I can't believe it is already the middle of December! We have plowed through the fall, starting up programs, coordinating new elders, prayerfully searching for deacons, discussing the drawbacks and benefits of church budgeting. This new mission church continues to surprise me with how "different" they want to be. The time has flown by. We are in the midst of planning Christmas worship! my first one as a solo pastor.
Having just come through Thanksgiving I have been thinking about what I am thankful for. Here is a list, stream-of-consciousness style:
1. My loving and supportive wife
2. Leaders who are passionate about their relationship with Christ and the power of God's Word
3. A beautiful church building that we are not even close to filling
4. A fun new town to explore
5. A warmer climate
6. A cute little house
7. New friends
8. More time for prayer
9. Restful Saturdays
10. Only one time to preach on a Sunday
11. Fires in my very own fire place
I always wondered what life as a solo pastor would be like. It is different than I imagined actually. Maybe because I always pictured a solo pastor as serving a two or three-point parish in the countryside. But instead, I am serving an energized mission church, made up of the leaders of three or four other Lutheran churches in town.
Personally, this fall has been one of big growth for me. I have had to lean on the Lord in new ways, and trust him that he will provide the gifts necessary to follow his call. Particularly I have prayed for gifts in administration. Being thrown into leading a group of elders, even helping to give shape to what their jobs will be, giving direction to the formation of a constitution and bylaws, and making many important decision on the fly has been stretching and exciting. So far I have heard back from folks in the church that the congregation feels more settled, happier, and more unified than before I came. One member commented, we are no longer four churches but one. Now the next step is to unify the church around a vision. That vision must be tangible, but also far reaching enough to keep us moving together for years ahead. One project, a partnership with His Helping Hands, may provide that opportunity. We shall see.
At this point my one concern is that with so many of our energies going into church life and development, how will Emily and I make friends who are more peers than church members. Maybe that is not the most important thing, but to have friendships that are not in some way connected to our congregation would be nice. Not that we don't love the people at Living Waters, we do, and many are becoming very close friends. But we do not have many folks who are really at our life stage. But, God will provide. We know we are weird: to be a couple in their 30s without kids is not normal. So finding people at the same life stage is a challenge anyways.
Regardless, it is wonderful to have this restful Saturday ahead of us. We are headed to the mall for some Christmas shopping before the ice storm comes this afternoon. I wonder if we will have many in church tomorrow if we get all the weather that is predicted!
The words of Paul come to mind: "He who promised is faithful!" This is most certainly true.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Hitting the Ground Running
Well, it has been over a month since the last post.... I was hoping to do this every two weeks. But lots to do as a pastor in a mission church. It has been a whirlwind month and Emily and I are still catching our breaths. Today I took my first full day off in probably three weeks. But we are very happy and encouraged with the way the first month has gone. Here are some highlights:
1. Participated in two service projects with Living Waters
2. Started a praise band
3. Started weekly coffee shop hours
3. Hosted an open house at our home and had a house blessing (Sept 26)
4. Attended the LCMC national gathering in Minneapolis
5. Sold our condo in Edina, (Sept 30)
6. Started Confirmation (Oct 6)
6. Launched the new church website: www.livingh2opeoria.org
7. Met twice with our new elders, planning an elders' retreat
8. Installed as pastor (Oct 16)
9. Began hosting members in our home for Sunday dinner
10. Emily began a high school girls bible study
11. Completed first preaching series: Desert Formations based on the faith lessons of the Israelites in their time between the Red Sea and Canaan Oct 31)
12. Affirmed and commissioned the first elders of Living Waters (Nov14)
We continue to enjoy our lives here and we are so thankful for all the great people we have met. Our church is filled with faithful, energetic, friendly and committed Christians. We are thankful too for growing numbers in worship.
1. Participated in two service projects with Living Waters
2. Started a praise band
3. Started weekly coffee shop hours
3. Hosted an open house at our home and had a house blessing (Sept 26)
4. Attended the LCMC national gathering in Minneapolis
5. Sold our condo in Edina, (Sept 30)
6. Started Confirmation (Oct 6)
6. Launched the new church website: www.livingh2opeoria.org
7. Met twice with our new elders, planning an elders' retreat
8. Installed as pastor (Oct 16)
9. Began hosting members in our home for Sunday dinner
10. Emily began a high school girls bible study
11. Completed first preaching series: Desert Formations based on the faith lessons of the Israelites in their time between the Red Sea and Canaan Oct 31)
12. Affirmed and commissioned the first elders of Living Waters (Nov14)
We continue to enjoy our lives here and we are so thankful for all the great people we have met. Our church is filled with faithful, energetic, friendly and committed Christians. We are thankful too for growing numbers in worship.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Sept 19th, Dedication Sunday for Living Waters
Today we celebrated as a congregation as Living Waters Lutheran dedicated its charter membership of 113 individuals. This has been an eventful journey for this young congregation. In April of 2010 the initial worship service was held and now only six months later the church officially received its membership.
Emily and I feel very honored to be part of such a Spirit-filled group of believers. They are not afraid to be a "different" kind of Lutheran church that holds tightly to good theology, but is willing to think outside the box and try non-Lutheran practices to reach the lost for Jesus Christ. For starters they called a pastor who was clear to say that he will not wear "liturgical garments"! Even, when I informed them that I tend to borrow from both Lutheran and Baptist tool boxes when preparing sermons, they did not even bat an eye. They are determined to break out of mold and seek to fulfill our call to make disciples of every nation. I am pleased that each time I have preached and asked people to hold up their bibles, almost 90 percent of hands are holding the Word of God. Then, they open their bibles in their laps ready to follow along with the message and use their sermon notes. We are off to a great start.
Emily and I feel very welcomed and cared for by this congregation as well. When we arrived in Peoria our little house was already filled with 15 church members who quickly unloaded our truck, installed our washer and driver, and put together our bedroom. It has been a busy first weekend and now I am enjoying a typical pastor practice, Sunday afternoon football on the couch! Tomorrow I plan to open my first office hours in a local coffee shop, inviting members of the church to drop by for spiritual conversation and fellowship.
God is truly good. Please pray for church unity, energy for mission, and passion in worship!
Mark and Emily
Emily and I feel very honored to be part of such a Spirit-filled group of believers. They are not afraid to be a "different" kind of Lutheran church that holds tightly to good theology, but is willing to think outside the box and try non-Lutheran practices to reach the lost for Jesus Christ. For starters they called a pastor who was clear to say that he will not wear "liturgical garments"! Even, when I informed them that I tend to borrow from both Lutheran and Baptist tool boxes when preparing sermons, they did not even bat an eye. They are determined to break out of mold and seek to fulfill our call to make disciples of every nation. I am pleased that each time I have preached and asked people to hold up their bibles, almost 90 percent of hands are holding the Word of God. Then, they open their bibles in their laps ready to follow along with the message and use their sermon notes. We are off to a great start.
