In the Blink of an Eye

Beloved,

How does January always come and go so quickly? We are breaking into a new year with exciting changes on the horizon, both for FHICR´s staff and the Lord´s plans for the community´s development. As junior has become a part of our daily reality and near future, I am learning so much about God´s timing for things.

Before, you would see me running in and out of the community, stressing over dinner getting cooked while studying semenary books, and balancing a time table full enough for three people. Throught the gift of life stirring in my womb, I am recieving from the Lord a fresh perspective on ministry: taking His plans one step at a time.

It is invigorating to say no, I am not going to continue or yes, this is God´s confirmation to our prayers. I am still busy with classes and homework and feeling pregnant, but what a joy in the midst of serving to see His hand guiding us along.

So January came and went, I am coming alongside a precious missionary friend, Isabela Soto, to serve with Virtuous Women, a Christ centered sowing workshop and spiritual counsil group for about 12 women. I am so blessed to serve alongside Isabela, full of the Holy Spirit and a love to boast in Christ of His salvation, and discover God´s path for 2010. My focus will be to support Isabela as an assistent in adminsitration, documenting God´s work and emotional support to her, the women and their families.

During this month, we are readusting to the transitions from last year, meditating on the fruits of our labor and focusing on this year. I will not be continuing the program with child spondership, through at the present I have accepted empowering two new community leaders with the local church to support them in working the Kids´ Club with the Reformed Church in Los Guido. I stand in prayer for God´s leading in specific details to my transition with maternity and family needs.

Kids´ Fire hasn´t taken shape yet, but the couple who are called to leadership in the community have become active in leading as well as serving alongside a local church. Their growth has been a huge encouragement and joy to witness.

Luis Diego, has been serving actively with our home church and pastor, in the projects for this year in the property. They piloted their first activity for this year today, and will continue weekly with Bible Studies and children´s activities while the construction takes shape.

Luis Diego is also studying computer programs and balancing his time to support FHICR´s office in a more constant fashion. This is a blessing for me to see how God is moving him in ministry as well as in his relationships and ministry contacts.

And of course, January has served to learn how to learn to just rest and eat healthy. Every stage is worth it when God says it´s His time.

May February be filled with His joy, peace, hope and love in your daily walk and families. Let´s keep our eyes peeled for when our King returns.

God´s gift of life

As I sit down to write, I meditate on His Word that calls us to be still and know that He is God. He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and all that is in them, He is the owner of all Majesty and the Kingdom of light.

With motive of great joy, we share with you His blessing of our first pregnancy, His life for this child has already began! We discovered the news a few weeks ago, I am now 9 weeks along and we are growing together as a family and celebrating every change and stage. God has been powerfully ministering to us as we grow into the role as parents He is calling us to. What love to know only He could surround us with loved ones and wise counsil to guide us along the way.

So we share with you our delight in these circumstances and all that awaits us ahead. We invite you to be in prayer with us for all the details to be ironed out smoohtly by His hand. I pray you be encouraged and ministered to through His faithfulness and lovingkindness in our lives.

My husband sends his love and appreciation for all your support and your special part in our growth and service in the Lord. May Jesus be your way, truth and life abundant.

Reeping the first fruits of His faithfulness

My dear friends, "Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness." II Cor. 9:10

I believe as I finish by transcribing this final testimony of 2009, I have discovered that God has stretched us far in our trust in Him throughout the months, and Kids' Club was no exception.

I have been serving in this outreach for the three years now with FHICR, it has been part of the backbone of working with the families and building relationships to allow Christ Love to shine into the family unit. Teaching is a passion that makes my heart beat, and it has been facinating to witness the variety of reactions to God´s touching of the heart through the different activities and ministry strategies.

This year, we coupled with a church annointed by the Lord to have a heart for their neighboring families, we fell in love with their vision and their responsibility to be an active example of Christ to the lost and broken hearted.

So we began Kids' Club on Fridays in June during winter vacations.

Later I will try to grab some shots of the joy and fruits of Jesus in the children, but I want to speak about some of the revelation of our Lord in the people called to serve this year. I have been left speechless by His awesomeness in working in our three-people team. We struggled with our personalities, our cultures, our personal issues, and yet God glorified Himself in our prayers together and our hours of forgiveness and comprehension, we tackled the last month of activities and were delighted in seeing children with different attitudes, changed behavior, more self-control and reflecting Christ´s love. Many families who are new to the congregation have began to see what the children are raiving about and have started to support the minsitry. God has blessed the growth of many seeds in the hearts and lives of the families.

Thank you Jesus that it is not about us, but all about You.

CDP wraps up in December

CDP is a child development program that casts the vision of empowering community leaders, churches and families to make responsible decisions concerning the opportunities to promote the developmental needs of their children. By working towards bettering children's holistic development, community members assist in the social development of their community and future generations.

God took my glittery eyes that dreamed of CDP and plopped me into 8 months of personal formation as I invested my life into 20 families and their children who participated in this program with FHICR.

