Winter Newsletter

The Countdown is On... & Roblealto Party Update!

It's already the fourth day of December, we have only four more days of classes for this term and in 10 days we leave to spend 2 weeks in Kentucky with family and friends!  We are so looking forward to some "down time", especially for our brains, even though we'll need to keep practicing so as to not lose any ground with learning Spanish so we can come back and be able to finish our last term well.

As promised, here is an update following  Roblealto Christian children's home party we helped sponsor at our school last week.  The rain and cool temps didn't dampen the spirits of the children, or the staff and students of our language school one bit! The gym, festively decorated with a manger scene, a Christmas tree and several piñatas filled with dulces (candies), was definitely full of 130 Robleato children excited to be there!  

They very attentively listened and watched as children of missionaries from our school presented a Christmas play,  and then enjoyed a meal of hotdogs, chips, and juice boxes, played games at various booths, took turns at breaking the piñatas, and last but not least got to open their  Christmas gifts! 

Each of us did our best to get them the item they had requested so there were a lot of happy and excited children and lots of soccer balls!  I was blessed to be able to see 2 of the 3 little boys for whom we bought gifts, open them and they grinned from ear to ear, while my eyes filled with tears of joy for them. You can see us with them in the pictures.  One of them had asked for a baseball glove and let me just say they're almost non-existent in Costa Rica!  After a day of seven hours of shopping, walking from one side of downtown San Jose to the other ( a very long walk) and 4 bus rides later, finally finding one was totally worth it!

Remote control car

Baseball and glove

These beautiful children have very little and look forward to this party all year.  My heart just melted as they were leaving and some of them  ran into my arms and gave me hugs and said "gracias."  

For this night, they got to be kids just having fun; not thinking about family issues or past abuse or that their parents just couldn't provide for their basic needs.  I pray that the love of Christ they were shown will make a lasting impact on their lives and that each will become a part of His family one day.  I know they made a lasting imprint on my heart!

~ Beverly

P.S. Sorry about the picture quality.  I'm not computer savvy enough to know how to "fix" them.  The lights in the gym caused the "green" tint.

Pin the tail on the CAMEL!

Sweet little boy...

They loved face painting!

Beautiful little souls hearing about how much Jesus loves them

Thanksgiving 2011:  Tradition - in a different kind of way!

Thanksgiving Day has come and gone and I imagine most of you in the U.S. have now become "stuffed" after having a bountiful meal!  Amid the food, football, and pumpkin pie is the love of family and friends and reminiscing about days past and hopefully sharing about the blessings and grace you received this year.  Although we are far from family this year, we still had the opportunity to share a fairly traditional meal with our language study school friends, faculty, and staff.
We had some great roasted chicken instead of turkey because $4.50/lb. is pretty pricey!  I made 2 large pans of stuffing and our family recipe of peanut butter banana salad. As you can see, the tables  were loaded with many traditional foods prepared by the students and enjoyed by all!  In fact, there was hardly a crumb left! 
                            

Our wonderful staff and teachers were honored with small gifts of appreciation and notes of love.  They serve, sacrificially, at ILE with a sense of a calling from the Lord as they invest their lives in training mainly missionaries to spread the gospel in Latin American countries.                                         

Tony and I ended our day by talking with family back in Kentucky and hearing all about their day.  Even though we missed being with them, we're very thankful God provided "family" here with whom to share the day.  We are truly thankful for family and for friends around the world that we are blessed to know.  Your love, support and prayers are so important as we continue on this new journey in our lives.   "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.  Be thankful to Him and bless His name.  For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations."    Psalm 100:4-5

Our Latest Newsletter

Until All Have Heard!

Language School, ESL and Bible Studies While here in Costa Rica, we have been learning Spanish in preparation for our mission to Mexico, but we have been busy with ministry as well.

Global Outreach, International

In this issue: ·       Language School Progress ·       Thanks For Giving ·       Pray For Us! ·       San Rafael Arriba Bible Study ·       ESL Classes

October 9, 2011

Volume 2, Issue 3

Visit our blog: www.gozacmission.blogspot.com

Church in San Rafael Arriba

Lot For Sale - Can you envision a church here?

View to the south - Bro. Otto's house 2 doors down on left.

