I have started this blog over and over again now and my grammar is not participating tonight. Therefore I am going to organize this post in more of a list formatt:
*We did not recieve our student visa information yet and will not have an opportunity to pick up the mail again until the school reopens on January 4th. This cuts our time very short and unless the Lord so choose it to be different we will have to exit the country on the 9th (our 90 day expiration date). To be able to stay in the country we have to get all of our papers translated and to the embassy to begin transition. We did however find out that there is NO law stating that a person must stay out of the country for 72 hours. This fact is only recommended by travel sights, etc.... We will be able to leave the country on the 9th and walk around for a few hours and then re-enter Costa Rica the same day and Justin will not miss any schooling and we will have to pay exit taxes and buss and taxi fees only (no hotels, etc...)
*Though we aren't able to speak spanish fluently yet, Justin has had 3 (that I witnessed) opportunities to witness this month to locals. He was able to speak to a taxi driver about the Lord and the taxi driver was smiling the entire trip and saying "amen" "amen"; it was awesome! Also, there were a few other conversations he was able to glorify the Lord in with his spanish and able to help "in the name of the Lord". This has really encouraged my spirit since my spanish is even less than His; knowing that ALL THINGS work together for His glory.
*Justin starts orientation for school on January 4th. Kevin will remain being homeschooled and we will continue to use Rosetta Stone at home!
Please continue to pray for opportunities to share Christ through all windows of opportunity! Also pray for Satan to be revealed and our guards to be up against his evil plans.
We thank each of you for your prayers!
God Bless
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
December Newsletter
December 21, 2011
Matthew 9:37-38 “Will you be a labourer?”
We get so many mixed responses to being overseas in a mission field far away. Just from the mouths of other Christians we hear things such as “Wow, that is so wonderful what you are doing.” Or “I can’t believe you are taking your kids over there (wherever “there” is at that time).” The bible is clear in so many verses that we (all followers of Christ) are called to go, but here is one that I wonder if Christians pray often?! JESUS SAYS to pray for labourers for the harvest. The more we have been in other countries the more we recognize how many more labourers are needed for the spreading of the gospel and discipleship. There is no doubt that every country, including America, needs the gospel (the Lord says ALL NATIONS). Our prayer is that you aren’t saying, “Well, what about America” while just showing up at Church Meetings on Sundays and Wednesdays. A man who provides for his family in the field does not get to choose one or two days to go out into the field and harvest the crops. He works steadfastly and gives it his all!
We have had this verse come to mean a lot to us since we have been labourers away from “home”. The needs are greater than a few can fill, and so our hearts have been lead to pray more fervently for labourers of the gospel. We covet your prayers and pray that the work of the Lord is being done where He has each of you. Please ask yourself and ask the Lord to reveal to you if you are willing to be a labourer for His kingdom. If so, ask where He wants you and be faithful to respond. International missions have always been something we encourage, even at first only for a short trip. The reason this can be beneficial is not only for the place you may go that has not heard the gospel or been encouraged in discipleship yet, but also so the Lord can show you just how much work there is to be done and to encourage and revive your spirit for His kingdoms work.
January is quickly approaching. A few short months later most of us will receive tax refunds. Many of you already have plans with what you are going to do with that money. But let me suggest this: find an opportunity to internationally step out into the mission field and invest God’s time and resources in fulfilling the great commission. Allow the Spirit to encourage and revive you to being about His kingdom’s work!
God Bless
January Happenings
*School Begins on January 4th
*We hope to start our applications in Costa Rica for student visas (allowing us to stay in country for an entire year). We are only waiting to receive the paper work from the states in time!
*We will keep you all posted as we are informed of the ministries we can/will get involved in with the school (currently it will be attending chapels).
Family Corner
Justin celebrated his 29th birthday yesterday! He got to enjoy his favorite dessert (dump cake) thanks to my mom sending the ingredients back with us and will get a new pair of shoes from his parents via mail (in progress). He is excited to start school in January and is continuing to work on Rosetta Stone daily! He continues to write his sermons weekly as well and post the overflow of his daily scripture reading on facebook!
Kevin has been doing much better with his attitude lately and is really putting effort into his school work. He has enjoyed benefitting from the delicious outcomes of Justin and Annika’s birthdays! Yesterday we caught him practicing his Spanish while playing outside with some of the neighbors! (Praising the Lord.) Also, he is enjoying having friends here, both gringo and tico (American and Costa Rican).
Annika will be receiving messy art supplies, compliments of her yaya and soon to come in the mail some dolls, compliments of her nonny. We are extremely thankful that via technology, our family gets to be a part of both of the kids growing up! Annika has been walking for about 2 weeks now and it not only walking but running and climbing!
I (Bobbi Ann) have been experimenting with new food dishes and enjoying learning how to save money and still create yummy and filling meals! I am also continuing my Rosetta Stone daily and reading!
Hola! Mama, Papa, Bubu, dios (Adios), cias (gracias) and ahahadao (in response to “I love you”)
-Annika’s most frequent words
Annika is celebrating her 1st birthday today. Currently that means playing all morning, eating sprinkle toast for breakfast and napping at the moment! J She has been running around the house and outside and climbing up the chairs and couch! We are excited to see her open birthday presents from grandparents with them on skype!
Missionary Living
Once we start school we will post more on culture!
Ever wonder how missionaries live? We don’t know either, so we thought we would give you some insight to ways we save money for ministry work instead of personal lives, without starving. As many of our families in the states have taught us, we have learned to make laundry soap, saving several $s each month. Food has been a learning experience; however, we have learned to experiment and make most any dish into a casserole or with rice so that meat goes further, which also saves several $s each month! God has always provided when we need clothing, shoes, etc and has used the benevolence from our home Church in an amazing way for hygiene products! Construction paper has been colored, cut, pasted and taped to create décor to make the rooms more personal! We do not live any differently, in my eyes anyway, than everyone we know, we just try not to accumulate things that do not travel easily! Sometimes, in honesty, you feel like you live out of a duffle bag, but it is nice and actually forces more family time!
PRAYER REQUESTS:
· Our paperwork to get turned in quickly, it did not arrive today and the next mail pick up at the school will not be until January 4th. (If it is not turned in we have to leave the country on the 8th).
· God to reveal all the ministries available through the school and time to get involved in those as well as stay on top of studies.
· Opportunities to witness and hearts to be opened. As well as opportunities to disciple and encourage brothers and sisters in Christ.
Thanks and giving:
We want to thank everyone who hosted and contributed to the fundraisers in December! The Lord used each fundraiser in an amazing way…there were souls saved and money raised for the work in Costa Rica and Haiti. We also want to thank all of our supporters for your continued financial support and above all your prayers and continued encouragement! Thank you for the emails we have received with prayer requests and we hope each of you has a wonderful Christmas and New Year.
Matthew 9:37-38 “Will you be a labourer?”
We get so many mixed responses to being overseas in a mission field far away. Just from the mouths of other Christians we hear things such as “Wow, that is so wonderful what you are doing.” Or “I can’t believe you are taking your kids over there (wherever “there” is at that time).” The bible is clear in so many verses that we (all followers of Christ) are called to go, but here is one that I wonder if Christians pray often?! JESUS SAYS to pray for labourers for the harvest. The more we have been in other countries the more we recognize how many more labourers are needed for the spreading of the gospel and discipleship. There is no doubt that every country, including America, needs the gospel (the Lord says ALL NATIONS). Our prayer is that you aren’t saying, “Well, what about America” while just showing up at Church Meetings on Sundays and Wednesdays. A man who provides for his family in the field does not get to choose one or two days to go out into the field and harvest the crops. He works steadfastly and gives it his all!
We have had this verse come to mean a lot to us since we have been labourers away from “home”. The needs are greater than a few can fill, and so our hearts have been lead to pray more fervently for labourers of the gospel. We covet your prayers and pray that the work of the Lord is being done where He has each of you. Please ask yourself and ask the Lord to reveal to you if you are willing to be a labourer for His kingdom. If so, ask where He wants you and be faithful to respond. International missions have always been something we encourage, even at first only for a short trip. The reason this can be beneficial is not only for the place you may go that has not heard the gospel or been encouraged in discipleship yet, but also so the Lord can show you just how much work there is to be done and to encourage and revive your spirit for His kingdoms work.
January is quickly approaching. A few short months later most of us will receive tax refunds. Many of you already have plans with what you are going to do with that money. But let me suggest this: find an opportunity to internationally step out into the mission field and invest God’s time and resources in fulfilling the great commission. Allow the Spirit to encourage and revive you to being about His kingdom’s work!
God Bless
January Happenings
*School Begins on January 4th
*We hope to start our applications in Costa Rica for student visas (allowing us to stay in country for an entire year). We are only waiting to receive the paper work from the states in time!
*We will keep you all posted as we are informed of the ministries we can/will get involved in with the school (currently it will be attending chapels).
Family Corner
Justin celebrated his 29th birthday yesterday! He got to enjoy his favorite dessert (dump cake) thanks to my mom sending the ingredients back with us and will get a new pair of shoes from his parents via mail (in progress). He is excited to start school in January and is continuing to work on Rosetta Stone daily! He continues to write his sermons weekly as well and post the overflow of his daily scripture reading on facebook!
Kevin has been doing much better with his attitude lately and is really putting effort into his school work. He has enjoyed benefitting from the delicious outcomes of Justin and Annika’s birthdays! Yesterday we caught him practicing his Spanish while playing outside with some of the neighbors! (Praising the Lord.) Also, he is enjoying having friends here, both gringo and tico (American and Costa Rican).
Annika will be receiving messy art supplies, compliments of her yaya and soon to come in the mail some dolls, compliments of her nonny. We are extremely thankful that via technology, our family gets to be a part of both of the kids growing up! Annika has been walking for about 2 weeks now and it not only walking but running and climbing!
I (Bobbi Ann) have been experimenting with new food dishes and enjoying learning how to save money and still create yummy and filling meals! I am also continuing my Rosetta Stone daily and reading!
Hola! Mama, Papa, Bubu, dios (Adios), cias (gracias) and ahahadao (in response to “I love you”)
-Annika’s most frequent words
Annika is celebrating her 1st birthday today. Currently that means playing all morning, eating sprinkle toast for breakfast and napping at the moment! J She has been running around the house and outside and climbing up the chairs and couch! We are excited to see her open birthday presents from grandparents with them on skype!
Missionary Living
Once we start school we will post more on culture!
Ever wonder how missionaries live? We don’t know either, so we thought we would give you some insight to ways we save money for ministry work instead of personal lives, without starving. As many of our families in the states have taught us, we have learned to make laundry soap, saving several $s each month. Food has been a learning experience; however, we have learned to experiment and make most any dish into a casserole or with rice so that meat goes further, which also saves several $s each month! God has always provided when we need clothing, shoes, etc and has used the benevolence from our home Church in an amazing way for hygiene products! Construction paper has been colored, cut, pasted and taped to create décor to make the rooms more personal! We do not live any differently, in my eyes anyway, than everyone we know, we just try not to accumulate things that do not travel easily! Sometimes, in honesty, you feel like you live out of a duffle bag, but it is nice and actually forces more family time!
PRAYER REQUESTS:
· Our paperwork to get turned in quickly, it did not arrive today and the next mail pick up at the school will not be until January 4th. (If it is not turned in we have to leave the country on the 8th).
· God to reveal all the ministries available through the school and time to get involved in those as well as stay on top of studies.
· Opportunities to witness and hearts to be opened. As well as opportunities to disciple and encourage brothers and sisters in Christ.
Thanks and giving:
We want to thank everyone who hosted and contributed to the fundraisers in December! The Lord used each fundraiser in an amazing way…there were souls saved and money raised for the work in Costa Rica and Haiti. We also want to thank all of our supporters for your continued financial support and above all your prayers and continued encouragement! Thank you for the emails we have received with prayer requests and we hope each of you has a wonderful Christmas and New Year.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Mid December
Hello all,
I apologize that i haven't written in a couple of weeks and am ready to update you on all the happenings.
Things were looking up at the beggining of the month as we had mailed all of our information to the Costa Rican counselate in Washington D.C. to be notorized for our student visas before being mailed to us to be completed on our end. About a week ago the paper work came back and was returned with a note showing incorrect paperwork; therefore we have began to collect all the information once again. However, the praise is that we will not have to mail it back to the Washington D.C. office thanks to a new law, effective TODAY. The signatures by each secretary of state are efficient for legalizing our information and we hope this means we will recieve the information here in Costa Rica by the beggining of Janurary and we wil not have to leave the country. This is a large upfront cost; however, it iwll save us from spending more by having to go to panama every 90 days for the next year.
We have began to befriend and get to know some of the students who have been here for a trimester and are involved in a Sunday study group as well as attending chapel services twice a week when the school is open. The offices are on vacation for the next few weeks until Janurary so we are excited to see what we can get ivolved in once the offices open back up for the trimester. Justin is ready to jump in and get started! Rosetta Stone has helped him to learn a lot and we hope this might mean he can begin a little further in than the begginer classes. Of course, if not our goal is to be able to minister to Latin American cultures and we want to be able to communicate the gospil! Until school starts we are all still working in Rosetta Stone. Justin completes his lessons every morning, Kevin completes his as part of homeschooling and every night at 7pm Justin watches the kids until bedtime so that i can complete my lessons as well as read, etc...
Family Update: ANNIKA IS WALKING!! Kevin is doing okay, he is doing excelllent in school and has made several friends. He is however, needing some prayer as he has been in trouble a few times this week and just seems to be in a bit of a rut. He usually jumps back quick, but the prayer is always helpful as well :). Justin is doing great. He was able to teach last week at the Sunday bible study and really enjoyed that. He is also ready for school to start soon. I (Bobbi Ann) am doing well. I am thankful to have a set time to get my language studying done (thanks to a wonderful husband) and other than that have been doing my usual house upkeep and homeschooling.
