Thanksgiving Home Away From Home

We have so much to be thankful for this year! God has blessed us in so many ways...we have our health, friendships, needs and comforts, and we are so happy to be serving Him in Costa Rica. Most of all we are thankful that God uses broken vessels for His glory! What an awesome God we serve!

This Thanksgiving we gathered with our American friends who are also away from home serving the Lord here in Costa Rica. Of course, it wasn't grandma's house...but it came pretty darn close. We all pitched in to buy 20 roasted chickens (which ended up being even tastier than most turkeys) and brought several dishes each to complete our dinner. One lady who recently visited the states thought ahead and brought real sweet potatoes back in her luggage to share with all of us! We shamelessly admit we licked our plates clean and enjoyed every bite! After we were sufficiently stuffed we all hung out and played card games...what a blast!

Prayer Requests

Here are some things to pray for:

• Praise God that our house has sold! We closed escrow, were able to pay off our school loans, and we are officially debt free! Praise the Lord!

• Pray for continued language acquisition. We are now at the point where we have learned enough for it to be frustrating when we can't understand something or say what we want to say. Pray that we can push through and finish the last four weeks of the trimester well!

• Ask for health and protection from illness. Our school has been like a petri dish, especially in Caedon's classroom. Nathan is currently battling a major strep infection and Kendyl has Scarlet fever. They are on antibiotics. Please ask for speedy recovery and protection for Jamie and Caedon.
  

• Praise Him for providing financially. We have continued to have just what we need right when we need it! It's so amazing to see how God provides!

Thank you for covering us in prayer!

Spaghetti Night with Don Jose

When we arrived here, it didn't take long for us to strike up a relationship with our street guard, Don Jose. After all, his guard shack is 30 feet away from our front door and he hangs out there practically 24/7.
Jose was born here in San Jose, and has lived here his entire life. He has been the guard in our neighborhood for 12 years and works 12 hours a day, 365 days a year. He told us that this job was the biggest blessing of his life. He explained that before being a guard, he was an unemployed alcoholic and he spent his days just drinking. As a guard, he is responsible for others, is around people all day, and is friends with many homeowners in the neighborhood, all of which prevents him from drinking. He has been sober since he got the job 12 years ago and gives the glory to God!
Among other things, we quickly learned that Jose's favorite "american" food is... SPAGHETTI! So every time we make spaghetti (usually a couple times a month) we bring him a big bowl full. If only we had the camera ready the first time. As Nathan walked up to his door with the spaghetti, his face just lit up like a light and he said, "Que es eso?" with a huge grin!

Some Sights

We just thought we'd share with you a few our daily sights around town...with a few cute pics of the kids thrown in of course! Enjoy!

Click play, then the pause button. Then you can arrow forward with more time to look.