nutshell

October 2009

Initial friendships are beginning to form with some students.  They are beginning to trust me more as a Christian and are beginning to become curious about Jesus.  On Mondays I have had the honor of meeting with 6 believers and 2 nonbelievers at the University of Belgrano.  Their names are:  Pablo, Gemma, Alethea, Lara, Noelia, Rodrigo, Stefan, & Tomas.  Just studying through the Gospel of Luke. Praying together and just hanging out.  Tuesdays are spent studying with Rodrigo and Stefan who are the only nonbelievers of the Univ. Belgrano group. We are studying through the Gospel of John for 30 minutes then shoot pool and chat. Also, I have been able to meet with 4 nonbelieving UBA medical students.  Their names are Tomas, Javier, Juan, & Mateo.  We usually meet at 7:30 at the Burger King across from their school.  Wednesdays have been spent at UBA Law primarily with 2 students although a third sometimes shows up.  Their names are Anibal, Walter & Jeronimo.  Again, we are reading through the Gospel of John. During the evenings I head back to Cordoba Street and meet with 3 UBA Economic students and 1 professor.  Their names are Adriano, Fernando, Gerardo, & Hector. Again, I am meeting them at the Burger King near their school.  Thursdays are spent having a study with 3 UBA Engineering students at the McDonalds across from their school. Their names are Carlos, Adelmo, & Jorge.  We are reading through the Gospel of John together as well.  My evening is spent at the Catholic University of Argentina studying with 2 students who are studying Psychology. Their names are Jose & Lucas.  Fridays are spent at a cafe near UBA Philosophy / Literature interacting with 4 nonbelieving students. Their names are Manu, Matias, Fransisco, & Rafael.  We have been reading through the Gospel of John together. Friday evening is spent at the Spanglish Exchange that meets on Florida Street (I have noticed that it has more university students present than at the other locations in Palermo and San Telmo) and then later at a Campus Crusade leaders prayer group that I was invited to by a believer named Ricardo.  Saturday afternoons have been spent hanging out / discipling Pablo (Univ. Belgrano), Ismael (UBA Medical) and Cesar (UBA Law) who are three students that have expressed interest in initiating a simple church at their Faculties.  They are currently attending their own evangelical church but seem open to change.  We have been spending time singing and praying together and working through practical T4T concepts. Saturday nights have been spent at specific bars that local university students hang out in before dancing the night away.  This past weekend Pablo, Ismael, Cesar and I spent time at a bar called the “Lizard” introducing ourselves and trying to make acquaintances.

Obviously, we are hoping that most of the guys mentioned above would come to know Jesus and decide to follow him.

Paula and I are making plans to have all 29 students over to our house Friday evening October 30 for Parilla & Poker. This will be a laid back time where our network of 7 Bible studies can meet for the first time and just hang out and get acquainted with each other.  Hopefully, they will bring along their girlfriends because as of yet there are no girls in our network.  There will be lots of music and food. At this time I will introduce the students to Paula and she will give her testimony and I will elaborate more on our vision. It’s so cool to see how God is beginning to use the initial GIG’s I had but also our first mission team in the process of developing our foundational of network of relationships.  On Sunday November 1 Paula and I will begin a simple church in our home catering toward our APT community and families with small children.  God willing, some of these nonbelievers will get saved and baptized in the near future so that these Bible studies can make the transition to some simple churches.

July – September 2009

The GIG’s (Groups Investigating God) that were meeting for two months in May and June stopped as a result of the July winter break. Paula and I were kind of disappointed.  Momentum was lost due to students not having time to get together. Most of them were on vacation…out of town.  Our first mission team from California helped to regain some of the lost momentum which was extremely encouraging. They ministered to my family more than they will ever realize. Right now Paula and I are trying to follow up on around 40 contacts that were made during the teams August visit. So far no new GIG’s have evolved but we continue to press on despite the lack of progress.  Last Monday (Sept. 7) I met with an ongoing bible study group at the Univ. of Belgrano facilitated by a missionary from England (Gemma Crank) sent here through an organization called Latin Link.  There were 8 of us present…2 of which were not-yet-believers. I was invited to this group by Pablo who our mission team connected with about three weeks ago.  He seems to be very much involved with his classes at school but also his local church (Brethren background). He also participates with a campus outreach organization called ABUA (Asociacion Biblica Universitaria Argentina).  I met his friend Rodrigo during the study and am trying to connect with him via Facebook. Although he is Catholic by religious tradition he does not believe in or trust Christ. I am finding out through my conversations with believers on campus that they do not have any concept at all about “simple church.” Most of them come from many of the larger Pentecostal churches here in the Capital and do not see the need for what we are trying to initiate.  Following up on these 40 contacts has been difficult because all we have is either an email address of telephone number.  Most of the time the info that was given to us has been incorrect. Therefore, no connection has been made with many of them.  The ones that I personally met have been easier to set up a time to meet.  Right now Paula and I are praying that God will give us more passion and perseverance to continue doing our best. Recently, God encouraged us with this verse: “Our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction (1 Thess. 1:5).” We are praying for a deeper level of discipleship during these hard times. Paula and I made the decision just to focus on making disciples…churches will naturally develop when the time is right.