We pray you are all well and love to hear from everyone. We hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas this year and are excited to celebrate overseas this year.
God Bless,
The White Family
I apologize that i haven't written in a couple of weeks and am ready to update you on all the happenings.
Things were looking up at the beggining of the month as we had mailed all of our information to the Costa Rican counselate in Washington D.C. to be notorized for our student visas before being mailed to us to be completed on our end. About a week ago the paper work came back and was returned with a note showing incorrect paperwork; therefore we have began to collect all the information once again. However, the praise is that we will not have to mail it back to the Washington D.C. office thanks to a new law, effective TODAY. The signatures by each secretary of state are efficient for legalizing our information and we hope this means we will recieve the information here in Costa Rica by the beggining of Janurary and we wil not have to leave the country. This is a large upfront cost; however, it iwll save us from spending more by having to go to panama every 90 days for the next year.
We have began to befriend and get to know some of the students who have been here for a trimester and are involved in a Sunday study group as well as attending chapel services twice a week when the school is open. The offices are on vacation for the next few weeks until Janurary so we are excited to see what we can get ivolved in once the offices open back up for the trimester. Justin is ready to jump in and get started! Rosetta Stone has helped him to learn a lot and we hope this might mean he can begin a little further in than the begginer classes. Of course, if not our goal is to be able to minister to Latin American cultures and we want to be able to communicate the gospil! Until school starts we are all still working in Rosetta Stone. Justin completes his lessons every morning, Kevin completes his as part of homeschooling and every night at 7pm Justin watches the kids until bedtime so that i can complete my lessons as well as read, etc...
Family Update: ANNIKA IS WALKING!! Kevin is doing okay, he is doing excelllent in school and has made several friends. He is however, needing some prayer as he has been in trouble a few times this week and just seems to be in a bit of a rut. He usually jumps back quick, but the prayer is always helpful as well :). Justin is doing great. He was able to teach last week at the Sunday bible study and really enjoyed that. He is also ready for school to start soon. I (Bobbi Ann) am doing well. I am thankful to have a set time to get my language studying done (thanks to a wonderful husband) and other than that have been doing my usual house upkeep and homeschooling.
We pray you are all well and love to hear from everyone. We hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas this year and are excited to celebrate overseas this year.
God Bless,
The White Family
Sunday, November 27, 2011
November Newsletter
November 2011 Newsletter
Ministry Update:
Well we have been in San Jose, Costa Rica for a few weeks now and we are getting to know the area pretty well. We have been using our feet mostly to learn the location of the school, the grocery stores and others. The conveniences of San Jose are much more than that of Haiti or Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The super market near us is small; yet sufficient and should the need arise there is a larger one a few miles away.
Other than locating our shopping options and finding the school, we have been learning our options of which to be involved in at the school. There are several ministries, fellowships, etc… The kids and I will be able to be involved in many events. We have already been attending the chapel services and are getting to know several students. Once January begins with a new trimester and Justin goes through orientation, etc… we hope to learn more about their evangelic ministries and how we can get involved!
In the meantime of waiting for school to start in January, Kevin has continued his homeschooling and we are continuing to practice Spanish with Rosetta Stone. With help from both the states and current students here, we have also gathered all of our information to apply for student visas (which will save us money in the long run of having to leave the country every 90 days for 72 hours). Right now we are waiting for our papers to return from Washington D.C. and then they will be mailed to us here in Costa Rica. We hope and pray that they make it very quickly so that we do not have to leave at the beginning of January when our visas expire.
The months of November and December have and will hold several fundraising options to help with not only student visas but hopefully outreach in the future! – see below and email us if you are interested in getting involved!
December Fundraisers:
· A YouTube video encouraging a $10 donation for the Lord’s work through Son Ministries in both Haiti and Costa Rica
· An opportunity to have someone’s yard Candy Caned and spread a little Christmas Cheer
· Gift Wrapping at LifeWay the first 2 Saturdays of December (longer if more volunteer)
· Visit Tonya Shockley Photography on Facebook or call Tonya Shockley at: 479-586-3775 for her Christmas Special on Dec. 3rd. 100% of the money supports missions
Family Corner:
Justin has been building relationships with current students and some faculty at the school since we have arrived. He is continuing to study Latin American Spanish on the computer, but is definitely ready to begin language school in January. Bible studies on Sundays have also given him an opportunity to dig in the word with other men of God and he has been enjoying that fellowship.
I (Bobbi Ann) have become more encouraged in learning Spanish (even though in Spanish I sound like my almost one year old daughter!) and am very excited to get involved with some ministries in the school that will allow us to get to know and minister to people here in Costa Rica while Justin is schooling.
Kevin has been struggling a little bit with missing friends and family from the states. An area we have been trying to work with him lately in is communication and explaining all forms of communication. So he was a little better after being able to send a letter home to his mom and some post cards to his pen pals in Texas. Listening is not a strong point for Kevin so with his new friendships developing here he has been trying to listen better to know what his friends like, learn their names, etc…
Annika is able to walk, but is too scared to let go and do it alone yet; although sometimes her evil parents trick her into going alone. So she is not officially walking. She says a few words and has made some friends herself! I cannot believe that in less than a month she will be a year old.
Below was Kevin’s response when asked:
“How has the Lord been working through you this month and what is new for you?”
“I have been making friends and being nice to them. They have been being nice to me and sharing stuff. I really hope I get to sleep over with them and that they get to come to my house and sleep here.”
“I have been going to Church on certain days.”
“We live really close to a store.”
Costa Rica Culture/Christmas:
Costa Rica has a large Catholic Population, making Christmas a HUGE holiday here. Family is also a large part of the culture so we are excited to see how the festivities of Christmas Eve and Christmas day are celebrated particularly within the building we live in. (In case we haven’t mentioned before we live in a building with 4 ½ apartments; all of which are occupied by an entire Tico family (the parents, the children and their spouses and the grandchildren)). We have already seen some displays of nativities and the stores are packed with decorations!
Thanks – Giving:
As always and with deep sincerity, we want to first thank each of you for your continued support and prayers for the Lord’s work through the ministry in Haiti and in Costa Rica. We also want to thank our family and friends that played or sang at the concert last month to raise money for our student visas and for those who attended fellowshipped and gave. Thank you also to others who are putting on Fundraisers this upcoming month: the Candy Canes in yards, the Photo Shoot, the Online Video and the Gift Wrapping. The love and encouragement we get from each of our brothers and sisters in Christ means the world to us and we thank you all for that, whether it is by prayer, words or action…thank you, thank you thank you. We pray everyone has a wonderful Christmas and has the opportunity to share it with family!
Prayer Requests:
· That the Lord be glorified in all that we do
· For each us to grow closer to the Lord each day (our faithfulness to read and apply the word!)
· Christmas to be on opportunity not only for us, but each of you to share the gospel.
· Protection for the temptations of Satan and the power to defeat sin
Physically:
· Our student visa information to be in progress at the Costa Rican embassy before Christmas
Ministry Update:
Well we have been in San Jose, Costa Rica for a few weeks now and we are getting to know the area pretty well. We have been using our feet mostly to learn the location of the school, the grocery stores and others. The conveniences of San Jose are much more than that of Haiti or Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The super market near us is small; yet sufficient and should the need arise there is a larger one a few miles away.
Other than locating our shopping options and finding the school, we have been learning our options of which to be involved in at the school. There are several ministries, fellowships, etc… The kids and I will be able to be involved in many events. We have already been attending the chapel services and are getting to know several students. Once January begins with a new trimester and Justin goes through orientation, etc… we hope to learn more about their evangelic ministries and how we can get involved!
In the meantime of waiting for school to start in January, Kevin has continued his homeschooling and we are continuing to practice Spanish with Rosetta Stone. With help from both the states and current students here, we have also gathered all of our information to apply for student visas (which will save us money in the long run of having to leave the country every 90 days for 72 hours). Right now we are waiting for our papers to return from Washington D.C. and then they will be mailed to us here in Costa Rica. We hope and pray that they make it very quickly so that we do not have to leave at the beginning of January when our visas expire.
The months of November and December have and will hold several fundraising options to help with not only student visas but hopefully outreach in the future! – see below and email us if you are interested in getting involved!
December Fundraisers:
· A YouTube video encouraging a $10 donation for the Lord’s work through Son Ministries in both Haiti and Costa Rica
· An opportunity to have someone’s yard Candy Caned and spread a little Christmas Cheer
· Gift Wrapping at LifeWay the first 2 Saturdays of December (longer if more volunteer)
· Visit Tonya Shockley Photography on Facebook or call Tonya Shockley at: 479-586-3775 for her Christmas Special on Dec. 3rd. 100% of the money supports missions
Family Corner:
Justin has been building relationships with current students and some faculty at the school since we have arrived. He is continuing to study Latin American Spanish on the computer, but is definitely ready to begin language school in January. Bible studies on Sundays have also given him an opportunity to dig in the word with other men of God and he has been enjoying that fellowship.
I (Bobbi Ann) have become more encouraged in learning Spanish (even though in Spanish I sound like my almost one year old daughter!) and am very excited to get involved with some ministries in the school that will allow us to get to know and minister to people here in Costa Rica while Justin is schooling.
Kevin has been struggling a little bit with missing friends and family from the states. An area we have been trying to work with him lately in is communication and explaining all forms of communication. So he was a little better after being able to send a letter home to his mom and some post cards to his pen pals in Texas. Listening is not a strong point for Kevin so with his new friendships developing here he has been trying to listen better to know what his friends like, learn their names, etc…
Annika is able to walk, but is too scared to let go and do it alone yet; although sometimes her evil parents trick her into going alone. So she is not officially walking. She says a few words and has made some friends herself! I cannot believe that in less than a month she will be a year old.
Below was Kevin’s response when asked:
“How has the Lord been working through you this month and what is new for you?”
“I have been making friends and being nice to them. They have been being nice to me and sharing stuff. I really hope I get to sleep over with them and that they get to come to my house and sleep here.”
“I have been going to Church on certain days.”
“We live really close to a store.”
Costa Rica Culture/Christmas:
Costa Rica has a large Catholic Population, making Christmas a HUGE holiday here. Family is also a large part of the culture so we are excited to see how the festivities of Christmas Eve and Christmas day are celebrated particularly within the building we live in. (In case we haven’t mentioned before we live in a building with 4 ½ apartments; all of which are occupied by an entire Tico family (the parents, the children and their spouses and the grandchildren)). We have already seen some displays of nativities and the stores are packed with decorations!
Thanks – Giving:
As always and with deep sincerity, we want to first thank each of you for your continued support and prayers for the Lord’s work through the ministry in Haiti and in Costa Rica. We also want to thank our family and friends that played or sang at the concert last month to raise money for our student visas and for those who attended fellowshipped and gave. Thank you also to others who are putting on Fundraisers this upcoming month: the Candy Canes in yards, the Photo Shoot, the Online Video and the Gift Wrapping. The love and encouragement we get from each of our brothers and sisters in Christ means the world to us and we thank you all for that, whether it is by prayer, words or action…thank you, thank you thank you. We pray everyone has a wonderful Christmas and has the opportunity to share it with family!
Prayer Requests:
· That the Lord be glorified in all that we do
· For each us to grow closer to the Lord each day (our faithfulness to read and apply the word!)
· Christmas to be on opportunity not only for us, but each of you to share the gospel.
· Protection for the temptations of Satan and the power to defeat sin
Physically:
· Our student visa information to be in progress at the Costa Rican embassy before Christmas
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Student Visas and Such
Hola from San Jose, Costa Rica
Well, we have made it through another week. Most of the ministry work took place stateside for us this week. Our parents collected all of our legal documents and mailed them to Washington D.C. this week (our prayer is for a rapid notorization and to recieve them back in the mail a.s.a.p). Our visas expire at the beggining of January and we would like to not have to leave the country again for at least a year (once we are finished with school). As a huge praise the concert yesterday and a check recieved today has put us over the halfway point for the entire costs of getting our student visas!! Praise the Lord.
Around here in San Jose we have gotten copies made that we need when we send the visas information off from here (once we recieve the letters from Washington D.C.) and this next week we will get our pictures done as well as get our fingers prints as soon as possilbe (we are hoping to have a student from the school join us for this in case we need a translator).
Justin has been doing extremely well in Spanish and Kevin and I jump in and use words as we know them...we are still working on sentence structure. I am pretty sure that Annika says 'Hola' when she waves now but I seem to be the only one that hears that; so maybe it is just wishful thinking ;).
We continue to find new conveniences here and must honestly say it is different than both Haiti and Guanacaste, Costa Rica were. It is rather nice to have these conveniences, but we pray to never loose focus. Having a more populated and developed area also comes with more opportunities to witness and be a witness! Please pray that while learning the language we still use every opportunity to let our lives be a witness!
God Bless
The White Family...Justin, Bobbi Ann, Kevin and Annika
Well, we have made it through another week. Most of the ministry work took place stateside for us this week. Our parents collected all of our legal documents and mailed them to Washington D.C. this week (our prayer is for a rapid notorization and to recieve them back in the mail a.s.a.p). Our visas expire at the beggining of January and we would like to not have to leave the country again for at least a year (once we are finished with school). As a huge praise the concert yesterday and a check recieved today has put us over the halfway point for the entire costs of getting our student visas!! Praise the Lord.
Around here in San Jose we have gotten copies made that we need when we send the visas information off from here (once we recieve the letters from Washington D.C.) and this next week we will get our pictures done as well as get our fingers prints as soon as possilbe (we are hoping to have a student from the school join us for this in case we need a translator).
Justin has been doing extremely well in Spanish and Kevin and I jump in and use words as we know them...we are still working on sentence structure. I am pretty sure that Annika says 'Hola' when she waves now but I seem to be the only one that hears that; so maybe it is just wishful thinking ;).