Through the wear and tear of working with these families through good times and bad times, I came to reflect on the initial strategy that had been applied in this particular program. The original gear was to direct the families in analizing the real needs of their children and focusing on a holistic program. As it turns out, the program I adquired was directed towards scholastic financial aid in the form of scholarships and other activities planned around this focal point.

As time went on, the more I could see God closing the door on this program, and that His work was going to continue in those who are leaning on Him for the answer. So I loved these people with all my heart and challnged myself daily to be a living testimony of Christ to them.

I dropped out of monthly contact due to all the end-of-the-year activities. Throughout the year we were involved in: house visits, tutoring center, Kids´Club, prayer meetings, profile updating, medical check ups, school supply donations, Sports activities, parent meetings, card workshops, etc. Towards the end, God´s strength was sufficient to combat the battles of the enemy to throw in the towel. We ran the race with all our might and were able to complete the program with answered prayer. In our final meeting where we shared our plans to finish the scholarship with these particular families, God blessed with a comprehensive heart in the mothers who participated in the breakfast lucheon in our office. They opened up and gave testimonies of how God helped them to get up on their own two feet and fight for the well-being and education of their children.

We remain steadfast in prayer for the revelation of God´s plans for the future of this program in 2010. Until He speaks, we will wait for His direction, with thanksgiving in our hearts for the growth witnessed in our lives as well as the families who He chose to be involved.

This outlet showed me how He has called us to get dirty for His kingdom: giving our most basic and most complex needs to our Lord and Savior: every dirt road, every smelly corner, every flee infested dog, every heat stroke, every tear shed, every grade improved, every test passed, is all to glorify His name.

Kids' Fire

Have you ever staretd something out of obedience later to find out the real reason God called you to it in the first place? What a sovern God we serve! He knows exactly what to share with us and what to linger in revealing so that our faith may grow and evolve.

As we saw an urgent need for the families to be invited to learn together, we began a series of weekly activities centered around Christian education through games outdoors. With one PE teacher and a few soccer balls, we started Saturday mornings to invite the kids to learn through recreation and having fun together. This was an opportunity for them to grow in their love for physical activity and learning important Christian values like self-discipline, team work, obedience, etc.

As we plunged into the months ahead, getting up early on a Saturday morning ground on our motivation, including the small turn out as we prepared the activities week after week.

God, if you told us this was a need, and that this activity was Your plan, where is Your confirmation that You are satified with us?

God had already anticipated our weaknesses, and He revealed Himself as our strength in this moment of encounter. He brought out of the woodwork a couple passionate to grow in their walk with Christ, hungry to reach out to their community and eager to be pushed to look a little harder for God´s guidance in their leadership.

A diamond in the rough.

This is where in the last few months of 2009, we saw God´s back up cultivate a valuable friendship with Luis Diego and Cindy, a precious couple who seek to help in counselling and Christian testimony other couples in need in their community and their families.

So the Sports´activity became Kids' Fire, based on the true testing of our faith as gold through fire, we also desire for the families and their children to become more pure and stronger through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Training by Luis Diego

Training with YWAM

The conference that I participated in was focused on returning back to the roots of evangelism. We were encouraged to share our personal testimonies of what God was doing in our lives and families. God spoke to us through Acts 1:8, of how we are called to evangelize first in Samaria, which means that we must start in the place we are located. We are gifted in different skills to express the message of Jesus Christ: drama, sports, arts, signs, education, health, business, etc. This is what we are praying and seeking to do: from now on.

Training with Samartians´ Purse

Kristina was also gifted with a training based in precautions concerning the growing need to educate and reach out to the world´s population suffering the consecuences of HIV/AIDS. Samaritan's purse and a prescription for Hope joined together and sponsered three people from FHICR´s office to participate in a week training that opened the eyes and hearts of those involved to assist in the prevention of the harmful results of this mortal virus.

Molded through ESEPA

Kristina was challenged through a year of Bible courses such as: Theology Panorama II, How to work with people with special needs, Fundamentals to Christian Education, beginnings of teaching, foundations of Christian Leadership development, Panorama of Old Tesatament, etc. She was stretched through a lot a different experiences, but most of all God guided her to grow in knowledge, in her faith and in relationships through networking with different teachers, classmates, etc. God has provided for her to continue classes the next Trimester in January 2010.

Children's rights training

This six-week course helped orient Christian leaders and facilitadors on society´s perspective of Children's rights and discipline in upbringing in the family. We discussed topics such as anger management, discipline, abuse, legal rights, and other topics related to these future generations. We were later challenged through the materials provided and the orientation to find creative ways on how to incoorporate these teachings in the families who are members of the communities.

Future Computer skills

I am going to start computer classes to be able to handle the computer more efficiently and participate more in missions through more knowledge of this tool. So I am seeking to broaden my possibilities to specialize in skills that will assist both our communication and interaction with others. I am in the phase of setting up the details to sign-up for classes this week.

