOM would be serving Costa Rica a little more clearly...after all, we are passionate about God's call here and ROOMs vision.

It wasn't long after that many things broke and were falling into place at the same time...our poor car, affectionately called Dixie, had a series of ailments and the trouble with such a situation can only be understood by anyone that has tried to travel through Costa Rica.  Brakes, the tire, the window...everything broke.  But at the same time, doors opened for us to teach at Hogar AMA and help an organization here that serves children and families called Fundacion Mundial para Ninez y la Familia.  It was easy to be distracted.  Yet, thankfully, we stay focused on our purpose here.

Just yesterday, Dixie was at the mechanic to get new brakes and rotors and we were unsure of when the repairs would be finished.  The mechanic offered us a ride home and we accepted until his car wasn't equipped anymore for the terrain...that gave us a remaining 2 hours...during that walk I realized that we had an appointment with Magally, a lady who started Fundacion Mundial para Ninez y la Familia in hopes to equip them to stay together and not be orphaned out of poverty, the very next morning.  We decided that we just had to go.  We wanted to go.  During our first meeting with Magally she expressed how overwhelmed she was and we sensed her need for support.  We are privileged to be able to offer whatever support we can and it is so important to follow through. I did not want our first opportunity to serve as ROOM with Magally to be missed.  I am so glad that we did!!  Our meeting was at 10:00am and the only bus leaves our town at 6:00am...that gave us plenty of time to not be late :) The kids were amazing and even though they spent a serious uphill 2 hours walking home the day before they walked another 3 once we arrived in town while we waited for Magally.

Allison's house and 2 of her family...

Once we met up with Magally, we hopped in a taxi and headed out to the house of a family that she wanted to introduce to us.  The girl, Allison, is celebrating her 15th birthday and lives with her mother and 4 brothers in a tiny house made of metal sheets.  Here they call those houses "casas de latas" and they are very, very common in Costa Rica.  Allison is severely handicapped and cannot walk, talk, or eat.  She eats through a feeding tube and is mostly confined to her bed.  Her mother struggles to provide and cannot work because Allison needs full time care.  Several of the children, who are school aged, cannot afford the necessary uniforms and therefore cannot go to school.  The children do not shoes, much clothing, and barely enough food.  Yet, turning 15 in a Latin American country is a very big deal!  Magally decided that her foundation, that has served this family in multiple ways including just recently helping them have beds, would organize a birthday party for her. Kyle and I personally wanted to be involved.  You should have seen her face light up when she saw the pinata!  The love Magally showed Allison was one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed.  She sat at her feet and cupped Allison's face in her hands and told her how beautiful she looked and how she lacks nothing...I can only pray that I can show love like that...Magally introduced us to everyone and were able to give two dresses, a bottle of pink and a bottle of blue nail polish, and some candy and a pinata.  It wasn't anything huge or life saving.  But I know it was important.  Important work was done there because Allison and her family felt loved.

I love how God is in the details.  The day before our initial meeting with Magally, Harper came to me holding 2 dresses.  She said that she liked the dresses but she thought that since they weren't her favorites maybe some of the girls in the orphanages would like to have them...she was asking me if she would be allowed to give them, as if I could ever tell her she wouldn't be allowed...I pray I never squelch that giver's heart!  I folded the dresses and put them on the shelf and carried on with life as usual.  At the meeting, Magally told us about Allison and how all her mother had wanted for her was polish for her nails and a dress.  Allison, although turning 15, is the size of Harper.  The two dresses that Harper was compelled to give were the dresses that Allison's mother had wanted for her.
It is in those moments that I see God at His finest.
Rainbows are undoubtedly beautiful and waterfalls are unarguably majestic.
However, just like seeing the intricate designs of the veins of a leaf, I am infinitely more amazed by how God, the author of all things grand and enormous, cares enough about the prayers of one mother to give her hope through a dress.  How Harper's faith was strengthened too!  I am just so thankful...

Sweet Magally loving on Allison...