Emily and I feel very welcomed and cared for by this congregation as well. When we arrived in Peoria our little house was already filled with 15 church members who quickly unloaded our truck, installed our washer and driver, and put together our bedroom. It has been a busy first weekend and now I am enjoying a typical pastor practice, Sunday afternoon football on the couch! Tomorrow I plan to open my first office hours in a local coffee shop, inviting members of the church to drop by for spiritual conversation and fellowship.
God is truly good. Please pray for church unity, energy for mission, and passion in worship!
Mark and Emily
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Start Date Set for Sept 19, 2010
Emily and I are in awe of the power and the work of God. We remember just a few months ago sitting together in our little rented house in San Luis, Costa Rica, wondering, with some anxiety, where God would lead us. At one point we asked the question in faith: I wonder where our mailing address will be as of the middle of September? It was an innocent summation of the way we felt at the time. We had just been researching tickets to fly for Canadian Thanksgiving but realized that we had no idea where we would be flying from! That was a surreal experience.
But God has moved mightily. We came back from our mission year in Costa Rica to find a note on our condo door. It read: "Mark, call Marty, he wants to buy your condo. He is aware of the price you are asking." This was from our condo president who said she had lots of feelers in the community. God used her and quickly we sold our condo without even having to list it! And, even in this market God provided a little equity toward a down-payment someday. Mike Garrett, who served as the pastor of our church in Costa Rica, had said prophetically: God is saying for you two, "trust me." We were starting to see why.
Then we headed out to preach and interview. For months we had felt God's strong leading toward Peoria, Illinois, to an exciting mission start congregation called Living Waters. We spend 10 days with them as part of our interviewing tour of the midwest and pacific northwest. Those 10 days confirmed at every point that God was directing our steps to Peoria. The clincher for me was when I stepped into the pulpit and felt a new presence and a new freedom in the Holy Spirit. The 10 days in Peoria went quickly and culminated in a vote to extend the call of pastor. We were very thankful and humbled to accept.
At every turn during our year of service we have seen God's provision and care in a way that neither Emily nor I have experienced personally before. Prior to our mission year neither of us felt that we had "testimonies" in the way others had testimonies of God's obvious hand at work. Not that we have never felt him at work in our lives, but not in ways that openly shocked us. Now we have testimonies like that to share with others. Truly God is good!
In a matter of a week we transfer into a new chapter in our lives as a pastor and pastor's wife in Peoria Ill, at Living Waters Lutheran. It will be an exciting new life for us. And, a little scary too. This will be our last official blog sent out to our Costa Rican mission supporters. As you see I have changed the name of this blog to "Life and Ministry in Peoria, Ill." We will continue this blog as a journal of our new life so we can continue to give glory to God's work. We won't be sending out reminders to read the blog anymore by email, but we invite you to check it every few weeks and to leave your comments, questions and encouragements. This blog will have far fewer volcanoes, toucans and palm trees....
During this year of mission service you were a comfort to us as we knew you were praying for us and supporting us. Please let us know if there is anything we can ever do for you as you follow God's call. What an adventure!
We remain in Him,
Mark and Emily
But God has moved mightily. We came back from our mission year in Costa Rica to find a note on our condo door. It read: "Mark, call Marty, he wants to buy your condo. He is aware of the price you are asking." This was from our condo president who said she had lots of feelers in the community. God used her and quickly we sold our condo without even having to list it! And, even in this market God provided a little equity toward a down-payment someday. Mike Garrett, who served as the pastor of our church in Costa Rica, had said prophetically: God is saying for you two, "trust me." We were starting to see why.
Then we headed out to preach and interview. For months we had felt God's strong leading toward Peoria, Illinois, to an exciting mission start congregation called Living Waters. We spend 10 days with them as part of our interviewing tour of the midwest and pacific northwest. Those 10 days confirmed at every point that God was directing our steps to Peoria. The clincher for me was when I stepped into the pulpit and felt a new presence and a new freedom in the Holy Spirit. The 10 days in Peoria went quickly and culminated in a vote to extend the call of pastor. We were very thankful and humbled to accept.
At every turn during our year of service we have seen God's provision and care in a way that neither Emily nor I have experienced personally before. Prior to our mission year neither of us felt that we had "testimonies" in the way others had testimonies of God's obvious hand at work. Not that we have never felt him at work in our lives, but not in ways that openly shocked us. Now we have testimonies like that to share with others. Truly God is good!
In a matter of a week we transfer into a new chapter in our lives as a pastor and pastor's wife in Peoria Ill, at Living Waters Lutheran. It will be an exciting new life for us. And, a little scary too. This will be our last official blog sent out to our Costa Rican mission supporters. As you see I have changed the name of this blog to "Life and Ministry in Peoria, Ill." We will continue this blog as a journal of our new life so we can continue to give glory to God's work. We won't be sending out reminders to read the blog anymore by email, but we invite you to check it every few weeks and to leave your comments, questions and encouragements. This blog will have far fewer volcanoes, toucans and palm trees....
During this year of mission service you were a comfort to us as we knew you were praying for us and supporting us. Please let us know if there is anything we can ever do for you as you follow God's call. What an adventure!
We remain in Him,
Mark and Emily
Thursday, August 19, 2010
But Will It Play In Peoria?
The last few weeks in Minnesota have been a blur for us: reconnecting with friends, cabin time, preaching in Portland... We can hardly believe that we have been back that long and that a month ago we lived a completely different life in Costa Rica as volunteer missionaries. We miss our friends and our work there very much. But we are excited to find out soon what our next missionary role will be.... and where!
Tomorrow morning we are headed out to our second preaching and interviewing engagement for this month. We are off to Peoria Illinois to interview at a wonderful new LCMC church. We are excited for a road trip together and nervous for the importance of this trip. A lot is riding on the next two weekends. Of course it is God's leading that we are waiting on. We are conscious that if God intends for us to begin our new ministry in Peoria, he will make that clear to both us and to the church. We have full faith. As Mike Garrett told us prophetically in Costa Rica, "God is telling me to tell you: Trust me!" We have seen that prophetic word fulfilled in many ways.
We ask for prayers for these next ten days as we get to know the congregation and anticipate a vote on Aug 29th.
