Great Song I heard and made a video.

SPECIAL NIGHT IN SAN JOSE... Jeff and Deanne went to Mirador Ram Luna for a special dinner date. High above the city of San Jose on top of a mountain at nearly 6,000 feet above sea level, we dined with a view of the entire city's lights. It was a magnificent view of the city and its 3 million inhabitants. We drove up the mountain on a motorcycle that is a story in and of itself; we were leaving the city at rush hour no less. We enjoyed many of the traditional foods of Costa Rica. We loved the ceviche, the soup, the homemade tortilla chips, and of course arroz con leche y cafe con leche for dessert. There was a show featuring many cultural aspects of this culture. It was such a memorable evening. Clouds came in and completely covered the lights of the city. It was like the David Copperfield made the city of San Jose completely disappear. What a scientific lesson. Thank you Lord for these special opportunities to view your creation and your people from a different vantage point.

INTERNATIONAL BIRTHDAY BASH -

February 26 was Deanne's birthday, and Jeff surprised her with not one but TWO birthday parties. Our Costa Rican neighbors and our friends from our church here in San Jose were invited. Jeff and the children did all the cooking and cleaning to get ready for the fiesta! It was a wonderful time of mixing people from different parts of our life here in Costa Rica. We had a traditional Costa Rican birthday meal, Arroz con Pollo with Deanne's favorite Costa Rican vegetable picadillo de chayote, and a tossed salad which we were told was totally American. Jeff, Bethany, and Jordan also made Deanne's favorite cake, Carrot cake with cream cheese icing. This yummy cake "Queque zanahoria" has been one dessert that we have found to be popular here.

During the party, we took the opportunity to share our testimony with our guests. It was such a blessing to be able to share what God has done in our lives. This was our first time we shared our testimony together in Spanish. We pray that this story of God's grace might reach into the hearts of our neighbors. Please pray with us for these dear people to understand God's plan.

CHICKEN WINGS...WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT?

Bienvenido a Carneceria Gringo! Lukas and I cooked chicken wings on our borrowed wheel rim grill tonight. 5 cars stopped and asked if the food was for sale! Lukas could not contain himself! He said lets sell each wing for 500 colones (89 cents). We did give some wings to a man who was hungry. We then cooked smores and our neighbor girl Sukura came over and enjoyed. She lives in the blue house in the background.

How was your old lady?
Our Costa Rican pastor just returned from a month trip to another country to visit his wife's family. I proudly welcomed him to our church and jokingly asked if he was a visitor for the first time. Welcoming visitors is a big deal in churches here in Costa Rica. I then proudly proceeded to say, "Como estaba su vieja?" (How is your old lady.) I meant, "Como estaba su viaje?" (How was your trip.) He looked at me very puzzled. So I repeated it louder and slower, "COMO ES SU VIEJA?" My mind was asking, "Don't you already speak spanish? After all you live here..." Then, a small smile crept across his lips. He said, my trip was fine. Part of the language learning process is just opening your mouth and getting comfortable speaking the language so you brain can engage. I can't wait till the brain is engaged!
vieja = old woman
viaje = trip

GLADLY LOCKING OUR DOORS!

Today was more emotional than eventful, but still a thought provoking day. About 3:45 today a police officer was shot at the bottom of our hill, a little more than 100 yards from our house…on our street. There has been an increase of robberies in our area. They have significantly increased in brutality as well. After Christmas, "Gus" from our store at school was walking by the SW corner of Parque Bosque with 2 of his friends when 6 armed men robbed them. I had just walked through the corner of the park 30 minutes prior with 3 of my kids. We live 1/2 block from the park. December 2, just behind Parque Chino, a friend witnessed a severe armed car jacking across the street from his house…only his second day in country from South Carolina. Two weeks ago, the pharmacy on the corner of Parqua Bosque, the pharmacist, outside guard and people waiting for the bus were robbed by 2 armed men. Today the police officer on moto pulled over 2 guys on a moto and they shot him with 12 gage birdshot. They fled on foot up the road toward Parque Sauces. One dropped his bag and the shotgun in 2 different locations as he went. One robber was picked up by a car thought to be involved in the robbery and the other fled on foot. We heard the sirens from everywhere and went to see. We were there only about 5 minutes after the shooting. They were just taking the officer away. Very quickly about 20 moto cops charged off chasing a lead. The downed officer was wearing a bp vest but it was a lower grade vest. He had injuries to his shoulders arms and stomach. One cop we talked to felt terrible because this was his area to patrol. He had been called off to sit at a traffic corner for the day. He was especially irritated because this was his beat. I called Ryan, our missionary that works with the groups in law enforcementt, and he came and talked to a few of the cops. He helped us fill in several of the blanks we could not quite understand. Needless to say we are much more aware of our surroundings tonight!

