Young Life Christmas Party - Part II

This is how it really went...

A couple of weeks ago, my husband was in a planning meeting for the Young Lives Christmas party and called me to ask if I could put together a two-hour program for 60 kids ages five and under.  I immediately said no which caused him a lot of angst (since he already told the other people in the meeting that I would be more than happy to do it).  Once I realized that I didn’t have to write a play or put on a puppet show – that I could just “recycle” a Waumba Land lesson or two – I was on board.

As the days went by, a two-hour program turned into three hours.  I wasn’t going to know who my volunteers were until a few minutes before we received the children (since the volunteers could decide if they wanted to help out with children, set up tents, or serve food).  That meant that I only had 30 minutes to get the music started; explain how to man the registration table; divide the tasks of and explain all of the activities, Bible stories, and crafts that I wanted to do; and decide how we were dividing up the children.  The space that I had to receive the children was very bland and I needed to “jazz it up a bit” (as my grandmother says).

Me going over the day's strategy with some eager-to-serve volunteers.

Once the doors opened, it was a bit chaotic.  These children are not used to leaving their mothers AT ALL nor socializing with other kids, and some of the moms were skeptical of leaving their children with us strangers.  Sufficed to say that there was a lot of crying going on in a room with an echo.  My strict schedule that I created to keep me and the volunteers organized flew out the window!  It turned more into crowd control rather than a structured time of teaching children about Jesus being born and the Wise Men going to visit him.

My wonderful volunteers, Laura and Vanessa,
who told the Bible story to these two sisters. 

I had to continually remind myself of something that I said to motivate my volunteers, “The most important components of today’s event is not the lesson, but being the hands and feet of Christ by showing His love to these young mothers and their children by smiling, greeting them warmly, and providing a caring, safe environment for the kids.”

After the moms picked up their little ones, lots of people asked me how it went.  I was worn out from receiving kids, finding juice boxes, making crafts, and answering lots of volunteers’ questions.  I didn’t think that my part of the event went well because it didn’t go according to my plan.  But I must remember that my plan doesn’t matter.  It’s God’s plan that matters. 

We showed up to serve, the kids eventually calmed down, and some of the older ones actually learned the Bible verse!  The moms had lots of fun acting silly and feeling carefree for a few hours.  They felt something that a lot of them don’t get at home – love.  So how did it go?  Perfect!

Young Life Christmas Party - Part I

One out of every five babies in Costa Rica is born to a teenage mother.  The majority of these young moms live below the poverty line and have suffered emotional and physical abuse.  Eighty percent of the girls in the Young Lives program have suffered from sexual abuse - many times from family members.

While these staggering statistics seems like things are hopeless, they are not!  Young Life is a ministry that has chosen to step into the gap and reach out to these teenagers.  If they do not feel like going to church, then the church will go to them!  They are given a woman mentor who meets with them on a regular basis to encourage, exhort, and pray for them.  The culmination of this year's journey was a two-day camp last weekend.  To celebrate their progress and end the year on a high note, our church helped to host their annual Christmas party.  Openhouse helping out Young Lives was part of our Be Rich campaign.

People from our church signed up to help out in different ways:  set up the carnival-like event, take care of the babies, organize the games, serve lunch, make cupcakes (to celebrate Jesus' birthday), and clean up afterward.

Craft time (making picture frames)

Before the actual party, several of our small groups chose a night to go out and buy beauty products to make gift baskets for the girls.  Basic personal care items were bought and some of the girls had to be taught how to use shower gel or body lotion, for example.

Volunteers with some of the gift baskets.

The girls were so excited to ride on a chartered bus to the Christmas party.

Volunteers welcoming the moms and their kids to the party.

We took care of their little ones while they had fun jumping in the bouncy houses, getting temporary tattoes, eating cotton candy, playing games, and winning prizes.

Bouncy houses in the background and moms
standing in line to play one of the many games.

They were also served the traditional Christmas food of tamales, received their beauty gift baskets, and heard an inspirational message.  I like something that Enrique said: they were able to forget about their family and financial problems and just be teenagers for a few hours.

Enrique encouraging the volunteers at the end of the event.

