15,000 words more or less

 The view from the porch.  So many shades of green and red!

 The "chicken coop" that currently houses our trash and recycling.  Also doubles as a playhouse.  The gate to the right goes up the mountain to the lookout and bonfire pit.

View through the fence where we are going to plant some veggies.

 Tucker, who we adopted with the house, and Cici.  Thankfully, they get along wonderfully.  I think they got mixed up about their beds, however. . .

 The road that runs in front of the house.  To the left is Desamparados Centro, to the right Patarrá and Los Guido.

 Bathroom #1.  Fun and spacious.  To the left is a HUGE closet.

 Sawyer's room which doubles as a guest room. At such times he is happy to sleep on the floor in the other bedroom.

 Olivia and Lynnea's room.  Check out the perfect bed nook.

 Master bedroom.  Windows, windows, windows!

 Bathroom #2, aka master bathroom.  Shower and toilet are to the left, but I wanted to highlight the storage area!

 The AMAZING kitchen!  It is about 3 or 4 times bigger than each of the other kitchens we've had here, plus tons of cupboards and counter tops.  And WINDOWS!!

 The dining room.

 The living room.  Beautiful wood, and more windows!  The area behind the couch houses books, art supplies, toys, and some boxes that still need to be unpacked.

 From the driveway.  The kids now have room to ride scooters and bikes.  They also love the basketball hoop.

Looking up the left side of the house to the patio/laundry area.

I realized I didn't get a good shot of the actual porch, which is also AWESOME, nor of the mountain or fire pit.  But, in order to get some pictures up here, those will just have to wait for another post. . .  

Thank you to all who have prayed (and prayed and prayed) with us about housing!  Thank you, Jesus, for this over-the-top provision!!  Praise him with us?!!

1 + Months Already!!

Many of you have heard that we moved into the amazing house that I posted about a few months ago.  It's TRUE.  It all happened quickly at the end, but here we are.  God is GOOD.  Praise God with us!  We were in the middle of hosting teams and other guests, so I hadn't had time to do more than post a few random pictures on Facebook.  Entonces, I'm making myself sit down to write a post that will hopefully fill in some of the details.

Essentially what happened is that the missionaries that own this house really want/ed to sell it.  It would have been so much easier for them to return to Canada without a house here in Costa Rica to think about.  They all-but-sold it twice, but backed out of each deal for lack of peace and a conviction that they weren't supposed to sell to either of those couples.  So, after that roller-coaster ride, knowing that we were really interested in it, but without a way to buy it, they asked if we'd rent it while they took some more time to pray and regroup.  So, after a couple of conversations working out the details, we packed our stuff and moved it over.  (At the end it all came together in maybe a week or something!?!)

So here we are.  We keep marvelling at the way God has worked things out.  "We get to live here?  Really?"

This property is truly amazing.  We are still very close to our office, ministry sites, host families, etc.  We are on the main road (our only reminder that we are, in fact, still in the city), but surrounded by fruit trees, grass and flowers.  There is an amazing 'mountain' that rises behind the house to the bonfire pit and a breathtaking view of San Jose.  The house is spacious, has an amazing kitchen, porch, and tons of windows.  I'm serious about the windows.  Somehow washing dishes isn't so bad when you have a great view.

We have already had the privilege of hosting Jeff's parents and our nephew Thomas, as well as Nate and Maggie Slabach, as overnight guests.  And we've been able to host cultural activities/bonfires with 2 different teams, plus a couple of other activities.  Amid the many unpacked boxes and chaos of moving (our guests have all been very gracious!) we have been in awe to see God fulfil this sueño (dream) and allow us to steward such a place as this.  May we steward well.

Olivia, Sawyer, and Lynnea are all thrilled, too.  I was watching Sawyer playing outside yesterday, running and shouting and throwing and other boy-things, and it struck me again how much God cares not only about our ministry, but also about our kids.  I trust that the years that we have lived without a yard and without amazing windows have been for great purposes, too.  But my mommy heart cried out for nature and space for my kids--Sawyer especially--and God has answered in such a big way that my heart spins.  I have no way of knowing how long we will live in this house, but for this time I am thankful beyond words.