We continue to find new conveniences here and must honestly say it is different than both Haiti and Guanacaste, Costa Rica were. It is rather nice to have these conveniences, but we pray to never loose focus. Having a more populated and developed area also comes with more opportunities to witness and be a witness! Please pray that while learning the language we still use every opportunity to let our lives be a witness!
God Bless
The White Family...Justin, Bobbi Ann, Kevin and Annika
Sunday, November 13, 2011
San Jose
Hola!
We are here! We made it to San Jose on Tuesday the 8th and we had internet installed on Friday and i spent all day in bed yesterday with a headache; so yay, i am finally on here to update!
This week has been mostly consisting of familiarizing ourselves with the area (grocery shopping, the school, etc...) as well as meeting people at the language school and finding out what things we can get involved in as far as fellowship and evangalizing! We are also currently working on getting our student visas. Tomorrow we will be making copies of our passport and finding out where to get pictures done for our application. Stateside they are gathering other documents of ours to send to Washington D.C. to get notorized before we can apply. Our prayer in this area is that all the documents get mailed and back to us within a matter of weeks so that we do not have to leave the country the first week of January. The upfront cost is going to be great, but in the long run it will save us money to not leave the country for 72 hours every three months. It will also save us 15 hours on a bus and going thru immigration with a 9 and 1 year old :).
As far as the area it is very difficult to describe. I suppose it depends on how you see things. There is grafitti everywhere and razor wire and gates around every home, but there is also the beauty of the mountains around. In my personal opinion it seems that every time we have left the house the Lord reveals a new beauty about the area. We are very excited to get involved in ministries here and learn the language more fluently!
Our prayers right now are that the provision comes thru for our student visas as well as for schooling for at least Justin if not for all of us. Also, we are praying to pick up the language quickly. Another benifit that i forgot to mention is that our apartment has 5 units in it and it is owned by a family (one unit is the parents two are the brothers and sisters and the other is the owner) and we are the only greengo (American) family here; that should help with learning the language! They are very nice and have already been such a help. The neighbors right next to us have an 11 year old boy that Kevin has already befriended and there are twin 1 year old girls that live upstairs and are always playing out in the yard and when the door is open they and Annika have a great time interacting!
Well, for now i will leave you with this information and we will be back on next week; hopefully to share more on how our visas are coming along as well as ministry information the school has available! The family here has also offered to drive us around next week to show us where everything is and tell us which busses to take to get to which places and how to use the taxi services, etc... We have been extremely blessed to be where He has us! Looking forward to sharing Christ with this community (hoping the language comes quickly so we can be influential for the Kingdom in all Latin American cultures!)
God Bless
Justin, Bobbi Ann, Kevin and Annika White
We are here! We made it to San Jose on Tuesday the 8th and we had internet installed on Friday and i spent all day in bed yesterday with a headache; so yay, i am finally on here to update!
This week has been mostly consisting of familiarizing ourselves with the area (grocery shopping, the school, etc...) as well as meeting people at the language school and finding out what things we can get involved in as far as fellowship and evangalizing! We are also currently working on getting our student visas. Tomorrow we will be making copies of our passport and finding out where to get pictures done for our application. Stateside they are gathering other documents of ours to send to Washington D.C. to get notorized before we can apply. Our prayer in this area is that all the documents get mailed and back to us within a matter of weeks so that we do not have to leave the country the first week of January. The upfront cost is going to be great, but in the long run it will save us money to not leave the country for 72 hours every three months. It will also save us 15 hours on a bus and going thru immigration with a 9 and 1 year old :).
As far as the area it is very difficult to describe. I suppose it depends on how you see things. There is grafitti everywhere and razor wire and gates around every home, but there is also the beauty of the mountains around. In my personal opinion it seems that every time we have left the house the Lord reveals a new beauty about the area. We are very excited to get involved in ministries here and learn the language more fluently!
Our prayers right now are that the provision comes thru for our student visas as well as for schooling for at least Justin if not for all of us. Also, we are praying to pick up the language quickly. Another benifit that i forgot to mention is that our apartment has 5 units in it and it is owned by a family (one unit is the parents two are the brothers and sisters and the other is the owner) and we are the only greengo (American) family here; that should help with learning the language! They are very nice and have already been such a help. The neighbors right next to us have an 11 year old boy that Kevin has already befriended and there are twin 1 year old girls that live upstairs and are always playing out in the yard and when the door is open they and Annika have a great time interacting!
Well, for now i will leave you with this information and we will be back on next week; hopefully to share more on how our visas are coming along as well as ministry information the school has available! The family here has also offered to drive us around next week to show us where everything is and tell us which busses to take to get to which places and how to use the taxi services, etc... We have been extremely blessed to be where He has us! Looking forward to sharing Christ with this community (hoping the language comes quickly so we can be influential for the Kingdom in all Latin American cultures!)
God Bless
Justin, Bobbi Ann, Kevin and Annika White
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Almost Time
Hello Family and Friends,
We had the privelage and the blessing to attend the Piney Point Revival services last week via Skype! Skype is a huge blessing for us while we are overseas! The services were awesome and encouraging. It was nice to be in the fellowship and hear a word from the Lord through a man of God.
This week we are packing up and deep cleaning so that next Tuesday (November 8th) we will be ready to head to San Jose, Costa Rica. Our biggest prayer right now is that we would find and move into a house as soon as we arrive! We are leaving on faith that one of the houses we have had appointments set up with (via the school administrator) will work for us. The nice thing about house hunting for us is that we have stayed in several different places and are not very picky :). However, we do want to be sure that every dime that is spent in living expenses is worth the money.
Last month when we had to get to the airport to get back to the states we also had a wonderful shuttle service that took us and they have agreed to take us and all of our things (including our bikes) to our new location in San Jose for an awesome price (huge praise). The other prayer request at this moment is that we can sell our current washer before we leave since we will have a washing machine available to us in either location in San Jose. This money can also go toward our down payment on our next apartment.
We are very thankful for each of you in our lives. We are thankful for your prayers, support and love. Please continue to contact us via email so that we can pray for you!
God Bless,
Justin and Bobbi Ann White
We had the privelage and the blessing to attend the Piney Point Revival services last week via Skype! Skype is a huge blessing for us while we are overseas! The services were awesome and encouraging. It was nice to be in the fellowship and hear a word from the Lord through a man of God.
This week we are packing up and deep cleaning so that next Tuesday (November 8th) we will be ready to head to San Jose, Costa Rica. Our biggest prayer right now is that we would find and move into a house as soon as we arrive! We are leaving on faith that one of the houses we have had appointments set up with (via the school administrator) will work for us. The nice thing about house hunting for us is that we have stayed in several different places and are not very picky :). However, we do want to be sure that every dime that is spent in living expenses is worth the money.
Last month when we had to get to the airport to get back to the states we also had a wonderful shuttle service that took us and they have agreed to take us and all of our things (including our bikes) to our new location in San Jose for an awesome price (huge praise). The other prayer request at this moment is that we can sell our current washer before we leave since we will have a washing machine available to us in either location in San Jose. This money can also go toward our down payment on our next apartment.
We are very thankful for each of you in our lives. We are thankful for your prayers, support and love. Please continue to contact us via email so that we can pray for you!
God Bless,
Justin and Bobbi Ann White
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Stranger Tides
Hello Everyone :) I am a couple of days late past a week and i apologize. No good reason for this, i honestly just forgot to get on the blog this week!
We have been on the phone often this week. On November 8th we will be getting in a van and moving to San Jose, Costa Rica. Justin will be starting Language school in January and we will be applying for a student visa a.s.a.p, allowing us to stay in country until school is finished next December. Not only will this be the most effective way to become fluent in Latin American Spanish, but we also have the opportunity to become very active in ministries already provided by the school, as it is a mission schoool, as well as seek out areas/people that may not be being ministred to at this moment. Once school is finished we have the advantage of having the language and being able to either stay in the San Jose area, moving on to another area in Costa Rica or ministering in any of the SEVERAL Latin American cultures (including Peru). When we come back to visit the states it will also give us the advantage to reach a community we have not been able to minister to there as well!
As i mentioned in my newsletter, sometimes these events seem like we aren't being given enough or much and aren't changing the world in a day or even a month, but i know that if God showed us the big picture right now that we would probably run! I am thankful for where the Lord has our family and we are willing to work where He has us each moment. We will serve Him every opportunity we get from now until November 8th in Guanacaste, Costa Rica and then from November 8th until December 2012 in San Jose, Costa Rica and wherever He leads after that! We have been blessed for the opportunity to preach (Justin) and witness in the states, in Haiti, and now in Costa Rica.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and having a great impact on all the people we have the opportunity to share Jesus with each day! God bless and continue to spread the word with others where He has you!
God Bless,
Justin, Bobbi Ann, Kevin and Annika White
We have been on the phone often this week. On November 8th we will be getting in a van and moving to San Jose, Costa Rica. Justin will be starting Language school in January and we will be applying for a student visa a.s.a.p, allowing us to stay in country until school is finished next December. Not only will this be the most effective way to become fluent in Latin American Spanish, but we also have the opportunity to become very active in ministries already provided by the school, as it is a mission schoool, as well as seek out areas/people that may not be being ministred to at this moment. Once school is finished we have the advantage of having the language and being able to either stay in the San Jose area, moving on to another area in Costa Rica or ministering in any of the SEVERAL Latin American cultures (including Peru). When we come back to visit the states it will also give us the advantage to reach a community we have not been able to minister to there as well!
As i mentioned in my newsletter, sometimes these events seem like we aren't being given enough or much and aren't changing the world in a day or even a month, but i know that if God showed us the big picture right now that we would probably run! I am thankful for where the Lord has our family and we are willing to work where He has us each moment. We will serve Him every opportunity we get from now until November 8th in Guanacaste, Costa Rica and then from November 8th until December 2012 in San Jose, Costa Rica and wherever He leads after that! We have been blessed for the opportunity to preach (Justin) and witness in the states, in Haiti, and now in Costa Rica.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and having a great impact on all the people we have the opportunity to share Jesus with each day! God bless and continue to spread the word with others where He has you!
God Bless,
Justin, Bobbi Ann, Kevin and Annika White
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
October 18th, 2011
Hello Everyone,
Well aside from trying to get sleep patterns back to normal we have been adjusting, getting food in the fridge and trying to dry laundry with constant rain :) (our living room is a sight to see with cloths hanging over every piece of furniture to dry). We are also looking into (have called and filled out information online) the Spanish Language Institute in San Jose, Costa Rica. Tomorrow we should recieve more information on that option as a year study to fluent Latin American Spanish. This will not only benifit our work here in Costa Rica, but would allow us to witness in other cultures as well as reach people we would not have been able to witness to in the states.
Ron and Meredith will be recieving help soon with new missionaries to Soul Chasing Ministries and we are excited that the Lord will be using our brothers and sisters in Christ in this part of Costa Rica for His glory.
We will keep you posted on the information we recieve on furthering our language ablility as well as where our spiritual journey is heading in making disciples and teaching them in the ways of the Lord.
God Bless,
The White Family
Well aside from trying to get sleep patterns back to normal we have been adjusting, getting food in the fridge and trying to dry laundry with constant rain :) (our living room is a sight to see with cloths hanging over every piece of furniture to dry). We are also looking into (have called and filled out information online) the Spanish Language Institute in San Jose, Costa Rica. Tomorrow we should recieve more information on that option as a year study to fluent Latin American Spanish. This will not only benifit our work here in Costa Rica, but would allow us to witness in other cultures as well as reach people we would not have been able to witness to in the states.
Ron and Meredith will be recieving help soon with new missionaries to Soul Chasing Ministries and we are excited that the Lord will be using our brothers and sisters in Christ in this part of Costa Rica for His glory.
We will keep you posted on the information we recieve on furthering our language ablility as well as where our spiritual journey is heading in making disciples and teaching them in the ways of the Lord.
God Bless,
The White Family
Thursday, October 13, 2011
October 13th, 2011
Hola Family and Friends,
Well, I apologize that i did not write while we were in the states! To be honest i wasn't on my computer much at all. I would check our email and facebook for messages every once in a while but never got on long except to email our newsletter! I am thankful to report however that we have made it back to Costa Rica and are encouraged and refreshed and ready to get deeper into studying Latin American Language and always the culture.
Thank you to everyone who blessed us with encouragement while we were in the states! It was a good time to get things in order after learning a new culture and what we need. Most of our time was spent at events with the Body; whether it was services or other events. We also were able to raise $500 at our Drive In Fundraiser (Praise the Lord!).
Our prayer request and focus right now is that the Lord would show us what the best option is to continue to be able to glorify Him in sharing the gospil and discipling, but also learning the language quickly and efficiently to be of better use in the Latin American culture. There are schooling options and tutoring options. We are continuing with Rosetta Stone and learning on our own, but would like clarity on where we should go from here and are looking into the options right now so we can make a choice as soon as possible :)
Please continue to pray for hearts to be open and broken to learn of our Jesus!
Praise the Lord for He is worthy and worthy to be praised!
The White Family
Well, I apologize that i did not write while we were in the states! To be honest i wasn't on my computer much at all. I would check our email and facebook for messages every once in a while but never got on long except to email our newsletter! I am thankful to report however that we have made it back to Costa Rica and are encouraged and refreshed and ready to get deeper into studying Latin American Language and always the culture.
Thank you to everyone who blessed us with encouragement while we were in the states! It was a good time to get things in order after learning a new culture and what we need. Most of our time was spent at events with the Body; whether it was services or other events. We also were able to raise $500 at our Drive In Fundraiser (Praise the Lord!).
