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!
Monday, April 19, 2010
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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