I am grateful that ROOM cares not only for the orphans in homes but also for the children at risk of being orphaned by preventable causes.  Meeting Magally has opened up so many difficult issues but has also explained why we have made connections with other organizations that we didn't even realize would be helpful until now.  I mentioned that Allison had brothers that are school aged but cannot afford uniforms for school, but what is awesome is that Kyle and I met a woman that we approached at the skate park a few weeks back that has an organization through their church that sponsors children to provide the necessary materials for school!  We didn't even call her or have an appointment.  We just saw a van that said Costa Rica Kids and decided we would see if they had any information of orphanages in the area...and now, we were able to connect her to another organization in the area!
If that was it, we would be amazed enough at God's Providence but there's even more...
During our meeting with Magally, who is a Christian and does all the work through her organization in  His name, expressed to us that churches here in Costa Rica do not help.  She had brought so many of the families to the attention of local churches only to feel as if the churches were indifferent...yet, the organization that we connected her with, Costa Rica Kids, is a local organization funded and supported completely by a local church!  My prayer is that the connection there will begin a healing process here in the south of Costa Rica that will inspire even more churches and organizations to team up and serve their community from within.  Hopefully ROOM in Costa Rica can continue to be the connecting points between these organizations outside of orphanages.

Through all of this, God has shown me how, just like we are many members of the body of Christ, so are each of these organizations.  It is so important that we are the hands and feet of Christ and I am beginning to believe that one of our biggest roles here in Costa Rica is allowing ROOM to act as a connecting point.  Each part of the body is far more useful if it works together with the rest of the body...So many of the organizations existing in CR are unaware of the counterparts already existing that could support. God is "a father to the fatherless" and He "sets the lonely in families" (Psalm 68:5) and our desire is to use whatever resources we can to ensure that anyone we serve knows this truth.  One of the things that initially drew me to ROOM is how the vision is not to start an orphanage or create a name for itself...ROOM simply wants to serve.

the boy's fleeting moment of diligence :)

It was also after Elizabeth left that we were given the opportunity to start teaching English at Hogar AMA...this is a local, all boys orphanage for boys ages 6-12.  We have been blessed enough to visit with the boys there on average twice a week...these boys are amazing.  We talk of them all by name quite often and miss them when we aren't there.  They are easy to love because they are like every other child you have ever met...some are silly and shy....some are show offs and clowns...some are chivalrous and proud...some are creative and mischievous...and you fall in love with whom each was created to be so fast that its impossible not to want to do everything you can to help them understand how infinitely deep they are loved.  Every time we return you can tell they are happily surprised to see us again.  It was upon one of these visits that the boys started asking us if we would teach them English.  We set up a time with Friar Jorge, the director, and scheduled a class...the materials we made with Elizabeth came after that initial set up and we were so excited to put them to use.  The boys were so cute!  They climbed around tables and sat diligently while we passed out their supplies...their diligence lasted as long as it often does with that age group of boys...but it was super cute while it lasted.  Almost all of the boys took their work seriously and genuinely want to learn...Kyle and I have never taught ESL and we are researching and planning for things that we never thought we would be doing.  But we love it and look forward to every class and every opportunity we have to be with them.

Harper and Calvary are great teachers...here the boys are showing off their knowledge of the word "crazy" to describe Harper

That is what we are learning.  The answer to my prayer asking what our purpose here is, is simply to be.
To be willing.
To be loving.
To be patient.
To be kind.
To be faithful.
To be ready.
To be strong.
To be present.

God asked us to abandon our former life and come here.  At this point it seems as if it should be easy to just follow where He leads...but even though it is much more interesting to see the details work themselves out as the beauty of following Him unfolds, I for some reason still want it to be more obvious from the beginning sometime.  But hey, were all learning, right?

"Let all that you do be done in love." 1 Corinthians 16:14

Please continue to pray for us.  If you feel that you would want to be a part of ROOMs ministry in Costa Rica please visit our site www.makeroomforthemurrays.com and make a donation!  Every gift helps.

Or, if you would like to make a donation to ROOMs general operating funds to support our programs in Honduras, India, as well Costa Rica please visit www.makeroom.org.