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With my parents in town, we thought it would be a good opportunity to combine the two Bible study groups.  Doña Violeta graciously offered her house for us all to meet in and extra plastic chairs were brought in from the other group.  Our friend Antonio brought and played his guitar, which made the music a little more lively.  Scott had memorized the story of Paul and Silas from Acts 16, so the Bible study was conducted a little differently in that no one read out loud from the Scriptures.  We brought our time together to a close by celebrating the July and August birthdays by singing, of course, Feliz Cumpleaños!

Our goal is to have a combined Bible study with the two groups (or more groups, if God allows in our remaining time here!) every two or three months which will be a time of fellowship, studying the Word and celebrating special events, like birthdays… you know, a small church!  We can’t wait to see what God is going to do next!

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We showed up to the Bible study tonight with our human expectations…expectations that only Felipe, Zaida and their two daughters would be there.  Well, we are certainly glad that God had something else in mind.  Zaida had invited her niece (whom we had met two weeks prior), her husband and two daughters, her neighbors Carlos, Virginia and Ana, and of course, her own family.  Wow!!  We were amazed!  It was a beautiful time of singing and worshipping God.

As I write this, I’m reminded of a quote from William Carey, often called the Father of Modern Missions, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.”  Please pray that we would have attitudes of greater expectations from God, attempt greater things FOR Him and that He would raise up someone in this group who would be interested in taking a leadership role before we leave in December.

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In our latest Bible study, we had our first opportunity to meet Juan, the son of Doña Violeta.  He invited us to visit his workplace, The Hamburger Factory, in downtown San José.  So, the next Sunday before our Bible study, we all caught a bus and headed downtown for burgers!  Juan cooked them to order and Doña Violeta picked up the tab, which was really sweet because she doesn’t make very much money.  Juan expressed interest in wanting a Bible study at his apartment on his day off. 

Would you join with us in prayer regarding this new opportunity with Juan?  Thanks!  Your prayers have been so vital in the work!

A couple of weeks ago on our way home from our Bible study, we ran into a Nicaraguan woman and her young daughter.  We introduced ourselves and talked for a few minutes and I suddenly remembered that a guard we had met near our house said he lived near the area of our Bible study.  I mentioned his name and she indicated that he lived in the same apartment complex as she and that his wife was her aunt!  Coincidence?  No.  God’s divine providence?  Yes!  At the end of our conversation we asked her if we could return to her house a few days later to practice our Spanish and she agreed.

Fast forward one week.  As we again were walking home from the Bible study, we decided to stop by the complex where she lived.  I thought she had told us to ring doorbell #3, so we did.  Turns out it was the wrong apartment, but God seemed to work out that small detail.  The woman who came to the gate, Zaida, was the guard’s wife and she invited us in to her house.  As we were talking, I noticed two prayer cards on her refrigerator.  One was of an IMB family serving in Mexico and the other were also fellow IMB missionaries we had met their last semester of language school.  Once again, God’s wonderful timing!  Later her husband, Felipe, came home from work and our conversations led to spiritual matters.  We asked them if they would be interested in hosting a Bible study in their home and they, without hesitation, said Yes!

Please join with us in Praising the Lord for another open door in the Nicaraguan community in Costa Rica!