Monday, April 27, 2009

Bethany...


Bethany is our newest missionary on the field here in Latin America, and the first we were privileged to welcome to Costa Rica for a trimester of language school. Today she leaves to visit with family for a few days, repack her suitcases, and to drink a Starbucks in our honor. Next week she will join her teammates in Tarma, Peru, and adapt to both a new culture, Spanish with a different cadence and vocabulary, and start the adventure many American twenty-somethings never envision-- The bittersweet tears I shed with goodbye, were worth loving this precious one well . Fortunately, Skype and Communicator keep her as close as a cell phone or land line. Missing you, but praying for you now and in the days and months ahead.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Similar stories, different countries....God's tapestry woven together....

Last month we were invited to cafecito ( share coffee) with a Costa Rican couple who are leaders in ministry here in Tres Rios. We ended up listening and talking for hours. Sharing our stories, in Spanish. Although our married lives began a continent apart, in the same year (we are both celebrating our 25th anniversary) there were similarities, common stories and the unusual ways the Lord showed us he carried us through different routes, careers and life circumstances but in His wisdom brought us alongside one another here in Costa Rica in 2009. How encouraging and how humbling to know that the exact thing I needed to hear was impressed upon my heart by fellow believers who spoke in Spanish, not English. My next few posts will be word “snapshots” like this of the people we encounter in Costa Rica. I’ll try and post a photo of this dear couple sometime soon!