Tomorrow morning we are headed out to our second preaching and interviewing engagement for this month. We are off to Peoria Illinois to interview at a wonderful new LCMC church. We are excited for a road trip together and nervous for the importance of this trip. A lot is riding on the next two weekends. Of course it is God's leading that we are waiting on. We are conscious that if God intends for us to begin our new ministry in Peoria, he will make that clear to both us and to the church. We have full faith. As Mike Garrett told us prophetically in Costa Rica, "God is telling me to tell you: Trust me!" We have seen that prophetic word fulfilled in many ways.
We ask for prayers for these next ten days as we get to know the congregation and anticipate a vote on Aug 29th.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Our Final Days
This morning we met with Margaret Weir who is the chaplin at Roblealto and has been a missionary here for 39 years. She is a remarkable woman of God and has been an encouragement to us this year. We met at the McDonalds across the street from the office and as we sat down from coffee, a young man came up to hug Margaret. Richard had grown up at one of Roblealto's child care centers and Margaret was a big part of his childhood as she celebrated birthdays with his family and cared for Richard and his sister at the center. He shared with us that his father was a drug-addict and his family had many problems when he was growing up. Richard talked about how much he appreciated Roblealto and how he knows God because of his time here. He now preached about God wherever he goes and is a beacon of light to the other employees at McDonalds. God's joy just radiated off Richard's face and I couldn't help but cry. THIS is why it has been such an honor for us to be part of God's work at Roblealto.
We have been spending the last few days wrapping up our projects, cleaning, packing, and of course, saying good-bye. I thought I would be so excited about going home, and I am, but it is much harder to leave than I expected. The staff and children at Roblealto have become a family for us and I have shed many tears as we've said good-bye. We've been at the houses of our favorite foster homes, we've had coffee and lunch and dinner with people, we've processed our experience and shared that we want to come back to visit. And it is just very hard because we love everyone here so much. They took us into their lives for this year, prayed with us, loved us, and encouraged us. And they are doing such important work with the children of Costa Rica. Mark and I have such admiration for their commitment and love. Not only are they friends but they are brothers and sisters. As Anabelle, the Christian Education director, just prayed for us, we will see them someday in heaven, if not before. This is a promise we are grateful for.
Our flight is on Thursday morning. We return to the whole Goff family being together for the weekend since Laura and Ryan are coming in from California. We are excited to spend time with family and friends in Minnesota and will be doing some traveling for Mark to preach and interview. God willing, we will know soon where He is leading us next! We hope to get to Toronto to see Mark's family in September before starting at a new church.
As always, thank you for your prayers during this year and in this time of transition. We love you all dearly and are grateful for your support of this year of mission. We praise God for what he taught us and how he changed us this year. Hopefully, we will see many of you soon!
We have been spending the last few days wrapping up our projects, cleaning, packing, and of course, saying good-bye. I thought I would be so excited about going home, and I am, but it is much harder to leave than I expected. The staff and children at Roblealto have become a family for us and I have shed many tears as we've said good-bye. We've been at the houses of our favorite foster homes, we've had coffee and lunch and dinner with people, we've processed our experience and shared that we want to come back to visit. And it is just very hard because we love everyone here so much. They took us into their lives for this year, prayed with us, loved us, and encouraged us. And they are doing such important work with the children of Costa Rica. Mark and I have such admiration for their commitment and love. Not only are they friends but they are brothers and sisters. As Anabelle, the Christian Education director, just prayed for us, we will see them someday in heaven, if not before. This is a promise we are grateful for.
Our flight is on Thursday morning. We return to the whole Goff family being together for the weekend since Laura and Ryan are coming in from California. We are excited to spend time with family and friends in Minnesota and will be doing some traveling for Mark to preach and interview. God willing, we will know soon where He is leading us next! We hope to get to Toronto to see Mark's family in September before starting at a new church.
As always, thank you for your prayers during this year and in this time of transition. We love you all dearly and are grateful for your support of this year of mission. We praise God for what he taught us and how he changed us this year. Hopefully, we will see many of you soon!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Final group
Wow. We are down to 10 days left in Costa Rica. I think it is just starting to hit us that this experience is almost over. It is so very bittersweet. We will miss people and Roblealto so much, but we are so excited for this next step of leading a new church (God-willing!)
On Friday, we went to the morning devotions at the Central Offices. Verna Brennaman, a life-time missionary at Roblealto, spoke and shared on the virtues of being happy and thankful. She had us look at Psalm 136 together and reword this psalm so that it was more personal for our own lives. Mark and I have been trying to read a psalm together before going to work every day and we had just recently read this psalm. And we had been talking about how we could write a psalm about all of the amazing things God has done for us this year and how faithful he has been. So, here is my psalm of gratitude for our year based on Psalm 136. ¨His love endures fovever.¨
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good to us.
His love endures forever.
On Friday, we went to the morning devotions at the Central Offices. Verna Brennaman, a life-time missionary at Roblealto, spoke and shared on the virtues of being happy and thankful. She had us look at Psalm 136 together and reword this psalm so that it was more personal for our own lives. Mark and I have been trying to read a psalm together before going to work every day and we had just recently read this psalm. And we had been talking about how we could write a psalm about all of the amazing things God has done for us this year and how faithful he has been. So, here is my psalm of gratitude for our year based on Psalm 136. ¨His love endures fovever.¨
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good to us.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods, who is above everything else in this world.
His love endures forever.
To him who alone has done great wonders in our lives,
His love endures forever.
who made all of Creation for us to enjoy,
His love endures forever.
from the Costa Rican mountains, to rainforests, to beaches.
His love endures forever.
To him who led us to Roblealto and provided positions for us there,
His love endures forever.
who found us renters for our condo and a house to rent in Costa Rica.
His love endures forever.
To Him who provide the funds needed for the year,
His love endures forever.
and friends and family to pray for us.
His love endures forever.
To Him who gave us strength, energy, and a passion for our work,
His love endures forever.
who kept us safe and healthy.
His love endures forever.
To Him who provided us with two churches and wonderful friends,
His love endures forever.
and comforted us when we were homesick.
His love endures forever.
To Him who helped us with the language,
His love endures forever.
and was the reason we connected with the Costa Ricans across culture and background.
His love endures forever.
To Him who is leading us now on our next adventure,
His love endures forever.
who will never leave us nor forsake us.
His love endures forever.
To Him who has provided, is providing and will always provide.
His love endures forever.
We give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
July!!!
Happy belated 4th of July to everyone! We had a fun day at our house having some good friends over for lunch, eating as American as we could with grilled hamburgers, baked beans and homemade apple pie! It was really fun to have some of our closest friends to our house. We are finding that we are starting to say ¨good-bye¨ to people and we are trying to spend as much time with them as we can now that we have less than a month left. We fly home July 29th and the time is flying!
