Our week with the World Racers!!

We had the privilege of working along side a team from the World Race this past week!  These young people spend 11 months in 11 different countries serving the Lord!!  It is a fantastic organization and this group represented their organization fabulously!!  We have experienced unusual cold temperatures in Costa Rica this week, however, we were still able to get a lot accomplished!!  The team shared their testimonies in the Bible studies in Cipreses and Santa Rosa!  They also did some planting with Jorge and also help dig out new irrigation for the new plants.  They also got to go the Victor and Melba’s house and visit and love on the children there!!  They also made us the welcome sign that you see in this picture!  This group just brought us so much joy and they expressed God’s love to everyone they came across with their joy!!  When I think of them, I just think of the joy of the Lord shining!! 

You guys know how I love to cook and so I also cooked them a Christmas feast since they did not know for sure how they would be spending Christmas!!  I look forward to keeping up with these guys and seeing how the Lord uses their journey over the next 9 months!!

 

Another Fantastic Week in Costa Rica!!

What another fantastic week working for the Lord in Costa Rica!!!  This week we were able to host our first team in our house!!  The brave team to be the first was a wonderful team from Unity Baptist Church in Mississippi.  They were such troopers!  No complaining!!  Even when two ladies did not understand for three days how to get the hot water to come out of the showers!  They just patiently waited and finally asked, “Do any showers have hot water?”  And Kelsey was able to show them!  By the way, next week an electrician is coming to hopefully install “widow makers” in the back three bathrooms, so hot water in all five showers!!  Yay!  They also seemed very content with my cooking!  I had purchased extra bread and peanut butter and jelly in case someone did not like or want what I had scheduled to eat.  And you know what?  No one used it!!  The group was happy to pitch in and help out where ever/however we needed them to, in the kitchen or cleaning or whatever.  They were awesome to have in our home.

They were also hard working in the towns of San Gerardo, Cot and Cipreses.  They painted the inside of the library that Francisco has church in Cot.  It looks wonderful with fresh new paint!  They also went door to door spreading the gospel in San Gerardo and Cipreses.  On Thursday they met a bunch of kids in San Gerardo and challenged them to a soccer match for Saturday.  One great thing about planning it in advance was that we had time to recruit some ticos to be on our team  We had Monica, a young lady that is our new neighbor and her boyfriend Manrique, Suling, and Egidio on our team!  Amazingly, we won!  6 to 3, I believe that Egidio scored 4 goals and Jacob scored 2.  We also had an amazing goalie in Casey which the kids said was too big because he was so tall and blocked amazingly!  It appears that everyone had a great time.  The kids on the San Gerardo team kept saying, “Let’s just play for 5 more minutes!”  They were not used to loosing and we were not used to winning, so we were happy to quit when time was up!   Not to mention the elevation difference!  They are probably a good 1000 feet higher than our house and our house is already at around 6000 ft above sea level!

Another neat thing that has happened between the last two teams is that as we go out, we have been taking along with us local teenagers to help us with translating and spreading the gospel.  It was such a blessing to have Monica (our neighbor) join us.  We have also had another young lady named Maria join us.  She is a member of the church in Boqueron.  To me, there is nothing sweeter than to see the young people being involved in the work of spreading the gospel.  Last night at dinner Maria shared her testimony with a few of us and it too is so wonderful to see God working here.  It is always wonderful to hear the testimony of how someone comes to trust Christ as their Savior.   God is so good.

The Unity Baptist team flies out on Tuesday and a team from Glenwood Baptist in Easley, SC is arriving on Tuesday!!

Oh and for those of you keeping up with the jalapeno eating contest on chili night, Casey gave a valiant effort, but he was not able to beat Victor from Mt. Airy.  We are not telling the amount of jalapeno slices that need to be eaten to beat Victor, but he has set the bar high!  So we will see who challenges Victor’s record from the Glenwood team and keep you informed!!

We also just found a place in Cipreses to hold a church!!  Praise the Lord!  We hope to have our first service either this Sunday or the next!!!  Our long term goal is to have a Tico take over this church so that it can be long lasting here in Cipreses, so also please pray that God would raise up just the right man for the task!

As far as my health goes, the team from Glenwood is bringing my medicine for the next 9 months!  I will be starting Methotrexate (the new medication) on Wednesday.  Please pray that my body will easily handle this new medication so that I can continue to work my way off of Prednisone.  Thanks!!  :)

 

Surgery Update!!! Yay all involved!!