One girl said that the Christmas party was the best one that she had ever attended.  Another one said that she hadn't had that much fun in years.
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The Bible says that it is more blessed to give than to receive.  I always thought that that verse meant that it is nicer to give than to receive.  Through projects like this one, it is easy to understand the meaning - when you give of your time and resources, you turn out being the one blessed.  Even though our church members went to give, they walked away feeling grateful and blessed for the opportunity to serve.

Openhouse volunteers

I pray that this project will be the beginning of an ongoing partnership with Young Lives for our church members and that these girls and their children will grow up learning about God and His desire for them to trust and obey.

November Newsletter

Happy Thanksgiving! While you spend time with your family and friends being grateful for all that you have today, we too will sit around the table with our close friends to give thanks and enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving spread.

Be Rich

November 4th marked our first of two Sundays promoting our “Be Rich” campaign.  We want for the people that go to our church to know that wealth is relative and – if you have more than two pairs of shoes in your closet – you are rich!

We are encouraging our churchgoers to donate their time and resources by focusing on three ministries: Young Life (hosting a Christmas party for teenage moms and their children; giving beauty baskets to each young mom), Futival (playing soccer with kids while teaching them spiritual principles and values), and a soup kitchen for children. For each of these charities, we have work days set up to go and serve together, in addition to giving financially.  

While our financial goal is a touch less than 

that of North Point Community Church (they gave $1.5 million in one Sunday!), we are excited to report that after our second service on Sunday, we surpassed our halfway goal of $20,000!

New Ballrooms 

UpStreet

Since our church attendance is growing, we decided to move around our children’s ministries to accommodate more and more kids.  It is difficult to teach four-year-olds about Daniel and the Lions’ Den with crying babies in the background.  A big improvement that was made last Sunday was to have babies to two-year-olds in one ballroom and three to five-year-olds in another.  What a difference it made!

As for the elementary school kids, an average of 48 kids at noon were cramped in an 1,100 square foot space, but now they have triple the amount of room to sing, dance, play, and learn!

My women's small group.

Small Groups

Our first generation of small groups that began in February are now winding down to an end this month, but the "problem" is no one wants to separate.  They want to stay together forever!  No worries, we are going to form new groups after the Christmas and “summer vacation” (which is in January).

It has been fun reading people’s Facebook posts of what they’re thankful for everyday this month.  We are definitely thankful for you, our partner in ministry!  Your commitment to support us down here has enriched us and many families at our church whose lives are being transformed with the saving message of Jesus.  We thank God for you!

Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

August 12 was a very significant day for us.  It marked one whole year since the day we boarded a plane to move to Costa Rica, and a year that our church has held bimonthly Sunday services.  It also was the first Sunday in our church’s new home – in hotel ballrooms.  The service was held in the main ballroom and the children’s programs each had a ballroom.

At the registration table.

Every week, people from church ask why I didn’t go to church the last Sunday.  I remind them that I am always there, but I am down the street helping out with the children.  I only get to see the parents of the children that we teach.  But now, all of our family environments are in one place!  I love being able to see everyone on Sundays and I am sure that parents are glad that they don’t have to drive several blocks to drop off and pick up their kids.

UpStreet (5-10 years old) to the left, Transit (11-17 years old) to the right
and Waumba Land (newborn to 5 years old) to the far left.
The "sanctuary" (main ballroom) is at the end of this hallway.

To commemorate such a meaningful day, Seth Condrey (North Point Community Church worship leader and Dove award-winner) flew down to lead worship for us.  He helped to kick off a celebration of a year of people’s lives being transformed through the power of a relationship with Jesus.

Seth Condrey singing with our Shirley Polini.

All of us volunteers were so excited and nervous about how it would turn out.  Since we meet in a hotel, that means that everything has to be portable from the stage to the lighting to the signs to the Waumba Land tents.  We weren’t sure what time to arrive on Sunday to set everything up so…we got there at 5:30am!   

Julio (our pastor) looking at all of the stuff that needs to be loaded
onto the truck to take to set up at the hotel.

A before picture of Waumba Land and UpStreet.

For Waumba Land, it was fun pulling everything out of boxes and bags for the first time and setting it up to look like the Land of our Creator.  There were stuffed lions and monkeys and giraffes everywhere…even a snake!  Everyone who walked by our room peaked his head in to take a look.

The after picture!