The personal side of the story is this: Jordan had a Bible study at a friend’s house just up that road at 4 PM today. About 3:30 we decided he was not going. Jordan would have at that corner about the time of that shooting. At the same time, Deanne wanted to walk to Pali-our grocery store at the bottom of our hill. Our neighbor stopped over for a few minutes and “would not leave.” Deanne would have been at that corner about the same time. God is good all the time. Whether we were at the corner or not, we know God is good all the time. Please pray for us as we serve and minister here on our street with our neighbors. We have worked hard at building relationships with them and this is another open door of communication and sharing with them where we find our security, in Jesus Christ.

On a lighter note, I was privileged to go to a school in Poas this past Saturday. The school is a shelter for the displaced from the earthquake. I have included my Spanish version of our day. I had to write it for an assignment today. I thank you for being such an encouragement to us here in Costa Rica. I think I am writing all of this to be an outlet for my thoughts. Thank you for listening…or not :)

Shaking things up here in Costa Rica.

I was privileged to go to a school in Poas this past Saturday. Poas is the place hit by the 6.2 earthquake on 1/8/09. The school is a shelter for the displaced from the earthquake. I have included my Spanish version of our day. I had to write it for an assignment today. I thank you for being such an encouragement to us here in Costa Rica. Thank you for listening…or not.

For those who want to try something fun. Try translating this by copying 5 lines into http://babelfish.yahoo.com/ and see if you can understand the gist of the story. Welcome to our life!

Yo visité a la gente que fue afectada por el terremoto el Sábado, el 24 de enero. Yo anduve de mi casa a la iglesia y llegué temprano…otra vez. Había ocho personas en total de cuatro iglesias diferentes que fueron juntas.
Después de un tiempo de oración, nosotros viajamos en 3 diferentes carros. La primera parada fue una casa de una cristiana que vive en Poás. Nosotros le dimos muchas bolsas de ropa, comida y jabones para distribuir a la gente. La vista detrás de la casa fue muy bonita.
Después de salir de la casa condujimos los coches encima de la montaña. Nuestro destino era una escuela que ahora es utilizada para contener a los refugiados desplazados de sus hogares por el terremoto. Cerca de la puerta fuimos parados por La Fuerza Pública. Un hombre había asegurado el permiso del Ministerio de Vivienda y Asentamientos Humanos pero la jefe en este lugar no recibió la información.
Mientras las negociaciones entre mi amigo y la jefe, el resto de nuestro equipo preparó para la reunión. Más de un hora pasó mientras ellos estuvieron hablando. Yo estaba colocad cerca del tablero de pintura que utilizamos para predicar el mensaje. Muy rápido muchos niños y jóvenes empezaron a pedirme decirles palabras en inglés. Ellos me pidieron cantar en inglés.
Después de las negociaciones y muchas objeciones, la Fuerza Publica nos permitió servir a la gente. Nosotros condujimos juegos por treinta minutos. Los niños se divirtieron y los padres tuvieron sonreían.
Cuando fue hora de predicar la palabra de dios, yo introduje el mensaje con un truco de tres cuerdas para ganar interés. El truco fue bueno pero el español necesitaba mas practica para que el evangelio fuera más claro.
Después del mensaje, once personas indicaron que ellos quieran aceptar a Jesucristo como Salvador. Fue una gran oportunidad de servir.
Después de nuestro tiempo en la escuela, la directora de los campos temporales nos dio una carta de recomendación que da el permiso para entrar en cualquiera lugar en que deseamos servir.
Yo observé tres cosas muy importantes. Primera, la gente en estos lugares no tiene mucha esperanza. Ellos no tienen muchas cosas del mundo, y no tienen un plan para el futuro. Para ellos, es un mundo sin esperanza. Todo el día ellos se sientan y esperan la próxima comida o instrucciones del gobierno.
Segunda, es posible servir Jesucristo incluso cuando usted no sabe la lengua bien. El amor de Dios es más que palabras.
Tercera, es Dios el que abre las puertas, no los hombres. Yo tengo que usar las oportunidades que Dios nos abre.

