Hello again from Costa Rica… we hear it’s been a snowy winter back in the U.S., so maybe a letter from Costa Rica might bring some warmth your way. =)
THE FAMILY…. has been doing well over the past months. To be honest, it’s been a very busy few months as you will find in our letter. I guess what I’m discovering is that when the tourist season kicks in here (Dec-Mar),
work and ministry also kick in. The café triples/quadruples in clients and sales, there are more weddings to officiate, more music gig’s to play, more e-mails to respond to, more of everything. For us…. while this means less time with family… we are grateful for the opportunities God gives us to provide for our needs.Lyle- In the midst of the busyness of work and ministry, one of the highlights of my weeks continues to be Discipleship group. On a weekly basis, I meet with Daniel (intern), Marlen, (former intern), Alex, Cady, and Kevin for discipleship meetings. Right now, we are memorizing scripture verses, doing bible study regarding those verses, and reading through John Stott’s book Basic Christianity. I love running with a pack in fellowship, prayer, and mutual encouragement. It is a lively group, and I count it a humbling privilege to be leading them deeper in their walks with Christ.
Stacey- A highlight for Stacey is that she recently stopped leading women’s bible study in our home, and is now attending the women’s bible study at church on Thursdays, and in Avellanas on Tuesdays. While there were several women faithfully attending the bible study in our home, Stacey felt that God was calling her to have more of a ministry of presence with others, and to connect more with other women at our church whom she was only able to see on Sundays. It was a difficult decision to make, but after a few weeks she has found it to have been a wise and fruitful decision.
Olivia and Wolfie- They are both healthy and doing well. We do have a fun story regarding Olivia. We’re not entirely sure how aware she was of what she was saying, but one day… while with Stacey, Olivia verbally asked Jesus into her heart. We think that's awesome. And while we questioned the level of her understanding of her decision, I am just grateful to see the spiritual influence of my wife and our church community on our children. As for Wolfie… he is now swimming!! He’s not 100% there yet, but just about. And this gives us a bit more security with regard to his safety in the pool and at the beach.
CAFÉ CAFÉ
Thank you to all of you who have been in prayer for us. In looking back at the last letter, I can see prayers answered… and I’m thankful to God.
The Café has done great over the past 3 months… and finances are looking good for the season. In terms of outreach, we are finding more and more locals making us their regular stop for coffee, and for conversation. Please pray that these relationships will bear fruit to salvation of our friends. Lastly, I see the café growing more and more into it’s “life” as a ministry. Weekly ministry that takes place here include: Discipleship Group on Tuesday afternoons, worship/music practice on Thursday afternoons, Christian Surfer’s bible study on Thursday evenings, and now we will be hosting bi-weekly prayer meetings for the upcoming mission trip in March.MINISTRY INTERNS
In December, we were sad to see our intern Marlen have to return home due to financial concerns…. And in January we were blessed to see her come back! After ministering with the Café and Beach Community Church for a year, Marlen has felt called to continue ministering here in Tamarindo, but in the capacity of working full time, and making Tamarindo her home. This has been a huge faith step for Marlen. Please keep here in your prayers as she is looking for work and exploring creative ways to make ends meet. We are thankful for her heart to minister here with us in Tamarindo.
Daniel continues to serve with us, and I feel very blessed to have him to minister alongside of. I’ve truly never met anyone with such a servants heart… I learn from him daily. Daniel has also decided to serve with us through June of 2011, and as you can imagine this is a huge blessing!
In March, we will have a new intern arriving named Ashlyn. She will be serving with us for 3-4 months, and we look forward to having her on the team. In addition to Ashlyn, we have 3 other potential interns, all of whom would be great assets to the team here as well. Please pray with us as we discern possibilities of them serving with us.
BEACH COMMUNITY CHURCH….Initially I wrote a couple of paragraphs on what we’ve been up to with BCC, but decided a condensed bullet-point version might be more appropriate….
- Missions Week- December 7-11
2. Evangelistic Outreach to kids during the gift distribution. 3.Painting and planting plants around a local school in need. 4.Church Work day of sprucing up the church grounds. 5. Outreach to men at the Mercies of God Ministry for men in addiction recovery. 6. Several members of our church took a trip to Nicaragua during this week to distribute dresses, clothes and shoes to the poor, and to reach out with a message of Christmas hope.
- Annual Church’s Christmas Party- fun fellowship with our church family!
- BCC Men's Retreat- a great time of fellowship and surf!
- Christmas Eve Service- great outreach and worship!
- Hope for Haiti- Tamarindo- It was awesome. The local community really rallied in response. We had $2800 in raffle prizes donated for the event…. And we were able to raise a sum total of $4,780.00 that was sent to Haiti through World Vision. We thank the Lord for his faithfulness… not only were we able to raise money to help the people in Haiti, but I feel that the event was a great success in bringing our community of faith together with the un-churched in our area in a powerful way. Hopefully we will to see more of these sorts of interactions in the future.
We know it is God's grace that sustains our ministry and who opens doors to bear fruit and do more. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. Please see below for our prayer request and how to support our ministry.
Grace and peace,
Lyle, Stacey, Olivia and Wolfie
Prayer Requests
- For protection and blessing of our home/family relationships
- For protection and blessing in our church family and our relationships with eachother.
- For wisdom and discernment in daily ministry decisions
- For growth in our faith and obedience to Christ
- For sustenance of financial needs at the Church and through the Cafe business
- For the Lord to bring new spiritual life out of the catastrophic events in Haiti, and a new hope filled chapter for the country.
