It’s been a while! My last blog was 7 months ago regarding my dogs giving me fungus. Lest you think the fungus killed me off, never to be heard of again, I thought I would post an update. A lot has happened in the last 7 months (a lot usually happens in 7 months I suppose).
Last year was one of the most intense years of my life. I think I stopped blogging because I didn’t want to be that depressing blogger that complains about everything. I felt like I became super serious and wasn’t finding the “funny” in marrying into another culture. It was exhausting. Throughout the weirdness, God kept speaking one word to me, “persistence.” Around the beginning of November, the persistence started paying off. Here is a quick summary.
Finding out I was pregnant and then miscarrying messed with my emotions and my hormones- not until several months later did I start working through it and feeling better. That helped A LOT.
Health struggles & house issues- after rounds of bronchitis and pneumonia, we realized that our sickness was caused by mold in our apartment walls. As rainy season progressed, our walls turned black and hand-sized water bubbles would form in the paint and then pop everywhere (no exaggeration). We decided we needed to move and after a long search, we were blessed with the opportunity to move into a house that we absolutely love. We’ve had visitors every 2 weeks since January and we LOVE IT.
Car issues- Our car failed the emissions test 3 times. Over $1,000 later and 3 months of having it break down (once during the emissions test- that was embarrassing), it was finally fixed. We passed the test, promptly sold the car and found a new one. The “newer” car is such a blessing.
Sick dogs- our dogs are finally healthy. I won’t even tell you how much we spent on curing our “free dogs.” Rocky’s only issue is that he is missing many teeth due to malnutrition as a newborn. It’s hilarious to see him gum things.
Job difficulties: In November, I quit my job as a Learning Specialist. I was super stressed and not feeling like I was in the right place. God has since provided a much more enjoyable job and a better schedule. I teach English online and give individual remedial therapies in the afternoons.
Residency problems: Well this one hasn’t been resolved. I still haven’t received my residency and I just found out that the CR government lost our marriage certificate which is why they hadn’t processed anything. Here we go again…
Lack of Community: Near the end of the year I started feeling much more comfortable (so thankful for the friends I made at my job). Then, in January, Sarah, JD, and Jasmin came down to live in Costa Rica. In May, Nikki and Janee will be coming down. The reason they came down in the true purpose of this blog:
Get excited. We are. While on the Race, God gave Sarah a vision about a coffee house ministry in Costa Rica. Fast forward two years- we’re going for it! We’ve been doing research, creating business plans, and figuring out logistics and we’re ready to take the plunge. God has been opening up doors all over the place and we’re getting excited. We have a team of 6, the corporation established, made a video and got our website done.
All of us went on the race and experienced God in ways we didn’t know were possible. Now we want others to experience Him as well. Our coffee shop has three main purposes:
1. To reach the community for Christ. Karis Café will be located right next to one of the biggest universities in Costa Rica and right in the center of the second biggest city in the country.
2. To minister to missionaries already in the area. We want to be a place of restoration and relaxation. A place were community is fostered, discipleship is prioritized, and love radiates.
3. To host short term mission teams. We have a passion to hook up teams with amazing ministries that we partner with, while teaching the teams how to leave a positive eternal impact on the community.
It’s a beautiful vision and it’s coming to fruition! We know this is from God and we’re excited to see what He is going to do. If you would like to know more, check out our facebook page or our website. Now that we’ve done all of the preliminary planning, it’s time to raise funds. If you’re interested in helping us bring the kingdom to Heredia, Costa Rica, check out our fundraising site here that we just posted today! There are some perks for giving such as t-shirts, coffee, naming JD and Jasmin’s firstborn (due in October), etc. so you should definitely check it out.
So that’s what’s up. Life is always complicated and requires persistence, but after my 7 month hiatus, I can say that we are moving forward and doing great things. God is good.
ps. If you would like to give, I can no longer receive World Race Funding, so please don’t click on the give option on this email. Please go to our new fundraising site here to give! Thank you!
