And we are off to a New Year! This month has certainly been jam-packed with new beginnings, fruitful moments, and a reestablishment of our rhythm of life in Costa Rica amidst a busy ministry season.
The start of each trimester at ILE (The Spanish Language Institute) welcomes the arrival of new students who enroll to learn Spanish, with the majority typically planning to participate in longer-term mission work within Latin America. This month marked the arrival of a new group of students, so I (Christopher), just like the previous group, get the privilege of reentering the cycle of meeting new students and hopefully being a faithful minister to them while they are in Costa Rica. Both Hannah and I enjoy this dynamic, of continuing with former students as well as receiving new students, as ministry life is simultaneously changing as well as stable.
The group of new students themselves have been a pleasure to have so far on campus, and there have already been learning experiences for me as certain situations have challenged me to be a wise and faithful leader navigating tensions between people of differing cultures, Christian denominations, and generations. We always appreciate those who pray for us to be endowed with the wisdom that only comes from above, from our Heavenly Father.
Annually, the youth ministry we serve in has a camp for all those who regularly attended youth services. The youth camps (MS & HS camp), as we had shared for months, were from January 12th-17th. We want to thank everyone who contributed financially and prayed fervently for the camps, as they were fruitful for the campers as well as the leaders. Even with the unexpected turns and some discouraging events that transpired, we saw that God is continuing to work deeply in the hearts of many youth. Camp also revealed to us the value of long-term consistency when investing in younger generations. If you would like more details of the highlights and difficult moments from camp, we highly encourage you to join our WhatsApp Group Chat by clicking any of these underlined words.
Another update regarding the La Carpio ministry is that we have received five girls and four guys who have moved on from the children's ministry to the youth ministry, and I (Christopher) had a fruitful first service with them! The last Saturday of January, we had a service just with them to get to know them better and help them ease into the transition from the children’s ministry to the youth group. I noticed a stark difference in them in comparison with previous groups of teens who have moved onto the youth group, as they were a part of the children’s ministry for years, thus cultivating a heart and attitude that is attentive and participative during our first service together. It is encouraging, humbling, and a great responsibility to continue the work that our fellow co-laborers in the children’s ministry had started with these teens and to witness the fruit of their faithful service. Please be praying for this group of teenagers that we have received, that we would have years to invest in them and that they would come to live their life rooted and built up in Christ.
Between picking up our responsibilities with ILE (such as chapels twice a week and weekly devotionals with the teachers), organizing and leading the youth camp, and continuing youth services with an additional new group of teens, January has been quite an occupied month to say the least! Nonetheless, it has been a good start to the year thus far.
The last piece of news we would like to share is that Christopher began his graduate studies on January 26th! He is currently enrolled in Freed-Hardeman University’s Master of Arts in the Old Testament. Through scholarships, he is able to study debt-free, which was a non-negotiable for us. Certainly be praying for the fruitfulness of his studies as he is commencing a years-long process of obtaining his masters degree.
Prayer Requests:
- Discipline & Wisdom - for us to learn to say “yes” to what matters most, to stick to our “no’s,” and to prioritize and put into practice that which matters most, and the wisdom to discern the difference.
- Current ILE Students - for them to have a blessed time learning Spanish and grow closer to Christ despite the challenges of cultural immersion and language acquisition.
- The new group of teenagers that we have received, that we would have years to invest in them and that they would come to live their life rooted and built up in Christ.
Praise Reports:
- Overall, camp was a success! God was glorified, the Word was taught, fruit was seen, people were pruned, and all those present had an opportunity to grow closer to Christ and know themselves better.
- The blessing that Christopher’s graduate degree is covered for!
- The reception of nine new teenagers into the youth ministry.
Upcoming Events / Information:
- At some point, if feasible and reasonable, we would like to do another 1 or 2 day discipleship retreat with the disciples of La Carpio. That could be another potential opportunity to give to the ministry and support it in a specific manner.
- In the near future, we will send out a short 5-minute devotional reading that talks about the supernatural power of prayer. It has greatly impacted us, and we have shared it with many others, who were also amazed and moved deeply by it. It will illustrate just how seriously we view prayer and hopefully communicate to you all the level of our gratitude for your prayers.
Cultural Experience:
- Yesterday, on Sunday, February 1st, Costa Rica had their presidential election. It is also on a 4-year cycle similar to the USA. It was exciting to see the similarities and differences in how the people participate in and excitedly celebrate election day, from driving around honking their horns and flying their political party’s flag outside their car windows to treating it as a family outing. As of now, the president-elect is a young woman (39) named Laura Fernández. Be praying for Costa Rica as it goes through this presidential transition.