April – June 2009

For the last 3 months Dave has spent some significant time at the 13 faculties of the University of Buenos Aires initiating conversations with any student who will talk but not as much time as he would have liked.  Although students at private universities like the University of Belgrano are great to talk with the UBA students who do not have much money are seem to be more activistic and interested in change.  Therefore, most of my time so far has been interacting with UBA students.  The 40 day fast that I engaged in helped renew my heart.  Jesus transformed my mind during this time and renewed a passion for reaching university students.  Paula and I plant churches solely for the glory of God.  He gave me a vision of initiating small, relevant GIG’s (Groups Investigating God) at each of the 13 faculties.  This is not original but comes from Inter-Varsity.  So far we have a group meeting from the faculty of Natural Science and another one from the faculty of Psychology.  These groups meet for 6 weeks.  Once a week together (face to face) but everyday via a closed forum on Facebook where we continue our conversations.  My hope is that these GIG’s groups will eventually result in tight-knit simple churches.  So most of my time is being spent now initiating as many GIG’s as possible and hope to begin training Argentine believers in existing churches to do the same.  I have enough common sense to realize that most of the GIG’s will not result in a church and that is the main reason I am going to try to initiate as many as possible.  Right now our conversation in the first group (Wed evenings) deal with whether or not Science and the Bible conflict.  The second group which begins tomorrow (Monday evenings) will talk about how God could allow suffering and evil.  Tomorrow’s discussion will focus on exactly where did evil come from.  Of course with each conversation I share my testimony and highlight the uniqueness of Christ.  My ultimate goal is to see students saved and for them to begin worship the true God in authentic community.  I want them to see Jesus as more than just a nice guy.  He is brilliant!

February & March 2009

Ezra is loving attending Washington School every afternoon for three hours.  He is making lots of Argentine friends and Paula is also making friends with many of the moms.  There is a birthday party every week which is putting Paula in a very natural environment to get to know other moms.  This school has an awesome reputation for academics and extracurricular activities.  Both Ezra and Noah will later be able to attend any university in the States of their choice.  We are excited about the possibilities for their education.

As most of you know our language progress is going extremely well.  We have found an awesome tutor which has made a big difference in our ability to improve in Argentine Spanish.  The structure that we have through our Kaleidoscope orientation requirements and mentoring program are slowly giving us a strong foundation for long term success.  For those of you who do not know what Kaleidoscope is let me explain a little.  The purpose of our Kaleidoscope  orientation is to immerse ourselves as observers, learners and discover every possible aspect of the language, culture, and worldview of university students in order to effectively reach them for Christ.  It focuses primarily on activities that will enhance our cross-cultural awareness and learning experiences in a balanced and meaningful way.  These activities have been designed to help us “scope out” these essential parts of the culture as we grow in our understanding of university students that we hope to engage.  Most of our blog up to this point has been highlighting these activities but we hope to make it more ministry oriented in the near future.

Every Tuesday and Thursday I have been hanging out at the University of Belgrano trying interact with students.  On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I am usually at one of the faculties associated with the University of Buenos Aires.  Paula and I have made the decision to focus our efforts on these two universities for now.  What we have found so far is that students are generally too busy to meet with us during the day and when they are not at school or working they usually are hanging out with their friends.  Getting a spiritual interest or Bible group started has been extremely difficult.  There does not seem to be very much interest at least up to this point.  Perhaps our approach has been off and we need to rework our strategy a bit.  We know that God is working but up to this point it has been hard to see where and with whom.  Even though ministry is slow Paula and I have a quiet confidence that in due time tangible fruit will be produced.  Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to be faithful to the call that God has placed on our hearts.  We have been encouraged here recently in our weekly team meetings because many of our colleages are slowly making an impact in this huge city of millions who do not know Jesus.

October 2008 – January 2009

The last 4 months here in Buenos Aires have flown by so quickly.  They have really been difficult for our family but has motivated us to rely on God’s strength not our own.  We have settled into our apartment and it is beginning to feel like home.  Although we are still in the process of buying furniture and getting the apartment repairs done we are definitely making progress.  It was awesome to finally get the sliding doors installed so that we do not have to “duck tape” the doors every night.  The ceiling fans have definitely helped out with circulating the air in the apartment.  As we have mentioned in the past it has taken us longer to get settled here than expected.  From experience we have learned that it is best to first set up home rather than jumping immediately into ministry.  We believe that God will bless us in the long term for being patient at the beginning.   Although our apartment is taking shape we need your prayers right now for all the paper work that still needs to get done.  Right now we still have to leave Argentina every 3 months due to our tourist visas.  In the mean time we continue to work on our cultural and language skills.  Please pray for Ana, our language tutor, because she is very sick right now with a severe case of diabetes.  Our adjustment to Buenos Aires would have been even more difficult without her.
Noah Andrew was born on December 5 at 3:25 AM.  Paula was in the hospital 3 days after the birth.  Ezra and I were so proud of her.  Basically Noah does 3 things: eats, sleeps, and poops.  He only cries when he is either hungry, tired or needs a diaper change.  Paula and I think he might have red hair and blue eyes which would be so awesome.  It was great to have David’s parents here for a week to help us during our initial transition.  They had never been to South America and we were glad that their first visit was to Buenos Aires.  Even though they were here for only a short time they were able to see many of the tourist attractions that our city has to offer.  They especially liked the beef.  It was good that they were able to worship on Sunday at a local Argentine church.  Right now they are retired and live in Malaysia.  As a result, they were able to bring down many of the spices that David grew up with in Southeast Asia.  Last night our family was able to feast on authentic chicken curry that David prepared.  It is so cool that David was raised in Southeast Asia but is working here in Argentina.  Please pray for us a we make the transition this coming year to our ministry with university students.