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are home and I am doing great!!!  Fabulous Patricia (the PA) was able to take some pictures, so I will share at some point those for those of you interested   For me, I am excited about seeing them!!  On a funny note…..apparently under anesthesia, I realized that there was a nurse that spoke Spanish.  The doctor was about 50 late, so for that time apparently I carried on a conversation with the OR nurse in Spanish.  Don’t recall any of it!!  But I am excited that I was able to do it   All I know is that I have the rest of the staff laughing at the sight of it all   I cannot say enough about how wonderful the entire staff at MUSC has been.  Today the stars of the show were Dr. Varma (neurosurgeon), Patricia (his PA), anestesia (rocked because I woke up very easily and happy as a lark) and all of the nurses who took care of me (even the wheel chair out to the car lady who made a stop to help me use the restroom on the way to the car)!!!!  I was home by 10am.  And I even walked up my parents 17 steps to my perch on their couch in front of HGTV and FoodNetwork!  Thanks for everyone’s prayers!!!  I cannot emphasize enough how wonderful I feel.  My right thigh is sore, but I am only taking Ibuprophen and feel great!!!  Comparatively it is nothing, I can handle this!!!!!  God is so good!!  I know He is my Great Physician who guided everyone through my surgery!!!  We hope to know something in 5 to 7 days.  So lets all keep praying for the testing that is going on my little 1 inch square of thigh muscle tissue!!  Go pathology people whoever you are!!!

Love, Love, Love,
Court

 

Calling for Truth

Jacob and I with Dr. Paul Dean and Issac after the radio program

Jacob and I have been busy here in SC.   Today we were on Dr. Paul Dean’s radio program today.  It was so much fun.  We have never done anything like that before.  We were able to share our hearts for missions and for the people of Costa Rica.  Thanks Paul for having us on your show and encouraging us.  It is so exciting to see people excited about sharing the gospel with the nations.  If you would like to listen to the program follow this link

http://www.callingfortruth.org/cft/content/blogcategory/2/10/

and it is called  “We are Created To….”  Wed. September 2, 2009.  Please listen and enjoy!!!  Let us know what you think!!!

 

We have graduated!!

And we have moved out of casa verde.  It has been a year of a lot of work and prayers and we can now speak Spanish!!  Praise the Lord.  It was hard to say goodbye to all of our new friends, but we were ready to be out of language school and on to Irazu!!  I don’t have much time to write a whole lot right now, but here are some pictures of graduation!!

Jacob and I getting ready to graduate

Last time singing with the praise team

We just received our diploma

It was a whole family accomplishment!!

Our friends the Hynums!

Jacob and I with our grammar teacher Oscar!

Jacob, Travis and Danny on our last night together

Me, Emily and DarLynne on our last night together

The kids with all of their friends the Mittens and Frederiks

 

Where has the time gone?

Wow!  It is August 8, 2009!  We have been in Costa Rica for one year today!!   That is so hard to believe.  We have one more week of language school before we graduate and we are spending the weekend with Enon Baptist on Irazu!  It seems that we have a mountain of things to do, accomplish, wrap up, find, buy, organize……before we return to the States on August 25th to raise our support for our second year on the mission field!  We have had such an amazing year.

When we arrived, I could not speak a lick of Spanish.  Now, my teacher has tested me and I received an “Advanced Low” in my ability to speak/fluency.  And that was one level higher than I initially thought I would receive, but hoped I would receive.  Jacob and I both can carry on conversations, listen and understand sermons and fully function here with our Spanish.  It was a lot of hard work and it has paid off.  Even today, I was able to translate for Pastor Scott and his wife Robin while the father of the orphanage we were visiting was explaining in Spanish the origins of their ministry.  It was such a big moment for me!!

This past week, Lizzie turned 6!  Benjamin will turn 8 tomorrow, and Sophia will be 4 on the 22nd!  It seems like they have grown tremendously since we have been here and it is so much fun to hear them use their Spanish.  Although I must say, they do not like to use it with Jacob and I (English only with us), but they use it with other children that they know only speak Spanish!!  They played with the children at the orphanage today and had no problem communicating with them!!

We are certainly looking forward to our next steps on the mission field!  Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we continue to seek and follow God’s direction in our lives.  Our goal is solely to serve Him and bring Him all the praise, glory and honor.

Here are some pictures that I have been slack about posting.  They are random times and photos….

Some of the girls and I at the goodbye party for Dawn and Tully!

Benja and his buddy Gabe!

Jacob and his friend Anthony!

Kite flying in a local park!

A rare treat of going to Burger King with the kids after kite flying!

A beautiful sunset off our front porch!

 

We have a guest!!

Kelsey arrived Wednesday!  Kelsey is a college student from Mt. Airy in Easley and she is going to live with us for a month and attend the University of Costa Rica.  We are so excited that she is with us!  She has already experienced different adventures involved in living in Costa Rica.  Yesterday, we walked to the grocery store and on the way back we got caught in a typical Costa Rican downpour!  We were drenched!  Please pray for Kelsey as you pray for us!  She will be attending the University to improve her Spanish and will be witnessing to her fellow classmates.  Please also pray for her safety as she takes the buses to and from San Pedro where the University is.  Here is a picture of her and Lizzie after they had changed clothes from the drenching!!!!