We had a great Sunday looking back on all that has happened and looking ahead to what God has in store for us.  It was our biggest attendance yet with 23 babies and preschoolers, 66 elementary schoolers, 52 elementary and high schoolers, and 451 adults at our service for a total of 592 people growing closer to the Lord.  We look forward to continuing to serve Him at Openhouse!

It's not your ability, it's your availability.

As we planned on moving down to Costa Rica last year, I was asked to be in charge of the administrative side of things once we arrived.  When we got here, someone more capable than myself had filled that role so I was left without a specific assignment.  This is not the first time that this has happened to me.

When I went to Mexico as a missionary in 1999, I was going as a logistics coordinator to organize mission trips coming from a church in Del City, Oklahoma.  Upon my arrival, I learned that this partnership had fallen through and I didn’t have an assignment.  So I filled in at the IMB’s main office for Mexico and I helped out on a church planting team.  Though I had not anticipated these changes, it all worked out for that is how I met my wonderful husband.

In hindsight, I am glad that I did not have an assigned role when we moved here.  While I had many days when I was bored, I am now thankful for the six months that I had to get adjusted to our new way of life which is very different from living in Alpharetta, GA.  I can see that God was giving me time to get used to things before He rocked my world in February of this year by making me the small groups assimilator.  I was originally just helping my husband in his role as the small groups director, but as the church grew and we kicked off enrollment for small groups, I had my hands full with making sure everyone interested got plugged into a small group according to their age, location, marital status, etc. – no small feat!

At the end of April, I was given an additional role as Waumba Land (nursery) director.   Our wonderful WL director (and pastor’s wife), Ashley, moved up to lead family ministries (newborn to 14 years old) and put me in charge of children newborn to five years old.  While I have no formal training in children’s ministry nor do I feel called to lead this area, I willingly accepted the position.  When I was in college, I went to a special BSU meeting at UGA where I heard Tony Campolo say, "It's not your ability, it's your availability".  I don't feel that small groups assimilator and children's ministry are my calling, but if that is what is needed, I am available!  Not that I know what I’m doing, but under Ashley’s tutelage, I’m getting the hang of things.  I had no idea all of the behind-the-scenes work that is involved on a daily and weekly basis to make sure that the two Sundays a month that we meet run smoothly!

Waumba Land (ages 0-4) and UpStreet (ages 5-10) volunteers
at the hotel where we'll start meeting in August.

My main responsibilities include:

• Coordinate the volunteers for two services twice a month.  (This is harder than one may think.)
• Recognize volunteer’s and children’s birthdays.
• Send new children’s parents a welcome e-mail.
• Update enrollment and attendance records.
• Submit attendance records and expense reports.
• Print out updated sign-in sheets, new volunteer nametags, worksheets, etc.
• Buy the supplies needed for activities, crafts, and snacks.
• Get the lessons translated into Spanish.

The last two responsibilities are becoming easier.  Volunteers are stepping up to the plate to help find certain materials needed (I have no idea of where to get them because there’s not really an arts and crafts place like Michael’s or Hobby Lobby).  The lessons that we currently use are from the Orange curriculum which is amazing.  Everything is spelled out beautifully for the teachers to lead efficiently.

As I wrap up this post, I would like to ask you to pray for four things:

1. We need more volunteers for the nursery and for the elementary-aged kids. 
2. The volunteers need to come prepared on Sunday, meaning that they have read the lesson ahead of time.  They frequently arrive without having studied the lesson.
3. We are moving to a new location on August 12.  It is a hotel ball room that we will rent bimonthly and have to set up and break down everything each time.  Ashley and others are brainstorming about how to create an attractive (portable) environment from scratch.
4. Enrique and I fill basic church planting roles while here during our term.  Since we don’t plan on living here forever, we would like to eventually replace ourselves by finding local folks to coordinate small groups and Waumba Land. 

Rejoicing in Heaven

A lady in her 20s called me on Monday asking me for more information about our church.  I had to confirm that she did, in fact, want information about Openhouse, because at least once a day, someone calls us asking about baptisms, ashes, and weddings.  You see, the last four digits of the local Catholic church’s phone number are 9593, but people get mixed up and call us instead (ours are 9395).

Enrique and I invited her over for coffee today (even though we all just drank Coke) to explain what our church has to offer.  After talking for a few minutes, she told us that she doesn’t go to church, but was interested in growing closer to God, so she looked up crecimiento espiritual, “spiritual growth”, on the Internet and our church’s website popped up.  Me and Enrique’s numbers are on the site so she gave us a call.