Our prayer request and focus right now is that the Lord would show us what the best option is to continue to be able to glorify Him in sharing the gospil and discipling, but also learning the language quickly and efficiently to be of better use in the Latin American culture. There are schooling options and tutoring options. We are continuing with Rosetta Stone and learning on our own, but would like clarity on where we should go from here and are looking into the options right now so we can make a choice as soon as possible :)
Please continue to pray for hearts to be open and broken to learn of our Jesus!
Praise the Lord for He is worthy and worthy to be praised!
The White Family
Friday, September 16, 2011
September 16th, 2011
Hola Amigas/Amigos!
Well this last week has mostly been consumed by cleaning and packing. We will be leaving for the states tomorrow. Our flight leaves here at 2:35pm and we will not arrive until after 11pm that night. It will sure be nice to be immediatley fed some scripture in English on Sunday morning! The Drive In Fundraiser will be on Friday September 23rd at 8pm in Pea Ridge, AR. If you are interested or would like to know more about this please email us: whitefamilyhaiti@hotmail.com.
We have also been able to see the Lord's hand move this week in possiblities of large donations made toward a vehicle...these are both still in prayer though and we would love to have our prayer warriors join in that if the Lord should will that we have a vehicle for the ministry here He would show His provision for that specifically! ~ Thank you
We will not have a lot of time for visiting out of state on this trip back, but we do wish we could see everyone. If you have any questions or need to get ahold of us please do so either via email or facebook.
God Bless,
Justin, Bobbi Ann, Kevin and Annika White
Well this last week has mostly been consumed by cleaning and packing. We will be leaving for the states tomorrow. Our flight leaves here at 2:35pm and we will not arrive until after 11pm that night. It will sure be nice to be immediatley fed some scripture in English on Sunday morning! The Drive In Fundraiser will be on Friday September 23rd at 8pm in Pea Ridge, AR. If you are interested or would like to know more about this please email us: whitefamilyhaiti@hotmail.com.
We have also been able to see the Lord's hand move this week in possiblities of large donations made toward a vehicle...these are both still in prayer though and we would love to have our prayer warriors join in that if the Lord should will that we have a vehicle for the ministry here He would show His provision for that specifically! ~ Thank you
We will not have a lot of time for visiting out of state on this trip back, but we do wish we could see everyone. If you have any questions or need to get ahold of us please do so either via email or facebook.
God Bless,
Justin, Bobbi Ann, Kevin and Annika White
Thursday, September 8, 2011
September 8th, 2011
Hola!
I apologize for being a couple of days late in updating our blog! We are venturing on our last week here before a 4 week trip back to the states. On October 11th we will be flying back to Costa Rica.
This last week we have mainly only attended the Sunday and Wednesday Church services as both of our bikes have some repairs needed (after over 50 miles, this is probably to be expected!) and our missionary friends with Soul Chasing Ministries are finishing up getting moved into the Matapalo area and getting the church set up. The boys also all attended the first Kid's Bible Club at the new church building. The services and Kid's Bible club have gone very well. There have been some new faces, some old faces and missing a few faces (please pray for a burning desire for God's children to want to grow and be at the services as well as for the discipleship classes to continue to help them grow!)
This upcoming week Mykel will be headed back to the states, the church will start morning services on Sundays and we will be attending our last Sunday and Wednesday services and weekly discipleship classes. We have been so blessed with the doors and opportunities God has provided here and we look forward to coming back in October and reaching more lives and helping them to grow in their faith!
While in the states we have two fundraisers set up to raise money for a vehicle as well as a few meetings. We will also get to visit family and friends and meet our newest niece, Ellie! The anticipation of cool weather has us prepared to get some use out of our jeans as well!!
God Bless from Costa Rica,
The White Family
I apologize for being a couple of days late in updating our blog! We are venturing on our last week here before a 4 week trip back to the states. On October 11th we will be flying back to Costa Rica.
This last week we have mainly only attended the Sunday and Wednesday Church services as both of our bikes have some repairs needed (after over 50 miles, this is probably to be expected!) and our missionary friends with Soul Chasing Ministries are finishing up getting moved into the Matapalo area and getting the church set up. The boys also all attended the first Kid's Bible Club at the new church building. The services and Kid's Bible club have gone very well. There have been some new faces, some old faces and missing a few faces (please pray for a burning desire for God's children to want to grow and be at the services as well as for the discipleship classes to continue to help them grow!)
This upcoming week Mykel will be headed back to the states, the church will start morning services on Sundays and we will be attending our last Sunday and Wednesday services and weekly discipleship classes. We have been so blessed with the doors and opportunities God has provided here and we look forward to coming back in October and reaching more lives and helping them to grow in their faith!
While in the states we have two fundraisers set up to raise money for a vehicle as well as a few meetings. We will also get to visit family and friends and meet our newest niece, Ellie! The anticipation of cool weather has us prepared to get some use out of our jeans as well!!
God Bless from Costa Rica,
The White Family
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
August 30th, 2011
Hello Everyone,
We haven't really being doing any more than we normally do in a week; however, there were a lot of changes this last week. On Sunday and Wednesday we met at a new location with the body of believers of Matapalo, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. There is much more room for both service and sunday school in the new building (2 rooms, a bathroom and a kitchen). Mykel and Justin have been working with Ron and Meredith to get the church building cleaned and organized.
Kevin and I are chugging right along down the Missouri River in Science and rounding and solving problems in math. In history we have made it through God's covenant with Abraham and will next learn of the distruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Kevin chose the Revolutionary War as his choice of reading this week for a book report and our Spanish is ever so confusing and difficult, but is also chugging right along!
Annika is really letting us learn her traits this week. She is a very determined young lady. Whether she books across the house in 60 seconds to get what she wants or waits with her mouth wide open while you are preparing food, to be sure to get the first bite!
Finally, we are preparing to visit the states from September 17th until October 11th. Of course our calander is already quickly filling. In an effort to raise more support we have a couple of meetings and fundraisers ready to go while back as well as enjoying some time with our home church and hopefully our sister churches as well. It will be very nice to hear a few sermons in English (live) for a couple of weeks.
We are thankful for all of you and most of all for the Lord having opened this door to us. When we arrive back on October 11th there is no fore seen date to return to the states. Should the opportunity present itself to visit again soon we will take it, but we look forward to being focused right where He has us.
God Bless!
We haven't really being doing any more than we normally do in a week; however, there were a lot of changes this last week. On Sunday and Wednesday we met at a new location with the body of believers of Matapalo, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. There is much more room for both service and sunday school in the new building (2 rooms, a bathroom and a kitchen). Mykel and Justin have been working with Ron and Meredith to get the church building cleaned and organized.
Kevin and I are chugging right along down the Missouri River in Science and rounding and solving problems in math. In history we have made it through God's covenant with Abraham and will next learn of the distruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Kevin chose the Revolutionary War as his choice of reading this week for a book report and our Spanish is ever so confusing and difficult, but is also chugging right along!
Annika is really letting us learn her traits this week. She is a very determined young lady. Whether she books across the house in 60 seconds to get what she wants or waits with her mouth wide open while you are preparing food, to be sure to get the first bite!
Finally, we are preparing to visit the states from September 17th until October 11th. Of course our calander is already quickly filling. In an effort to raise more support we have a couple of meetings and fundraisers ready to go while back as well as enjoying some time with our home church and hopefully our sister churches as well. It will be very nice to hear a few sermons in English (live) for a couple of weeks.
We are thankful for all of you and most of all for the Lord having opened this door to us. When we arrive back on October 11th there is no fore seen date to return to the states. Should the opportunity present itself to visit again soon we will take it, but we look forward to being focused right where He has us.
God Bless!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
August 23rd, 2011
Hello family and friends,
We are thankful today for all the work the Lord has allowed us to have a part in here and the peace that the Lord has given us to come back once we renew our passports next month. This last week has been a lot of change and just being flexable.
The church building in Matapolo has relocated and has more space as well as a yard for kid's club and events. There is also a room for sunday school that was not available in the last building! Of course we all know the Church is the body of believers, but we praise Him that He has given Matapolo a place to meet!
The missionaries we are working with have been moving a little closer to the church this week as well and have been blessed with a home that works well for them to be close to the ministry that God has given them!
Kevin is doing wonderfully in school and we have done all the projects we can with what we have right now. We will be going back and doing more if we are able to get supplies. However, for the time being, he is very much enjoying schooling.
Annika has been a bit fussy this week, but she has also done a wonderful job eating since we discovered she wants to use her teeth and have things to chomp. She is still army crawling and on the bed will crawl on her knees a bit, but i think is discouraged on the tile floors right now to try on her knees.
Justin and Mykel have been busy busy busy, whether it be moving, preparing the new church building or tagging along for discipleship classes and learning spanish at home!
As for me, I have been preparing for our return to the states to renew our visas and our trip back to Costa Rica a few short weeks later...this time for at least 6 months. We are preparing fundraisers and trying to raise more support to be able to accomplish more here as the mission field here is a bit pricier than Haiti would be, but every soul is worth it and the Lord will provide.
Our current prayer is for a vehicle so that we can reach more people and minister to more people. The bike work great for us to use going to the store or church or even recreational family days; however, to reach out further a vehicle would be a great help.
Continue to pray for souls to be saved and growth in the lives of newer and older believers through the discipleship classes and sermons!
God Bless!
The White Family (Justin, Bobbi Ann, Kevin and Annika)
We are thankful today for all the work the Lord has allowed us to have a part in here and the peace that the Lord has given us to come back once we renew our passports next month. This last week has been a lot of change and just being flexable.
The church building in Matapolo has relocated and has more space as well as a yard for kid's club and events. There is also a room for sunday school that was not available in the last building! Of course we all know the Church is the body of believers, but we praise Him that He has given Matapolo a place to meet!
The missionaries we are working with have been moving a little closer to the church this week as well and have been blessed with a home that works well for them to be close to the ministry that God has given them!
Kevin is doing wonderfully in school and we have done all the projects we can with what we have right now. We will be going back and doing more if we are able to get supplies. However, for the time being, he is very much enjoying schooling.
Annika has been a bit fussy this week, but she has also done a wonderful job eating since we discovered she wants to use her teeth and have things to chomp. She is still army crawling and on the bed will crawl on her knees a bit, but i think is discouraged on the tile floors right now to try on her knees.
Justin and Mykel have been busy busy busy, whether it be moving, preparing the new church building or tagging along for discipleship classes and learning spanish at home!
As for me, I have been preparing for our return to the states to renew our visas and our trip back to Costa Rica a few short weeks later...this time for at least 6 months. We are preparing fundraisers and trying to raise more support to be able to accomplish more here as the mission field here is a bit pricier than Haiti would be, but every soul is worth it and the Lord will provide.
Our current prayer is for a vehicle so that we can reach more people and minister to more people. The bike work great for us to use going to the store or church or even recreational family days; however, to reach out further a vehicle would be a great help.
Continue to pray for souls to be saved and growth in the lives of newer and older believers through the discipleship classes and sermons!
God Bless!
The White Family (Justin, Bobbi Ann, Kevin and Annika)
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
August 16th 2011
Hola Amigas/Amigos!
In this last week in a half Soul Chasing Ministries has found a new building for the Church to meet at on Wednesdays and Sundays. There will be more space for kids Bible Club on Saturdays also. This building is also secure and should allow for equipment to stay in the building. All that they are waiting on to move is a call from the renters as the renters want to repaint, etc... before they give the keys over. There are have been several people cancelling discipleship classes off and on so please pray that there might be a little more consistancy in those classes so that people will grow in faith and/or get saved.
At the house; homeschooling has been going well. We are studying the Bible in history, charting our way through nutrition tables in health, floating the missouri river in science and bouncing from money to estimates and more in math! Kevin's attitude has been good; well as much as a 9 year old can be when you make him sit still for long periods of time! His birthday was on Sunday and he had a great day. It is easy when they are still at an age where a giant chocolate chip cookie cake and a chocolate milk make thier day. Also, Kevin got a boogie board for his birthday, a soccer ball (from his aunt and uncle) and snorkle set (from the drokes). He will also get to spend some money from his grandparents and be recieving a package from his other grandparents and some church family from the states. We are very thankful that our children do not get to miss out on what most kids get to do and enjoy just because we are overseas and travel often! The Lord has blessed this for sure!
Annika is up to 6 teeth now! She is also becoming very independent in her eating. She likes to swim in her food as she is eating it; but i am so thankful she is eating after weeks of not being able to get her to eat much at all, that i will gladly clean the mess :). She is army crawling or running in her walker all day long! Her and daddy have had lots of time together in the mornings while Kevin and I adventure in homeschool!
We have all been practicing our spanish regularly; although some days i wonder if Justin and I are doing the same lesson...he is such a quick learner! He will say things and i will think "I don't remember doing that part!" haha... But i am thankful that he can begin ministering immediatly! He did get to read outloud at church a few weeks ago and he has been giving his praise reports and prayer requests in spanish. Kevin is also doing pretty well. Unfortunately he is like me and has a little more trouble with the spelling parts, but we have encouraged him to keep on trying and his attitude and efforts seem pretty good! He also isn't allowed to watch television shows in English if he can't tell us knew things he has learned in Spanish; so that may also help the motivation :).
We thank you all for your support, love and prayers! Our biggest prayer requests right now would be: obviously for salvations (particularly of the men in the households as it is rare to find a man serving the Lord), we also pray that the Lord would provide for a vehicle, which would help us be able to do more and participate in more evangalism and discipling and eventually expand to new areas as well! Finally, we ask for prayer that God would continue to grow us, both spiritually and in the culture to be able to reach the people better!
God Bless-
The White Family!
In this last week in a half Soul Chasing Ministries has found a new building for the Church to meet at on Wednesdays and Sundays. There will be more space for kids Bible Club on Saturdays also. This building is also secure and should allow for equipment to stay in the building. All that they are waiting on to move is a call from the renters as the renters want to repaint, etc... before they give the keys over. There are have been several people cancelling discipleship classes off and on so please pray that there might be a little more consistancy in those classes so that people will grow in faith and/or get saved.
