Hello dear supporters of our work in Costa Rica:
We stand in awe at what the Lord is doing in our community and personal lives. We pray the Lord's blessing over you as you prepare for this fall season of new school years, changes in weather and the end to a great summer. We are thrilled to share some great news with you this month in this newsletter.
On July 10th, we packed up eight suitcases worth of items to return back for another year in the field. Our bags had everything from a complete 2nd grade homeschool curriculum, to gifts for birthdays we missed to books and bibles for ministry. It is always a juggling act but we seem to manage to get off the ground with our sleigh full of items.
Thanks be to God our beloved Brooke Dunn was traveling with us to begin her year-long commitment as a NOW Costa Rican intern. We are delighted to have her and can see God at work in her already. She has jumped in serving as a tutor, sunday school teacher, will soon be helping the homeless ministry and our upcoming retreat. Please pray for her adjustment period these next few weeks as she settles in and prepares for her language school home stay the end of August.
The children have been adjusting to life back in their nursery school, absorbing Spanish once again and reuniting with old friends. They celebrated Guanacaste Day here with dances, cultural dress and local foods at school. It was a joy to see them so well integrated. Please continue to pray over their futures, their spanish language acquisition and unique schooling needs.
The BIG NEWS - we have found a half-acre lot in Herradura and are hoping to close the deal in the next few months. The owner, Marco, is delightful. He's from Peru and is tending to his elderly uncle who owns a 50-acre farm behind the lot we are purchasing. It will take 1-2 months for the lot to be separated from the farm and then we will begin the very uncertain process of navigating land ownership in Costa Rica. Please pray for the lawyers, architects and builders that the Lord will bring our way as we prayerfully take this bold leap forward.
We close out this month with our first ever NOW Costa Rica Retreat (see collage below). The team discussed the upcoming plans for the year while engaging in team-building activities and praying to make a significant impact in the lives of our local teens. We now have a staff of three American missionaries and four local women helping us to host mission teams and navigate discipleship groups.
The older teen girls will have a rewards day later in August for their completion of the book Every Young Girls Battle. The teen boys group is just starting The Five Love Languages for Teens. We are praying over each and every student the Lord brings our way. Will you too? Here are the boys below with their teacher Cristian. He's a joy to have alongside us!
Please pray for:
Howerton's Mission Team Sept. 21-26
Beale Mission Team Oct 10-17
Continued Spanish language development for Ailors, Brooke, Jenna and mission teams
The Land buying process to go smoothly and according to God's will
~Jordanna, fam & team