Bittersweet

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for my grandma, and for our family. Grandma Rosell went to be with Jesus yesterday a little before 4p.m. It was a peaceful passing, with Grandpa, my mom and all her siblings surrounding her bedside. You can read about it at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/donnarosell.

I've said before that it is hard to be in Costa Rica knowing that all of this is going on 'back home.' Even more so at this point. We have been praying that God would be merciful and end Grandma's suffering. He has, even if not in the way we initially hoped. She is now completely healed and worshiping Jesus, and we are so happy for her. However, those of us who are left behind are suffering because of her absence, especially Grandpa. Please pray for him. Almost 60 years of marriage is a long, blessed time. Pray that God would wrap his arms around Grandpa in a very close and special way during this next season. Grandma was an amazing lady, whose influence has been felt far and wide. We pray that her legacy of obedience to and love for Jesus touch many, many generations to come! We are thankful that her suffering is over, and that we have the hope of being reunited with her again. But, we will all grieve as well. It will be a hard Christmas, among many other hard things.

God, help us; we were not meant for this.

December Newsletter +

We recently sent out our latest prayer and update letter, so be watching for it in the mail, complete with Costa Rican stamp! If, however, you'd like a sneak peak, click on this link (bonus: it's the color version). December Newsletter We will also be emailing it to those of you whose home addresses we do not have.

A couple of quick things:

*I forgot to mention our health in the newsletter. Our immune systems seem to be fighting every new germ they meet, and we have been sick a lot here. PLEASE pray for health!

*We are scurrying to find a vehicle and a new home! We've seen a few of each. . .so far nothing has panned out. PLEASE PRAY that God will provide 'just the right' of each. We need a car that will fit our family, be versatile for guests, reliable, good price (HA!), etc., etc.. And we need a house that is close to our ministry area, that fits our family and possibly holds space for an SI office, is in a safe and convenient area, and has a yard (is that too much to ask??? I'm asking anyway!!) Also, the quicker the better. . .Olivia keeps asking about a Christmas tree. . . Please pray as the Lord leads you for these things! Thank you so much!

Thanksgiving

We had a great thanksgiving celebration with our teammates. Of course we went to school in the morning and then celebrated in the afternoon. We looked for the traditional turkey, but the best we found was a 15lb bird for about $40. So we decided to pass and Erin Janzen roasted two lovely chickens instead. Following dinner the kids all made pilgrim hats out of cookies and peanut butter cups. Below is a slide show of our Thanksgiving festivities:

In Process!

The words, "In Process," have never sounded so sweet. After our appointment at Immigration on Tuesday, plus a little more work from our lawyer, Juan Edgar, later in the week, to re-authenticate our paperwork and re-submit it (part of the normal procedure--actually we would have had to go back in Feb. for an appointment to re-authenticate if he hadn't done it himself!), we are OFFICIAL!! We will not have our cedulas (like a soc. security card/number) until our paperwork receives final approval, which could take anywhere from a couple of months to a couple of years. . .but until then we are free to stay in the country and have residency rights--or at least some; we'll keep you updated. The biggest thing is that we don't have to leave every 3 months on a tourist visa. This will obviously save us lots of time and money!

A few impressions of our experience with La Migración. :) First of all, let me say that I'm sure the immigration office does have a system of organization. It has to. However, I cannot say how it was organized. We basically went into this huge partially-partitioned room with desks lining 2 walls and crowds of people sitting on chairs. Some of the desks had signs above them indicating who could be helped where, but not all. The section we went to (with Juan Edgar) was for lawyers with appointments only. This was the only section that had plexiglass in front of the desks (not sure why). Anyway, it made it a little hard to communicate with the lady behind it, and of course everyone's meeting was public. We waited for about an hour (not too bad, actually) for our appointment. Then J.E. and the Licensiada behind the glass exchanged, stamped, signed and organized all the papers. A couple of times Jeff had to run outside for some timbres, which are stamps that the lawyers stick on your paperwork to make it official (it shows you've paid the right amount, among other things.) The best part about the timbres was the place Jeff bought them. It was a little portable booth outside the gate of the Immigration campus with a hand-painted sign. Besides the timbres, they also sell snacks, drinks and cigarettes! Nothing like government, is there?!

