Now for the REAL Champion!!

Here in Costa Rica (and in most of Latin America) this week is called "Semana Santa," or Holy Week. There are numerous celebrations, parades and parties all throughout the country. However, many of the festivities are fueled by the Roman Catholic Church, which puts more emphasis on the death of Jesus than on the resurrection. Many times they leave Jesus on the cross. I pray that this week is a "Holy Week" for you. A special week in which you remember what Jesus did for you on that cross. But don't leave Him there. He is ALIVE! Jesus esta vivo! He is alive and He lives in me!! Amen! Praise God! Thank you Jesus!

And Then There Was Only One!!!!

CHAMPIONS!!

Then There Were Two...

Go Tar Heels!!!!!

Then There Were Four....

Go Tar Heels!!!!!

A La Playa

Costa Rica has many wonderful things to see. They have cloudforests with thousands of animals, cities with dozens of museums, and beaches with beautiful water and wild monkeys. That's right, white-faced monkeys roam freely on the beach as if you are invading their space. Near the end of February, we had the opportunity to take Micah to Manuel Antonio, one of the closest white sand beaches in Costa Rica. Manuel Antonio is very popular and very touristy. Along with a beautiful public beach, Manuel Antonio has a National Parque that offers visitors the chance to see various types of animals. We decided to take Micah into the National Parque since we both love monkeys so much. On our short hike through the park we so several sloths, butterflies and a Jesus-lizard (it gets it's name because it walks on water).

The walk was great, but the 3 private beaches inside the park were what we were really there for. These beaches are beautiful white sand beaches with beautiful blue water dangling on the edge of a rain forest and are less populated than the public beach. Micah played in the sand and water with several of his friends from school all day long! At one point, the infamous white-faced monkeys begin strolling the beach and looking for things to steal. That's right, they walk directly over your towel and steal any food that you have lying out. Then the beach racoons came walking down the beach followed by the massive lizards. Talk about wildlife, this place is truly a paradise. Praise God for the opportunity to relax and play in the sand with Micah.

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work we go!

Monday-Friday we leave our house shortly after 7:00. On a good morning, we are out by 7:15 and we enjoy a leisure 5-10 minute stroll to school. We drop Micah off at his school first. After tearful good byes, Ryan and I head up the hill to the other side of campus where we begin our day's work. We don't punch a clock and our teacher's don't even seem to care if we are a few minutes late, but don't underestimate the task that lies ahead each day. From the moment we enter the classroom, our focus is LEARN SPANISH. We listen to Spanish, read in Spanish and try our best to speak Spanish. Our teachers have gotten a bit more ridgid since they welcomed us less than three months ago because they too understand the task at hand. We MUST learn Spanish. In order to function in our daily lives, it is necessary. Whether giving directions to a cab driver, talking to Micah's teachers, or meeting people at church, it is necessry. But that is just our day to day living. In order to answer God's call in our lives to minister to the people of the Dominican Republic, it is most necessary.

Date Night- Feb 21

Ryan and I enjoyed a beautiful evening with some friends high atop the mountains of Costa Rica at a wonderful restaurant, Ram Luna. We enjoyed fine dining and local music and dance. I even got roped into participating in a traditional dance. It was wonderful for us to leave our son with a trusted babysitter and have the time to enjoy one another. Our friends, that we dined with are also missionaries. We enjoyed hearing about the passion God has written on their hearts to serve the people of Central America, as we had the opportunity to share our heart for the people of the Dominican Republic. It's amazing how God used that one night to refresh and renew us. It also allowed us to see how God is preparing us and others to serve as missionaries throughout Latin America. We praise God for our date night!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We wanted to send our love to you and wish you a very happy day with the ones you love!