Christmas Day was weird this year.  It was good but felt different.  We got up and had brunch and then opened our presents.  We really missed not having any immediate family with us this year.  Praise God that we were able to hang out with team members during the afternoon.  Since we are at the beginning of summer here in Buenos Aires the weather was hot.  We took advantage of the beautiful day and went swimming.  After seeing the look on Ezra’s face in the pool Paula and I have decided to enroll him in swim classes beginning this March.  He is a fish just like his dad.

Although the last 4 months have been tough on our family we have seen firsthand the faithfulness of God during this whole process.  In all honesty we were scared when we arrived.  The list of everything we had to do to set up home and prepare for Noah was extremely overwhelming.  It tested our marriage.  We both were completely vulnerable and out of our comfort zones.  Before arriving in Buenos Aires we sort of had romantic notions of what ministry would be like in the city nicknamed the “Paris” of the southern hemosphere.  After a few weeks the bubble that we were living in “popped.”  Reality set in and we realized that this city could eat us for dinner if we continued to operate under our own strength and abilities.  In all honesty we are still having tough times.  Spiritually, we have been going through the desert and have been feeling a bit dry.  Nevertheless, we are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel and as we look back on our inital adjustment we can see how God has been truly faithful.

August/September 2008

I have two new cravings since arriving in Buenos Aires. Both “Mate” (Argentine tea) and “dulce de leche” ice cream (which does not help my BMI) literally make me feel like I am in heaven. My new addiction is the “beef” that I can purchase at the local butcher and then cook on my parilla. As you can see my family is really suffering for Jesus! It’s hard to believe that we have almost been in Argentina for 2 months now. Time has really flown by since we arrived in mid-August. Most of our team met us bright and early (4 AM) at the airport and helped us get settled into our mission apartment. After getting some needed rest we ventured out onto the streets around the mission office. We were so excited to finally be living in the city that God had called us to work. The first thing we noticed was the people….people absolutely everywhere. The second thing we noticed was the dog poop. Yep…I’m not kidding…it was literally on all the sidewalks. In fact Ezie began to say, “Watch out…mas poopie.” Nevertheless, the first few weeks at the mission apartment was a learning experience. During our initial adjustment I not only filled our gas running vehicle with diesel but also ran the car right into a pillar in an underground parking lot. Figuring out all the one way streets was also challenging (we are still currently in the process) and not eating dinner until 8:30 PM has been a tough adjustment too. These were a couple things that we initially found difficult. On the other hand, since Paula is pregnant there has been some significant advantages. For example, not having to wait in line at the any store. We can just by pass all the people in line and just point at Paula’s belly. Everyone stops what they are doing to assist us. Pretty cool huh! It is so much easier to get things done (ie: buy things, pay bills etc….) when Paula and Ezie our around. Perhaps it’s time to think about our third child….Paula did not appreciate what I just mentioned….nevertheless, pregnant women and children take priority in this city. Another cool thing is that our local grocery store does free delivery. They will take all our groceries up to our apartment after we buy them. Like I said….we are suffering for Jesus! After about 6 weeks in the mission apartment we made the decision to move to our new apartment home in the barrio of Belgrano. It has been exactly 2 weeks since we arrived. The location is perfect…everything we need is in walking distance. Please pray for us as we try to get everything set up before Noah arrives. We still need to buy a number of significans items and get repair work done (ie:painting; electrical stuff etc…). My favorite part of the place is of course the “parilla.” Tonight was our 2nd attempt to cook meat. It was absolutely perfect! One of the ways that we plan to make Argentine friends is to ask them how to cook meat “Argentine style.” Hopefully we can build relationships this way. On a different note, as all of you know we also have to have our “Asian fix” when it comes to food. This has not become a problem because a few blocks away is the “China Town” of Buenos Aires. The other day we had a delicious “duck” dish which Ezie absolutely loved. Pretty cool huh! About university students…well they have a little over a month left of school and then a 3 month summer vacation begins in December. Looks like we will kick off our university ministry next March. Between now and then we will be brainstorming with our Strategy Coordinator on how to best initiate our ministry. Right now we are focusing on getting our home set up, having Noah and networking with local Baptist churches here in the city and back in the States. Please keep us in your prayers!

June/July 2008

As I write this the date is August 11th. Paula and I have been so busy the last couple months of language school trying to finish strong. This past year has truly been a learning experience for us. Although we learned some Spanish, God taught us how to balance out family time with the daily tasks we had to complete. Ezra has grown and matured remarkably physically and mentally. We have had to buy new cloths for him and he now is talking in both Spanish and English. A couple weeks ago we found out that we will be having another boy. Paula and I are so excited that Ezra will have a younger brother who will be born in Argentina later this year. This Friday afternoon (August 15th) we will be flying to Buenos Aires, Argentina via Lima, Peru. Words cannot express how Paula and I are feeling right now. Lets just say that we are glad that our first year of language study here in Costa Rica is coming to an end. During the last few weeks it has been tough to remain focused and motivated. Our hearts have been in Argentina for the last three months. Nevertheless, we finished our studies strong. We had an Oral Proficiency Exam given to us by our mission organization to see how much we had learned and could communicate. Both of us did our best and received the level we thought we deserved. Paula can speak Spanish at an “Intermediate High” level and I can communicate at an “Advanced Low” level. We are so grateful to all of our teachers and mentors who helped us get through this initial year of study.