Two weeks ago we had a great group from a new church in South Carolina. God really touched their hearts and we know that they´ll be back to serve again! They really connected with the children and were impacted by their time in Los Guido where they saw the land for the planned 4th child care center. They were excited to help raise money for that project and we pray that they will bring the message of Roblealto and the plans for the new center back to their church.
Mark and I are finishing up some projects as we prepare to go. The children are on vacation for 2 weeks from the Bible Home and are at home with their biological families so we don't have any groups right now. Mark is working on a mission trip video and I am organizing the files from our laptop that we want to leave with our department for future use. We hope some of the things we've started will continue after we've gone! On the 19th of July a friend from Ridgewood, Chuck Webster, his daughters and some of their friends are coming for a week and we will help host them as our last group. We pray, as always, that God will touch their hearts as they see Roblealto first-hand. It's always such an honor to show God's work in the children to people who are new to Roblealto.
Mark has been interviewing around in various LCMC (Lutheran Churches in Mission for Christ) churches in the states and one, in particular, has really stood out for both of us. Although it is outside MN :( we feel that God is at work in leading us there and we continue to pray for his wisdom and direction. We are really excited for this next step! We will be home for August and likely September, so we hope to see many of you then! Thank you for your prayers for our future. God is good!
Two weeks ago we had a great group from a new church in South Carolina. God really touched their hearts and we know that they´ll be back to serve again! They really connected with the children and were impacted by their time in Los Guido where they saw the land for the planned 4th child care center. They were excited to help raise money for that project and we pray that they will bring the message of Roblealto and the plans for the new center back to their church.
Mark and I are finishing up some projects as we prepare to go. The children are on vacation for 2 weeks from the Bible Home and are at home with their biological families so we don't have any groups right now. Mark is working on a mission trip video and I am organizing the files from our laptop that we want to leave with our department for future use. We hope some of the things we've started will continue after we've gone! On the 19th of July a friend from Ridgewood, Chuck Webster, his daughters and some of their friends are coming for a week and we will help host them as our last group. We pray, as always, that God will touch their hearts as they see Roblealto first-hand. It's always such an honor to show God's work in the children to people who are new to Roblealto.
Mark has been interviewing around in various LCMC (Lutheran Churches in Mission for Christ) churches in the states and one, in particular, has really stood out for both of us. Although it is outside MN :( we feel that God is at work in leading us there and we continue to pray for his wisdom and direction. We are really excited for this next step! We will be home for August and likely September, so we hope to see many of you then! Thank you for your prayers for our future. God is good!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Groups are back!
We had a great time last week hosting a group of college students from Virginia. These were social work students who were in Costa Rica for 3 weeks to take a social work class and Spanish class and then came for a week of service to our temporary foster care, the Bible Home. Most of the students were not believers, but what they saw here was a true witness of God´s love and work. We had good conversations with them and, even more, they fell in love with our children and saw the children´s faith and love just radiate out of them. We appreciated the students good attitude and patience in painting in 2 of the houses. One of the house mothers shared what a difference having freshly painted rooms has on the children´s motivation. We are so grateful to have groups coming throughout the summer. It was a department goal to have 15 groups this year and I am happy to report that we will have reached that goal by the end of the summer. Praise God!
Another goal for our department was to increase the number of sponsors for our children. Right now only about 60% of our children are sponsored so the goal was to get 300 new sponsors. Our biggest source of new sponsors this year has been our volunteers who have come and seen the impact of Roblealto on the kids and want to continue their partnership. In some cases, 50% of the groups have become new sponsors! But we want to continue to seek out new sponsors because of the difference it makes on the children. I translated a letter from a child to her sponsor the other week and she said, ¨It makes me happy that I have a friend in another country that thinks of me.¨ Obviously the monetary support makes a difference on our programs, but the deeper impact is that a child will feel loved and cared for by someone in another country! This is such a blessing on our children. Will you consider becoming a sponsor? Check out the video above and/or take a look at our website for more info and to sign up! The cost is just $30 a month. Click here for website.
Thanks for considering sponsorship and for your continued prayers and support of our year here! Much love!
Another goal for our department was to increase the number of sponsors for our children. Right now only about 60% of our children are sponsored so the goal was to get 300 new sponsors. Our biggest source of new sponsors this year has been our volunteers who have come and seen the impact of Roblealto on the kids and want to continue their partnership. In some cases, 50% of the groups have become new sponsors! But we want to continue to seek out new sponsors because of the difference it makes on the children. I translated a letter from a child to her sponsor the other week and she said, ¨It makes me happy that I have a friend in another country that thinks of me.¨ Obviously the monetary support makes a difference on our programs, but the deeper impact is that a child will feel loved and cared for by someone in another country! This is such a blessing on our children. Will you consider becoming a sponsor? Check out the video above and/or take a look at our website for more info and to sign up! The cost is just $30 a month. Click here for website.
Thanks for considering sponsorship and for your continued prayers and support of our year here! Much love!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
In some ways May was quiet (we didn't have any groups at Roblealto) and in other ways, it was busy! With just 2 months left, Emily posted a list of places in CR we want to see before we leave. One was Guanacaste, which is the northwest part of Costa Rica with a lot of beaches and where a lot of Americans travel. It was VERY hot, but we enjoyed the beach and the time we spent time with our good friends Mike and Kathy who invited us on their wedding anniversary trip. :) We also just had our final visitors - two of Emily's college roommates. We enjoyed taking them to the Caribbean side, which we had yet to visit. It was really hot there too and we decided we are thankful to be living in the cooler central valley. But it was great catching up with Liz and Liz and showing off this beautiful country. They enjoyed the animals, the Spanish, the ocean, the coffee, and the relaxation as they are both exhausted teachers.
This coming week, we will be working with a group of students with a Spanish Academy who are doing some painting at our temporary shelter, the Bible Home. We are happy to be done with our marketing project: researching new church contacts for Roblealto. We have 840 new contacts for them to advertise to and we'll be sending out a mailing to invite the churches to come on a mission trip before we go. It's exciting to think about all the new churches that could get to know Roblealto's mission! Emily continues to enjoy helping with translating letters and reports when she can.
The job search continues and we appreciate your prayers. We're grateful for a couple of interviews Mark has had and for a couple of preaching dates he's set up for when we return. We'll see where God leads! Much love!