We explained that we just had a church service on the 17^th and that we’ll meet again on July 1^st.  We told her that a group called Starting Point begins toward the end of August and she can sign up then.  We gave her the corresponding participant guide so that she could get a head start on the 10-week study.  We wrapped up our little meeting time with a prayer and were good to go.  Almost…

After Enrique said “Amen”, he told the woman that he sensed that she wanted to say something to God.  After an awkward moment of silence, the lady burst into tears and said that she prays everyday asking God to take away the bitterness from her heart and to help her with the sadness and loneliness that she feels.  Enrique told her that instead of just asking God to take away those depressing feelings, she could give her life to Christ and let Him take over the reigns.  Not just be a copilot and help out, but give her whole being to God and allow Him to be in control of her life.  She said that she was ready to do that.  So we prayed again. 

This time, the woman prayed too and asked God to come into her life and take over.  It was beautiful.  I told the lady that when we ask for things like a better car or to not be sick anymore or for a scholarship, we don’t know if God is going to say yes or no.  We don’t know His will in those regards.  But one thing that God will definitely act on and grant is when we surrender to Him and ask for Him to come into our lives and help us, He will!  He wants to give us rest.  I shared Matthew 11:28-29 with her.

Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest.

Our new friend, Kelsey

At the end of January, an American girl went to our church and needed a ride back to her house.  She had taken a bus two hours to get to church so Enrique had sympathy on her and drove her all the way home.  He couldn’t believe how far away she lived!

We asked Kelsey what she was doing in Costa Rica and she replied that she was here to serve the Lord.  Kelsey is a 22-year old who recently graduated from Anderson University.  She studied Spanish there and has been to Costa Rica several times since 2007 visiting some missionary friends from her town in South Carolina.  They’re the Folk family who live on the side of the Irazú Volcano in Cartago.  The Folks conduct Bible studies in homes during the week and help serve at a local orphanage.  Through a roundabout way, Kelsey had heard about our church, Openhouse, and wanted to help.  She wasn’t sure how she would help, but she was open to whatever God had in store for her.

We needed help as the administrative and technical side of things were piling up and I was busy helping Enrique with small groups and Ashley with Waumba Land (the nursery).  Kelsey was willing to move to our side of town, but needed a place to stay.  We checked into one place for her, but it didn’t work out.  Oh, what to do!

One of David’s little friends was about to move to California for six months so I asked the family who was going to watch their home.  They said that a family member was going to drive by it every so often.  I asked them if they’d be willing to let Kelsey housesit for them and they agreed.  They hadn’t even met her yet and were ready to give her the keys to their home!

On the night before their departure, we had them and Kelsey over for dinner to talk about the arrangements and then to go to their house to explain when to take the trash out, water the grass, which key goes where, etc.  Instead of at least two hours away by bus (3 buses, actually, and a taxi), or one hour by car, she now lives the next street over!

Kelsey is a welcome addition to our church and readily and willingly helps in many ways.  She puts the ProPresenter slides together for Sundays; sends out the weekly e-mail to our members here, a monthly e-mail to our partners in the States; runs the slides on Sundays; shows one of Andy Stanley’s sermons in English on Monday nights; proofreads various publications; updates our church’s website; helps to co-lead a women’s Bible study, and other tasks, I’m sure.

We are glad to have her near and it’s always nice to have another American close by who can relate to how you feel about the hundreds of ants in the kitchen (and the few that are crawling on my arms as I type); the freezing, unheated pools that Costa Ricans say feel lovely; and the sensor tags on certain blocks of cheese..

The Golden Question

David has a little friend at school named Santi, short for Santiago (James).  His father’s employer, Intel, sent him, several coworkers and their families to California for six months for training.   They left in February for their new, temporary home – a furnished apartment in the city of Folsom.  Our friends came back for a week and a half, but leave again next week for the rest of their training.
It was Raquel’s first time going to the States and she was so impressed!  She spent four hours one day talking to me about how much she loved the States.  Of course, I was a welcome audience because I was pleased to hear someone talking about how great my country is and agreed with all of her praises.  She said, “When someone thinks of the United States, they think of how they’re always getting involved in other countries’ wars and meddling in other countries’ affairs.  But people don’t realize how wonderful it is over there!  The average person’s quality of life is a higher standard.  They expect more.”
Raquel noticed things that you might take for granted so I wanted to take a moment to highlight her first impressions:

• They went to Lowe’s and were mesmerized by the amount of lawn mowers available.  Raquel thought that surely they were just for rich people living in mansions, but then was surprised to go to an average American family’s home and see one there.  The American told her that everyone has one and that it’s no big deal.  That was an eye opener for Raquel because down here most people’s yards are so small that a weed eater or machete is all you need.
• Raquel was baffled by the fact that all of the homes don’t have gates and bars and security cameras guarding their homes like here.  You can leave your car parked in a driveway or on the street without having it locked up tight in your garage.  You can even leave your belongings in your car while you’re at the store!  In California, she felt safe taking a walk after dawn too.  She was perplexed at how safe it is, without the aid of policemen and security guards watching your every move.  It was liberating for her to be able to drive through different suburbs without having to be asked for identification to enter the street (The upper-class communities here are gated with security guards holding guns at the entrance monitoring everything.).
• Raquel works for the government here as a topographer.  Before having her second child this year, she travelled the country in her SUV along bumpy roads dodging potholes mapping out where people live along the “streets with no name” (To get an idea, click here and read the section titled "By car").  So of course one of the things that she is fascinated with is the streets.  She loves that all of the streets have names that are clearly marked and people drive in an orderly fashion.  The roads are so well maintained and the double decker bridge astounds her.
• With a 2 ½ year old and a newborn, Raquel noticed that Americans have large families.  I was about to disprove her generalization, but then I thought about just my friends with large families - Shelly and Tami each with five kids; Sarah and Leslie each with four kids; Carie, Jessica, and Margie with three kids, to name a few.
• Maybe that's why there is a plethora of activities available for children.  Raquel takes her son to a children’s gym which she says aren’t as accessible to the middle class of Costa Rica.  She loves the well maintained parks and green areas for kids, which I must say, far exceed what I have found here.  I recently pointed  a website out to her with a calendar of events just for families with small children in Folsom and she was beside herself with joy.
• I explained that in Atlanta, everyday was an adventure for David and me as I would check the web and whisk him away for a day of fun at a children’s museum, a new park, a movie under the stars, a classical concert on the green, a local farmer’s market, or a picnic in the N. Georgia mountains.  It’s so easy to find a variety of events online, but not so here.  We both agree that there are different fairs that come into town down here, but they’re always the same vendors with the same cheap merchandise and food with run-down dinky fair rides.
• Raquel was confused to see clothing, food, and electronics at a fraction of the cost for what she would normally pay in Costa Rica.  Why does her government increase the price up to five times what Americans pay for in the States?  Good question, I tell her!  The used Old Navy shirt for sale at the “American clothes” store cost $7 when I could get it for $0.75 at the Last Chance Thrift Store on Thornton Road in Lithia Springs.  I, too, am frustrated with paying $5 for a block of cheese when I could get it free with my extreme couponing skills in the States.
  She saw an extreme coupon show one day called Cupónmania and couldn’t believe the deals!  While I never got $1,500 worth of groceries for $4, I would like to teach her how to cut her grocery bill in half.  But I digress…

After having her eyes opened to all of the glorious things that the Land of Opportunity has to offer the average Joe, she asked me a question that is a wonderful opportunity for me to share with her.  She sent me a Facebook message that reads, “Why did you leave your country full of well planned streets, pedestrian areas, and order for my underdeveloped country?”
While I haven’t answered her yet, my reply is simple.  We came here because our desire to obey God by telling others about His love for them far exceeds our desire to be comfortable.  I do miss my family and the comforts of home, but nothing is more important than sharing with everyone that:

1. God created us, 
2. he loved us so much that he sent his son, Jesus Christ, into an evil world to redeem it through the sacrifice of shedding his blood on the cross so that we can have an abundant life and live with peace in our hearts in the here and now; 
3. and be assured that Jesus rose from the dead and ascended up into Heaven to prepare a place for those who have chosen to believe in and follow him. 

I pray that as I unveil this answer to her little by little, her heart will be receptive to receive God's free gift of salvation with open arms.

