Tickets Have Been Purchased

Last week we bought tickets for Costa Rica! We leave Wednesday morning August 20th!

Current Temperatures

Visalia, CA: 108
San Jose, Costa Rica: 69

Enough Said!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

While both sets of grandparents were here visiting we decided to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It has been on our list of things we wanted to do and we decided it was now or never. We had a great time! Olivia and Sawyer enjoyed watching the fish. Sawyer especially enjoyed the otters! After we left the otter tank we heard him say "mo ottr" the rest of the day. While Olivia enjoyed watching the fish she was not too sure about touching them as you can see in one of the pictures. We are thankful to have had the opportunity to go and enjoy the wonders of the sea and to spend time with both the Roubs and the Dixons.

Birthdays

Sawyer and Olivia are now 2 and 4 respectively. Sawyer turned 2 on June 25th and Olivia turned 4 on July 2nd. About a week ago we had a party for them filled with kiddie swimming pools, princesses, Thomas the Train, friends, and family (Both sets of grandparents were here for a visit and at the party)! Here are a few pictures from our time in the sun:

June Newsletter

Our June newsletter will go out in the mail in the next couple of days. If you are just itching to read it you can download it with the link on the right. It is in the "Newsletter" section and titled "June 2008." Creative titles don't you think?

That's God's job!

As we prepare to move to Costa Rica God has been impressing upon my heart the reality that we will see some difficult situations. People in desperate need of help, so much so that it will be overwhelming. He has been speaking to us and the rest of our team that he is the one who will do the work and that we only need to be obedient to follow his voice. It is not our job to right every wrong, to bring justice to injustice, and to defend the weak and oppressed That's God's job! He chooses to use us to do those things from time to time, but ultimately that is his responsibility. How comforting and reassuring that thought is as we prepare. We find great hope in passages like Psalm 146:

Praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD, O my soul.

I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortal men, who cannot save.

When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,

the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
the LORD, who remains faithful forever.

He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free,

the LORD gives sight to the blind,
the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,
the LORD loves the righteous.

The LORD watches over the alien
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

The LORD reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the LORD.

Kings and Commanders

Kings and Commanders is a crazy game that is a mix of capture the flag, dodge ball, and too many other elements to explain. A friend of ours in Connecticut, Jeff Panasci, invented this game and all the necessary equipment (two large rubbermaid bins worth) about a year ago or so. Members of his church, young and old, have been playing it enthusiastically ever since. We (Tracey and I) had the privilege of playing with them a couple of weeks ago while we were in Connecticut visiting Riverbank Christian Worship Center.

We have been connected to this church for a few years as it is a sister church of our church, an SI board member is part of it, we spent a week with them 3 years ago, numerous SI recruiting trips in the area, and we were in the Dominican Republic on a family outreach with several families from it a year and a half ago.

I mention this crazy game as it was indicative of our time with them. While we were only there for a few short days they welcomed and embraced us. We had a the opportunity to share what God is doing in and through us as we prepare to move to Costa Rica in an informal fellowship time and on Sunday morning. We had a great time of fellowship and left encouraged and empowered.

Thank you to Joe and Ruth Mascia (and Jordan and Joel) for hosting us during our time there, to the leadership and mission committee for inviting us to come, and to the entire church for your warm embrace of us. We look forward to staying in relationship with you all and to seeing how God will continue to intertwine our lives.