At the house; homeschooling has been going well. We are studying the Bible in history, charting our way through nutrition tables in health, floating the missouri river in science and bouncing from money to estimates and more in math! Kevin's attitude has been good; well as much as a 9 year old can be when you make him sit still for long periods of time! His birthday was on Sunday and he had a great day. It is easy when they are still at an age where a giant chocolate chip cookie cake and a chocolate milk make thier day. Also, Kevin got a boogie board for his birthday, a soccer ball (from his aunt and uncle) and snorkle set (from the drokes). He will also get to spend some money from his grandparents and be recieving a package from his other grandparents and some church family from the states. We are very thankful that our children do not get to miss out on what most kids get to do and enjoy just because we are overseas and travel often! The Lord has blessed this for sure!
Annika is up to 6 teeth now! She is also becoming very independent in her eating. She likes to swim in her food as she is eating it; but i am so thankful she is eating after weeks of not being able to get her to eat much at all, that i will gladly clean the mess :). She is army crawling or running in her walker all day long! Her and daddy have had lots of time together in the mornings while Kevin and I adventure in homeschool!
We have all been practicing our spanish regularly; although some days i wonder if Justin and I are doing the same lesson...he is such a quick learner! He will say things and i will think "I don't remember doing that part!" haha... But i am thankful that he can begin ministering immediatly! He did get to read outloud at church a few weeks ago and he has been giving his praise reports and prayer requests in spanish. Kevin is also doing pretty well. Unfortunately he is like me and has a little more trouble with the spelling parts, but we have encouraged him to keep on trying and his attitude and efforts seem pretty good! He also isn't allowed to watch television shows in English if he can't tell us knew things he has learned in Spanish; so that may also help the motivation :).
We thank you all for your support, love and prayers! Our biggest prayer requests right now would be: obviously for salvations (particularly of the men in the households as it is rare to find a man serving the Lord), we also pray that the Lord would provide for a vehicle, which would help us be able to do more and participate in more evangalism and discipling and eventually expand to new areas as well! Finally, we ask for prayer that God would continue to grow us, both spiritually and in the culture to be able to reach the people better!
God Bless-
The White Family!
Saturday, August 6, 2011
August 6th, 2011
Greetings and salutations since last week! School has begun already for Kevin, we have been doing our lessons on Spanish via Rosetta Stone, and we are truckin' along steadily now in the ministry. Be in prayer as we have 3 enemies against us at all times; the flesh, the world, and the devil. All of which are trying to hinder the work of the Lord here, in our lives and the lives of the people here. Often times in this spiritual warfare, the attacks will happen to those closest to you to distract you, and that is exactly what is happening. Pray for the protection of our loved ones, as well as a steadfast, immovable faith regardless of ours and others circumstances. Pray for health, wealth and prosperity for us, yet the faith to serve even if we are sick, poor and at war! Dios los bendigas!
Friday, July 29, 2011
July 29th 2011
Hola!
Just wanted to send an update on the newest news. This last week we have began to study Latin American Spanish (used here in Costa Rica) with Rosetta Stone. It seems to be a great lesson and we are alread picking up so much! We can spend as much time as we have each day in the lessons.
Kevin starts school on Monday. He will begin the Rosetta Stone as well on Monday along with his shooling! We decided to start early; so when we have to leave the country when our 90 days is up he can take a small break until we get back.
Praise report. We have been given about 1/7th of the money we will need to purchase a durable vehicle! God has been working here and we have been continuing to learn the discipleship lessons in spanish as well as participate in the regular services and Saturday morning Bible Club.
Kevin's birthday is coming up and we hope to spend the day at the beach with the Droke family. I can not believe he will be 9 years old already! He is taking an interest in the surfers and loves to let the waves carry him into shore; for his birthday we are hoping to get him a boogie board to ride the waves on. He still has a little swimming practice to do before he can go out deeper in the big waves anyway!
Please, everyone, keep us posted on your prayer requests! Also, if you read our blog but have not been recieving our emails please email us at whitefamilyhaiti@hotmail.com. Motly we send only our newsletter out via email, but we can also pray with/for each of you and have a more personal conversation via email!
God Bless!
Just wanted to send an update on the newest news. This last week we have began to study Latin American Spanish (used here in Costa Rica) with Rosetta Stone. It seems to be a great lesson and we are alread picking up so much! We can spend as much time as we have each day in the lessons.
Kevin starts school on Monday. He will begin the Rosetta Stone as well on Monday along with his shooling! We decided to start early; so when we have to leave the country when our 90 days is up he can take a small break until we get back.
Praise report. We have been given about 1/7th of the money we will need to purchase a durable vehicle! God has been working here and we have been continuing to learn the discipleship lessons in spanish as well as participate in the regular services and Saturday morning Bible Club.
Kevin's birthday is coming up and we hope to spend the day at the beach with the Droke family. I can not believe he will be 9 years old already! He is taking an interest in the surfers and loves to let the waves carry him into shore; for his birthday we are hoping to get him a boogie board to ride the waves on. He still has a little swimming practice to do before he can go out deeper in the big waves anyway!
Please, everyone, keep us posted on your prayer requests! Also, if you read our blog but have not been recieving our emails please email us at whitefamilyhaiti@hotmail.com. Motly we send only our newsletter out via email, but we can also pray with/for each of you and have a more personal conversation via email!
God Bless!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
July Newsletter
Hola Amigos/Amigas,
July has given us more time to acclimate to most of the culture here in Costa Rica; though I fear by our glossy appearance it may take more time to acclimate to the heat. We have run our air-conditioning twice since we have been here and both evenings it was a wonderful blessing. Our location has us surrounded by several beaches and Thursdays have been set aside as ‘Family Day’, thanks to the Droke family we have been to several of the beaches and have really enjoyed each one!
Last month when I wrote I did not take the opportunity to introduce all that happens here, as we were still learning. We have had the opportunity to work alongside Ron and Meredith Droke with Soul Chasing Ministries. You can check out their website and follow them at: www.soulchasing.org . I believe when the team was here they witnessed one salvation; but we have yet to personally see any salvations. The amazing and most encouraging thing we have seen the Spirit do since we have been here is bring to life the book of Acts. Several days of the week Justin and Mykel are tagging along with Ron to visit homes of people and inviting them to have discipleship classes in their homes. Many people have accepted and are growing weekly! There is also a church building and the doors are open on Wednesday nights for prayer meetings and worship and Sundays for worship.
A Prayer Request for this particular area would be that the men would get involved and be changed by the gospel and begin to lead their families. There is one man that attends services steadily and maybe 2 that visit off and on, but the rest are all women. My personal prayer has been 1 Peter 3; for women to win their husbands without a word!
As far as our family, we are well! It has been very excited to see the Lord move. We are working on getting a program together to learn Spanish a little quicker; right now we are just learning words from experience (which is good as well). Kevin has been working on flashcard each day with Justin as well as watching cartoons in Spanish in the afternoon.
As I mentioned above, Justin and Mykel have been following Ron around and learning more of the culture and people. Kevin has been enjoying his summer, learning Spanish and swimming often. He is also enjoying Saturday morning Bible Club at the church and playing soccer with the kids, there is no language barrier between children! Annika has been teething and running through the house in her walker, laughing as she runs into people. I have been cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and enjoying getting to love on the women in the church (no language barrier in a smile, hug and kiss on the cheek). I will also have to start preparing for school this week for Kevin.
From the beginning of this ministry we have decided we would always be honest about money and where it is being spent. We would like to share with you those details as well as some needs and prayer requests. We are staying in a 2 bedroom home that includes internet/cable and water and is also gated in so that the kids can play outside (a huge percentage of crime in Costa Rica is associated with child abductions) = $500/month. $50 goes toward travel money, gas (which is around $5/gallon here). Ron and Meredith pick us up and take us anywhere we need to go. Someone also paid for us to be able to get a bike, so when we need small things from the store here or there, Justin is able to make a trip to the local store for us (Thank you). Between food and entertainment (being able to eat out once or twice a month as a family) we try to spend no more than $350. Finally is our electric bill, which we will not receive until after the 28th of July; therefore we are uncertain what that will run. We do know that it is less expensive during the rainy season (now), because it is powered by water.
Needs/Prayer requests:
*First and foremost are always the spiritual needs. I stated my prayer above, but mostly pray for all souls to be opened and come to Christ. Also, for our own personal spiritual growth that we would stay zealous for spreading the gospel always!
*We could use another bike with a baby seat on the back. Then Justin and Kevin could ride together and the baby and I could ride together whenever possible to save gas money. This bike costs $160.
*We are in need for more people to support our ministry and broaden our budget for those things that are needed, such as food (food here is slightly more expensive that the states and we feed 4 mouths on about $3 per meal right now) and clothing for our ever-growing children. We ask that you who are supporting to reach out to friends and family and attempt to bring them on board for the cause.
*Finally we are in great need of an actual vehicle, rugged enough for the terrain, to take us into Matapalo and the surrounding areas, to spread the gospel to all of Guanacaste and eventually other provinces. We have kept an eye on Craigslist and if the money wa available have seen great vehicles for around $7,000. Ron and Meredith have been a huge help and blessing in driving us places; they are also in need of prayer for the repair of their vehicles.
Each month I ask for your prayer requests as well and once again I ask that you would please share with us what your needs are for prayer! We very much enjoy being a part of your lives as well. If you have Facebook you can also keep up with us on there. Justin and I each have individual accounts as well as an account for White Family Missions.
God Bless,
Justin, Bobbi Ann, Kevin and Annika White
July has given us more time to acclimate to most of the culture here in Costa Rica; though I fear by our glossy appearance it may take more time to acclimate to the heat. We have run our air-conditioning twice since we have been here and both evenings it was a wonderful blessing. Our location has us surrounded by several beaches and Thursdays have been set aside as ‘Family Day’, thanks to the Droke family we have been to several of the beaches and have really enjoyed each one!
Last month when I wrote I did not take the opportunity to introduce all that happens here, as we were still learning. We have had the opportunity to work alongside Ron and Meredith Droke with Soul Chasing Ministries. You can check out their website and follow them at: www.soulchasing.org . I believe when the team was here they witnessed one salvation; but we have yet to personally see any salvations. The amazing and most encouraging thing we have seen the Spirit do since we have been here is bring to life the book of Acts. Several days of the week Justin and Mykel are tagging along with Ron to visit homes of people and inviting them to have discipleship classes in their homes. Many people have accepted and are growing weekly! There is also a church building and the doors are open on Wednesday nights for prayer meetings and worship and Sundays for worship.
A Prayer Request for this particular area would be that the men would get involved and be changed by the gospel and begin to lead their families. There is one man that attends services steadily and maybe 2 that visit off and on, but the rest are all women. My personal prayer has been 1 Peter 3; for women to win their husbands without a word!
As far as our family, we are well! It has been very excited to see the Lord move. We are working on getting a program together to learn Spanish a little quicker; right now we are just learning words from experience (which is good as well). Kevin has been working on flashcard each day with Justin as well as watching cartoons in Spanish in the afternoon.
As I mentioned above, Justin and Mykel have been following Ron around and learning more of the culture and people. Kevin has been enjoying his summer, learning Spanish and swimming often. He is also enjoying Saturday morning Bible Club at the church and playing soccer with the kids, there is no language barrier between children! Annika has been teething and running through the house in her walker, laughing as she runs into people. I have been cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and enjoying getting to love on the women in the church (no language barrier in a smile, hug and kiss on the cheek). I will also have to start preparing for school this week for Kevin.
From the beginning of this ministry we have decided we would always be honest about money and where it is being spent. We would like to share with you those details as well as some needs and prayer requests. We are staying in a 2 bedroom home that includes internet/cable and water and is also gated in so that the kids can play outside (a huge percentage of crime in Costa Rica is associated with child abductions) = $500/month. $50 goes toward travel money, gas (which is around $5/gallon here). Ron and Meredith pick us up and take us anywhere we need to go. Someone also paid for us to be able to get a bike, so when we need small things from the store here or there, Justin is able to make a trip to the local store for us (Thank you). Between food and entertainment (being able to eat out once or twice a month as a family) we try to spend no more than $350. Finally is our electric bill, which we will not receive until after the 28th of July; therefore we are uncertain what that will run. We do know that it is less expensive during the rainy season (now), because it is powered by water.
Needs/Prayer requests:
*First and foremost are always the spiritual needs. I stated my prayer above, but mostly pray for all souls to be opened and come to Christ. Also, for our own personal spiritual growth that we would stay zealous for spreading the gospel always!
*We could use another bike with a baby seat on the back. Then Justin and Kevin could ride together and the baby and I could ride together whenever possible to save gas money. This bike costs $160.
*We are in need for more people to support our ministry and broaden our budget for those things that are needed, such as food (food here is slightly more expensive that the states and we feed 4 mouths on about $3 per meal right now) and clothing for our ever-growing children. We ask that you who are supporting to reach out to friends and family and attempt to bring them on board for the cause.
*Finally we are in great need of an actual vehicle, rugged enough for the terrain, to take us into Matapalo and the surrounding areas, to spread the gospel to all of Guanacaste and eventually other provinces. We have kept an eye on Craigslist and if the money wa available have seen great vehicles for around $7,000. Ron and Meredith have been a huge help and blessing in driving us places; they are also in need of prayer for the repair of their vehicles.
Each month I ask for your prayer requests as well and once again I ask that you would please share with us what your needs are for prayer! We very much enjoy being a part of your lives as well. If you have Facebook you can also keep up with us on there. Justin and I each have individual accounts as well as an account for White Family Missions.
God Bless,
Justin, Bobbi Ann, Kevin and Annika White
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
July 12th 2011
Hola amigas/amigos,
Don't let me fool you; we still need a lot of prayer and a lot of practice before we are anywhere near having the language down. The victory is that in the process of learning we are not letting the language barrier keep us from being involved in God's work here! We will however begin studying the language at least 10 hours a week!
