Adding on to the working facilities for ministry on the church property with Amistad International


A puppet show put on by the kids in club


Fixing the gutters outside in front of the property


Craft time

April Discipleship training

So Luis Diego has been serving for more than two years in the community Bible Study and felt it was time to lead the Adult Bible Study through a discipleship training so they can develop the basic assets of their faith in Christ. He has remained faithful despite hard weather, discouragement and instability in attendance. I admire him deeply. The younger couples in the group are responding positively, asking questions and reading their Bibles throughout the week.
Kids´ Club continues, though we are praying for God´s direction since the local church has left Luis Diego on his own with the ministry responsibilities and coordination. There are no more volunteers or resources coming in for the Saturday morning activities. He has resorted to paying for the snacks and materials needed; we are waiting to see what God has ins tore for these little ones.
UPDATE: Pastor William from the church took over Saturday night teachings and is now looking for someone to take his place as he is being called to serve in other church plants in Nicaragua and another province in Costa Rica. Luis Diego has supported the ministry off and on due to ministry changes for him. The children´s ministry transitioned and the families now participate in a community VBS on Saturday morning only a block from where they live. They have been learning about Christian values and young adults from the Christian school are mentors for the children. It has proven a wise change and they are responding well. There is a Colombian Refugee living on the church property to protect it that our family still support when there is a need.

THE NAME

Tying into the way God provided as we continued to serve in the community and local church, God stirred in our hearts to find the name for our baby. Suddenly one Sunday afternoon on our way back from church, as we were piling into a mini van to head on home, my husband blurted out,

“if it´s a son, his name will be Abraham.”
“Oh really?” I commented, “and what made you decide on Abraham?”
“Well, it´s a strong biblical name, it´s the one I like and nobody I know is called Abraham, so he will be unique.”
“And what will be his middle name?” I questioned.
“Oh, I hadn´t thought about it, you can pick it and whatever name you want for a little girl is fine with me.”

I had my work cut out for me, how many names flow with Abraham?


I didn´t cease to pray, but it was a few weeks until I received a revelation for God. During a trip to visit some FHICR members in the countryside, I was reading through Isaiah 40 as the Lord cast a vision over my heart for our son. I really desired a name that would encompass His providing and unfailing faithfulness in our lives as he grew in the womb and always.

I sat in awe as He whispered to me:
His name will be Joseph Abraham, a son who will follow after me with all of his heart and bring comfort to many by serving in love and wisdom. Miracles and wonders will flow from Me through him, and as he remains in Me, I will use him to bring many to me once again and to trust in Me to heal their broken hearts. He is a strong man, full of energy and eager to conquer, the hard times and struggles will form him to overcome and inspire others to do the same. He will be an able communicator, and when he speaks, my glory will manifest. Teach him My Word and to worship and follow only me, for he will nurture many a faith and walk.
So says Isaiah of our King Jesus:

1 Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD's hand
double for all her sins.
3 A voice of one calling:
"In the desert prepare
the way for the LORD [a] ;
make straight in the wilderness
a highway for our God. [b]
4 Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all mankind together will see it.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
6 A voice says, "Cry out."
And I said, "What shall I cry?"
"All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever."
9 You who bring good tidings to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, [c]
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
"Here is your God!"
10 See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,
and his arm rules for him.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.


So we reconvened and accepted that his name is Joseph Abraham, God will increase, Father of nations. By the way, the girl name never showed up.

HE ANSWERS OUR CRY

As most of you are aware, we have chosen a lifestyle that calls us to invite members of Christ´s body and people that God prepares to financially and holistically support us as we serve full-time in the areas where God has called us to assist in ministry. Each one of us is in a process of being formed and prepared by the Potter for greater things, and many times we are challenged and tried with the hope of growing in the character Christ has laid out for us. Many times, we are tried due to poor choices and decisions we make, but inevitably because God has a purpose in our lives and wants our faith to be purified through the fire.

Well, we experienced a very challenging financial predicament for the first few months of this year. It was a time of waiting on the Lord and learning to seek His wisdom in our every move.

As things got tighter, the pressure was stronger. With the knowledge of our first pregnancy, eating healthy and living a lower stress lifestyle was important. It didn´t seem to be happening. As our emotions and faith stretched, each day passing felt like the walls were caving into us and we were drowning. But we continued to call out to God, even though He didn´t seem at all close.

Well, as our bills piled up and the money didn´t arrive, in my devotions I stumbled across Psalm 40 which articulates:

I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.
4 Blessed is the man
who makes the LORD his trust,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods. [a]
5 Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done.
The things you planned for us
no one can recount to you;
were I to speak and tell of them,
they would be too many to declare.
The words jumped off the page and buried into my heart a deep desire to blindly trust the Lord for His provision. We had been blessed with rice and beans and my husband had the custom of giving me the best portion so that the baby and I had enough. We had a roof over our heads and running water, warm showers and we were safe. God was still in control, though we couldn´t feel Him. Someone once said that when you can´t feel Him it´s because He is getting ready to make His move. The calm of the storm was on the horizon, but when you´re in the middle of the winds and waves, it´s hard to envision.

Well, in March I got to the point of screaming to see if anyone would respond, I only had enough petty cash to get me to seminary classes and there was nothing left, God kept telling me in prayer to wait on Him, that He would defend us. So I went to class and struggled to listen to the theology being mentioned. When the professor asked for an example of a prayer request, the Holy Spirit burned inside me to speak. I shared our prayer request and the class moved on. Upon finishing class, strangely everyone stayed in their chairs. The professor turned towards me and asked if I would share about our situation to see how they could help. As I shared, once again the Holy Spirit burned inside me. Finishing, the class prayed over us and collected an offering. God provided not only to get home, but enough to pay our bills, buy food and then some. Our prayers filled with tears and gratitude a gush of relieve poured into our lives. God had answered our cry and though we couldn´t feel Him we knew He was at work.

