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.

holding babies...

Monday we visited Hogarcito San Juan Bosco for the second time since we have been here.  This place holds a very special place in our hearts already and we know that our love for the tias and children there will only continue to grow.  

We began our correspondence with Diana, the director at Hogarcito, through email.  I painstakingly constructed an email of introduction in Spanish.  It is very difficult for me to write in Spanish because I generally think in more complex sentences then my limited spanish vocuabulary permits.  Unlike Hogar de Vida, no one at Hogarcito San Juan Bosco speaks English.  We emailed back and forth and Diana invited us to come and meet her and see the facility first hand.  

Again, we nudged the kids awake for an early morning drive for that first visit.  We still had no expectations and only hoped to learn.  

Hogarcito San Juan Bosco is not as large or grand as Hogar de Vida, but it is bright, colorful, clean, and full of love.

We pulled up outside the gate and little eyes slowly started to gather to look at who has come to visit... I am not sure if they rarely have visitors or if they rarely have children as visitors.  Either way, their curiosity definitely had the best of them and they watched us carefully.  

Diana welcomed us warmly and Kyle and I began to describe the best we could what ROOM does and ask her about how her program works.  

She showed us around the facility and went into a room where a sweet girl, no older than 4 months, was sleeping.  She reached down and picked her up and handed that sweet, sleeping baby to me...I was toast after that.  Oliver Jack was smitten and could barely do anything else besides hold her tiny hand and kiss her cheeks.  

While we held that sweet baby, we listened to Diana tell us about Hogarcito San Juan Bosco.

She told us that PANI provides monetary support and that support covers the cost of the salaries of the 6 tias that they have to have there at all times and a large portion of their operating costs and food.  PANI's support is 60% of their monthly budget.  After that 60%, the tias use their own money for whatever needs the children may have.  

We asked her how she covered the remaining 40% and she responded that is was "por la gracia de Dios" and that He somehow made what they have grow and grow....They depend on Him to for daily bread to feed the multitudes.  

She also told us, with a twinkle in her eye, about a room that she was trying to build.  She talked of the room like someone speaks of becoming a doctor or owning a sportscar...like she knew it could be a possibility but also like she is slightly embarassed of having such a goal...but she bashfully described the room to us.  A local architect has already donated the plans for the additonal space that is truly necessary for this facility to be a healthy space for the kids there...they have a list of supplies.  They know the contractor that they will hire to complete the job.  They only need the supplies.

We asked her if she had any supplies yet and she lowered her head and told us no.  

They never have money left over.  And when it comes to buying food or building supplies for a dream addition, they make the purchase that any responsible person would make and they buy food.  

We asked her what her biggest need is month to month and she told us food.

We understand that!  We only have 6 mouths to feed in our home and food is our biggest expense outside of our home...I can only imagine the cost of feeding 17 mouths!

After that initial meeting we left and purchased chicken, baby formula, apples, and then Harper insisted that we also purchase Tang for the kids...Tang...of all the things :)

We left that day feeling a sense of purpose.  This is what God had put in our hearts...these are the faces we saw in the corners of our hearts.  We only wanted Diana and the others there to know that we are truly here.  

Those are the relationships that take work.  

We are all grateful when someone offers help, but help with relationship is much more powerful.

So Monday we visited again.  

This time, Harper and Calvary not only brought bracelets to distribute but they also brought rainbow loom bands to teach the kids.  All of the children were so interested in the bracelets last time that Harper thought they would love a lesson.  

We went and purchased more chicken and formula and headed to Hogarcito.  Even though we had made the arrangements with Diana to come again, her face when she saw us was so different than the first time we met her.  It was not like the face of someone that is suspect of meeting a new person.  It was the face of someone that was genuinely happy to see a friend.  

I am so thankful for that greeting.

The kids immediately set off to play and we immediately started talking with Diana.  

We immediately started find our place in the middle of their normal day.  

One little girl reminded me so much of a friend's daughter at home and we just giggled as we watched her live.  She was spunky and fun and everything she did was with a little smile.  She grabbed my sunscreen and began telling me, "pintarme! pintarme!"...how could I deny her?  

Harper, unsuprisingly, became the best rainbow loom teacher the world has ever known.  

