Life after teams...

Wow! How did it get to be september? I'll give you a rundown of what has happened in the last few months.Since July and the robbery, we had classes as usual in the shop. Thanks to some great supporters of SI and our team personally we had enough money to buy new tools. Because of our hiccup with the robbery, and the time we had without tools, we also expanded a little bit into playing soccer which is a blast!! The kids love to do whatever they can with the students and me which is a great sign for me. I now know that they're not in it just for the projects or to learn woodworking, they're in it to make friends=) (check out the new slideshow on the right side of the blog to see all of the pictures from this summer in the shop)In July We had the Janzen/Frederick clan down for two weeks to visit... Wow!! While it was a great time, 11 people in a 3 bedroom house is pretty tight! We made the best of our time here and, while I still had to work during the week, we were able to share some of the sights here in Costa Rica. They went zip lining, white water rafting, to the beach, and to La Paz waterfall gardens. It was really a blessing to have our family here after being away for so long.

August was full of milestones for al of us here with SI Costa Rica. On August 2nd we officially welcomed our first "Tico Staff," Luis Diego and Cindy. Diego has been a draftsman for several years but has left his job to serve the communities that we work in. He is currently on the community board and is opening a sports site in several different places that we work.

Later in August we added our first Nicaraguan staff member Maria. She and Cindy will be working together in micro finance with some of the ladies in our communities. (sorry no picture of Maria yet=()

August 8th completed our first full summer with teams from the states. Oh man! It's busy with so many people around. Over all it was a great success. (To all of you who are reading this, the kids talk about you all of the time. They say to tell you all that they want you to come back next year!! They continually read the names on the wall, and look at the armpit picture[Nathan Pace] And talk about you all) We'll incorporate some new things next year like a hike into the coffee fields to look for wild fruit as well as some new types of classes=) August 8th was also the day we left for Panama to renew our visas... Some would call this a vacation... But it's not! Think stress times two and that's what these short trips are... We made the best of it and saw a little bit more of the world while sweating profusely and getting eaten by fleas or bed bugs =/ This picture is when Erin lost her flip-flop in the water and then had to fish it out form the back porch.

On August 20th we completed two years of living here in Costa Rica! Hard to believe it's been that long. Needles to say, we're NOT fluent in spanish yet but we are getting acclimated to life here... It's not nearly as scary as it once was to live or just to be in certain places. We are finally getting into a groove and figuring out what we need to do to make life work here. One "life" thing to pray about is for a better living situation. Erin, being at home a lot with the kids, is realizing that without any space for the kids to play they really have a hard time. Plus our master bath is leaking through the celling and has created a huge mold spot in the garage, the celling of our back patio collapsed from the huge leak in the roof, the water goes out daily which is hard to work with because we can't do laundry or dishes when it's out. Also when the water is out we have to pump the water from the tank to the house which is very expensive!... So, while we don't want to move again, we are currently asking God to drop the perfect situation in our lap! A decent sized house with a yard to either rent or buy SUPER SUPER cheap=) How's that for a request!?

Well September has brought us more life... We shut the shop for 3 weeks for improvements. We'll start with classes again on tuesday. Ella danced in the independence day parade on the 15th and is about to lose her first tooth. Judah is continuing to learn more spanish and is super funny with all of his language questions. We had my mother-in-law here for 2 weeks, which was wonderful, especially for the kids, and now... life continues!

Again thank you all for your support! Thanks for reading! I'll leave you with this... God has called us to be happy! To be joyful! Not stressed. I have found that it's my own pressures... My own lists that rob me of my joy... Live each day without being worried about the next. Jesus said it in Matt 6 and I think he means it. Don't worry about tomorrow!! Do you remember that Jesus said,"I only do whet I see the father doing."? Well I don't think we have to be any different. I think that if; 1 we saw what he was doing and 2 we did ONLY that we would have a lot more joy and a lot less stress! He says, "come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

May Jesus, himself, give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation so you may KNOW HIM BETTER!

The robbery and the war

Well I wish it had just been a great move of God that caused me to write today. Erin and I have been trying to find time to tell you all about the great things that we've been doing in the last few months, such as the classes at the shop, my parents and Fredericks that are currently here now, having interns, etc. Unfortunately what has driven me to the computer is to ask you all to pray! Last night the shop was robbed. It could have been a lot worse but I believe that God was watching out for us. They cut one lock on the front roll-up gate and then broke the metal that held the other. When they got inside the gate there's another gate that swings like a door. they cut out a bar and squeezed in. They took all of my clamps and the new ones that had been donated to the shop, they took all of the hand saws and hammers, my orbital sander, the shops jitter bug sander, and two hand planes that were just donated a few months ago. The good part was that they didn't take any of the machinery or the scroll saw that was left on the table over night. They must have been in a hurry because they didn't even take my ipod that was on the wall! I don't know a lot about the spirituality of events like this but I am convinced that whether the enemy was responsible or not he will try to use it to scare us or attack us in some other way.