HEY-- We were in a EARTHQUAKE today. The kids thought it was a BLAST because they actually felt this one, and it shook the whole house. Earthquakes are common, but we have "missed" several because they were at night. This one-- NO BODY could miss. We praise the Lord for His protection.

The following is the Associated Press release just minutes after it happened.


Strong earthquake shakes Costa Rica
1 hour ago
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — A strong earthquake shook the Costa Rican capital of San Jose Thursday afternoon, sending frightened residents running into streets.
There were no reports of injuries in the minutes following the earthquake.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the 6.1 magnitude temblor struck 22 miles (35 kilometers) northwest of San Jose, at a depth of 28 miles (35 kilometers).
Canal 7 television showed images of broken windows, fallen ceiling panels and cracked walls. It said the quake was felt strongly throughout the small Central American country.
Hosted by
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

"SAN JOSE, Costa Rica",

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas...almost. This is my first Christmas in 43 years without any trace of snow! Now that the rainy season is over, It cracks us up to see people selling gloves, mittens, and winter hats when it is 65 degrees! Bethany has been aiding in the kindergarten class all semester and brought home a Christmas card from the children last week. I said, "It's about time to bring that home." I thought it was summer break...not Christmas break! This year has been filled with change, challenge and confirmation of our calling. I was convicted while reading Luke 1 this past week. I am sure when Mary was confronted by the angel, telling her she was to be the mother of our Savior, she did not comprehend all that God's plan for her would involve. Yet, she harnessed God's plan and willing followed. She maintained a

PERSPECTIVE OF ONE CALLED BY GOD - Luke 1:26-42. Here we find a:
1. Concrete Promise (1:37) "With God nothing shall be impossible."
2. Confident Perspective (1:38) (46-56) "Be it unto me according to thy word"
3. Committed Pursuit (1:39) "Mary arose...and went"

Although we do not comprehend all the circumstances and situations that have come into our lives and confronted us this year, we still are ones called by God. We have concrete promises from God, must maintain a confident perspective, and pursue confidently

IMPACT OF ONE SMALL MARK!
Spanish "Dona" = donut

Spanish "Doña" = Mrs.

Thanks to Lukas for modeling these "donas" for me. Actually he modeled them after the photo shoot as he devoured just a small portion of each...so he says. I went to the bakery to purchase 2 donuts, one white and one black and could not understand why the cashier was smirking. OK, I realize I did not look like I needed more donuts, but they were for my wife! What I actually said in Spanish, "I would like 2 ladies, one white and one black." I am glad she knew what I was actually asking for, because it would have been very difficult to carry 2 ladies home to my wife...in a plastic bag!

THANKFUL TO PRAY IN SPANISH!

I was excited when Mandi told us at the dinner table. "I am much more thankful now that I pray in Spanish." As a dad, I was thrilled to hear of the cultural and spiritual advancement of our third child. But...my pride was cut short when she finished her statement. She said, "...because I do not yet know how to ask for things in Spanish!" Amanda says hahaha. Sooner or later we will all learn how to speak with the one and only true God...in another language!