Easter in Costa Rica

Remember the days when Spring Break was the week always leading up to Easter?  Now it varies, but in Costa Rica, Spring Break is always the week of Easter.  It is known as Semana Santa, or Holy Week.  All of the kids are out of school and many people have the week off.  If not the entire week, then at least Wednesday through Sunday.

On Thursday, practically everything but the grocery stores, McDonald’s, and Walmart shut down.  My high school Spanish teacher – who is from here – told me that “When I was little, people would not dare drive a car. People thought you were a heretic and threw stones at your cars. All bars are sealed (people drink liquor in their homes) and take off to the beaches.”  Interesting!

On Friday morning, Kelsey and I heard some drums.  We went outside to take a look and saw that there was a procession at the local Catholic church (I live just 100 meters away).  We went to check it out and it was a reenactment of Jesus and the two criminals being beaten and escorted to Golgotha.  The soldiers cast lots for Jesus’ clothes and then they placed Him on a cross.  Here is a video of what transpired:

 

This procession was just one of several.  I heard that on Friday night at the church, they burned a doll that represented Judas.  We weren't able to make it to that one or the other two or three ceremonies to mark the Easter season.  Even so, it was emotional walking with everyone on Friday morning and witnessing what I recorded above because it made me feel like I was a part of the crowd that crucified Jesus.  It made it real to me.

Saturday, we went to a friend’s house for pizza.  According to Costa Ricans, our friends live “really far away” (Considering the small size of this country, “really far” means more than 20 minutes!), but there wasn’t any traffic so we got there in about 35 minutes.  After lunch, we watched our home church’s Easter service since they offered several services this weekend and broadcast them online.

This morning was great!  Contrary to what happens in the States with churches being packed on Christmas and Easter, we actually didn’t expect a lot of people today.  We assumed that they’d still be out of town.  We were all pleasantly surprised to have a full house – about 50 kids and over 200 adults.  The Lord's Supper was observed for the first time at our church.  It was a great day to celebrate Jesus dying for our sins and rising from the dead.  He lives!

This video is of our worship time with little ones.  David's friend, Luciano, is really getting down to "Father Abraham".

On the way home, David asked Enrique what he learned at church.  Enrique told him that he learned that Jesus died for us, but on the third day He rose again and He lives!  David said that he learned the same thing.  As a mom – and his teacher – I was proud of him for remembering.

Family getting together for Easter and sharing a meal is not customary here, but I decided to prepare a traditional Easter dinner and invited Julio, Ashley, and Kelsey.  We had ham (Well, I thought that I bought a ham, but it turned out to be some other type of pork.), pineapple and cheese casserole, broccoli and rice casserole, carrots, zucchini, apple crisp and ice cream, and sweet tea!  We also dyed some eggs and had an Easter egg hunt (in the dark as the sun sets around 6p here).

All in all, it has been a great last few days.  Happy Easter!

FAQ: How’s Church?

Since Enrique and I are in Costa Rica as missionaries, family and friends commonly ask us how church is going.  Enrique’s specific role at our church is the small groups director.  North Point Community Church (our home church) has a goal of having 80% of their congregants in groups.  As a new church, our goal is 60%.  So far, people have been meeting in homes for short-term 6-10 week studies.  This month, we are introducing long-term 18-24 month groups.

At the end of January, Julio gave a talk (that’s contemporary code for “our pastor gave a sermon”) about the importance of small groups.  While you may be very familiar with this concept and welcome it, a lot of people have not heard of small groups.  After the sermon, people were asked to fill out a card if they were interested in joining a group.  Enrique was hoping that about 30% of our average attendance would sign up.  Would you believe that over half of the congregation expressed interest in “doing life together”?!?

Now we have the exciting challenge of placing people in groups according to their spiritual maturity, age range, marital status, and area of town where they live.  Enrique’s had smoke coming out of his ears for the past few weeks trying to figure all of this out.  On top of that, additional people continue to visit our church’s website to register for small groups.

Some people are hesitant about making such a long-term commitment with strangers.  The good thing is that the first eight weeks are just about getting to know each other (a dating period, if you will), so if someone doesn’t like the group for whatever reason, they can regroup. 

Many of the singles don’t like the idea of separating men and women.  After all, they’re single and want to be around the opposite sex!  While there will be plenty of opportunities for singles to mix and mingle, it is a fact that long-term groups are more effective when single (never been married, separated, divorced, widowed) men meet with other single men and single women meet with other single women.  There is a greater sense of openness and trust.