When I drove up this morning the kids were all waiting outside. As soon as they saw that my window was down they were saying, "sorry Jeremy, bad news." After we got inside and found out what was taken I had to tell the kids that we couldn't have class today. Obviously they were bummed but a few of them asked to learn english instead. I didn't know how the day would go so I told them we'd see but they should come back after lunch. (2 points here, I was glad they were there and concerned and I was really glad that they just wanted to be with us, not just make things:) ) Most of them left after a while but there were four or five who hung around. Jeff and I were busy figuring out what to do and making a list of what was taken and while I was walking by the door one of the kids got my attention. I went over to the door and he said, "so now what? are you going back to the united states tomorrow?" The thought hadn't even crossed my mind! I found it very interesting though that it would cross theirs. I told them no and said that we'd just have to figure out what to do next. I assured them that we'd be here doing something for a long time. I got to thinking about that one statement though. How many times has that happened? A missionary comes and because of something that infringes on their own property they leave. I never expected God to protect all of my stuff. I don't even know if I expect him to protect my life. If loosing my stuff or my life will show these kids that they're valued and loved that's ok. Take it. God uses all things for the good of those who love him. I am convinced of that. And if he wants to protect my stuff and life, all the better. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

So because of all of this, I believe that we are at war. We are at war with the enemy in his territory for the lives of these kids. We are at war with the enemy over the community of Los Guido. I know that the enemy is trying to use this already to cause fear and insecurity in me and the students. Will you stand with me in prayer to take back what the enemy has stollen? Will you right now pray for Los Guido? For our shop and the kids that come? The enemy struck first but I believe that through prayer we can push him back and claim more of the community for Christ. Pray with me for all of these things and for the future of the shop and our family. We want to see Jesus proclaimed to these people who live in fear everyday of having their stuff or their lives taken.

I will write more soon. I promise! I have a bunch of pictures to show too.

May the Lord give you a spirit of wisdom and understanding so that you would know him better.

The newest developments.

Well it's finally open! After many months of theorizing and speculating, looking and listening, cleaning and preparing, we finally opened the wood-shop in Los Guido!! Many of you saw the pictures of the shop that we rented on February first, and the amazing transformation that was started with the JMU (James Madison University) and Jupiter Christian groups in March. Since they left I have been frantically working to build sturdy shop tables, stools, and lots of other things to prepare the shop. Normally it wouldn't have taken me a month and a half to build, but I had to build everything out of pallet wood.

We have a company that throws them away and has agreed to call us whenever they have enough for us to take. It's been quite the experience trying to utilize this scrap wood and turn it into something usable. This is also the wood that we use for all of our class projects! I have really enjoyed the process of experimenting knowing that I will be able to teach these boys to use "trash" to make something beautiful and possibly make money with it.

On May 17th our first group of the summer arrived and while they were in orientation on the 18th, we officially opened for our first day! I had approximately 25 people come and ask about the classes the previous 3 days and so I had no idea how many kids to prepare for. I only have tools and space for 12 kids per class session and right now we have two classes per day. In the very first class we had four boys which was absolutely perfect. The class in the afternoon had four more. The next day it expanded to 14 over all and by thursday I had to turn kids away. I believe that after two weeks we have had 38 kids come and finnish at least one project! Our first project was a very simple shelf that required the boys to use hand saws, screwdrivers, hammers and a lot of sand paper. They also got a crash course in staining. Over all it was a big hit! Check out some of the pictures below.

These boys all returned to do project #2 which was a very small step stool. For this one they had to cut some curves and learn to use the coping saw. The younger boys just want to get on with the projects so they don't look all that great, but the older boys really excel and make some really nice projects! It's amazing already to see the boys opening up to me. I have already been able to share with a few of them the reason that we're here doing what we're doing. I shared with some of them, just this last Thursday, about how God has been faithful to me and loves us all so much. I know that in the future we will be able to get so much more in depth and really be able to share the love of Christ in different ways. Please pray that God will continue opening doors for me to speak into their lives. Pray also that God would bring those that really need to be there in and the rest would fall away. With only 12 spots in the class we really need God to be choosing who is there. It is always so hard to turn them away, especially when I can see the disappointment on their faces. Pray also for wisdom about how and when to expand. There are so many kids and so many more adults that would like to come and learn that I could literally have full classes 24 hours a day 7 days a week. This could get really draining on me and the family. Pray for me that God would show me exactly what my responsibility is and how to guard my time with my family.