CHECK OUT THE ABWE MESSAGE!
In the fall of 2006, I had the privilege of being on the cover of the Message Magazine, our info, encouragement and recruitment magazine for ABWE. Don't get too excited because you know me. I am not famous, I just happened to be the only male missionary candidate in the office when they needed a picture STAT!I will say I am excited about the article written in the Message magazine this month. It is a brief interview about our prefield ministry experience. So many of you were a part of this journey, we praise God for YOU! I am reminded of a phrase from the article, "I know there will be difficult days on the mission field. I also know I have a bank vault full of valuable reminders that this ministry is of God." Check out the full article at http://message.abwe.org/vol56no04/Step-by-Step.html. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers! To check out our testimonies in the ABWE Message magazine from Fall 2006, go to: http://message.abwe.org/vol54no03/Candidate-Class-2006-testimonials.html#D

Recently, a friend posed the question, "What is a missions minded church?" I must admit, that while learning the Spanish language, my mind has been focused more on how to buy milk and to tell the taxi driver how to get to my house than it has been on missions. But...this question got my juices flowing! I began to think and write and here are just a few of my thoughts. I welcome your feedback.

MISSIONS MINDED CHURCH - The church is missions, therefore, it is impossible to validate the existence of the local church without intentionally fulfilling the great commission in its Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the uttermost parts. A Missions Minded church is one that is committed (verbally and visibly) to obeying Christ's great commission by making, marking and maturing disciples as we have already been sent by Jesus Christ.

MARKS OF A MISSIONS MINDED CHURCH.

1. PASTORALLY the pastor is personally INVOLVED in going
2. PASSIONATELY the congregation is INTENTIONAL in it’s pursuit
3. "PURSE" FULLY the budget is INTEGRATED with opportunities
4. PERSONALLY the body is INFILTRATED by missionaries
5. PRAYERFULLY the body is INFORMED of needs & oopportunities
6. PURPOSEFULLY the leadership INITIATES missions partnerships
7. POSSIBILITIES the body INVESTIGATES who will WE send next

Some random PASSIONATE thoughts at 9 PM

Hey, this is Amanda! I want to let everyone know about an important thing in missionary life. Peanut butter! Peanut butter is a very American thing in most parts of the world, including here. Therefore, it is either hard to find, or EXTREMELY expensive. In our case, it's expensive. This jar of peanut butter I'm holding in the picture, you would usually throw awaybecause it's basically gone; we will use for about another week's worth of PBJ sandwiches :). So, when you eat peanut butter, pray for us, that we would learn Spanish well, and that our peanut butter would go far. Thank you for praying for us! Dios te bendiga!

FLOWERS FOR MY LOVE

Ok, it has been long enough here in Costa Rica without buying flowers for my wife, I figured it was about time. Lukas and I walked 1.5 miles to get them, but the smile on her face was worth every step!

SUSHI NIGHT AT THE DAVOLL HOUSE
Psa 57:9 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.

We have always enjoyed foods from different countries. Sushi just happens to be one of our favorites. Jeff made this sushi tonight with cucumber, immitation crab, carrot, avocado, and red pepper. It came complete with wasabi that burns your nose and homemade noodle soup (made by Amanda). It is a good reminder to us there are people around the world that need Jesus Christ!

Update for Faith Baptist Missions Conference

"CONFLEX" - CONFLICTS - CORNFLAKES?

Language barriers are always fun. We were asked to get "conflex sin dulce" for a chicken recipe a Costa Rican lady was making for us. "Sin dulce" is without sweet, but what is "conflex?" I looked in my pocket dictionary...nothing. I looked in the online dictionary...nothing. I looked, and asked at the grocery store...nothing. I asked another student who has finished their language studies and likes to cook...nothing. I asked another missionary for whom she cooks...nothing. Finally we had to ask her to tell someone else who who spoke Spanish. It was Corn Flakes! Since we do not eat cornflakes, since they are about $4/box, Deanne spared no expense and bought 2 individual serving boxes for 180 colones, the Costa Rican money. I am looking forward to our chicken and brocoli with $ .34 worth of "conflex."

I AM HERE TO FISH...AND I WILL LEARN SPANISH WHILE DOING IT!

I figure if I keep that mentality, I will enjoy every minute of our learning process. Jordan and I were able to go fishing with 2 other ABWE missionaries this weekend. We drove about 2 hours into the mountains to the Savagre Mt. and helped catch these beautiful "trucha" or trout. When we got home we baked them with some homemade shake and bake Deanne had made and stuffed them with garlic, onion, tomatoe, and peppers. True to form, Jeff made enough of the veggie stuffing we could have stuffed an entire hatcherie! So, we had tortilla chip dip along with the fish. It was a great lunch.