Iniciating the Project by Luis Diego

In this community, there is a property that was used for drug dealing and prostitution. The owner lost the property due to bankrupcy, and the bank took over the rights and sold the property to the church Amistad International. The church leader, William Zapata, began to invest in envisioning the potential use for this property. Others who came together with him, began to clean up the property, construct the protective fence around the property. The vision is to provide a safe place to work in social development and outreach with the local families and their neighbors. The property will house a multi-purpose building that can offer ministries and churches a place to come together to offer different outlets and activities directed towards multiple age bracets such as computer lessons, sowing workshop, youth activities, and more.

This year, we were able to clean up the property and construct a small building to facilitate storage and adecuate ministry area with the children this year.

Every Saturday morning we worked with the children of the local families, playing games and teaching Bible Studies with emphasis in Christian values such as obedience to God and His Word. During 2009, we are projecting our efforts to invite other Christian organizations and minsitries to unite with us in the Lord´s work in 2010.

Ministry partners in the shape of friends

The Beatitudes refelcted in 2009
Matthew 5

"1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Every one of us has been called to become peacemakers following the footprints of Jesus, because like teacher, like pupil, it is an incarnated characteristic in the children fo God to be makers of peace.

And we have identified His mighty hand uniting us with peacemakers throughout 2009.

We prayed intensively at the end of 2008 as we were "left alone" in ministry without volunteers and with little human support that God would open up His doors of provision to bring those servent leaders He was preparing to come alongside and serve together. Well, God answered prayer, and to our joy, brought these partners in the shape of true friends.

We served with missionaries and gifted volunteers from the Reformed Church, Students International, Amistad International, Latin Link, and community leaders among other divine contacts that only God could have orquestrated.

Through unity in the Spirit, we witnessed together a supernatural strength that embedded in many hearts the miracle of opening up to a Christan worldvision and a life that reflects significant change.

So we give glory to God for the treasure of serving alongside friends and reaping the first fruits of the power of One Spirit.

Time capsule 2009

Greetings to you all in the hope and peace of the name of our Lord and King, Jesus Christ.

As God says in His Word, there is a time for everything. Thanks to the wits of a God-sent angel, our contact with the outside world is finally up and running in the form of a blog.

This is a God-inspired plan to link you with the doings and nature of Our Almighty God in the Kingdom building He is raising in Costa Rican communities. And of course, we also desire to be instruments of His joy and glory as we share from our hearts what He was, is and will be in our lives as a family.

As we meditated on His acts of faithfulness and grace throughout 2009, I shall present a time capsule alphabet of His doings that He has brought to our attention:

a. One completed year of Semenary school for Kristina, God´s provision in all aspects

b. Missionary training in Seattle through FHI

c. Provision of a new and usable laptop, communication with loved ones

d. Progress in our marriage, growing together

e. Annointed ministry tools and God-sent volunteers

f. Sister's visit in March, brought encouragement and motivation to service

g. Maturing both emotionally and spiritually during the year

h. Spiritual retreats as a family, delighting in God´s nature together

i. Financial provision in miraculous timing and growth in self-discipline

j. Home stability, able to rent in the same apartment throughout the year

k. A blessed visit with Clearview Baptist Church in August

l. Rekindled communication with Kristina´s sister Heather

m. God´s soveren guidance in the steps and future of Elizabeth, Kristina´s sister

n. God´s growing and challenging in Kristina´s sister Melinda´s spiritual giftings

o. Divine appointments and conversations with Luis Diego´s family members

p. Luis Diego working side-by-side with Pastor in the community

q. Evangelism and building reltionaships in the community

r. Children´s rights training for Luis Diego

s. Kristina playing the flute in worship service again

t. God-directed short-term teams

u. Kingdom Lifestyle training with FHICR and be able to host the event

v. His grace in Kristina´s Spanish learning and language development

w. Advancement in Kristina´s citizenship papers

x. Encouragement and support recieved through love packages and letters

y. Mutual support in ministry for one another, growing in contacts and alliances

z. Faithful ministry partners, supporters, true friends and life-changing mentors

Our vision and mission

OUR VISION:
Our vision is to evangelize, mentor and teach God’s message of salvation and His eternal principles to the nations in Costa Rica and elsewhere.



OUR MISSION:
We seek for our lifestyle to center itself more every day on the rock of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We serve to train children, youth and families in a Biblical worldvision. Our focus is for them to gain an understanding and apply God’s living Word in their lives.
We are submitted to the Trinity’s authority to guide us to bring His Word of hope to the imprisoned, the broken hearted, the hopeless, those in need.
We strive to iniciate and support programs and projects that expand God’s kingdom through pouring God’s love and revelation in the lives of those around us.

2009

As a living testimony of God´s sufficient grace and unconditional love towards us and those He has placed in our paths, we wish to share a time capsule of 2009 through the incarnated beauty of His work in our family, ministry and the local church. We invite you to take a gander, and to respond to the same thought, what are the experiences that have lead you to grow and enhance your horizons throughout 2009?