God, I was crazy to hope for something like this, to ask you for something so great; you are spoiling us and I don't deserve it, but thank you.

Please pray for the Hilstad family as they transition back to life in Canada, and that God's will would continue to be done with this house.

Pictures to follow soon!!

PS Another great thing that God has worked out of this is that the landlords of the old house were willing to hold that house for our new teammates, the Fasts, who will be arriving this week.  They will be cozy as a family of 6, but the location is perfect for them as they settle in and get to know Desamparados, especially without a car right away.  They'll be walking distance from the language school, groceries, the SI-CR office, preschool and bus lines.  The other advantage is that we can have it set up for them before they get here.  Friends, God is a God of details.

More Housing Prayer Requests :)

If you've followed our adventure in Costa Rica at all, or have prayed for us even occasionally, you know that we desire to buy a house here.  Sparing you the monotonous details, we need to make some decisions about housing again in the near future.  Our rental contract will be up soon for this 'new' house we moved into last year.  We have also been keeping our eyes open (though not really actively looking) for properties for sale.

So here's the deal:
Please PRAY!  We need direction from God.  Pray that we will hear him clearly, that he will open and close doors very specifically.  Things like location, finances, hospitality possibilities, and a yard are all important to us.

*If we are supposed to stay in this house--that we could arrange a new, fair contract, that any rise in rent would be minimal.

*If we are supposed to keep renting but move somewhere new--that God would lead us to the right place, in the right timing (around team / summer / semester schedules), be for long-term, and close the door to the house we are in currently

*If we are supposed to buy something--that God would drop the right thing in our laps, provide for a low-intrest rate loan and down payment, etc.

*If we are supposed to buy THIS house:  (Click below and check it out!)

A House We REALLY Like!

--That we would know, the owners would know, and that all the finances would come together.  Please pray specifically about this one!!  Last year there was a house we were interested in and it sold within a week of seeing it.  I actually called on it to move forward and it had sold the day before!  God gave us great peace about that situation--it wasn't for us.

We are praying the same for this opportunity, too, something like this, "God, if this is the place, please open the door wide, and provide a way for us to be able to financially make this happen.  If it is not for us, please let someone else sweep in and buy it quickly--have mercy and don't let us get our hopes up if it is a closed door."

So, hopefully you've looked at the pictures and are wowed.  :)  Let me just emphasize some of the things we love about this property.  Of all the ba-jillions of properties we've looked at, this is pretty much what we've been praying for.  It is in a great, safe location for us and our ministry sites, has a lot of land (WAY more than we need!), and has great possibilities for adding a guest room/suite (or 2).  There is a bonfire pit at the top of the hill, and a great spot for camping out.  It's an older home, but the missionaries who own it have done a ton of work on it, so it is 'move-in ready,' which we love because we have neither time nor know-how to do much more than paint and take care of occasional fix-ups.  The kitchen is A.MAZING.  Go look at the kitchen pictures again.  Amazing, right?  We would be so spoiled.  And there are tons of windows through the whole house, making for lots of natural light and great ventilation.

So, what's the catch???

First of all, we've been pretty cautious through this whole process to pray and seek God's direction for all the houses we've looked at, so we want prayer and confirmation from those who love and know us, and our situation, best.  We feel accountable to all of you who make it possible for us to be here, who support us, pray for us, encourage us.  Bottom line is that we want to live where God wants us to live--exactly where he wants us to live.  Just because we've found what we think is the 'perfect thing' doesn't mean it's really what God wants for us.  I've written about this before that maybe sometimes God doesn't really care where people live, but in our case, we need to be accessible, not too far away from our staff and ministry, etc.

The second thing is finances.  Real estate in the San Jose area is not cheap.  From a human standpoint, we cannot afford this house.  The owners are asking $225,000.  For as close to the city as it is, as much land as it is, the condition of the house, etc., this is a VERY GOOD price.  It appraised for $100,000 MORE than they are asking.  Whoever gets this property will be getting a really great deal.  There are other houses close to us that are not as nice, with little or no yards, that are also around that price.  (The one we are in currently is selling for about $140,000, which is a fair price, but doesn't have a lot of future possibilities.)  Anyway, if this is the house for us, God will be doing a miracle.  Plain and simple.  And he will get all the glory for that.