Besides our language school responsibilities we had to completely memorize the Roman Road presentation of the gospel along with some link questions between each verse. We had to also memorize our personal testimonies and three Bible stories. Right now we are working on becoming more fluid as we present the gospel message and share how God has worked our lives. We still do not have the spontaneity that we would like with the Spanish language so our spiritual conversations with the lost tend to be a little choppy.
Over the past year we have tried to immerse ourselves in the local Tico culture. This was particularly difficult around the language institute where we lived because of the strong Gringo presence. As a result, David would intentionally walk through neighborhoods in Desemperados where he could meet and interact with Ticos who only spoke Spanish. Usually he would walk in these neighborhoods with a Tico friend from church at least twice a week. This enabled him to share his personal testimony and practice his Spanish. More recently David have been interacting with some university students who attend the University of Costa Rica. Some university students at the church we attended wanted David to meet a few of their friends from school. Every weekend for the last two months David has been interacting with these students in San Pedro at a bar called Terra U. A few weeks ago two students prayed to receive Christ. David’s intention was for them to initiate a group of their own before I left but this has not happened yet.
We try not to separate “evangelism” from our daily life. It has always been our practice to initiate spiritual conversations with the lost all around us. For example, when David would take those walks in Desemperados I would specifically pray for God to lead him to individuals who He was drawing to Himself. Many times it would be among some men who were sitting on the benches around the local Catholic church. Recently, our local church has expressed interest in trying to develop a more dynamic university ministry. Instead of just inviting students to their church we were encouraged to see them meeting with their friends at local bars and cafes around the university. It was awesome to be able to meet and interact with their nonbelieving friends at a local hangout where they felt most comfortable. We were also able to attend a weekly Bible Study that Asbury and Hope Martin were leading with a family from Nicaragua. It was great to see how they conducted the study and interacted with all the children who were present.
During our first trimester David was able to participate in a mission effort to Guapiles. He worked alongside veteran missionaires and mission volunteers from the United States, but also with the local congregation they were trying to encourage. They were able to pass out tracts in different neighborhoods around the church building and at the same time interact with local believers who seemed a bit discouraged. It was great to have the opportunity to meet and network with a few of the volunteers who came down for the week. It gave David the opportunity to explain in detail the vision that God had placed on our heart to reach university students.
We have made a number of significant friendships with nationals outside of the language school. We have become close with the family of Etelvina, our empleada. They have been such an encouragement and blessing for us throughout this past year. We were even able help Etel’s daughter financially as she prepared to leave Costa Rica for missionary service in Senegal. We were also able to make friends with a college student named Christian who was interested in being more fluent in his English. As a result, David met twice a week with him for about three months to practice Spanish and English. David was able to share his personal testimony with him on a number of occasions and also present the plan of salvation. We were a bit sad when he finally told David that he was not interested in developing a relationship with Jesus. Over the last two months David has developed a closer friendship with three university students at the church we attend. Their names are Marco, Antonio and Jose. They were the ones who had nonbelieving friends at the University of Costa Rica that they wanted David to meet. The two students that David was able to lead to Christ and become friends with are Juan and Andreas. Although we have a lot of acquaintances here in Costa Rica these people represent our closer national friends.

As I mentioned earlier this past year has truly been a learning experience for us. Although we learned some Spanish and some local culture, God really showed us the importance of having a “balance.” There were many times that we wanted to stay out later with university students and interact with them but we chose not to because God wanted us to spend more time with Ezra. In the past our natural tendency was to say “yes” to everything but over this past year God has helped us prioritize quality time with our family. We have learned to say “no” to many of the evangelistic opportunities that come my way in order to nurture and maintain a dynamic relationship with Paula and Ezra. Our next report will come to you God willing from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

May 08

The last several weeks of our 3rd and final trimester have been awesome! Both Paula and I are enjoying our teachers (especially the one we have for grammar). We have pretty much the same schedule as we did last trimester so we have not had to get use to anything new. We continue to progress in studying “the subjunctive.” Although we are progressing slowly most of what we are learning is finally sticking. What is helping is the fact that both of us have tutors after school to help us progress in areas that we are weak in. It is awesome that we are getting more conversation time in now. Both of us wish that we had been encouraged to get tutors when we first arrived. This would have enhanced our daily experience at the language school. The man that I have helping me in the afternoons now is absolutely amazing. I get to talk to him 80% of the time in Spanish rather than only 20% at the institute. What is so cool is that I am learning some things that the institute will not teach me yet. He seems to be teaching the way I learn (less linear and more cyclical). On a daily basis I read articles from the newspaper and then have to talk about them with my tutor. This is exactly what I needed (more conversation time). Please continue to pray that God will give us the ability to speak this beautiful language.

My time with Christian and his family has become more sporadic over the last couple of weeks because of my busy schedule. We continue to talk occasionally because he is interested in learning how to speak better English. He has expressed to me that he is not interested in studying the Bible with me or learning anything more about Jesus. Although he was raised Catholic and will still say that he is Catholic, he does not believe there is a God. Please pray that God would reveal Himself to Christian in a powerful way.