By sharing that day, a youth group invited us to their missions teaching and we were blessed with all kinds of fruit and an offering of love. Multiple missionaries blessed me with maternity clothes and a dear couple sowed a monetary seed into us which provided for an ultrasound, a month of water aerobics and vitamins. God just over abundantly blessed and I can´t express how tender these moments have become as part of our son´s beginning in his growth in the womb.



So wait patiently on the Lord, despite your need or prayer, because when He turns, He WILL answer your cry.

How rich and sweet are the voiced sounds of the worshiper who praise Him in the slimy pit and confides fully in Him despite the muddy mess.

Even when it is dark and gray, we cannot begin to count the wonders He has marvelously carved out for each and every one of us. Thank you Lord, that we can praise you simply because of who you are.

Giving away the movie Fireproof on DVD to local families

February Highlight

As we have been praying as a couple to serve more alongside one another in ministry as a couple, my husband has taken the initiative to train with a ministry called GoAll in Costa Rica as he is looking for alliances to help expand and develop the sports outreach that the local church has established years prior. GoAll serves with the vision to evangelize and disciple through sports and share the message of Jesus Christ through godly character and teamwork. Luis Diego has begun a series of meetings and videos that are assisting him to be able to apply these tools in the volleyball outreach the church has done in the neighborhood after Sunday services.
GoAll is a ministry in Costa Rica that the president of FHICR+s board of directors, Edgardo Gamboa, heads up with a small staff of national missionaries. Luis Diego has been coordinating with the leaders to see how to better incorporate a similar vision into the activities that are performed every week.



Update!!! on these preparations is that the leadership has adhered to a special bond with the missionary trainers and are beginning the process of preparing the training and follow up needed to focus the group in more of an evangelistic and discipleship-oriented missions as they develop their skills as a team to complete against other players on a more professional level. Luis Diego has passed off the baton and the trainers have come multiple times to church to build relationships and strengthen the communication in the process of establishing the bases for the ministry.

blogging takes time

Dearest of the dear,

We pray the Lord's abundant blessings over you in all ways, shapes and forms. Obviously, I have not proven myself a dedicated blogger, four months of silence can appear pure abandonment or boredom on my behalf. Things have been hectic, seeing as to I am actually writing from a part of the world I would have never envisioned being at this stage in pregnancy, so here's a whirl at it. I was inspired by the pending voice in the back of my noggin telling me to start writing again and the sheer inspiration of my little sister telling me she actually bookmarked our page. Thanks Melinda, God used you.

Happy reading.

February Debrief

by Luis Diego


KIDS CLUB
The activities in Los Guido are getting better because the vision it is being clearer and the kids are enjoying every Saturday morning.

They ask for example during the week if we going to be there. They are anxious for Saturday to arrive. On the other hand, of course, we need more people who can help and also more ideas to interact together in dynamic and creative ways, Spanish materials with bible emphasis….. but we keep praying for these needs, and we also have started with what we have, sometimes these kids are different ages and it gets a little challenging to be able to work with them at the same time, but they are adjusting to the situation and learning to be flexible, as well us.


VALENTINE’S:
There was an activity based in cultivating new friendships and God´s love that was directed by my church. It started at 2 pm in the afternoon, and finished at 5:30 pm, it was a great opportunity to be a witnesses with families and neighbors and share the love of God. Also we united together to present a message revealing the good news to the crowd.
My job was carrying the equipment and setting up from the beginning to the end of the activity,
The church contacted a clown ministry and they were working with the kids, teaching the message about the love of God, and there were families around the park, skate boarders practicing their tricks, and others playing basketball, etc. They were people in different places around the park listening to songs about God, and sharing His love, at the end, two men arrived that sang reggae, and it was good for the youth and presented their testimonies. It was an opportunity to reach out to the youth.

BAPTISM
In this trip we had two people that wanted to be baptized and both of them are from Colombia… Both of them came to Costa Rica is search of a job and discovered their need for Christ. One of them is interested in completing a Discipleship school through YWAM (Youth with a mission) in Chile in the future. It was the first time for me to see people baptized in the pacific ocean…. It was comical to me to see everybody moving all around because of the waves rolling in and out, in and out. It wasn´t like being in a swimming pool or a bathtub.
Then we had some time to congratulate, in this new step that they completed, and encourage them….


COMPUTER CLASSES
My classes have been hard to be honest, but challenging at the same time. I have been busy and meeting students younger them me, and also learning from them perspectives of the life. Still have to learn more of excel, word and power point, and maybe will take more class later…. I was studying very hard trying to complete the practices even though sometimes I would go to bed at one in the morning. Classes flew by and I prepared the best I could for the tests in the basic programs of Word. Praise God that we finished class and I was able to apply for a certificate because I passed with an 83% overall.

SHORT TERM MISSIONS
There was a couple from Candad who came for a week to serve in the community in the property. They decided to bless us with an investment in some garden flowers and plants in the property. they are from a small church which is growing in Canada and they have a vision to extend the vision of the members to mission work abroad in the near future. I translated and facilitated for them during their stay. IT was a blessing to share with them our heart for serving the Lord and the same Spirit that we share together to love the Lord through loving our neighbor.

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.