Kelsey and Lizzie

 

Lizzie Graduated!!!

From Kinder!!!  What a big day was today!  She was so excited that she was going to graduate that she started planning for it two weeks ago.  She laid out her clothes (not a hard choice considering she wears a uniform shirt) and has been planning her hairdo!  Yes, I know she is only 5, but she is a girl and our hair is important on big days!  She has been begging me for 2 weeks to straighten her hair for her big day.  So last night I went to work.  While I was straightening Lizzie’s hair, Sophia came in and wanted hers done too.  This morning when she woke up, it was curly again.  So we straightened it again.  Then this afternoon, our school got out an hour early so that the kinder could have their graduation.  It was such a neat thing for it to be taken so seriously that the adult classes, high school, and elementary school all got out early for it!!  She did great!  And of course I cried, especially when her teach put pictures up of the individual kids on the first day of school.  We had only been in Costa Rica for a couple of weeks when this picture was taken and boy Lizzie looks so grown up now compared to then.  It was a nice day for our family.  Here are some pictures!

Lizzie with her straight hair!

Sophia with straight hair

Sisterly love!

Folk girls with straight hair?

Benja reading while he waits on graduation to start

Lizzie entering with her friend Alton

Lizzie getting her diploma

Beautiful Lizzie after graduation!

Lizzie’s diploma

Lizzie and her teachers! They are the best!!

Lizzie and her friend Kendyl….they could be sisters!

Lizzie, the graduate!

 

Sharing the Gospel in San Jose

Last week, Jacob and I with the kids, along with Danny and DarLynne, their family, and our friend Joe all went down to downtown San Jose to share the gospel with the ticos down there before Easter.  We had a great time and the Lord was glorified.  We started out by having Joe do a magic trick to get people’s attention and the point of it was to show people that all people are alike, that all have fallen short of the glory of God and all need salvation through Christ.  Then Danny started doing a painting and through it also showing the way of salvation through Christ.  We then stayed around to continue to talk with those who had questions.  It was a great day for the Lord.  Here are some pictures…

Joe doing a magic trick with strings to gather people

About 50 people gathered to listen

Danny’s finished painting

 

A typical Saturday for us in San Francisco de Dos Rios

Every Saturday Jacob gets up really early and goes to the feria.  You can see a previous blog on that, but it is basically a farmer’s market that comes to a local park every Saturday and Jacob goes to buy our produce for the week.  And the kids and I stay at the house and get to sleep in.  Jacob meets a couple of his guy friends who are also in charge of buying their family’s produce and they meet at a make-shift “Soda” – like a small restaurant.  They (Jacob and his buddies) have named it “The Greasy Spoon.”  They eat gallo pinto (again, see a previous blog if you aren’t sure what that is), eggs and coffee.  The lady who cooks the food calls Jacob “Senor Corlantro” because he always wants extra corlantro (cilantro in English) in his gallo pinto.  And they sit around and have a good old time.  He does this each Saturday.

Well, the kids and I get to sleep in while he does this.  However, sometimes, Lizzie and Sophia get up before me.  They usually play something quietly until I wake up.  Then once I get up it is cleaning time.  Each Saturday is my day to clean, clean and clean some more.  See the thing is, many families in language school have what is called an empleada who comes each week and helps with the cooking and cleaning.  Well, Jacob and I don’t have one.  With the pressures of school and studying, the only day I really have to get the house clean is Saturday.  And for those of you who knew me before Costa Rica, you know that I prayed and prayed about the Lord giving me a heart for cleaning my house, since it is SO culturally important here.  Well guess what.  I love waking up, getting my cup of coffee, that Jacob made before he left for the feria, and getting to work on the house.  And it stays clean for maybe an hour all together, but at least I worked on it and all the clothes get washed and put away and we start the weekend off with a clean house.

Here are a couple of pictures from today, Saturday, March 28, 2009.  One is of Sophia.  When I woke up, the game that she and Lizzie had been playing was “Decorate Sophia with markers and stickers!”  Another is a picture of the hot peppers that Jacob found this morning at the feria.  You know how we love hot sauce.  Jacob is the king of making wonderful hot sauce.  Another is a picture of one morning at the “Greasy Spoon.”  Unfortunately, it was not today.  They had about 6 men this morning.  But you can at least have a picture to go by.  Enjoy!

Sophia after being decorated by Lizzie – She did a great job!

Jacob and the guys at the “Greasy Spoon”

Jacob’s treasure find of hot peppers from the feria