Year in Review

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        We have just returned from our Christmas break in the states, and are headed into a busy couple of weeks! We had a great time back in the states, and are so thankful for the time we were able to spend with friends and family during the holiday season. As we head into this new year, it is crazy to look back and see all that has happened in 2017. We spent more than half the year engaged, and prepared for our wedding while finishing out a GAP Year here in Costa Rica. Brandon began taking classes with LBC online, and is working towards his degree in biblical studies. We found and rented our first home together and began to make it our own. We were married, spent an amazing month in Lancaster with friends and family and then picked up our things and moved back to San Jose, Costa Rica. Since then, we have started our first GAP Year as a married couple, settled into our home, and started raising a puppy together! We were handed a church less than two months into our marriage and are now pastoring and leading the people to the best of our abilities. We have both been blessed and challenged in so many ways in the past year, and are so thankful for everything God has been teaching us through it all.

Samantha with her Sunday School kids

        As we head into the new year, we look forward to many things coming our way! We celebrate six months of marriage this week, and we can’t wait to see what God has in store for us! We are excited to watch the GAP students finish their nine months here, and to continue to lead them and see how they grow. It is amazing to see how God works in everyone’s lives here through the GAP Program, and we are so blessed to be a part of that.
        Our church in Tirrases has gone through a lot of change in the past few months, and we know we have not seen the last of the challenges. Brandon and Jafet have taken responsibility of the preaching and teaching of the church and are doing an amazing job at leading the people there. We are so thankful for the ways that God has been providing us with the resources and the people we need to keep the church running and growing. We are both helping to run the kids club and youth group on Saturday’s, along with our group of GAP students and some other Tico leaders. Samantha has been handed some new responsibilities as well, which have challenged her and helped her grow in so many ways. She is now helping much more with Sunday school lessons, as well as helping to lead worship on Sunday mornings.
Brandon preaching
These next two weeks include camps with the kids and teens from the church. Starting Monday, we will be running a VBS in the town of Tirrases for the kids from the church and from the town. The following week will be an overnight camp Monday through Friday for the youth. This will be considered more of a conference, as we will have lots of intensive Bible study time to study the topic of sexual purity. Please keep us and everyone involved in your prayers as these weeks take a lot of energy to make it happen. We are always blown away by the work that God does through these times, so pray that He will use these weeks to change hearts and grow people closer to Him!
       
 Thank you to everyone who have praying for us and supporting us in our work here. We are blessed to have the opportunity to be a part of the work that God is doing here in Costa Rica, and you are all a huge part of that as well. We are thankful for this year of service to our Lord, and look forward to another year of unknown challenges and growth.



To Him be the glory,
Brandon and Samantha Hoover
On our way to our kid's club


Please contact us with any questions or comments at 
bhoover18@gmail.com OR samanthahoover96@gmail.com
To learn more about our ministry or information on how to support us financially, click here!
Our dog Beans





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