Love,

Erin, Ryan and Micah

A day in the life

We've finally settled into our daily routine here in Costa Rica. On Monday through Friday, mornings are occupied with language classes. My first two classroom hours are spent in a classroom with a beautiful view of the mountains that surround us here in Costa Rica's central valley. It's nice that they remind me of the view of the mountains from our old house in Roanoke. And I am thankful that God has allowed us this year here to learn Spanish while living in such a beautiful place. Micah is usually wiped out in the early afternoon so he takes a nap. Since it is culturally acceptable to take an afternoon siesta, Ryan and I also participate on occassion! (We want to take in as much of the culture as we can, right!?!) When not taking a siesta, we use the uninterupted time to study and do homework. The afternoons are my favorite part of the day. We usually take some sort of outing. Since we live within walking distance of quite a few parks, we enjoy meeting other students and thier families and our Tico neighbors at the nearby playgrounds. Other afternoons are spent walking to the grocery store, local bakery or taking a taxi to nearby shopping. (We've discovered that Micah's stroller doubles as a shopping cart for the walk home. If it's a long walk home, Micah gets to ride on Daddy's shoulders.) We haven't ventured downtown yet but look forward to the many museums and other local attractions the downtown area has to offer.

Micah and Ryan walking to church It's a humble life. Our life in Costa Rica is at a much slower pace than that which we knew in the US. Our life now allows most afternoons to include a little boy to play game of soccer with his daddy. Our life now allows family trips to the grocery store. Our life now allows time for reading and reflection. I am thankful to God that this is my life. I am glad that this is where are am right now, learning what He is teaching me and doing what He would have me to do. It's the coolest feeling to be right in the middle of where God wants you to be. I am praying that you are experiencing that in your life, and if you are not, I pray that you will seek God and discover where He would have you to be and what He would have you to do. Whether it's in Virginia, Siberia, the Dominican Republic or Costa Rica, it's the best place in the world.

Here are some pictures of some of our everyday outings and adventures.

My handyman and his little helper fixing the bed Micah's discovery of the tiniest gecko I've ever seen.

Playing at the nearby park.

Ryan, Micah and our neighbor's little girl having a snack. A game of basketball after church. The biggest one and the littlest one belong to me.

The playground at Micah's preschool

One week down. . . lots more to go

This week we completed our first entire week of classes at ILE. It has been at least 10 years since I attended school five days a week so the schedule was the biggest adjustment for me. Ryan teased me that naps were as much part of my day as they were Micah's! Ryan and I tested at different levels so we are not in the same classes. Ryan's more advanced placement required his language learning to begin with total language immersion (no English). Since I am just a beginner, my teachers try to speak only Spanish until they see vacant eyes returning their glances and then offer enough English to return us back to the same planet they are teaching from. I might be accused of being a nerd for saying this, but I have really enjoyed the classes. It is just enough of a struggle to be challenging but not so much as to feel overwhelmed. Through the ILE staff, God is blessing us in meeting us right where we are in preparing us to speak Spanish. Praise God for that! Language learning was my greatest concern, and God is alleviating my fears.

Today is Saturday and we are not in classes today. Today our language study will not occur within the walls of a hill top campus, but rather while visiting with our neighbors. We have plans to visit the local market and to see a little more of what life is like in our little area of Costa Rica. So. . . Adios. . . for now.

In His love and service,

Erin

A serious note. . .please pray

I first want to apologize for not having posted anything since Thursday's earthquake. We are fine as well as all the others attending the Spanish Language Institute or ILE. Micah and I rode out the earthquake while in the bathroom, which actually turned out to be a very safe place to be. Ryan was nearby and since he was standing actually rode out the waves while the tremors endured. Though kinda shook up, no pun intended, it was not until later that evening that we became aware of the magnitude of the earthquake and the devastation it caused in nearby areas. Praise God for keeping us safe. I want to take a moment to ask you all to please pray for those that were not as fortunate as us. Parts of Costa Rica, close enough to be visible from our hill top campus, were devastated by the earthquake. Last I heard 14 bodies have been recovered with still 23 people reported missing. Today they have scaled back the recovery with the unsettling reality that those still missing are probably dead. Please pray for those that are trying to rebuild what they may have lost during the earthquake and even more so for those that are mourning the loss of a family member or friend.