Calvary, suprisingly, jumped in and did his best to teach a little girl how to use her fingers to make the bracelet.  However, his fine motor skills delay make that a more difficult job than it would be for most and he pointed her the way to Harper for further instruction.  Although he was exactly succesful in teaching her, I was just so proud I could pop at the effort.  

While we were playing with the kids, Kyle as working.  Calvary joined him and loved working hard sweeping and scrubbing the sidewalk.  

Finley and Jack...well, they played.  They raced.  Boys laughed uncontrollably at Finley's blue tongue.  They looked at books.  And they climbed and played on the play structures.  

Mostly, we were just there.

I noticed, much like at Hogar de Vida, the immense amount of love their.

Every little girl had their hair lovingly brushed and tied up in little ponytails.

Every child had outifts that were put together with care.

The boys would make bracelets and then run off to give them to their favorite tias...and then come back and say, "2 mas!".

While we were there, a few of the children had to get ready for school...they disappeared for a while and returned wearing perfectly pressed school uniforms.  It was funny to see these boys that were just moments ago laughing and roughhousing suddenly turned into proper students.  

It was sweet to see.  Every child that would come and sit beside me and listen to me speak my slow, Southern spanish was so full of life.  It was like I was looking into the face of hope.  

Our heart would be that each one of these children would have a home.  We, as members of ROOM and as Christians, would love that there would be no need for orphanages at all.  Our goal, in the meantime, is to help these programs run as effictively as lovingly as possible.  

We are so thankful for places like Hogar de Vida and Hogarcito San Juan Bosco that are doing their very best to love on these precious children.  

My personal hope is that ROOM can help make the room that Diana dreams of reality.  As Kyle and I continue to work on translating the list, we plan to offer those materials as an opportunity for everyone to bless this program that is already doing so much to serve and love these kids. Each item that is crossed off that list, even as simple as a box of nails, has such a profound impact on these kids but also on the workers that sometimes feel so alone in their service. 

Harper helping the children make rainbow loom bracelets...

Calvary helping....

Calvary working hard...

the biggest room for the kids.  

Meet Diana.  She is kind, warm, and hopeful.  We are excited to be partnering with her.

Hogar de Vida...

2 weeks ago, we gently nudged our children so that they could begin to dress for our long drive north. The clock said 4:00am...although this seemed early to us, the sun here doesn't seem to agree and it was already beginning to outline the moutains.  We loaded up with cups of cereal in hand and took off.  

We honestly had no idea what to expect.

Our purpose was simply to learn.  

I had spoken with the director of Hogar de Vida on the phone and through email the weeks leading up to our in person visit and I knew that he would be patient with us as we learn and, in his own words, "disciple" us as we become a part of the system in place here in Costa Rica to care and provide for their children.  But I also wanted to represent ROOM well, be a service to Hogar de Vida, and have my children behave perfectly all the while.  

We were late.

Of course.

Thus began our visit.  

Although we left our house in plenty of time to make it by 8:30, once we made it to the city we could not find the building...which is amazing in hindsight because Hogar de Vida is a large span of land, stretching 30,000 sqm, in the relatively (relative to what we are used to in the US) small city.  We asked several people and the directions we were given sent us up, down, and around...but never to Hogar de Vida.  I am not even sure how we finally did find it...I think a man told us "arriba! arriba! arriba!" and we couldn't miss it... We finally arrived a little after 9:00 in the morning.  

In spite of our tardiness, Tim and Hoover greeted us with such kindness and grace.  They quickly welcomed us and invited us to come and sit with them in the rancho.

I immediately began to survey our surroundings and I was truly in awe of what I saw.  Hogar de Vida is like an oasis...it is fitting that we had such a difficult time finding it for that reason!  

Tim shared his heart with us and his passion for serving The Lord.  Over and over he reinterated that all of this work is for the kingdom of God.  Hogar de Vida belongs to The Lord and that truth is evident in the love that is so clearly visible throughout the campus.  

I watched as tias gently guided children from place to place.  

I watched as a little boy fell and immediately turned and ran into the arms of a tia and she lowered herself to soothe him with a hug.