Since my last post we had Wednesday night service/prayer meeting at Matapalo Church. Thursday we had our family day and spent a good portion of that at the beach with Ron and Meredith and their family. (At that time Kevin developed a knowledge of the need for frequent sunscreen application!). Saturday we had Bible Club in the morning and Pastor Ron decided to move the time to 10am after finding out there were free soccer practices in town until 10am on Saturdays; the prayer is that we might have more kids able to attend now. Sunday morning we attended church services at an english speaking church. It was a great service and was wonderful to be fed in our own language. Sunday evening Justin, Mykel and I began going through the same discipleship program that Soul Chasing Ministries goes over when they begin in people's homes. This is helping us learn Spanish as well as have a small mini family bible study. Monday was Justin and I's 2 year anniversary. We spent the morning doing our grocery shopping and walking around with Ron and Meredith. That afternoon, thanks to my parents, we enjoyed dinner out as a family. Finally, that afternoon Mykel volunteered to keep an eye on the kids and we went swimming in the pool in our complex area. Overall it was a wonderful way to spend our anniversary; it was just as wonderful as the oatmeal by lantern last year in Haiti.
Today Justin and Mykel are doing visitations and discipleship classes with Ron Droke.
Please continue to pray for the people of Matapalo and surrounding areas, that our light may shine bright and bring them to Christ with the gospel. Also pray for our language to flurish, that we might be able to get deeper into the culture also and reach more people for the King!
Adios!
Don't let me fool you; we still need a lot of prayer and a lot of practice before we are anywhere near having the language down. The victory is that in the process of learning we are not letting the language barrier keep us from being involved in God's work here! We will however begin studying the language at least 10 hours a week!
Since my last post we had Wednesday night service/prayer meeting at Matapalo Church. Thursday we had our family day and spent a good portion of that at the beach with Ron and Meredith and their family. (At that time Kevin developed a knowledge of the need for frequent sunscreen application!). Saturday we had Bible Club in the morning and Pastor Ron decided to move the time to 10am after finding out there were free soccer practices in town until 10am on Saturdays; the prayer is that we might have more kids able to attend now. Sunday morning we attended church services at an english speaking church. It was a great service and was wonderful to be fed in our own language. Sunday evening Justin, Mykel and I began going through the same discipleship program that Soul Chasing Ministries goes over when they begin in people's homes. This is helping us learn Spanish as well as have a small mini family bible study. Monday was Justin and I's 2 year anniversary. We spent the morning doing our grocery shopping and walking around with Ron and Meredith. That afternoon, thanks to my parents, we enjoyed dinner out as a family. Finally, that afternoon Mykel volunteered to keep an eye on the kids and we went swimming in the pool in our complex area. Overall it was a wonderful way to spend our anniversary; it was just as wonderful as the oatmeal by lantern last year in Haiti.
Today Justin and Mykel are doing visitations and discipleship classes with Ron Droke.
Please continue to pray for the people of Matapalo and surrounding areas, that our light may shine bright and bring them to Christ with the gospel. Also pray for our language to flurish, that we might be able to get deeper into the culture also and reach more people for the King!
Adios!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
1st Discipleship Classes
Today was the 1st time, other than with the Riverside mission team, that Justin and Mykel got to experience the discipleship classes. They sat in people's homes and spent intimate one on one time with them. At each home they fellowshipped and spent time in God's word. It was a good time for them to ask questions and dig deeper into God's word. Basically they were building closer relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ and growing together spiritually.
They also got to try some new local foods; each home was hospital in its own way.
It was a blessing to see the word of God come to life. "And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people and the Lord was adding daily to their number day by day those were being saved." ACTS 2:44-47
They also got to try some new local foods; each home was hospital in its own way.
It was a blessing to see the word of God come to life. "And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people and the Lord was adding daily to their number day by day those were being saved." ACTS 2:44-47
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Bible Club
Yesterday (Saturday July 2nd) was the first 'Bible Club' at Matapalo. There were about 14-15 children in attendance! Creation was the first lesson and they also participated in Bible Trivia. In order to keep them focused, they also wore off some energy with games!
Kevin was able to participate pretty well also! This was exciting for us, as in Haiti, the language was a barriar for Kevin to have a desire to make friends!
Today we have Church services at 3:00 in Matapalo. Pray for believers to grow and lost to be saved!
God Bless! We love you all and look forward to sharing more of what the Lord is doing in Costa Rica soon!
Kevin was able to participate pretty well also! This was exciting for us, as in Haiti, the language was a barriar for Kevin to have a desire to make friends!
Today we have Church services at 3:00 in Matapalo. Pray for believers to grow and lost to be saved!
God Bless! We love you all and look forward to sharing more of what the Lord is doing in Costa Rica soon!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
End of Week 1
Hello everyone!
A week from today we arrived in Liberia, Costa Rica. This past week we have been following around a wonderful mission team from Riverside Baptist Church in Kentucky. We have also gotten to know Ron and Meredith Droke (full time missionaries in Matapalo, Costa Rica) and their 3 youngest children.
The people of Cost Rica are welcoming and we look forward to helping Ron and Meredith expand the ministry God has given them. Once again Justin is picking up a new language quickly and Kevin and I are hanging on by his shoelaces trying to learn quickly as well. Mykel is jumping right in there with Justin and they are doing an amazing job getting to know the people!!
The week consisted of door to door evangelism and handing out bags of food, discipleship classes in homes of locals, vacation bible school and the Wednesday and Sunday services in the church building. Their prayer requests as of now for the ministry is a van for picking up members, which i will give a small explanation about and for the Lord to either provide a better location and larger bulding or keep them where they are if it is His will (i will also explain that).
The need for a van around here is very important, particularly for the months of June - November (that is half of the year). Everyday we have been here, except one, it has rained. The rain is suppose to be much worse in the coming months and is already extremely heavy rain. Since most people have to walk as a means of transportation in Matapalo, the rain causes them to not be able to leave their house because of mud slides, etc... Also in January and February they have wind that has been known to twist trees!
The current church building is maybe 300 sq ft. That includes a sunday school room a main room and a bathroom. Church members have no problem meeting there; however it is a growing family and sound equipment has to be packed up every day and set up again every day. Even in a small building speakers are necessary because of the many distractions of the location!
Well, we can't wait to update you again soon. We are headed to San Jose tomorrow to do some bulk grocery shopping to save some money and get a few toiletry items and such!
love you all - thank you to those who have sent encouragement and those of you who follow and pray for us!
God Bless
A week from today we arrived in Liberia, Costa Rica. This past week we have been following around a wonderful mission team from Riverside Baptist Church in Kentucky. We have also gotten to know Ron and Meredith Droke (full time missionaries in Matapalo, Costa Rica) and their 3 youngest children.
The people of Cost Rica are welcoming and we look forward to helping Ron and Meredith expand the ministry God has given them. Once again Justin is picking up a new language quickly and Kevin and I are hanging on by his shoelaces trying to learn quickly as well. Mykel is jumping right in there with Justin and they are doing an amazing job getting to know the people!!
The week consisted of door to door evangelism and handing out bags of food, discipleship classes in homes of locals, vacation bible school and the Wednesday and Sunday services in the church building. Their prayer requests as of now for the ministry is a van for picking up members, which i will give a small explanation about and for the Lord to either provide a better location and larger bulding or keep them where they are if it is His will (i will also explain that).
The need for a van around here is very important, particularly for the months of June - November (that is half of the year). Everyday we have been here, except one, it has rained. The rain is suppose to be much worse in the coming months and is already extremely heavy rain. Since most people have to walk as a means of transportation in Matapalo, the rain causes them to not be able to leave their house because of mud slides, etc... Also in January and February they have wind that has been known to twist trees!
The current church building is maybe 300 sq ft. That includes a sunday school room a main room and a bathroom. Church members have no problem meeting there; however it is a growing family and sound equipment has to be packed up every day and set up again every day. Even in a small building speakers are necessary because of the many distractions of the location!
Well, we can't wait to update you again soon. We are headed to San Jose tomorrow to do some bulk grocery shopping to save some money and get a few toiletry items and such!
love you all - thank you to those who have sent encouragement and those of you who follow and pray for us!
God Bless
Friday, June 24, 2011
June 2011
Hola mi amigos!
(We will begin to update the blog regularly now. We will have internet access to keep you all posted frequently; weekly!)
Well we have only been here for 4 days but have been busy from 6:30am to around 9:30pm every day. I stayed home this morning to get some of our cloths washed and hung before VBS this afternoon. Since I was home I have got an opportunity to update our blog and newsletters.
There is so much information I could write about, but I will try to summarize as much as possible while still being informative!
A. Weather
a. Hot and humid (this is their cool season and it is probably around 85-90 degrees daily plus humidity) We have become a very glossy looking bunch
b. Rainy: From Now thru November is their rainy season. We are talking not about cats and dogs, but giraffes and elephants! They were not joking; we have already gotten much use out of our rain boots and coats.
B. Animals
a. I have yet to see them, mostly because when I heard them I went the opposite direction, but there are barking monkeys here in the rainforest!
b. We have several pet geckos in our house, but we welcome them with joy as they eat the mosquitoes. They also bark at you
c. Yesterday Justin encountered a 3 inch in length grasshopper, but we are told they are usually MUCH larger than that! (ahhh!)
C. People
a. The people are very hospitable, much like Haiti; they will welcome you into their home and listen to what you have to say. Of course not everyone is receptive, but they love the fact that you stopped to talk and we know that His Word does not go out void!
b. Common people groups around here include these factors: prostitution, drugs, witch craft and more. There are also many religious people, who hold fast to tradition but do not have a relationship.
D. Living Situations
a. Most houses around here are small; my mind relates several of the poor areas to the ‘Christy’ series. Most other places range from an American apartment size to large houses.
b. Not very many places have air conditioning, but a lot of places have pools that are about 3 ½ feet deep to cool off. It is interesting…tonight was the first night that the boys were able to enjoy the public pool in gated area we live.
After much time in prayer and getting to Costa Rica we are very certain that God wants us here. Our love for Haiti and Peru has not changed; the Lord has directed us for this time to Costa Rica and after arriving we immediately had that confirmed in our hearts! At present we are working with a mission team that will leave on Tuesday next week. Justin has also already met an English speaking gentleman that he will begin to disciple. We are working on getting plenty of pictures and video and will share those after the mission team leaves so that everyone has an opportunity to see us work more than just the 1st week.
Prayer Requests:
*Prayer for souls to be won to the Kingdom.
*Annika has gotten a dry cough and is teething and is also trying to adjust to the humidity; please pray that she will heal quickly.
*Pray that satan would not have a foot hold and that our focus would remain solely on Jesus and spreading the Word!
*Pray for God’s provision for this ministry and the ministry of Ron and Meredith Droke, whom the Lord has knitted our hearts and paths together with.
Please email or facebook. Thank you all for being a faithful part of this ministry!
God Bless,
Justin, Bobbi Ann, Kevin and Annika (also Mykel)
(We will begin to update the blog regularly now. We will have internet access to keep you all posted frequently; weekly!)
Well we have only been here for 4 days but have been busy from 6:30am to around 9:30pm every day. I stayed home this morning to get some of our cloths washed and hung before VBS this afternoon. Since I was home I have got an opportunity to update our blog and newsletters.
There is so much information I could write about, but I will try to summarize as much as possible while still being informative!
A. Weather
a. Hot and humid (this is their cool season and it is probably around 85-90 degrees daily plus humidity) We have become a very glossy looking bunch
b. Rainy: From Now thru November is their rainy season. We are talking not about cats and dogs, but giraffes and elephants! They were not joking; we have already gotten much use out of our rain boots and coats.
B. Animals
a. I have yet to see them, mostly because when I heard them I went the opposite direction, but there are barking monkeys here in the rainforest!
b. We have several pet geckos in our house, but we welcome them with joy as they eat the mosquitoes. They also bark at you
c. Yesterday Justin encountered a 3 inch in length grasshopper, but we are told they are usually MUCH larger than that! (ahhh!)
C. People
a. The people are very hospitable, much like Haiti; they will welcome you into their home and listen to what you have to say. Of course not everyone is receptive, but they love the fact that you stopped to talk and we know that His Word does not go out void!
b. Common people groups around here include these factors: prostitution, drugs, witch craft and more. There are also many religious people, who hold fast to tradition but do not have a relationship.
D. Living Situations
a. Most houses around here are small; my mind relates several of the poor areas to the ‘Christy’ series. Most other places range from an American apartment size to large houses.
b. Not very many places have air conditioning, but a lot of places have pools that are about 3 ½ feet deep to cool off. It is interesting…tonight was the first night that the boys were able to enjoy the public pool in gated area we live.
After much time in prayer and getting to Costa Rica we are very certain that God wants us here. Our love for Haiti and Peru has not changed; the Lord has directed us for this time to Costa Rica and after arriving we immediately had that confirmed in our hearts! At present we are working with a mission team that will leave on Tuesday next week. Justin has also already met an English speaking gentleman that he will begin to disciple. We are working on getting plenty of pictures and video and will share those after the mission team leaves so that everyone has an opportunity to see us work more than just the 1st week.
Prayer Requests:
*Prayer for souls to be won to the Kingdom.
*Annika has gotten a dry cough and is teething and is also trying to adjust to the humidity; please pray that she will heal quickly.
*Pray that satan would not have a foot hold and that our focus would remain solely on Jesus and spreading the Word!
*Pray for God’s provision for this ministry and the ministry of Ron and Meredith Droke, whom the Lord has knitted our hearts and paths together with.
Please email or facebook. Thank you all for being a faithful part of this ministry!
