We hope this letter finds you all doing well. Stacey, the kids and I are all in good health, and life has been good. We have fared the “Dengue Season” without any cases in our home, despite the fact that we have to battle them 
daily in our house. (Dengue is a mosquito born virus w/ symptoms kind of like Malaria/the flu… can be deadly). I’ve had Dengue twice since moving to Costa Rica, so I go after the mosquitos with a vengeance.... to keep the family safe from them. It's kinda funny but I often wish in my mind that I could shrink down to mosquito size, and duke it out “mano a mano” with them. Anyway….we finally got around to rigging up Olivia’s mosquito net last night… helps us all to sleep a bit more at ease.
Now… in thinking about how much there is to communicate in our update letters, sometimes I get pretty overwhelmed, so I think I’ll just begin with some random snapshots of what’s been going on. The last time I wrote was November 10th, and here’s what’s’ been going on since then.
Born Again Identity (Nov.-Dec)
I taught a 5 week Adult Christian Ed series called Born Again Identity, which covered the foundational things of our Christian Faith. Keeping in mind that Adult Christian Ed is a fairly new concept in our church, the classes were well attended and there was some meaningful dialog and discussion that took place.
BCC Sailing Day (Nov. 14)
As part of my responsibility as Associate Pastor at BCC, I organize and facilitate events revolving around Fellowship… so, I reserved Catamaran that holds up to 70 people, and we had a Church 
Sailing Day. It was a great success in terms of inter-generational and cross cultural fellowship and everyone just having fun and getting to know one another better. We also had a time of worship as the sun set... and a simultaneous spectacular rainbow. It was a very special time shared together.
Tamarindo Christmas Caroling Event (Dec. 16th)
Partnering with a friend of ours that coordinates local events, BCC held it’s first ever Christmas Caroling outreach in Tamarindo. The beauty of the event was that it was held as an event under the sponsorship of APMT (Associacion Pro Mejores de Tamarindo/ Association for the Betterment of Tamarindo). With this arrangement, over half of the people in attendance were the locals of the locals… non-Christian locals. We sang carols interspersed by the reading of scripture regarding the birth of Christ. It was pretty awesome. I was also interviewed by the Tamarindo News following the event and was given the opportunity to give a message of God’s love for the people in our community through the local paper. God is on the move here…
Pastoral Care (Nov.-Dec)
Stacey and I were honored to be able to offer pastoral care to some friends of ours named Kathy 
and Dale. Dale had been battling cancer for over two years, and as he sensed his time growing near, Stacey and I were invited to offer spiritual and emotional care . We met with them over several weeks prior to his passing and one last time the day before Stacey and I flew home to the U.S. for Christmas and New Years. The next day Dale died. It was an honor and privilege to assure both Dale and Kathy of God’s grace. Dale left this life with the assurance and hope that, because of Jesus Christ, death does not have the final word for those who trust in Jesus. (Dale on far left)
(January) After our return from the U.S., I was called by the Tamarindo News editor to come and pray with a woman who was on vacation whose husband had just drown due to rip currents. He drowned while learning to surf.
BCC Associate Pastor… One more year
I may not have mentioned before, but the part time Associate Pastor position that I currently serve in at BCC is a position that comes up for yearly evaluation. Last week my position and perferomance were evaluated, and praise God that the Elders Board decided to keep me around for another. Stacey and I are grateful… and able to breathe a little easier with regard to the future.
Christmas w/ CEPIA
A local organization called CEPIA has been a great blessing to many troubled youth in need in our area. Though they are a secular organization, we see value in partnering with non Christians who share God’s concern for kids in need. Our hope is that might be ambassadors of Christ as we work alongside them. BCC sponsored about 60 kids at this event, and about five of us from the church helped to distribute the gifts. At the time of distributing gifts I was given the opportunity to share a brief message of God’s love for each of those kids.
Café Café
While we struggled financially through the low-season, things are back in swing. And regardless of the finances, Café Café continues to be an invaluable part of the ministry we do here. Several weeks ago I invited Sylvia, one of our Café regulars, to come to church.
She said, "I know I should go... I used to go, but since I got married, not so much."
This week, on a different occasion, she came in to get a coffee to go and asked, “do you take donations for your church?” I was caught a bit off guard, but answered, “Yes… of course”. How cool to think that God has been working on her heart. He is on her mind during the week, pursuing her. My mentioning this, of course, has nothing to do with the $50. It's that God is moving in her heart. And what a privilege it is for us to get to partner in what God is doing in her life.
We have also had people come in for prayer from time to time, and we are grateful to know that our Café is being perceived as a place that people can come for spiritual encouragement and prayer.
School Supplies for Local Kids
Most of you are already aware that, as part of our ministry at Café Café, we collect school supplies to distribute to underprivileged local kids. Well, over the last year, we have been 
blessed through people who have contributed about 75 backpacks.... and many school supplies to fill them with. A special thanks to Kyle and Colin and their church in Ireland, and to Jim and Jeanne and their church in Washington State. Thanks to people like them, we were able to distribute school supplies to local flood victims in Filadelfia area, and to kids in areas surrounding Tamarindo. In Filadelfia, we partnered with Youth With A Mission based in nearby Nicoya, and we distributed second-hand clothes that we collected at Cafe Cafe, along with back-packs, and basic food needs. Just this past week in Tamarindo, we worked with a Calvary Chapel church plant (Costa Rican/Spanish-speaking) to distribute about 23 backpacks, to ad to the 10 more that were given out earlier in the year.
I hope this gives you a glimpse into the big picture of what God has been up to in our area of Costa Rica. Thank you for your continued prayers. We know God’s grace sustains us daily. Blessings to you and your families.
In Christ,
Lyle, Stacey, Olivia, and Wolfie
-For the women's bible study that Stacey co-leads.... that God would continue to be a place of refuge, welcome, encouragement, and grace for those who come.
-Wisdom for Lyle as he discerns how to best serve the church and community... discerning where to invest time, energy and resources. So many possibilities/needs in the area.
-God's sustenance and provision for our every need... spiritually, emotionally, physically, monetarily.
-Protection of our family and marriage.
-For God to open doors to share the gospel with non-believers/seekers.
To get more involved or support us financially, find out how on our website www.tamarindochurch.com