Right now at our church (First Baptist Desemporados) we are spending time at the small group level with some local believers around our own age. We are studying the Sermon on the Mount which is proving to be very interesting for Paula and I because the whole class is in Spanish and the teacher is speaking really fast. Again, we wish we were encouraged when we first got here to join a small group of believers instead of just going to the Sunday morning worship service. On Sunday we spend 4 hours interacting with Ticos which is absolutely awesome but very exhausting. Usually we come home and all take a 2 hour nap because we are so physically and mentally tired.

Paula seems to be doing just fine with her pregnancy. Although she does not have much energy and still feels nauseated everyday her positive attitude absolutely amazes me. She is the best wife a man could have and the best mother as well! As you can see from the pictures on our blog, Ezra had an incredible 2nd birthday. He is so intelligent and has great hand-eye coordination. I love the fact that he has absolutely no fear of meeting people and climbing on slides. One of my favorite things to do with him is wrestle which he absolutely love. Right now we are looking forward to Jayne (Paula’s mom) visiting us. Although she will be staying at the house of Paula’s brother, we hope to see her occasionally. She is always a blessing!

In light of all the persecution we have been experiencing lately here at the language school (robberies, theft, assaults etc….) we did received a very encouraging email from one of our supporters. He gave us these verses from Hebrews 10:34-35 which states, “For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.”

Mar/Apr 08

Paula and I are in our last week of our 2nd trimester of language school. Our brains are tired but we remain motivated to learn as much as we can. Each new word we memorize is a potential word that God will use through us to lead someone to faith in Him. We have connected with a university student named Christian. He is helping us in the afternoons with conversational Spanish. We have also had him over for lunch and believe that he may be our “person of peace” as we seek to connect with university students here in Costa Rica. Please pray that his heart will be open to the gospel or that he would introduce us to some of his friends who might be searching for Jesus.

Last night was awesome because Paula, Ezra and I were able to spend quality time with some of the older missionary kids from our mission. As I mentioned on our blog we are so excited to raise our children within an international environment. Thats right….I did say “children.” Paula and I found out last week that we will be having another child, God willing. Right now Paula is 8 weeks pregnant. We are so excited and rejoice in God’s timing. In our last report Paula shared with you her call to missions. It’s my turn in this newsletter. Hope that you will be encouraged as you read my brief testimony.

When I was six months old my parents moved to Malaysia where they were serving as Church of Christ missionaries. For the first nineteen years of my life before college I had the wonderful opportunity to grow up in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore as a missionary kid.

My college days were spent in Abilene, Texas studying at Abilene Christian University. During this time I was able to get both an undergraduate and graduate degree in missiology. Besides my academic responsibilities, I worked as a resident adviser in one of the men’s dormitories. I also spent one summer working in Singapore. During my studies at ACU I occasionally attended Abilene Mission Church.

After my graduate studies at Abilene Christian University I served for two years working in Davao City, Philippines with students. I also helped to follow up with people who had expressed interest in studying the Bible through a correspondence course affiliated with World Bible School. I was able to develop some friendships with local students during my time there. I used my interest in basketball as a way of establishing these relationships. Solid friendships were made on the court which naturally led to me being able to connect with them. It was also during this time that God brought Paula and me together as a couple.

At the completion of my time in the Philippines, I spent the next two years living in Denver, Colorado. During this time God allowed me to get to know Paula and her family. On July 13, 2002 Paula and I were married. This was a very happy day for me. These two years in Colorado were also spent trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life. While working at a few secular jobs to make ends meet, I decided that I needed to go back to school. It was at this point that Paula and I moved to Texas so that I cold attend Southwestern Seminary.

I graduated with a Master of Arts in Christian Education in December 2006. I had just finished a year long church planting internship at Northwood Church in Keller, Texas. This was such a wonderful experience. Also, Paula and I were serving at the time as a CARES team with a Christian organization called Apartment Life. Over a period of a year in this apartment ministry, God allowed us to develop many friendships with nonbelievers that we would not have been able to make if we chose to live in seminary housing. It was truly been a blessing! Our church membership during this time was at Northwood Church.

I was saved October 4, 2003 during my first semester at seminary.  Although I grew up as a missionary kid and had heard about Jesus and his love all my life I had never made the specific decision to follow him.  God drew me to Himself as I was looking up at the stars from the window of my seminary apartment.  For the first time in my life I finally realized the seriousness of my sin and that the fact that I absolutely needed Jesus to save me. Immediately, I began to weep because I knew at the heart level how much my sin had separated me from God. It was at this specific time that I decided to follow Jesus.  I was baptized as a believer at Travis Avenue Baptist Church on October 26, 2003. Finally, I experienced spiritual peace.

God has called me to international missions in a variety of ways. Due to the fact that I was raised in Southeast Asia as a missionary kid, I was able to see first hand the need for international missions. As I look back on my childhood, I can clearly see that God was planting seeds in my heart that would eventually take root and give me a burning passion to reach the nations. During college I was able to study the Bible and missions from an academic standpoint which gave me a great logical reason for accepting Jesus later.  Also, most of my closer friends in the United States were also international students. They shared with me the need for missionaries to go to their home countries. This made a huge impact on me because I clearly began to see the uniqueness of Jesus. My call to international missions has been affirmed by the people I trust the most. My wife Paula and my immediate family all affirm God’s call on my life. It is an honor to serve within the framework of the International Mission Board.