On February 29, everyone who signed up will be meeting at a restaurant to form groups.  Please join us in praying for the people who have signed up.  We want for their experience in small groups (Círculos is what we’re calling them here) to be great.  Enrique is teaching people that the term small group isn’t just a code word for Bible study.  It encompasses two other elements which are deep bonds with the other people in your group and reaching out to others in the community.  He likes to say that it isn’t about the transference of information, but about life transformation.

The video says it all. Enjoy!

Be Rich

For the past few years, our church – North Point Community Church (NPCC) – has done a Christmas campaign called “Be Rich”.  An emphasis is placed on realizing how rich we are and how much we have to give in terms of time and money.  Individuals, families, and small groups are encouraged to help others through a variety of service projects, donate shoe boxes filled with goodies for Operation Christmas Child, and give offerings to support local charities.

This year, our pastor set a crazy goal of raising $500,000 for the Christmas season starting in November.  Would you believe that $1.7 million was raised in just one week?  That’s awesome!  I’m so proud of my church’s members and attendees who went above and beyond to help people they don’t even know! 

Here, in Costa Rica, we are also doing a type of “Be Rich” campaign entitled ¿Cómo ser ricos? (How to be rich).  It’s a three-part series that began in a surprising way.  Before I tell you how we kicked it off, I must give you some background information.

When Openhouse (that’s our church) started, the pastor said that an offering plate would never be passed around.  Julio said that, because people here are leery of evangelicals (that’s us) when they “ask for money”.  The concept of tithing and offerings is misunderstood and not well received here.  The culture, as a whole, may be used to giving some money to the Catholic church during mass, but generally what’s left over or change found in your pocket – not giving the “firstfruits” or a set percentage.

The first Sunday of this series, Julio said that he was going to do something that he had never done before.  He was going to pass around the offering plate.  A lady in our small group later said that she knew that this would one day happen.  But not how she thought.

Offering plates were passed around, but not to collect money.  To give money! That Sunday that Andy set the goal of $500,000, our church’s stewardship team was visiting NPCC in Alpharetta and was moved by the sermon.  Upon their return to Costa Rica, they decided to give their own money to start a movement of generosity at our church.  They provided enough money to fill envelopes to pass out to a little over 200 people with either $10, $20, or $30 in each envelope.

Julio told the congregation that they were being given God’s money which is a great responsibility.  They could do whatever they wanted with the money except for spending it on themselves and giving it back to the church.  We have heard wonderful stories about how people were so surprised to receive this gift and how they chose to duplicate the amount that they received in order to help others more abundantly.

In conjunction with “Be Rich”, our church adopted an area of town called La Carpio.  We are partnering with Hope Partners International and Seth and Andrea Sears by hosting a food drive and a toy drive to help about 120 people of the poor families there in one of the poorest slums in Central America.

As church staff, our desire is that our congregation will realize how rich they are when Jesus is a part of their lives and that we have so much to give.  We hope that people will recognize that God wants us to give every part of ourselves to Him including what we hold so dear – our purse strings.  Of course God doesn't need any money – he wants for us to understand that we are just stewards of His blessings.

"We've got so much, so much, so much....so much - clap - to be thankful for."

When you move to a new place, it takes a while to make friends, however in three and a half months, we have been blessed by some amazing people who have been very generous with us.  

When we moved here in August, we brought whatever fit into six 32-gallon plastic bins and three suitcases.  We weren’t able to bring everything that we wanted to, but God has provided.

We really appreciate how God has used new friends to give us everything that we need.  Whether loaned to us or donated, we are grateful that He has supplied us these items in addition to the furnished home that we rent:

• Dish rack            
• Coat hangers
• Mirror for the bathroom
• Fan
• Twin bed for David
• Sheets and a comforter set for our bed
• Bathroom towels
• Two desks and chairs for our home office
•  Set of dishes, glasses, and other kitchen items (in addition to what came with the house)
• Casserole dish
• Toaster
• Food
• Clothing and accessories for me
• Clothing for David
• Toys and books for David
• Car seat/booster seat
• Step stool for David
• Bedrails for David
• One-year membership to PriceSmart (a store like Sam's and Costco)
• Car

Volunteer Appreciation Day

Yesterday, we had a great time at Openhouse's first ever Volunteer Appreciation Day.  It took place at a staff member's family ranch about 45 minutes away.  We had a cowboy theme so we played country music, dressed in jeans, plaid shirts, boots, and cowboy hats, and line danced.  We ate hamburgers and hotdogs and played fun games.  There were about 30 people there with their families and we took pictures of each family as a souvenir to remember the special day.

