How do we KNOW God wants us in Costa Rica?

I was recently asked the question, “How do you KNOW that this is what God wants you to do and not just something you want to do?”  I really appreciated this question because it forced me to really think about, and try to articulate, what we have been feeling.  I guess it is much easier to discern God’s will for my life when I am abiding in Him.  The dictionary definition of abide is; to remain, continue, stay, dwell, reside, rest, or stand firm.  I abide in Jesus through walking hand in hand with Jesus on a daily basis.  Spending time in prayer, reading the Bible and meditating on scripture.  By meditating I do not mean that I am sitting in the Lotus position saying, “om.”  I will often jot down a bible verse that I read in my devotional time and think about it throughout the day.  Sometimes I work on memorizing it.  I usually ask God the question, “How do you want me to use this verse or passage today?”

Financial Support 101

Hello friends.

As we have been sharing about what our family will be doing in Costa Rica, we have realized that many people are not familiar with how we will support ourselves while we are there.  (Support is just a fancy way of saying how we will pay the bills). 

Neither of us will have paying jobs while we are there.  For the first 6 months we will be living in the city of San Jose learning the language and culture of the people we will be serving.  We both need to be fully available to home school our children and to assist with the weekly mission teams.  As this is happening, the Children’s Ranch (orphanage/foster care facility) will be under construction.  We will soon move into a house at the Ranch and will become ‘Mom & Dad’ to several young Costa Rican boys.  Again, we need to be fully available to love these children (and our own 4 kids) and to help work the ranch.

How will this work?