Soooooo, we want to put some feelers out and ask for input.  Are we CRAZY to even look at this as a possibility???  Does it seem like a good deal?  What is God telling you about it?  Does it seem wiser to keep renting?  Inflation is so crazy here and rents go up all the time. . . we do not relish the idea of moving every couple of years. . . Is it wise to buy?  Would we be able to resell?  Should we sell our house in Visalia?  Any insights or creative ideas for financing???   Bottom line: Pray for God's will to be obviously clear.

If you have any questions or anything, please contact us.  And thank you.  Thank you for praying about these things with us!

Earthquakes and Rocks

"For the mountains may move
and the hills disappear, 
but even then my faithful love for you will remain. 
My covenant of blessing will never be broken," 
says the LORD, who has mercy on you.  
Isaiah 54:10

The LORD is my rock, 
my fortress, 
and my savior; 
my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.  
He is my shield, 
the power that saves me, 
and my place of safety.  
Psalm 18:2

Haven't blogged for awhile.  Sometimes too many half-formed ideas and thoughts are swimming around, percolating, in my mind and I can't pin them down enough to write about them.  But this is a big idea that God  has been teaching me in the last season or two.  I think I can write about it now.

Some things have happened around us this past year that have been really hard.  Things that have been both harder and easier for us to watch and be a part of because we live "far away."  Many times I have thanked God for his mercy because we have possibly been spared a lot of heartache due to distance; other times I have maybe grieved more deeply because we couldn't be closer to help and be more involved.  We have likened these events to many things, but I think the most accurate description would be that they have been like earthquakes.  Earthquakes in the sense that sometimes we take for granted certain aspects of our lives as givens, and then something happens to shake it all up, mess it all up, or even just plain change it all.

I look up to the mountains-
does my help come from there?
My help comes from the LORD
who made heaven and earth!  
Psalm 121:1-2

How many times have I looked to the mountains for help?  Counted on the mountains and the things I considered constants in life to be there, to help me---only to have them be shaken, torn down, disappeared?  People, churches, jobs, families, health, hearts--they can all change.  Loyalties can shift, things die.  Some changes are good and for positive reasons.  But usually there is also loss and grieving, even in the best of changes.  The things I once thought would always be around seem to be so swiftly  shaken up and swept away. 

So, where does my help come from?  Who is my Rock?  If everything around or in us falls apart, where do we turn?  Although I always knew the right words, this last year I have really seen, really been learning, that God is the only rock that will never be moved.  My loyalty is to God alone.  My trust is in God alone.  God is my only refuge, my place of safety, my only shield.  The mountains may move--in fact they probably will--but God will always be the constant that does not crumble.  God will strengthen, God will save, God will redeem, and God will bless.  My hope is in him.

Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will not be shaken. 
Psalm 62:5-6

Pasantes Especiales/Special Interns

These two young men helped us launch an internship program this year, and we are so proud of their work.  Justin and William are on the soccer team in Los Guido that is part of our SI-CR sports ministry.  They had both dropped out of high school, which is pretty common, but makes future job possibilities bleak.  Both of these guys had demonstrated leadership qualities, and at the beginning of 2013 we were in need of some extra help in our ministry sites.  Hence the idea to start a program to help young people finish high school (or go to trade school) while gaining valuable resume experience, give them an opportunity to be discipled, AND provide real help in our ministry sites. 

We weren't sure how it would go, but we're happy to report that it has been a good year. William and Justin have truly been a support and blessing to the sites they've been a part of, and we are all very grateful for their willingness to be guinea pigs.  Of the 4 young men who started the program in January they are the only two who finished the year.  William successfully completed a certificate program in basic electronics and Justin took a giant leap forward toward being a professional soccer player as he played regularly for a local second division team.  They  also served in our sports, social services, and micro business ministry sites.  They were a tremendous help!

