Life in Costa Rica

Hey everyone, it has been a while since our last update, and so much has happened! We know that everyone’s lives still look quite different due to the pandemic, here is a little glimpse into all that we have been up to over the last few months. Towards the beginning of the COVID lockdown, we began thinking and praying about starting to look for a house/land to purchase, instead of continuing to rent our current home. The extra time gave us the opportunity to drive around and see what our options might be in the area. We are excited to say, that after months of searching, we came across a plot of land that we really love, and that fits very well into what we can afford! It is a decent sized plot of farmland where we will be constructing our home on the land. Things have been moving along very well, and it looks like construction will start next week! We are excited to have this opportunity to build a home and use the property to provide jobs, and further our ministry. If you would...

 Hi friends, We want to take a minute and share what life has looked like in our little part of the world in the midst of this pandemic. We know everyone is facing unique and difficult times right now, and we are praying alongside you for things to return to “normal” once again! We are always thankful for social media and the ability to communicate regularly with people back home, as well as to stay informed of how things are being handled in our other home. Some of you have asked, what does social distancing and an economic crisis look like in Costa Rica, and how has it affected your ministry? ·          Driving restrictions were put in place from the very beginning to avoid unnecessary travel and gatherings. We are currently not allowed to drive on Sunday or Monday, or we could face a $200 fine. ·          A curfew was put in place from the beginning, starting at 5pm, which was later ex...

It has been a little while since our last update and we wanted to fill everyone in on what God has been up to in the past few months here in Santa Rosa, Costa Rica. We hit the ground running when we got back from our time in Pennsylvania. We were invited as a church to be part of a Christmas party that was held in the town of La Aldea. La Aldea is a small town where we have been invited to start a Bible study. We were very excited to be able to host a Gospel-centered Christmas party for the kids from there and all the surrounding villages/towns. Since our time here we have been able to make some strong connections with the families there, and we are looking forward to continuing our Bible study and relationships with the people. It has been amazing to see the growth in the people as God continues to open eyes and hearts to His saving grace. The first two weeks of January we held summer camps for the kids and youth from our church. The first week was geared towards the childr...

Hi everyone, It's been a few months since our move to Santa Rosa and our last post, and we are so excited to share everything that God has been doing in our lives and ministry! We have been adjusting well into this new environment, and are thankful for the amazing body of Christ we have around us to support and encourage us daily. It has been awesome getting to know Esteban and Hannah better and learn alongside them as we join in their service. This month we officially became members of the Church "Semillas de Vida" (Seeds of Life) and have jumped into full time ministry. Brandon has been able to help out with a few Sunday morning sermons, and has now taken the position of teaching a 30 minute Sunday School lesson before each service. He has been focusing on discipleship - what it is and how to implement it in our everyday lives. At this point Sunday School is still in the main room with everyone, but as the church grows and the building expands, we plan to have multi...

Hey everyone! Thankful for this opportunity to present the Gospel to this kids in La Aldea We are happy to be moved in to our new home and have been enjoying life here in Santa Rosa . We started our move bright and early on Friday the 30th of August. It was a long day of packing up the moving truck and hauling all of our belongings 3 hours to our new home. The day that we got here with all of our stuff, we postponed our evening of organizing and unpacking for a Bible study in a nearby village called La Aldea . We are looking forward to working more in this town as there is only one family of new believers and they are reaching out for Bible studies to be formed to reach their neighbors. La Aldea is a small town that is a 45 minute drive through the jungle back a dirt/rocky road. We are excited to work with them and build our reputation as we attempt to bring God's saving message to these people. We were honored to have the opportunity to be invited to the elementary school ...

Hey everyone, Just wanted to reach out and give a quick update on how God has been guiding our steps in our upcoming transition. For those who haven’t heard, the Lord has been working a lot in our hearts over the past year. We are looking forward to our move to a town by the name of Santa Rosa. We now have an official move date (September 13 th ) and a house!!! Praise God for continuing to provide for our needs in this time of many unknowns. It’s been awesome to see prayers being answered in this journey.   We had the opportunity to host the Keystone Youth Group down here at the beginning of July. They were able to get a glimpse into the community and church plant where we will be serving. It was a very busy week as we held a mini VBS in 3 different locations. It was a blessing to have a team that was well prepared that was able to share the love of Christ to the different communities. They endured a very hot week and were full of energy the entire time. Please contin...

In May we said goodbye to our nineteen 2018-19 GAP students. Second semester was full of adventure, ministry, growing friendships and personal growth for many. We love seeing the continued excitement and yearning to learn as students jump in and make the most out of the second half of their year. This year was a challenging one for many of us here at GAP, with lots of problems and situations that came up that we had never dealt with before. From all the health issues (affecting staff and many students), to learning how to handle the many different personality types in the villa this year, to the immense spiritual battles and growth, we tried our best to lead this class well and always point them back to Christ! We saw God do amazing things in and through many of the students. God brought many of them to a saving relationship with Him, and we were honored to be a part of many of their baptisms! We saw students really begin to dive in to the Word of God and get answers to questions of fa...