I watched as two young tias sat on a blanket out under the trees and played and cradled two sweet infants.  

The love pouring out is obvious.  And although Hogar de Vida is home to 35 children, it is a place of peace...it lacks the chaos and volume that I am accustomed to in my own home with only 4 children! 

The younger two wanted to play with the kids on the trampoline and they quickly enlisted the help of Harper to ask for them if they could play.  The tia assured them all that they were more than welcome to play and soon all the kids were playing and bouncing on the trampoline.  

During that time, Tim shared even more of his story and the vision for Hogar de Vida.  He desires transperancy, excellence, and a commitment to service...He desires these qualities in himself as well as everyone that comes to work alongside him at Hogar de Vida.  

Hogar de Vida represents all of these qualities.  

Tim's heart for service allows for hosting mission teams where groups can come in and work with the children and in the facility.  He knows that the time where teams can commit to service opens doors to understand the importance of living life as God has called us to live: laying down our lives, loving our neighbors, and loving God.   

In the time that we were there, Tim and Hoover taught us quite a bit about how PANI works and about how his organization works.  

Essentially, the goal of Hogar de Vida is to provide a safe place for children to learn about the love of God.  

On the grounds, there are several individual homes that create a home environment for the children.  The tias are passionate about what they do; it is not simply a paycheck for them.  In fact, the day that we were there we were told a story about a tia that just tearfully told the story of how she resigned from Hogar de Vida as a tia to become the caretaker of a little girl that came in as an infant with special needs.  Her love for the children led her to become a tia and that same love for these children led her to leave and become a foster mother.  It's beautiful, really.

Our hope now is that ROOM can help nurture the love that is already thriving there. Although we know that Hogar de Vida is not likely to be consistent for what we will find here in Costa Rica, we are so thankful that this is our first program because it will serve as a wonderful model for the other programs struggling to find a way to create a family atmosphere for these children. 

We would love to connect churches with this reputable program that is doing so much to impact the kingdom of God through their ministry to the orphans of Costa Rica.  

More information about Hogar de Vida can be found on their website http://www.homesoflife.org/our-program.htm .  

Please contact me if you are interested in connecting with Hogar de Vida for a mission trip, sponsorship of a child, or to sponsor their program.  

Thank you to Hoover for the pictures~

I love this picture above of the kids from one of the houses having dinner.  It speaks volumes to the safe environments that truly inspire to create for these children.  Such precious kids...

Devotion time for kids, tias, staff, and volunteers together...

We are looking forward to building a wonderful relationship with this home!

banana trucks and mountains...

We have now been here in Costa Rica for over a month.  I cannot believe it!  Every day we fall more in love with this country and the people that call this place home.

We are slowly starting to accept the differences in what we expected and what is reality.  Our expectations were not better, but they were different, so adjusting those expectations has been a real thing to deal with as we processed this new life.  

When I pulled out my phone to take the picture below I was trying to capture the mountains in the distance.  It wasn't until I was looking at the pictures later that I realized that I captured the house in the  lower right corner.  This picture is such a reflection of Costa Rica: the beauty of the natural landscape, the humble homes made of all sorts of materials, and the pride and care put into their homes and lives.

When I first noticed this picture, it was a couple of weeks ago.  My perspective then is not the same as it is even now...and I suppose that as each week passes by I will learn more about the intricacies of this country.  

I think this is why God uses foreign missions...it such a common sentiment to hear well meaning people say, "why go so far? we have hurting people in need here in our own backyard!". And there is so much truth to that...God needs us all to be looking for the places we can be serving and loving right where we are...but I also, obviously, believe that God calls people into foreign missions.  

Sometimes, when we are in our own cirumstances, we are either too focused on the beauty in the distance or too focused on the current situation.  

However, if we are not careful, when we come into a situation that is not our own we may only see the mountains in the distance or the banana truck house in the foreground...that is dangerous because we make assumptions based on just one perspective.  

There are several places within the Bible where God speaks of the importance of missions...one obvious example is the Great Commission where we are instructed to go and make disciples of ALL nations...but the verse that has come to my mind so much since being here in Costa Rica is, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him on whose feet bring the good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns.'" (Isaiah 52:7)  I love to think of the mountains that we cross carrying the message of God's love & the fact that He not only has called us but also empowered us to do this work...