As is usually the case, this program would not have been a success without God's faithful hand and many hours of hard work by our incredible co-workers.  All of our staff invested in some way in these two lives.  I (Jeff) enjoyed getting to know these two guys who are both filled with potential and have many challenges to overcome.  Throughout the year I had the privilege to laugh, cry, and pray with them.  We had several heart-to-heart conversations as we rode the roller coaster of life together, and as I tried to learn the balance between loving mentor and stern boss.  What a privilege it was to watch as both took significant steps forward in their faith journey.  In the midst of the business and the to-do lists, working with William and Justin was a reminder of why we do what we do.  They are two lives in the midst of transformation.  Yet a funny thing often happens when we seek to serve and see lives transformed, as God often does a work in our own lives.  As I sought to mentor and to teach I found myself being the student, as I learned much from these two young men.  Thank you William and Justin for being good teachers!

That Explains It

Sawyer has hated church for as long as I can remember.  It's boring.  It's loud (he plugs his ears most of the time during worship).  It's hot.  There're too many people.  This has created problems for us, his missionary parents.  How embarrassing that this cute little blondie-foreigner cannot sit still on a chair in a crowd of people and ends up kicking them, or shouting out at the quietest moment, or in some other way is at best a distraction for sweet old ladies that want to worship and learn, or for other families whose children sit still and entertain themselves. . . or actually listen and sing and pray at all the right times.   So often one of us has ended up pulling him out and sitting in a side room with him.  Torture for him.  Torture for us.  Is he going to hate God because we make him go to church?  Hate us because we whisper threats to him, hoping no one around us speaks enough English to understand?

Some Sundays are okay.  There was the one that I let Sawyer play his harmonica down between the chairs during worship.  He played his heart out.  Many have been the kind where I wonder, "What must they be thinking about us?"  Crazy gringos.  Horrible parents.  Wild, naughty child.  All in Spanish, of course.  This kind of thinking, naturally, does a lot for feeling nourished.

We love Sawyer.  He is funny, smart, quit-witted, kind.  He is creative and imaginative.  He loves to 'fix' and invent things.  He loves puzzles and figuring out things.  When he focuses, there is no stopping or deterring him.  He needs to be told 138 times to get his socks and shoes on. . .  He loves sports, climbing, anything active.  He also loves music and God, just not-so-much in church.  He makes huge messes looking for one tiny lego piece, and then can't understand why he should clean them up.  He loses all his glue sticks and colored pencils within a week of getting new ones.  His teacher staples a note or homework list in his agenda book and sometimes they are lost by the time he gets home--and he doesn't even ride the bus.  I finally patched his school uniform pants; now the patches are getting holes.  He's an encourager and an optimist most of the time, but is easily frustrated and hurt by things that seem trivial.  He will grasp any concept that he is taught, but has a hard time remembering rules and manners.   He's loud, but hates a noisy environment.  Loves to entertain, but feels better alone or with just a couple of people.  He will throw himself on the floor playing and not get hurt, but then flip out when someone touches him.

For the last few years, we have had meetings with Sawyer's teachers and the school psychologist regarding his impulsivity and the things written above.  Every time they said to wait on evaluating him because maybe he would mature (and he has, some), maybe he just needed an iron fist, maybe he was just a normal-active little boy.  This year, his 1st grade teachers (who were angels!) finally agreed that maybe it was time to evaluate him. They were amazing, for the record. They knew all the tricks for getting him to listen, cooperate, excel and thrive.  They were patient, but firm, and loved Sawyer very much.

So we took him to a psychologist who met with Jeff and I, then met with Sawyer a couple of times.  Long story shorter is that she told us that he has ADHD.  We were not extremely surprised and were actually kind of relieved to have answers, thinking, "that explains it. . . ."

I can't say that a whole lot has changed so far.  The psych actually said we were already doing a lot of the things she would have suggested to us, and so were his teachers.  We are not medicating him at this point, and hope that it won't be necessary in the future, either.  We have cut him back almost completely on screens (computer, video games, etc.) because we learned that the visual stimulation in screens short-circuits the brains of kids with ADHD, making things like tics worse (which Sawyer has sometimes in his eye), and also aggressiveness, even if they don't watch or play violent things.  She also said kids with ADHD in particular NEED contact with nature and outside play, which was great to hear since we've seen how much having a yard helps him.  I also picked up some massage techniques from a special ed teacher I met here that make Sawyer melt like butter.  Massaging his hands and fingers is currently making church (and other crowded places that don't interest him) much more pleasant for both Sawyer and us.  Honestly, it's really bizarre how well it works to relax him.