We made it!

We arrived in Costa Rica on Saturday and spent the weekend getting settled in . We've had the opportunity to meet a few new friends already and are looking forward to our time spent here. Our neighbors, Alison and Justin and our big brother and sister, Jason and Lindsey have been great in helping with our transition. Our house is more than we expected and we are settling in to make it a home. We are located in a safe neighborhood located near the school. Micah and Ryan have enjoyed scouting out the neighborhood with their walking adventures. We attended an orientation for Micah's preschool today. He had a chance to meet a few friends and he was excited to see the playground and toys. Our orientation for classes begins tomorrow. We are excited to begin classes but a bit nervous too. We have already began to miss our friends and family and are sure they are missing us too. We are thankful for the Internet so we have been able to communicate with them even though we are not close by. I am amazed at how small the world can be made to see with air travel and the Internet. God continues to provide for us and we are blessed to be able to serve him in Costa Rica. Please continue to pray for our family as we look forward to what God has in store for us.

Home Sweet Home

While I was praising God for Franklin and Ilonka's new home, God was working through our "Big Brother", Jason to find us a home in Costa Rica. Jason notified us today, that a deposit has been made and we now have a home. We are so excited that God continues to make a clear path for us as we plan to start language school in just a couple weeks. The best part of the house is that we have an extra bedroom, so visitors are welcome! I hope we'll see some of you in Costa Rica.

I tried to put pictures on here but couldn't. If you want, you can visit the website set up by Jason. http://web.me.com/jason.lindsey/Site_2/C.R._house.html#1 The passwords are both costarica. Creative, huh?!?

"Costa Rica- My Home"

Recently we checked out a children's book from the library about Costa Rica to help facilitate our family discussion about our move. The book is called, "Costa Rica- My Home". Well, Micah immediately was drawn to the little girl in the book. In the story, the little girl lived outside of the city and helped her parents manage a small farm and family business. As I read the book to Micah, I explained to him that after Christmas we too would be living in Costa Rica. I told him about his new house, new school, new teachers, new church and new friends. After a few minutes I noticed Micah's attention span was fading fast, so I decided to quiz him. "So where are we moving after Christmas?" I asked. "Osta Ica, my home," Micah replied mimicking the title of the book. "That's right. And when we move there, there will be lots of new things, like. . . ?" "Animals," he answered. "Animals? Well there may be some animals there but what other new things will be there?" "New cows. . . ummm. . . new pigs. . . ummm. . . new horse. . . new animals. . . ummm. . . . . ummm. . . . . Mommy and Daddy," he stated proudly. Then I realized that Micah was reporting back the things he had read about in the story plus Mommy and Daddy. That's all he knew of Costa Rica yet he still was genuinely excited to go there. All he had to go on was the security of his mom and dad and a little bit more information and he was ready to go. Micah reminds me of how we should be as we prepare to leave for Costa Rica. We have the security of our Father and a little bit of information about what he has planned for us. Instead of worrying about the details of our house and what we should pack, we should be excited to know that God has lots of things planned for us as we follow His will. Please pray for our family as we prepare to move. Ask God to remind us that regardless of all the new things that may be in store for us and all the details that remain unknown, God will be with us in Costa Rica- My Home.

Welcome Home!

When the team from NHCC left the Dominican Republic in November, the new parsonage was near completion. The team had accomplished a lot but there were still a few details left that prevented Franklin and Ilonka from being able to move in.

At the beginning of December, another team from Illinois arrived in the Dominican Republic to pick up where the NHCC team left off. I just received an update from Joni Colle, one of our board members as well as a member on the Illinois team. She was glad to announce that the parsonage is now occupied by Franklin and his family. Their first night in the house was December 11.

As Joni recalled in her email, the home is a beacon in the darkness of a developing town. A home built among the "plywood village" of transitional housing, it represents Franklin and his family's long term commitment to ministering to the people in Veron, Punta Cana. It draws people to the church and hopefully to Christ. How cool! And you thought it was just a house. :)