Last week before Minnesota!

We are so excited to be going home on Saturday to see our family and friends in Minnesota! Emily's been especially homesick ever since Thanksgiving... it's nice to be in warm weather, but it doesn't FEEL like Christmas is just around the corner! We will be home for almost 3 weeks and we are very much looking forward to seeing everyone!

Roblealto's programs and offices will be closed for about a month for the holidays. Things are very busy here finishing up projects, Christmas parties for the kids, and secret santa (somehow we got involved in THREE different secret santas!). This is the end of the school year so the kids had final exams and the stress of finding out if they will be returning to the Bible Home or not in January. About 30 of the 83 children will be moving back to their families for good this week. This is both wonderful and hard news. Of course, it is wonderful that the families and the kids are doing so well to not need Roblealto's intense foster care anymore. But they will go back to poverty and unsafe communities even if their families are doing better. They will be leaving their friends and those that have become family to them at the Bible Home. Please pray for this time of transition. In January, new children will be welcomed to the Bible Home, also a time of transition.

On Thursday night we got to see the adolescent program finally. We attended the Christmas party which included a hilarious magician/comedian entertainer. It was fun to see how he got these teens to get up in front of everyone to "volunteer." Needless to say, they were reluctant. This program has about 90 teens that were at some point in one of Roblealto's children's programs. They meet together to be encouraged to stay in school, stay away from the negative temptations that surround them, and to grow in their relationship with God. This is a vital part of Roblealto's ministry and we are praying this year that it would continue to grow and support the teens in this challenging time of their lives.

We thank you for your support, prayers and love in these first 4 and a half months of our time at Roblealto. We hope to see some of you in Minnesota! We will be at St. Lukes on Dec. 20th for church and at Ridgewood on the 27th. Mark is preaching at Ridgewood on Jan. 3rd and we are also sharing about our experience for adult Sunday School that morning. We would love to see you there! Merry Christmas!

Men of God

Last night we visited another one of the temporary foster homes at the Bible Home. We had a wonderful time getting to know the kids, getting hugs, eating good Costa Rican cooking and practicing our Spanish. The house mother, Marielos, has been working at Roblealto almost a year. She is single and has a 16-year-old son, Fernando, who plays a father role to the 10 children ages 4-12.

What impacted me most last night was during worship. Fernando led the kids in songs and the way they worshiped! I've never seen kids worshiping like this - eyes closed, hands lifted, a look of peace and joy on their faces as they sang their hearts out. It was so beautiful! It hit me that Roblealto is created men of God. The young boys don't hide their faith or their worship. It is here that they are learning how to love God and love others. These young boys have the opportunity to grow up to be good husbands, fathers, leaders, and employees because of what is modeled at Roblealto. Although many of them don't have fathers, the men that work at Roblealto (including Fernando at 16!) are teaching them how to be men of God. This is truly an important ministry and another side of the holistic healing that is happening every day at Roblealto. Praise God!