This coming week, we will be working with a group of students with a Spanish Academy who are doing some painting at our temporary shelter, the Bible Home. We are happy to be done with our marketing project: researching new church contacts for Roblealto. We have 840 new contacts for them to advertise to and we'll be sending out a mailing to invite the churches to come on a mission trip before we go. It's exciting to think about all the new churches that could get to know Roblealto's mission! Emily continues to enjoy helping with translating letters and reports when she can.
The job search continues and we appreciate your prayers. We're grateful for a couple of interviews Mark has had and for a couple of preaching dates he's set up for when we return. We'll see where God leads! Much love!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Connecting to the ministry
We are in the middle of May with two and a half months left here and with no idea of where God wants us to be next. We are praying for our next step more than I think we've ever prayed for anything. Coming to Costa Rica seemed so much easier than where we are at right now. We knew we were coming about 8 months ahead of time. God provided our position here, our house we are renting, found us renters for our condo, provided financially through dear friends and family, etc. It was literally one thing after the next, everything fell into place. We are so thankful for that because we've never had a doubt we were supposed to be here. Even when things were a little tough this year, we KNEW that God called us to Roblealto.
But now, we really have no idea where God is calling us next. We were hoping we'd know by the time we left Costa Rica at the end of July, but we're beginning to wonder if that will happen. So we keep praying for guidance and wisdom. Thank you for your prayers. There are a few church possibilities right now, but we'll have to see where they lead. What we do know is that as God was faithful to us this year, he will be faithful to us in the next year. And we are grateful for that assurance.
One thing that has recently been a blessing for me (Emily) is helping our department with translating the last couple of weeks. I've been reading and translating letters from the kids here who are writing to their sponsors. They say really cute things such as one little boy who wrote to his sponsor: ¨Today I'm going to play soccer and all the goals I score I will dedicate to you.¨ I've also helped translate progress reports that are sent once a year to sponsors about their kids. These are reports that the instructors and social workers fill out about how the child is doing, what he or she is interested in, and what the family situation is. The reports are sometimes hard to read because the families are in such severe poverty, often are single mothers, maybe the child has been abused or the parent has lost their job. It's one thing to know these things about the population we serve and another to read about specific cases and translate them for the sponsors. We want to be honest about the difficulties the families face so that sponsor will know how much their support is needed.
Although hard, this translating has been a blessing because it's made me feel close to the ministry of Roblealto. We are often in our office working on our computers and it's easy to feel distant from what Roblealto is all about. But with these reports I was reminded that what Roblealto does is so important and necessary. The children have a safe place to stay while their families receive classes and support to heal and be able to provide for their children. God is at work and using Roblealto to minister to the families and children. And that is what this place is all about.
But now, we really have no idea where God is calling us next. We were hoping we'd know by the time we left Costa Rica at the end of July, but we're beginning to wonder if that will happen. So we keep praying for guidance and wisdom. Thank you for your prayers. There are a few church possibilities right now, but we'll have to see where they lead. What we do know is that as God was faithful to us this year, he will be faithful to us in the next year. And we are grateful for that assurance.
One thing that has recently been a blessing for me (Emily) is helping our department with translating the last couple of weeks. I've been reading and translating letters from the kids here who are writing to their sponsors. They say really cute things such as one little boy who wrote to his sponsor: ¨Today I'm going to play soccer and all the goals I score I will dedicate to you.¨ I've also helped translate progress reports that are sent once a year to sponsors about their kids. These are reports that the instructors and social workers fill out about how the child is doing, what he or she is interested in, and what the family situation is. The reports are sometimes hard to read because the families are in such severe poverty, often are single mothers, maybe the child has been abused or the parent has lost their job. It's one thing to know these things about the population we serve and another to read about specific cases and translate them for the sponsors. We want to be honest about the difficulties the families face so that sponsor will know how much their support is needed.
Although hard, this translating has been a blessing because it's made me feel close to the ministry of Roblealto. We are often in our office working on our computers and it's easy to feel distant from what Roblealto is all about. But with these reports I was reminded that what Roblealto does is so important and necessary. The children have a safe place to stay while their families receive classes and support to heal and be able to provide for their children. God is at work and using Roblealto to minister to the families and children. And that is what this place is all about.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Living in Costa Rica Means...
After living in Costa Rica for 9 months, we've come to take for granted what is normal for us now... We've adjusted, in general, to life here. But as we think about preparing to move back to the US, we don't want to forget day-to-day life here. For us, living in Costa Rica means...
- Looking out our window to gorgeous mountains
- Eating fruits and vegetables we've never heard of before
- Having fresh pineapple and mangoes every week at our house
- Seeing men in rubber boots cutting grass with machetes
- Watching smoke come out of the top of a volcano
- Driving only an hour and half to the nearest beach and the Pacific Ocean
- Sharing a car, a house, a job and being together 24/7
- Working at an organization that is meeting REAL needs
- Seeing Roblealto's mission through fresh eyes when volunteers come
- The sun setting suddenly at 6:00 pm all year long
- The sun directly over head at noon
- Cows living on either side of us
- Eating in open-air restaurants
- Driving by coffee plantations on the way to work
- Walking through rain forests
- Baking blackberry pies with berries from our landlord's garden
- Worshiping in Spanish
- Talking to family on skype
- Seeing the most beautiful rainbows
- Throwing used toilet paper in the trash
- Getting hot water from the shower to wash our dishes
- Planning our day around the afternoon rain
- Shooing chickens and dogs out of our kitchen
- Learning how to cook differently
- Not being able to find ingredients for recipes we're used to
- Learning to kill really big spiders
- A bigger perspective on God's work in the world
- Connecting with people across cultures just because we all love Jesus
- Meeting families struggling in desperate communities
- Falling in love with the children at Roblealto
- Never having to wear a winter jacket or drive in snow
- Learning how to drive defensively, but rarely driving over 45 mph
- Being trusted by the Roblealto staff with real ministry
- Reading a psalm in the morning and praying together more consistently
- Relying on friends and family's prayers
- Seeing God's faithfulness over and over
- Seeking God's direction for the future
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Busy, busy
"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." 1 Cor. 15:58
This last week has been busy at work.... but the tedious kind of busy. We've been researching new church contacts for Roblealto. We've been online looking at literally hundreds of websites and looking at their mission involvement. We are writing down contact information for them and sending these churches an email invitation to get involved at Roblealto. We know this initial contact might not get new churches, but it's part of a larger marketing plan we are developing to spread the news about Roblealto and get more churches in a partnership with the organization. Please pray with us for this new venture! In the past, a missionary has traveled to the US to present Roblealto to churches, so this is a new technique - we are inviting new churches here to fall in love with the kids and join in God's work instead of us going there. I've (Emily) been holding tight to the above verse knowing that no matter what the outcome is, we are working for the Lord here and it will not be in vain.
