The Dixon Diary

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

What a day!

There are times that I wonder. I wonder if I will ever have a commanding grip on Spanish, I wonder if we are moving in the right direction, I wonder if we are actually making a difference, I look around the table at a staff meeting and I wonder why I am one of the leaders (along with Tracey) when any of the people around the table are more than capable. I wonder. It is what I do, I analyze things and look at them from a variety of angles. Perhaps I over analyze and then I analyze some more.

It is because of my tendency to wonder and to be perhaps a little harsh on myself that I cherish days like yesterday. As I have done several times before yesterday I spent the day taking someone to visit SI Costa Rica's ministry sites. But yesterday was a little different than previous times. Usually I am showing around fellow North Americans. Often with the hopes that they will bring a team back or somehow be involved in what we are doing. Yesterday I showed around a Tico friend named Jonathan Campos. Jonathan works at a church helping to coordinate their community programs. I was showing him around to help him get a better understanding of who we are and what we do, as well as to spend time talking about ways we can partner together.

I was curious about what he would think. He was very impressed with what we are doing, and had numerous ideas for how we can work together. The church he works at is a large church and is very well connected with various resources in and around San José, and he is excited about connecting us with some of those contacts. It was encouraging to get some feedback from someone outside of SI who thought we were on the right path and who took it a step further wanting to be involved with us.

We ended our time together by visiting a house the church uses to host various community programs in a neighborhood called La Capri. At the moment the church's activities are all in the evenings and on the weekends. He invited us to use the house during the daytime throughout the week. This looks like the neighborhood where Dustin, our newest staff member, will begin to invest his time and where we will launch our next ministry site. We are very excited to expand our partnership with this church and to begin a new site. Please pray with us for guidance in this process. That God would give Jonathan, Dustin, and myself creativity, wisdom, and unity as we design and implement various programs.

So at times I wonder, maybe even doubt, and then God gives me days like yesterday. God spoke to me encouraging my heart to press on. He also told me to turn my wondering into dreaming about what might be and then to use the analytical gifts and skills he has given me to help make those dreams a reality.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Tim

While we were in Visalia we had the privilege of sharing at Savior's on a Sunday morning. Our thought was to share not so much about what we do, but about what God had been teaching us with the hopes that perhaps God would use it to someone's life. So both Tracey and I prepared to share and felt prepared. Well as I (Jeff) was sharing it felt like I was stumbling over my words, I was struggling to tie my thoughts together and it felt as if it wasn't connecting. When I have the opportunity to speak I often pray that God will push me out of the way and do what he desires. So as a closing song played my prayer was that even though I felt like it hadn't gone as I wanted that God would keep pushing me aside and speak to those that were there.

After the service we had a lot of friends we wanted to connect with as we had not been at Savior's since we moved to Costa Rica. After talking to people for a while I was gathering our things to leave when a guy I had never seen or met before grabbed me and we started to talk. He introduced himself as Tim. I was humbled as he told me that God spoke to him through me and that it was exactly what he needed to hear. He was passionate about how he just wanted to know Jesus better and to follow him. As we talked a couple other people joined us including Mark and Kathleen Condie (Mark is the pastor at Savior's) and he mentioned that he was not saved and didn't feel like he had a relationship with Jesus. But that someday he would. We of course asked him why not today and so Tim committed his life to Jesus that day, confessed his need for a Savior, and his commitment to follow Jesus.

Now I don't know at what point salvation becomes salvific, nor do I necessarily want to know. I don't think it is not a magic formula or necessarily a moment that can be pinpointed. Rather I think it may be more of a process and Tim was definitely in process when our paths crossed that day. And I was privileged to be there at the moment the process took an important step. In talking to him I would have sworn he was a passionate follower of Jesus. He had more passion and life in his eyes than most people I know who have been following Jesus for years. I pray that as Tim's process of getting to know Jesus continues that his passion doesn't wane.

This encounter with Tim is also a perfect illustration of what God has been teaching me. What he cares about is obedience not success. If we are obedient to be about what he calls us to (most importantly to know him) he will take care of the results. Even on a day when it feels like nothing goes as we planned.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Christmas pictures. . .a bit late. . .

So, I was looking back over our blog and realized we never posted Christmas pictures from our own family Christmas. Maybe that's because we left the country shortly after and we didn't have time, but since I'm on a blogging marathon catch-up, I might as well include Christmas, too.