Thank you to everyone who has come to help and all of you that support us financially. This is really an extension of your gifts! I pray that God would bless you all as you live your life and give so that we can see Him work through us here. Finances are a big thing for us but we know that God is bigger. If you'd like to give towards our need here or towards the shop you can contact Students International through the "contact us" button at www Stint.com. As a family we are still about %15 short of our goal and we are also needing to find people who'd like to support the shop in the future. Right now the shop is funded through August, but has a monthly expense of $700 for rent, utilities and supplies. Again thank you for your support of what God is doing!

Quick trip to Nicaragua

Can't believe it's really been over a month since our last post! For some reason to me, time seems to go ever so quickly here and doesn't give me fair warning of it happening. We've had a busy month of things like pajama parties, staff meetings, getting things ready for the wood shop to open, staff retreats, school field trips, and the normal every day happenings around here. When do things slow down?? And do they ever?!? My guess is not. The beautiful month of May brings Mother's Day, our anniversary, Erin's birthday, and 3 more birthdays of teammates! Whew!

We have also hit that lovely 3 month mark of having to leave the country again. Tomorrow we head to Nicaragua with the family and our friend Cailah. We're due for visa renewal once again. On one hand we look forward to these adventures, not too much is ever foreseen, but on the other hand, can we just get done with it already!! The logistics of these trips are time consuming and money consuming and sometimes come at inopportune times. At least now we'll make it through summer and teams before we have to leave again. Hopefully this will be one of the last times and that we'll have a more permanent status in the country soon.

Please pray for safe and fun travels for us. Crossing the border and coming back can be a timely process and at times stressful. Pray that we have smooth sailing through customs. Our son Judah as well has been battling some sort of a cold. Yesterday complained of a sore throat, today he broke out with a fever and has a swollen right eye. As I write, he is with Jeremy at the doctor (yes, at 10:20pm someone's open!) and being diagnosed. The doctor said he has a throat infection and is having some trouble breathing apparently because of that. They're checking him as well with a breathing device to help him. We'll see soon what needs to be done. Either way, we're headed out of town for 3 days tomorrow : ( We we're recalling the last time Judah was sick was 6 months ago when we were headed to Panama for a visa renewal as well. Please pray for our little guy that he recovers quickly and sleeps a lot in the car while we travel. God bless these little ones for putting up with the things we have to do sometimes. Our kids are amazing travelers and are always excited for an adventure. Let's hope that is the case early tomorrow morning! Blessings and thanks for praying!

Plans

Judah fell asleep playing one day

Grandpa and Judah reading Curious George

Ella and her friend Ethan. When asked who he'd marry when he grows up, his response was Ella. No pressure Ella. ; )

Judah about to dive into the presents

The superhero party was a success!

So as you might know, we moved into this house we're currently in last December. Before that, we were literally two doors up renting a house for more and with a landlord who could care less about helping us out with things. We like this place and I must say sorry for we haven't posted pictures of this house yet. I keep saying when I get a room clean I'll take a photo and eventually have a picture of each room of the house. I keep forgetting and only have a few photos so far! So the other day, Jeremy received a call from our new landlords (who are great by the way) asking us if we were interested in buying the home. The wife's father, who lives in the US, is needing desperately to sell this property because of money situations he's having. They knew we were possibly interested in eventually buying property if we can, in order to be responsible with our money, so they were offering it to us first. Otherwise they will be taking an ad out. Who really knows what's going to happen, and do we continue on with some projects around here that need to get done, or do we not? We want to be good tenants, but I also don't like sitting around waiting for someone to tell me what's going on.

On the flip side of things, our home in CA recently became rented again, yay! That's always a relief for us. We're not really the stressing kind, but it feels good not to worry about that. We've been thinking a lot also about that house and what an awesome blessing it would be to have it rented. We don't like being "tied" down to a mortgage payment, but selling the house in this market is impossible. I think I struggle a bit with thinking that we're over planning things. We really have no idea what the next 5 years will look like, so trying to plan for that seems ridiculous at times. We also want to be wise with the resources God has given us. When do we put down our agenda and just lay our lives in His hands? So many times I have it worked out. Is that really what He wants? At times the things He wants us to do look ridiculous, but that is right where He'd have us. Please pray with us that He would make it clear what we are to do. Do we look into buying a house here and pay a mortgage instead of rent? Do we try to sell the house in the states? He has a plan, I am thankful. James 4 has struck me anew lately. In v. 13-15 "'Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'" It's so comforting to me in a life of faith. God never said we'd be bored, that's for sure! Just when we think we got something figured out, the phone rings. Ha! I think God laughs a lot! Here are also a few photos, just because : )

January, the car saga, and the first team.

So I realize that it's been a little while since we updated our blog, we're gonna get better I promise!! We have plans to write once a week or once every other week at bare minimum. I think we've begun to settle into a rhythm with life here. The visit to the hospital is done, the kids are in school, I have a shop (i.e. a permanent place to work) and we're finally semi- done with the car saga.

Well first thing's first. I received an email this morning saying that I was acquitted of all charges relating to the accident in Limón. Apparently, now we have to wait for a second judge to review the case and make his verdict as well. The lawyer says that it all looks promising and that I shouldn't worry. If nothing else I have made friends with the lawyer. He seems to be a solid christian man who is very involved in outreach to the poor and in his church. At first I questioned his motives and wondered if he was sincere, but after spending two days together I believe that this relationship may be one of the fruits to come from this ordeal. On the way to our last court date he was encouraging me with Luke 18... It says," ⁶And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"" While we were driving I told him that I was worried about the corruption of the courts. He told me to listen to this verse on my ipod to make sure I understood what it said. It was so encouraging to have a brother beside me who could point me to scripture while I was stuck in my worry and disbelief.

Well the other bit of news is that we have our first team of the year here this week. I have ten students at the shop with me, double our normal capacity. Other than wondering what we're gonna do the rest of the week, it is going wonderful! The first day we painted about a third of the shop, started on a sound wall, and cleaned the bathrooms with some type of acid. Since then, we've almost finished painting, put up most of the wall, cleaned, received more wood, and finished all of the upgrade in the electrical for the back half of the shop. It looks wonderful! I am so pleased with the team and all of the work. It really is such a blessing to have people from all over the states who want to come work with me in things that they may never do again. Hopefully in the future we can put them in areas that complement their calling, but for now it's great how it is;)

Thank you all so much for reading, praying and your financial support! We wouldn't be here without you!

Beginnings

Well today was a day of firsts for Judah and I. Today was Judah's first day of school! We have been a little worried about how he'd handle it, but lets just get right to it... HE DID GREAT!! We had been talking about how he needed to be a big boy and not cry, he knew that he wouldn't know anyone he knew that people only spoke in spanish, but we didn't know how it would go. He woke up and was excited as I've ever seen him. He was excited to get dressed in his school shirt (kids wear uniforms here... I kinda like it;) He was excited to ride the bus (car's in the shop) He was excited to walk from the bus stop to the school... And then he was gone! Just walked right inside! The parents can't come past the gate so when we got there he just waked in, grabbed the teachers hand and was gone! Never even said goodbye. And what was the only thing he had to tell me when I came home at 6:00?... That he fell of the swing. Ha.

Today was also my first day of cleaning in the new shop! WooHoo!! Here is a picture of how it looks now.

This past monday Jeff and I went to look at it again and had decided on a price that we would pay. We didn't even have to "work him down." He lowered the price almost $200 dollars for us and gave us february free to clean and do repairs. So this morning I borrowed a pressure washer from our new landlords and went to work... More pics...

So I washed and scrubbed and finally had to buy some sort of acid and a big pry bar to chip the stuff off of the floor. Disgusting!!! There had been a mechanic in this shop for the last six or seven years. They had used the back corner and the back bathroom as storage for greasy parts and the used oil bin... It would have never happened in the states... The oil (and whatever else) was like concrete and took a lot of muscle to get it off. There was also paper, rags, paint, and the occasional nut all locked together in the blackness. After about 5 hours of work this is what it looks like.

Now all we have to do is: clean some more, put up a sound barrier for the apartments behind, build a security gate, build a locker for our tools, move the tools in, build a sliding wall, build tables, chairs and cabinets, invite kids and we're on our way. (it's really not that much)

So for all of you who pray, pray that God would dwell in this building, that kids would come, and that God would open the doors for me to build some great, lasting relationships. Also pray that our house would rent... It's really getting old having to worry about it.