Thank you for praying with us through all of this! Please pray now that nothing will get in the way of our final approval and that it will happen quickly. We also need to figure out the best way to advise our team, as well as future staff, about residency/visas, etc. So much fun. Pray that we would be able to learn the system quickly and be wise in all of this!

Residency

Costa Rica has recently changed its residency laws. How does that affect us? Good question! We would like to know as well. We are in the process of applying for temporary residency. Residency would make life easier for us. It would allow us to have cell phones (you are not able to get a cell phone unless you are a resident), make other logistics easier, and would allow us to stay in the country for longer periods of time. Without residency our option is to stay on a tourist visa. Tourist visas are good for 3 months. So each 3 months we would need to leave Costa Rica for 72 hours and then re-enter on another tourist visa. This would not be the end of the world, but would be inconvenient and an unexpected expense. However, we hear Nicaragua and Panama are good places to spend a long weekend :).

We have an appointment with immigration on Tuesday, November 18 at 10am. Please be praying for this appointment. Pray that we would have favor in the eyes of the immigration officials and that our paperwork would be approved. Pray for a clear understanding of the immigration laws and their impact on us and the rest of our team. Pray that God would give us and our lawyer, Juan Edgar, wisdom and the right words to say on Tuesday.

Strategic Planning

strategic |strəˈtējik|
adjective
relating to the identification of long-term or overall aims and interests and the means of achieving them : the company should take strategic actions to cope with fundamental changes in the environment | strategic planning for the organization is the responsibility of top management.
• carefully designed or planned to serve a particular purpose or advantage : alarms are positioned at strategic points around the prison.
(New Oxford Dictionary)

I am sitting at the airport in Dallas Texas on my way to Strategic Planning meetings for Students International. These meetings are significant as we are in the process of developing a strategic plan to continue to carry out the God given mission and vision of Students International over the next several years. Of course these plans will need to be adapted along the way, but this weekend could go a long way towards determing direction for SI in the next few years. Please be praying for these meetings. Pray that we would follow God's agenda and hear His voice. We only want to do what God is calling us to do. No less, no more.

Please also be praying for Tracey, Olivia, and Sawyer while I am away. Pray that this weekend would be an "easy" weekend for them. Both Olivia and Sawyer have been sick at different times this past week, so please pray for health as well.

Oasis de Esperanza

I looked over at the clock Sunday morning as the alarm was going off. 5:32! I had overslept! I leapt (okay more of a groggy roll) out of bed and woke Tracey up. We needed to leave in an hour for church. An hour later we walked out the door, found a taxi to one of Tracey's teacher's houses to go to church with her and her family. We walked into church as the worship team was singing the first song just after 7 a.m.

Tracey's teacher, Anna, invited us to go to church with her and her family. They attend the largest church in Costa Rica (Their website says that 10,000 people attend their services). It feels like you are walking into any large church anywhere in the States, except for the language. The church is called Oasis de Esperanza (Oasis of Hope). We enjoyed a powerful time of praise and worship and were encouraged and challenged by a sermon about walking in the Spirit. Olivia and Sawyer enjoyed their classes as well.

Following church we went to Ana's house and enjoyed breakfast and visiting with Ana, her husband Federico, their daughter Gloriana, and their son Federico Jr., who is the same age as Olivia and in her per-school class during the week. We have spent a lot of time praying for various things in preparation of moving and since we have been here. A couple of things that I have overlooked a bit in prayer have been that we would find a church home and for Tico friends. Sunday was a great day of fellowship that we greatly enjoyed as well as a great time of worshiping our King. Please join us in praying for both a church home and Tico friends.