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Soon, I will be coming home to see happy faces like this one:



Poor little guy. He misses me. Juuuussst kidding.

In all honesty, I am thrilled to think of coming back and seeing friends and family again. But as I wind down my time here, I am trying to not focus on the days as if they were grains of sand, slowly slipping through the waist of an hourglass. I’m trying to look at them as Paul would have:

Let us not grow weary in doing good.
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
Let us run with perseverance the race set before us.
Make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.


Well, what news can I relay to you? Abby and I said our despedidas to Jonathan and Amy, our beloved missionary friends, on Wednesday. They left for a visit to the states. Even though I didn’t cry, it was sad to see them go. I’ve been amazed at the friendships God has given me here, and I will miss them dearly. On the brighter side, since our last team left on the 11th, now I have a chance (after over a month) to get back to a “normal” routine of working in the children’s homes. We were incredibly busy with all the teams in March and April, so this week has felt, comparatively, like the proverbial calm after the storm (is that how the proverb goes?).

Something I’ve been challenged and blessed by as of late is going to a baptism class with some of the children from the albergues. There are two boys, age 8 and 11, and one girl, age 10, in the class. To say the least, their homework time has been challenging, and I couldn’t do it all without the help of the lovely Shaina. I’ve been richly rewarded, though, to know that the word of the Lord is not sown or planted in vain, and that it will not return without accomplishing its purpose. We’ve been memorizing scripture and learning some basic, foundational truths about what it means to be a child of God.

On a very light (well, not calorically speaking) note, I had some tasty bread pudding yesterday… for breakfast. Yes, people, the food here in Costa Rica is incredible.

I strongly recommend that you borrow or purchase the novel Safely Home by Randy Alcorn. It will leave you homesick; leave you with a profound realization that you’ve never laid eyes on your best friend. What your soul has been longing for all your life can’t be seen or touched in our present reality, but will one day be more physical, more real, than this passing shadow of an earth. I can’t stop thinking about it! When you put things into eternal perspective, everything temporal makes more sense, and becomes easier to bear. Reading that novel has given me a fitting mindset for my journey “home” to the states.

They admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country- a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. -The author of Hebrews, speaking of Christian martyrs.

Are we growing too comfortable here?

In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you also may be where I am. -Jesus

I love you all. Thanks upon thanks for following.