Jan/Feb 08

We are right in the middle of our 2nd trimester of language learning here at the institute. This trimester started off a little rough but is now just fine. As always, we are being taught more Spanish than our brains can actually process. Please continue to pray on our behalf. In this report we would like to highlight Paula’s call to missions since many of you have expressed interest. Hopefully, it will be of some encouragement to you.

Twelve years ago while I was living in Colorado, a few Christian girlfriends reached out to me. They loved me despite the lifestyle I was living. After interacting with them for about one year I decided to go to church with them. One thing that I appreciated about them is that they did not give up on me but continued to share their faith with me. They listened, cared and remained the most loyal friends that I had ever had. While studying the Bible with them I learned about God and His love for me and that my sin separated me from God and that the only way back into a relationship with him was through Jesus Christ. It was also at this time that I learned about the specific doctrines of the Catholic Church that I was raised in. Although I had questioned my Catholic heritage for years it was not until studying the Bible that things began to make perfect sense. I learned that I needed to believe and receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in order to be saved. At the time, I was taught that God chose to save me during the process of baptism. As a result, I was baptized into the Church of Christ denomination when I was eighteen years old.

God called me to international missions when I was twenty years old during my first mission trip to the Dominican Republic. I remember how much I loved serving Christ in this new cross cultural environment. During this trip I helped build a school for the local children. I was able to share my faith with many of the kids at our VBS. This initial exposure to sharing my faith created a fire in my heart for other women and their kids. Although I only spent a week on this mission trip I loved living and interacting with the local people. When I came home from the Dominican Republic and went back to work God would not let me forget all the lost people that I met and interacted with.

I attended Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas for a couple of years. I did not finish because I could not afford the tuition. Attending ACU exposed me to a lot of new things that I never knew before I became a Christian. During this time God began to call me on the deeper level to international missions. God led me to international students who shared with me the need for missionaries to go to their home countries. I wanted to learn on a deeper level how to be more effective in sharing my faith cross culturally. The time at ACU gave me this opportunity. While at Abilene Christian University God allowed me to take Bible and missions classes which gave me a solid foundation on why we need to reach the nations for Christ. I learned about the number of lost people in the world today and wanted God to use me in whatever way that He wanted. Although I was learning a lot in the classroom God prompted me to go on another short term mission trip. I had learned in class that Asia had the highest number of lost people and immediately signed up to go on a twelve week trip throughout Asia. Since my grandfather was originally from the Philippines I already had a special interest in this part of the world. We went and served churches in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China; Bangkok and Chaing Mai, Thailand; Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Singapore; Manila and Davao, Philippines; Jakarta and Batam Island, Indonesia. While interacting with local believers and nonbelievers God solidified his call on my life. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had called me to international missions. He opened my heart and gave me an intense passion to reach the lost beginning right here in the United States.

I also met my future husband David on the Asia mission trip. His passion for people fed my passion and that is what bonded us instantly. The people who have been the most significant in my life have been my husband, my parents, and my close friends at the church where I first became a believer. David has shown me so much about life in Christ that I had never experienced growing up. His passion for authenticity and people is what attracted me to him. He is so focused on what God has called him to do and has so much joy in doing it. My faith is able to shine under his spiritual leadership. My parents have also played a significant role in my life because from the moment I was born they have always supported me. I was always able to talk with them about what was happening in my life. Although they are not thrilled with the idea of me living overseas they still remain very supportive of God’s call on my life. Right now my heart is a bit burdened because my father and the majority of my family do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. David and I have been desperately trying to show them what Christ means to us. It is important for them to realize that living a life of contentment is not what true life is all about.

While David and I attended Travis Avenue Baptist Church and Northwood Church (Fort Worth, TX), I had questioned my baptism. Over the next few years in the process of reading the Bible I came to the conviction that my baptism was not valid because at the time of my baptism I believed that it was part of the salvation process. I made the decision to get baptized again as a Southern Baptist believer. My husband David baptized me at Northwood Church on January 28, 2006. This decision was made because I wanted to be obedient to the Scriptures but also to show other believers and the world that I have found my home within the Southern Baptist Convention. Fulfilling God’s call on my life through the International Missions Board is an honor.

Nov/Dec 07

Warm greetings from Costa Rica! We hope that your Christmas and New Years went well. Please drop by our family blog whenever you get the chance. You will be able to find recent newsletters, urgent prayer requests, and adorable pics of Ezra. We officially begin school again tomorrow after having some time off for Christmas vacation. Both Paula and I survived our first trimester of language school and feel really good about how we are progressing in our study of Spanish.

It was great to have my dad and mom (Ken & Estelle) visit Costa Rica last month. They served as missionaries in Southeast Asia for over 40 years and now they are retired living in Malaysia. This was their first trip to Central America. They were able to see where Paula, Ezra and I live and also attend a couple of our language classes at the Institute. Apparently, our language school reminded them of the language school they were at in Bandung, Indonesia many years ago. It was also great for them to see where we attend church on Sundays. The best thing about their visit was the fact that they were able to spend quality time with Ezra. They truly understand the realities of raising children overseas in a cross-cultural environment. Their brief visit with us was very encouraging and special.