There's a lot more to research, like diet, weighted vests, supplements. We need some new strategies in our bag of discipline tricks.  Because of some of his extreme sensitivity to certain things, I also suspect that Sawyer has some sensory processing (integration) issues, though there is debate as to whether it is simply part of ADHD (and other disorders) or if it is it's own special thing.

Do I like labelling children?  Not especially.  I hope this doesn't put Sawyer in some kind of box.  Will it help us to know how to help him, and give us more understanding?  Absolutely.  Will it help him at church, in school, in life?  I hope so.  Now that we know a little more about how Sawyer's brain works we can find ways to harness the positive things and teach him how to cope with the challenges of ADHD.

And we can pull him out of church without feeling so frustrated.  Maybe church, in the traditional sense, will never be Sawyer's favorite thing, but now we know that it's okay to give him some help to get through it.  I know he loves God.  Thankfully God understands and loves Sawyer, too, and isn't offended if he plugs his ears during worship!  Hopefully the worship team understands, too. . . .

Thankfulness

Between semester students, the ladies from two classes, and us teachers, we realized that we represented 6 different countries!  That's a lot of diversity for a small group, so we decided to celebrate the end of English class with a cultural activity where everyone collaborated and brought food to share from their home culture. We shared a little about pilgrims and Wampanoags, turkeys, etc., too.  It was fun--and delicious!

But the point I want to make is not actually related to the food or the cultural bit.  

We took time at the end to go around and share what we were thankful for.  It was amazing.   

Sometimes we wonder if the things we do matter.  We wonder if we are really following the Holy Spirit's leading or if we are just inventing ministries on our own in vain.  And sometimes I wonder who is ministering to who.  (to whom? Hmm.)

God used Doña C that day when she shared (again) how her life changed when Maria Eliza and I went and prayed with her one day two years ago and invited her to join the micro-finance group.  To be honest, it was all Maria.  And I really have done nothing special to deserve her love and loyalty except to push her not to give up on coming to English class.  

She has never been to school.  Four of her five children have been or are in prison.  Her husband left her several years ago.  She is raising some of her grandchildren, and she has health problems that she deals with on a daily basis.  

And yet, she has learned to read enough to be able to read the Bible.  She comes to English class, not to become fluent in English, but to exercise her mind, to get out of the house.  She is thankful for all that God has done in her life.  She is thankful for the way he has acted on her behalf in the last two years.  She said that God has been so good to her, that he has spoiled her, that he has always taken care of her.  She is so thankful for the other ladies in the group, how they encourage her and lift her up.  So thankful for Diana and Cindy, the leaders of the micro-finance ministry.  And she's thankful for me, for praying for her, for helping her learn English.  

How did I get included in that list?  I hope that I'm communicating this right.

Doña C has been through some very excruciating situations in her life.  She has suffered and has not given up.  She has persevered.  She is letting God take the muck of her life and form something beautiful.  She was so close to giving up (probably many, many times), but she hasn't.

She is a hero.  And she is thankful for (among all those other things) how God has used little-old-me in her life.  I am humbled.  I am convicted.  And constantly floored.  Her praise to God cuts my soul.  While I see and rejoice with her in all that God has done, I recognize that she is still in the middle of, and reaping, terrible circumstances.   How can she be so thankful?  

And how can I be so un-thankful sometimes?  Who is ministering to whom? (to who??)  I am definitely on the receiving end with Doña C.  And I am thankful for that.  Thankful for her special spirit.  Thankful for her example of dependency and trust in the Lord.

She lives Romans 12:12.  ¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 

I have found myself saying many times in the last couple of years that I will probably never know Jesus in the same way that many of the ladies in our micro-finance site have come to know him.  I haven't really concluded whether that's okay or not.  I do, however, deeply respect and admire the strength of spirit, the depth of faith, that has developed in women like Doña C because of clinging to God in the middle of suffering and pain.  So, while I might teach Doña C a few words in English, she has taught me infinitely more.

I have much to be thankful for.  And I guess I'll keep teaching English class, because I have so much still to learn.  

Psalm 103