View to the north

The Bible Study in San Rafael Arriba continues to grow and attract more from the neighborhood.  Bro. Otto and others are envisioning a permanent church in their city.  In fact, there is a lot for sale right up the road from where they live.  The lot is 376 square meters or about 4050 sq. ft.  The lot costs about $12,000 (U.S. dollars) and a church building can be built for about another $50,000.  There is no evangelical church in San Rafael Arriba at present.  Please pray about this vision and for a Bible-preaching evangelistic church to be planted in San Rafael Arriba.  You can read more about this church plant on some of our posts in August.

The birthing of a church!

Last week I wrote about the home Bible study in Otto's garage. Tonight we had a larger crowd than usual, probably 40 people. The Spirit of God was moving tonight and there were several tears being shed early on in the Bible study.

The scripture memory verse we worked on tonight was Revelation 3:20. I talked about the fact that this scripture was written to a church and how sad it was that Jesus was on the outside knocking, wanting to come in in to fellowship. Well, the Lord was welcome amongst us tonight.

Bro. Walter taught on how to face temptation and, as I said, the tears were flowing pretty soon. I remember services in my childhood when the Spirit of God was moving in great conviction. This service tonight was exactly as I remember those services.

At the end of the study, Bro. Walter spoke directly to all who were there about the need for each of us to personally confess our sins to the Lord, repent of those sins and trust Jesus for salvation. There was open sobbing and three gave there lives to Christ.

What is especially exciting is that besides Otto's family, there were several neighbors there as well. Some of those saved were the neighbors. The Lord is birthing a church in San Rafael Arriba! Keep praying!

. . . and your household. Acts 16:31

Bible Study Group

For the past couple of months, I have been going with our pastor, Bro. Walter to a home in San Rafael Arriba for a Bible study on Thursday nights.  What is remarkable about this Bible study is that its members are basically from one family.  There is a closeness in this group that is sweet to behold and an eagerness to learn and understand the Word of God.  Bro. Walter is discipling this group and allowing me to be a part of it (and practice my Spanish).  I am leading the group in learning a memory verse every week.

Otto and me

Otto is the owner of the house where we meet and we meet in his garage.  He is a mechanic and so are most of his brothers.  A year or two ago, Otto was saved and shortly after that most of his family began to put their faith in Christ.  Now there are as many as 35 or so new believers meeting in Otto's garage and they are mostly from his family.  He has a sister and brother-in-law who live in Cartago and are members of a Baptist church there and have known several IMB missionaries, some that I know myself.

Bro. Walter "Chino"

The past several weeks we have been studying topics like "the birthmarks of the believer," "the security of salvation," "the meaning of baptism," and tonight, "the consequences of sin in the life of the believer."  Bro. Walter presents solid biblical studies with passion and love for these new believers.  I am grateful for the opportunity to take part in the kind of studies that will be taking place in Mexico in a year from now - si Dios quiere (if the Lord wills).  What is so amazing about this Bible study is that it is a living testimony of what Paul promised the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:31.  I am praising God that He still works like He did when Paul was taking the gospel to the world as one of the first missionaries with a world vision.  Please pray for a repeat of this story of family salvation many times over when we arrive in Mexico. - Tony

Livingstone, Lidieth and Rafael

Beltran

These are some of Otto's brothers and a sister-in-law

Chicatitas preciosas

Otto and wife, Giselle

Hermanas

Brian - a nephew

God keeps calling!

We have had the privilege of serving as "Big Brothers" to two families coming to the language school here in Costa Rica. Our responsibilities include finding them a place to live here, picking them up at the airport and helping them get settled in to life here in San Jose.

Our families include one with 5 children who are heading to Honduras to work with a medical team and another family of 5 who are going to be doing church planting in Peru. It is great to see that God is still calling and His called are answering. We are also grateful that we are beyond child-bearing age. There seems to be a correlation between missions and large families.

Keep praying for more laborers in the harvest!

One trimester behind us!

We are at the end of our first trimester of Spanish study at the Spanish Language Institute in San José, Costa Rica.  Yesterday, we attended the graduation of many of our friends and fellow students who are now going to countries like Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panamá, Perú,
Taiwan, Uruguay, Venezuela and, yes, México.  We are grateful to have known them for these few months and to have begun relationships that we know will last for eternity.  We are grateful that God is still calling.  We are hoping and praying that all of the called are answering.  Beverly and I are grateful for your prayers and financial support as we proceed toward God's effectual working in and through us in Zacatecas.  Please continue to hold the ropes.  We hope you will continue to follow this blog as God continues to work!