God Bless,
Justin, Bobbi Ann, Kevin and Annika (also Mykel)
Friday, June 10, 2011
May 2011
Buenos Dias!
I would like to start this news letter with a tremendous ‘Thanks’ for all the encouragement this last month. In an honest side note, there was a lot of struggling with ‘waiting on the Lord’, but I have learned there is a reason He put it so frequently in His Word! AMEN! Again, thank you all for your encouragement through prayers, words, continued support, etc…
We had a great week at revival service this last month in Cassville, MO. Also, we have been blessed to begin attending Monday night services at Piney Point. Other than these additional services we have been attending Piney Point most of this past month as well as encouraging the Church start in Eureka Springs!
We are now selling greeting cards (homemade) to help raise money for the ministry; the cards are currently located at Piney Point Church in Rogers, AR and Cross Roads Church in Pea Ridge, AR. Hundreds of holiday print shirts were also donated to us to sell for the ministry. These shirts range from long sleeve t-shirts, sweaters and some short sleeve of all sizes. They would be perfect for a craft seller. We would like to sell the shirts for $4.00 each or 3 for $10. If anyone is interested please let us know; please spread the word to any friends that may also be interested please. I will send pictures to you via email if interested!
The moment we have all been waiting for: We will be headed to Costa Rica on June 20th. Tickets have been purchased. Justin, Kevin, Annika, and I will be leaving. We will also be joined by our brother Mykel, who has raised his own funds to be in the mission field as well. Legally we cannot stay in the country for more than 90 days. It has been suggested that we could either come home for a short time after 90 days and then return OR cross borders to a nearby country for 72 hours and then return. More details on that will come closer to the 90 day limited time. We are also looking for a place to rent so that we can stay there as long as the Lord wishes to use us there!
Evangelist, Dr. Jerry Spencer has friends going on a mission trip June 21st and we will start the week by evangelizing and witnessing with them. Pastor Spencer also knows the full time missionaries we will stay with once the team leaves. We have spoken to both the mission team leader and the family of missionaries in Costa Rica allowing us to live there and both are focused on evangelism and discipleship!
We received a few items back from Haiti this week as well. It is amazing what God KNOWS we NEED because it was definitely the most unorganized bag. We got back about half of our diapers, all of the ones given to us. It is a huge praise; that is more money staying in the ministry account! If it is in His plan we will receive any other bags back in His timing timing.
Prayer Requests:
*Continue to pray for the Son Ministries Active Mission Fields (*Haiti, the hospital is getting closer and closer to completion! Africa, the King family are ministering and settling in and have already seen many saved! India and Peru where teams have been and hope to continue work and please also pray for hearts to be softened in Costa Rica)
*Kevin has finished his testing for homeschooling this year. Please pray that this would allow him to take the summer to adjust again to a new culture.
Thank you all for your encouragement once again. We would love to pray for you, so please let us know what we can lift up in prayer for you at this time!
God Bless,
The White Family
I would like to start this news letter with a tremendous ‘Thanks’ for all the encouragement this last month. In an honest side note, there was a lot of struggling with ‘waiting on the Lord’, but I have learned there is a reason He put it so frequently in His Word! AMEN! Again, thank you all for your encouragement through prayers, words, continued support, etc…
We had a great week at revival service this last month in Cassville, MO. Also, we have been blessed to begin attending Monday night services at Piney Point. Other than these additional services we have been attending Piney Point most of this past month as well as encouraging the Church start in Eureka Springs!
We are now selling greeting cards (homemade) to help raise money for the ministry; the cards are currently located at Piney Point Church in Rogers, AR and Cross Roads Church in Pea Ridge, AR. Hundreds of holiday print shirts were also donated to us to sell for the ministry. These shirts range from long sleeve t-shirts, sweaters and some short sleeve of all sizes. They would be perfect for a craft seller. We would like to sell the shirts for $4.00 each or 3 for $10. If anyone is interested please let us know; please spread the word to any friends that may also be interested please. I will send pictures to you via email if interested!
The moment we have all been waiting for: We will be headed to Costa Rica on June 20th. Tickets have been purchased. Justin, Kevin, Annika, and I will be leaving. We will also be joined by our brother Mykel, who has raised his own funds to be in the mission field as well. Legally we cannot stay in the country for more than 90 days. It has been suggested that we could either come home for a short time after 90 days and then return OR cross borders to a nearby country for 72 hours and then return. More details on that will come closer to the 90 day limited time. We are also looking for a place to rent so that we can stay there as long as the Lord wishes to use us there!
Evangelist, Dr. Jerry Spencer has friends going on a mission trip June 21st and we will start the week by evangelizing and witnessing with them. Pastor Spencer also knows the full time missionaries we will stay with once the team leaves. We have spoken to both the mission team leader and the family of missionaries in Costa Rica allowing us to live there and both are focused on evangelism and discipleship!
We received a few items back from Haiti this week as well. It is amazing what God KNOWS we NEED because it was definitely the most unorganized bag. We got back about half of our diapers, all of the ones given to us. It is a huge praise; that is more money staying in the ministry account! If it is in His plan we will receive any other bags back in His timing timing.
Prayer Requests:
*Continue to pray for the Son Ministries Active Mission Fields (*Haiti, the hospital is getting closer and closer to completion! Africa, the King family are ministering and settling in and have already seen many saved! India and Peru where teams have been and hope to continue work and please also pray for hearts to be softened in Costa Rica)
*Kevin has finished his testing for homeschooling this year. Please pray that this would allow him to take the summer to adjust again to a new culture.
Thank you all for your encouragement once again. We would love to pray for you, so please let us know what we can lift up in prayer for you at this time!
God Bless,
The White Family
Thursday, May 19, 2011
prayer
Calling all prayer warriors,
Our family has grown spiritually in the last month; learning to ‘wait on the Lord’. That being said we need prayer for the mission field. We began to purchase tickets for Peru a couple of days ago and in order to do get to Peru we would need to raise $6,000 immediately. This money would pay for our plane tickets and allow us to use the money in the account to live off of as well as reach out to people.
Also, when Dr. Jerry Spencer (evangelist) was at Piney Point a couple of weeks ago he mentioned the need for full time missionaries in Costa Rica. The ticket prices to Costa Rica are almost ¼ of the cost of the tickets to Peru.
Our prayer request would be that God would make it obvious where He wants to use us. We desire to be in the center of His will. We know that if God wants us to go to Peru that He will provide the money with no problems. Please pray that within the next couple of weeks the Lord will make it clear where He wants us.
Thank you for being faithful to serve Him! God Bless!
Justin and Bobbi Ann White
Our family has grown spiritually in the last month; learning to ‘wait on the Lord’. That being said we need prayer for the mission field. We began to purchase tickets for Peru a couple of days ago and in order to do get to Peru we would need to raise $6,000 immediately. This money would pay for our plane tickets and allow us to use the money in the account to live off of as well as reach out to people.
Also, when Dr. Jerry Spencer (evangelist) was at Piney Point a couple of weeks ago he mentioned the need for full time missionaries in Costa Rica. The ticket prices to Costa Rica are almost ¼ of the cost of the tickets to Peru.
Our prayer request would be that God would make it obvious where He wants to use us. We desire to be in the center of His will. We know that if God wants us to go to Peru that He will provide the money with no problems. Please pray that within the next couple of weeks the Lord will make it clear where He wants us.
Thank you for being faithful to serve Him! God Bless!
Justin and Bobbi Ann White
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
April 2011
April 2011
Dear Family/Friends,
Wow! April flew by very quickly. Just last night I realized I needed to let everyone know what the month happenings were already! As usual I want to start with a ‘Thank you all’. Your faith is great to realize that God’s plans are bigger than our own! We have said before that your finger prints are on each soul that is won or grows for the Lord; in saying that, your faith is in each place God chooses to send our family to win souls!
This month Kevin was the soul winner! Justin and I had handed out flyers to the revival services we had at Pea Ridge and Piney Point, but Kevin decided to invite a friend from down the road. Kevin’s friend, Davie, gave his life to the Lord last week! Praise the Lord! We would ask that our prayer warriors keep him in your prayers, as he lives in a home that since then has not allowed him to go back to church with us and showed no excitement for him when he told them the news of his salvation.
We have met with Brandon Carol, full time missionary in Peru, and have a little more information. *First as a side note, our brother Mykel, a full time missionary, will also be joining us in Peru this summer! Justin, Mykel and Brandon will be joined by a few other men and reaching out to tribes who need the gospel the day after we arrive in Peru, June 14th. Since the kids and I will be on our own the first couple of days (with the help of families in the ministry there) we will become acclimated with the culture as well as begin ministering to the women and children in which we come in contact! The goal for discipleship in Peru is to begin house churches.
April was much emphasis on revival services as well as finding out as much as possible about the direction the Lord has us going. Justin also stayed busy with projects this month. He counts himself privileged to be able to help with the needs of our church bodies while we are in the states! The children and I have continued in homeschooling, daily chores and prayer!
Our prayer requests:
*The continued work in Haiti (we now have a full time missionary doctor committed to running the hospital once it is finished).
*For God to soften hearts in Haiti, Peru, India and Ethiopia (our full time missionaries to Ethiopia leave this month)
*Protection from the snares of Satan.
Please email us with your prayer requests. It has been a while since we have heard from many of you and we would love to know how each of you are doing.
God Bless,
Justin, Bobbi Ann, Kevin and Annika
Dear Family/Friends,
Wow! April flew by very quickly. Just last night I realized I needed to let everyone know what the month happenings were already! As usual I want to start with a ‘Thank you all’. Your faith is great to realize that God’s plans are bigger than our own! We have said before that your finger prints are on each soul that is won or grows for the Lord; in saying that, your faith is in each place God chooses to send our family to win souls!
This month Kevin was the soul winner! Justin and I had handed out flyers to the revival services we had at Pea Ridge and Piney Point, but Kevin decided to invite a friend from down the road. Kevin’s friend, Davie, gave his life to the Lord last week! Praise the Lord! We would ask that our prayer warriors keep him in your prayers, as he lives in a home that since then has not allowed him to go back to church with us and showed no excitement for him when he told them the news of his salvation.
We have met with Brandon Carol, full time missionary in Peru, and have a little more information. *First as a side note, our brother Mykel, a full time missionary, will also be joining us in Peru this summer! Justin, Mykel and Brandon will be joined by a few other men and reaching out to tribes who need the gospel the day after we arrive in Peru, June 14th. Since the kids and I will be on our own the first couple of days (with the help of families in the ministry there) we will become acclimated with the culture as well as begin ministering to the women and children in which we come in contact! The goal for discipleship in Peru is to begin house churches.
April was much emphasis on revival services as well as finding out as much as possible about the direction the Lord has us going. Justin also stayed busy with projects this month. He counts himself privileged to be able to help with the needs of our church bodies while we are in the states! The children and I have continued in homeschooling, daily chores and prayer!
Our prayer requests:
*The continued work in Haiti (we now have a full time missionary doctor committed to running the hospital once it is finished).
*For God to soften hearts in Haiti, Peru, India and Ethiopia (our full time missionaries to Ethiopia leave this month)
*Protection from the snares of Satan.
Please email us with your prayer requests. It has been a while since we have heard from many of you and we would love to know how each of you are doing.
God Bless,
Justin, Bobbi Ann, Kevin and Annika
Sunday, April 17, 2011
March 2011 Newsletter
Dear Family and Friends,
We want to start as usual by thanking you all for your prayers and support! God has been doing amazing things this month.
This month was filled with Church events and construction projects. As usual Kevin was busy with school and being a boy and Annika was busy growing! We did have a doctor’s appointment and received some antibiotics that Annika could take overseas in case of an emergency.
There is a lot to share in this newsletter. We bought our plane tickets to leave on April 6th for Mole St. Nicholas, Haiti (to witness in Carrenage). About 4 or 5 days before we were due to leave we received an email from the pastor that we work with there. He has been busy with his ministry and was not ready for us to work with him this summer. Since our tickets were already bought and we had planned to work in Haiti, we contacted the Little Rock Association that is currently working in Haiti as well as an orphanage we work with in Port Au Prince, Haiti. Both compounds expressed the desire for us to work with them; however, the number of missionaries has grown since the earthquake last year and they currently have no place to lodge us. At first this situation could seem grim and defeated; then we remember the work Paul was accomplishing in Acts 16. When Paul wanted to go to Rome to witness the Spirit would not allow him to go and there was need elsewhere for his preaching. We have worked with a missionary in the past from Peru and decided after prayer to contact him and see what his needs were at this time. It happens that he is in need of mission families to come and disciple new believers in Peru. Mr. Brandon Carroll and his wife are missionaries in Peru and are currently looking for an unreached tribe along the Amazon. Through prayer it has been decided that we will leave June 13th with Brandon and stay the summer in Peru helping them to look for this tribe as well as help disciple new believers. Feel free to look over the work they are doing in Peru (newhopeamazon.com).
As God seems to be closing doors and opening new doors, please feel free to ask any questions that we may not have brought up that you would like to know. We may not know the answers to everything, but remember that we want you to be involved in our family’s life. Also remember that we want the Holy Spirit to be in charge (Prov. 19:21).
SON Ministries had a meeting this month as well. Pastor Chuck Sackman will still provide wisdom and assistance in missions and the ministry; however, the new president is Pastor Steve Hoover, the vice president is John Ketring and secretary is Vanessa Ketring. All mailing information will remain the same and if you have questions concerning upcoming mission trips, etc… you can contact Vanessa Ketring at 479-228-8183. Justin and I can still be contacted via email at: whitefamilyhaiti@hotmail.com . We will also send out our newsletter once a month and do our best to update the blog as often as possible (hopefully weekly!)
