More Great Costa Rica Updates :~)

We are so blessed to have the internet!!
Don't These Great Updates Make it So Easy to
Remember to Raise This Team Up in Prayer??

Sent: 6/21/2006 7:20:32 PM

Subject: Fwd: Orosi update 06.19

Hello to all,

My apologies! I have just learned that Lynette is THE contact person to send any updates to. This one is from late Monday evening. Another to follow!

Praise God ... All is well in Costa Rica.

On behalf of your kids,

Les

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Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2006 16:31:54 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Orosi update 06.19

Hello All,

Finally, news from Central America! First, all is going very well for your children. Naturally, it has been very busy these initial days in country. Our flights went well; no delays and we arrived as planned in San Jose on Friday evening. We then had orientation before we turned in.

Saturday: More orientation and devotional time before we headed toward Orosi. On the way we stopped at a Butterly Pavillion before dinner. When we arrived in Orosi the Ticos welcomed us at the church with a very touching ceremony and many games to allow the kids to get to know one another. We then headed home to our families.

Sunday: We were treated to a wonderful spirit-filled time of worship, prayer, praise and teaching (some translated, some not!)

I'll sign off for now, we (Lisa & I) need to get back to our home for dinner before the students enjoy more time of fellowship with their Tico friends. Bear with me, I'll keep you updated as I can.

Please pray for continued safety, God has protected us perfectly. Pray for continued health, not a mention of any tummy (or heart) issues. Please pray for continued harmony and grace amongst our team. No issues thus far. Please pray for God to be glorified even more greatly, we have enjoyed a very quick and trusting bond between students, Tico and American, leaders, US and CR, hosts and families. Becky, Mike, Lisa, Ashley and myself are holding our respective own with language and cultural differences that we are experiencing.

Praise God for that and let's trust Him to bless us with more of the same!

Les

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Sent: 6/21/2006 8:00:37 PM

Subject: Orosi update 06.21

Greetings,

Such a simple schedule yet it is quite a challenge to keep up with it. Our last 3 days have looked something like this:

* Rise and shine, shower in any of a variety of showers (I'll let the kids tell you the details!), visit in Spanish while half asleep, spend devotion time if possible, get down some breakfast and be to the church by 7:30 am (flexible of course).

* Drive through the mountains of CR to pick up all kids not in Orosi. Make our way through Palomo to Cachi to meet at El Chilito for quick prep for the day.

* Go to the high school where we have been spending time. Speaking to English classes, skits and dances performed, testimony shared, lots of time conversing in 2 languages and all the while allowing the love of Christ to shine through our interactions. Some of these activities have been in classes of different sizes; yesterday there was an assembly for many students that included the posting of the Costa Rican colors, the national anthem, performances and many presentations by school officials.

* Today our work time involved painting of the restrooms which they did a great job at.

***** By the way, each of you would be very proud of how your kids are handling
these situations in front of many people who speak varying degrees of English. *****

* We then head back to El Chilito for lunch and some debrief time.

* Yesterday after lunch we had a "futbol" tournament with the Tico students. 5 boys v. 5 boys and 5 girls v. 5 girls. Side note: Costa Rica has not been doing well in the World Cup (which is being played now). Therefore the Costa Rican kids did, ahem, quite well against our kids who held there own.

* We typically have returned home for some off time to spend with our Tico friends, had dinner and have been back at church by 6:30. There is then an evening of training for the Youth Retreat that will be conducted by the students; ours and the Ticos. The kids are typically home by 10-ish and report being exhausted. We leaders would concur!

Know that your prayers have been consistently answered. All are safe, in good health, smiling!, and from where I stand, bringing glory to our Father. We leaders are proud to serve alongside of these kids. Keep praying, now more then ever. These kids ARE kids and as we all get more comfortable it will be important to keep our protection strong, our minds clear and our spirits filled with that of Christ.

Les