Here we are

Okay, can I please just say I struggle with the title situation.  It seems very hard just to tell what's been going on in life and have to give a TITLE to it.  Just a sidebar:)  So, we have for a while now been back into full swing at the office and in life here in Atenas after our short time in Georgia at Christmas.  It's definitely dry season which means a couple of things.  It means the clothes on the line dry in less than 2 hours which has made laundry oh so much more manageable.  It means that you can actually PLAN to do things in the afternoon.  It means the children at the orphanage can play outside in the afternoon instead of being cooped up in the house because of the rain.  It means that I actually have to WATER my growing little hibiscus plants which I haven't seemed to kill yet.  It means the air is dryer, the wind is much stronger and dust abounds...i.e. having to sweep my house every single day is a very real possibility.  Josh has been working for over 4 months recruiting and planning for his upcoming project trip to Urubamba, Peru.  I am so very excited that I have the opportunity to go with him on this trip.  It is a blessing to work for an organization who sees the importance in the non-engineer spouse feeling a part of EMI, our mission and work.  The group will be designing a seminary campus and a local church who have the purpose of training quechua pastors to spread the gospel among the quechua people.  Quechua is the name of a people group living in the central Andes mountains in South America as well as the name of the languages they speak.  Please be praying for our hearts as Josh prepares to help lead this group of architects and engineers, for God to do a mighty work in the volunteers that are going and for the fruit and harvest that will come through the gospel and truth spread by this ministry.

We continue to adapt and integrate into the culture and community.  Admittedly, it has been and will continue to be a much longer process than I thought.  I thought we'd come to Costa Rica and immediately fit right in and have ticos as best friends.  The Lord had other plans.  It's a day-by-day process..."poco a poco" is a phrase I have come to know well.  It has been incredible to see, however, tremendous growth in this area over the past 5 months.  We have been accepted as family by a church here.  Our pastor's wife even shared with the entire church what I had shared with her about the people in that church being our "family" here in Costa Rica.  She encouraged the people of the church to get to know us, invite us over to their house, etc.  We have found a place that we feel at home with and where we can grow spiritually with strong biblical teaching.  When we left Costa Rica, I had in my mind that we had one "home church", and that would be our main church support.  What I have found here is that, although it doesn't in any way take the place of our "home church" in the States who we believe is so important and incredibly supportive of our ministry, Iglesia Valle de Beraca here in Costa Rica has become a body of believers that wants to come alongside us in prayer and is truly interested in our life and ministry.  A big step for me was going to my pastor's house and having "cafesito" with his wife and children.  Number one, I don't drink coffee so my "cafesito" (which is a coffee break that is taken pretty much every afternoon around 3 by Ticos) was really warm milk with a little coffee and lots of sugar.  Number two, and more importantly, it felt normal.  It felt like friends just getting together to chat.  She and her son took me to see some land their family purchased where there are lots for the parents and both children to build a house.  It was an incredibly rich time of building relationships of which I look forward to doing much more.