Minnesota

The first stop on our month of travels was Minnesota. We were fortunate to see many friends and family there, and arrived just in time for -20 F temps! Thankfully, Olivia and Sawyer were able to go play in the snow enough to satisfy their desires, in spite of the cold. We also had an open house and were able to go up to my grandpa Rosell's farm one weekend and visit Rose City Church and share about Costa Rica there. Here's some pictures from our time there:

Cousins

From Trip to the States

Rosell Relatives

From Trip to the States

Roub New Year's Breakfast

From Trip to the States

"Christmas" Dinner

From Trip to the States

Games with Grandpa Tic Tac

From Trip to the States

Playing Trains

From Trip to the States

Exercise with Uncle Ethan

From Trip to the States

Silly Picture!!

From Trip to the States

Everybody was looking AND smiling!!

From Trip to the States

Way Behind!

We have been back in Costa Rica for a week now. . .and let's just say we have a lot of blog catch-up to do! Suffice it to say we had a super time in MN, CO, and CA. It was great to see so many of you! We wish we could have seen EVERYBODY, so we're sorry if we missed you. Next time. Or, we have a great spare room and enjoy visitors. . .just let us know when you're thinking of coming so we can coordinate around teams and help with all the details!

More later. . .I promise!

Dessert with the Dixons!

We have been greatly enjoying our time in the States visiting friends, family, and supporters. And Olivia and Sawyer have LOVED playing in the snow! We are amazed and encouraged by the amount of incredible people God has brought into our lives. We have been blessed.

For those of you in CA we are having a dessert to be able to connect with you and to share what God is doing in Costa Rica.

When: Friday January 22, 2010
Time: 7:00 pm
Where: Savior's Community Church (in the Mill)
515 E. Center
Visalia, CA

If you need directions please email us.

We hope to see you there!

In the States/Open Houses

On Sunday we traveled from San Jose to Minneapolis where we are enjoying spending time with Tracey's family and friends. Olvia and Sawyer are enjoying the snow! At every opportunity Olivia wants to bundle up and head outside. Sawyer was a little nervous about playing in the snow, but now that we are here seems to enjoy it. From MN we head to CO and from CO to CA.

We would like to connect with as many friends and supporters as possible during our time in the States. So we will be having open houses. We have ones scheduled in MN and CO and will let people know the details of the one in CA when we know them. Here are the details for the two in MN and CO:

Minnesota
When: Saturday January 2, 2010
Time: 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Where: Tracey's parents house in Ham Lake, MN
For directions please email us

Colorado
When: Sunday January 10, 2010
Time: 2:30pm - 5:00pm
Where: Jeff's parents house in Littleton, CO
For directions please email us

2009 Video

Below is a video slideshow that recaps 2009. We realized that we don't have a lot of great pictures of the various ministry sites we are involved in, but the ones included in the last section should give you a good idea of what we are up to. The first section shows some of the beauty of Costa Rica and a few shots of our family. Enjoy!

Lucy

A few weeks ago we added a new member to our family. Lucy, a beagle puppy, joined us. She is very sweet, sometimes hyper, and all-around fun to have around. The kids love her (sometimes a little too much. . .) Here's some pictures of her:

She likes to snuggle Mommy.

From Lucy

From Lucy

Bad dog! But so cute, hiding in the closet and making a 'nest' in the clothes.

From Lucy

The Luxury of Options

I get to spend Thursdays in the community of Las Fuentes. This is where Cailah Pritchard (there is a link to her blog on the right) works in a variety of activities. On Thursdays she has an after school type of program. Well actually since children go to school in either the morning or the afternoon, she has two sessions. One before school for those who go in the afternoon and one after school for those who go to to school in the morning.

I usually take the bus from our house to Las Fuentes, so that Tracey can have the car. In order to get there for the 10am start time I need to leave our house at 9am as I need to take 2 buses to get there. The total bus fare is about $0.80. Last week I had a few things I needed to get done before going to Las Fuentes. So I decided to take a taxi instead of riding the bus. I looked at the clock as I walked out the door 9:48am. I arrived right on time and the total cab fare was about $2.65.

Having options is a luxury that most of the people we work with do not have. Many will never have the option to decide to take a taxi instead of the bus even though the difference in the fares is usually less than $2.00. I started to think about many of the options I have in my life that many do not. Here are just a few of the options I have each day. I have multiple options of what to wear. I can open the refrigerator and choose what I want to eat. I can choose to watch TV, a movie, surf the web, read a book, play a game, etc. for entertainment. We can choose private or public schools for our kids. I can choose to take a taxi or a bus.

Do I feel guilty for having options? Sometimes. Should you feel guilty? No, that's not the point. The question I think we should ask is what is God calling me to do with the options he has given me? What options should I choose so that His kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven?