Hello Everyone,
Greetings from the warm sunny climate of Costa Rica!! (Had to add that in. I hear it’s been freezing up there!…haha) In all honesty, I do miss the seasons of the year…even Winter. The cycle of natures life and colors turning and changing… then returning again and starting over. Hopefully we’ll see some of that in our economy right… clearly we are in a season of hard times, but we trust that in time (and as we see it, in God’s time) the season will turn. I was talking to a friend yesterday, one of our café regulars, and I think he summed it up well. “ We all just have to hunker down and ride it out”. And so I pray God’s grace for us all as we hunker down and ride out these times…. That we may be the salt of the earth and the light of the world especially in these hard times. That God’s grace, kindness, and joy will be especially evident in and through the church.
By the grace of God our family is doing well. While we all have had our bouts with colds here and there, we are doing well and we are thankful for it. Wolfy- is learning 3 syllable words.. which is amazing to us. His vocabulary has grown and now consists of the words papaya, zapato, banana,hello, mama, daddy. He also has shown and interest in drums and guitar.
Olivia- has also grown in her communication skills… forming 2-3 word sentences. She loves to break into spontaneous dance which resembles a combination of ballet and hippie-like free dance. Closing her eyes, she gets lost in her own world of free expression. Sometimes I’m not sure of whether to encourage this theme of freedom… or fear it’s implications for future boundary and disciplinary issues…haha. We love seeing our kids grow. One touching moment to share is from bed time. One night I asked, “Olivia, do you want to pray?” She answered a quick, “yeah!”. So we all closed our eyes… not knowing what to expect because she’s never prayed before. And she began to pray, “blah….blah God, blah…blah-blah mommy, daddy, wolfy, lola, poopa, grandma granpa…blah blah-blah… blah… Amen”. What a blah-blah-blah blessing to us!!
Ministry Highlights
Mommy Group- has had upwards to 15-20 moms in attendance with their toddlers… .and the event has continued to be a place where God forms relationships of care love and trust between women from our church and non-Christian women in our community.
Women’s Bible Study- Stacey and Jen have been co-leading a womens bible study for the past 2 years or so, but have recently “split” the bible study into two meetings; one in Tamarindo in our home, and the other on the beach in Playa Avellanas. Stacey is now facilitating a 6 week study on the Beth Moore study Breaking Free.
Tamarindo Ministries/ Café-Café - Through our web presence, the Café has been a success as a connecting point. Last month,we were found by a couple from Turkey that had recently become Christians (last October). The husband had converted from the Muslim faith to Christianity, and the wife from New Age philosophy and spirituality to Christianity. This has been a radical transition for both of them. Ebru is now in Stacey’s bible Study, and Achmed is plugged into our men’s bible study. Please keep them both in your prayers as they build a foundation of faith in Christ… their names are Achmed and Ebru.
Thanks! Thank you Lord for …
The Hill family… Wes, Jeanna, Hayden, Landen, Aubry- for blessing our family, our ministry, our church, and our community. The Hill family truly a part of our ministry family here during their stay in Tamarindo from September-December. We truly miss having them with us…. And hope they will be able to serve with us again in the future.
Our present Café interns Marlen and Josh. Marlen had completed her commitment to serving with us last December, but has extended her time with us to April. In addition to continuing at the Café, she will serve as leader of our church’s youth ministry. She has been a great asset to the ministry team her, and continues to bless us with her heart to serve our church and community. Our newest intern, Josh, arrived in early January. Josh has plugged into the Café ministry with ease, and he has been a blessing to us in serving our church with his music talents (drums/guitar).
Grace and Support- We thank God for his grace that sustains us in life, marriage, parenthood, and ministry. And we thank God for friends and family like you who pray for and encourage us.
Grace, Peace, and Blessings to you all!!
Lyle, Stacey, Olivia, and Wolfy
Prayer Requests-
Achmed and Ebru- God’s grace and mercy in their transitions of life and faith.
Lyle and Stacey- for our marriage. For daily balance between our family commitments and our call to ministry.
Café Café – for God use the coffeehouse as a “light”, shining forth grace, kindness to all who enter our doors.