Foreign missions is about exactly that..

It is about taking your perspective and my perspective and every perspective in between and learning the truth of how we are all created to be His...

The moment that I no longer ignore the banana truck to admire the mountain...I've made a step.

The moment that I no longer focus only on the banana truck...I've taken another.

The moment when I no longer pity the people who live in the banana truck...I've taken even more.

The moment when I see beauty in the care made to make the banana truck a home...I've taken more.

The moment I am willing to live life alongside the occupants of the banana truck...I've understood what it means to see people as He sees them.

I've had a very difficult time explaining what life here has been like.  We visited an orphanage last week (which will be a post all its own!)...we've moved into a home in a mountain community just 10 miles south of the biggest city in southern CR...we have many conversations, in our limited spanish, with as many people as we can....we have watched birds and sloths and iguanas play in the trees...we have eaten fruits that would have never dared tried...I have driven by houses and marveled at how the ticos keep their floors so perfectly polished ( I am most definitely bringing the neighborhood down )...and the more we live here, the more I am worried that conveying life here back home will only present a limited perspective.  

I've learned that this country is not just a vacation spot...

but I also don't want to create pity.  

This country is amazing.  The people are amazing.  And just like people in our own backyard, there are people that need to know and feel and see the love of God.  God just wanted our backyard to change :)  

1 Corinthians 12:

"12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it."
One body...In God's body the hand does not only look out for the hand or care for the hand; each part of the body cares and thrives based on the other parts wellness...
my prayer is that others will fall in love with Costa Rica as we share our experiences here but also, through that love, want to serve and meet their needs...because their needs are our needs.  

week two in review...

I cannot believe that we have now been here in Costa Rica for 2 weeks!  We are experiencing that ever-so-common effect of time feeling both fleeting and stalling at the same time.  Some days, Kyle, Melissa, and I just look at each other amazed that it is only 3:00 in the afternoon.  But then, it is before I know it and I am sitting down to reflect on what all has happened this week.  

I've been a little frustrated that we have not been able to get into an orphanage yet.  Afterall, THAT is why we are here.  I wish, some days, that we were walking into a program already established here in Costa Rica.  It would be nice to have had someone tell us where to live, or where to shop, or how to handle healthcare issues, or how to buy a car...but those are the things that we have to learn in order to be effective here in ministry.  

However, all these moments have been crucial.  

We have been blessed to partner with an organization that has tremendous vision and tremendous passion.  

In fact, I believe that the pressure we feel to have everything 100% in place is a pressure we have put on ourselves and is actually keeping us from waiting on The Lord to direct our steps.  Just the other day, Tara (Exeuctive Director of ROOM) encouraged us to continue to follow The Lord's pacing referencing Zechariah 4:10.  I cannot recall a time where I had been conscious of this verse but the timing of the reminder has been exactly what I needed: it says, "Do not despise these small beginnings, for The Lord rejoices to see the work begin..."  

The work is beginning for sure and we are rejoicing!

What a beautiful realization that 2 weeks ago having an in-country director for Costa Rica had not yet been realized!

2 weeks ago we had no concept of what it would be like to travel in an airplane with 4 children.  Now, we know what to expect and how to prepare with even more effectiveness.

2 weeks ago we had no concept of what traveling in and around Costa Rica would really look like for us.  Now, we have traveled by taxi, bus, rented a car and have traveled in the city and on the "new" roads...

2 weeks ago we had no point of reference for Costa Rican directions.  Now, when people say, "go to the salon in Tinamastes and take the dirt road past the house with the red roof", we understand.  We also understand that there are no street names.  We understand that making friends with locals is the best way to know where anything and everything is.  Or, your only way.

2 weeks ago we had no real potential long term homes.  We reserved the house we are staying in understanding that we would have 3 weeks to find a house that we would stay in for the next year+.  This has been, by far, the most difficult part for me.  Travel has probably been the most difficult part for Kyle.  But, locating and deciding on a home has been the most difficult part for me.  Probably mostly because of my desire to create a home for my children.  

