New Year, Continued Growth

Hey everyone!

We are well into the second semester of the GAP year, and there are some cool things happening. Though every season brings its own challenges, we are so thankful to be a part of God’s work here in Costa Rica and in the GAP program. It was great to be home to celebrate the holidays and catch up with many of you, we are always thankful for visits back to the states to see family and feel refreshed. 

Every January, we hold summer camps with the churches and ministries we work with. This is an awesome opportunity for the GAP students to really connect with the kids and teens they are serving in ministry, as they are normally week long, overnight camps. We love seeing students return after camps with improved Spanish and stronger relationships with their ministry kids. 

Brandon and I had the opportunity to serve in camp with Salvador and his youth group from Los Guido! The theme of the week was “walking towards spiritual maturity”. There were speakers who came from a church in San José to share lessons on growing in and living out your faith. Brandon taught two lessons on being an example, and showing fruit. We also helped plan and carry out game times for the campers. We love serving during camp weeks, and getting to see the kids/teens hear

truth and grow in their faith. Many of them make commitments in their walk with Christ that carry into their lives for years to come! We also enjoy spending time playing games and just getting to know them better throughout the week. Please continue to pray for Salvador and Veronica and their amazing ministry in the town of Los Guido. Check out this video for photos and clips from our week at camp! 

After camps, the students jumped right back into class and ministry. So far they have had a biblical counseling class, biblical finance class and a study through the first half of Romans. It is encouraging to hear how students are growing through Bible classes. Even though it is challenging to talk through heart issues in the biblical counseling class, there is always so much growth and change that comes through it. This class helps

small groups connect on a deeper level as we discuss issues together, and then encourage each other to grow in those areas. We are looking forward to seeing students grow even more in their biblical knowledge this semester, and to help them carry that out in their day-to-day lives. 

It’s been a hard year on our GAP staff, with sickness hitting in different, unexpected ways the first semester. Coming back for the second semester, both of our girl interns decided not to return to the program. We are sad to not have them back with us, but we know that God is in control and he has them where He needs them right now. Pray for us as we finish out this GAP year, that we would take advantage of the time we have to encourage and lead the students well. We are excited to see what God has in store for the students, as well as us leaders in the rest of our time here. Please pray that we would stay strong and remain joyful through everything that is thrown our way! 

Hospital visits have become a regular part of our monthly routine, but we are happy to say we have only received positive feedback since November. Regular blood tests show that Samantha’s levels are back to normal, and the medicines are keeping the disease at bay! We hope to continue to lower the dosages in the months to come, but she is happy to be feeling strong and healthy. She has been

working on adjusting her diet and incorporating exercise in her days to continue to strengthen and preserve her body. Her vocal chords are completely healed and will hopefully stay that way forever. Thank you so much for all of the continued prayers!  

The next couple of months will be busy with GAP events, parent visitation week, family coming to visit, a trip across the border to renew our visas and much more.

To learn more about us and our ministry or if you are interested in joining our team of supporters you can click here! Applications for the 2019-20 GAP year are now being accepted! If you know any young adult who might be interested or who would benefit from this nine month program, they can contact us for more information, or check out this website.

God bless,

Brandon and Samantha Hoover