There is also another ministry that is related to overseas missions that you are welcome to become a part of: Mrs. Kay Ricker was lead by the Lord to have a sewing ministry. Dresses will be sewn and prayed over here in the states. After they have been made and prayed over, the dresses will be brought to the mission field via mission teams in the fall or spring. These dresses will allow us to reach out and witness through a physical need of the people. The most important part will be the prayer that takes place over each garment for the person that will receive it. If you would like to know more about the ministry or have any items you could donate (material, simple patterns, machines, etc…) please contact Kay Richer at 479-531-5530 (this is an evening number ONLY). You can also mail her any smaller items to: 17511 Hilltop Heights Rogers, AR 72756. You can also email me and I will gather more information for you.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
*Our largest prayer requests right now is for Satan not to have a foothold in our lives… “… do not give the devil an opportunity.” Eph. 4:27
*Preparation for the mission field – hearts to be softened and the gospel to be received and souls to be saved!... “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
*For doors to be opened for our ministry where ever God calls us; for Churches to be started. “…praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak for the mystery of Christ…” Col. 4:3
Please send us your prayer requests as well this month and whenever you need encouragement! It encourages us to hear from each of you! Thank you for your continued love and support; especially through prayer!
God Bless You,
Justin, Bobbi Ann, Kevin and Annika White
Monday, March 21, 2011
3/21/11
Hello Everyone,
Well I am in the states, yet I have not gotten on the internet for a couple of weeks. I apologize for not being on here or Facebook to update our happenings.
The first week of this month we sent out a mission team of 7 to assist in a youth conference in Haiti. We sent some of our belongings ahead with them. We will be leaving on April 6th and returning at the very end of June.
Aside from homeschooling and taking care of Annika, I have been focusing on daily chores and getting rid of broken toys and outgrown cloths.
Justin has been helping with some building projects and attended a three day preaching event.
We have also been attending all events involved in our Church, which is something almost every night! Praise the Lord!
God Bless You All,
The White Family - looking forward to being back soon
Well I am in the states, yet I have not gotten on the internet for a couple of weeks. I apologize for not being on here or Facebook to update our happenings.
The first week of this month we sent out a mission team of 7 to assist in a youth conference in Haiti. We sent some of our belongings ahead with them. We will be leaving on April 6th and returning at the very end of June.
Aside from homeschooling and taking care of Annika, I have been focusing on daily chores and getting rid of broken toys and outgrown cloths.
Justin has been helping with some building projects and attended a three day preaching event.
We have also been attending all events involved in our Church, which is something almost every night! Praise the Lord!
God Bless You All,
The White Family - looking forward to being back soon
Sunday, February 27, 2011
2/27/11
Hello Everyone!
Last Tuesday we sent off the information to get Annika's passport after finally recieving her social security card and 2 birth certificates (not sure how we ended up with two, but praise the Lord that they arrived!). We also went ahead and sent out for Justin's passport update! His passport expires in September and we will only be home for two months this summer and decided to go ahead and get his done now as well.
Annika recieved her two month shots as well Tuesday morning and has had a fever off and on each day since. God is big and in control and we would like to ask for her to be lifted up in prayer that she might have a quick recovery!
Kevin is doing well in school and has been doing much better at following written directions carefully - he struggles with verbal direction (his sin nature chooses disobedience each time) So we praise the Lord that he has come quite far with following written directions for now and hope to move to one on one projects eventually!
Justin has preached 3 times in the last week. He had the privilege of preaching in Eureka Springs on the church of Acts as well as preaching the same sermon in Cassville, MO and finally preaching at the Piney Point Revival on the glory of God.
I have been busy chasing kids around, teaching, preparing to send items ahead of time with a March mission team to Haiti and trying to finally work my way out of maternity pants and back into some of my pre pregnancy jeans (some sucess on the larger pairs ...hahaha).
God is still on His thrown and does as He please and we praise Him each day for another day to serve Him! We love you all! Bondye Beni Nou!
Justin, Bobbi Ann, Kevin and Annika White
Last Tuesday we sent off the information to get Annika's passport after finally recieving her social security card and 2 birth certificates (not sure how we ended up with two, but praise the Lord that they arrived!). We also went ahead and sent out for Justin's passport update! His passport expires in September and we will only be home for two months this summer and decided to go ahead and get his done now as well.
Annika recieved her two month shots as well Tuesday morning and has had a fever off and on each day since. God is big and in control and we would like to ask for her to be lifted up in prayer that she might have a quick recovery!
Kevin is doing well in school and has been doing much better at following written directions carefully - he struggles with verbal direction (his sin nature chooses disobedience each time) So we praise the Lord that he has come quite far with following written directions for now and hope to move to one on one projects eventually!
Justin has preached 3 times in the last week. He had the privilege of preaching in Eureka Springs on the church of Acts as well as preaching the same sermon in Cassville, MO and finally preaching at the Piney Point Revival on the glory of God.
I have been busy chasing kids around, teaching, preparing to send items ahead of time with a March mission team to Haiti and trying to finally work my way out of maternity pants and back into some of my pre pregnancy jeans (some sucess on the larger pairs ...hahaha).
God is still on His thrown and does as He please and we praise Him each day for another day to serve Him! We love you all! Bondye Beni Nou!
Justin, Bobbi Ann, Kevin and Annika White
Friday, February 18, 2011
2/18/11
Great Reports this week! I finally feel like we are on our way to getting back into Haiti!
We recieved Annika's birth certificate and we have her social security number so that we can get her passport. The soonest they could get us in for her passport was next Tuesday. Praise the Lord! Also we will ony be back for July and August this summer since it has taken so long to return to Haiti; therefore we are going to get Justin's passport renewed because it will expire in September.
If anyone would like us to update their church family or knows someone that would like to view our presentation and learn more about the Lord's work in Haiti please let us know a.s.a.p and we can get it scheduled for when we return!
God Bless~ Bonye Beni Nou
Justin and Bobbi Ann White (as well as Kevin and Annika)
We recieved Annika's birth certificate and we have her social security number so that we can get her passport. The soonest they could get us in for her passport was next Tuesday. Praise the Lord! Also we will ony be back for July and August this summer since it has taken so long to return to Haiti; therefore we are going to get Justin's passport renewed because it will expire in September.
If anyone would like us to update their church family or knows someone that would like to view our presentation and learn more about the Lord's work in Haiti please let us know a.s.a.p and we can get it scheduled for when we return!
God Bless~ Bonye Beni Nou
Justin and Bobbi Ann White (as well as Kevin and Annika)
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
2/9/11
Hello!
well along with several of you all, we were snowed in for the most part of last week! It is amazing how much you can get done though and then still realize there is a lot more to do! I praise the Lord that i was able to get a lot of the ministry paper work organized and more. I have not sent out payment reminders this month yet because i am in the process of getting them more organized.
We have a new contact for SON Ministries. Vanessa Ketring will be taking calls and scheduling presentation/update visits for us while we are overseas. Her and her husband will also be available to give presentations about our work in Haiti while we are there.
A prayer request at the moment is to recieve Annika's social security card and birth certificate. I will be calling on those to check their status as soon as i am finished typing this blog update. Please be in prayer that we will recieve those a.s.a.p and be able to get her passport quickly.
There is a team leaving for Haiti in March for a week long youth revival in the Church lead by Pastor Kennan Molme (Haitian). As always, our focus needs to be in prayer that souls will be won to the kingdom during this trip! Please continue to pray for souls that have been and are being won daily in Haiti; remember that if a child comes home from a voodoo family and proclaim Christ Jesus they will be kicked out of their home with nowhere to go. Praise the Lord though who has a perfect plan!!
Justin and i were able to get away on a small date a few hours away this week. We are very blessed to have this time. When we are in Haiti it isn't possible for us to take this kind of time together. We don't mind that we don't get this time in Haiti because there is no great joy than being in God's will together, but we do enjoy this time when we can get it!
God bless you all and we will update everyone again soon.
The White Family
well along with several of you all, we were snowed in for the most part of last week! It is amazing how much you can get done though and then still realize there is a lot more to do! I praise the Lord that i was able to get a lot of the ministry paper work organized and more. I have not sent out payment reminders this month yet because i am in the process of getting them more organized.
We have a new contact for SON Ministries. Vanessa Ketring will be taking calls and scheduling presentation/update visits for us while we are overseas. Her and her husband will also be available to give presentations about our work in Haiti while we are there.
A prayer request at the moment is to recieve Annika's social security card and birth certificate. I will be calling on those to check their status as soon as i am finished typing this blog update. Please be in prayer that we will recieve those a.s.a.p and be able to get her passport quickly.
There is a team leaving for Haiti in March for a week long youth revival in the Church lead by Pastor Kennan Molme (Haitian). As always, our focus needs to be in prayer that souls will be won to the kingdom during this trip! Please continue to pray for souls that have been and are being won daily in Haiti; remember that if a child comes home from a voodoo family and proclaim Christ Jesus they will be kicked out of their home with nowhere to go. Praise the Lord though who has a perfect plan!!
Justin and i were able to get away on a small date a few hours away this week. We are very blessed to have this time. When we are in Haiti it isn't possible for us to take this kind of time together. We don't mind that we don't get this time in Haiti because there is no great joy than being in God's will together, but we do enjoy this time when we can get it!
God bless you all and we will update everyone again soon.
The White Family
Sunday, January 23, 2011
1/30/11
WOW! it has been a while! Adjusting to a new baby has been interesting, but i think i am finally getting into a good rythm.
This will be updated weekly, but since it has been a few weeks i will try to catch everyone up on the happenings those weeks.
We had a couple of lunches this month with supporters (great fellowship). We have also run into many people who have been praying for us and it has been incredibly encouraging!
Most of this month has been spent in prayer about the church that will be started in Carrenage, Haiti. Our prayer is for hearts to be opened and of course, above all, that souls would be saved!
Justin has been helping out with church projects for all of the Piney Point Churches. I have been trying to get everything organized and into a new rythm with the changes we have had! Kevin has been homeschooling and playing like an 8 year old boy!Finally, Annika has been eating, sleeping and filling diapers! We did run into a couple spells of sickness, but God is in control!
God Bless you all! Our departure date is April 1st! We are looking forward to getting back and praying that obtaining visas will not be difficult!
The White Family
This will be updated weekly, but since it has been a few weeks i will try to catch everyone up on the happenings those weeks.
We had a couple of lunches this month with supporters (great fellowship). We have also run into many people who have been praying for us and it has been incredibly encouraging!
Most of this month has been spent in prayer about the church that will be started in Carrenage, Haiti. Our prayer is for hearts to be opened and of course, above all, that souls would be saved!
Justin has been helping out with church projects for all of the Piney Point Churches. I have been trying to get everything organized and into a new rythm with the changes we have had! Kevin has been homeschooling and playing like an 8 year old boy!Finally, Annika has been eating, sleeping and filling diapers! We did run into a couple spells of sickness, but God is in control!
God Bless you all! Our departure date is April 1st! We are looking forward to getting back and praying that obtaining visas will not be difficult!
The White Family
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
1/5/11
Bonjou! Zonmi Nou! (hello our friends)
This week has mostly been our normal Church events through Piney Point as well as Justin getting a little work on the side!
Huge Blessing/Praise/Provision: We applied for a diaper grant to get a few extra pre-folds for Annika before we leave for Haiti and we were accepted and now will have plenty of cloth diapers and inserts!!
Justin is in the process of raising $1000 to get to go to Haiti for a week in March for a youth conference and to talk to Pastor Kenan about where our hearts are, which is to start churches. *prayer request* our firt church will be in Carniage, which is a voodoo village*
Kevin is continuing in his second semester in homeschooling and is getting everything done so well and even quicker now that he realizes the advantages of homeschooling and having basically his whole afternoon off to play! :) *prayer request* That he would do well in April when we have to leave everyone again and that schooling would continue to go well!
Annika is ...well, eating and sleeping mostly! She also has a funky little quirk - she likes to cross her eyes when she is dazed into space. We have applied to find a doctor for her and are just waiting for results *prayer request* continued health!
Myself, Bobbi Ann has been being mom for my kids and side kick for my husband! Keeping up with updates, emails and legal information! Our prayer is to get Annika's birth certificate and social security card by the begining of February and then we will immediatly apply for her passport! *prayer request* remain focused and to biblically take care of her husband and kids as well as others we can reach here in the states!
We love you all and are thankful for each of you! We are praying as we know some have been ill lately, but are thankful that God is in control!
Bondye Beni Nou (God Bless you all)
Justin, Bobbi Ann, Kevin and Annika
This week has mostly been our normal Church events through Piney Point as well as Justin getting a little work on the side!
Huge Blessing/Praise/Provision: We applied for a diaper grant to get a few extra pre-folds for Annika before we leave for Haiti and we were accepted and now will have plenty of cloth diapers and inserts!!
Justin is in the process of raising $1000 to get to go to Haiti for a week in March for a youth conference and to talk to Pastor Kenan about where our hearts are, which is to start churches. *prayer request* our firt church will be in Carniage, which is a voodoo village*
Kevin is continuing in his second semester in homeschooling and is getting everything done so well and even quicker now that he realizes the advantages of homeschooling and having basically his whole afternoon off to play! :) *prayer request* That he would do well in April when we have to leave everyone again and that schooling would continue to go well!
Annika is ...well, eating and sleeping mostly! She also has a funky little quirk - she likes to cross her eyes when she is dazed into space. We have applied to find a doctor for her and are just waiting for results *prayer request* continued health!
Myself, Bobbi Ann has been being mom for my kids and side kick for my husband! Keeping up with updates, emails and legal information! Our prayer is to get Annika's birth certificate and social security card by the begining of February and then we will immediatly apply for her passport! *prayer request* remain focused and to biblically take care of her husband and kids as well as others we can reach here in the states!
We love you all and are thankful for each of you! We are praying as we know some have been ill lately, but are thankful that God is in control!
Bondye Beni Nou (God Bless you all)
Justin, Bobbi Ann, Kevin and Annika
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