Mark continues to look into several churches and we continue to seek the Lord for guidance. We know He will provide. Some of the churches will be in contact about interviews in the next couple of months so we will see!
I have found a new hobby - baking pies! I've done blackberry, strawberry and tonight, lemon meringue. It's been a lot of fun and Mark, our visitors, and our co-workers have really benefited! Maybe when we are home, you'll get to try a piece! Much love!
This last week has been busy at work.... but the tedious kind of busy. We've been researching new church contacts for Roblealto. We've been online looking at literally hundreds of websites and looking at their mission involvement. We are writing down contact information for them and sending these churches an email invitation to get involved at Roblealto. We know this initial contact might not get new churches, but it's part of a larger marketing plan we are developing to spread the news about Roblealto and get more churches in a partnership with the organization. Please pray with us for this new venture! In the past, a missionary has traveled to the US to present Roblealto to churches, so this is a new technique - we are inviting new churches here to fall in love with the kids and join in God's work instead of us going there. I've (Emily) been holding tight to the above verse knowing that no matter what the outcome is, we are working for the Lord here and it will not be in vain.
Mark continues to look into several churches and we continue to seek the Lord for guidance. We know He will provide. Some of the churches will be in contact about interviews in the next couple of months so we will see!
I have found a new hobby - baking pies! I've done blackberry, strawberry and tonight, lemon meringue. It's been a lot of fun and Mark, our visitors, and our co-workers have really benefited! Maybe when we are home, you'll get to try a piece! Much love!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Fun with visitors
We´ve had 2 weeks of visitors which has been so much fun! First, Emily´s mom and sister came for 10 days. Highlights included Krista getting to meet her sponsored child at one of Roblealto´s child care centers, taking mom and Krista to our Spanish-speaking church for Easter, being on a white-sand beach (the nicest we´ve seen yet in Costa Rica) and doing the canopy where we did 8 zip lines through the rainforest and mom didn´t even scream!
The day after mom and Krista left, Emily´s college friends Becki and Liz came. Emily enjoyed spending time with the girls and taking them to Arenal volcano and the hot springs while Mark stayed home and worked - sorry honey, but I needed some girl time!
We were lucky to be able to take time off to host our visitors and now we are back to work! We are continuing a project to get more churches involved with Roblealto and researching to find possible churches online. Our goal is 500 new church contacts for Roblealto. We also continue to pray for positive responses from the foundations we have looked into and hoping that they will sense God's leading to become involved in the Los Guido Child Care Center.
We actually have a lot of prayer requests right now and would appreciate continued prayers from you. We lost our renters for our condo back home due to some family emergencies they had and although we've been earnestly seeking for new renters, we haven't had any luck yet. This is an unplanned financial strain for us and we pray that we can find new short-term renters so we are not paying our rent and mortgage at the same time. We are also beginning the interview process for a new church for when we return to the states at the end of July. Mark has an interview tomorrow night with a church in Wisconsin. We are praying for God's leading to a new church which will share our vision of ministry and be a great place for us to live for the next 10-15 years. It's a very big deal! We appreciate your prayers for opportunities for Mark to interview and for God's leading to be clear as we make these important decisions.
As always, thank you for your prayers and love. We definitely feel them from here and ask that you don't stop as we continue our time here at Roblealto! Much love!
The day after mom and Krista left, Emily´s college friends Becki and Liz came. Emily enjoyed spending time with the girls and taking them to Arenal volcano and the hot springs while Mark stayed home and worked - sorry honey, but I needed some girl time!
We were lucky to be able to take time off to host our visitors and now we are back to work! We are continuing a project to get more churches involved with Roblealto and researching to find possible churches online. Our goal is 500 new church contacts for Roblealto. We also continue to pray for positive responses from the foundations we have looked into and hoping that they will sense God's leading to become involved in the Los Guido Child Care Center.
We actually have a lot of prayer requests right now and would appreciate continued prayers from you. We lost our renters for our condo back home due to some family emergencies they had and although we've been earnestly seeking for new renters, we haven't had any luck yet. This is an unplanned financial strain for us and we pray that we can find new short-term renters so we are not paying our rent and mortgage at the same time. We are also beginning the interview process for a new church for when we return to the states at the end of July. Mark has an interview tomorrow night with a church in Wisconsin. We are praying for God's leading to a new church which will share our vision of ministry and be a great place for us to live for the next 10-15 years. It's a very big deal! We appreciate your prayers for opportunities for Mark to interview and for God's leading to be clear as we make these important decisions.
As always, thank you for your prayers and love. We definitely feel them from here and ask that you don't stop as we continue our time here at Roblealto! Much love!
Friday, March 26, 2010
A Great Team!
We are coming off of a great week with a group of college students from Washington. Matt, one of the leaders, came for 2 weeks on his own to the Bible Home last fall and fell in love with Roblealto. He organized a team of 21 peers to join him on a missions trip during their spring break and they have been wonderful! We´ve really enjoyed getting to know each of them and sharing about Roblealto´s work in the lives of the children. They´ve done landscaping, painting, building shelves, and (the worst job) pulling nails from the floor boards that Ridgewood´s group took up a month ago! They´ve really brought an energy and youthfulness and bonded with the children. We´ve been thrilled to help them process their experience with them. Today they head to camp with the 80 children from the Bible Home for the weekend. The kids have been counting down for this camp where they´ll play games, hang out with the volunteers and hear the gospel. The theme is related to the World Cup and Jesus being the best coach ever. Mark and I will go for a few hours on Saturday to play games. This is one of the most exciting events of the year for the kids at the Bible Home!
Please continue praying with us in the Los Guido Campaign to raise funds for the new child care center. Last week we sent out almost 30 letters of inquiry/applications for foundations requesting grants for this project. We now will wait and pray that some of the foundations will be interested. We´ve requested over a million dollars in hope that we can raise funds for the first stage ($673,000). Many of these foundations are Christian families and we pray that they will see what God is doing and want to join in His work at Roblealto!
Just an FYI: After praying and talking with our families and our team at Roblealto, we´ve decided to return to MN a month earlier than originally planned, at the end of July. We want to be financially responsible and not have to pay for both our condo and our rent here and we are also eager to find the next step for us. Mark has been looking into churches seeking a pastor and has made a website resume he´s sending out. Please pray for us as we look for where God wants us to serve next!
Please continue praying with us in the Los Guido Campaign to raise funds for the new child care center. Last week we sent out almost 30 letters of inquiry/applications for foundations requesting grants for this project. We now will wait and pray that some of the foundations will be interested. We´ve requested over a million dollars in hope that we can raise funds for the first stage ($673,000). Many of these foundations are Christian families and we pray that they will see what God is doing and want to join in His work at Roblealto!