Starting with our SI Staff Christmas Party

From Christmas 2009

In front of the Christmas tree (can you tell it got pulled over 2x?)

From Christmas 2009

The cast of our church Christmas play, "El Arca de Noe" (Noah's Ark; go figure). Note the cute little donkey trying to be in character. :)

From Christmas 2009

In character again. Can you tell her costume is too small? It was made for a tico-sized 5 year old.

From Christmas 2009

The Christmas Canata I sang in with our church: No Fue Una Noche Mas (Not Another Silent Night is the English version, I think.)

From Christmas 2009

We took a day "off" and headed to Volcán Irrazú.

From Christmas 2009

Olivia LOVES her new bike!

From Christmas 2009

And Sawyer LOVES his new tools!

From Christmas 2009

So, um, Merry Christmas 2009!

And the new school year begins!

Olivia started Kindergarten last week--I can't believe it!!! And Sawyer began another year of preschool. The typical school year here is from February to mid-December. Olivia loves her school, Tio Conejo, so far, as well as her teacher, Teacher Andrea. Sawyer is a little resistant to going to school in the mornings, but then always seems to have had a good day by the time we pick him up. His teachers said the first day that he seemed to miss having Olivia there, and he keeps telling us he wants to be in "prepa" (kindergarten) like Olivia, and talks about his Tio Conejo. Here are some pictures--I should have taken a picture of all the stuff they needed for school! It amazes me, as a teacher who was not allowed to require even a pencil from my students, how much stuff is left for parents to supply here--aka, everything!

Here's Sawyer on his first day:

From Beach, 1st Day of School, Arca de Noe

And here's Olivia, with Teacher Andrea:

From Beach, 1st Day of School, Arca de Noe

And with classmates:

From Beach, 1st Day of School, Arca de Noe

September 14-ish, 2010

THAT is the estimated due date for our New Baby!! Dixon Baby #3 is on it's way, and we are all super excited! So far, everything looks great and I am feeling pretty good/tired. . .and very pregnant. Olivia is looking forward to being a big sister again; Sawyer isn't quite sure what to think. He keeps telling us he has babies in his tummy, too, and in his legs. . .and sometimes kitties and puppies. :) We'll see.

It will be interesting having a baby in Costa Rica. Medical care is good, and babies are born every day here (!), so we're not too worried, but we do need to choose wisely and work out all the doctor/hospital details. This baby will be a dual citizen, which we think is pretty neat--gotta figure all that out, too. Anyway, we feel blessed and would appreciate your prayers for this new life, all the transition for our family, and all the birthing/having-a-baby-in-another-country-and-second-language details.

Here's the 9 week ultrasound:

California

And, finally, we spent our busiest 2 weeks in Visalia, California. And wouldn't you know it--we didn't take any pictures there! Isn't that terrible?! Not that I'm the best photo document-er anyway. . .oh well. If anyone took pictures. . .maybe we can work something out?

A big thank you to Mike and Carol Alipaz for letting us stay with them; it was a blessing to have a home-away-from-home. They also watched Olivia and Sawyer A LOT while we ran around doing all we needed to do. A big thank you, also, to the Savior's home groups, and Carrie Konig for organizing them; they helped purchase MANY of the things on our 'list.' Thanks for being a practical part of our lives in Costa Rica--Olivia and Sawyer are lovin' those fruit snacks and lunch boxes!

So what all did we do in CA? (Warning: this crude summary doesn't begin to do justice to the quality of time spent!) We connected with 3 supporting churches and 2 of their mission boards, and spoke at 2 of those churches, plus Savior's youth group. We had another open house, visited with MANY amazing friends, popped into the SI office, and did a lot of shopping (Thanks Tricia for accompanying me!).

CA was kind of a whirlwind, but it was so wonderful to see everybody. The same can be said of MN and CO. We so love and appreciate each one of you! Your influence on our lives is immeasurable. Thank you to each of you for the part you have played in who we are and who we are becoming. And thanks to all of you who attended one of our open houses, or listened in some other capacity to what we have been up to and what God is doing in Costa Rica. Your prayers, moral, and financial support mean the world to us. Jeff and I both agreed after our trip that we were exhausted from all our travels. But more than that, we were BLESSED and ENCOURAGED so much by each one of you! It's very easy to feel alone out here, and to become discouraged--but you all reminded us of the truth--we are not alone; YOU are connected to us here--and a big part of why we are here, and how we got here! The body of Christ is so mysterious and amazing; thanks for helping us understand it a little better! We love you all!