Just the other day, after a particularly difficult day, I came inside and laid on the bed and decided that God and I really needed to have a conversation.  I asked God if He wanted me to feel unsafe...or maybe I was confusing "uncomfortable" with "unsafe" and I needed Him to direct me.  But whatever was happpening, we needed something to change.  There has been an obvious level of release of security that has happened for us to be here.  And the difficult part has been discerning the difference between God's leading and my comfort.  Am I just uncomfortable or is this God's Spirit leading me? 

What an incredible lesson to be learning in a foreign land! After that night, we had one last house to see.  Yesterday I was overcome with emotion as we found the home...What had been lacking, had been found.  God's faithfulness made evident once again...

2 weeks ago my kids were still unsure of this land.  Last night, Calvary said, "Who loves Costa Rica?" and all four simultaneously raised their hands.  

 So much has happened in 2 weeks.  We have continued to grow and learn and understand what it means to live here.  We have made connections and friendships that are going to be so instrumental in developing and growing ROOM's ministry. 

These are small beginnings, but they are necessary.  We are so happy to be God's instrument for laying the ground work here in Costa Rica.  We have learned so much and are so happy to continue to learn and grow in both love and knowledge of this amazing country and their people.  

"What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.”  1 Corinthians 3:5-9

this week's prayer requests:

1. Safe travels for Melissa who is returning home on Saturday...she has been so wonderful to have here with us.  

2.  It has become obvious that we need to purchase a vehicle...please pray for guidance that we will find a dependable and affordable one.

3.  We are hoping to make the house we viewed yesterday situated 40 min outside of San Isidro our home base...please pray that all goes well.

4.  Our plan today to go and visit 2 orphanages in San Isidro has been stalled due to both Melissa and Finley being sick.  Please pray that both will feel better and that no one else gets sick.  

week one in review...

We have officially been here in Costa Rica for one week and I decided that the best way to celebrate was to review what this week has looked like for us.  So the weird "whoop whoop" sound of some Costa Rican animal (we haven't decided what animal exactly) will serve as my writing ambiance...
Our travel day was relatively uneventful, which when traveling with 4 kids internationally is a blessing in and of itself.  We did have a crazy issue on our flight to San Jose from Miami that ended with us redirecting to Liberia to land and refuel before heading back to San Jose.  We arrived 2 hours later than expected in San Jose but we were so happy to blur through customs and find that our driver, Giovanni, was still waiting for us!
After landing in San Jose we had a long drive to Domincal.  Giovanni introduced us to our first Costa Rican meal at a local soda along the way...the kids were less than impressed, but Kyle, Melissa, and I were thrilled to have some good food after all those hours on planes.
We finally arrived at the "New Road" in Dominical...a loosely used term for an unpaved road full of standing water, lizards and frogs, and pot holes :).  Dominical is beautiful!
We were grateful that it is technically off season here in Costa Rica and the beginning of their rainy or green season because we were able to rent a house for three and a half weeks for the same price as it would have cost to stay in 2 hotel rooms for 1 week.  What a blessing it is to know that we can have  a slower pace of integretion for the kids and gives Kyle and I more time to decide on a house and understand the areas a lot more.
The first few days we devoted mainly to food.  There are not any large supermarkets in Dominical...Both of the ones we have frequented are more like the equivalent of conveince stores in the US.  So, although we were able to find things that we knew we would like easily (produce is abundant!), it was difficult for my mind to switch to picking up a few things at a time instead of stocking up for 2 weeks at a time...we could only purchase what we could carry...
On Monday, we took a bus into San Isidro...San Isidro is known as the unofficial capital of the southern area of CR...bus routes are centered around when they will arrive or depart from San Isidro and the area is bustling with the activity of the 40,000+ people that make up the population of San Isidro...We had decided that we wanted to set up our home base in San Isidro while still back home based on the information we researched.  Our bus ride in was very interesting as we only had standing room for the entirety of the trip...which is no big deal until I think of the kids with us...which is a whole post on its on about how much we love and are grateful for Melissa being here with us.  Once we arrived in San Isidro Kyle and I were on our own.  Directions anywhere in San Isidro, and Costa Rica in general, are pretty much like walk 30 M past the bread store and turn and go 10M.  Again, all that is fine if you have an idea of where the bread store is.  We searched for over 2 hours for the real estate office before we started re-evaluating what Monday would be for us...we started seeing Monday as an exploratory outing...we would find things and experience and practice our Spanish...and be better prepared for the next time we came in and could find the real estate company. We had decided that we needed a local cell phone for making local calls.  So we stopped in to make our first big purchase here.  Kyle did great communicating with the man in Spanish and we left with a little prepaid phone perfect for making local calls.  We also were able to get some help deciphering our directions and set off again to find the real estate agency...after following that man's direction, another man's direction, and a nice lady at the local bakery we arrived at the real estate office...only to find that Diego wasn't there.
yep.
that is exactly how it happened.
So, we made another appointment and headed out to purchase some things for home and then to head home.
To be honest, we were a little discouraged with the day, but it ended up being great because we started seeing the layers of tourist and resident slowly begin to shift and change...we are learning what this country is really like...and that means learning all the intricacies and subtle nuances that add up to big differences.  We don't want to merely visit this country...we want to live here.  We came here to understand the country so we could understand the need.  Understanding the culture is a first step and there is only so much we can gain from reading in books; we have to experience this culture in order to effectively understand it.
We learned several things on Monday:
1.  We have pretty decent Spanish...not great...but enough to carry on a conversation (Kyle is way better than me!).
2.  San Isidro is a unique city busy and full but also still small and intimate.

We have made contact with a local organic farm that has a house on the property that they are looking to rent.  We are praying that this will be the house for us.  We are also praying about the reality of purchasing a vehicle to be more effective in traversing the vast terrain of Costa Rica.
We are also excited about visiting our first orphanage this coming week.

The kids are doing great.  So many people have been thinking of us and praying for us and we know that those prayers have ease this transition.  Calvary has wanted to stay back more often than go when it comes to venturing to the market and he is 1 for 2 when it comes to local fare...but he has done amazingly well.  I am so thankful that having an extra set of hands here has allowed for us to be more flexible with accomodating his transition.  Although it may be slower than the other three, he is adjusting and I am so proud of him.  He has downloaded several spanish apps to practice his spanish and we made a little tent for him to have a little space for himself...funny thing is how much just having that space available makes him feel more relaxed.
Harper is loving all the change and adventure.  She wants to visit every place we go and listen to every conversation.  She tries as much local food as possible and is feeling quite confident in her surroundings.  I have noticed that she has been much more irritable and a little more difficult in her behavior and we talked about how culture shock can happen even when you are enjoying the culture...that her body is exhausted from all the change.
Finley and Oliver Jack are just along for the ride...once they adjusted to the time difference, they were pretty much all set.
My biggest complaint is how much screen time these kids have had...it is driving me crazy.  It is most likely more an indication of how much I am ready for a new normal to begin.  

We are so thankful for everyone's prayers and support.
Our biggest desire is to be used here...to follow His lead.

If you are following along we ask that you pray with us.
Specifically for these things:
1.  That God will lead us to the doorsteps of those that He wants for us to help.
2.  We will continue to grow in our ability to communicate.
3.  That we will find a house.
4.  Continued ease of assimilation for the kids.

Thank you, genuinely, to everyone that has sent us a message either on FB or Viber.  It has been so encouraging to know that we are surrounded by people that may not be here with us physically but are with us fully in spirit.  And thank you, ahead of time, for your prayers...I am already excited about our next update!

2 weeks...

We are 2 weeks away from heading out and as I sit looking at space bags looking eerily and aptly named and collections of toiletries and toys gathering on the table yet to be backed, I am left thinking about the people we are leaving behind.
I feel conflicted writing or saying too much about it because while I know it is exciting and painful for us, it is also exciting and painful on a different balance for our family.
We are spending the next 2 weeks soaking in as much time with our friends and family as we can so I won't be posting too much here, but I do ask for your prayers.
Please pray specifically for our families; their sacrifice is just as much an answer to this call as ours and I am so proud and thankful for all the support they have shown.
Please pray for safe travels and easy international border crossings.
Please pray that our children will adjust easily.


We are going to be updating and maintaining this blog as soon as we can once we arrive in Costa Rica.