Just an FYI: After praying and talking with our families and our team at Roblealto, we´ve decided to return to MN a month earlier than originally planned, at the end of July. We want to be financially responsible and not have to pay for both our condo and our rent here and we are also eager to find the next step for us. Mark has been looking into churches seeking a pastor and has made a website resume he´s sending out. Please pray for us as we look for where God wants us to serve next!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
A Day in Los Guido
It has been a while since we have posted to our blog and we have much to share. First, many of you know that Emily lost her uncle Jay tragically in a plane crash in Virginia last week. Emily flew there to attend the funeral. We appreciate prayers for the Youngquist family in this difficult time.
Before Emily left last week we had a unique opportunity to spend a whole day in the Los Guido community in the southern part of San Jose. As you've read before, this is one of the most desperate communities in this area due to extreme poverty, drugs, gang activity, domestic violence. Families have few options for a better life. Roblealto has plans to build a new child care center right in the midst of Los Guido which would immediately change the lives of 250 children and their families. With their children cared for during the day, mothers could find work and help provide for their families. The vast majority of families in Los Guido are single parent families and so the provision of quality Christian child care would make an enormous difference. Currently Roblealto is launching a campaign to raise the $600,000 necessary for the first stage of the center. You will find details, pictures and video at www.roblealto.org, as well as an opportunity to give.
During our day in Los Guido we visited three homes, listened to their stories of need, and than shared with them the hope that soon the Roblealto child care center could be built. We then prayed with the families holding hands together. What we learned about Los Guido that day will stay with us for a long time and will provide added encouragement for us as we research Christian grants and communicate with Roblealto's partner churches. Here is what we experienced:
God bless all of you back in the States and in Canada as the winter season winds down. We look forward to a visit from Joan and Krista in just a few weeks! It will be great to share some time together.
Before Emily left last week we had a unique opportunity to spend a whole day in the Los Guido community in the southern part of San Jose. As you've read before, this is one of the most desperate communities in this area due to extreme poverty, drugs, gang activity, domestic violence. Families have few options for a better life. Roblealto has plans to build a new child care center right in the midst of Los Guido which would immediately change the lives of 250 children and their families. With their children cared for during the day, mothers could find work and help provide for their families. The vast majority of families in Los Guido are single parent families and so the provision of quality Christian child care would make an enormous difference. Currently Roblealto is launching a campaign to raise the $600,000 necessary for the first stage of the center. You will find details, pictures and video at www.roblealto.org, as well as an opportunity to give.
During our day in Los Guido we visited three homes, listened to their stories of need, and than shared with them the hope that soon the Roblealto child care center could be built. We then prayed with the families holding hands together. What we learned about Los Guido that day will stay with us for a long time and will provide added encouragement for us as we research Christian grants and communicate with Roblealto's partner churches. Here is what we experienced:
- Los Guido has 30,000 people living in poverty and at risk situations.
- Most families are led by a single parent, making employment very difficult.
- The condition of the homes were difficult to see, especially as 3 or 4 families lived together in one small house.
- The people of Los Guido are surrounded by realities such as unemployment, gang violence, domestic abuse, poor sewage and water services, child protitution, and child labor.
- The families are stuck in a cycle of poverty with little hope of getting out.
- That being said, we were welcomed into homes with smiles, hospitality, faith and hope.
God bless all of you back in the States and in Canada as the winter season winds down. We look forward to a visit from Joan and Krista in just a few weeks! It will be great to share some time together.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Thanks Ridgewood!
We just had a great week with the group from Ridgewood, Emily's home church. It was a small group this year, but the 4 guys plus Mark plowed through their project of demolition - exhausting, but they can't fool us, we know they loved it. They tore through the walls, ceiling and pulled up the floors - all that's left is the frame and the outer walls basically. Quite incredible! This is one of the homes at our temporary shelter. It's 40+ years old and Roblealto plans to replace it next year with a new house to expand the capacity of the Bible Home.
Emily kept busy this week working on letters for grants for the Los Guido child care center, putting together a big mailing for the sponsors and emailing the churches who will be receiving the Los Guido campaign information. Oh, and she really enjoyed the time with Lois, Pamela and the house mothers. Lois made a delicious ice cream treat and brought supplies for a fun craft activity. It was a great time of fellowship.
Tomorrow we are headed for Panama City. We have to leave every 3 months for our visas and though we're a little early, we had to plan around all of our groups coming in and this week worked best. We've been glued to the TV watching the winter olympics - Mark LOVES cheering for Canada. The Costa Ricans don't get it at all as they don't have any winter olympians :) The hockey game is apparently the most important thing, so we'll see...
Have a great week to all!
Emily kept busy this week working on letters for grants for the Los Guido child care center, putting together a big mailing for the sponsors and emailing the churches who will be receiving the Los Guido campaign information. Oh, and she really enjoyed the time with Lois, Pamela and the house mothers. Lois made a delicious ice cream treat and brought supplies for a fun craft activity. It was a great time of fellowship.
Tomorrow we are headed for Panama City. We have to leave every 3 months for our visas and though we're a little early, we had to plan around all of our groups coming in and this week worked best. We've been glued to the TV watching the winter olympics - Mark LOVES cheering for Canada. The Costa Ricans don't get it at all as they don't have any winter olympians :) The hockey game is apparently the most important thing, so we'll see...
Have a great week to all!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Our first group of 2010
We've had a great week with our first mission trip group of 2010. This group was from Connecticut and although they've supported Roblealto for 25 years, this was their first visit to Costa Rica. And boy were they touched by the kids here! They completely fell in love with our children and we know they are going to continue to be a part of Roblealto's ministry. We really enjoyed spending Monday night translating for some of the volunteers as they had dinner with the house parents and kids. We keep practicing our Spanish! One of the highlights for the group was going to Los Guido to see the community where many of our children come from and prayed over the lot where we Roblealto will build their next child care center.
It was also a big week for the campaign for the new center. After months of planning, we officially launched the Los Guido Campaign! We sent out a letter, brochure and DVD to 42 churches that support Roblealto to encourage them to join us in this initiative. We also put the campaign online and you can see it at roblealto.org Our next big job is to look at various foundations for funds. We feel very over our heads in applying for grants, but we were blessed with help from one of the volunteers this week who has grant-writing experience. We have a list of many Christian foundations that are more likely to be interested in supporting Roblealto than secular foundations so we are praying that this will be a chance to raise money. Thank you for your continued prayers. We have such a passion for this project that will serve 250 at-risk children and their families!