Adrián is one of the production volunteers and
his wife, Viviana, is one of my new friends.

It was nice to have everyone together to show them how much we appreciate them working so hard on Sundays.  Some volunteers are in the background (like the sound and lights guys) while others are greeters, parking lot attendants, and nursery and children's workers.  As a result of their behind the scenes dedication, people who attend the service can "be still and know that [He] is God" (Psalm 46:10).

Waumba Land (nursery) volunteers

Production volunteers

Julio (the pastor), Adrián (production volunteer
and small group leader), and Enrique (small groups director)

Update on New Small Group

Thank you for praying for the list of people that I posted last Tuesday.  I am excited to tell you that the first meeting went very well.  Edgar and Milena expected five people to show up, but there were actually 10 people! As we went around the room introducing ourselves and then talking throughout the night, it was great to be surrounded by people at different spiritual levels.
There was a woman from another religion who is amazed at her Christian friend's peace (during times of unemployment) and wants that tranquility for herself.  That providential relationship baffled the lawyer seated next to Enrique who couldn't believe that someone can have peace at such a time.  She is a control freak and would love to know how to have that peace as well.
 Someone else shared that six years ago, her baby niece drowned in a pool.  Once they got her to a hospital, she was revived after not having taken a breath for 35 minutes.  What a miracle!  That moment was a pivotal circumstance that really grew her faith.
Since last Tuesday was a night of introductions, tomorrow night will be the first night of the study, "Five Things God Uses to Grow Your Faith".  We appreciate your continued prayers for the people in this small group as they learn how to grow closer to God in different ways.

Our church is having problems.

What kinds of problems could a brand new church possibly be having?

• The church bus is leaking oil?  Nope, no church bus here.
• People are complaining about the youth ministry?  Actually, the real comment is that parents would love for there to BE a youth ministry.  We have a nursery (Waumba Land) and program for elementary school kids (UpStreet) on Sunday during the service, but nothing yet for middle and high schoolers.
• Parents don't like the nursery?  Well, it's not that they don't like it.  It's just that in Catholic churches, the kids accompany their parents to the service.  In this culture, parents aren't used to dropping their kids off and then going somewhere else.  Oftentimes, a dad, mom, or nanny will stay with the child in the nursery for the first couple of Sundays until their child feels comfortable leaving mommy and daddy (or vice versa).
• The choir needs new robes?  Not quite.  We don’t have a choir or anything remotely close to one. 
• We don’t have enough hymnals?  Since the majority of the people that we aim to reach either come from a Catholic or non-church background, singing songs in a corporate setting is quite odd.  Even though the words to the songs are on a screen behind the worship band, most folks just sit in their seats and observe.

So, what kinds of problems am I talking about?  The good ones!  The ones that indicate growth and life change! 

• The auditorium of the office building where we meet seats 220.  On September 11, we had about 240 attend which means that several people had to stand the whole time.  Should we start offering two services on the Sundays that we meet or look for a larger auditorium?
• Lots of people have never been part of a small group and crave the type of community that it offers.  There are more people wanting small groups than there are available leaders!The small groups that are up and running want more and more material.  When Enrique meets with the leaders, they are always begging for more studies.  Enrique is wearing a lot of hats lately, but really wants to dedicate time to translating, and ultimately writing original, material for small groups.

• In order to meet in a larger auditorium or rent the current one for more time on Sundays, provide crafts and Goldfish crackers for the preschoolers, T-shirts and snacks for the volunteers, and print bulletins and invitations, we need more percentage givers.  In addition to the founding members of our church, Openhouse Project, we need committed family and friends to give to this new mission.  If you are interested in learning more, please go to http://newcostaricachurch.org/give/vmember/.  
• People are putting their faith in Jesus for the first time and they want to tell the world by being baptized!  Since we don't meet in a traditional church, we don't have a baptistry and must think about what to do.  We could go to a lake, meet in another Christian church one day and have baptisms there, or rent a baptistry for the day.

Yes, these are good problems to have!