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
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
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
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