Tomorrow Ridgewood comes for their week at Roblealto. We get to meet them at the airport and it will be great to see them! Mark will join the men as they do demolition on one of the houses. Very manly! And next weekend we head to Panama City for the weekend to stay with my friend Janna as we need to leave the country for our visas. It'll be fun to get to see another part of Latin America and spend some time in hot, sunny weather (we've been having lots of rainy, cool weather here, not that I'll get any sympathy from the Minnesotans!)
We love you!
It was also a big week for the campaign for the new center. After months of planning, we officially launched the Los Guido Campaign! We sent out a letter, brochure and DVD to 42 churches that support Roblealto to encourage them to join us in this initiative. We also put the campaign online and you can see it at roblealto.org Our next big job is to look at various foundations for funds. We feel very over our heads in applying for grants, but we were blessed with help from one of the volunteers this week who has grant-writing experience. We have a list of many Christian foundations that are more likely to be interested in supporting Roblealto than secular foundations so we are praying that this will be a chance to raise money. Thank you for your continued prayers. We have such a passion for this project that will serve 250 at-risk children and their families!
Tomorrow Ridgewood comes for their week at Roblealto. We get to meet them at the airport and it will be great to see them! Mark will join the men as they do demolition on one of the houses. Very manly! And next weekend we head to Panama City for the weekend to stay with my friend Janna as we need to leave the country for our visas. It'll be fun to get to see another part of Latin America and spend some time in hot, sunny weather (we've been having lots of rainy, cool weather here, not that I'll get any sympathy from the Minnesotans!)
We love you!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Is it really February?
So we've heard there is snow in Minnesota, but for us, it's hard to believe that it's winter. We've had really great weather which has been a blessing as we host Mark's parents for a couple of weeks. We spent a week seeing a lot of Costa Rica's Central Valley including a volcano, rain forest, churches, and eating authentic food. We spent 2 days painting a bedroom in one of the foster homes at Roblealto and John and Sharon got to know some of the wonderful kids that we have fallen in love with. We especially enjoyed being able to eat dinner with that home and sharing in their devotional time. Now Mark's parents understand on a personal level why we love Roblealto and how God is at work here.
Today we are meeting with our team because the volunteer groups start coming this month! We have several volunteers coming this week, but our first official group is coming next week from Connecticut. They are a church that has supported Roblealto for 25 years, but has never come on a trip, so we are very excited for them to meet the kids and be able to do some work projects! We also look forward to having Ridgewood's group who is coming at the end of February. Currently, we are very close to launching the Los Guido Campaign to start raising funds for the 4th child care center Roblealto plans to build. This is a big passion of ours and is a needed service for this very high-risk community.
Mark and I will have to leave the country again soon for our visas so we are busy planning that as well as the week when my mom and sister (Joan and Krista) come to visit us for Spring Break. We love getting to show off our new country! Things are busy and we are always so grateful for your friendship, support and prayers. Much love!
Today we are meeting with our team because the volunteer groups start coming this month! We have several volunteers coming this week, but our first official group is coming next week from Connecticut. They are a church that has supported Roblealto for 25 years, but has never come on a trip, so we are very excited for them to meet the kids and be able to do some work projects! We also look forward to having Ridgewood's group who is coming at the end of February. Currently, we are very close to launching the Los Guido Campaign to start raising funds for the 4th child care center Roblealto plans to build. This is a big passion of ours and is a needed service for this very high-risk community.
Mark and I will have to leave the country again soon for our visas so we are busy planning that as well as the week when my mom and sister (Joan and Krista) come to visit us for Spring Break. We love getting to show off our new country! Things are busy and we are always so grateful for your friendship, support and prayers. Much love!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Back in Costa Rica...
Hi everyone!
It was so wonderful to see so many friends and family when we were home in MN. We had a great time at home. The Goff family was happily together for 5 days - all under the same roof for a few of those nights. We spent quality family time together and played a lot of games (except dad, who some of you know, hates games!) Our Sunday School talk on Jan. 3 at Ridgewood went very well and Mark did an excellent job preaching (and it's not just because I'm biased - people told me it was excellent!) We were able to get 11 new child sponsors for Roblealto which was a great blessing. It was hard to leave MN, but we are happy to be back now. It was so different coming back to a country that we know, seeing places that are familiar, getting back into our house, and looking forward to seeing our friends here.
It was my (Emily's) 30th birthday on Saturday and we headed to the beach for the weekend where it was HOT and sunny. I think we made a literal 100 degree change in weather! We found our favorite beach in Costa Rica so far on the Nicoya Peninsula on the Pacific side (Montezuma) which had white sand and big waves in the warm ocean. We definitely hope to return there again soon!
We are back at the Bible Home today catching up with friends and getting back into work. Over the next month we'll be preparing for the volunteer groups to come. The first group comes in the middle of February. We will also be launching our Los Guido campaign to begin building a fourth child care center. We are excited to see what God has to teach us in the 2nd half of our mission year! Thank you for continued prayers! We are also excited that Mark's parents will be coming to visit on Thursday and staying for a few weeks. We look forward to showing off our beautiful new country! Blessings!
It was so wonderful to see so many friends and family when we were home in MN. We had a great time at home. The Goff family was happily together for 5 days - all under the same roof for a few of those nights. We spent quality family time together and played a lot of games (except dad, who some of you know, hates games!) Our Sunday School talk on Jan. 3 at Ridgewood went very well and Mark did an excellent job preaching (and it's not just because I'm biased - people told me it was excellent!) We were able to get 11 new child sponsors for Roblealto which was a great blessing. It was hard to leave MN, but we are happy to be back now. It was so different coming back to a country that we know, seeing places that are familiar, getting back into our house, and looking forward to seeing our friends here.
It was my (Emily's) 30th birthday on Saturday and we headed to the beach for the weekend where it was HOT and sunny. I think we made a literal 100 degree change in weather! We found our favorite beach in Costa Rica so far on the Nicoya Peninsula on the Pacific side (Montezuma) which had white sand and big waves in the warm ocean. We definitely hope to return there again soon!
We are back at the Bible Home today catching up with friends and getting back into work. Over the next month we'll be preparing for the volunteer groups to come. The first group comes in the middle of February. We will also be launching our Los Guido campaign to begin building a fourth child care center. We are excited to see what God has to teach us in the 2nd half of our mission year! Thank you for continued prayers! We are also excited that Mark's parents will be coming to visit on Thursday and staying for a few weeks. We look forward to showing off our beautiful new country! Blessings!
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