Paula’s dad and mom (Paul & Jayne) were also able to come down and visit us over the break. They arrived on December 12 and will return back to Colorado January 15. It has been great spending time with them over our extended holiday. For the most part all of us have been staying together at the house of Eric and Danna (Paula’s brother and sister-in-law) across town. It is so cool to have family that also live here in Costa Rica with us during this time. Eric and Danna are here on business. Their son Kai is only 2 months older than Ezra which is absolutely awesome. It was great to see them play and hang out together. Ezra really loves his cousin Kai. The look that Ezra has when he sees Kai is absolutely priceless. We wish that they were able to spend even more time together. As a family we were also able to spend a couple days of rest and relaxation at the beach. This time off from school was needed. It gave us some time to reconnect and communicate on the deeper level.
Both of us have the best parents in the world! We thank God everyday for them. One thing that we really appreciate is their adaptability and flexibility when it comes to experiencing things that are different than what they are use to. Another thing that we appreciate is the support they have shown regarding the call that God has placed on our hearts to reach university students for Christ in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They constantly encourage us to follow the vision that God has given us. We do not want to take this blessing for granted but want to celebrate it.

God willing, we will be here in Costa Rica 7 more months before heading down to Buenos Aires to work with university students. Here is a snap shot of where we are going and the people we will be working with. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. One-third of the population of Argentina lives in the city of Buenos Aires making it South America’s largest Spanish-speaking city, and the 17th largest city in the world. While the majority of Buenos Aires’ 13.3 million residents claim ties with the Roman Catholic Church, studies indicate that three-fourths practice no religion at all. Many are enslaved by materialistic lifestyles and post-modern philosophies that reject the concept of absolute truth and personal responsibility before God. This is especially true among the university students that we will be connecting with. Also, tolerance is highly valued in the society, leading to a proliferation of homosexuality, prostitution, New Age spiritism, and pagan eastern religions. The economic crash of 2001 has left many unemployed or under-employed, reinforcing the general feeling of unrest and distrust of government and organized religion. Here in this concrete maze, Paula and I (alongside other missionaries) will be working to introduce Christ among university students. Our focus will be to train university students in evangelism and church planting so that they will be able to start new “simple churches” of their own which meet in homes, storefronts, schools, and many other non-traditional settings. Only four of every one hundred people in Buenos Aires are born-again believers in Jesus Christ, but we are convinced that our God is mighty, His love for this city and its university students is great, and through Him we believe all things are possible. Paula and I see so much potential for God to be glorified. If we impact the campuses of Buenos Aires we will impact the world!

SEPT/OCT 07

Greetings from Costa Rica! God has answered your prayers on our behalf. For those of you who prayed specifically for our marriage, thank you. We are slowly learning how to have more patience with each other as we adjust cross-culturally. Also, for the most part we are prioritizing a weekly date night. This has allowed us a specific time each week where we can go out and spend quality time with each other. We have found that God has really blessed our decision to do this. For example, our communication as a couple has grown deeper.
Ezra is doing very well. For those of you who prayed for his cross-cultural adjustment, thank you. He really loves going to daycare each morning while we are in our Spanish classes. He has great teachers who speak nothing but Spanish to him. Naturally, he is beginning to learn Spanish very quickly. Please continue to pray that he will sleep better during the day. Although he continues to sleep well each night, his day time naps continue to be very irregular. On a side note, his strong personality is really beginning to take shape. He has absolutely no fear when going down slides or climbing on everything he sees. We love the way he likes to be around other people. His smile and dimples are contagious!
Our transition to official language school has been a smooth one. For those of you who prayed that we would be able to prioritize our time with God and family in the midst of a very hectic, academic schedule, thank you. We have established a daily routine which seems to work for our family. From 7:30 – noon we are in class. Ezra is at his daycare during this time. Our classes are challenging for us. During the morning we study grammer, phonetics and basic conversation. The rest of our day is spent trying to verbally put into practice what we were taught earlier in the day. Usually, we also have a lot of written homework to do as well. In the midst of our studies, we see God really working in our lives. For example, God is teaching us how to be more strategic in our prayer time as a couple. Rather than randomly praying for things as they come to mind, we have developed an organized prayer notebook where we intensionally write down what we are praying for. This allows us to see in a very tangible way how God is answering our specific prayers.
During the weekend of October 13 -14, David and three other language missionaries were able to take some time off from studying and participate in an evangelistic effort to Guapiles, about an hour away from San Jose. We accompanied Asbury Martin and Allen Alexander who let us ride in their vehicles. As our language school mentors they have been such an encouragement for us. I just want to thank Mark Grumbles (missionary here in Costa Rica) for inviting me to participate in the first part of this week long evangelistic effort that included mission voluteers from the States. The weekend provided practical ministry experience in a variety of areas for David (ie: personal evangelism (including witnessing, the crafting of a personal testimony in Spanish, passing out tracks, and evangelistic visits in homes as well as meeting people on the streets and going door-to-door). David also participated in the evangelism conference in the church along with the nationals and made some new friends among the Ticos. Praise the Lord for the many opportunities that were given to people to hear a personal appeal to receive Christ as Savior and Lord! We rejoice with the people that prayed to receive Christ into their hearts! Most of all we are grateful to the blessed work of the Holy Spirit who was at work in the hearts and lives of the lost as well as the saved. May the Lord continue to bless the congregation of the “Comunidad Cristiana Misionera Bautista” as they seek to heal from a recent church split and reach their community for Christ.

This past weekend (October 26 – 27) we were able to go to a workshop on “Bible Storying.” The facilitators reinforced the importance of being able to communicate God’s Word in stories to people who might not know how to read. Although we will be working with highly literate university students we found the information presented very relevant to our situation. For one thing “Bible Storying” really forces us to master the details of the story we are trying to explain. This increases our general knowledge of God’s Word. The importance of crafting our story to fit who we are actually speaking with was also emphasized. We really enjoyed interacting with other missionaries on the small group level. The practical training we received was very encouraging.
On a side note, Paula has found some outlets to relax and have fun. She is starting to play volleyball once a week and is also going to start dance classes. This will give Paula an opportunity to make friends with the locals. If you know Paula, dancing and volleyball are in her blood.

We would love to hear from you, especially some ways in which we can pray specifically for you.

AUGUST 07

God is so awesome! We arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica safe and sound on July 20. It is hard to believe that we have been here a little over one month. Our flight to Costa Rica was a smooth one without any major snags. For those of you who prayed for our safe travel, thankyou. Two days after we arrived we started learning survival Spanish using the informal “barefoot” approach to language learning. Basically, we met with our language instructor five days a week in the morning (7:30-11:30) and then during the afternoons we were given the opportunity to go out into the community to practice what we had been taught. The practicum in the afternoon was our favorite part of each day. We would initiate conversations with local Ticos (Costa Ricans) and ask them specific questions about their culture. These conversations took place at bus stops, markets, grocery stores, taxis, banks etc.

We practiced with whoever would speak with us. The local Ticos seem to be very friendly and accomodating as we try to learn their language. Our informal barefoot language class lasted three weeks. It ended August 15. We found it to be a very positive experience and extremely helpful. Orientation for our formal language school begins August 29 and our first day of class is September 4.

As of August 17, we have officially moved into our permanent house (at least for the next year). Since our arrival in Costa Rica we had been staying in comfortable temporary accomodations. Right now we are so excited to have made the transition into our new place and are currently making our house into a home. It’s perfect for our family. Our son Ezra has a small front and back yard to play in. God has provided everything that we need. He has been so faithful during this whole transitional process.

During the weekend of August 11 we took some time off and relaxed at a beach resort on the Carribean side of Costa Rica called Las Palmas. The resort was located south of Puerto Viejo. It was great to spend a couple days relaxing with Eric and Danna (Paula’s brother and sister-in-law) who also live in Costa Rica. It was also cool to have Ezra interact with his cousin Kai. They are at the age where their personalities really begin to shine.

Thank you for all your support and encouragement during our time of transition. We would love to hear from you, especially some ways in which we can pray specifically for you.

JULY 07

Hi everyone! Wow! It is hard to believe but tomorrow we will actually be moving down to Costa Rica to begin language study. Before heading down to Buenos Aires, Argentina we will be spending one year learning Spanish at a language school right outside San Jose. We are looking forward to this opportunity. Our brief time here in Colorado with Paula’s family has been wonderful. Words cannot adequately express how much we are going to miss everyone. It was great to celebrate our wedding anniversary and both of our birthdays during this time together. Our day trip to Breckenridge gave us one last chance to experience the beauty of the rocky mountains and our “going away party” at Dave and Emily’s was very special to us. It was also very encouraging to have dinner with our friends Jon and Sarah. We just want to thank everyone for your kindness and support. Today we have been packing but also running last minute errands. Our flight tomorrow from Denver to Atlanta leaves at 12:55 AM. We arrive in Atlanta at 5:45 AM. Our next flight leaves Atlanta at 10 AM and arrives in San Jose, Costa Rica at 12 Noon. Please keep us in your prayers especially our son Ezra during this time of travel.

From July 5-12 we had the opportunity to visit with David’s family in Dallas / Fort Worth, Texas. We were able to stay with Scott and Kyna Laws (David’s sister and brother-in-law). Our visit was awesome! It was great to touch base with them and to see Ezra interact with his older cousins Dakota and Kendon. Our visit was even more special because Dakota (David’s nephew) accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior at a “Team Impact” event at Crossridge Church. We rejoice in his salvation! His grandfather Michael Laws was able to baptize him a couple days later. We also enjoyed being able to spend four days with Estelle (David’s mom) during this time. Besides David’s family we hung out with many of our close friends at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dean and Paul, it was great to spend time with you too. Our brief time together with everyone was very meaningful and encouraging. Northwood Church (our home church) commissioned us during this time as well. Omar, thanks for lunch and your words of wisdom.

Our orientation in Virginia (May 5 – June 31) at the International Learning Center went very well. We are so thankful for the training that we received. Our walk with Jesus became even more special during this focused time of learning. We were able to establish close friendships with other missionaries. These relationships have become incredibly dear to us. We hope that they will last a life time.

Thank you for all your support and encouragement during our time of transition. We would love to hear from you, especially some ways in which we can pray specifically for you.

We are so excited to live near Paula’s brother, wife and son (Eric, Danna and Kai), see you soon! Ezra and Kai are going to become buddies.

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